New issue of Laura Olin’s newsletter, full of good stuff. “I had...
New issue of Laura Olin’s newsletter, full of good stuff. “I had forgotten that the Statue of Liberty was, upon installation, brown.”
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Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998
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Two Slice is a bitmappy font that’s only two pixels tall and...
Two Slice is a bitmappy font that’s only two pixels tall and “somewhat readable”.
Fantastic essay by Roxane Gay: Civility Is a Fantasy. “Calling for civility...
Fantastic essay by Roxane Gay: Civility Is a Fantasy. “Calling for civility is about exerting power. It is a way of reminding the powerless that they exist at the will of those in power and should act accordingly. It is a demand for control.”
Steamed Hams but It’s a Critically Acclaimed Feature Film. The classic Simpsons...
Steamed Hams but It’s a Critically Acclaimed Feature Film. The classic Simpsons bit but it’s live-action and a My Dinner with Andre parody. So many more where that came from.
Generative Design
I had a lot of fun playing around with this collection of generative design tools, especially the textual ones. I wore out the “randomize” button on each of these. (via sidebar)
Tags: art · design · programming
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Why Do Wind Turbines Have Three Blades? Why not two? Or five?...
Why Do Wind Turbines Have Three Blades? Why not two? Or five? Or eight? Turns out that three is sort of a Goldilocks sweet spot for blade count due to physics, engineering, and aesthetic reasons.
Huntington’s disease successfully treated for first time. “An emotional research team became...
Huntington’s disease successfully treated for first time. “An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients.”
Hybrid ASCII Art
Enigmatriz uses ASCII art to punch up and blow out public domain photos and illustrations — I love their style. From It’s Nice That:
Using the Image to ASCII tool available online, Enigmatriz found a new way to play with digital assets. “Everyday, I sit on my co...
Historian Thomas Zimmer has left academia, Substack, and the US; now he’s...
Historian Thomas Zimmer has left academia, Substack, and the US; now he’s launching his new career as an indie writer with a newsletter about “the ongoing struggle over how much democracy, and for whom, there should be in America”. Recommended!
Using Cesium-137 testing to find counterfeit wine. “Cesium-137 did not exist on...
Using Cesium-137 testing to find counterfeit wine. “Cesium-137 did not exist on this planet until we exploded the first atomic bomb.” The technique was used to test the legitimacy of some wines said to belong to Thomas Jefferson.
Is the New York Times finally getting real about Trump? “In the...
Is the New York Times finally getting real about Trump? “In the last 10 days or so, several Times articles have been considerably more straightforward – and honest – about the way Trump lies and spreads division.”
Everyone Was Wrong About Maximum Siphon Height
Steve Mould is always informative and entertaining, so I started watching his video on building the world’s tallest siphon, nodding along to what I thought was the reasonable conclusion. And then the video kicked into another gear — because with science, the simple solution is not always the whole story when extreme conditions are in play. (via the kid should see this)
Tags: physics · science · Steve Mould · video
In Jimmy Kimmel’s words: What the late-night host said upon his return...
In Jimmy Kimmel’s words: What the late-night host said upon his return from suspension. “I was not happy when they pulled me off the air.”
McSweeney’s didn’t even need to lampoon Trump’s comments about vaccines, autism, &...
McSweeney’s didn’t even need to lampoon Trump’s comments about vaccines, autism, & Tylenol…they just printed them verbatim and it reads like the most unhinged parody. “They pump so much stuff into those beautiful little babies. It’s a disgrace.”
An excerpt from Patricia Lockwood’s new book Will There Ever Be Another...
An excerpt from Patricia Lockwood’s new book Will There Ever Be Another You. “But the soul is a floor. It is there to bear us up and keep us standing, not merely to be clean.”
Wild Cats, Bored Cats, Sleepy Cats
The style of ShouXin’s drawings is a perfect match for their subject matter — cats are simultaneously wild and carefully composed. (via colossal)
Tags: art · cats · ShouXin
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A tantalizing peek into the massive 90,000-item archive left behind by David...
Carbon Dating: Cold War Nukes & Art Forgeries
In the most recent episode of Howtown, Joss Fong explains how above-ground nuclear testing in the 50s and 60s left a signature in all life on Earth that can be used as a forensic tool for catching art forgers, shady ivory dealers, and even fraudulent wine sellers/cellars.
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Conservative White Christians Will Worship Anyone But Jesus. “Seeing White Evangelicals build...
Conservative White Christians Will Worship Anyone But Jesus. “Seeing White Evangelicals build idols out of people whose lives and public work are the antithesis of Jesus is something we’ve grown accustomed to.”
Didn’t think I was interested in a profile of Dwayne “The Rock”...
Didn’t think I was interested in a profile of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, but Sam Anderson can write. “It is a smile that makes you feel as if the sun is setting over an undiscovered tropical beach on which 10,000 baby sea turtles are about to hatch.”
I’m Heading to Japan. What Should I Do?
Hey folks. I’m very excited to be heading to Japan for the first time next month. I’ll be there from mid-October for 3-4 weeks. The current plan is Tokyo, Kamakura, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Osaka, Koyasan, and perhaps Hiroshima — change my mind? If you’ve been there, please leave your recs in the comments below or drop me an email. If you live there or will be visiting at the same time, let’s meet up!
The photograph above is from Koya Bound by Craig Mod & Dan Rubin. The companion website to the book is great.
Tags: Craig Mod · Dan Rubin · Japan · Jason Kottke · travel
The 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years, including Extra...
Little, Big, and Far
Even after reading a couple of reviews and watching the trailer, it’s difficult to understand what the Austrian film Little, Big, and Far is actually about. So here’s the official synopsis:
Austrian astronomer Karl is at a crossroads in his life and work. He finds his physicist wife growing distant and his job being reshaped by environmental crises as thoughts about science, fascism, and his grandson’s future spin above his head. After attending a conference in Greece, Karl decides not to return home and heads for a small island in hopes of finding a dark enough sky to reconnect with the stars. Abandoned at a remote mountain trail, he ascends and waits for darkness to fall.
Tags: astronomy · Little Big and Far · movies · trailers · video
This morning’s music selection while working: this 1h23m mix by German DJ/producer...
This morning’s music selection while working: this 1h23m mix by German DJ/producer Parra for Cuva.
Some advice: “finishing creative projects is a skill in and of itself....
Some advice: “finishing creative projects is a skill in and of itself. if you want to be able to finish large, complex projects, you have to _practice finishing things_. which usually means doing smaller projects.”
The Trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu
Disney dropped the trailer for The Mandalorian and Grogu today, a feature-length film that will debut in theaters in May 2026. As this Star Wars Explained breakdown, er, explains, that the trailer was going to come out earlier but:
Word on the street is that it was suppos...
Super Mario Bros. Remastered
Super Mario Bros. Remastered is an open source, fan-created, remastered version of the original Super Mario Bros. The trailer is above.
The game includes new levels, custom modes and characters, a custom level editor, and more. You need the SMB1 NES ROM to play it — “none of the original assets are contained in the source code, unless it was originally made by us!”
You can download versions for Windows, Linux, and MacOS…check out all the options and details on Github.
Tags: Nintendo · remix · Super Mario Bros · video · video games
Lāhainā Noon (aka zero shadow day) occurs twice a year in the...
Lāhainā Noon (aka zero shadow day) occurs twice a year in the tropics when the sun is directly overhead and vertical objects (like flagpoles) cast no shadows.
Call Me Maybe Mashed Up With NIN’s Head Like a Hole
Weird day (fuck, weird week) but this totally totally made it. Some genius took Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe and mashed it up with Nine Inch Nails’ Head Like a Hole:
Totesally amazingballs. Way way better than I expected. (via the verge)
[This is a vintage post originally from Mar 2013.]
Tags: Carly Rae Jepsen · music · Nine Inch Nails · remix · timeless posts
It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers. “It’s fall, fuckfaces. You’re either ready to...
It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers. “It’s fall, fuckfaces. You’re either ready to reap this freaky-assed harvest or you’re not.”