I am tempted by this Lego Fortnite Battle Bus set. (Alas, it is backordered…)
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Jason Kottke’s weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998
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Initial experiments in using Dungeons & Dragons as a group therapy tool...
Initial experiments in using Dungeons & Dragons as a group therapy tool are encouraging. “It seems particularly useful in combating the effects of social isolation and improving both interpersonal skills and intrapersonal skills (problem-solving).”
The trailer for season 2 of The Diplomat. Keri Russell? Witty banter?...
The trailer for season 2 of The Diplomat. Keri Russell? Witty banter? What’s not to like? I enjoyed season 1 and will probably give this a shot. Premieres Oct 31 on Netflix.
Radiohead’s Everything in Its Right Place, 800% Slower
Songs played back at much slower speeds were a thing several years ago — the effect can turn even the harshest rock song or bounciest pop tune into something that sounds like Enya or an ethereal Gregorian chant. I listen to these while I work sometimes and I’ve got a new o...
Whoa, new Nintendo hardware! And it’s…an interactive alarm clock? You can wake...
Whoa, new Nintendo hardware! And it’s…an interactive alarm clock? You can wake up to the sounds of Zelda or Mario Kart, shush the clock by waving your hand, and if you snooze too long, the alarm will become more intense and Bowser appears.
“Covid-19 may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths for...
“Covid-19 may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths for three years after an infection, study suggests.” What’s more, the risk does not appear to diminish over time.
“One woman and two men with severe autoimmune conditions have gone into...
“One woman and two men with severe autoimmune conditions have gone into remission after being treated with bioengineered and CRISPR-modified immune cells.” This is a first for people w/ autoimmune diseases using donor cells.
The Best Panoramic Photos of 2024
The results of the 15th annual Epson International Pano Awards have been announced — you can check out all the winners & runners-up on the competition website. Here are a few of my favorites:
From top to bottom, the photos are by Tuan Nguyen Tan, Kelvin Yuen, Elliot McGucken, and Ignacio Palacios. (via in focus)
Tags: best of · best of 2024 · photography
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The myth of the climate haven. “Because of its speed and scale,...
The myth of the climate haven. “Because of its speed and scale, however, human-caused climate change is especially extreme, and everywhere will be impacted by some degree of risk. There is no completely safe haven.”
Who died and left the US $7 billion? “It was the biggest...
Who died and left the US $7 billion? “It was the biggest estate-tax payment in modern history, but no one knew who made it. Then an anonymous phone call pointed to one man.” We don’t even know who our billionaires are.
Photo Remakes of Famous Art
I love everything about this…I scrolled through the entire list. This one was my favorite:
(via waxy)
[This is a vintage post originally from Jan 2012.]
Tags: art · photography · remix · timeless posts
This simple tool finds your Letterboxd besties, people who have listed the...
This simple tool finds your Letterboxd besties, people who have listed the same favorite films as you on Letterboxd.
Forums Are Still Alive, Active, And A Treasure Trove Of Information. A...
Forums Are Still Alive, Active, And A Treasure Trove Of Information. A huge list of still-active internet forums on topics like audio, drugs, plants, home repair, crafting, sports, cars, and all sorts of other things.
Imprints of Nature
Maximilian Prüfer makes art in collaboration with nature and animals like ants & snails. Using paper with a very sensitive coating on it, he’s able to record the slightest moments of activity, like a raindrop or an ant’s footstep. Here’s a video of some ants leaving their marks:
And some rain drops:
You can find more of Prüfer’s work on his website and on Instagram.
Tags: ants · art · Maximilian Prufer
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In their own words, what volunteer health care workers saw in Gaza....
In their own words, what volunteer health care workers saw in Gaza. “Nearly every day I was there, I saw a new young child who had been shot in the head or the chest, virtually all of whom went on to die.”
Waffle House “has developed an advanced storm center FEMA consults with”. Their...
Waffle House “has developed an advanced storm center FEMA consults with”. Their Waffle House Storm Index rates Hurricane Milton as a “Code Red”, meaning that they are closing stores in its path.
On Monday, Dave Winer’s Scripting News turned 30 years old. Dave is...
On Monday, Dave Winer’s Scripting News turned 30 years old. Dave is still one of the purest of the pure bloggers.
Stupid dipshits are starting to fill Wikipedia with “unsourced, poorly-written AI-generated content”...
Stupid dipshits are starting to fill Wikipedia with “unsourced, poorly-written AI-generated content” (that is also totally false in some cases), prompting a purging effort by some WP editors: WikiProject AI Cleanup.
Green Day “demastered” their 1994 album Dookie into 15 “obscure, obsolete, and...
Green Day “demastered” their 1994 album Dookie into 15 “obscure, obsolete, and inconvenient” formats, like wax cylinder, Fisher Price record, Teddy Ruxpin, and player piano roll. This is amazing.
Erin Kissane on Trying to Save the Internet for the Humans
I attended the XOXO Festival back in August, and video of some of the talks are starting to trickle online. I’m going to highlight a couple of my favorites here on the site; the first one I’d like to share is Erin Kissane’s talk about fixing the social internet.
From her ...
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible with the naked eye in the night...
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS should be visible with the naked eye in the night sky tonight (Oct 9). “Astronomers are expecting the comet to be especially vivid, possibly rivaling the brightness of Jupiter in the night sky.”
“Milton Is the Hurricane That Scientists Were Dreading”
Zoë Schlanger writes about the potentially dangerous and incredibly powerful hurricane now bearing down on Florida’s Gulf Coast and how it’s been supercharged in several ways by climate change.
As Hurricane Milton exploded from a Category 1 storm into a Category 5 storm ...
The passwords generated by Apple Passwords consist of two-syllable gibberish words designed...
The passwords generated by Apple Passwords consist of two-syllable gibberish words designed to be easier to input in non-optimal situations. “The syllables help them to be memorable briefly, but still not memorizable.”
Mainstream journalists are clamoring for Harris to do more interviews, but these...
Mainstream journalists are clamoring for Harris to do more interviews, but these interviews haven’t been substantive. “Not only are these interviews not terribly valuable for the candidate; they’re not terribly valuable as journalism.”
The Move
I really liked this entertaining short film by Eric Kissack (editor & producer for The Good Place), in which a couple moving into a new apartment together discovers a previously unnoticed feature of their new space, which in turn…well, I don’t want to spoil anything. Just watch it.
Tags: Eric Kissack · this is a metaphor for something · video
A look at Mozilla’s rebrand. “Mozilla’s new logo is a flag symbol...
A look at Mozilla’s rebrand. “Mozilla’s new logo is a flag symbol built from the Mozilla M that comes to life to reveal the company’s iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex symbol and mascot, originally designed by Shepard Fairey.”
Finalists for the 2024 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards
The finalists of the 2024 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards competition have been announced, so if you need a laugh, here you go.
There are so many “tag yourself” moments in these photos. You can check out all of the finalists here and vote for the People’s Choice Award until Oct 31.
Tags: best of · best of 2024 · photography
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From Kenji López-Alt, a list of potential red flags that he looks...
From Kenji López-Alt, a list of potential red flags that he looks for when deciding to patronize restaurants. “I try to avoid spending my money at establishments where that money may end up in the hands of people who are abusive or exploitative.”
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, an investigation of fake objects. “Value...
Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing, an investigation of fake objects. “Value is found through fakeness, not in spite of it, giving the fake object the potential to be even better than the real thing.”
Infinite Cosmos: Visions From the JW Space Telescope
Out today from National Geographic is Infinite Cosmos, a gorgeous-looking book by Ethan Siegel (intro by Brian Greene). It’s about the history of the JWST, humanity’s biggest ever space telescope, a machine that allows us to peer deeper & clearer into the universe than...