The legacy of the Luddite movement changes when you zoom out a bit. “The development of cooperatives around the world is another story that should not end too abruptly. We could still be weaving it today.”
The trailer for Wicker (starring Olivia Colman,...
The trailer for Wicker (starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki). “An outcast in a fishing village commissions a husband for herself made out of wicker.” Looks unhinged (complimentary).
Colossal
• Kate Mothes
Janice Yang’s Symbol-Rich Paintings Conjure Dreams and the Desire for Home
Years of labor and adaptation as a first-generation immigrant shaped the artist's approach to painting.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Janice Yang’s Symbol-Rich Paintings Conjure Dreams and the Desire for Home appeared first on Colossal.
The coffee shop where 162 regulars have their own mug...
The coffee shop where 162 regulars have their own mug (1977). “The cups may not be such a small thing after all. They are a town register and a history and a confirmation that life goes on in a small American town.”
Longreads
• Cheri Lucas Rowlands
“Protected by Ghost Town”
"A private company has cleared dozens of homeless encampments in Venice—with persistence, cash payments, and a team that includes former gang members. Clients love them. The people they move do not."
Longreads
• Hannah Engler Harvey
You and Me and QVC

The Atlas Obscura Podcast
• SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura
Germany’s Most Romantic Post Office Box
For decades, people have been addressing love letters to an oak tree deep in the Dodauer Forest in Germany called the Bridegroom’s Oak. The hope is that a passerby might find their letter, write back and form a connection. Journalist Elliot Stein visited this romantic post office box and talked to the mail carrier who used to deliver these letters and who one day, found a letter that was addressed to him.
If you would like to address your own love letter to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the mailing address is:
Bräutigamseiche,
Dodau 99 Dodauer Forst,
23701 Eutin, Germany
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Mars For The Rest of Us
• Maciej Cegłowski
Radiation Tradeoffs for Mars
How to get by when the sky wants you dead
Colossal
• Colossal
August 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists
Deadlines! Are! Approaching!
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article August 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists appeared first on Colossal.
Quoting D. Richard Hipp
Years ago, we didn’t have SQL. There were people whose job was to generate software that would query large data sets. Their job title was COBOL programmer.
Then SQL comes along—I’m simplifying this only a little bit—and it gives you this convenient way so people could just specify. With a very simple specification, you can generate all of that code that you had to pay the expensive COBOL programmer to do before.
That didn’t mean programmers went away. It just meant the job changed a little bit.
Tags: d-richard-hipp, sql, careers
Daring Fireball
• John Gruber
Apple Says iOS 27 ‘Restricted Mode’ Isn’t for Users Who Miss Payments in New Apple Upgrade Program
9to5mac.com/2026/07/28/apple-says-ios-27-restricted-mode-isnt-for-new-upgrade-program-leases/
It’s Cool to Be Weird
Longreads
• Cheri Lucas Rowlands
In the Age of AI, the Analog Restaurant Feels Radical
"Some restaurants are leaning into handmade touches, as AI-generated food photos and flyers become commonplace."
Walmart is busy building out their fast EV charger...
Walmart is busy building out their fast EV charger network in the US…currently 73 locations in 17 states. Their eventual goal is install chargers at “thousands of its locations by 2030”.
A terrarium iPhone case that houses actual growing...
Vera Rubin Observatory
Billy Joel talks about “Piano Man” #piano #billyjoel #shorts
AI Worming through Word
Quoting Matthew Green
Adding a custom MCP server to Claude and ChatGPT
TIL: Adding a custom MCP server to Claude and ChatGPT
Connecting a custom MCP server to Claude and ChatGPT's standard chat interfaces is possible, but can take quite a few steps.
Tags: ai, generative-ai, chatgpt, llms, claude, model-context-protocol