November 7, 2015
On the instant when we come to realize that tragedy is second-hand
A white pseudo-aristocracy maintains genteel airs and graces amid crumbling towns and black rural poverty reminiscent of Haiti. It’s all stirred up with whiskey, denial and fire-breathing religion.
The Delta is arguably the most racist, or racially obsessed, place in America, and yet you see more ease and conviviality between blacks and whites than in the rest of America.
After nearly three years here, it still feels like we’re scratching the surface.
The Delta is arguably the most racist, or racially obsessed, place in America, and yet you see more ease and conviviality between blacks and whites than in the rest of America.
After nearly three years here, it still feels like we’re scratching the surface.
‘I’m Playing for the One Percent Who Do Like it’
Wildlife of Los Santos
Onto the Land (yt) - the latest in a series of Grand Theft Auto V nature documentaries in the style of David Attenborough.
Rent control has strange side effects
Life in a Studio Apartment with my Wife and Two Sons - Between July 2011 and August 2015 I lived in a ~400sqft studio apartment in San Francisco. I moved in a bachelor but by the time I moved out, I was one member of a four person family. Here are some things I learned along the way. (via)
"I couldn’t have followed that lead even if I had wanted to."
Confessions of a Paywall Journalist
:
Policy journalism in Washington is thriving. It’s just not being written for you, and you’re probably never going to read it.[more inside]
Decision Election 2016 All-Star Clusterfuck
Bernie Sanders (comedian James Adomian) joins Dr. Ben Carson (Jerry Minor), Lincoln Chafee (Seth Morris, previously), Hillary Clinton (Heather Campbell), and others for Decision Election 2016 All-Star Clusterfuck, a bi-partisan debate, live at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. [SLYT, NSFW]
OkonomiYumi!
“If something is going to happen to me, I want to be there.”
"For 438 days, he lived on the edge of sanity."
Lost at sea: the man who vanished for 14 months by Jonathan Franklin. Salvador Alvarenga is a fisherman who fishes off the Pacific coast of Mexico. In November 2012 his boat was carried out into the Pacific by a storm. He survived until he drifted ashore in the Marshall Islands, over ten thousand kilometers from where he'd left shore.
The "Science" Behind the Plague Doctor Costume
One of the most distinctive masks worn during the Carnival of Venice is “Il Medico della Peste,” or “The Plague Doctor.” But the distinctive bone-white mask and black clothing was actually the 17th century equivalent of a biocontainment suit. Albeit one based on very shaky science.
The year of 1915 was a banner year for mailing children.
On January 27, 1913 Mr. & Mrs. J.W. Savis of Pine Hollow, PA entrusted their daughter to rural carrier James Byerly out of Sharpsville, PA. He delivered her safely that afternoon to relatives in Clay Hollow. It cost 45 cents to send their daughter. For the first few years of the U.S. Parcel Post it was legal to mail children, as long as they were under 50 pounds. [SLPDF]
The mail chutes of New York City
New York City's mail chutes are lovely, ingenious and almost entirely ignored. But what happens if mail gets stuck?
This American death
Adnan Syed’s case is being reopened. NPR's Serial Podcast, formerly discussed abouts these parts, seems to have finally precipitated the state of Maryland to allow a new examination of the case, considering new evidence stemming from the podcast series and following events. The Guardian's post-podcast rundown.
Pastor Dick comes to you
Over 30 years of Over The Edge radio episodes have been made available on archive.org. Starting in 1981, Over the Edge ran weekly on KPFA until the death of host (and Negativland contributor) Don Joyce. Stream-of-consciousness audio collages punctuated topical themes that would extend over many episodes. [more inside]
“It’s clearly possible and highly probable..”
Chile admits Pablo Neruda might have been murdered by Pinochet regime. [The Guardian]
The interior ministry released a statement on Thursday amid press reports that Neruda might not have died of cancer as previously believed. The statement acknowledged a ministry document dated March of this year, which was published by the newspaper El Pais in Spain. “It’s clearly possible and highly probable that a third party” was responsible for Neruda’s death, the document said.[more inside]
Fully articulated masterpieces
If the Venus de Milo had arms, if David had his groove on, if the Thinker took some action - Figma's Table Museum series addresses in plastic the possibilities.
MAKE IT PERMANENT.
You send us your most ephemeral and worthless communications, and we'll carefully transcribe them into the most long-lasting medium known to man - a clay tablet. It's Dumb Cuneiform.
The word algorithm derives from his name.
The word algebra stems from the Arabic word al-jabr, which has its roots in the title of a 9th century manuscript written by the mathematician Al-Khwarizmi. The Kitab al-mukhtasar fi hisab al-jabr wal-muqabala (The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing) was a pioneering piece of work - offering practical answers for land distribution, rules on inheritance and distributing salaries. This treatise also underpins the science of flight and the engineering behind the fastest car in the world. via
Cyanide and Randomness
Cyanide and Happiness is one of the most successful webcomics, combining very simple 'semi stickperson' characters with very simple gags, sometimes silly, more often gleefully offensive. Of the more than 3000 strips in its history, hundreds are three-panel interactions between 'Mr. Blue' and 'Mr. Green'. From those, they have now made a Random Comic Generator, which creates comics that sometimes make more sense than the originals. [more inside]
'The choice for governor couldn't be more clear.'
The gloves are coming off in the race for the Louisiana governorship, as a new attack ad from Democrat John Bel Edwards states that Republican rival David Vitter 'chose prostitutes over patriots'. [more inside]
« Previous day | Next day »