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Jason Kottke's weblog, home of fine hypertext products since 1998

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Jason Kottke

A Masterclass on Status, Power, & the Economy with Tressie McMillan Cottom....

A Masterclass on Status, Power, & the Economy with Tressie McMillan Cottom. I’ve only started listening to this podcast, but it’s so good already and I’ve heard only great things about it.

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Jason Kottke

Did Shakespeare Write Hamlet While He Was Stoned? Examining the evidence that...

Did Shakespeare Write Hamlet While He Was Stoned? Examining the evidence that the Bard smoked weed and that he was aware of its effect on his creativity.

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Jason Kottke

ChatGPT kept directing people to use a non-existent feature on Soundslice…so the...

ChatGPT kept directing people to use a non-existent feature on Soundslice…so the team built it. “To my knowledge, this is the first case of a company developing a feature because ChatGPT is incorrectly telling people it exists. (Yay?)”

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Jason Kottke

This Breakthrough Sponge Could Change How the World Gets Clean Water. “A...

This Breakthrough Sponge Could Change How the World Gets Clean Water. “A team of scientists has developed a groundbreaking sponge-like aerogel that can turn seawater into clean drinking water using only sunlight.”

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Jason Kottke

100 Years of World History, As Told By 100 Movies

This is a unique look at the history of the world from 1925 to 2025, told through the lens of movies whose plots take place in those years. For example, the WWII era is represented by The Sound of Music (1965), The Pianist (2002), The Darkest Hour (2017), Casablanca (1942), The Thin Red Line (1998, Come and See (1985), Son of Saul (2015), Oppenheimer (2023), and Godzilla Minus One (2023).

As the video goes on, more and more of the scenes depict imagined past futures from films like 1984, Transformers: The Movie, Blade Runner, The Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Johnny Mnemonic.

In the end, it’s not a happy video — lots of war, both past and future. Hollywood does like to dwell on our worst times.

Tags: history · movies · video

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Jason Kottke

How Four Masters — Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio & Bernini — Sculpted David....

How Four Masters — Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio & Bernini — Sculpted David. I saw Bernini’s David recently and it’s an amazing sculpture.

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Jason Kottke

I Deleted My Second Brain. Why I Erased 10,000 Notes, 7 Years...

I Deleted My Second Brain. Why I Erased 10,000 Notes, 7 Years of Ideas, and Every Thought I Tried to Save. “Instead of accelerating my thinking, it began to replace it. Instead of aiding memory, it froze my curiosity into static categories.”

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Jason Kottke

When in doubt, go for a walk. “Walking won’t solve everything. But...

When in doubt, go for a walk. “Walking won’t solve everything. But it won’t make anything worse. That’s more than you can say for most things we do when we’re stressed, tired, or lost.”

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Jason Kottke

The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program

In 1966, Huey Newton & Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party and wrote a 10-point manifesto of what the group stood for and what they wanted. Here’s the full text of the plan. 4. We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings. We believe that if the W...

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Jason Kottke

Medieval Murder Maps. “Discover the murders, sudden deaths, sanctuary churches, and prisons...

Medieval Murder Maps. “Discover the murders, sudden deaths, sanctuary churches, and prisons of three thriving medieval cities. Click on a pin to read the story based on the original record written down in the rolls of the coroner.” (Fascinating…)

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Jason Kottke

A Swim Through Jellyfish Lake

Jellyfish Lake in Palau is home to approximately 13 million jellyfish. Their mild stings mean you can snorkel in their midst and capture beautifully surreal scenes like this:

If I had a bucket list, I think a swim in Jellyfish Lake w/ classical accompaniment might be on it. (via colossal)

[This is a vintage post originally from May 2015.]

Tags: Palau · timeless posts · video

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Jason Kottke

How Silicon Valley Got Rich. “When Apple went public in 1980, it...

How Silicon Valley Got Rich. “When Apple went public in 1980, it created 300 millionaires. When Microsoft did in 1986, 3,000 employees became millionaires. After Google’s IPO in 2004, 1,000 employees held stock worth more than $5 million.”

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Jason Kottke

“All games are cooperative. The very act of agreeing to & honouring...

All games are cooperative. The very act of agreeing to & honouring rules, & the deeper compact, of temporarily engaging in the roleplay that the drama taking place on the table is *important* - this is a fundamentally cooperative enterprise.”

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Jason Kottke

Bookshop.org’s 100 Bestselling Books of 2025 (So Far)

Online bookseller bookshop.org recently released a list of their bestselling books of the year (so far). The list is quite a bit different than what you might see from larger booksellers and looks more like what your local bookstore has on their bestseller list. The top fi...

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Jason Kottke

Always worth a read: the latest issue of Jodi Ettenberg’s The Curious...

Always worth a read: the latest issue of Jodi Ettenberg’s The Curious About Everything newsletter. (I have so many tabs open to read now… 🎉🫠)

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Jason Kottke

Every Wes Anderson Movie, Explained by Wes Anderson

Clocking in at almost an hour, this “definitive interview” with Wes Anderson by Vanity Fair about all 12 of his films is perhaps only for Wes stans or cinephiles, but then again, listening to thoughtful, creative people talking earnestly about their work is almost always worth the time.

Hi, I’m Wes Anderson. I have made, apparently, 12 films and I’m now going to walk us through every one of them in some way.

(via open culture)

Tags: film school · movies · video · Wes Anderson

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Jason Kottke

“The fundamental dilemma [of media like NYT]: journalism is, by its nature,...

The fundamental dilemma [of media like NYT]: journalism is, by its nature, supposed to be on the side of accuracy, against lies & liars, but the GOP is lies & liars top to bottom. And for reasons of power & access, journalism can not say so.”

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Jason Kottke

Here’s what Tom Holland’s lip-sync of Umbrella can teach us about stormwater...

Here’s what Tom Holland’s lip-sync of Umbrella can teach us about stormwater management. “So set designers must have accounted for the flow to go somewhere, but not all residential or commercial properties are so well drained.”

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Jason Kottke

Science writer Jennifer Ouellette reflects on the 30th anniversary of Apollo 13,...

Science writer Jennifer Ouellette reflects on the 30th anniversary of Apollo 13, including the movie’s realism “The actors, once locked in, breathed air pumped into the suits just like the original Apollo astronauts.” I love Apollo 13.

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Jason Kottke

A Great Art Explained Book? Sign Me Up!

front cover of the Great Art Explained book

Ah, this is awesome: Great Art Explained is one of my favorite YouTube channels and there’s a book version coming out in the fall.

Art can be thrilling, and resonate on a deep personal level. It is how you view the work, place it in context and understand its history that makes an artwork truly come alive.

A fresh approach to a classic subject, James Payne’s no-nonsense analysis sheds new light on 30 masterpieces from around the globe and reveals what makes them truly timeless works of art.

Each chapter delves into not only the art itself but also the artist’s life, as well as the work’s place in their wider oeuvre; in other words, what makes it “great.”

You can preorder Great Art Explained from Bookshop or Amazon.

Tags: art · art school · books · Great Art Explained · James Payne

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Jason Kottke

The detention center in Florida easily fits the definition of concentration camp....

The detention center in Florida easily fits the definition of concentration camp. “This facility’s purpose fits the classic model, and its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.” Alligator Auschwitz.

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Jason Kottke

Conscientious SUV Shopper Just Wants Something That Will Kill Family In Other...

Conscientious SUV Shopper Just Wants Something That Will Kill Family In Other Car In Case Of Accident. “The last thing I want is a flimsy sedan that takes out Mommy and Daddy in the front seat but leaves behind a couple of orphans in the back…”

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Jason Kottke

NPR Tiny Desk Concert by the cast of Buena Vista Social Club,...

NPR Tiny Desk Concert by the cast of Buena Vista Social Club, a hit Broadway musical about the Cuban musical ensemble.

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Jason Kottke

An original technicolor print of Star Wars (before all of Lucas’s tinkering)...

An original technicolor print of Star Wars (before all of Lucas’s tinkering) was recently shown in Britain. “It was very clear — without a doubt — that Han shot first.”

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Jason Kottke

Hued is a daily game in the vein of Wordle/Spelling Bee where...

Hued is a daily game in the vein of Wordle/Spelling Bee where you have three guesses to match a target color.

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Jason Kottke

French artist Mantra paints photo-realistic murals that look like massive butterfly specimen...

French artist Mantra paints photo-realistic murals that look like massive butterfly specimen display frames. Fantastic.

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Jason Kottke

There’s No Undo Button For Our Fallen Democracy

Tressie McMillan Cottom, one of America’s leading public intellectuals, posted this to Bluesky yesterday: I’m going to be very honest and clear. I am fully preparing myself to die under this new American regime. That’s not to say that it’s the end of the world. It isn’t. ...

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Jason Kottke

I Will Do Anything to End Homelessness Except Build More Homes. “Look,...

I Will Do Anything to End Homelessness Except Build More Homes. “Look, if you give people homes, the next thing you know, they’re going to start to get their lives together and then get jobs and start organizing.”

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Jason Kottke

Diogo Jota, Liverpool and Portugal footballer, dies aged 28 in car crash....

Diogo Jota, Liverpool and Portugal footballer, dies aged 28 in car crash. This is sad news. Jota was a favorite player of mine; he brought a positive energy to the pitch.

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Jason Kottke

Kilmar Ábrego García says he was tortured in El Salvadorian prison. Hundreds...

Kilmar Ábrego García says he was tortured in El Salvadorian prison. Hundreds of people are still there, sent there from the US by the Trump administration to be tortured, all sanctioned by the Supreme Court and Congress.