Weekend Reading

  • Can Tattoos Help With Body Image? We Asked 7 Women
    “My parents are very old-fashioned when it comes to tattoos. Even though their generation does sometimes understand the younger generation’s culture, they still feel like being tattooed makes life as difficult today as it was when they were younger. But it really isn’t.
    Times they are a-changin’ and for the better (nice to find some cheer in the gloom)
  • Introverts Don’t Hate People, They Hate Shallow Socializing
    For a long period of my life, I lived convinced that I don’t like people. As a teenager, I was sure that socializing is simply not for me and that I have to get to used to it and learn how to live without many people around me.
    It me! I still struggle with ‘small talk’ to this day but I bet most people (I know already) wouldn’t say I was an introvert…
  • Maybe Trump is a kind of cry for help from the Earth, a human flare

    So are we heading for a Mad Max-style future? I don’t think so. After having lived through Donald Trump we’ll surely just call him Max. Trump is behaving so strangely, we’re probably about a month away from not being allowed to make jokes about him.
    Frankie Boyle hits the mark with his usual turn of phrase and laser beam accuracy.

  • New heart treatment is biggest breakthrough since statins, scientists say
    Anti-inflammatory injections could lower the risk of heart attacks and may slow the progression of cancer, a study has found.
    Massive news if this holds to be true.
  • How My Instagram Hacker Changed My Life
    Mohamad, my hacker, had an air of desperation about him. When he got emails in English announcing that he was a lottery winner, or promising him access to a fat bank account, he asked me to translate them word for word. “!!!پول !!!پول” he’d write.
    An intriguing look across cultures and ideologies, against the global backdrop of social media.
  • Inside an Epic Hotel Room Hacking Spree
    On a warm Phoenix night five years ago, Aaron Cashatt walked down the red-carpeted hall of the second floor of a Marriott hotel, trying to move casually despite the adrenaline and methamphetamine surging through his bloodstream.
    Not all criminals are dumb (but in the end, all criminals are dumb)
  • The Next Generation of Emoji Will Be Based on Your Facial Expressions

    A new app is trying to make it simpler to help you react to photos and videos that your friends post online—it’s using AI to capture your facial expressions and automatically translate them into a range of emoji faces.
    Cool tech! But… why??

  • A first-time author unwittingly exposed the house of cards beneath “bestseller” books

    It’s been an awkward few days for America’s most powerful books ranking. On Aug. 24, the New York Times issued a rare correction to one of its bestseller lists, after a strange and still unexplained series of events that fall somewhere between scam and gaffe.
    Another in the series of ‘can we really believe ANY recommendation’?

  • Otters learn by copying each other

    Smooth-coated otters. Credit: Dr. Nicole DuplaixOtters can learn how to solve puzzles by watching and copying each other, new research shows.
    BECAUSE OTTERS, THAT’S WHY!

  • How Tony the Tiger Became the Most Sexually Objectified Breakfast Mascot

    Cap’n Crunch is too old. Count Chocula is a creep. The Trix Rabbit, god, so thirsty. No, if you’re going to lust after any cereal spokestoon, it’ll definitely be Tony the Tiger. For years we’ve known that Twitter is horny for the Frosted Flakes mascot.
    For years I was blissfully unaware. File this under ‘articles I wish I hadn’t even glanced at’ (but then, each to their own and all that jazz).

  • Workflow

    Kevin Kelly Writes To Find Out What He Doesn’t Know; Steven Johnson talks with the Wired co-founder and bestselling technology theorist about writing in public and strange power of music on infinite loop.
    I’ve been a reader of Cool Tools for years, and love my weekly Recomendo email! Kevin is the geeks geek.

  • 36 Hours in Glasgow

    It’s easy to appreciate the historic beauty of Glasgow, from the grand Art Nouveau constructions of the celebrated architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh to the intricately carved gravestones left behind by the Vikings in the ninth century.
    NY Times updates an old article with some new and very good recommendations. MY recommendation is don’t try and cover ANY city in 36 hours… calm down people, take your time, explore!

  • Polskie Neony/Polish Neons
    A photo gallery of polish neon signs. Yup.
  • The Strange Future Hurricane Harvey Portends

    Climate change is pushing more water into the atmosphere—with bizarre consequences. Humans have begun an international project to move water around the world, far more ambitious than any network of aqueducts or hydroelectric dams ever constructed or conceived.
    Scary dystopian futures, Batman!

  • The Secret Life of Competitive Grippers

    Clasping heavy-duty handles closed may not seem like a serious endeavor, but for this strange sport’s athletes, it’s the ultimate testosterone test.
    I find something fascinating about these in-depth looks at niche subcultures

  • The World’s Most Beautiful Bookstores, All Gathered in One Place

    The first thing I noticed upon entering Livraria Lello in Porto, Portugal was its famed staircase. Curvy and red, it rises from the floor as if by magic. Word has it that J.K. Rowling herself was inspired by it when creating the world of Harry Potter and the magical library at Hogwarts.
    Go for the article, stay for the pictures.

  • Terry Pratchett’s unfinished novels destroyed by steamroller

    The unfinished books of Sir Terry Pratchett have been destroyed by a steamroller, following the late fantasy novelist’s wishes.
    I love this story so so much.