Category: Posts
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Links of the moment
An ongoing series Reading a 2000-year-old postcard. 3-D scans revealed gigantic Native American cave art in Alabama. Get Google search results in reverse-order to see the oldest webpages first. The White House has an official record collection thanks to Jimmy Carter. A breakdown of “the most insane comeback” in Classic Tetris history.
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My son’s media of the moment
A spinoff of an ongoing series Bluey. A not-small number of times after watching an episode I’ve thought, “Was that one of the greatest episodes of TV ever?” Hot take: the only TV shows a kid needs, really, are this and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood—the yin and yang of instructive, high-quality children’s entertainment. Picture books aplenty.…
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My home screen
The funny thing is this looks similar to the last time I shared my home screen, despite having gone through a few different iterations since then. But I landed back at the black wallpaper and (even more) minimalist layout for a few reasons: My recent job change allowed me to delete several apps I didn’t…
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Playground adventures anew
The playground at the park near my parents’ house is getting renovated, which means the place as I knew it from ages 11-18 will be no more. I’m glad for the memories I have from there, many of which are shared with my childhood best friend, Tim, who also lived a block away from the…
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This is the bookend
After nearly 7 years, today is my last day at my library job. It was my first full-time library position after a few part-time jobs out of library school, and for that alone I am immensely grateful. Whenever someone asks me how I like working at a library, I say I love it because every…
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On ‘The Science’ and dedication to reality
Alan Jacobs: There are many reasons why millions of America don’t trust The Science, including belligerence and ignorance, but if you ask me, I would say that the most important reason is illustrated by the stories above: Scientists are sometimes untrustworthy. If they want to rebuild our trust in them, then they should start with…
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Media of the moment
An ongoing series Jackass Forever. A dirty, cringey, gut-bustingly funny cinematic soul-cleanse. Bound for my end-of-year top 10 just like the other Jackass movies. Everything Everywhere All At Once. I think I need to see this at least twice to fully appreciate it, not for any plot reasons but because it really lives up to…
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Links of the moment
An ongoing series A digital clock assembled from Google Earth views that resemble numbers. NYPL has started digitizing its collection of early 1900s wax cylinder recordings. Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid. My new favorite movie-based Wordle spinoff: Moviedle.
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The best parenting advice I’ve ever gotten
The best parenting advice I’ve ever gotten was from my own parent. Per my mom: When all else fails, lower your expectations. Runner-up is from my other parent. Per my dad: Kids spell love T-I-M-E.
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Come as you are, but be ready to change
The slogan of the church I attended in middle and high school was “Come as you are”, which was fitting for a nondenominational church in the hyper-liberal, irreligious enclave of Madison, Wisconsin. I remember the senior pastor expounding on the slogan during one sermon. He added an addendum that I think transforms it into something…
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Six movies at the end
The small movie theater near me temporarily closed in March 2020 due to COVID, but then sadly never reopened. (The one movie I got to see there before the end was Knives Out—not bad…) Whoever closed the building for good clearly didn’t take a peek around the corner, because these movie posters are still on…
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Fine free fate
What happened when New York Public Libraries eliminated overdue fines last fall? Exactly what always happens when libraries go fine free: A wave of returned overdue materials came crashing in, accompanied by a healthy increase (between 9 and 15 percent, depending on the borough) of returning visitors. Since last fall, more than 21,000 overdue or…
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Links of the moment
An ongoing series Abraham Lincoln and the telegraph (which he called “lightning messages”). Cruise around Google Maps with Driving Simulator. Framed is Wordle for movies. 100 easy ways to slightly improve your life.
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Long live the limited podcast series
My recent experience with the Band of Brothers podcast made me realized I’m very much a fan of the modern trend of “official” companion podcasts released alongside limited series by the show’s creators—Watchmen and Station Eleven being two recent examples I enjoyed and appreciated. These are slightly different beasts from the popular post hoc recap…
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. Into the tundra: A ghostly window creature: 3 year old was “helping” me clean out the car on a warmer day by “fixing” a headrest with a wrench, but all you can really see is the reflection of the sun and clouds in the rear window: Among the…