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Craig Mod walks the length of Manhattan:
I arrived at Marble Hill–225th St. Station in not shorts. You’re not wearing shorts?! Michael screamed at me from across the street. I am a self-respecting adult male, so no – I wasn’t wearing shorts. He couldn’t believe it. He was convinced I’d die fifteen steps into the walk. I was less interested in my pants and more interested in the world’s worst-rated Starbucks (https://maps.app.goo.gl/5CPxpMu7nsSJDamq7) around the corner.
Tim Curry was a heck of a storyteller. Among other tales, he describes in this 2005 Fresh Air interview how he was mistaken for in imposter during a 1970s midnight showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and ejected from the theater.
There’s a new Twitter, launched by a startup that says Musk gave up the name.
How Canada can save Americans and defeat America. Canadians and Americans have a common enemy: Trump. By Cory Doctorow,
What is a talent or skill you have that is completely useless 99% of the time, but made you look like a god the one time you needed it? : r/AskReddit. From the comments: Balloon animals makes a woman a hero at a corporate retreat.
The Ig Nobel Prize, a whimsical science award that honors “achievements that make people LAUGH, and then THINK,” is moving out of the US after 35 years, because the US is now unsafe for international visitors.
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scheduled to launch Sunday, uses a mirror from a canceled spy satellite to study dark energy and other astronomical phenomenon. My brother worked on this project — we’re bursting with pride!
In MAGAstan, “freedom” means your freedom to obey, bend the knee, and do as you are told.
Florida Catholic schools require students and staff to get vaccines, but the Florida State Attorney general wants to require the church to permit religious exemptions in the name of “religious freedom.”
The Florida Attorney General says the bishops are reading the Bible wrong.
Meta doesn’t want to be a social media company anymore. By Anna Merlan at Mother Jones.
Milo Yiannopoulos has been arrested and detained by ICE and has been ordered removed from the US. Yiannopoulos, a British immigrant to the US, has advocated “ICE checkpoints at supermarket entrances, gas stations, strip malls, intersections and government buildings, with on the spot deportation for anyone who can’t prove they are in the US legally,” “total legal immunity” for ICE agents and “zero immigration in the next 20 years. No ifs, no buts.”
Buh-bye Milo. Don’t let the leopards eat your face on the way out.
The Qataris Gave Trump an Airplane. He Crippled Their Country in Return.. By Shane Harris at The Atlantic.
A character in a Robert A. Heinlein novel described an “honest politician” as one who stays bought.
A Turning Point in AI Writing. The Wall Street Journal is defending an op-ed written by a chatbot. By Will Oremus at The Atlantic.
We watched the latest episode of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” last night and I am still clenched.
The only unrealistic part of “Reacher” is he can go into a random thrift store and get clothes that fit.
I received a very important business email that began, “I hope this message finds you well,” and had to resist temptation to reply with this.
Scenery-chewing is an under-appreciated form of acting, and Tim Curry was the best at it. In life, he seemed to be a person of character. A mensch.
I loved the 1993 “Three Musketeers,” co-starring Curry as Cardinal Richelieu I think it’s my favorite version. And yes I have seen the Richard Lester version and did not care for it.
I was not a huge fan of “Rocky Horror,” not even as a teenager. I saw it once at a midnight showing and enoyed it. I went a second time and fell asleep.
A PR person asked me how I was “envisioning the piece” after interviewing her client. I replied, “I’m envisioning black text on a white background.” I try to always be helpful.
One of my nicknames for the dog is “Princess Prancy Prancy.” I’m man enough to admit that.
Overheard: “May we all live so that, if we die at 80, the entire world thinks you’ve gone too soon.”
Today’s irrelevant email pitch: “We create custom wardrobes for executives who value fit, quality, and efficiency.” Gotta admit I’m tempted but I don’t have a bajillion dollars and also 99% of the time I’m wearing some variety of cargo pants/shorts and T-Shirt. I dress it up with a polo shirt when I have an Important Video Meeting.
Google Just Made It Easier for Campaigns to Send You Fund-Raising Emails. Oh good more spam. Though the text messages are worse than the email nowadays.
A drone guided entirely by AI killed three Ukranians. By Andrew E. Kramer with visuals by Nicole Tung at The New York Times.
It hit 96 degrees today here. I am grateful for air conditioning and that I hardly had to go outside after about 10:30 am.
