Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998
Featured
“The Quilt Index, originally launched in 2003, is an open access, digital repository of thousands of images, stories and information about quilts and their makers drawn from hundreds of public and private collections around the world.”
Climate scientists say we will exceed the 1.5°C temperature threshold for the first time in 2024. “The limits that were set in the Paris agreement are starting to crumble given the too-slow pace of climate action across the world.” A grim milestone.
The Big Wait is a lovely short documentary about a couple who live alone in the middle of nowhere in Western Australia, managing an emergency airport and a small row of guest cottages that are rarely occupied. I got this from Colossal, which calls the film “poetic and dryly humorous”; I cannot improve upon that.
Tags: video
Laura Hazard Owen: We need a Wirecutter for groceries. “What if local news organizations around the country made it part of their mission to help readers compare grocery prices around town?”
I missed this back in May: the Boy Scouts of America is changing its name to Scouting America “in an effort to emphasize inclusion”.
In the three years since its launch, the JW Space Telescope has proven to be wildly popular with astronomers. “Demand for observing time on Webb outpaces supply by a factor of nine.”
“A Soft Murmur is an online background noise generator designed to help you relax, focus, and tune out unpleasant sounds from your environment.”
I think I might take some time today to read Pema Chodron’s When Things Fall Apart. “How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart - when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain?”
If you can’t wait until Nov 15, Apple TV+ has uploaded the first five minutes of season two of Silo to YouTube. “Juliette lives.”
Ran across a song with “741 Hz” in the title and there’s a whole Spotify playlist of similar songs (“a soothing solfeggio frequency that is used by many to let go of negativity and toxic energy”) and ngl they are relaxing.
For the last 18 years, Adam Smith has spoken to every Nobel laureate just after they’ve heard the news. “They are genuinely amazed. It takes their breath away, I suppose, in almost all cases.” But sometimes: “I’m kind of busy.”
Hey everyone. I don’t have a whole lot to say about the election results and probably won’t talk about it too much here over the coming days. I don’t know what kottke.org’s “role” will be in this altered world we awoke to on Wednesday, but for my own sanity, I need to get back to work here or I will scroll myself into dust. I have no idea if what I’ll be posting is what you’re looking for, but it’s what I’ve got.
Tags: kottke.org
If you need some last minute cajoling to not sit out this election, consider these words of warning about abstention in 1968. “Nixon prevailed, thus paving the way for the modern right-wing shift in US domestic and foreign policy.”
Sometimes a post title just reaches right into your introverted soul: The Pleasure of Being Left Alone.
Tony Hawk posted a photo from the 70s of a girl skateboarding in the rain to his Instagram: “New fav mystery skater unlocked.” Jeremy Markovich found tracked down who she was.
Trials rider Danny MacAskill finally got the chance to ride the angularly futuristic Adidas campus in Herzogenaurach, Germany.
The first time I got the invite to campus I immediately started riding the place in my mind. Riding all the rooftops, riding all the railings, you know, it’s a really interesting space. Not just anyone can go there! As soon as you see that kind of big overhanging piece of architecture or whatever, you immediately imagine the different things you could do up there. So, it was cool to finally get to come here to actually do it.
Tags: Adidas · architecture · biking · Danny MacAskill · video
TIL about argonaut octopuses. “Although most octopuses live near the ocean floor and its ample hiding places, argonauts spend their entire lives sailing in the open ocean, just below the surface.”
