Weekend Reading

Posted on
  • Single, Unemployed and Suddenly Myself
    I was 37, single, unemployed and depressed because in a couple of months I was going to be moving out of my studio apartment on East 23rd Street in Manhattan and in with my mother in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.
    Reading more and more articles about this kinda thing. Resonating.

  • Dogs have pet facial expressions to use on humans, study finds
    Showing tongues and puppy eyes, and facial movement in general, was more likely when scientists faced the animals, suggesting conscious communication.
    But LOOKIT SOOOO CUTE WIF DEM EYES!!!

  • Kids? Just say no
    In 2006, I published a book called Better Never to Have Been. I argued that coming into existence is always a serious harm. People should never, under any circumstance, procreate – a position called ‘anti-natalism’.
    This doesn’t entirely match why we (my ex-wife and I) chose not to have kids, but some of it rings true.

  • For Guys Reading #MeToo Testimonies
    First, read the #metoo stories on your Facebook or Twitter feed. Read about the bosses and teachers and neighbors and friends who have sexually harassed and assaulted the people you know and maybe even love. Pay special attention to the stories. You will see patterns.
    I’m still reeling from last week. This week is no better. But that’s the point.

  • Sarah Solemani: ‘The TV and film industries are toxic – and it starts in the audition room’
    The Harvey Weinstein scandal puts us at a crossroads. Can we remake the industry? My first experience of sexism in showbusiness came early, when I was 19. I was invited to the director’s house for dinner, just the two of us. He cooked. It was delicious.
    More strong voices on this.

  • Woe is Man
    It seems then that the average heterosexual British man, be he a journalist or not, is in considerable peril. Giles Coren and Brendan O’Neill have observed the Kriss and Myers cases and decided they constitute a threat.
    Wonderful takedown of those proposing that ‘men’ are under threat. I am a ‘man’ and we SHOULD be under threat for all the horrific behaviours we perpetrate.

  • Why You Shouldn’t Buy a “New” Book on Amazon
    Amazon, a company Jeff Bezos invented to piss off everyone in the book industry simultaneously, likes to make books as cheap as possible. To that end, this spring they moved third-party options up to the top of the page, sometimes even listing third-party sellers as the default buying option.
    I REALLY need to get off the Amazon wagon.

  • Bento Stack for Apple Accessories
    Function 101 is a team within the Apple industry that shares one common thread –  a passion for Apple products. We are the guys and gals that stay up until midnight to order the new iPhone or Apple Watch…and always looking for the trendiest accessories to go with them.
    More a bookmark for myself but thought others might appreciate this (I really need to get off the Apple wagon… nah!)

  • The Gift of Death
    Pathological consumption has become so normalised that we scarcely notice it. There’s nothing they need, nothing they don’t own already, nothing they even want.
    I am still down-sizing my possessions. It’s not always easy, but focussing on WHY I want to buy something (do I need it, or just want it) helps.

  • Scenes I expect to see now a female Doctor has an older, white, male companion
    The Doctor comes up with a brilliant plan, which everyone ignores until Graham repeats it word for word. Graham explains time travel to the Doctor.
    Hahahaa…. oh god this isn’t funny at all.

  • In a Distracted World, Solitude Is a Competitive Advantage
    Technology has undoubtedly ushered in progress in a myriad of ways. But this same force has also led to work environments that inundate people with a relentless stream of emails, meetings, and distractions.
    Less is more. Definitely feels like a ‘life path’ for me at the moment.

  • Like to sing in your car? Montreal man says he was ticketed for Everybody Dance Now sing-along
    Taoufik Moalla may have just been letting the rhythm move him. But that didn’t stop Montreal police from giving the 38-year-old father of two a ticket after pulling him over near his home in Saint-Laurent.
    Man, I’d have been banned YEARS ago if they did this over here!!

  • Making Progress
    Ohhhh how I laugh/cried at this! (read the tooltip too).

  • Inner Peace
    “Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.”
    A simple quote. A powerful message. (more on this soon)

  • Men photographed in crocodile trap dubbed ‘idiots of the century’
    Photos of the men swimming around and even climbing into the trap at the Port Douglas Marina have surfaced online, leaving the mayor of Douglas Shire, Julia Leu, stunned. “I was absolutely gobsmacked, this is incredibly stupid and dangerous behaviour.”
    Alas no Darwin awards were handed out. Yet.

  • The Power of Inclusion at Astral AR
    Recently, we featured the co-founders of Backstage Capital portfolio company Astral AR on Mission & Values, one of our podcasts. Astral AR is a remarkable startup — they make drones designed to save human lives.
    We need more articles about companies like this.

  • Boko Haram strapped suicide bombs to them. Somehow these teenage girls survived.
    The girls didn’t want to kill anyone. They walked in silence for a while, the weight of the explosives around their waists pulling down on them as they fingered the detonators and tried to think of a way out. It was all happening so fast.
    Warning: this is horrific.

  • The Future of Online Dating Is Unsexy and Brutally Effective
    When I give the dating app LoveFlutter my Twitter handle, it rewards me with a 28-axis breakdown of my personality: I’m an analytic Type A who’s unsettlingly sex-focused and neurotic (99th percentile).
    Can machines find me love? Given they still sometimes struggle to turn my lights on, I’m a little wary…

  • Spend More Time Alone
    I recently read three books on the topic of solitude. Two were actually titled Solitude, while the third, and most recently published, was titled Lead Yourself First — which is pitched as a leadership guide, but is actually a meditation on the value of being alone with your thoughts.
    I enjoy being alone. Not all the time, but I’m becoming much more comfortable just being with ‘me’.

  • Building Googletown
    Last month, at an event in San Francisco, Sidewalk Labs CEO Dan Doctoroff discussed how his company—a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet—was pursuing one of the tech industry’s recurring fantasies: building its own city.
    Hello future dystopian nightmare cityscape!

  • Scientists made robotic bees to one day study the ocean
    What’s better than a robot inspired by bees? A robot inspired by bees that can swim.
    Awww cute lil… ohhh wait, nope, they are not cute at all. BOOOOOO