“New York City is marking its 400th birthday this year and almost no one gives a damn.”
Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998
- Public lists
-
Featured
- Fetched
In tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, a choir of 7000+ people sang Black...
In tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, a choir of 7000+ people sang Black Sabbath’s Paranoid. Lovely.
Hamnet
For her newest film, director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) has adapted Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel Hamnet; both book and movie are about William Shakespeare and his wife in the aftermath of the death of their 11-year-old son, Hamnet. Paul Mescal stars as William Shakespeare an...
Scientists Have Found the First Branch on the Tree of Life. “The...
Scientists Have Found the First Branch on the Tree of Life. “The sister to all other animals, the first to branch off, and the most genetically isolated animal is … drumroll please … the comb jelly!”
Alexander Chee: How Can I Write At A Time Like This? “We...
Alexander Chee: How Can I Write At A Time Like This? “We are being hit with what I would call advanced resilience targeting, an attack on our ability to be in community, to be healthy, to make a living, to know our rights, to have a government.”
We Already Know a Way to Save a Bunch of Lives. (Giving...
We Already Know a Way to Save a Bunch of Lives. (Giving wounded people blood earlier, in ambulances, increases their chance of survival. But insurance won’t pay for it so we don’t do it in the US. 🤬)
Eels Shouldn’t be Able to Exist
I didn’t know this about eels:
No one has ever seen an eel reproduce naturally. Not in the wild, not in captivity, not even once. And yet, eels are everywhere. In rivers, in lakes, in oceans, slippery, ancient, and inexplicably present.
For centuries, the world’s greate...
Here’s the trailer for Bugonia, dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos & starring frequent...
Here’s the trailer for Bugonia, dir. by Yorgos Lanthimos & starring frequent collaborator Emma Stone. “Two conspiracy obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.”
I Am An AI Hater. “But I am a hater, and I...
I Am An AI Hater. “But I am a hater, and I will not be polite. The machine is disgusting and we should break it. The people who build it are vapid shit-eating cannibals glorifying ignorance. I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.”
Dan Wang on his forthcoming book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the...
Dan Wang on his forthcoming book, Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future. “China is an engineering state, which brings a sledgehammer to problems both physical and social, in contrast with America’s lawyerly society…”
A group of 15-20 families in South Portland, Maine have installed landlines...
A group of 15-20 families in South Portland, Maine have installed landlines for their kids instead of giving them cellphones. The landlines “helped their children become better listeners and more empathetic communicators”.
These contact lenses give their wearers the ability to see infrared light,...
These contact lenses give their wearers the ability to see infrared light, even with their eyes closed. Sign me up!!
A collection of kooky-but-rideable bikes (treadmill bike, pull-up bike, etc.)...
A collection of kooky-but-rideable bikes (treadmill bike, pull-up bike, etc.)
Light pollution has lengthened birds’ days. “Their day is almost an hour...
Light pollution has lengthened birds’ days. “Their day is almost an hour longer. They start vocalizing about 20 minutes earlier in the morning and they stop vocalizing about 30 minutes later in the evening.”
Hear a Prehistoric Conch Shell Musical Instrument Played for the First Time...
Hear a Prehistoric Conch Shell Musical Instrument Played for the First Time in 18,000 Years. “The shell may have had more range, and been more comfortable to play, with its mouthpiece, likely made of a hollow bird bone.”
Kevin Kelly recently published a guide called “Everything I Know about Self-Publishing”....
Kevin Kelly recently published a guide called “Everything I Know about Self-Publishing”. “The way I approach publishing today is with as much self-publishing as I can handle.”
Werner Herzog doesn’t use a cell phone, but he has joined Instagram....
Werner Herzog doesn’t use a cell phone, but he has joined Instagram.
“The world’s biggest frogs build their own ponds” is art as a...
“The world’s biggest frogs build their own ponds” is art as a headline because it sounds like an adage your grandfather would tell while fishing one afternoon, but also oops the adage has now been corrupted by grind culture tech bros.
“More than 80 years after it was looted by the Nazis from...
“More than 80 years after it was looted by the Nazis from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam, a portrait by an Italian master has been spotted on the website of an estate agent advertising a house for sale in Argentina.”
Just wanting to let y’all know the cops have never had to...
Just wanting to let y’all know the cops have never had to chase a bear out of my ice cream shop, though I suppose that’s what an ice cream shop would say if they had had to have cops chase a bear out of it at some point.
Are the AirPods Pro 3 coming soon? Here’s what the rumors say....
Are the AirPods Pro 3 coming soon? Here’s what the rumors say. “Apple is said to be testing a faster audio chip that drives ‘much better’ Active Noise Cancellation than the already‑impressive AirPods Pro 2 manage.”
This hilarious commercial for a 90s mail-order punk CD is for a...
This hilarious commercial for a 90s mail-order punk CD is for a compilation with hardly any punk music on it.
McSweeney’s Author Cards, Collect ‘Em All!
I love these author cards from McSweeney’s in the style of baseball cards.
For years you’ve seen athletes, web-slinging superheroes, orcs, and pocket monsters get the trading-card treatment, while you’ve sat in your room hoping upon hope that the heroes of magical realism or giants of New Journalism would get their own. The wait is over, friends.
They have three sets: the first set is a part of their 74th issue, series 2, and series 3. The authors featured in the sets include Octavia Butler, Judy Blume, Lauren Groff, Toni Morrison, Stephen King, George Saunders, Sarah Vowell, and Kurt Vonnegut.
Tags: books · McSweeneys · remix · sports
💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Prosecutors Fail to Secure Indictment Against Man Who Threw Sandwich at Federal...
Prosecutors Fail to Secure Indictment Against Man Who Threw Sandwich at Federal Agent. It’s nice to hear that ordinary citizens still have some power and some sense in wielding it.
“The evidence for millionaire tax flight is scant. If high earners were...
“The evidence for millionaire tax flight is scant. If high earners were truly fleeing high taxes, low-tax states would be swarming with millionaires. Instead, the highest concentrations of millionaires are found in high-tax states.”
A thoughtful post by Philip Bump on the careful use of your...
A thoughtful post by Philip Bump on the careful use of your power. “[Substack authors] have transferred their power to a company that has used it to promote toxic rhetoric in the guise of ‘having a debate.’”
Rock guitarist Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) has made a playlist...
Rock guitarist Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine) has made a playlist called Fuck ICE, “a rocking little soundtrack to enjoy while you drive those bastards out of your neighborhood”. Springsteen, Public Enemy, Joan Baez, Woody Guthrie, etc.
Artist Amy Sherald: Censorship Has Taken Hold at the Smithsonian. I Refused...
Artist Amy Sherald: Censorship Has Taken Hold at the Smithsonian. I Refused to Play Along. “History shows us what happens when governments demand that museums perform loyalty. Nazi Germany weaponized them. So did the Soviet Union.”
“Welcome to the Atlas of Space — an interactive visualization to explore...
“Welcome to the Atlas of Space — an interactive visualization to explore the planets, moons, asteroids, and other objects in the Solar System.”
Silicon Valley is full of wealthy men who think they’re victims. “I...
Silicon Valley is full of wealthy men who think they’re victims. “I couldn’t, and still can’t, understand this deeply unattractive combination of machismo and self-pity.”