July 25, 2019
Now try to dance to that!
Fresh out of the vaults (sort of): New Prince Video: Holly Rock, the original Prince version of a song given to Sheila E. for the Krush Groove soundtrack album, which is in and of itself a pretty rare item. [more inside]
Better than Pizza Rat
"Now there's someone in the band who knows how to run a business."
Learning to Appreciate Joel Schumacher's Batman
In which Patrick (H) Willems attempts to re-evaluate Joel Schumacher's Batman films (slyt) Do the colorful and campy Schumacher takes on Batman deserve a fresh look after two decades of grimmer and darker superheros? Willems attempts to makes the case for them.
A day in name-changing court
I walked into the Shelby County Probate Court because I wanted to affirm myself in an official capacity, to become closer to who I was. What I didn’t expect was for my name changing process to be such a unique shared experience with everyone else in that room. Other than newlyweds, there is no celebrated milestone or cultural script that leads you to believe you will ever find yourself in a courthouse signing away a name you’ve carried around for a couple of decades or more. But here we all were. We all named ourselves, and demanded to be recognized. We bore witness to each other.
50 Must-Read Fantasy Books by Women
Serious Programming Only
Comic Code is a monospaced font (suitable for programming) designed after a popular typeface that you may have heard of.
Can an indie bookseller save Barnes & Noble?
The slow-moving oppression of a sprawling government bureaucracy
How USDA distorted data to conceal decades of discrimination against black farmers: "Here, we present Nathan Rosenberg and Bryce Stucki’s two-year investigation into the ways agricultural census data were distorted to depict a fictional renaissance in black farming. This false narrative inflated USDA’s record on civil rights and further hurt black farmers—the very people the department claimed it had made historic efforts to help." [CW: racist language.]
#29Leaks
“But the most important stories that will gradually be yielded from these materials will concern the looting of public resources, which institutions across the West have continued to facilitate despite the incalculable damage that results to entire populations. In 2016 Bullough summarized the Yanukovych affair – and much else – as follows: “If it was difficult for a Brit to discover that a registered address at 29 Harley Street was meaningless, it was even harder for a Ukrainian… investigative journalists in Kiev could see that a piece of state-owned land in a forest outside the capital had been illegally privatised, but they did not know who by.” This London Firm Helps The Wealthy Hide Assets - Or Steal Them. Thankfully We Have 15 Years Of Their Client Communications
On the Need to Shape the Arab Exile Body in Berlin
The newcomers to Berlin were thrown under the weight of newfound political obligations to their countries of origin. Dislocating the Arab future from the grip of the political bankruptcy and moral morass in the Arab world might appear remote and relegated to the domain of quixotic dreams. But does it need to be that way? As communities are unsettled, resistances triggered, a chorus of voices fired up, waves of bodies set in motion for justice, and a range of emotions roused even when they no longer have an appetite, can the continued onslaught on reality not also reinvigorate political thought? [more inside]
"Your brain appears to be as primitive as your artistic skills."
On April 2, 2017 comics artist Branson Reese posted a 4-panel strip titled "The Person Who Discovered Sharks" to his Twitter feed. Several science-minded respondents immediately took to the replies to express their consternation at the strip's questionable description of shark skin as being "smooth" rather than rough—some of them quite vehemently and with receipts. The debate raged for days but the artist was tenacious and would not be swayed. And thanks to his courage and determination, it can now definitively be said that shark skin is indeed "smooth as hell."
Woodstock 99
Woodstock '99 Was a Violent Disaster That Predicted America's Future
The well-documented, pervasive misogyny of Woodstock '99 is more relevant to America in 2019 than the "free love" politics of its original iteration.
"The life of a repo man is always intense."
How to fund Christmas
Bob Geldof's African fund, 8 Miles, which invests exclusively in African startups, began setting up subsidiaries in Mauritius, a tax haven in the Indian Ocean that is roughly 6,000 miles from London. 8 Miles, it seems, was trying to avoid taxes that would have otherwise gone to the African governments and people the company aimed to help. Investigative reporting at Quartz breaks the scandal based on the recent "Mauritius leaks" treasure trove of documents received by the ICIJ
All-time temperature records tumble again as heatwave sears Europe
Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium have recorded all-time national temperature highs for the second day running and Paris has had its hottest day ever as the second dangerous heatwave of the summer sears western Europe.
The extreme temperatures follow a similar heatwave last month that made it the hottest June on record. Scientists say the climate crisis is making summer heatwaves five times more likely and significantly more intense. [more inside]
A celebration of blasphemy, with 17 kinds of poutine
Cabin Fever
Why not escape, for a moment, from Britain's sweltering heat and febrile politics into a shed of one’s own? Perhaps a tiki bar, an artist’s studio, an allotment shed made entirely out of old pallets, or a mobile space agency – all from the 2019 Shed of the Year shortlist! [more inside]
"How's it feel to be broken up with by the Overly Attached Girlfriend?"
Laina Morris, who became famous as the "Overly Attached Girlfriend" via a viral video in 2012, announced this week that she was departing YouTube . In an emotional announcement video, she spoke at length about depression, anxiety, and the problems that come with internet fame. Her video included clips from her private video journal, filmed over the past seven years, which documenting her mental health challenges, her search for help, and the pressure she felt to constantly perform for her online fans.
"that was a lot less glamorous than my product"
White woman claims she invented the hair bonnet, black Twitter tells her to go back to Wypipostan — the "NiteCap" created by Sarah Marantz Lindenberg costs nearly $100 (the company also sells scrunchies for $32) and is also available on Goop. [more inside]
"Me knew it was a bouillon spoon!"
The Downton Abbey theme (seen in the Downton Abbey intro), but played only on piano; but played on classical guitar; but played on twin harps; but it's the metal version (set to the show intro, with the longer version on Bandcamp); but it's Bill Bailey's Jamaican Dub Reggae version (with a bit on different sirens first, from Michael McIntyre's Easter Night at the Coliseum -- IMDb; BBC One; Daily Motion).
Horse pedicure
The kids who play dead to save lives
ON A HOT APRIL MORNING in Shingle Springs, California, volunteers inside a gym at Ponderosa High School are painting teenagers with fake blood. Others hold battery-powered fans a few inches from their faces to mess up their hair. A man dressed as the Grim Reaper peruses a folding table laden with peanut butter pretzels, gummy bears, and doughnuts. Evan Chavez, an 18-year-old senior, and Ella Beezley, a 17-year-old junior, are waiting their turn at the makeup station. “I’m in the car with Alex—as the passenger—who’s the drunk driver,” explains Chavez. “And I get critically injured and helicoptered to the hospital.” ... “I’m the passenger in the other car, and I get hit and die,” says Beezley, who will have a large head wound applied above her wide hazel eyes. “I’m dead on the scene.” Andy Wright for Topic on whether the Every 15 Minutes program prevents teenage drunk driving. via Nicole Cliffe
The Tech That Launched A Thousand Zines
The Pulp Librarian explains Letraset, the dry transfer kit that revolutionized graphic design by bringing a plethora of fonts to the masses. Ever wonder what happened to Letraset? You can still find letraset sheets on Esty.
They look white but say they're black
"And it's here. Almost."
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