bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Why Time’s Trump Cover Is a Subversive Work of Political Art
    Time Magazine’s annual “Person of the Year” announcement is, year after year, grossly misunderstood.
    The power of a photo, and I bet Trump had no idea, and likely won’t ever realise what has happened.

  • 12 Gifts for Perennials, a curious people*
    Perennials is a term coined by Gina Pell, my co-founder of The What. It’s used to describe enduring, ever-blooming, curious people of all ages not a demographic or a generation. If this sounds like you or someone on your holiday list, here are some items you’ll both enjoy (especially #12).
    In case you need some last minute inspiration for holiday shopping!

  • On Optimism and Despair
    First I would like to acknowledge the absurdity of my position. Accepting a literary prize is perhaps always a little absurd, but in times like these not only the recipient but also the giver feels some sheepishness about the enterprise. But here we are.
    A powerful piece by the ever wonderful Zadie Smith

  • Annie Glenn: ‘When I called John, he cried. People just couldn’t believe that I could really talk.’
    Well before he exited the Earth’s atmosphere, John Glenn flew at least 149 combat missions — 59 during World War II and 90 during the Korean War. It must have been difficult on his wife, Annie Glenn (maiden name, Castor).
    The story of the person behind the person (both people being extraordinary)

  • The empty brain
    No matter how hard they try, brain scientists and cognitive psychologists will never find a copy of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony in the brain – or copies of words, pictures, grammatical rules or any other kinds of environmental stimuli. The human brain isn’t really empty, of course.
    I’m entirely convinced by this, I think some brains are both empty and full of holes. I think we call these people idiots.

  • Procrastination: A Scientific Guide on How to Stop Procrastinating
    Procrastination is a challenge we have all faced at one point or another. For as long as humans have been around, we have been struggling with delaying, avoiding, and procrastinating on issues that matter to us.
    Subtitle: Stop reading about procrastination! (Ya big procrastinator!)

  • There And Back Again
    As, indeed, starting to write again starts with a single word. A word that has been a very long time coming, it seems. I lost my words. They deserted me. My brain deserted me. It also made sure it gave me a damn good kicking on the way out.
    Written by a friend, sharing for the benefit of others.

  • iOS 10.2 Emoji Changelog
    After a lengthy beta period, Apple today released iOS 10.2 to the public. With 104 new emojis and a brand-new 3D emoji design, this is a big update for iPhone users.
    Released just in time for me to use the ‘green sick face emoji’, excellent.

  • Amazon workers in Scotland are camping outside in the bitter cold to avoid travel costs
    Amazon’s employees would apparently prefer to brave sub-zero temperatures than bear travel costs.
    This world is fucked, I need to boycott Amazon. We ALL need to boycott Amazon.

  • The Futuristic Utensils Designed to Help You Eat Bugs
    BUGBUG makes scorpion-snacking look easy. By now, you’ve probably heard that eating bugs is in your future.
    I say everything is tasty if it looks good. I’m also a geek who likes gadgets. Ommm nom nom…. ?

  • Buckfast monks make record £8.8m
    Monks who make Buckfast tonic wine linked to violent crime in Scotland raked in a record £8.8m in a year. Sales of the caffeine-fuelled wine made at Buckfast Abbey in Devon make up most of the income to its charitable trust.
    Is it irresponsible for the ‘monks’ to turn the other cheek here? Not sure but the facts are simple, buckie is vile.

  • Inside Nike’s Quest for the Impossible: a Two-Hour Marathon
    The world record for a marathon, set by Dennis Kimetto of Kenya in Berlin in September 2014, stands at two hours, two minutes, and 57 seconds. If that number means nothing to you, understand this: running 26.2 miles in 2:02:57 is absurdly fast.
    If they manage this it will be incredible. I continue to be fascinated by this approach, small incremental improvements (think Team Sky/Tour de France) for a larger overall gain.

  • It’s Like Reddit, Without the Trolls
    The discussion site Imzy promises to be—you ready?—“a community as welcoming / conscientious / creative / intellectual / opinionated / fanatical / diverse / curious / active / passionate / goofy /funny / tough / adventurous / interesting / obsessed / quirky / generous / playful / …
    I’m not a big reddit user, I dip in and out. But should we have to move away from the trolls, surely they will just follow us?

  • The sickening business of wellness
    The term “wellness” — which seems to encompass everything from yoga to detox teas to crystals — is very hot right now.
    Love reading stuff like this when I feel like death. I may never feel wellness again

  • An Enemy of the Kremlin Dies in London
    Who killed Alexander Perepilichny? On November 10, 2012, Alexander Perepilichny was feeling a little under the weather.
    I don’t even remember this hitting the news, but given recently alleged Russian involvement in other areas… are we heading back to the Cold War? (US/RUS vs China?)

  • Five Things You Notice When You Quit the News
    I grew up believing that following the news makes you a better citizen. Eight years after having quit, that idea now seems ridiculous—that consuming a particularly unimaginative information product on a daily basis somehow makes you thoughtful and informed in a way that benefits society.
    Very VERY tempted to make this my goal for 2017 but then, how would I hear about all the good news? Ohhh…

  • Why vitamin pills don’t work, and may be bad for you
    For Linus Pauling, it all started to go wrong when he changed his breakfast routine. In 1964, at the age of 65, he started adding vitamin C to his orange juice in the morning.
    More wellness that isn’t wellness, or is it? I’m getting confused.

  • Does echinacea prevent colds?
    If you find yourself about to go down with a cold this winter, the chances are that at some point a friend will suggest you take echinacea. Some swear by it to ward off a cold when they feel the first stirrings of a sore throat.
    More wellness that… ohhhh for goodness sake.

  • How Does It Feel
    I was born in Chicago on December 30, 1946, within the vortex of a huge snowstorm. My father had to help the taxi driver navigate Lake Shore Drive with the windows wide open, while my mother was in labor.
    One legend writes about another; Patti Smith on performing Bob Dylan.

  • Prince’s Closest Friends Share Their Best Prince Stories
    He was a legend, a virtuoso, one of the true gods of music. But he was also (at times, anyway) a person in the world like anyone else. He liked to send goofy Internet memes to his friends. He made really good scrambled eggs.
    More of this please.

  • Why the United Nations Must Move Forward With a Killer Robots Ban
    Russia’s Uran-9 is an unmanned tank remotely controlled by human operators, who are “in the loop” to pull the trigger. Many observers fear that future AI-powered weapons will become fully autonomous, able to engage targets all on their own.
    A headline that would’ve seem ridiculous just a few years ago, but as we now have Uber cars running red lights, maybe it’s time we ALL woke up?

  • What the Octopus Knows
    My love affair with octopuses began when I was 9. On a summer holiday by the sea, I found Octopus and Squid: The Soft Intelligence (1973) in my great-aunt’s bookcase.
    If you’ve seen Finding Dory, read this. If you’ve not seen Finding Dory, read this. Fascinating creatures.

  • When Tyranny Takes Hold
    What is the precise moment, in the life of a country, when tyranny takes hold? It rarely happens in an instant; it arrives like twilight, and, at first, the eyes adjust. Xu Hongci had been drawn to politics by the promise of dignity.
    I’m more scared by the slow trudge into the ‘new world’ than ever. How do WE fight this?

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • The True Purpose of Microsoft Solitaire, Minesweeper, and FreeCell
    If you haven’t ever played Solitaire, Minesweeper, Hearts or FreeCell, it’s safe to say you’re in the minority. These simple Windows games have probably caused more lost worker hours than anything short of a worldwide coffee shortage.
    We’ve all been played! (geddit, played… ohh COME ON!)

  • The mild glory in being second best
    In a recent and quite gloriously camp interview with RuPaul, Graham Norton attempted to explain the Eurovision Song Contest. Ru is madly curious: does Britain ever win? What do you get when you win? “Oh, no,” says Norton, knowingly. “No one actually wants to win.”
    I’m competitive by nature but as I age, I mellow, like a fine wine that WANTS TO WIN AT EVERYTHING!! Mild glory? Pah!

  • A philosophy professor explains why you’re not entitled to your opinion
    Mike Pence has a tough job working for Donald Trump. When the president-elect lies, it often falls to his vice president-elect to defend him. For some, his defense can test the limits of logic.
    This is the type of article I wish I could get everyone to read and understand. Hey, I can dream.

  • What if we thought of monogamy as a spectrum?
    During my exploratory college years, I was often confused about my sexuality. I knew I had loved women, but found myself, drunkenly, in the arms of various men. I wasn’t sure why I was doing it.
    Interesting view on relationship fluidity, something that is becoming increasingly common.

  • A User’s Guide to Zadie Smith
    I recently joked on Twitter that I have a strict no-idols policy save for three people: Selena, Prince and Zadie Smith, though deep down I know this policy is less of a joke than I’d like to tell myself. The idol suspicion is straightforward enough.
    If you are a fan of her in any way, go read this now! If you aren’t, it’s still worth a look as she has some interesting viewpoints that more people need to hear.

  • “Tsundoku,” the Japanese Word for the New Books That Pile Up on Our Shelves, Should Enter the English Language
    There are some words out there that are brilliantly evocative and at the same time impossible to fully translate. Yiddish has the word shlimazl, which basically means a perpetually unlucky person. German has the word Backpfeifengesicht, which roughly means a face that is badly in need of a fist.
    *looks at shelves* SHUT UP!

  • 25 Short Books to Help You Meet Your 2016 Reading Challenge Goal
    Panic may be setting in for those of us racing toward the end of our 2016 Reading Challenge and falling a little short. Thankfully, there’s no need to fear or fail. Here’s a quick sampling of some fantastic speedy reads—all under 200 pages long.
    Posting for a friend…

  • San Francisco airport’s new therapy pig totally shows up all those therapy dogs at other airports
    That’s it. Air travel is just too stressful. Pre-Check is for the birds. Even a brigade of cute therapy airport dogs won’t cut it anymore. San Francisco International Airport thinks it has a solution: LiLou, a Juliana-breed therapy pig, who’s just shy of her second birthday.
    Offered without comment.

  • Going Bare Down There May Boost The Risk Of STDs
    Frequent removal of pubic hair is associated with an increased risk for herpes, syphilis and human papillomavirus, doctors at the University of California, San Francisco, reported Monday in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.
    Offered without comment (for different reasons).

  • Self-Control Is Just Empathy With Your Future Self
    The same part of the brain that allows us to step into the shoes of others also helps us restrain ourselves. You’ve likely seen the video before: a stream of kids, confronted with a single, alluring marshmallow. If they can resist eating it for 15 minutes, they’ll get two. Some do.
    This ‘clicked’ in my brain for sure. So much of what we are is wrapped up in who we (think) we are it’s scary.

  • ‘They Are Slaughtering Us Like Animals’
    You hear a murder scene before you see it: The desperate cries of a new widow. The piercing sirens of approaching police cars. The thud, thud, thud of the rain drumming on the pavement of a Manila alleyway — and on the back of Romeo Torres Fontanilla.
    This still doesn’t seem to be in the news, awful, terrifying, very graphic. Read with caution.

  • The Tina Fey Interview, by David Letterman
    THR’s Sherry Lansing Leadership Award honoree confesses to a fellow late-night pioneer her fear of bombing onstage (his response: “It’s like I have a twin”) as two comedy greats talk Trump’s feud with Alec Baldwin (“dignity of a seventh-grader”), the “endless anxiety” of parenting and more.
    Tina Fey for President anyone? David Letterman as VP?

  • The 100 Greatest Innovations Of 2016
    Each year, Popular Science picks the 100 greatest new innovations in science and technology to feature in our Best Of What’s New issue. These are the breakthroughs that will shape the future—and some may even make great Christmas presents.
    One for us geeks! I want ALL OF THEM!!!

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Typography + Language + Writing Systems = Afrikan Alphabets
    I am quick to confess that I am an easy sell-out to a top piece of print, yet at times this has been thwarted by unresolved issues that I hold with the graphic design profession. As an individual who mediates between art and design, I am careful not to shoot myself in the foot here.
    Geektastic stuff, if you aren’t excited by the title, probably best to move on…

  • The making of a cinematic linguist’s office
    Ever since the first trailer for the upcoming science-fiction movie “Arrival” came out back in August, we here at Language Log Plaza have been anxiously awaiting more glimpses of Amy Adams.
    Arrival is fast becoming a favourite of mine, so capturing a few links about it here too.

  • Rescue Goat With Anxiety Only Calms Down In Her Duck Costume
    It all started when Leanne Lauricella went shopping at Marshalls before Halloween. She was browsing the aisles when something caught her eye — a child’s duck costume, complete with a big orange bill and two webbed feet.
    I dies of teh cutez.

  • Take This Spreadsheet & Save the World: A Tool for Unsure Activists
    In times of fear and crisis, we all turn to our own sources of consolation — some have faith, some have hard liquor. I have spreadsheets.
    More substance than it suggests, there are many ways to ‘be active’ I hadn’t even considered. Like this one.

  • As a gender we men are in crisis and feminism is our only way out
    Let’s just get one thing straight: feminism is not anti-men. Feminism is not about women receiving preferential rights, it isn’t about taking away the rights of men, or what is rightfully theirs.
    There are some things in this article I take issue with but, on the whole, I agree with the premise.

  • People who swear all the time are actually really fucking smart, says science
    Pottymouths are persecuted. Even in your twenties, your censorious mother will still clutch you, aghast, for dropping a curse word; at school, you were dealt detentions and playground duties and extra homework for exclaiming “shit” when you forgot your folder, or something.
    FUCK YEAH!!!

  • Watching “Arrival” After the Election
    “Arrival,” the new movie from Denis Villeneuve (“Sicario,” “Prisoners”), which Anthony Lane reviewed in last week’s issue of the magazine—and which, this past weekend, earned twenty-four million dollars at the box office, more than people were expecting.
    Maybe this is why the movie resonated so strongly with me?.

  • Fighting authoritarianism: 20 lessons from the 20th century
    Yale history professor Timothy Snyder took to Facebook to share some lessons from 20th century about how to protect our liberal democracy from fascism and authoritarianism.
    History repeats. We can act, we must act.

  • Canada police to punish drink-drivers with Nickelback
    A Canadian police force is threatening festive drink-drivers with a cruel and unusual punishment: forcing them to listen to local band Nickelback. Kensington Police Service, which looks after the residents of Prince Edward Island, will be handing out fines and criminal charges as usual.
    This is for everyone saying they are moving to Canada because they have an inclusive (cute) Prime Minister… THIS IS HORRIFIC!!

  • Thriving on raw eggs, world’s oldest person marks 117th birthday in Italy
    Emma Morano, thought to be the world’s oldest person and the last to be born in the 1800s, celebrated her 117th birthday on Tuesday, still swearing by her diet of two raw eggs a day. Morano was born in November 1899, four years before the Wright brothers first took to the air.
    I’ve never even had one raw egg. I’ll be dead by 60!

  • The true story of Nintendo’s most wanted game
    None of this would’ve happened had Jennifer Thompson not gone thriftin’. This was in April 2013, and she was browsing clothes and $1 DVDs at the Steele Creek Goodwill in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, when she noticed it behind the glass counter.
    Ahhhh I do love a nice story of geekery.

  • How Stable Are Democracies? ‘Warning Signs Are Flashing Red’
    Yascha Mounk is used to being the most pessimistic person in the room. Mr. Mounk, a lecturer in government at Harvard, has spent the past few years challenging one of the bedrock assumptions of Western politics: that once a country becomes a liberal democracy, it will stay that way.
    Depressing reading, but all the more vital because of it.

  • Wildlife Photographer of the Year – People’s Choice
    25 shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award in the latest Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition – on show now at the Natural History Museum in London.
    Hooray for nature! (not linked, the article that more young adults watch Planet Earth II than watch X-Fucktor!)

  • More than a quarter of Europeans believe rape is sometimes justified, study finds
    The figures have been published in a report commissioned by the European Union into gender-based violence.
    Breaking out of ‘my bubble’, this kind of thing is shocking and terrifying.

  • Who is the Genius Behind Merriam-Webster’s Social Media?
    In case you hadn’t noticed, Merriam-Webster’s Twitter game is strong—topical, funny, smart, and informative while also being relentlessly irreverent. Not what you’d necessarily expect from the social media account of a dictionary.
    If you are on Twitter, it’s well worth a follow!

  • Cognitive bias cheat sheet
    I’ve spent many years referencing Wikipedia’s list of cognitive biases whenever I have a hunch that a certain type of thinking is an official bias but I can’t recall the name or details. It’s been an invaluable reference for helping me identify the hidden flaws in my own thinking.
    I’ve been kinda aware of cognitive bias in the past but always presumed it was something that would take care of itself. So far it has…

  • How to Make Easy Sushi at Home
    Making sushi is more complicated than it seems, but it doesn’t have to be. One problem is that most people expect sushi to be nigiri-zushi—that is, made with pressed rice and mostly fish—a skill, ude, often judged by the degree, kagen, by which the chef seasons and presses the rice.
    I don’t make sushi often, even though I’ve been on a course. God, I love sushi.

  • 50 Iconic Indie Album Covers: The Fascinating Stories Behind The Sleeves
    They’re images you’ve seen a thousand times, but what do they mean, and how did they end up on the cover of your favourite ever albums?
    Not much else to say. Fascinating. Stories. Album. Covers.

  • Nobody is home
    The tiny home is one of the many oxymorons of our strange times. Thousands of people, mainly on the west coast of North America, have built small homes, little bigger than a garden shed, that they tow around on trailers.
    Whilst I continue to declutter, this is a step further than I think I’m comfortable with.

  • How Stanley Kubrick Made His Masterpieces: An Introduction to His Obsessive Approach to Filmmaking
    As each semester in my film course rolls around, it’s more and more apparent how time depletes the pop culture currency of those directors who did not make it into the 21st Century.
    I really should keep a tally of the topics I post here, Kubrick must be up there near the top.

  • I Was Friends with a Serial Killer
    It is 1981 and I am working the summer at a twenty-four-hour truck stop on the Trans-Canada at Lutes Mountain, just outside of Moncton. During the day it’s insanely busy.
    Read this and try NOT to side eye whoever you are sitting next to….

  • The Best Stephen King Book You Haven’t Read
    I always considered myself something of a King fan, I’d gorged on the horrors of It and The Tommyknockers and ‘Salem’s Lot as a teenager, and then loyally grabbed all his new releases as they arrived in bookshops every year or so. I’d even watched Kingdom Hospital, for goodness sakes.
    I read this before I knew it was Stephen King, I think I was 13 at the time? Re-read it last year, still a fantastic read.

  • The Life-Changing Magic of Mushrooms
    A single dose of magic mushrooms can make people with severe anxiety and depression better for months, according to a landmark pair of new studies. The doom hung like an anvil over her head.
    But can you get them on prescription?!

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Noisli – Improve Focus and Boost Productivity with Background Noise
    Now, put your headphones on and start boosting your productivity.
    I’m a bit of a sucker for these things but this one is a good one, calming too if you get the right combo.

  • Productivity Is Really About What You Don’t Do
    The best productivity tip I ever got was the idea of a “stop-doing list” from Jim Collins. In this Age of Distraction, we’re all dodging and weaving between so much incoming information that what you don’t do on a daily basis has become as important—if not more—as what you do execute on.
    Can you tell I’m on a bit of a ‘get stuff done’ kick at the moment? No? Damn…

  • British Man Bungee Jumps With A Biscuit In Hand And Dunks It In A Cup Of Tea Below
    Nothing stands between a Brit and their cuppa tea… unless they need to queue up in order to get one. Then they shall wait patiently.
    I’m not a tea fan, nor much of a dunker but this is EPIC.

  • The Man Who Fell To Earth
    I kept waking up at night, thinking about it. How could you do it? Can you do it? I fully admit it’s a totally risky and partially crazy thing to do. But I thought you could mitigate the risk. That’s when I had the idea for the net.
    Parachutes? When I grew up all we had was… etc etc. More proof that mankind is still wonderfully, scarily, bonkers.

  • Watch This Futuristic Vat Of Water Paint A Cat
    Dunking a statue into a bucket of paint usually won’t give you anything other than a monochromatic result. But dunk a statue into this vat of water coated with a layer of painted film, and the results are pretty incredible.
    GEEK ALERT: This is CAF!

  • Quit Social Media. Your Career May Depend on It.
    I’m a millennial computer scientist who also writes books and runs a blog. Demographically speaking I should be a heavy social media user, but that is not the case. I’ve never had a social media account.
    Couldn’t agree with this more. And by agree, I do mean agree (and then wilfully ignore because life is too damn short).

  • The Speculative Dread of “Black Mirror”
    In 1999, at the age of twenty-eight, Charlie Brooker, the British satirist who is now a television auteur, was at a low ebb. He’d spent most of his twenties freelancing for PC Zone, a little-read gaming magazine, where he was able to indulge his obscene and misanthropic sense of humor.
    Love him or hate him, Brooker has a voice that we NEED right now.

  • The Last Unknown Man
    Early one summer morning, Son Yo Auer, a Burger King employee in Richmond Hill, Georgia, found a naked man lying unconscious in front of the restaurant’s dumpsters. It was before dawn, but the man was sweating and sunburned. Fire ants crawled across his body, and a hot red rash flecked his skin.
    We know so little about the human mind that, especially things like this, are scary to comprehend.

  • Our brains want us to keep calm. But to make a change, we need to keep angry
    These days, a lot of people are thinking about how best to make a change in the world. Some might imagine that it’s best to try to rise above emotions like anger and fear and focus on taking action. But science suggests that embracing feelings of frustration can actually help you make an impact.
    FUCK YEAH! REVOLUTION!! (does being in a constant state of ‘grump’ count?)

  • It’s official: NASA’s peer-reviewed EM Drive paper has finally been published
    After months of speculation and leaked documents, NASA’s long-awaited EM Drive paper has finally been peer-reviewed and published. And it shows that the ‘impossible’ propulsion system really does appear to work.
    Still more evidence needed but if this is true, this is a fundamental change to… almost everything.

  • Use the “SBNRR” Technique to Handle Stressful Moments Mindfully
    When your stress is building into an exasperating moment, emotions can easily get the best of you. And that can be detrimental if you’re in a professional environment. The next time you’re about to explode with stress, try this instead.
    Just throwing this one out there as I believe some recent world events may have gotten some people stressed? Maybe? Lil bit?

  • How Casinos Enable Gambling Addicts
    Regardless of the machine—slots, video poker—casinos’ ultimate goal is to maximize players’ “time on device.” This is crucial for casinos, because given enough time, the house always wins.
    Fascinating. Horrible. Compelling.

  • ‘None of the old rules apply’: Dave Eggers travels through post-election America
    The word surreal is overused and often wrongly used, but in the case of the Washington Post Election Night Live party, the word was apt. First of all, it was a disco.
    One US Election article, that’s it for this week (and NO MORE after this, probably)

  • David Chang’s secret code to unleashing the most amazing flavors on Earth
    A few years ago I got really into experimenting with fermentation. Miso is made by fermenting soybeans, but I wanted to see what happens when you ferment nuts, seeds, and other legumes. It turns out you can get some really delicious flavors.
    What makes a great dish, great? What do we really experience when we taste food? Intriguing article about a chef challenging the way we experience taste.

  • The latest earthquake in Japan was an aftershock of the one five years ago
    Early on Nov. 22, the residents of Fukushima, Japan were woken by loud sirens. At 6am local time, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake had struck off the coast.
    To be honest, you don’t need to click through, the headline says it all. WTAF?!

  • Researchers have figured out how to spot a self-loathing person by how they speak
    We communicate in many ways, not just with our words. But nonverbal signals are often missed in conversation. Now, social scientists have found a way to train machines to spot the linguistic tics that show psychological distress.
    I (hate) don’t know how they figure this stuff (myself) out… clever.

  • The 100 most influential images of all time
    Time Magazine has selected the 100 most influential photos of all time, from the first permanent photograph taken (in 1826) to the heartbreaking photo of the body of a 3-year-old refugee washed up on a beach from last year.
    CN: These photos are at times graphic, and will bring many feels. But you SHOULD look at them.

  • Don’t Give Up on the Guitar. Fender Is Begging You
    Each holiday season, thousands of teenagers tear gift wrap off shiny, new guitars. They giddily pluck at the detuned strings, thinking how cool they’ll be once they’re rock stars—even if almost all will give up before they ever get to jam out to “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”
    Part of me just thinks this means fewer crap guitar players to listen to?

  • Watch the Evolution of Ringo Starr, Dave Grohl, Tré Cool & 19 Other Drummers in Short 5-Minute Videos Open Culture
    I’ve always been more than happy to admit that I think Ringo Starr is a fantastic drummer and don’t find it much worth arguing over. Then again, more and more people seem to have come around to that point of view. Or at least that’s been my experience.
    Don’t let the focus on drumming put you off, these 5 minute videos are fascinating. Apparently drummers have skill!

  • Five ways to damage autistic children without even knowing
    Yep, uncomfortable title. But sadly, these are subjects that I feel we have a responsibility to talk about.
    Share, repeat, share. You never know when this will come in handy (and to be honest, a lot of it applies to EVERY child).

  • How the 24-hour society is stealing time from the night
    Burmese monks know that it is time to get up when it is light enough to see the veins in their hands. Muslims base their getting up on the passage in the Quran that defines daybreak as the time when it is possible to distinguish between a dark and a light thread.
    I’ve been focussing more and more on my sleep patterns, making sure I get ‘enough’. I’m not much more aware of when I need to have an early night (which isn’t easy for a night owl like me).

  • Made-up man comes second in list of best-known MEPs in Wales
    He also came ahead of his real-life elected colleagues Jill Evans, Derek Vaughan and Kay Swinburne. They were given only 30 seconds to answer and were given the choices of four entirely made-up names and real MEPs.
    A slightly skewed survey I’d say, but still, a telling indictment of how disengaged we are from the people who serve us.

  • The Running Conversation in Your Head
    Beck: People are not very good generally at reporting the specifics of what’s going on in their minds, right?
    Fascinating look at something we all do, even if we don’t always realise we are doing it.

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • “It’s an exercise in seeing”: An artist’s mind-opening ritual of doodling on Sundays
    Sundays used to be sacred, reserved for prayer, family or sightseeing. Today, a third of busy Americans let work seep into their weekends, according to a 2014 National Bureau of Economic Research study.
    There is a lot to be said for switching off. That reminds me, must buy more Lego..

  • The average Netflix subscriber watches almost twice as much Netflix as they did 5 years ago
    Netflix says it will produce a whopping 1,000 hours of original TV shows and movies in 2017, and that’s a good thing since people keep watching more and more Netflix. The number of hours of Netflix the average subscriber watches has gone up steadily since 2011, at an average of 16.4% per year.
    No surprise, streaming services let me watch quality content, not the crap pushed out during most primetime (I’m a Celebrity, X-Factor etc…)

  • How Two Trailblazing Psychologists Turned the World of Decision Science Upside Down
    Back in 2003, I published a book called Moneyball, about the Oakland Athletics’ quest to find new and better ways to value baseball players and evaluate baseball strategies.
    If you’ve seen the movie, this is a must read. If you haven’t seen the movie, it’s still an interesting read on the REAL history of ‘decision science’.

  • Strobe-light training: From Michael Jordan to Kawhi Leonard
    With 20 seconds left in the third quarter of the young season’s biggest game, Gregg Popovich screams. He wants everyone out of the way so that Kawhi Leonard can go to work against Andre Iguodala. Leonard waits near half court as his teammates shuffle to the corners.
    I was tempted to offer a ‘strobe-light’ version of this post…

  • Who Can Be A Dancer?
    How do I responsibly raise a young white boy in today’s world of dangerously heightened white supremacy? How do I teach him to be self-confident and empowered by his choices, but still show him he isn’t the center of the universe, without creating a core of self-doubt?
    This. All day this.

  • The most relaxing song in the world
    According to a marketing study conducted by Dr. David Lewis-Hodgson, the most relaxing song in the world is Weightless, by ambient band Marconi Union. The song was produced by the band in collaboration with the British Academy of Sound Therapy.
    They aren’t wrong, it’s very relaxing. I’m listening to it now, it’s soo relaaazzzzzzzz

  • Reframe “Negative” Emotions as “Difficult” Emotions
    Nobody likes being sad, angry, or heartbroken. If you want to give yourself a leg up on getting through troubling times, a simple mental reframe can help you see the light at the end of the tunnel.
    I am emotion driven, I react and don’t always like the negative reactions I leap to. Definitely trying this the next time a random person doesn’t even bother to look back before breezing through the door and letting it swing IN MY GODDAMN FACE!!! Ahem…

  • Maths zeroes in on perfect cup of coffee
    Mathematicians are a step closer to understanding what makes a perfect cup of coffee. Through some complex calculations, they have shone a light on the processes governing how coffee is extracted from grains in a filter machine.
    Maths? Come to my kitchen, my coffee is always perfect! (for me)

  • The Big Thing About Little Things
    Back in 2013, George Saunders gave a speech to the graduating class at Syracuse. I’ve been thinking about that speech a lot over the past week. I’ll skip the platitudes about why it’s important, and I’ll leave the matter of politics entirely out of it.
    I’m going to write more about this elsewhere but it’s an interesting speech.

  • Can we just f***ing stop asking couples when they’re going to have a baby?
    Society dictates that our adult lives follow a specific formula. Move out, get a job, settle down with a partner, get married, have a baby, retire then die.
    I’d go further and stop after ‘get a job’, life is too short for all these damn rules and expectations!

  • The Difference Between “Being” and “Doing”
    The activities of the mind are related to patterns of brain activity. Different mental activities, such as reading a book, painting a picture, or talking to a loved one, each involve different patterns of interaction between networks of nerve cells in the brain.
    As per the Sunday doodling article, there is a lot more to the impact of the activities you partake in than just the activity themselves.

  • This Is How Facebook Is Radicalizing You
    On December 17, 2013, Facebook announced that videos on your News Feed would start autoplaying. They would mute on default and, at the end of the video, it’d have a carousel featuring related videos you might want to watch.
    Headline news stuff, I swither on Facebook on a weekly basis. It has a LOT of good points, but the bad ones are starting to appear to be a lot worse than we realised.

  • If You Want to Be Happy, Quit Facebook?
    What makes this study so interesting is that it was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and so was able, at least in theory, to determine whether quitting Facebook actually causes changes in well-being.
    The articles I link to are usually posted here in the order I ‘find/read’ them. But sometimes it’s worth shuffling them around…

  • Bad sex award 2016: the contenders in quotes
    Games of tennis, muddy fields, knocking knees – it’s time to get intimate with the challengers for the Literary Review’s 2016 Bad sex in fiction prize A Doubter’s Almanac by Ethan Canin The act itself was fervent.
    Some lighter news, I challenge you not to giggle reading some of these. P.S. if any of these make you horny, get some help!

  • This 22-Year-Old Draws The Most Brutally Honest Cartoons About Mental Health
    Ruby Elliot, aka rubyetc, is a London-based illustrator who began sharing cartoons and illustrations about mental health and everyday life four years ago. Trapeze When Elliot was 17 she dropped out of school but managed to find solace in her love of drawing.
    Been following her on Twitter for a while, funny, self-effacing, honest and never shies away from mental health issues (and why should she). I’m ordering my copy today!

  • This temporary tattoo-like device doubles up as 24/7 stethoscope for your heart
    Researchers have developed an electronic sensor that can stick to the skin like a temporary tattoo and give you round-the-clock feedback on your heart health.
    Dear scientists, you are bloody amazing, please don’t ever stop.

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

Trump warning: Skip the first two links if you want to avoid Trump related links (I know, I’m feeling very fatigued by the whole thing too).

  • President Trump’s First Term
    On the morning of January 20, 2017, the President-elect is to visit Barack Obama at the White House for coffee, before they share a limousine—Obama seated on the right, his successor on the left—for the ride to the Capitol, where the Inauguration will take place, on the west front terrace…
    Between now and then we will have a much better understanding of what President Trump will do. I have the fear.
  • Motherhood: A letter to my girl
    The man we were talking about in the bath on Monday night won the competition to be the Big Boss. The man whose name we laughed at. He got fewer votes than the lady, but we don’t make the rules, darling, they do. ‘They’ will become so significant to you as you grow up.
    How do you explain what Trump embodies to an innocent mind?
  • Google’s former happiness guru developed a three-second brain exercise for finding joy
    Chade-Meng Tan, a former engineer, joined Google in 2000 as employee number 107. Though he played an instrumental role in building Google’s mobile search function, among other technological feats, he’s better known for the mindfulness classes he later led for employees.
    Mindfulness? Finding joy? Yeah, easy to scoff at but right now, I’ll grasp these straws!
  • Nick Denton, Peter Thiel, and the Plot to Murder Gawker
    One day in September 2014 the publisher of Gawker Media, Nick Denton, sent an e-mail to Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and billionaire.
    In depth article on this story which I’ve been aware of but not massively bothered by (I don’t read Gawker, and this felt all ‘boys with toys’ nonsense to me…
  • A 20-Year-Old Dutch Man Just Set The New World Rubik’s Cube Record
    Don’t blink, or you’ll miss the entire 4.74 seconds it takes Mats Valk of the Netherlands to completely destroy both this Rubik’s cube and the world speed record.
    Since this was posted, a robot did it in 0.637 seconds. The rise of the machines continues…
  • The End of Relaxation
    We live in the golden age of wellness vacations, where taking time off is all about becoming a better person. When I was 22, I used to have a fantasy about going away to a sanitarium.
    When I was 22 I used to worry about being taken away to a sanitarium, my my, times change!
  • You Can Have Emotions You Don’t Feel
    What does it mean to have an emotion? It seems obvious that having one means feeling it. If you’re happy but don’t know it, in what sense could you actually be happy? Such reasoning seemed sound to William James.
    Reason #349 in the series: Humans are complicated and also awesome.
  • Carl Sagan on Moving Beyond Us vs. Them, Bridging Conviction with Compassion, and Meeting Ignorance with Kindness
    “Unless we are very, very careful,” wrote psychologist-turned-artist Anne Truitt in contemplating compassion and the cure for our chronic self-righteousness, “we doom each other by holding onto images of one another based on preconceptions that are in turn based on indifference…”
    Deep thought article that seems timely. Abridged version: Be nice to everyone.
  • The Art of the Blurb
    Few Canadian writers have been more deliriously blurbed than Anne Carson. “[T]he most exciting poet writing in English today,” declared Michael Ondaatje. “ . . . I would read anything she wrote,” proclaimed Susan Sontag.
    All writing takes skill (as you’ll have seen from my examples here, it also can be performed by idiots)
  • Be Unfailingly Kind
    DJ and I play Destiny. I’ve never met DJ, but each week he and I and a dozen or so other regulars are sitting on our respective couches, chairs, and bean bags tackling the various parts of this gorgeous first person shooter. You can play much of Destiny by yourself.
    How to be a good leader = how to be a good person. Abridged version: Be nice (kind) to everyone.
  • Eavesdrop on Ultrasonic Rat Giggles
    A tickle can send a rat into a fit of ultrasonic giggles. New research reveals what goes on in a rat’s brain during a tickle attack. Scientists knew rats loved to be tickled, especially on their backs and bellies. A tickled rat lets out tiny giggles, too high for us to hear.
    Cute little ratsies!