Your beginning-of-summer PSA: Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning. “There is very little splashing, no waving, and no yelling or calls for help of any kind.” So here’s what to look for…
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Want to use your phone less? Try Forest. “Whenever you want to...
Want to use your phone less? Try Forest. “Whenever you want to stay focused, plant a [virtual] tree. Your tree will grow while you focus on your work. Leaving the app halfway will cause your tree to die.”
The Fear of Never Landing is a new album from ambient music...
The Fear of Never Landing is a new album from ambient music band Marconi Union, whose 2011 song Weightless has been described as “the world’s most relaxing song”. Get it on YT, Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music.
New Music Video for Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer (feat. Saoirse Ronan)
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band, Talking Heads have released a new music video for their iconic 1997 single, Psycho Killer. The video stars Saoirse Ronan and was directed by Mike Mills.
Tags: music · Saoirse Ronan · Talking Heads · video
They are doing a Spaceballs 2. (“They” includes Mel Brooks and Rick...
They are doing a Spaceballs 2. (“They” includes Mel Brooks and Rick Moranis, who has not appeared in a live-action film since 1997.) “I am one with the Schwartz and the Schwartz is with me.”
A new study from MIT’s Media Lab (not yet peer-reviewed & small...
A new study from MIT’s Media Lab (not yet peer-reviewed & small sample size): ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills.
The [NYC] Subway Is Not Scary. “It’s fine and safe. It’s full...
The [NYC] Subway Is Not Scary. “It’s fine and safe. It’s full of women and children. There are tons of old ladies on there.” And: “You sound real corny being scared of the subway.”
What Is Juneteenth and Why Does It Matter?
Historian Heather Cox Richardson is now doing visual versions of her daily newsletter on YouTube. Yesterday’s video explains the origins and significance of Juneteenth.
Black people in Galveston met the news Order No. 3 brought with celebrations in the streets, but emanc...
Just dropped yesterday: Lane 8’s Summer 2025 Mixtape. Got this on right...
Just dropped yesterday: Lane 8’s Summer 2025 Mixtape. Got this on right now trying to coax the ol’ brainpan back into work mode.
When In Rome
Ok, having been all over the western Mediterranean for the past two weeks, I’m back. *sigh* Here, without comment or context (I know, I know), are some of the things I saw:
Not pictured: a bunch of amazing food we ate over the course of the trip.
Tags: Jason Kottke · photography · Rome · travel
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Bernini’s Ratto di Proserpina
I’m in Rome with my family to celebrate a milestone. We went to the Borghese Gallery this morning and I got to see my favorite sculpture, Bernini’s Ratto di Proserpina. A masterpiece. The photos both do and do not do it justice — so grateful to get to see it in person.
Tags: art · Bernini · Rome · sculpture · travel
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This Is Your Captain Speaking…
Hey, folks. I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be away from the site for a couple of weeks for a family vacation. No guest editor or anything…just going off the air for a much needed rest. Wishing everyone well and I will see you in mid-June.
Tags: kottke.org
The latest issue of Jodi Ettenberg’s The Curious About Everything newsletter is...
The latest issue of Jodi Ettenberg’s The Curious About Everything newsletter is typically great — every link worth your attention. Best to have a few hours free before diving in.
Astronomers discover strange new celestial object in our Milky Way galaxy. “It...
Astronomers discover strange new celestial object in our Milky Way galaxy. “It was the first time X-rays had been seen coming from a so-called long-period radio transient, a rare object that cycles through radio signals over tens of minutes.”
King of the Hill is returning after 15 years. “Hank and Peggy...
King of the Hill is returning after 15 years. “Hank and Peggy Hill are now retired and return to a changed Arlen after years of working in Saudi Arabia; and Bobby is 21 and living his best life while navigating adulthood as a chef.”
Taylor Swift has bought back the rights to her first six albums....
Taylor Swift has bought back the rights to her first six albums. “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me.”
Teaser trailer for Wake Up Dead Man, the third in the Knives...
Teaser trailer for Wake Up Dead Man, the third in the Knives Out series by Rian Johnson.
David Lynch’s estate auction, including cameras, clothes, books, memorabilia, megaphones, scripts, vinyl,...
David Lynch’s estate auction, including cameras, clothes, books, memorabilia, megaphones, scripts, vinyl, furniture, coffee makers & grinders, art supplies, musical instruments, etc.
Beautiful Drone Footage of an Alaskan Salmon Migration
If you can stop gawping at Alaska’s gorgeous scenery long enough, you can witness drone footage of a whole lot of salmon migrating upstream from Lake Iliamna1 to spawn. (via digg)
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Lake Iliamna is home to the supposed Iliamna Lake Monster, a beast “10-30 feet in length with a square-like head that is used to place blunt force unto things such as small boats”. Where’s the drone footage of that?!↩
[This is a vintage post originally from Apr 2016.]
Tags: Alaska · timeless posts · video
I like this song (Lifelike’s So Electric) and I like this video...
I like this song (Lifelike’s So Electric) and I like this video (footage of Olivia Newton John in the movie Xanadu set to Lifelike’s So Electric).
Two interesting things about the rock paper scissors game: 1. scissors were...
Two interesting things about the rock paper scissors game: 1. scissors were actually invented before paper, and 2. an early Japanese variant was frog slug snake (frog beats slug, slug beats snake, snake beats frog).
A supercut of every point scored by Kobe Bryant in his 81-point...
A supercut of every point scored by Kobe Bryant in his 81-point game in 2006. He only had 26 at the half and his team needed the points…they were losing until just before the 4th quarter.
The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years
The Criterion Collection is releasing a new boxset of Wes Anderson films, The Wes Anderson Archive: Ten Films, Twenty-Five Years.
Wes Anderson’s first ten features represent twenty-five years of irrepressible creativity, an ongoing ode to outsiders and quixotic dreamers, ...
The actor Patrick Stewart exists in the Star Trek universe and “Jean-Luc...
The actor Patrick Stewart exists in the Star Trek universe and “Jean-Luc Picard is aware of him” and other little-known Star Trek facts.
28 slightly rude notes on writing. “Most writing is bad because it’s...
28 slightly rude notes on writing. “Most writing is bad because it’s missing a motive. It feels dead because it hasn’t found its reason to live.”
Grammar movies: Apostrophes Now, Rebel Without a Clause, Gerund Brockovich, Alien vs...
Grammar movies: Apostrophes Now, Rebel Without a Clause, Gerund Brockovich, Alien vs Predicator, Indicative Jones and the Last Clause, Silence of the iambs, etc.
“All three of the country’s largest carriers (American Airlines, United Airlines, and...
“All three of the country’s largest carriers (American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta) are penalizing solo travelers with higher ticket prices than you can book when traveling with a group.” Assholes.
ESA’s Proba-3 is planning on creating an artificial eclipse to study the...
ESA’s Proba-3 is planning on creating an artificial eclipse to study the sun’s corona. The two halves of the solar probe recently achieved “millimetre precision” while flying autonomously in formation for several hours 50km above the Earth.
Caine’s Arcade
Caine is nine years old, lives in LA, and built his own arcade out of cardboard boxes in the back of his father’s auto parts store.
You’ve go to watch until at least 3:10 when he explains how to check the validity of the “Fun Pass” using the calculators located on the front of each game. So so so good!
[This is a vintage post originally from Apr 2012.]
Tags: timeless posts · video
Don’t mind me, I’m just watching old episodes of The Great Space...
Don’t mind me, I’m just watching old episodes of The Great Space Coaster on YouTube (Does anyone else remember this show? I watched it as a kid along with 3-2-1 Contact, Captain Kangaroo, H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, etc.)