August 22
bent-line carpet moth, black witch moth, blackberry looper moth
These days, he sets a light by his garage and photographs whatever moths show up, as many as seventy species and thousands of individuals in a single night. He’s now counted 550 species at his own home. [more inside]
renaming
When we look at the Northeast, we see familiar places: New York, Philadelphia, Syracuse, Rome, Lancaster, York. All of these names are imports: New York designated the dominion given to the Duke of York, others recalled the powerful ruling families of England, or were echoes of the classical world. Yet beneath these names sites an older and very different cultural landscape. Some Indigenous place names survive: Oneonta, Chittenango, Canandaigua. But much more of this landscape and its names have been reinscribed. [zooniverse] [more inside]
Dog walker bluff charged by pack of territorial emus
Dog walker bluff charged by pack of territorial emus in startling confrontation.
Ruby Buchanan was getting ready to take her dogs for a walk when she and a friend were "fully charged" by four emus outside Broken Hill. A ranger says the large flightless birds can attack around June as chicks mature. It is worth noting that emus will often do bluff, no-physical-contact charges as a first warning, and potentially escalate to physical contact if their bluff charges are ignored.
Raw material
Exactly how fully this event defines either book is something that the authors at times fiercely dispute — an argument that will seem sometimes to be about writing, sometimes about the contested debris of past relationships. But let’s use a term that both books employ in different contexts: the “inciting incident.” At the very least, these two books share the same inciting incident. And often much more than that. from Four Friends, Two Marriages, One Affair — and a Shelf of Books Dissecting It [Vulture; ungated]
August 21
In the NT, pet crocodiles have become an election issue
In the Northern Territory, owning a pet crocodile has become an election issue.
The NT government will no longer grant new permits to own a pet crocodile, leaving some feeling devastated and the NT opposition saying it would review the new rules. [more inside]
No facts have been checked
pause
“Computational models have proposed that exposure to multiple experiences would lead to a ‘catastrophic interference’ between the brain representations of new and older experiences, causing the individual to forget the latter,” Dragoi said. “That, of course, is not how daily life works.” [yale/nature]
Doge coin
Crypto did not invent the corporate political influence strategy of rewarding candidates who agree to do an industry’s bidding while threatening those who resist corporate power. But no industry has ever before has so wholeheartedly embraced raising as much directly from corporations and openly using that political war chest as a looming threat (or reward) to discipline lawmakers toward adopting an industry’s preferred policies. from Big Crypto, Big Spending: Crypto Corporations Spend an Unprecedented $119 Million Influencing Elections [Public Citizen] [more inside]
How to Build a 50,000 Ton Forging Press
In the 1950s, the U.S. Department of Defense undertook the Heavy Press Program, funding the construction of ten colossal forging and extrusion presses, powerful enough to create entire aircraft components as single pieces of metal, replacing hundreds of smaller parts. Not only did the large parts produced by the presses greatly reduce the cost and increase the performance of military aircraft, the presses also proved useful for making parts for things like helicopters, submarines, spacecraft, and commercial jets. Six of the ten presses are still operational today. [more inside]
Banksy antics
You may have heard about Banksy works appearing in London this month. The series of whimsical depictions of animals included a mountain goat, a pair of elephants, swinging monkeys, a howling wolf, pelicans, piranhas, a rhino, and a gorilla. (Image Gallery at The Guardian) [more inside]
The Lesbian Bar Project
Filmmakers Elina Street and Erica Rose have made it their mission to document last lesbian bars in the US. The LBJ has been a short documentary film and most recently, a docuseries on Hulu. (There is also a new episode about about the FLINTA--Female, Lesbian Intersex, Non-binary, Trans, Agender--communities in Germany.) [more inside]
Einstein on the Bleach
“I had gone to install a dishwasher in a loft in SoHo. While working, I suddenly heard a noise and looked up to find Robert Hughes, the art critic of Time magazine, staring at me in disbelief. ‘But you’re Philip Glass! What are you doing here?’ It was obvious that I was installing his dishwasher and I told him I would soon be finished. ‘But you are an artist,’ he protested. I explained that I was an artist but that I was sometimes a plumber as well and that he should go away and let me finish.” from The Blue Collar Jobs of Philip Glass by Ted Gioia [more inside]
August 20
Bats in Churches
The Bats in Churches project in the UK has a YouTube channel. This video (57.16, subtitles, transcript) is a good introduction to the project, talking about ecology and heritage, and with a case study of a church in Cambridgeshire. Other videos include a short case study of a church in Bedfordshire (3.53, subtitles, transcript); Understanding Bats through their DNA (48.28, transcript); Church Wall Paintings (58.02, subtitles, transcript); Bats in Sacred Spaces internationally (1:12:19, transcript); and an interview with Peter Ross, who wrote Steeple Chasing: Around Britain By Church (58.19, transcript). The Guardian wrote about Bats in Churches in 2023. [more inside]
US Response to Gaza
US officials say Gaza deal on edge of collapse. Reportedly Donald Trump is advising Netanyahu to avoid a ceasefire, fearing that it would help Kamala Harris' election chances; if true, this would also violate the Logan Act. The DNC held the first-ever panel on Palestinian human rights. Multiple pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested after clashing with police during a protest that started in front of the Israeli consulate and on the second night of the DNC. Uncommitted movement delegates are asking delegates pledged to Harris to sign on to a Ceasefire Delegate letter, and so far have netted 240 delegates. The current Democratic party platform features an extensive section on US support for Israel, and does not mention support for an arms embargo or permanent ceasefire. The University of California is imposing encampment and mask bans on campus. [more inside]
School students @ excursion discover creature most people will never see
School students on excursion discover creature most people will never see in their life. A primary school excursion to a coastal estuary in New South Wales generates unexpected excitement after students discover a marine creature rarely seen above ground.
Go to sleep with Daniel and his audio-only adventures
The pioneer of the audio Lets Play (Lets Plays being a documented journey, originally via screenshots and now, mostly, via video of an experience playing a video game), Daniel K, "a multi-disciplinary artist, teacher and former swimming pool maintenance guy now living in Midland, Western Australia," is recording a an audio Lets Play of 2013's Digimon Adventure for his son to use as his bedtime listening. It is sweet, comforting, emotional, and incredible personal. [more inside]
“Nicole Shanahan isn’t even pretending to be a serious VP candidate.”
Hint: short words first
The Thin Purple Line
Where do ibis actually live?
Where do Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) actually live? Where do bin chickens go when they leave the bin? It turns out, pretty far away! This is a 5 minute video from the Australian documentary series, The Secret Lives Of Our Urban Birds. [more inside]
Doc Brown without the DeLorean
Even Lee’s washing machine collection began with his wife. As he often tells the story, the couple bought an RV when Lee retired in 1985, and they planned a road trip from Colorado to Maine. Somewhere in Iowa, they stopped at a farmer’s estate sale. There, among the implements and tools, Lee spied a 1907 Maytag Model 44. He loved the machine’s beauty and the mechanics of it. Over time, he began to love the idea that these machines changed women’s roles at home. Barbara didn’t object when Lee paid $100 for the contraption and loaded it into their ride. She didn’t complain much, either, when he kept stopping and buying up antique washers. “We bought 12 more all the way to Maine,” Lee says. “We came home with a mobile home and a new trailer filled with washing machines.” from The Charming, Eccentric, Blessed Life of Lee Maxwell [5280]
August 19
Sing, goddess
2024 Bulwer-Lytton winners announced
The contest to write the worst opening lines to non-existent novels have been announced. The grand prize winner is Lawrence Person of Austin, TX: "She had a body that reached out and slapped my face like a five-pound ham-hock tossed from a speeding truck."
I don't know drugs, I know soda and cider
Just in case you missed this absolute bop during this year's Eurovision, 5MIINUST, Puuluup - (nendest) narkootikumidest ei tea me (küll) midagi. [more inside]
Minuscule timing (6)
Maybe you're the sort of person who likes to start the day with the New York Times Mini Crossword, but perhaps you're looking for a new sort of challenge. Minute Cryptic is a new website that features one UK-style cryptic crossword clue to solve each day, with hints available. New to cryptic crosswords? Here's an explainer video from the New Yorker that covers the way they work, with plenty of examples. It takes a while to get used to them, but it's incredibly satisfying to find yourself learning to speak their wordplay language over time.
Magpies are even smarter than you think
Magpies are even smarter than you think. (5 minute video from the Australian documentary series, The Secret Lives Of Our Urban Birds). This is about the Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen from the family Artamidae, which is not related to the European magpie, which is from the family Corvidae - basically when British people invaded Australia, they went "that bird is black and white, which reminds us of black and white birds back in England, so let's call it a magpie!"
Canadian couple takes their family to someplace they will truly be free?
Mashup Monday - Fleetwood Roan
Dreams x Good Luck, Babe [SLTikTok]
Got any grapes?
The Duck Song (YouTube). The version with the most views, 636 million so far, was originally posted to YouTube on March 23, 2009. The official site, The Duck Song Trilogy, has more info about the song by Bryant Oden (YouTube channel) and animated by Forrest Whaley (YouTube channel). If you want more backstory about this enduring meme (like my pre-teen child said "got any grapes?" in front of a younger friend, who immediately started singing it) you can read this Q&A with Bryant Oden from 2015. (And here's a version of the joke that I think inspired the song.) Both KnowYourMeme and Dictionary.com have entries about it, and here's a positive critical review from earlier this year in Hillsdale College’s Collegian, written in response to the release of "The Duck Song 4".
museums trying to redress the cumulative historical effects of harm
Reviving Roots: Clyfford Still Museum and the Colville Confederated Tribes Partner for the Future Building partnerships with groups historically excluded from museum spaces is often problematic because of institutionalized power structures, traditions of harm, and systemic barriers. So how can museums—historically extractive by design—shift their practices to empower these groups through restorative action? That’s the question that has guided the Clyfford Still Museum (CSM) in Denver as it has worked alongside representatives from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State to bridge regional and cultural divides, using the Museum’s collections as the starting point to build community, foster authentic connections, and open reciprocal pathways for communication. [more inside]
Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88
Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88 Phil Donahue, Pioneering Talk Show Host, Dies at 88
Kasia Niewiadoma wins the Tour de France Femmes in a nail-biter
With the narrowest margin of victory ever in the Tour de France (men's or women's)—four seconds—Kasia Niewiadoma, who has finished in third twice before—edged out Demi Vollering for the win. [more inside]
Katsu Curry Ouroboros
The Katsuification of Britain Tim Anderson writes for Vittles Magazine about the phenomenon of katsuification—the process under which everything in Britain has become katsu curry—and how this can be explained by the cyclical history of the dish.
Dressing your home for comfort and style
The Material: How can the use of textiles support sustainable coolth and warmth throughout the year?
Traditional Polish house clothes in The Clothed Home by Aleksandra Kędziorek from E-Flux After Comfort. [more inside]
“We started this team because we were heartbroken"
Perhaps the most important work, however, is endearing yourself to the community you want to uplift. In a market like Oakland in 2024, this is especially critical. You have to convince customers you’re not carpetbaggers, that your team isn’t some kind of grift. Paul and Bryan took to the work with zeal. from How to Start a Professional Sports Team, Win Games, and Save the Town [The Ringer] [more inside]
The Sixth Sense of the MeFite ... and it's your Free Thread
Have you ever had an inexplicable incident or encounter? Seemed to read someone's mind? Moved items remotely? Experienced Second Sight? Seen, or felt, a ghost or other unexplained presence? Predicted or foretold a very unlikely, but ultimately correct, event? Something else happened to you which was much more than a coincidence? ... Or write about whatever is on your mind, in your heart, on your plate or in your journal, because this is your weekly free thread. [lastliest]
August 18
“A New Century Dawns! McKinley Ushers in Bold New ‘Coal Age’.
The Onion has put the entirety of its classic book Our Dumb Century online as part of its website redesign. For the unfamiliar, Our Dumb Century was a collection of fake Onion front pages from the 20th Century, with headlines such as “World’s Largest Metaphor Hits Iceberg”, “Feds Gun Down Nixon Outside Arizona Motel”, “Drugs Win Drug War”, and, of course, “WA- (headline continued on page 2)”.
"This song is one of the few hit singles in the key of M"
Conservation detection dog Oakley having a ball patrolling Lake BG
Conservation detection dog Oakley having a ball patrolling Lake Burley Griffin for invasive weed. Oakley, the six-year-old border collie, is a conservation detection dog who sniffs out noxious alligator weed in Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin.
Why We Don't Have Good Civil War Movies (Or Art)
In both social media and his column (archive link), New York Times columnist and pundit Jamelle Bouie discusses the lack of Civil War movies that honestly grapple with the conflict and slavery as its driving force, and how the Lost Cause movement is to blame. [more inside]
There is a gendered side for buttons on clothing
A transgender woman examines “the trans episode” of the Nikolodeon live action show Danger Force. [more inside]
“Rachael Gunn to the dance floor please!”
This was supposed to be a competition where precision, rhythm and cultural resonance are key. Gunn’s claim to creativity rings hollow because it was a desperate attempt to reframe her performance, to shift the narrative from cringe-worthy failure to uniqueness. In doing so, she not only disrespected breakdancing, but revealed her disconnect from the very culture she was trying—and failing—to represent. from The Privilege To Fail: How Rachael ‘Raygun’ Gunn’s Olympic Routine Made Breakdancing A Global Joke [more inside]
"one half of the resident power couple"
She’s the Oldest Common Loon in the World. She Just Had Her 42nd Chick. A bit more history about her and her previous longtime mate from Audubon.
"I know where it ends."
"In the heart of the country, Great Plains farmers and ranchers produce a quarter of all U.S. crops and 40 percent of our beef. But they rely on a resource that has been slowly drying up, water."
'Depletion of major groundwater source threatens Great Plains farming' Jun 24, 2024. (PBS video/audio.) [more inside]
“Pourquoi, Jef?” “On m’a payé pour ca.”
"The whole world is watching."
Encounters with the Maverick Archaeologist of the Americas
Hakai Magazine: Then in 1976, a 27-year-old American anthropological archaeologist named Tom Dillehay uncovered the campsite, now called Monte Verde, and found that the small group had made it nearly to the bottom of South America 14,500 years ago. This was 1,500 years too early: established archaeologists thought people didn’t even arrive in North America, up in Alaska, until around 13,000 years ago. The discrepancy seriously undermined the leading theory, and moreover came from a young Dillehay who hadn’t yet finished his doctorate. What followed was decades of academic warfare, sometimes nasty, which made Dillehay famous and in which he turned out to be right.
Substitution isn’t always a bad thing
Run-of-the-mill drunk in a dive bar. I was one once. I’d wake up determined to have just two or three drinks, then have many, many more than two or three. As with playing Scrabble, doing otherwise felt impossible. In Alcoholics Anonymous, we’re told that it’s common to substitute one addiction for another. Surely, I tell myself, this new unmanageability is preferable to the old one. It’s possible I’m right. It’s also possible I’m wrong. from Scrabble, Anonymous by Brad Phillips [The Paris Review; ungated] [more inside]
August 17
Seeing the incredibly rare orange-bellied parrot
Seeing the incredibly rare orange-bellied parrot. Nature journalist Dr Ann Jones and BirdLife's Sean Dooley find one of Australia's rarest bids on the edge of Melbourne - the orange-bellied parrot.
This is a 7 minute video from the Australian documentary series, The Secret Lives Of Our Urban Birds.
Almost stealing a Gutenberg Bible wasn’t even his greatest trick
Dr Infinity could blow his own bugle, kiss his clarinet, and honk his own horn. In short, he could blow himself. Who was Dr Infinity? Where did he come from, and where did he go? What kind of person would do this? And why? … He took this self fellatio very seriously, like a lifestyle choice. He had a whole theory about infinity and recycling the life force, and how if men did this, it would make them better people. from Who was Dr Infinity? The Curious Story of Adult Film’s First Autofellator [The Rialto Report; NSFW] [ETA: Content Warning, child sexual abuse]
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