June 20, 2023
The American Boy
Letters exchanged with Mary Renault are the start of an essay looking back on Renault's writing and her 'American boy', Daniel Mendelsohn who traces thoughtfully and tenderly what the gay relationships in her books meant to him as a reader, writer and friend by correspondence.
4:50 of Pure Joy
Ellen Alaverdyan is a 10 years old bass player from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Started playing the bass in April 2020.
Ellen playing Tom Sawyer
Ellen's Ten Favorite Bass Lines
(She really shines at about 9:02, "Give Up the Funk")
Ellen playing Tom Sawyer
Ellen's Ten Favorite Bass Lines
(She really shines at about 9:02, "Give Up the Funk")
Climate Change on Trial
The first constitutional climate trial in US history came to a close today. A ruling in Held v. Montana is not expected for several weeks as the judge considers the arguments. Montana's case was brought in part because the state constitution guarantees "the right to a clean and healthful environment." [more inside]
"You're on your own, kid. You always have been."
To be a piper you must have a natural attraction to drones
From Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul's latest album, Carry Them With Us, the video for the single Tha Fonn Gun Bhi Trom | I Am Disposed of Mirth features some entrancing music, a collaboration with saxophonist and composer Colin Stetson (who also co-produces the album), and the truly stunning landscapes of the Isle of Skye's Cuillin Hills. [more inside]
Gear Patrol to acquire DPReview
The unhappy news that Amazon would be shutting down the digital-photography website DPReview can be replaced with the happy news that Gear Patrol has acquired it. It looks like DPReview will continue intact.
CDs are cool again. Here’s how to rip them
‘You can’t listen to CDs on your digital devices unless you rip them first. In ancient times—back in 2001—people knew how to do this, but much that should have been remembered has been forgotten.’
👏 OVER 3 MINUTES OF THE MOST INTENSE FILM EDITING YOU'VE EVER SEEN 👏
"It was perfect!"
Simone Giertz visits Mohammad Waheed, a syrian toymaker, for the UNHCR series "We Were Here". [more inside]
squid light
The Mystery of the Largest Light in the Sea "A quarter-mile below the ocean’s surface, in the borderless realm of the midwater, two blue-green orbs illuminate the inky black. They glow for a few seconds then disappear. When they return, it’s for the same duration. The same disappearance. It’s a signal, a message, the morse code of an ancient language of light.
Friend or foe? Rival or mate? I am here, I am this."
A Single, Striking Image
Each stripe represents the average temperature for a single year, relative to the average temperature over the period as a whole. Shades of blue indicate cooler-than-average years, while red shows years that were hotter than average. The stark band of deep red stripes on the right-hand side of the graphic show the rapid heating of our planet in recent decades. Also: Biodiversity Stripes
Are you ready for some football?
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup kicks off in 30 days. Predict the winner at The Telegraph. [more inside]
I Got My Ass Kicked By America’s Dirtiest Bike Race
Unbound is a 200-mile race on the dirt and gravel roads around the Flint Hills of Kansas, and is notorious for its extremely challenging course and weather conditions. Unbound is now the most prestigious bike race in America. It's the crown jewel of gravel racing, a sub-discipline of cycling that prides itself on being far more independent and inclusive than Euro-style road racing. If the modern pro peloton is so high-tech and ready for the limelight that it's got its own Drive to Survive-style docuseries on the way, gravel racing like Unbound is closer to the Tour's early days: Here's the course, you figure it out, see you at the finish line. (archive.today link)
Keep Hope Alive
Happy Pride Month! Joy Oladokun [Wikipedia] makes "positively powerful" country pop [Gay Times UK]. Her new album Proof Of Life [YT playlist] is also being recognized in folk music circles [Joy Oladokun Emerges With a Defiant Hopefulness, Folk Alley]. CBS Mornings has an interview with and primer about Joy and her music. [8m40s, Facebook] Joy sat with Adia Victoria to discuss influential black woman musicians and to perform a song. [7m45s, Newport Festivals] [more inside]
Aging with Autism
An article on older autistic people:
"Seniors across the country deal with numerous physical and mental health conditions every day that have been heavily studied, but there is not nearly as much research on the experience of those who are on the spectrum. Better understanding what autism looks like in seniors and how it may impact their lives can help make a difference for both them and their families." [more inside]
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