This short film is barely a minute long, and I think that’s the perfect length for the joke. (video)
If you’re a believer that Mercury being in retrograde affects, well, anything, then, you might read this Scientific American article and say something like “shots fired.” (via Kottke.org)
My friend Justin Angle and Nick Mott’s new book This is Wildfire: How to Protect Yourself, Your Home, and your Community in the Age of Heat came out last month and I am not finished reading it yet, but I think it’s as informative and thought-provoking as the podcast they based it on: their podcast, Fireline, which won an Edward R. Murrow Award.
This XKCD comic is something probably many of us have thought at one point or another, and also makes me think of all the Audible credits I have piled up over the past few months because I just haven’t had time/opportunities to listen to audiobooks (I finally paused my membership). And then someone sends me a podcast to listen to and I’m like, “Ugh, I can’t, I have all these audiobook credits that are going to expire.” And (most) podcasts are free.
Ben Gibbard, who is on tour right now with his bands Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, has a really great line in this podcast about trying to finish an ultramarathon when your body isn’t quite right vs. trying to finish an ultramarathon when your head isn’t quite right, and if you’ve ever run or done anything longer than you think is feasible, it might hit home for you.
I don’t know how relevant this will be to the readers of this newsletter, but I am addicted to these video compilations of NBA clips. The format and titles are genius—“________ things but they get increasingly more ________”. Meaning I get sucked in, and of course I’m going to watch until the end because I want to get to the last (best?) one, but don’t want to miss all the in-between ones. This one is called “Free throws but they get increasingly more hilarious”
You may not make it all the way through this deep, deep dive into the world of the fake text message screenshots Apple uses every time it rolls out a new iOS, but it is truly an inspiring effort. I have to say there is a payoff at the end (just before all the archived screenshots) when the author talks about where this sort of fake conversation style actually exists in the real world. (Thanks, Nate!)
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