June 9, 2019
"It works for people but it doesn't necessarily work as a business"
After laying off a quarter of its staff this May, Maker Media -- founder of the San Mateo Maker Faire and Make Magazine -- has ceased operations and laid off remaining staff. [more inside]
A Brutal Inheritance
"His DNA solved a century-old jailhouse rape. The victim: his grandmother." (SLBNP)
L.A. County is home to at least 680 doughnut shops
The doughnut culture of Southern California.
We Are Live!
Bloomin' ladybirds!
National Weather Service meteorologists noticed something puzzling on their radar screens in Southern California last Tuesday evening — a big green blob, spanning 80 miles by 80 miles (130 km by 130 km) (Reuters), with the most concentrated mass about 10 miles (16 km) wide (Sacramento Bee). It was a clear day with no expectations of rain or thunderstorms, so the meteorologists called a weather spotter in Wrightwood, Calif., near the blob's location in San Bernardino County. The spotter told them the mysterious cloud was actually a giant swarm of ladybugs (NPR), also known as a ladybug bloom (NWS San Diego tweet).
"We are writing to express our grave concern..."
A million people in the streets: Organisers say that one million people took to the streets to protest the controversial Hong Kong proposed extradition law. If those figures are correct, it represents 1 in 7 Hong Kong residents. [more inside]
HOLY SHIT WHAT A TRILOGY
ONE
My dad died. Classic start to a funny story. He was buried in a small village in Sussex. I was really close to my dad so I visited his grave a lot. I still do. [DON’T WORRY, IT GETS FUNNIER.] (Twitter | Threadreader)[more inside]
“If gold rusts, what then can iron do?”
Long Read: Digging to the Mining Arc.
In this journey, we talked to miners, companies, academics, indigenous, politicians and activists and gathered exclusive material on Latin America’s most underreported natural resources conflict.
Venezuela’s gold fever fuels gangs and insecurity: 'There will be anarchy'.
In this journey, we talked to miners, companies, academics, indigenous, politicians and activists and gathered exclusive material on Latin America’s most underreported natural resources conflict.
Venezuela’s gold fever fuels gangs and insecurity: 'There will be anarchy'.
A sausage-fest. (no, really, actual sausage)
Studio 188 makes trailers. Low-budget trailers. They often involve creative uses of food. Terminator 2. The Fifth Element. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Pirates of the Caribbean. The Matrix. Avengers: Endgame. And there's more! [more inside]
The ultra-rich have no redeeming social value.
“Working- and middle-class people have a vested interest in infrastructure investment. They depend on good public roads, schools, and parks. Wealthy people don’t. If public services frazzle, they can opt out to private alternatives. And the more wealth concentrates, the more our political leaders tilt the wealthy’s way. The wealthy do not like paying for public services they don’t use. Political leaders don’t make them. They cut taxes and deny public services the funds they need to thrive.” The World Would Be a Better Place Without the Rich (Jacobin) [more inside]
The point of black triangles
“We’ve got ten months to deliver two games to Sony, and they are cheering over a black triangle? THAT took them nearly a month to develop?” If it may not look like much to the casual observer, but you know how important it is - it might be a black triangle. Games developer Jay Barnson on the project breakthroughs that don't give you much to show off. [more inside]
Technology, Law and Political Economy for Humans
How China Is Planning to Rank 1.3 Billion People - "Yet educated, urban Chinese take a positive view, seeing social credit systems as a means to promote honesty in society and the economy rather than a privacy violation, according to a poll by Mercator Institute for China Studies."[1] [more inside]
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