October 27, 2023
Tiraz - thread by thread for Palestine
Palestinian embroidery project with adaptations to cross stitch, and a profile of Widad Kawar, the Palestinian art historian who founded it and documented a cultural treasure, more glimpses of the beauty here. Why do textiles matter to Palestinians? Rebellious robes and stitches from the civil war: the radical story of Palestinian embroidery .
P a s t a
A very long article in the Atlantic: An inquiry into a few fundamental questions: How did spaghetti and meatballs, a dish no Italian recognizes, become so popular here? What makes some brands of pasta much better than others? What’s so special about fresh pasta? What do Italians know about cooking pasta that Americans don’t? (archive)
Humpback whales on Australia's east coast go from 150 whales to 40,000
From 150 whales to 40,000 whales, humpbacks on Australia's east coast make miraculous recovery. Experts believe the humpback whale population has reached record heights, after commercial whaling from the late 1800s to the 1960s pushed the animals to the brink of extinction.
Apropos of nothing at all.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Neither indigenous nor Canadian?
The CBC has revealed that Buffy Sainte-Marie, prominent 70s era American-Canadian singer-songwriter, and recipient of the Order of Canada, was actually born in the US, was never adopted, has European ancestry, and used legal intimidation to ensure her family stayed silent on her origins.
The revelations have divided the indigenous community has raised significant questions about the litmus test of indigeneity, the threshold for investigating such cases, and the value of authenticity when judging music.
We're gonna need a lot of butter
"Knowing what is missing is an important first step."
Zachary Turpin (Commonplace, 10/2023), "Have You Seen Me?: Missing Works of Nineteenth-Century American Literature": "To students new to the study of nineteenth-century American literature, it may seem that the field has been so thoroughly studied and catalogued that there can be very little left to discover about it. This could hardly be further from the truth." Partially inspired by Johanna Ortner (2015), "Lost No More: Recovering Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's Forest Leaves": "Having done my secondary source reading on her, I knew that Forest Leaves was deemed lost. Call it my naiveté as a young graduate student, but I figured I might as well type in the title in the society's catalogue."
it would appear our potholes are so bad that hell sprung a leak
nola_prepared is a satirical city emergency preparedness Instagram account for New Orleans Louisiana (although the official nolaready IG appreciates their different skill sets). Recommended posts: Hurricane season preparations include rescue gators; new hazard signs; a Hell vs NOLA comparison chart; flood warning; the dysfunction of Sewerage & Water Board; the toxic optimism of a happy New Orleanian as told by a marine iguana (do NOT click if you have a fear of snakes, like even a vague unease, unless you have some form of emotional support near you). No Instagram account? You should be able to see a few posts before they cut you off.
A point of Pride
First there was Pride Night. Then there was Pride Night controversy. Then there was cowardly surrender. Then there was a show of allyship. Now there is a partial Pride Night reversal.
On your custom Kawasaki with the stinger on the back
Today is release day for the Mountain Goats album “Jenny from Thebes.”* You know the band, or maybe you don’t, but anyway it’s the band that covered Ace of Base and Steely Dan and Trembling Blue Stars, the band that recorded that one song that will reduce you to rubble every time, the band that didn’t record that other song that will reduce you to rubble every time they play it live, the one with that great, great song on an episode of “Weeds” and the songs about Amy Winehouse, Chavo Guerrero, Frankie Lymon, and passing out on Liza Minelli's star. The band with the massive crowd favorite encore that happens to be a viral Tik Tok thing. [more inside]
You have 20 seconds to comply, old sport
Making Chat (ro)Bots: Boston Dynamics [previously] combines their robot dog Spot with ChatGPT, speech and image recognition, and some unsettlingly realistic vocal synthesis (plus googly eyes and a hat) to create the world's first fully autonomous, conversational robotic tour guide. [more inside]
In the Dark
Deeply Divided: What's Next for the BRPD? The final story of a five-part series about the Baton Rouge Police Department, published by the independent Verite News and Louisiana Illuminator and supported by the Pulitzer Center.
The Inky Depths #8: Southern Pygmy Leatherjacket
The Southern Pygmy Leatherjacket has a very compressed body, which is almost circular. The lower surface is made up of a large ventral flap (called a dewlap) which can be raised and lowered. The abdomen is also expandable by inflating. Like all the leatherjackets, the Southern Pygmy Leatherjacket lacks pelvic fins.
The colouration of the Southern Pygmy Leatherjacket is highly variable, ranging from a pale yellow-brown to dark green with small spots or ocelli. This variable colouration helps to camouflage the fish and often makes it very difficult to see. The colouration of this fish can change during courtship.
THEY CHANGE COLOR WHEN THEY FALL IN LOVE! [more inside]
SCHNAAAAABEL
"Bird Calls (1972, recorded in 1981) by Louise Lawler is a six-minute roll call in which the artist squawks, chirps, and warbles the names of twenty-eight of the leading artists of the time—not coincidentally, all men. Each name is subject to distortion and derision as it is transformed into an individual call. This powerful (and powerfully funny) piece, the artist’s only audio work, may seem anomalous in relation to the subtly acerbic photographs and ephemeral multiples for which she is now known... [more inside]
I could show you incredible things
This reading list collects pieces from the last decade that use Taylor Swift as a muse, a conduit, a springboard, or a punching bag in service of the authors’ own journeys. They demonstrate how, as Taylor’s Swiftdom grows, so too do the opportunities to use her as a lens through which we can project any number of issues—gender, race, identity, authenticity—and witness the prismatic results, a “kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats,” an easter egg waiting to be unwrapped. She’s a mirrorball, after all, reflecting every version of ourselves. from Imperial Eras: A Taylor Swift Studies Reading List
« Previous day | Next day »