December 21
"It's like the taste of my Grandma's sofa."
Washington Post writer Monica Hesse ruminates on an annual office party snack tradition (The giant tri-flavor holiday popcorn tin sends a message, which is, “I was thinking of you, but not until I was already in the checkout aisle of Big Lots.”) and speaks with the CEO of one of the major producers (“If you lined up all of our holiday popcorn tins that we produced in 2016, you could start at the White House and end at Fenway Park in Boston.”).
Meanwhile, Post staffers compare an expensive tin to a cheap one to answer the culinary question "Is there really a difference between holiday popcorn brands?" (video, no captions).
Your performance this year gave us paws
the early seasons look pretty rough
“Cheers love, the calvary's queer.”
A New Overwatch Comic Celebrates the Holidays and Establishes That Tracer is Gay [PC Gamer] “The newest Overwatch digital comic, entitled Reflections, follows the high-speed holiday adventures of Tracer as she races through the streets of London in search of the perfect gift for her partner. Because yes, as it turns out, Tracer has a partner in Blizzard's official lore, and her partner is a woman. The comic itself is a fairly straightforward heartwarming tale of what really matters during the most hectic season of all. But the reaction to Tracer's identity has been anything but. Messages decrying Blizzard's "mistake" have cropped up all over the Overwatch forums and other social media, countered by others praising the studio for explicitly stating—in a low-key fashion—that the face of one of the biggest games of the year is gay.” [more inside]
The David Foster Wallace disease
He had the brain that ate itself | Wallace was depressed, and so his terribly powerful intelligence was, in fact, his terrible master. [more inside]
The World's First Māori emoji app
"I have a crazy laugh."
2016 sucked for most of us, for many reasons, but there was one thing that consistently made me laugh or smile, no matter how bad things were:
Amy Poehler's Laugh Is The Best Laugh
Amy Poehler Laugh Tribute
Both contain scenes from Parks and Recreation blooper reel laughs
Amy Poehler's Laugh Is The Best Laugh
Amy Poehler Laugh Tribute
Both contain scenes from Parks and Recreation blooper reel laughs
Distributed Algorithms
‘Why is it,’ [Henry] Ford complained, ‘every time I ask for a pair of hands, they come with a brain attached?’ Ant colonies and radical possibilities for human societies.
Ullevaalsalléen 5, Oslo
The Baby in the Plastic Bag. A non-fiction story in nine chapters, translated into English from Norwegian. Each chapter contains a brief autoplaying sound.
We wish you a scary solstice (mlyt)
A murder of dancers and crows
French dancer Marie-Laure Agrapart performs beautifully choreographed routines that most notably involve her dance partner, an exceptionally trained black crow. [more inside]
"I just want Bruce Lee to hold me as long as he can"
Jeopardy Champion
When Cindy Stowell was called by the Jeopardy producers about having earned a chance to audition, she told them it would have to be fast; she had Stage IV colon cancer and an estimated six months to live. Stowell passed away on December 5, eight days before the first day of her winning streak began to air. After Tuesday night's show Cindy’s six-day total is $103,803 (U.S.), which she donated to cancer research.
All the NOPE
Cahokia was bigger than Paris—then it was completely abandoned.
"The more they dug, the more obvious it became that this was no ordinary place. The structures they excavated were full of ritual objects charred by sacred fires. We found the remains of feasts and a rare earthen structure lined with yellow soils. Baires, Baltus, and their team had accidentally stumbled on an archaeological treasure trove linked to the city's demise. The story of this place would take us back to the final decades of a great city whose social structure was undergoing a radical transformation." Annalee Newitz for Ars Technica: Finding North America's lost medieval city [more inside]
An Oral History of Shazaam
An Oral History of Shazaam, the semi-beloved but instantly-recognizable 90's movie starring Sinbad, compiled by Amelia Tait.
Furiosa’s Cat Feeder
Yes, Heinlein is the progressive one.
Why do you care so much about lunar phase, anyway?
Do you have a sweet 1989 ST:TNG calendar in your attic? Good news: it will totally work in 2017, except for Riker looking really strange without the beard. Or if your grandma's Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore calendar from 1922 is still hanging in the kitchen, you're in luck. Check what other old calendars are still useful at WhenCanIReuseThisCalendar.com.
“He doesn’t do much plumbing, or talk about his heritage”
The Economist: How Super Mario became a global cultural icon.
Children—and their parents—lost days of their lives inside Mr Miyamoto’s kingdom. “Super Mario Bros.” sold 40m copies and the Mario franchise never looked back; it went on to produce more than 200 games, several television shows and one memorably lousy movie. By 1990 American children were more familiar with Mario than with Mickey Mouse.
Children—and their parents—lost days of their lives inside Mr Miyamoto’s kingdom. “Super Mario Bros.” sold 40m copies and the Mario franchise never looked back; it went on to produce more than 200 games, several television shows and one memorably lousy movie. By 1990 American children were more familiar with Mario than with Mickey Mouse.
Is YouTube changing how young children act and see the world?
Zapp Lazerbeem (Second Baseman, Atlanta Braves, 92-99)
The physics of melanin; the joy of colors
Technically, melanin is a set of biomolecules that we think are synthesized by enzymes and that are notably very visibly colored. There are three types of melanin: the most common, eumelanin, which appears black or brown and occurs in skin and hair; the less abundant pheomelanin, which is on the yellow-to-red spectrum; and neuromelanin, which appears in high concentrations in the human brain, but the function of which we essentially don’t understand at all. For the most part, it seems, we don’t understand melanin. Despite this lack of scientific understanding, the social consequences of melanin are understood intimately by many of us.
Good news, everybody! Seriously. Good news!
From any perspective, the progress humanity has made in recent history is astonishing, as this fantastic analysis by Oxford economist Max Roser shows. Economically, 130,000 people have exited extreme poverty every day since 1990. In 1800 1-in-10 people were literate, now it is 85%. Child mortality has dropped a 100x in the same period, even as populations levels are expected to peak in 2075. The stats for education are no less impressive. There is a nice infographic summarizing these and other trends as well. You can put together your own interactive own charts using the amazing data gathered by Prof. Roser's Our World in Data site.
Refugees-The-Right-Thing-to-Do.pptx
Jim Estill put up $1.5 million to bring 58 families to Canada. He found them homes, gave them jobs and even bought one man a dollar store. How the mild-mannered CEO of an appliance company became the Oskar Schindler of Guelph. [slTorontoLife]
Why tell your lover you aren’t into them when you can just fadeaway?
A fadeaway is when someone quietly disappears from someone they are dating; Ignoring texts and never fessing up to their disinterest. The fadeaway is a close cousin to ghosting: the act of totally cutting off communication with someone you are dating but no longer wishes to date.. [more inside]
Meet New York's 11-year-old subway therapist
If you’re in need of some emotional advice, but have neither the time or the money to waste on a qualified therapist, this 11-year-old kid has you covered. Also see the Daily Telegraph link.
it's all about the light.
Captain *William* Trigger, not just Captain Trigger
Practical philosophers
The Early Sports and Pop Culture History Blog discusses the history and etymology of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ nickname in The Grim Reality of the “Trolley Dodgers”. Don't miss the link to Jeff B's A Trip Down Market Street 1906 With Street Sounds with its first-person view from a trolley in San Francisco, filmed days before the famous earthquake of 1906.
December 20
"My sister and my Mommy/They just eat edamame"
Conan Writes Chicago Blues Songs With School Kids. (SLYT, no captions)
A dozen (and more) demons for December
If you're looking to tell your own ghost stories this winter (or anytime, really), you may enjoy reading about a dozen demons from around the world: 1. Bā Jiāo Guǐ, 2. Buruburu, 3. Crocotta, 4. Daeva, 5. Kallikantzaros, 6. Kalma, 7. Pishtaco, 8. Penanggalan, 9. Redcap, 10. Rogarou, 11. Shtriga, and 12. Vetala. If you want more than a sampling of mythical creatures referenced in Supernatural that weren't fabricated for the show, you may then enjoy ... [more inside]
the best telescope is the one you have with you
What's that? A bong? A trench mortar? A thermos? A bomb? No, it's a parabolic Newtonian reflector on a ball type cast aluminium altazimuth mount.
It's an Astroscan! [more inside]
It's an Astroscan! [more inside]
Happy Holidays from the US Mission in Japan
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and the staff of the United States Mission in Japan (from Tokyo, Sapporo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Naha) perform the Koi Dance. [more inside]
Quality ~ Progress ~ Service
From the Farm to the Factory: A video from the American Peanut Shellers Association shows how peanuts are harvested, processed, and used to make a variety of products.
That’s not supposed to happen, right?
"The Venus Effect" by Joseph Allen Hill is "a story of stories, a metafictional experience that sees the narrator seeking to create a story where the main character can take part in big SFF adventures and not, well…not get shot by police." [more inside]
"Not today, Apocalypse," she said.
Outside, the quarantine train was unblemished white. Black, Their Regalia, a fantasy short story by Darcie Little Badger.
“The racism allegory in Mankind Divided is already clear,”
A History of Deus Ex's Racism Controversies [New Normative] “With futuristic, sci-fi sequel Deus Ex: Mankind Divided [YouTube], developer Eidos Montreal has once again found itself walking atop the fiery coals of controversy. The developer first landed itself in trouble by referring to the game’s poor treatment of augmented humans (‘augs’ are treated as second class citizens, forced to live in ghettos) as the ‘Mechanical Apartheid.’ Apartheid is the term used to describe the horrific, and very real, period of segregation and oppression faced by black South Africans during the 20th century (1948-94). Many have questioned whether it is appropriate for the term, which is based on the South African language of Afrikaans (which is itself based upon the Dutch language, introduced to the territory by Dutch settlers) to be adapted and used as a slogan in a video game. In subsequent marketing materials – concept art created to further depict this oppression – the movement in favour of better treatment of augmented people is referred to as ‘Aug Lives Matter. It’s an unmistakeable and questionable nod of the head to the real-world movement for the better treatment of black people, Black Lives Matter.” [more inside]
The Libertarian Holiday Gift Guide
Reason TV suggests Christmas gifts for that special someone in your life.
Last Call for Chicago PD Explosives Dog
Chicago Cops Honor Dying Police Dog With Touching Last Call In her lifetime, the dog had protected the president, first lady and foreign dignitaries, reported the Chicago Tribune, which also has audio of the touching last call.
“All units standby,” a dispatcher said Sunday. “7323 canine Rachel. 7323 canine Rachel. No response for canine Rachel. This is a final call for Chicago Police Explosives canine Rachel.”
She was put down 15 minutes later.
Officer Charles Kocanda had trained Rachel. “Our condolences go out to her handler, Officer Chuck Kocanda, who worked with her daily to make sure she was the best she could be,” the police department said in its Facebook post.
They did not pass.
100 years ago the battle of Verdun came to an end. On December 18/19, 1916, the German assault on Verdun is completely defeated after 300 days of some of the most horrendous fighting in World War I. French forces triumphantly led by commanders soon to become notorious (Nivelle and Pétain) regained all the land that the enemy had taken. 11,000 demoralized German soldiers surrendered. "France had won her most brilliant victory since the Marne." (Horne) [more inside]
Sherlock's "The Six Thatchers" episode will air on 1 January
Sherlock Returns! The first installment of the much-anticipated Season 4 kicks off the new year. [more inside]
Christmas Music for People Who Hate Christmas Music
Want the humbugs to hum along? Amelia has been making Christmas mixes for a long time. She started sixteen years ago with cassettes. CD-Rs forced her to adopt another technology. Now she has adopted Mixcloud which loses a bit of personalization, but more of us can benefit can benefit from her good holiday music selections.
90-year-old Jerry Lewis gives precisely zero fucks
Watch the Most Painfully Awkward Interview of 2016: 7 Minutes With Jerry Lewis
Pillar of the community struck down at the age of 138
Augusta, Georgia's Haunted Pillar, has been a downtown landmark since Broad Street's Old Lower Market was razed by a freak winter cyclone on February 8th, 1878, leaving just the pillar standing. Local legend holds the column to be cursed, bringing death to any who touch it. On the morning of December 18th, 2016, an auto accident slammed a car into the Haunted Pillar, toppling it. [more inside]
"remember and honor the history, but live in the [steampunk] present"
The Polish artist Jakub Rozalski, who goes by the sobriquet “Mr. Werewolf,” has produced an amusing series of steampunk-ish canvases in which serene and idyllic rustic landscapes of what seem to be Eastern Europe (Rozalski’s very back yard, you might say) in the early decades of the 20th century feature the prominent and inexplicable existence of completely fictitious giant mecha robots.[more inside]
Homer and Harold
Dick Latessa
Dick Latessa, Broadway star of Follies, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Hairspray and The Lyons, among many other productions, passed away at the age of 87. Latessa won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
Hidden Reads
Hidden gems of 2016: the best books you may have missed. Writers and critics at the Guardian point out the ones that you may have missed or not even heard about. [more inside]
Why Teen Vogue is killing it
"Everyone loves rainbow highlighters. They make you look like a beautiful pixie who fronts a glam-rock band. Also, white nationalism is a cancer on our democracy. Women are capable of holding both of these truths in their minds, and prioritizing them accordingly." The true story of how Teen Vogue got mad, got woke, and began terrifying men like Donald Trump