August 20, 2017
The momentum you give is the momentum you get
And yet there was something about electric bikes that offended me. He hadn’t worked to go that fast. And, after he braked, he wouldn’t have to work to pick up speed again. [SLNewYorker]
Richard Claxton "Dick" Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017)
"You know the definition of a Southern moderate? That's a cat that'll lynch you from a low tree." That joke, delivered in the 1960s by trailblazing comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory, who passed away Saturday, seems unsettlingly relevant in today's America. Though we aren't in the midst of the struggle for civil rights, that joke was about the evils of white supremacy—something we are clearly still grappling with today.[more inside]
Umeshisms
Never Gonna Believe My Eyes
Foo Fighters featuring Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up. The Foo Fighters rickrolled their audience with the real thing in an interesting mashup.
Edit the NYTimes yourself.
Think you have the editing skills to work for the New York Times? With the feature Copy Edit This!, Philip B. Corbett, The Times’s standards editor, has a number of editing challenges. Even better, there are point-and-click challenges every few weeks. Week 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Jerry Lewis is dead.
He was 91. Joseph or Jerome Levitch March 16, 1926
An American actor, comedian, singer, film producer, film director, screenwriter and humanitarian. He is known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He and Dean Martin were partners as the hit popular comedy duo of Martin and Lewis. Following that success, he was a solo star in motion pictures, nightclubs, television shows, concerts, album recordings and musicals. [more inside]
An American actor, comedian, singer, film producer, film director, screenwriter and humanitarian. He is known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He and Dean Martin were partners as the hit popular comedy duo of Martin and Lewis. Following that success, he was a solo star in motion pictures, nightclubs, television shows, concerts, album recordings and musicals. [more inside]
A HOT DOG IS A LENGTHY MEAT TUBE ON BREAD
Nintendo Switch owners weigh in on an iconic debate: Are hot dogs sandwiches? [Polygon] “Nintendo posed an important question to Switch owners several weeks ago: Is a hot dog a sandwich? It’s one of society’s most contentious debates, one with no clear-cut answer. But the results of the company’s poll are in — and Nintendo doesn’t seem so happy about them. In a June Ask Me Anything session on Reddit with Super Mario Odyssey producer Yoshiaki Koizumi, fans first prompted the polarizing debate. When asked if Koizumi thought that a hot dog “counts as a sandwich,” his response was a flat “no.””
Lady Kung Fu is Alive and Well and Living in Queens
Ever seen "Enter the Dragon," the Bruce Lee masterpiece? Then you've seen Angela Mao. She portrayed his sister who got killed, in an epic battle between her and Robert Wall, a famous martial artist. I actually thought that was the highlight of the film. Anyhow, she disappeared from Hong Kong film-making in the early 90s and recently resurfaced in Queens NYC. The main article is a NY Times profile of her. This next article was posted last Thursday about an upcoming appearance of hers Angela Mao appearance
Not THAT kind of cottaging...
A public toilet in Ewell Village, Surrey that was converted to semi-detached one-bedroom houses has gone back on the market for a staggering £330,000. While pointing out rising real estate prices, it also highlights the phenomenon of the conversion of public toilets to housing. On the Norfolk Coast, the "Wee Retreat," a public lavatory that is now a cottage, is available to rent as a holiday property, while in 2012, architect Laura Jane Clark finished transforming an underground Crystal Palace toilet into a livable flat. [more inside]
the year of living with banksy
When I first moved to Los Angeles in July of 2013, I found a room for rent in a house on Craigslist. I soon learned the landlord, and the man I’d be living with, was none other... than the famous graffiti artist and incognito street poet Banksy.
A satirical bit of prose by the fabulous Demi Adejuyigbe
The Gibson Archives: a graphic and emotive depictions of shipwrecks
The Isles of Scilly (Google maps, Wikipedia) are an archipelago off the south western tip of the Cornish peninsula that include the southern-most point of the UK, and some of the most treacherous waters in the Atlantic. John Gibson, a seaman-turned-photographer, brought his camera to the rocky cliffs and photographed shipwrecks, rescue attempts, and local events, starting in 1865. The Gibsons of Scilly continued photographing wrecks and their community for five generations (website archive). In 2013, the family auctioned off four generations of their photographs, and the archive was purchased by Penlee House Musuem and Gallery. [more inside]
Whose Free Speech Is It Anyway?
This week the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) posted, Fighting Neo-Nazis and the Future of Free Expression, an essay examining the ramifications of corporate control of free speech. [more inside]
Decline and Fall of the British Empire, Episode 7,219 - the Walnut Whip
The Walnut Whip is a volcano of chocolate encasing allegedly fondant and topped with a walnut, with spectacular variations. In further evidence of the decline of Britain, Nestlé have removed the Walnut, making it just a Whip and relaunching it in three so-called "flavours". This in addition to previous size reductions (shrinkflation) and the loss of the hidden second Walnut. Over a century old, the Walnut Whip is allegedly eaten every two seconds (not by the same person) and three constitute a luncheon. A rise in walnut costs is being blamed by some, and a poor harvest by others, while six packs with walnut will be allegedly available at Christmas. The Twitter has been unsurprisingly outraged, though you can make your own or even the coffee version.
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