Favorites from rory
Subscribe:
Displaying post 301 to 350 of 3435
Ukraine war month six, the quiet before the storm?
As we come up on Ukraine's independence day on the 24th, we have seen very little movement in the actual front lines during the last month, but several other developments. Ukraine has been able to target a number of installations deep behind Russian lines, both in Crimea and Russia proper. Responsibility for the assassination of Daria Dugina has been claimed by a previously unknown anti-Putin group inside Russia called NRA.
“Oh God,” she said. “Did you grab it?”
"I peered up the street, toward Lexington Avenue, and saw garbage bags piled in front of each building. It was trash day. All of this would be landfill in a matter of hours. It made it all the way from 1883 to 2021. I shook out my bad shoulder as best I could, sighed, and picked up a box." How Christopher Bonanos rescued the 170-year history of The Church of the New Jerusalem from a New York City curb.
Elegy for a Criminal Lawyer
Saul Goodman started as a joke -- a sleazy, motormouthed "two-and-a-half-dimensional" take on TV lawyers, a bit of comic relief brought on for a four-episode stint to help guide Breaking Bad protagonists Walter White and Jesse Pinkman into the criminal underworld. Brought to life by Bob Odenkirk, Saul proved to be one of the show's most popular characters, and in the wake of the show's blockbuster ending AMC announced a prequel spinoff series: Better Call Saul. But what was conceived as a 30-minute case-of-the-week sitcom quickly developed into a compelling legal drama and deep character study of Goodman's past as "Slippin'" Jimmy McGill, his evolution, and bleak future at an Omaha Cinnabon -- "we don’t want to get to Saul Goodman … and that’s the tragedy." Supported by vice-tight writing, masterful cinematography, and impeccable performances by Michael McKean, Patrick Fabian, Jonathan Banks, Michael Mando, Tony Dalton, Giancarlo Esposito, and especially breakout star Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler, the series has only grown more acclaimed as it progressed and, with its last batch of astonishing episodes, arguably surpassed its predecessor to become one of the greatest dramas in television history. Now, after seven years, six seasons, 62 episodes, one Peabody Award, multiple hiatuses, a COVID pause, and a brush with death, Better Call Saul is set to air its long-awaited series finale tonight at 9PM Eastern. It's showtime, folks.
The flag button's design is bad enough to be a social justice issue
I'm serious. I know we've talked before about changing the design of flag button. Let's talk about it again — not because it's ugly or inconvenient on phones, but because it's hostile in a way that's relevant to site conversations about social justice. In threads about bigotry, we hear that people don't flag, they don't feel comfortable flagging, and they often don't even know you can flag. Well, here's one reason: the design of the button doesn't say "We hope you'll use this to contact a kind, professional moderator." Even to highly technical people with decades of social media experience, it says "This is confusing and mysterious, you're dumb for not understanding it already, and if you touch it you'll get in trouble."
Hank Green Explains the Climate Bill
"This is a big problem, that no one person understands all of. But in this video you're going to go from understanding more than like, 80 or 90% of people, to understanding this more than 99% of people. And it's only going to take you like 15 minutes". (SLYT 22:23)
Movie: Nate: A One Man Show
A very unusual Netflix standup special. Nate, played by comedian Natalie Palamides, explores humor, sexuality and consent with a live audience.
Ukraine War Month Five, Putin is 'Entirely Too Healthy'
The last few days in Ukraine-Russia news includes Ukraine requesting modern fighter planes, the EU tightening sanctions on Russia, and Russia making plans to annex southern regions of Ukraine.
Abuse of VFX Artists Is Ruining the Movies
"Someone hears you work on films, so they ask you, 'What movie made you cry?' The artist will respond, 'In theaters or in the office?'"
Linda Codega does a deep dive into how the visual effects industry has become a late-stage capitalist hellscape, as studios constantly underbid each other, cater to outlandish last-minute demands from production houses (especially Marvel), and put the squeeze on the VFX artists who are burning out on the front lines.
The Money is in All the Wrong Places
What this means is that the door a writer could step through to make a career 50 or even 20 years ago, the one opening onto a life where someone who works hard and does well could buy a house on the strength of that work alone, has been slammed shut. Defector's Kelsey McKinney writing about the uproar directed at Sydney Sweeney's interview with the Hollywood Reporter on how difficult it is to make a living as an actor (or musician, or model) without wealth, connections, or both. (DefectorFilter)
Archiving the Signs of the Times
"The History of Advertising Trust Ghostsigns Archive is a free, searchable, online collection of hundreds of ghost signs from across the UK and Ireland."
I have always arrived late to everything I love.
“So much of the art we love is really just about our loyalty to and softness toward our own memories; so often loving an album or a book or a song is really just a way to love an obsolete version of ourselves.” - Helena Fitzgerald on August and Everything After, without really discussing the album itself at all, pointing out that it might just be a perfect album.
“We need to take away their children”
A deeply reported story about the Trump Administration’s policy of separating immigrants illegally crossing the border from their children.
SL Atlantic story delving into the drivers, mistakes, intentions, and lies comprising the Trump Administration’s policy of taking children from immigrants crossing the border, regardless of whether the parent legally requested asylum or crossed outside of a port or legal crossing location.
The policy was planned and implemented by “Hawks” who needed to shut out the “squishies” and “bleeding hearts” in the bureaucracy so that the policy could be implemented without planning or concern for the impact on the victims or on other departments who would be blindsided with having to deal with the resulting separated parents and children.
Consumers want it free and yesterday, but they also changed their mind.
We’ve had people buy say a Pista pump and take [out] the leather gasket, rubber chuck seal, piston glide ring, gauge… all the internal replacement parts that you can buy separately, and then put it back together and return. The owner of a 107-year old, made-in-USA bike pump company discusses how the Amazon marketplace, blatant fraud, changing customer expectations, and social media have forced them to change their previously generous return policy. They are far from the first.
“Sort of the opposite of a tombstone.”
She imagined transforming human remains into soil, “ready to nourish new living beings.”
"If we begin to imagine ourselves as beneficial contributors to the earth in death, rather than as agents of sickness and damage, maybe we can start to see that possibility for our lives." Lisa Wells writes about death, compost, climate change and life.
Where do bicycles go when they die?
Every year, thousands of bicycles are tossed into rivers, ponds, lakes and canals. Jody Rosen, author of Two Wheels Good: The History and Mystery of the Bicycle, ponders the question: why do so many bikes end up underwater?
The Most Insane Dance Craze to Ever Exist
Todd in the Shadows' One Hit Wonderland
gives a not-necessarily fond retrospective of the 1996 global phenomenon that was "Macarena" by Los Del Rio. It includes vintage footage of people of all walks of life dancing to the Macarena, and he was very right that "there was nowhere safe." There is also some much needed background context of the Spanish artists Los Del Rio and Fangoria, remixers The Bayside Boys, and the unforgettable dance. But if you are reading this and are over 30 years old, you already know the song and know it all too well. (SLYT)
Movie: Flee
Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he's kept hidden for 20 years.
Energy transition's age of abundance: No one will fight wars over solar
After Going Solar, I Felt the Bliss of Sudden Abundance
[ungated] - "My rooftop panels showed me that a world powered by renewables would be an overflowing horn of plenty, with fast, sporty cars and comfy homes."
Stone circles in the home are to keep newborn chicks from wandering
My favorite historical "discoveries" are ones male anthropologists/historians just *can't* figure out for YEARS that are swiftly answered by a woman when one is finally given access.
"But what could this ancient tablet of instructions even MEAN!"
Woman: "it's a recipe". (short Twitter thread with many replies of similar "discoveries")
When it was working, it was a gift economy
Why is humanities scholarship struggling?
Peer review in those fields is apparently slowing down and getting harder to accomplish. Maybe it's because of changing faculty attitudes.
Hero cat liberates underground city of friendly robots
Stray follows a brave cat's journey through a world without humans, making robot friends along the way. Dog review. Cat reviews. More cat reviews. IGN. RPS.
"But I knew that all was not ok."
Maria Farrell wrote advice for people struggling with the effects of COVID in 2020: "Indefinitely Ill – Post-Covid Fatigue: What to do when your body forgets how to be well": "Because I really only want to say one thing; if you have had Covid-19 (tested or not), and are getting to a month or two on and still feel like you’ve been hit by a bus, please, for the love of God, rest." Last year Ada Palmer wrote about a bad turn in her health: "the resistance to taking medical leave came from me, not others." This month Farrell wrote "Settling in for the long haul": "about how I habituated, or; how I learnt to lie not with my words but my deeds" when coping with life-changing chronic illness.
I... HAVE... THE POWER 🎨🖌️
Back in April, I made an in-depth post to the blue about OpenAI's DALL-E 2, an unbelievable new AI system that can generate hi-res artistic or photorealistic images of anything you can describe in just a few seconds. Now, after more than two months of waiting (and a comedy of errors), I've gained rare access to this amazing technology... and I'm passing the savings along to you! Post a text prompt you'd like DALL-E to generate in this thread, and I'll share the results! (Examples, conditions, and tips inside.)
Precision: The Measure Of All Things
2013 BBC series Precision: The Measure Of All Things has three hours, one on each of three topics of measurement, and how they were developed: Time And Distance; Mass And Moles; Heat, Light, And Electricity. I enjoyed the sort of James Burke / Connections feel of these episodes quite a bit.
The Hungry Ghost: the problem of heroic individualism
The Constant Restlessness You Feel Has a Name.
Even before the pandemic, people were feeling that their work was unsustainable. Many were on the edge of burnout, overwhelmed by the unrelenting frantic and frenetic energy of today’s world. A common experience was, and still is, a mix of fatigue and restlessness, nervousness and dread. It is helpful to have language for what this is, how it works, and what you can do about it.
These beautiful antique photos were made with potatoes
In 1903 the Lumière brothers developed the autochrome process, the first viable single-exposure color photography technique, with potatoes.
How Can People Be Expected to Live on These Salaries?
In most literary novels, there is little indication of how the protagonist earns a living and is able to afford their lifestyle, or if there are attempts at these indicators, it’s clear that the numbers don’t add up. from If They Want to Be Published, Literary Writers Can’t Be Honest About Money by Naomi Kanakia
our bodies our choice
The Supreme Court has overturned Roe vs. Wade.
The opinion: "The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives. " Information about abortion funds in different states.
He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Potato.
The pseudonymous science writers Slime Mold Time Mold are perhaps best known for their series A Chemical Hunger, which hypothesizes that rising obesity around 1980 may have been due to endocrine disruption caused by PFAS and lithium, particularly in downstream areas along major river watersheds.
In the course of their research, though, they found a story of a Washington State Potato Commission guy who ate only potatoes for 60 days, and lost 21 pounds. Digging deeper,* they found more anecdotal cases of all-potato diets. Their reaction: this seems like it can't possibly be true, right? Well, any volunteers to try it out and help us collect data? Their ongoing Twitter thread on the study features a lot of commentary based on their own experiences doing it, and also from volunteers who have tried it out themselves.
Ukraine war month four, settling in for the long haul?
The war continues. As the Russian invasion continues into the fourth month and apparently is bogging down, once again Europe has to face the reality of industrial warfare.
scientific enterprise is biased even if scientific method is impartial
Responses to 10 common criticisms of anti-racism action in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine.
Criticism #4: “I only hire/award/cite based on merit. I do not need to consider race." It should be noted that the concept of “meritocracy” was introduced as satire by novelist Michael Dunlop Young, who believed that a society structured as a meritocracy would appear equitable, but ultimately serve to reinforce and perpetuate preexisting inequality.
Criticism #4: “I only hire/award/cite based on merit. I do not need to consider race." It should be noted that the concept of “meritocracy” was introduced as satire by novelist Michael Dunlop Young, who believed that a society structured as a meritocracy would appear equitable, but ultimately serve to reinforce and perpetuate preexisting inequality.
The Largest Explosion of Online Misogyny Since Gamergate
The Bleak Spectacle of the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp Trial
(Michael Hobbes, contains descriptions of abuse)
The Galactic Empire can’t find Obi-Wan. I’ll never vote for them again.
Patrick Freyne of The Irish Times reviews Obi-Wan: A bunch of baddies arrive on Tatooine looking for Jedis. They’re led by an officious alien named The Grand Inquisitor. He’s “grand” in the UK sense, not the Irish sense (ie, “How’s his inquisiting?” “It’s grand.”)
Kuchen?
Irish and German people offering each other things.
Never have Ask and Guess culture been so clearly shown as in this delightful 37-second Twitter video.
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Misirlou played on homemade instruments with great enthusiasm by French band Les Fo'Plafonds (slyt).
My students cheated... A lot
"Last semester I witnessed the worst cheating in a course I’ve ever seen. And, I’ve seen stuff.
Since this whole thing happened I’ve told the story a bunch of times, and sometimes I get requests to tell it. This is also a story for my future students about what not to do. I’m not interested in outing my students, or casting shade on them. So, this is a story about cheating, but also about how I tried to turn things around and get students to engage in my course.
It started in August 2021." (Length: long, 10k words)
It started in August 2021." (Length: long, 10k words)
to bear witness, as long as breath is in him
"It is said that his time was easier than ours, but I doubt it - no time can be easy if one is living through it. I think it is simply that he walked his streets and saw them, and tried not to lie about what he saw: his public streets and his private streets, which are always so mysteriously and inexorably connected; but he trusted that connection." - Why I Stopped Hating Shakespeare, by James Baldwin.
Ukraine war, month three, tides are turning
The war continues.
The illegal and criminal Russian invasion of Ukraine nears the third month of fighting. It's not going super well for them, with minimal gains in the east and significant withdrawals around Karkhiv, towards the Russian border. Ukraine counterattacks are expected to continue.
The USA and many other countries continues to give billions in support and weapons.
But Ukraine has suffered intensely as well, losing irreplaceable people and devestating economic blows.
'No, the real explanation was more simple: our songs were bad.'
In last night's Eurovision Song Contest [Fanfare], the UK came second with the entry sung by Sam Ryder. Previous to this, the most recent UK finishing positions were 26th, 26th, 24th, 15th, 24th, 24th, coming last five times since 2005. BBC: How Sam Ryder turned things around for the UK. Andover Advertiser: "The new strategy included ensuring Ryder’s single, Space Man, got played on BBC Radio 1 instead of Radio 2, and targeting smaller countries such as San Marino, Serbia, Croatia and Malta, which have the same voting powers as larger countries such as Germany."
> a building that looks like Holly Herndon
Infinite Images and the latent camera
Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst talk about their experiences with DALL-E (versions 1 and 2) and their thoughts on a future where anyone can make conceptual art from a few words.
Holly and AI previously and previouslier.
One word: enzymatics!
Scientists Discover Method to Break Down Plastic in Days, Not Centuries
- "Scientists modified an enzyme that can break down plastic in one week to create fresh material for new products."[1,2,3]
None of us knows what truth is, so I touch it only with a pair of pliers
Werner Herzog Has Never Liked Introspection.
During the pandemic, the legendary director completed two films and wrote two books. The first is "[p]art adventure narrative, part memoir, and part unclassifiable lyric, “The Twilight World” tells the story of Hiroo Onoda, an actual Japanese soldier who manned his post on the island of Lubang, in the Philippines, for three decades after the Second World War had ended, having convinced himself that it had not", and the second about himself, describing it as "some sort of memoir, but not in terms of an autobiography. Only part of it is about my life. It’s really about the origins of ideas."
We are fed pabulum laced with little hits of instant gratification
Composer and musician Gabriel Kahane's essay, In Defense of Friction is a thought-provoking manifesto that advocates getting rid of your smartphone. Only the first third is about music. (previously)