February 3, 2020
“Yeah, you could have motorcycles.”
The impossible task of reconciling internat'l tourism and climate change
52 Places to Go in 2020 is the latest New York Times international travel guide, and this year's unspoken theme is "responsible tourism." Read the piece [...] and you might conclude the entire planet has morphed into one giant, eco-friendly playground, with new nonstop service to Ulaanbaatar and Lima making access easier than ever. It’s all bullshit, of course. A 2018 study (abstract; PDF) published in the journal Nature Climate Change announced tourism alone—that’s nonessential pleasure travel—is responsible for 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. The traveling public is freaking out. It knows about flight shaming (Guardian); it loves Greta Thunberg [....] But it still wants to sit on a beach in Aruba. Why Tourism Should Die—and Why It Won’t (New Republic) [more inside]
Now you have [1-9]{1,9} problems.
Cards Against Humanity Bought Clickhole
Privatizing the United States Army Was a Mistake
"It all sounded so attractive, from both a financial and emotional point of view. Instead of feeling responsible for veterans, we could now outsource our guilt. We could finally have it all."
Nixon Broke the Senate Gavel
That weird, handle-less ivory gavel John Roberts has been banging is a replacement for the original 1784 Senate gavel. Nixon broke the original. [more inside]
"It's not yucky!"
PawsOfOz is a NW Arkansas rescue organization. In 2018, the owners adopted Marcelo, a young boy who was terrified of dogs. Fortunately for everyone, Mini the senior Chihuahua stepped up to welcome Marcelo to the family.
"I am one of a kind," she said. "Ah, but what kind?"
Catherine Burns: The Vanishing of an Oscar-Nominated Actress [Scott Feinberg and Scott Johnson, The Hollywood Reporter]
Burns was actually the oldest of the film's four stars, and her acclaim was all the more unexpected because she possessed, in her own words and others' lacerating estimation, "a funny face." Five-foot-1 and freckled, she was not Hollywood's idea of a starlet. Dick Kleiner, a syndicated columnist, wrote, "Twenty years ago, they wouldn't have let her inside a studio gate." Kleiner noted that she had a face "like an intelligent marshmallow," while The New York Times' Vincent Canby said her body was "shaped like a fat mushroom." But even those who used such cruel and sexist language couldn't help but admire her acting. Ebert's future partner Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune urged people to remember "the homeliest" of Last Summer's stars come Oscar time, and the photo accompanying his article read, "Cathy Burns: Not prettiest … but the most talented."[more inside]
All over the world it's the same, it's the same.
Divorce, Iran Style - Iran Family Court Rooms This link is to a YouTube video of a seventy-five minute documentary inside an Iranian family courthouse.
The Bowl Bowl
In an arbitrary battle of bowls, Mediterranean chain Cava wins the ring... but not everyone is impressed:
"If Cava elicits any emotion from customers, it’s deep, unsettling ennui. ... Cava is only a place to be alone with your choices, namely the weird flavor combo you decided to overload in your bowl. ... a meal at Cava is like an allegory about the dangers of too much choice, overabundance, flavor without context or consideration." [more inside]
...as if you’re seeing a kaleidoscope in black and white
Twenty five years ago this month A Guy Called Gerald released his fourth album, Black Secret Technology. The last Jungle album. Or the first DNB album. You choose. [more inside]
" they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, `But who has won?'"
Today, Iowa, the first state in the 2020 US Presidential Primary, will determine its delegates to the primary conventions. With the Republicans uniting around Trump, the Democratic challenger is yet to be determined... [more inside]
“I miss Maroon 5,” said literally nobody.
ICYMI, Here's Shakira And J. Lo's Super Bowl Halftime Show [YouTube][Full Performance 14:24] “For twelve minutes in Miami on Sunday night, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira made history as the first Latinas to lead a Super Bowl half-time performance. Lopez honored her heritage by wearing a feathered cape that showed the U.S. flag on one side and the Puerto Rican flag on the other. She opened the cape up to show the Puerto Rico side as her daughter Emme Muñiz and a children’s choir joined her for the opening notes of Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” An hour after Demi Lovato delivered a flawless rendition of the national anthem, Lopez’s performance was an unmissable combination, particularly on a night when Donald Trump and Mike Bloomberg had also aired campaign ads. The special guests included J Balvin and Bad Bunny, two Latin American superstars who had a breakthrough in the U.S. in 2019.” [via: Vanity Fair]
BoJack Horseman and Ibsen
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