Ian Bogost on the puzzle success of the NY Times. “It has brought back a gentler philosophy of game design: that great joy can come from solving little problems on the regular.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
THe Great Green Wall being built in Africa to halt the southern progress of the Sahara Desert is a favorite public works project of mine — it’s massive, ambitious, long-term, important, and if it works, the effect will repay the cost many times over. This video takes a quick look … | Continue reading
How real do jobs on TV seem? Opinions from an actual preist about Fleabag’s hot priest (“I liked that he cussed and was funny”), thoughts from a restaurateur on The Bear, and a doctor weighs in on Scrubs. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
It’s that time of year again: the Tournament of Books is underway. In the style of March Madness, ToB is a “month-long battle royale among the year’s best novels”. I helped judge this once…it was hella fun. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
When the Star Wars films aired in Chile, instead of cutting away from the movie for commercial breaks, the TV station “seamlessly” inserted ads for Cerveza Cristal beer. We’re talking Obi-Wan opening a chest to find a lightsaber for Luke and instead it reveals a ice-chest full of … | Continue reading
Beowulf, translated into Gen Z English. “A smol bean to start with, he would glow up hard later on / As his powers got fire af and his rizz went viral. Legend.” I think this is easier to read in the original Old English… Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Alan Taylor is an under-appreciated internet curator. He’s been overseeing the photographic vibe over at The Atlantic’s In Focus for what seems like forever, and the quality is as high as ever. His latest post is 100 Years Ago in Photos: A Look Back at 1924. The caption of that … | Continue reading
A review of basic income experiments around the US. “Supporters say it works because people can spend the money on whatever they need most.” (I got a little heated in a recent argument w/ someone who was arguing “you just can’t give people money”. Yes, you just can!) Join the … | Continue reading
Wooooo! XOXO is coming back for one last conference. I will see you there! *toggle* *toggle* *toggle* Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Oh no, a dreaded dose of site news — but I’ll make this quick. One of the changes I quietly made to the site with the recent redesign is enabling members to set their own price on memberships. It’s been 7 and a half years since the membership program launched, and I’ve thought ab … | Continue reading
Is it just me, or has “unhinged” reached peak saturation? It feels like I see it at least three times a day now. What about “out to lunch”? Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
A “hypervaccinated” man voluntarily received 217 Covid vaccine shots in a 29-month period. He’s shown no signs of ever having Covid and has suffered no side effects. “The researchers found that his immune system was fully functional.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
From a YouTube channel called The Solomon Society, a pair of videos that some of the most beautiful shots in the history of film. When Denis Villeneuve emphasizes the important of image in film, these are the kinds of shots that he’s talking about. Oh and in case you want to wast … | Continue reading
The FDA just approved the first over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor. I was glad to be able to use a friend’s CGM last year when it seemed like I might have gestational diabetes, and I wonder if this will become common for pregnant people. Join the discussion on kottke. … | Continue reading
Sphere Refuses To Release U2 Despite Band Fulfilling Terms Of Residency. “Yes, you have played your 40 shows, but the laws of man do not apply to the Sphere.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
The other day while chatting on Discord, I paused to pick out an emoji to apply to a friend’s comment. I wanted to use a heart to show that I liked the comment, but I’d already used the red heart and wanted to add a little more flair. Usually I just pick a pink one arbitrarily, b … | Continue reading
What music different birds would listen to. All right, the gull one got me. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
I haven’t watched this yet, but it’s definitely in my queue: a recording of a livestreamed panel of all the visual effects nominees from this year’s Oscars, talking about their work on those films. I got this from Todd Vaziri, a visual effects artist at ILM, who says: If you’re a … | Continue reading
“The first over-the-counter birth control pill will be available in U.S. stores later this month, allowing American women and teens to purchase contraceptive medication as easily as they buy aspirin.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Kate Wagner (from McMansion Hell) was sent to an F1 race by Road & Track and the resulting article was published and then, poof, vanished. (Archived here!) “If you wanted to turn someone into a socialist you could [show them] the paddock of a Formula 1 race.” Join the discussi … | Continue reading
Bill Braun is a “trompe l’oeil painter” who creates paintings that look like paper craft, complete with visible paper folds, shadows, and even the “staples” holding the “paper” to the backing. What an incredible illusion. And I always enjoy an artist who is reticent to give an ar … | Continue reading
Wow, another amazing interactive explainer from Bartosz Ciechanowski; this one is about airfoils and how airplanes fly. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Ronan Farrow profiles RuPaul for the New Yorker. “He’s seen the way people connect to the show. That’s the way for him to spread the rebuttal to what’s happening in the world. His way to ward off the enemy.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Is the universe finite or infinite? If finite, what shape is it and how does that shape influence its overall size and properties? If it’s infinite, what meaning of “expanding” can be applied to it? I don’t know if this video provides any satisfying answers, but even being able t … | Continue reading
Adam Yates travelled to Amsterdam to see how the Dutch have transformed the city and made it safer for people to get where they’re going more quickly. The phrase that grabbed me is: Pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles can all coexist without conflict, but only if they’re all goin … | Continue reading
A Mastodon client for the Apple II. Yes, you read that right. It supports 2-factor auth! Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
“France on Monday enshrined the right to abortion in its constitution, a world first welcomed by women’s rights groups as historic.” The vote was 780 votes for and 72 against. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Madrid’s Museo Nacional del Prado recently put on an exhibition called On the Reverse that featured the backs of notable works of art. This exhibition goes beyond the simple action of turning paintings around. Rather, the Museo del Prado is undertaking a complete reassessment of … | Continue reading
New puzzle game from the NY Times: Strands. It’s a theme-based word search. I like the wrinkle that finding non-theme words earns you hints. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
An amazing analysis of “title drops” (when a movie character says the name of a movie in the movie.) “There’s an average of 10.3 title drops per movie that title drops. If they do it, they really go for it.” (See: Barbie.) Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
This essay on arranged marriage makes me wonder who my parents might have chosen for me & how that might’ve worked out. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Right from the start of her first book, Sense and Sensibility, Austen used an innovative narration technique called free indirect speech: To understand why Austen’s narration is so distinct, the method and style of narration in which she wrote must be understood. Austen wrote in … | Continue reading
A remembrance of legendary film scholar David Bordwell, who died recently at the age of 76. “Bordwell proved that the best way to be a cinephile is to be open to everything.” His blog (co-authored w/ his wife Kristin Thompson) was excellent. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Denisovan humans were first discovered in 2010 but DNA gathered since then “offers a picture of remarkable humans”, showing that “from a behavioral perspective, they were much more like modern humans”. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
The Supreme Court Must Be Stopped. “I think of the Supreme Court the way Batman thinks of Superman: an extremely powerful being who is untethered from the laws of physics and therefore must always be considered a threat to free society.” | Continue reading
Vogue: Fashion icon Iris Apfel has died at the age of 102. “I’m a total workaholic, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be a cover girl in my nineties.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Publishers Weekly gave Emil Ferris’s eagerly anticipated graphic novel My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Book Two a starred review, calling it “a triumph.” Yay! The book is due out May 28, but there’s a (wonderful!) excerpt in the New Yorker, where the whole thing is called “well wo … | Continue reading
What movies have you most enjoyed in the past year? Pretentious Atomic Amadeus? Gently Insightful Immigration Throuple? Extreme Home Makeover: Fascism? Bright-Pink Masterpiece? Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Do The Work: A guide to understanding power and creating change is a forthcoming book from Roxane Gay & Megan Pillow. “Challenge your biases and broaden your understanding of power and how we wield it with this essential guide.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Well. Finally. I’m unbelievably pleased, relieved, and exhausted to launch the long-awaited (by me) redesign of kottke.org today. Let’s dive right into what has changed and why. { Important: If the “logo” on the left/top is not circles and is squares/diamonds instead, you can upd … | Continue reading
Refreshing to read about IVF from a male point of view: Zach Baron in GQ on “My IVF Years.” Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
A recently resurfaced 2019 New Yorker story on Linda Ronstadt reminded me of this captivating video from her 1969 appearance on the Johnny Cash Show. Her 1977 version of the song, with Dolly Parton, is also great. Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
Emory Goods is a project run by Erin Emory, a Virginia-based seamstress/artist who, among other things, finds old, damaged, or unfinished quilts and turns them into clothing. As she put it to me in an email (I reached out to make sure I had my facts right), “I like to repurpose c … | Continue reading
I love playing the NYT crossword, but I only recently discovered Rex Parker Does the NY Times Crossword Puzzle, a blog of daily puzzle reviews, full of spirit and bile. And although like Jason I’m a little put off by how negative the reviews can be — I don’t want the thing I’m so … | Continue reading
Just a little couples therapy joke that made me laugh out loud… Join the discussion on kottke.org → | Continue reading
“It’s funny because I’ll bring my flute, and it’s all these young kids … out in the alley with me between bands, and they’re like, ‘Oh, that flute is fire.’” Fun André 3000 profile in Highsnobiety, by Rosecrans Baldwin. Makes me want to wear overalls. Join the discussion … | Continue reading
It’s Thursday Afternoons With Edith again! I’ll probably stop saying that after today. Here’s another installment of comics from my journal, from back around Thanksgiving. Jury is still out on whether this is a winning Kottke.org feature, but in the meantime I do enjoy sharing th … | Continue reading
I haven’t written anything about the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, but I will soon because 1) my house is in the path of totality (!!) and 2) seeing the 2017 eclipse was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve ever had. Join the discussion on kottke.o … | Continue reading