August 4, 2016
I’m a Lebowski, you’re a Lebowski, we’re all Lebowskis
David Huddleston, who portrayed the Big Lebowski as well as the mayor in Blazing Saddles and countless other character parts in movies and tv, passed away Tuesday in his Santa Fe home at 85. [more inside]
Murder in the 4-0
The life and death of each person murdered this year in the 40th precinct is examined with surprising care by the New York Times, along with the surrounding issues that contribute to the 40th precinct's status as the most deadly precinct in a city where crime has fallen to historic lows.
I want to remove the stigma of male nudity being taboo and threatening.
"In 2012, photographer Abigail Ekue embarked on a mission to photograph the unclothed male body in a truthful, expressive and direct manner, a style Ekue saw was lacking in the larger cultural lexicon." (NSFW)
Life is just one damn relatedness after another
This exhaustive list of useful mental models from the founder of DuckDuckGo, drawing on Charlie Munger's concept of mental models is well worth exploring. It contains a surprising amount of interesting jumping-off points to rules-of-thumb and insights from various fields, from Hanlon's Razor to the critical concept of BATNA in negotiation; and including such useful startup ideas as technical debt, organizational debt, and hunting elephants or flies.
James Barry, pioneering nineteenth century army surgeon, had a secret
"Sophia Bishop was laying out the body of Dr James Barry, on July 25, 1865, when she screamed. Her master was a woman." [more inside]
AirSpace
How Silicon Valley helps spread the same sterile aesthetic across the world
Every time Schwarzmann alights in a foreign city he checks the app, which lists food, nightlife, and entertainment recommendations with the help of a social network-augmented algorithm. Then he heads toward the nearest suggested cafe. But over the past few years, something strange has happened. "Every coffee place looks the same," Schwarzmann says. The new cafe resembles all the other coffee shops Foursquare suggests, whether in Odessa, Beijing, Los Angeles, or Seoul: the same raw wood tables, exposed brick, and hanging Edison bulbs.[more inside]
Feed the trolls
Troll hunters: the Twitterbots that fight against online abuse (New Scientist, h/t TrollBusters) [more inside]
“Fracking: Helping You Catch Them All”
"It did not have to happen."
Wasn't it easier in your firefly catching days?
For over three decades, children across the U.S. spent their summers hunting fireflies for profit. The Sigma Firefly Scientists' Club, a subsidiary of the Sigma Chemical Company (now Sigma-Aldrich), paid kids a penny for each lightning bug they captured and returned to the company before quietly shuttering in the mid-1990s. Today, one of Sigma-Aldrich's few remaining jars of desiccated firefly tails (lanterns) can be yours for the low, low price of 392USD. But what did they want all those fireflies for in the first place? [more inside]
Histori(an) Has Its Eyes On You
A painting at Christie's sheds new light on how watermelons have changed over time. Depictions of The Last Supper tell us how portion sizes have changed over time. Medieval paintings of Noah's Ark tell us how ships have changed over time. Can you think of other examples in this genre?
Your favorite web dev stack sucks.
Tired of dealing with oldfangled frameworks and hopelessly uncool databases? Want to get on board with the newest technology for making web sites?
"This Is What a Feminist Looks Like"
SL Glamour. "This Is What a Feminist Looks Like" by Barack Obama
For his birthday, some wonderful pictures of President Obama.
A very nice collection of 55 photos taken by White House photographer Peter Souza. "Since 2009, Souza has compiled an annual “Year in Photos” gallery; a collection of 75-100 of his favorite photos from the previous 12 months. I went through all of the albums and have compiled 55 highlights. "
Sharing is part of mourning
Something*Positive creator R. K. Milholland reflects on learning about the death of his readers.
Come on like a wrecking bull
Minotaurs, charging things. From the surprisingly excellent if questionably monikered Total War: Warhammer. Contains blood (contents under pressure).
Gevaldike nayess
Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath of Teaneck finishes her father’s Yiddish dictionary: Yiddish has a word for it
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