August 29, 2018
The man who sued his trolls
This man has decided, in the wake of Charlottesville, to sue his trolls. After sharing video of the deadly neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Brennan Gilmore had his life upended by online tormentors. Now he's testing whether you can bring them to justice. [more inside]
Stan Brock: "anything that he can possibly give to others, he does.”
Stan Brock, the co-host of the TV program Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, left Hollywood to found Remote Area Medical in 1985. In 2017 they offered free medical, dental and vision care to over 40,000 underserved and uninsured individuals who do not have access to or cannot afford a doctor. Sixty percent of the people served are via mobile medical clinics in the US heartlands. Brock donated his entire monthly social security check to the organization, which runs thanks to 120,000 volunteers. He passed away today at the age of 82. [previously]
Words from the Margins
“Every day a word surprises me,” he once commented, beaming, apropos of nothing other than that a word had suddenly popped into his head. Often this happened while swimming — “ideas and paragraphs” would develop as he backstroked, after which he’d rush to the dock or pool’s edge to get the words down on paper"--Oliver Sacks, recounted by his partner, Bill Hayes. Also, Hayes shares Sacks' marginalia. Silberman tweets about one. And an upcoming film.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
A far right riot in Germany has lead to suspicions about links within the Police Force and shows how much the far right is becoming a challenge for all of Europe.
They are being aided and encouraged by Steve Bannon.
An entry guide to European Nationalist parties which have full intention of taking over the European Union.
From Austrian Far right hipsters to Italians and Hungarians unifying to halt immigration these populist parties excel at stoking fears that aren't necessarily connected to reality.
They are being aided and encouraged by Steve Bannon.
An entry guide to European Nationalist parties which have full intention of taking over the European Union.
From Austrian Far right hipsters to Italians and Hungarians unifying to halt immigration these populist parties excel at stoking fears that aren't necessarily connected to reality.
Teach a Man to Phish and Feed Him for a Lifetime
While scam e-mails from deposed princes and long-lost heirs are almost a punchline at this point, the scam itself has been around for hundreds of years.
Known as the Spanish Prisoner scheme in centuries past, swindlers promised untold fortunes through the mail as they impersonated incarcerated royalty or wealthy businessmen. [more inside]
The Good Nixon vs The Bad Cuomo
Governor Cuomo debates primary challenger Cynthia Nixon tonight at 7pm EST. How to watch the Cuomo-Nixon debate. What to look for in the first and only Cuomo-NIxon debate. Maybe they'll ask about the $25,000 donation Cuomo received from the same lawyers who paid off Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance in the Weinstein case just days before dropping the probe into, uh, the Weinstein case.
Co-living the neoliberal way
Share houses as a business. Possible take: Domestic labor, and even emotional labor, get paid for if capital does them?
"My partner and I are of equal education and contributions to the firm"
Zachary Taylor: Drank milk, ate cherries, died shitting himself.
Twitterer @instantsunrise decided to drag every U.S. President, in order (and Grover Cleveland twice). It breaks after Madison ("Went to war with Canada and lost."), continuing here with Monroe ("Expansionist imperialist."). CW: genocide, slavery, and other evils; swearing (via Kottke.org) [more inside]
New Atlas of (Map) Designs; Vintage City Maps
Incredible new map designs from around the world, in pictures. And interesting vintage city maps from around the world, in pictures: Forbidden City to Convict's Landing maps
Life in Norilsk
Welcome to one of the most isolated cities on Earth. A photo essay by Elena Chernyshova (2015)
New Wave of Anti-Fascist Black Metal
Weeks advocates for direct action against metal fascists, and encourages others to “to hold them over the fire and push against them. Shut down their shows, write music, call out people in Burzum shirts. Be relentless.” Neckbeard Deathcamp have a song about drowning Richard Spencer in piss. It’s over-the-top, and gory, and a bit absurd—in other words, it’s very much in line with “regular” extreme metal, which, for all its flaws and foibles, is also very good at being very silly.Kim Kelly looks at the New Wave of Anti-Fascist Black Metal. [more inside]
“Godspeed, Messenger!”
The Messenger: A Blissful Platformer [Screen Rant] “The Golden Era of 8-bit gaming is an embarrassment of riches, and modern titles have duly plunged it for inspirational guidance, homage, and cheap grabs for nostalgia. Despite that, there are always certain classics whose graves stand relatively undisturbed, like the historic run of the Ninja Gaiden franchise on the original NES, a trilogy of tricky platformers which represents the jumping-off point for The Messenger, a hybrid 8- and 16-bit homage to Ryu Hayabusa, but resplendent with an immaculate sense of movement and an infectiously irreverent sense of humor.” [YouTube][Game Trailer] [more inside]
End time wines
The lost civilization of California wine -- A California cult unwittingly created one of the country’s great wineries — and then lost it. The haunting story of a vineyard’s rise, collapse and refusal to die. Esther Mobley, The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic, writes of Renaissance Winery, a part of an expansive complex in Yuba County, California (Google maps), which supports and is supported by The Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton's esoteric Christian group that is widely regarded as a doomsday religious cult. Though the religion once boasted a membership that exceeded 2,500, today it has just 585 members worldwide, and Burton is still making doomsday prophecies, despite past proclamations not panning out as predicted. [more inside]
Ruth swung bats as heavy as 52 ounces in his career
Dada Comes Full Circle
“This is a qualitatively different phenomenon from television entertainers of the past like Mr. Rogers or Bill Nye—instead of appealing to human producers or an audience of children, YouTubers are bending to the whims of an algorithm. In order to sustain their livelihood, these creators are forced to endlessly churn out the same content on a rigorous schedule—desperately chasing views and flirting with an algorithm to survive.” How YouTube Makes Childrens’ Entertainers Behave Like Machines
Discovering the Secrets Behind Indigenous Hand Talkers
Widely used before colonization, Indigenous sign languages likely formed much of what became American Sign Language. [more inside]
Those of us with offensive last names are here
and we will not be silenced. A twitter thread by Natalie Weiner of sbnation, who was just trying to sign up for a website. With contributions from James Butts, Steve Suconcock, Matt Cummings, and many others.
Ayla's son Durc found
The first known person with parents of two different species (Neanderthal and Denisovian) has been found. [more inside]
Do you have the cognitive patience to read this?
Skimming has led, I believe, to a tendency to go to the sources that seem the simplest, most reduced, most familiar, and least cognitively challenging. I think that leads people to accept truly false news without examining it, without being analytical. One of my major worries is that when you lose the novel, you lose the ability to go into another person’s perspective. My biggest worry now is that a lot of what we’re seeing in society today — this vulnerability to demagoguery in all its forms — of one unanticipated and never intended consequence of a mode of reading that doesn’t allow critical analysis and empathy. A neuroscientist explains what tech does to the reading brain (SL Verge).
vorsprung durch technik
Nazi Sex Dolls in Space (nsfw, slyt)
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