Larry’s red space suit and other oddly satisfying and mildly interesting things I saw on the Internet
The San Diego Human Relations Commission is a safe space for anti-semitism and transphobia. Or it was—the Human Relations Commission is losing humans, as three commissioners resign in protest over the bigotry. www.msn.com/en-us/new…
Things I saw walking this morning: That lawn has a lot going on. And Purple Snoopy does not live up to his publicity.
Sci-fi writer Ted Chiang: 'The machines we have now are not conscious'
In the 1970s, a Soviet journalist named Valentin Zorin made a series of documentary films about the United States. At a time when few Russian journalists came to the U.S., Zorin traveled all across the country, and gained access few American journalists had. The Cold War was a battle of ideas, and Zorin saw himself on the front lines. He was on a quest to unmask the United States by spreading doubt, conspiracy theories, and a strange cocktail of truth and misinformation.
— Children of Zorin, on the Last Archive podcast www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/…
“Over my many years in politics and business, I have found one thing to be universally true: the kindest person in the room is often the smartest.” daringfireball.net/linked/20…
A Dad shows off for his delighted toddler daughter and other oddly satisfying and mildly interesting things I found on the internet
Buck Martinez needs a spinoff series because that name is awesome.
Thunderation! The Speaker Demands Bean Soup (1904) On July 27, 1904, Speaker of the House Joseph Cannon went to the Capitol dining room looking forward to his usual bowl of bean soup, “and is met with an unfortunate surprise.” Cannon raised a fuss (because I guess there was nothing more important going on in 1904). Bean soup has been on the menu every day since—except for one.
On the “This Day in Esoteric Political History” podcast, which points out that it’s bonkers to want a hot bowl of soup for lunch in Washington D.C. in July before air conditioning was invented.
You’ll never guess what Twitter did with the guy who had the @X handle (spoiler: you will guess) daringfireball.net/linked/20…
The FBI is once again violating legal restrictions on spying on American citizens, querying communications with a state senator and US senator. The queries are a violation of FISA Section 702, which provides limited permission for the FBI to tap American communications overseas. The FBI has shown its disregard for the law. Moreover, “we live in a globalized world where U.S. persons regularly communicate with people in other countries,” making Section 702 excessively broad even as written, writes Matthew Guariglia at eff.org. www.eff.org/deeplinks…
Red Hat’s recent decision to restrict the source code for its enterprise Linux build has led open-source projects big and small to come up with creative strategies to continue to serve their users. www.vice.com/en/articl…
It’s uncomfortable when you’re at the supermarket and you hear a song that you once thought was edgy and dangerous. This is not a problem if you’re into death metal or Yoko Ono.
A brief history of making out. Turns out “romantic, sexual, steamy” kissing isn’t instinctual behavior; it’s a learned cultural practice. A lot of societies don’t do it, most primates don’t do it, and people only started relatively recently, a few thousand years ago. On the Decoder Ring podcast, hosted by Willa Paskin and produced by Paskin and Katie Shepherd. slate.com/podcasts/…
This podcast pairs nicely with this week’s episode of Savage Lovecast, where host Dan Savage talks about primate masturbation with evolutionary biologist Dr. Matilda Brindle. savage.love/lovecast/…
Ghost Church: The delightful Jamie Loftus looks at the American spiritualism movement, including its history, and she visits the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Florida. Loftus is funny, wise and takes a friendly but skeptical view. www.iheart.com/podcast/1…
Loftus previously did podcasts about joining Mensa for a year and the comic strip Cathy.
Her podcast about Nabokov’s “Lolita” discusses how nearly 70 years of critics and filmmakers completely miss the point of the novel by portraying Humbert Humbert as a victim of a seductress. He’s not the victim—he’s a pedophile who destroys a little girl’s life. www.avclub.com/jamie-lof…
“Majorly” seems to me like it’s just plain wrong. Bad English. Not a real word. But apparently, I’m wrong about that. Majorly is a real word, albeit relatively recent. It was first used in 1955.
However, I think it’s going to be a while before I stop majorly cringing every time I see or hear it.
I am in awe of the mental gymnastics required to conclude that there's any solution to homelessness other than finding housing for people. It's like telling a drowning person that their real problem is they eat fatty foods.
Sunday morning comics, Ohio, 1950s. And other things I found on the Internet
Republicans want to pass the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) to suppress LGBTQ+ voices. “Pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it, pass it,” says Biden. www.techdirt.com/2023/07/2…
It’s not just LGBTQ+ voices that are at risk. KOSA gives broad enforcement authority to states’ attorneys general. In blue states, that could mean suppression of conservative views.
“Lies I’ve told my 3 year old recently.” Extremely short. Just read it. www.mexicanpictures.com/headingea…