July 28, 2021
Patria y Vida
A Black uprising is shaking Cuba’s Communist regime. Millions around the world know “Patria y Vida” — “Fatherland and Life” — the scintillating music video that inverted the Cuban Communist Party’s slogan — “Fatherland or Death” — and became the anthem of protests in Cuba on July 11.
Less familiar is “Oe’ Policia Pinga” — roughly, “F--- the Police” — by the rappers Marichal and Daryelo Sánchez. [more inside]
Bipartisan infrastructure deal reached
A bipartisan $550 billion infrastructure spending deal passed a test vote in the US Senate, with support from 17 Republican senators. [more inside]
first, prep buccinator space for planting
Gawker is back
The Gawker name was toxic, but also weirdly revered; an intractable combination. It could not be brought back because it could never be what it once was, and also because what it once was was sued out of existence by a professional wrestler.
After a hiatus of five relatively uneventful years, Gawker is back.
looking for recalcitrant molecules
How much carbon could soil actually sequester? Despite rising enthusiasm for carbon farming in Europe and the U.S., some soil scientists are less optimistic about the climate impacts of soil carbon sequestration. Projects such as the Harnessing Plants Initiative and the Marin Carbon Project have multiple worthy goals but may be overstating the actual carbon sequestration benefits. “I have The Nature and Properties of Soils in front of me — the standard textbook... The theory of soil organic carbon accumulation that’s in that textbook has been proven mostly false … and we’re still teaching it.” [more inside]
"The volcano… is not performing today."
Tom Scott tried to film an Icelandic volcano and it was a complete disaster (Fagradalsfjall eruption previously). Tom Scott is no stranger to Iceland, having made a number of YouTube videos there, including when he went to check whether the northernmost part of Iceland was still above water, why you can't swim between two continents, and that submerging yourself in power plant wastewater is sometimes a good idea.
Let's Remember Some Guys
Historian and podcaster Patrick Wyman (previously) considers the legacy of Christopher Columbus: "Rather than casting Columbus as either the hero or the villain in an epic story about the emergence of a recognizably modern world, we should understand him as a replacement-level historical figure: not among the elite, a Clayton Kershaw or prime Carmelo Anthony; not in the mid-to-upper tier of his profession, like Nelson Cruz, Joe Flacco, or CJ McCollum. He was a notable step below that."
Why Lorgia García Peña Was Denied Tenure at Harvard
As someone who has followed this case for over a year, there is a lot in this article that had not been previously reported. Mainly the depth of racist vitriol García Peña faced in the years leading up to her tenure denial.
Plunk! From Morocco with love.
From Morocco with love... Hassan Wargui takes the Moroccan banjo-playing tradition to new places. '"I love the banjo, it’s my first instrument," says Wargui. His music is actually part of a hidden tradition of banjo music in the area that dates back to the 1970s: he learned to play by imitating groups like Archach and Izenzaren, who hold a legendary status in the Sous. "No one taught me, I learnt myself."' [more inside]
Primož Roglič falls and gets back up again
Primož Roglič, Slovenian cyclist who "used to be nobody", dropped out of this year's Tour de France after being injured in a crash. After his compatriot and rival Tadej Pogačar won the bronze medal in Men's Road Race in Tokyo, and Roglič was left far behind, fans and even Roglič himself (link in Slovenian) were doubting whether he was ready for the Men's Individual Time Trial. But he did well anyway.
no single cause; 5.9% of youth & 2.5% of adults; safe & effective meds
"The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 Evidence-based conclusions about the disorder" is a scientific review of studies about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, published in the September 2021 issue of Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. (DOI link, full PDF, 30 pages, open access article licensed as CC-BY.) "Our aim is to provide current and accurate information about ADHD supported by a substantial and rigorous body of evidence." Findings start: "The syndrome we now call ADHD has been described in the medical literature since 1775." [more inside]
Every Westerner’s Favorite Fantasy
How America's Obsession With Hula Girls Almost Wrecked Hawai'i by Lisa Hix in Collector's Weekly [2017]
« Previous day | Next day »