bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Infertility and Me: Part One

    Where do you start telling people life hasn’t been too swell for the last couple of years? That you didn’t want to push anyone away but that keeping your head down and getting on with it felt like the only way to survive?
    A series of posts that you should read. Brave and honest writing, the more voices on this the easier it should be for others.

  • 7 Pieces of Wisdom That Will Change the Way You Work

    “If wisdom were offered me on the one condition that I should keep it shut away and not divulge it to anyone,” said Roman philosopher Seneca, “I should reject it. There is no enjoying the possession of anything valuable unless one has someone to share it with.”
    Now and then I skim read one of these types of articles and they kinda stick, this is one of them.

  • The 4 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight!

    Its time for some real, juicy and balls to the wall honest, talk. (I am not sure that is even a phrase but hey-ho!) I have steered clear from talking lots about weight loss, to be honest. Partly because I don’t want to encourage the ‘thinner is better’ mentality.
    Again, posting because sometimes these things resonate (although this is a bit TOO ‘American dude bro’ for my liking at times)

  • Things More Heavily Regulated Than Buying a Gun in the United States

    Having a fucking bake sale Building a fucking shed in your own backyard Pumping fucking gas Getting a fucking vasectomy Owning a fucking car Driving someone else’s fucking car Riding in a fucking car Disposing of fucking batteries Cutting fucking hair for a living Having a controlled bonfire on y…
    One of the first posts I ever wrote (in 1999) was about the gun situation in the US of A. It’s fucking ridiculous.

  • The Sideways Curse Has Lifted: Merlot Is Having a Comeback

    Merlot was once the fan-favorite red grape and wine. Then came 2004 hit movie Sideways, in which Miles, the pinot-noir-loving main character, trashes the varietal before heading into a bar: “If anyone orders merlot, I’m leaving,” he explodes. “I am not drinking any f—ing merlot.”
    I loved Sideways. I drink wine. I had NO IDEA about this (Atlantic filter activated obvs)

  • ‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

    In the hours following a violent rampage in Las Vegas in which a lone attacker killed more than 50 individuals and seriously injured 400 others, citizens living in the only country where this kind of mass killing routinely occurs reportedly concluded Monday that there was no way to prevent it.
    SATIRE. Cruel, vicious, cutting satire.

  • 1,516 mass shootings in 1,735 days: America’s gun crisis – in one chart

    The attack at a country music festival in Las Vegas that left at least 58 people dead is the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history – but there were six other mass shootings in America this past week alone. No other developed nation comes close to the rate of gun violence in America.
    Sobering.

  • The Curious Life of an Extra

    Playing bystanders and party guests was supposed to be a temporary gig. It turned into a viable, and surprisingly fulfilling, way to make a living.
    I do love behind the scenes insights. I’m the guy who watched ALL the DVD Extras (where do we get those now? Youtube?)

  • Papyrus

    Made me laugh.
    A short comedy video with one of the best final frames ever committed to film.

  • The pleasure/happiness gap

    Pleasure is short-term, addictive and selfish. It’s taken, not given. It works on dopamine. Happiness is long-term, additive and generous. It’s giving, not taking. It works on serotonin.
    Can you spot the theme of my week yet?

  • 12 Essential Women Cinematographers

    Female cinematographers don’t get as much recognition as their male counterparts, but they’re responsible for many outstanding films with beautiful images. A video essay by Jake Swinney.
    Sharing this purely because of the item below…

  • Top 10 Cinematographers of All Time

    This week we’re looking back at best DPs to ever let light touch film. From every era, from all over the world, from all walks of life, these are the best cinematographers of all time.
    … which features no women whatsoever.

  • The work that won this year’s Nobel Prize in physics—in terms everyone can understand

    The 2017 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded today to Rainer Weiss, Barry Barish, and Kip Thorne. Their work helped prove Albert Einstein right—yet again.
    AND I know someone who worked on this.

  • The Essential Tom Petty, in 9 Songs

    There’s a joke in Marc Maron’s new comedy special where he suggests Tom Petty could be the artist who bridges the gap between the left and the right. He’s not wrong.
    Never been a big fan, but these 9 songs helped me understand his wider appeal.

  • How Nature Creates Uncannily Spherical Boulders

    Large boulders shaped like nearly perfect spheres can be found in a handful of places around the world. Perched amid craggy, sandy landscapes, these curious orbs have been confounding onlookers for centuries.
    Cos nature, innit.

  • This Future Looks Familiar: Watching Blade Runner in 2017

    I watched Blade Runner for the first time this week. Since I have apparently been living in a cave for the past few decades, I thought that Blade Runner was kind of like Tron but with more Harrison Ford, and less neon, and maybe a few more tricky questions about What Is The Nature Of Man.
    Read the article for a fresh (if a little high school angsty) take on an old movie. Stay for the amazing comments that MISS THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE ARTICLE!

  • St Paul’s Cathedral on Twitter

    Today is #WorldArchitectureDay. The Cathedrals of England have got this well covered! #DropsMic
    So polite in their banter. Which one was the Bishop of Banterbury though?

  • What Happened?

    Here’s a secret I keep from my friends: shoved in the back of a drawer, among the ill-fitting bras I can’t bring myself to throw away, there is a tank top emblazoned with the words “Feminist As Fuck”
    American feminism under the microscope, where does it go now?

  • Ancient Tomb of Santa Claus Discovered Beneath Turkish Church

    Archaeologists in Turkey may be on the cusp of solving a mystery thousands of years in the making after they stumbled on a tomb beneath the ruins of an ancient church they believe contains the remains of Saint Nicholas—known popularly as Santa Claus.
    It’s Zombie Santa!

  • Kazuo Ishiguro on Song Lyrics, Scones, and the Life He Could Have Had
    Driving along Eighty-sixth Street in Brooklyn, Dexter Styles saw Badger check his wristwatch and then extend a hairy hand…
    I’ve only read Never Let Me Go, maybe Remains of the Day is next?
  • Google’s New Live-Translating Earbuds Look Absolutely Incredible

    ​The Babelfish remains stubbornly fictional, but Google’s Pixel Buds, which it revealed at today’s release event, look like a big step towards creating our own version of Douglas Adams’ polyglot fish.
    Google announced some new stuff. See also a phone with NO HEADPHONE SOCKET OMG!

  • How ‘Germany’s Hugh Hefner’ created an entirely different sort of sex empire

    Hugh Hefner’s death has reopened bitter debates about his place in history. Many obituaries in the mainstream media have described him as a sexual liberator.
    I am not enjoying the response to Hefner’s death, so her is another sexual liberator that you haven’t heard of…

  • We Snuck into Seattle’s Super Secret White Nationalist Convention

    Back in January, I e-mailed Dr. Greg Johnson, organizer of Northwest Forum, Seattle’s hottest closed-door white nationalist convention, asking for an interview on the latest in regional racism. He turned me down.
    The ordinary nature of what goes on is probably more disturbing than if this had been a flag burning rally.

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Bananas Emit Antimatter Almost Every 75 Minutes

    Potassium-40 is a fairly unstable isotope, although the half life is nearly a billion years. Because bananas have so much of this isotope, there is enough decay to generate one positron (approximately) every 75 minutes.
    Hey CERN, hey, see that super collider thingybob… HAVE YOU TRIED A BANANA IN IT?

  • A Story About ‘Magic’

    Some years ago, I (GLS) was snooping around in the cabinets that housed the MIT AI Lab’s PDP-10, and noticed a little switch glued to the frame of one cabinet. It was obviously a homebrew job, added by one of the lab’s hardware hackers (no one knows who).
    A metaphor. I think. Maybe? I dunno. Flip that switch and see what happens!

  • My White Friend Asked Me on Facebook to Explain White Privilege. I Decided to Be Honest

    Yesterday I was tagged in a post by an old high school friend asking me and a few others a very public, direct question about white privilege and racism.
    Well worth a read. As a white male I have privilege up the wazoo so these kind of posts help keep some perspective on that.

  • Local Boy

    The life of twenty-seven-year-old Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of and lead actor in the new musical “In the Heights”—about the ups and downs of the residents of a block in Washington Heights—seemed pretty serene the other day as he did some errands in the old neighborhood.
    A before they were famous article. I think this guy went on to create another Broadway show… maybe..

  • Can You Speed-Read Your Way to Happiness?

    Since you’re wondering: no, I haven’t taken a speed reading course (although I did read 10 Days to Faster Reading). I signed up for Blinkist.
    Excellent article. Confirms I can ignore all the adverts for this (yes I’d been tempted).

  • How I Learned to Stop Being a “Chill Girl” and Start Being Me

    Somewhere along the trek between girlhood and womanhood, I went through a phase of trying excessively hard to be the most chill, fabulously blasé person ever. The problem was that I was not chill. And I hated it.
    Finding yourself, regardless of gender, is hard. Peer pressure sucks.

  • The World’s Greenest Sports Team Is a Century-Old Football Club in a Tiny English Town

    When Dale Vince became the chairman of Forest Green Rovers, a hundred-and-twenty-eight-year-old club in English soccer’s fourth tier, in the autumn of 2010, one of the first problems that he set out to fix was on the menu.
    Whilst I’d heard of FGR, I didn’t realise just how green they were.

  • Bigger, Longer, And Shockingly Feminist

    The first Magic Mike film was definitely a surprise. When you hear there’s a movie coming out starring Channing Tatum as a male stripper, even with an auteur like…
    Still not seen this, but I’ve some free time this weekend….

  • Snopes and the Search for Facts in a Post-Fact World

    It was early March, not yet two months into the Trump administration, and the new Not-Normal was setting in: It continued to be the administration’s position, as enunciated by Sean Spicer, that the inauguration had attracted the “largest audience ever”.
    Dammit, a Trump mention snuck in here…

  • How Apple Built An iPhone Camera That Makes Everyone A Professional Photographer

    This fall, when hundreds of gorgeous, expertly lit portrait shots of friends, relatives, and their pets inevitably begin to dominate your Instagram feed, feel free to thank 17th-century Dutch master painters like Vermeer. It’s the day after Apple’s Sept.
    Yeah it’s good PR but I don’t recall seeing articles like this coming out of anyone else in the smartphone space (Google buying HTC may change that… or may not)

  • Here Are 10 Pictures of Your Daily Recommended Servings of Fruits & Vegetables

    What’s the most important part of a nutritious diet? Most of us can automatically recite the answer: fruits and vegetables. And yet it can be tough to eat the daily recommended amount of produce, and most Americans simply don’t.
    As a visual thinker this is v.helpful (he said, munch on cake whilst skimming reading articles)

  • The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life: the new sleep science

    Leading neuroscientist Matthew Walker on why sleep deprivation is increasing our risk of cancer, heart attack and Alzheimer’s – and what you can do about it.
    Ignore the scaremongering. Sleep is fast becoming better understood and way more valuable now that no-one (it seems) is getting enough.

  • How to Clear Your Amazon Browsing History

    Not only does Amazon track your purchases, it tracks all the products you looked at and didn’t buy too. Here’s how to make it go away. There are a couple reasons you might want to clear your Amazon browsing history.
    I’ll try and remember to re-post this after Christmas, when my browsing history is full of perfume, hair accessories, and toys for two year olds (there ya go, set that one up for y’all…)

  • Am I Bi Enough?

    Content note: this post might be very confusing for straight people. Sorry, buddy, I can’t help you. This isn’t for you.  Happy Bi Visibility Day, the one day of the year where we blink into the visible light spectrum, usually only existing somewhere between X-rays and gamma radiation.
    A good primer for those who are still not that sure what being ‘bi-sexual’ means. Hint: it’s not a binary thing (no pun intended)

  • Ex-British spy on leading a “double life” as a famous author

    The name David Cornwell is probably unfamiliar to most of you, but he’s an interesting person to talk to in these days of alleged political conspiracies, espionage and a rekindling of the Cold War.
    Nope, I didn’t know who David Cornwell was either. Turns out he’s been a tinker, a tailor, a solider, and a spy.

  • Caitlin Moran on Fighting the Cowardice of Cynicism

    Maya Angelou wrote in contemplating courage in the face of evil. In the decades since, cynicism has become a cultural currency as deadly as blood diamonds, as vacant of integrity and long-term payoff as Enron.
    YES YOU CAN.

  • Wes Anderson’s Cinematic Debt to Stanley Kubrick Revealed in a Side-By-Side Comparison

    Most film fans hold the work of Stanley Kubrick and Wes Anderson in high regard, even if they don’t find one, the other, or both to their particular taste. And at first glance, it might seem hard to understand what kind of taste could possibly encompass both Kubrick and Anderson.
    FILM GEEK NIRVANA Item #192

  • Taking a knee

    Late last week, Donald Trump called any NFL player who kneels during the national anthem protesting police brutality a “son of a bitch” (recall that this is the President of the United States we’re talking about here) and said they should be fired (Ha! He said his catchphrase! From that TV show!)
    Yup. Trump. Again. Sorry. But this is an important one.

  • How Hollywood created its own worst enemy in Rotten Tomatoes

    Rotten Tomatoes, which scores movies on its Tomatometer based on the share of critics on the site who gave “good” or “bad” reviews, is the go-to barometer for US films. And Hollywood encouraged it all—until things got rough.
    Something something stop making shit moves/sequels/remakes something

  • Apple Watch Series 3 First Impression: Mindblown.gif

    This might be the most delightful Apple product I’ve ever purchased. It feels like an inflection point in the story arc of consumer devices. The addition of cellular isn’t iterative. It’s revolutionary. In other words: This is my second Apple Watch.
    Interesting side take. As disillusionment with social media grows, as does the desire to ‘switch off’. Is the Series 3 a solution for some?

  • macOS High Sierra Review: A Modern Snow Leopard?

    The Mac has had a stressful time over the past few years. The professional portion of its user base has been wondering about the future as the Mac Pro grew older and less relevant and notebooks got thinner and lighter.
    Worth a read if you use a Mac, some little details I’d not seen elsewhere.

  • You’ve done a man’s job, sir.

    In the run-up to the release of Blade Runner 2049, three short prequels showing events that occurred between the 2019 setting of the original film and the 2049 setting of the sequel have been released.
    ALL THE EXCITE for Blade Runner 2049 (given how much I loved Arrival). So these prequels ONLY ADD TO THE EXCITE!!

  • Structural engineering you can wear

    Whether or not you wear them, chances are you probably don’t realise just how complicated bras are to design and how difficult they are to manufacture.
    Article #512 in ‘fascinating details about everyday items’.

  • The data that prove bad weather alters your mood

    Before Facebook and Twitter existed to explain us to ourselves, we knew the weather made us moody because we were gloomy on rainy days and cheery when the sun shone.
    Article #2927 in ‘No Shit Sherlock’.

  • Marc Benioff got tired of the gender pay gap at Salesforce, so he spent $3 million to close it—twice

    Companies under pressure (paywall) to close the gender pay gap might want to look to Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.
    I’m still not sure if this is a good thing or not. Laudable yes, but he had to do it twice? Why didn’t they fix it the first time? This is not sustainable either. Equality now, please.

  • Staying motivated without urgency

    How do I stay motivated when there’s no sense of urgency? I’ve moved from a stressful ‘everything due yesterday’ full time job to part time teaching and working on my portfolio, and am slipping into some bad habits. Motivation — when we want it most, it just isn’t there.
    Oh god yes to all of this. *looks forlornly at half written novels*

  • Do men interrupt more than women? Yes, they do.

    About a month ago at work I overheard one woman complaining to another woman about a man’s habit of interrupting everyone in meetings. Then they went further. “That’s just how it is around here. The women listen, but the men interrupt in meetings all the time,” one of them summed it up.
    Ugh. Men are dicks.

  • Why We Read: The Case for Books as a Means to Many Ends

    If hell exists, I know that for me, it’s a place without books. Even when I am just out running errands, I always carry a book in my bag with me.
    I too always have a book in my bag.

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Chords of Inquiry
    It’s 1984 or 1985, Prince and the Revolution are in California, and they decide to drive out to Joni Mitchell’s house in Malibu for dinner.
    Can still remembering ‘discovering’ Joni Mitchell about 10 years ago. I’m not a big reader of biographies but might pick this one up.

  • Keeping ‘Insecure’ lit: HBO cinematographer Ava Berkofsky on properly lighting black faces

    The actors on HBO’s Insecure are hotter than you. They’re hotter than your friends, they’re hotter than me and they’re even hotter than the ex the show won’t let you forget about.
    That’s why I’m not hot, IT’S THE LIGHTING! (I’ve been saying this all along).

  • A moment that changed me: turning my back on monogamy

    Brought up believing in romantic exclusivity, relationships caused me crippling jealousy. Then my husband and I embraced polyamory I married my partner, Andrew, in 2011. On our wedding day, in hand-written vows, we pledged love and devotion and to always belong to one another.
    Always interesting to read how others stepped away from monogamy. I may be single (OH SO SINGLE!), but I’m poly.

  • For Muslims In The US, There’s Before 9/11 And There’s After

    When people squint at my name on something in front of them and then ask where I’m from, I tell them “Columbus, Ohio.” When they look again and then, perhaps more urgently, ask where my parents are from, I tell them “New York,” smiling more slightly.
    Harrowing. Check your white privilege at the door (next to mine) and read this. 20 years on, nothing has changed.

  • Two British science museums held a majestic, two-day fight on Twitter

    Twitter battles tend to descend into a dumpster fire of insults. But when a duel emerged between two of Britain’s most prestigious museums, it wasn’t just entertaining, it was educational.
    AKA Social Media done right (although Glasgow Kelvingrove could take them both, just saying)

  • Your Next New Best Friend Might Be a Robot

    One night in late July 2014, a journalist from the Chinese newspaper Southern Weekly interviewed a 17-year-old Chinese girl named Xiaoice (pronounced Shao-ice). The journalist, Liu Jun, conducted the interview online, through the popular social networking platform Weibo.
    That’s great. But my current robot sometimes only listens when I shout… Alexa, ALEXA!!!!

  • Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017

    The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, founded in 1965, is an annual international showcase of the best in nature photography. Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London.
    Inspirational and beautiful images. Inspiring me to burn my camera because COME ON!

  • Here’s Why You Should Embrace Multi-Account Web Browsing

    Firefox users bouncing between work and personal accounts on a daily basis are probably tired of logging in and out, or switching accounts. Thanks to the new (and overdue) Mozilla-made Multi-Account Container extension, you won’t have to worry about remembering which account you’re logged into.
    For all you multiple social media account people (you and your personal branding, huh!)…

  • The Making and Unmaking of Iggy Azalea

    During the summer of 2010, Iggy Azalea lived free of charge in a guest house in Los Angeles, courtesy of Polow Da Don. As the producer behind Fergie’s biggest hits, he saw Iggy as the second coming and wanted to groom her into a pop star.
    The music industry, and many people in it, really are their own worst enemy sometimes

  • Americans Didn’t Ruin the Man Booker Prize. Book Publishers Did.

    Complaining about the Man Booker Prize is an important British tradition. Since its inception—as simply the Booker Prize, in 1969—it has been criticized for its imperialist overtones, its unwillingness to take risks, and, above all, its corrupt insularity.
    Yeah but The Sellout though, unreadable and AMERICAN. Just saying…

  • These Scottish women are leading the way on tackling period poverty

    For the majority of women, periods are a mild inconvenience at best, and a painful few days at worst. But for homeless women – who have little or no access to sanitary products and hygiene facilities – it can be a nightmare.
    As Glasgow parlance would have it “Gon yersel’ hen!”

  • Satya Nadella Rewrites Microsoft’s Code

    Satya Nadella’s corner office, on the fifth floor of Building 34 at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters, features a can’t-miss 84-inch Surface touch-screen computer that dominates one wall. But what demands even more attention are the vast quantities of books in the room.
    Micro … ohhh yeah them! Turns out they are still around and doing pretty damn well thank you. How? By embracing BEING NICE. It’s not rocket science people.

  • The Root 100 – The Most Influential African Americans In 2017
    Of which I’ve only heard of a handle. Shameful.

  • A pile of trash in the ocean has grown to the size of France—and some people want it recognized as a nation

    There’s a country-sized problem in the north Pacific Ocean: a patch of trash has grown to the size of France. So the environmental charity Plastic Oceans Foundation has paired up with the news and entertainment publication LadBible to campaign for it to be recognized as an official country.
    SHAMEFUL. Why do we hate our planet so much?

  • This is your brain on art

    When we experience art, we feel connected to something larger. Why? If you think about it, having a great time at the theater defies logic in many ways.
    Somewhere I’m in the middle sector of a Venn diagram with two circles, science geek, and over emotional child. So this article made a lot of sense!

  • With a series of Wikipedia Edit-a-Thons, Indian women are finally getting their due online

    You only have to look at the Wikipedia page of the early 20th century Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil to know that she’s a household name: It’s detailed, well-sourced, and full of pictures of her works, some of which have been sold for millions of dollars.
    I support Wikipedia financially. Yes it is flawed but things like this keep my faith.

  • Siri is dying. Long live Susan Bennett.

    She’s been in the hands of over 100 million people. Perhaps she’s slept on your nightstand. She may have even drunk-dialed your ex. And guess what: Susan Bennett, the original voice of Apple’s Siri, never saw it coming.
    I’m not sure… is it good, or bad, to now be able to put a face to the voice?

  • iOS 11: The MacStories Review

    iOS 9 marked a significant milestone for the iPad platform. In contrast with previous iPhone interface adaptations, iOS 9 did away with longstanding preconceptions and allowed the iPad to reach beyond the comfort of familiarity with the iPhone’s experience.
    Get a coffee for this one.

  • ESCAPE THE ORDINARY

    If I had a favourite word then it would probably be ‘escape’. Because it’s something I do regularly in my head. Being an adult, with a mortgage, a child and a deep and meaningful subscription to Netflix, escape in the literal sense is no longer an option.
    Wonderful post about finding your passion, regardless of how that is expressed.

  • Why Scientists Seem Like They’re Always Changing Their Minds

    Is coffee good or bad for us this week? Butter is still okay, right? Are we in a “diet coke will kill you” or a “diet coke is fine” cycle? It can be hard to keep track. But headlines don’t tell the full story. Behind the scenes, scientists aren’t constantly disagreeing and flip-flopping.
    I’m guilty of accusing “Science” of this exact thing, which is why I always take those articles with a pinch of salt (except on the weeks when salt is bad for you, obvs)

  • Dive into the details of iOS 11: Is Apple still detail-oriented?

    Few days ago, Apple had their fall special event at Steve Jobs Theater located inside Apple Park, unveiling the all screen iPhone X, and later pushing iOS 11 GM to beta testers, which is going out officially next week. I updated my phone as soon as I got the push of iOS 11 GM.
    One for the geeks. I hope this guy never looks at this blog though…

  • Ridley Scott Walks You Through His Favorite Scene from Blade Runner

    The opening Voight-Kampff test that turns explosive, the flight over the high-rise rooftops and past the tower-side video geisha of 2019 Los Angeles, Roy Batty’s dying monologue on the rainy rooftop, Deckard picking up Gaff’s origami unicorn…
    Interesting choice, I need to re-(re-re-re-re-)watch this I think.

  • Is there a single food that you can survive on forever?

    For all of 2016, Andrew Taylor ate only potatoes. There were a few caveats: He ate both white potatoes and sweet ones, and sometimes mixed in soymilk, tomato sauce, salt and herbs. He also took B12 supplements. But, overall, he ate potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
    THIS MAN IS MY HERO! (this week at least, until Science change their mind again)

  • How a Recording Studio Mishap Created the Famous Drum Sound That Defined 80s Music & Beyond

    It’s not a subtle effect, by any means, which is precisely what makes it so effective.
    If you like this kinda thing (hidden details) you should check out 99% Invisible.

  • Building a Better Coral Reef

    ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF, off Australia — After a plunge beneath the crystal-clear water to inspect a coral reef, Neal Cantin pulled off his mask and shook his head.
    We are killing so much of this amazing planet. So sad.

  • This Stanford Professor Has a Theory on Why 2017 Is Filled With Jerks

    We are living in a world full of assholes.
    And it’s not just 2017…

  • AC/DC’s “Back in Black” Played on the Gayageum, a Korean Instrument Dating Back to the 6th Century

    Every now and again, we check in on what’s happening in the musical world of Luna Lee–a musician who performs Western music on the Gayageum, a traditional Korean stringed instrument that dates back to the 6th century.
    Take a few minutes to listen to this. Then realise you’ve lost your evening down a wonderful musical rabbithole.

  • The Mysterious Voynich Manuscript, the 15th-Century Manuscript Written in a Language Linguists & Code-Breakers Have Never Been Able to Decipher

    A 600-year-old manuscript—written in a script no one has ever decoded, filled with cryptic illustrations, its origins remaining to this day a mystery….
    I’ve linked to articles about this manuscript before but don’t think I’d actually seen more than one photo of it before. Fascinating.

  • iPhone 8 Plus Camera Review: India

    I’m writing to you from a small hotel room in India having just experienced a magical adventure in western India orchestrated by friends at Ker & Downey. I’ve shot thousands of images and countless portraits with the iPhone 8 Plus and I’m excited to share what I’ve learned.
    1. I need to up my photo taking skills. 2. You’ll get prompted to sign up to get a free ebook, it’s actually pretty good.

  • Anatomy of a Moral Panic

    On September 18, the British Channel 4 ran a news segment with the headline, ‘Potentially deadly bomb ingredients are ‘frequently bought together’ on Amazon.
    Maybe it’d be better just to have one news outlet, something that would handle all newspapers, radio, TV…

  • Why Glasgow is one of the world’s coolest creative cities

    Duncan refers to the rooftop viewing platform of Scotland’s Centre for Design and Architecture, from which you can enjoy panoramic views over everything from elegant Charles Rennie Mackintosh-designed buildings to the gothic spire of Glasgow Cathedral.
    I really REALLY need to make more use of some of these places.

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

Shorter list this week, largely because I’m presuming everyone is already aware (if they wanna be) of whatever the idiot President of the USA has said/done now, that you’ve already seen/heard enough hurricane horrors, and frankly want a break from the pending nuclear annihilation we might be facing (thanks North Korea!!).

Ummm, so on that… er… cheery note…

  • How Silicon Valley is erasing your individuality

    Until recently, it was easy to define our most widely known corporations. Any third-grader could describe their essence. Exxon sells gas; McDonald’s makes hamburgers; Walmart is a place to buy stuff. This is no longer so. Today’s ascendant monopolies aspire to encompass all of existence.
    If this piqued your interest, I’d suggest heading over to this article by the always wonderful 99% Invisible (listen or read)

  • You can actually be allergic to exercise

    Joe O’Leary went to dinner with his parents at around 8 p.m. one Wednesday in March of 2015. He split a pizza, topped with tomatoes and peppers, with his mom. Then he set out for the gym and hopped on the elliptical. But about a half-hour into the workout, he started feeling weird.
    Allergic is the same as ‘please stop making me do burpees I hate them’, right?

  • The great nutrient collapse

    The atmosphere is literally changing the food we eat, for the worse. And almost nobody is paying attention. Irakli Loladze is a mathematician by training, but he was in a biology lab when he encountered the puzzle that would change his life.
    In one ear I’ve got vegans telling me to stop eating animals, in the other ear ‘all your vegetables are fucked’…

  • The ‘internet of things’ is sending us back to the Middle Ages

    Internet-enabled devices are so common, and so vulnerable, that hackers recently broke into a casino through its fish tank. The tank had internet-connected sensors measuring its temperature and cleanliness.
    Alexa, have you been hacked? Oh god, don’t tell them about that multi-pack of … ahem… never mind!

  • Hipster Demand for Fancy Coffee Is Really Helping Africa’s Farmers

    Your $6 single-origin Yirgacheffe habit is giving the industry new legs. The best vendors, restaurants, and concession stands on the Rockaway peninsula.
    OK, some good news. Except, that means… hipsters are good? DAMMIT

  • Cassini Spacecraft: Top Discoveries

    Our Cassini spacecraft has been exploring Saturn, its stunning rings and its strange and beautiful moons for more than a decade.
    Farewall to the little space probe that could. *sniff*

bookmark_borderWeekend Reading

  • Hogwarts as Never-Never Land: Stephen King on The Goblet of Fire

    “I read the first novel in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, in April 1999 and was only moderately impressed. But in April 1999 I was pretty much all right.”
    Pop culture clash with the ever wonderful Mr. King. Insightful as ever.

  • What Do We Mean When We Say “Toxic Masculinity?”

    This. All of this.

  • ‘It was wonderfully scary’: Tim Curry, Rob Reiner and Kathy Bates on the joy of adapting Stephen King

    Four decades after Carrie, the master horror writer’s It is the latest of his tales to be turned into a film. Actors and directors explain what’s kept the industry hooked Hollywood pounced on Stephen King as soon as his first novel, Carrie, was published in 1974.
    I’ve read the novel, and barely recall watching snippets of the TV Movie, and I don’t like horror movies… but…

  • Alien-Like Blob Found in Lake is Actually a Living Thing

    Sometimes, we are all this blob—a large, gelatinous mound sitting in a lake, begging to be left alone. Recently, one such blob was found near the Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park, Vancouver. While it might not look like something from Earth, the Blob is very much alive—and it contains multitudes.
    We are multitudes. Nature is awesome.

  • Sending Summer Off With a Bang: 55-Foot-Tall Sand Castle Snags World Record

    It’s virtually impossible to get a sense of just how large this world-record-smashing sand castle really is until you see a shot that includes crowds of tiny humans gathered around its base.
    Meanwhile I can’t even turn out a castle shaped bucket without losing one of the towers…

  • ‘Ally McBeal’ at 20: Calista Flockhart, David E. Kelley and More on Dancing Babies, Feminism and Robert Downey Jr.

    If TV shows had godparents, Ally McBeal’s would have been Melrose Place and The Practice. Without those two series, chances are Fox’s groundbreaking dramedy about a lawyer and her crazed life might never have happened.
    I loved Ally McBeal and… WHOA, 20 years. (Also, Lisa Nicole Carson. Just saying).

  • This music production tool is the reason why all new music sounds the same

    Imagine music as a recipe.
    Yet one more reason I am no longer passionate about ‘chart’ music.

  • The bad news is that fish are eating lots of plastic. Even worse, they may like it.

    As you bite down into a delicious piece of fish, you probably don’t think about what the fish itself ate — but perhaps you should. More than 50 species of fish have been found to consume plastic trash at sea.
    Goes alongside other news this week that our (filtered) water supplies are tainted with plastic too. We are plastic people.

  • Why Freddie Mercury’s Voice Was So Great, As Explained By Science

    Freddie Mercury, the late frontman for the legendary band Queen, died almost 25 years ago. But he’s still regarded as one of the best rock singers ever. What, exactly, made him so great? A research team in Europe wanted to answer that question, so it looked into the science behind his voice.
    Science? SCIENCE? He’s Freddie motherfuckin’ Mercury, that’s all the damn science you need! (Ahem, Queen may be my favourite band, just sayin’)

  • Don’t Call It Pink Chocolate

    Barry Callebaut AG, the world’s largest cocoa processor, has come up with the first new natural color for chocolate since Nestle. A started making bars of white chocolate more than 80 years ago.
    I’m waiting on the first ‘but where is the blue chocolate for boys’ idiot to show up.

  • Celery Was the Avocado Toast of the Victorian Era

    Though it’s the crucial third component of a mirepoix, cooked celery is one of the most universally hated vegetables.
    Further proof that trends are not a new… er… trend… ?

  • Wild dog packs count sneezes to vote democratically

    Wild dogs aren’t totally wild, it turns out. As in any society, there are complex rules in their packs, plus powerful types who disproportionately influence the group. Yet the will of the many does at times prevail.
    All those who want this instituted in Parliament, SNEEZE TWICE!

  • You Are the Product

    At the end of June, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook had hit a new level: two billion monthly active users. That number, the company’s preferred ‘metric’ when measuring its own size, means two billion different people used Facebook in the preceding month.
    We the people. Etc etc. Sheesh.

  • Why Happy People Cheat

    “Most descriptions of troubled marriages don’t seem to fit my situation,” Priya insists. “Colin and I have a wonderful relationship. Great kids, no financial stresses, careers we love, great friends.
    There are other options people. It takes hard work and complete honest.

  • Rebecca Solnit: if I were a man

    Growing up, the author joked she was the perfect son: intelligent, ambitious, independent. How different might her life have been? When I was very young, some gay friends of mine threw a cross-dressing party.
    Wonderful, thought provoking, article.

  • iOS 11 Almost Turns an iPad in to a MacBook

    Next Tuesday Apple will be hosting an event where we expect to see the unveil of their latest iPhone. As it’s the 10th anniversary of the game-changing device, expectations are high for a significant new design.
    I’ve been playing with iOS 11 Beta releases, the muscle memory isn’t quite there yet but it’s a massive improvement for iPad users.

  • You’ll Be Happier If You Let Yourself Feel Bad

    There’s a moment in Oscar Wilde’s novel The Picture of Dorian Gray when the title character declares war on his feelings: “I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions,” Dorian says. “I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”
    I’ve worked on exactly this. Learning how to step back and accept how things are, regardless of your emotional state isn’t easy but very worthwhile (when it works, it doesn’t always).

  • The Gift of Presence, The Perils of Advice

    When my mother went into a nursing home not long before she died, my wife and I were told that, for a modest increase in the monthly fee, the staff would provide a few extra services to improve her quality of life. We gladly paid, grateful that we could afford it.
    Recent family events (my Uncle passed away) brings this sort of thing into sharp relief.

  • The Literary Allure of Edinburgh, Explained

    Edinburgh is a Gothic mystery. There is fiction and horror, death and, on occasion, romance. There are things that go bump in the night. It’s the kind of place that makes you think witches – the Hansel and Gretel type, not Sabrina, The Teenage Witch – are real.
    I really need to explore Edinburgh more, even though it’s only the second best city in Scotland (after Glasgow).

bookmark_borderWeekend 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.