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.”
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The Art of Street Typography
I don’t know exactly what my expectations were of how lettering is painted on city streets, but this was not it. The level of precision and artistry is surprising.
Reminds me of this video of a hand-lettering master at work.
Update: Sure, he’s using a vehicle, but this guy is pretty good at line painting as well.
[This is a vintage post originally from Mar 2014.]
Tags: art · timeless posts · typography · video
The New Yorker’s Alexandra Schwartz profiles Patricia Lockwood. Regarding her forthcoming novel:...
The New Yorker’s Alexandra Schwartz profiles Patricia Lockwood. Regarding her forthcoming novel: “‘I wrote it insane and edited it sane’; it is a collaboration between two different people, both of whom happen to be her.”
The Armed Takeover of US Cities by the President Is Not a “Distraction”
Jamelle Bouie on Democratic politicians who maddeningly cannot recognize and acknowledge what is going on in the country.
From my perspective, the story of American politics right now is that the president, who fashions himself a kind of king of America, is attempting to barricade himself in the capital by unleashing a military occupation on its residents. And he’s promised to extend this military occupation to other cities and other states that he views as political opponents.
That to me is the big story of American politics right now: a mad king openly exerting tyrannical power over Americans and threatening further tyrannical power against other Americans, all under a pretext of crime reduction.
Tags: Donald Trump · Jamelle Bouie · politics · USA
Dan Froomkin of Press Watch: “The top story of the moment is...
Dan Froomkin of Press Watch: “The top story of the moment is the one story that our most influential newsrooms won’t touch: That the United State has become an authoritarian state.”
I disagree with Quentin Tarantino on what his best film is. “So...
I disagree with Quentin Tarantino on what his best film is. “So I think Kill Bill is the movie I was born to make, I think Inglourious Basterds is my masterpiece but Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is my favourite.”
TMAP is a screen reader-friendly tool for creating tactile street maps. Raised...
TMAP is a screen reader-friendly tool for creating tactile street maps. Raised lines and textures represent roads, pedestrian paths, and railways.
Did Lead Poisoning Create a Generation of Serial Killers? “Ted Bundy, Charles...
Did Lead Poisoning Create a Generation of Serial Killers? “Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, and many other notorious figures lived in and around Tacoma in the sixties. A new book argues that there was something in the water.”
Video: “Environmental police in Rochedo, Brazil stumbled on an unexpected sight: thousands...
Video: “Environmental police in Rochedo, Brazil stumbled on an unexpected sight: thousands of orange-and-black bumblebee catfish scaling the slippery rocks behind waterfalls on the Aquidauana River.”
Christian Marclay, Doors
Now showing at the Brooklyn Museum (through April 2026) and the ICA in Boston (until Spet 1, 2025) is Christian Marclay’s Doors. Like his masterpiece The Clock, Doors is a film montage, this time of people in movies opening and closing doors.
In Doors (2022), Marclay stitch...
American Millennials Are Dying at an Alarming Rate. “In 2023 there were...
American Millennials Are Dying at an Alarming Rate. “In 2023 there were about 700,000 “missing Americans” — those who died in 2023 but would be alive if they had lived somewhere else.” And it’s not a pandemic thing.
21 Ways People Are Using AI at Work. A high school music...
21 Ways People Are Using AI at Work. A high school music teacher used the prompt “make it more Gen X” for helping her write rejection letters that were direct and “thoughtful, but didn’t sound like Mr. Rogers on molly”. 😂
Still one of my favorite McSweeney’s articles: E-mail Addresses It Would Be...
Still one of my favorite McSweeney’s articles: E-mail Addresses It Would Be Really Annoying to Give Out Over the Phone. “MikeAtYahooDotCom@hotmail.com”
From John Ganz in Nov 2024: “a list of things I thought...
From John Ganz in Nov 2024: “a list of things I thought the fascism theory of Trumpism predicted could happen”. Many have come to pass. The obstinance in recognizing what’s plainly happening here is upsetting — it wasn’t hard to see it coming.
“We’re seeing an escalation of authoritarian power on many fronts that has...
“We’re seeing an escalation of authoritarian power on many fronts that has grown unmistakable.” Trump’s FBI Raid of John Bolton’s Home Looks Like a “Five-Alarm Fire”.
How to Make Sense of Trump’s Voting Rights Chaos. “It matters that...
How to Make Sense of Trump’s Voting Rights Chaos. “It matters that when the president reaches for a strategic distraction, he chooses one that matches Project 2025’s goals.” (Maybe DC’s occupation is, in part, voter intimidation?)
Has anyone tried these replacement memory foam ear tips for AirPods Pro...
Has anyone tried these replacement memory foam ear tips for AirPods Pro 2? Greedy for (even) better noise cancellation and sound quality…
“For many, the idea of a ‘frog sauna’ might sound bizarre,” but...
“For many, the idea of a ‘frog sauna’ might sound bizarre,” but this simple solution is saving some Australian frogs from a deadly fungus.
Actually, Slavery Was Very Bad. “It is worth taking the time, in...
Actually, Slavery Was Very Bad. “It is worth taking the time, in light of the president’s recent words, to revisit some of…the first-person accounts of formerly enslaved people discussing the myriad horrors they endured.”
James Dobson Is Dead, Was A Monster. “The world is a much...
James Dobson Is Dead, Was A Monster. “The world is a much worse place as a result of his life’s work; it would be a better place had he never been born.”
Full Match: Barça 5-0 Madrid (2010 El Clásico)
The other day I was surprised to learn that several years ago, FC Barcelona streamed the entire match of their Nov 2010 5-0 dismantling of Real Madrid to YouTube and you can still watch it in its entirety.
The El Clásico match was notable not only for how much Barça domin...
The Four Players That Span the Entire History of the NBA
Yesterday I posted an incredible fact about LeBron James: he has played against 35% of all of the players that have ever played in the NBA. Wondering about the Great Span of the NBA, I looked for the oldest player from LeBron’s rookie season, then for the oldest player in th...
Is It Time to Move On From Dr. Seuss? “Isn’t 65 years...
Is It Time to Move On From Dr. Seuss? “Isn’t 65 years of Green Eggs and Ham enough? What new books will become beloved for generations? ‘We need to let go of the idea that the lone white male author represents the pinnacle of children’s literature.’”
Cognitive resistance training is the defense against slop and brainrot. “Every hard...
Cognitive resistance training is the defense against slop and brainrot. “Every hard task you delegate is a rep you didn’t do, a pattern your neurons didn’t carve deeper.”
The Hand-Painted Storefront Signs of Detroit by Ron Miller
Ron Miller is one of the most prolific sign painters in Detroit. Photographer Andrew Anderson has collected dozens of images of Miller’s signs from Google Street View.
Ron Miller has been painting signs since 1978. He loves adding color to the neighborhood with his work. He has no website, no email and works all by word of mouth in Detroit.
Anderson also made a map of the locations of Miller’s signs. And here’s the man himself:
(thx, jordan)
Tags: Andrew Anderson · art · design · photography · Ron Miller · typography
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John Roberts and the death of rule of law in America. “The...
John Roberts and the death of rule of law in America. “The Supreme Court was never intended to function like this. Never before has it entertained such challenges from the President, and never before has it decided them so flippantly.”
Israel Says It Killed a Hamas Commander. It Killed a Pulitzer-Winning Journalist....
Israel Says It Killed a Hamas Commander. It Killed a Pulitzer-Winning Journalist. “The Israeli military made no attempt to obscure this brazen strike on civilians, which is a war crime.”
Daniel Day-Lewis stopped acting in 2017 after Phantom Thread. He’s unretired to...
Daniel Day-Lewis stopped acting in 2017 after Phantom Thread. He’s unretired to star in a film called Anemone, co-written by Day-Lewis with his son Ronan Day-Lewis, who also directed. Here’s the trailer.
Much Ado About Vibe Coding
Lauren Goode convinced her editors at Wired to let her spend a couple of days at a tech company called Notion learning how to vibe-code (i.e. AI-assisted computer programming): Why Did a $10 Billion Startup Let Me Vibe-Code for Them — and Why Did I Love It?
Expanding a mer...
I love stats like this: LeBron James has played against 35% of...
I love stats like this: LeBron James has played against 35% of all of the players that have ever played in the NBA. I’m curious if there’s an older player who played with James in 2003 and how much of NBA history the two of them collectively span.