“If this were any other state, Presley might arguably be an outright favorite to win this race. The problem, of course, is that he happens to be running in Mississippi, which has among the highest levels of racial polarization in the nation.”
“Japan discovered it has 7,000 more islands than previously thought thanks to advanced survey mapping technology.”
“That is because the lab leak is still missing the key element of the U.N. cholera story that made it more than just a bunch of rumors: an actual, coherent theory of the case that could be refuted or confirmed.”
“In other words, it means that the music I think of as cool is, now, officially, no longer cool. It has become so wholly and officially un-cool that it can now be played as harmless background noise in a Big Box store in the white western suburbs of Philadelphia.”
“So, this isn’t One Weird Trick to solve it, it’s a reminder to neurodivergent folks that a lot of politeness is a performance of a lie so that people, especially white people, can survive cognitive dissonance and pretend nothing is bad if we all just use our company manners.”
What the dogs of Chernobyl can teach us.
RIP, Judy Heumann, renowned disability rights activist.
“How Attacks Against Obamacare Turned Into Tools to Protect Abortion Access”.
Peak TV was awesome. Trough TV, not so much.
Is your tap water turning you gay? Spoiler alert: No, it is not.
RIP, Gary Rossington, guitarist and last surviving founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
“Toblerone is no longer Swiss enough to feature the Matterhorn on its packaging”.
RIP, Barbara Everitt Bryant, first woman to lead the US Census Bureau.
Keeping track of time on the moon is trickier than you might think.
“The real lesson of the 2022 election is that the country is ready to move on from extremists and traitors. And yet they’re going right back to it because it’s who they are.”
“The World Baseball Classic, right now, is a half-measure, and most of its problems can be traced to it being played in March. You’re not getting the best players, you’re not getting the biggest audience, in March. By moving half the event into the summer, you can address those problems and start the Classic on its way to becoming what MLB wants it to be: baseball’s World Cup.”
RIP, Lee Ellis, former Houston restauranteur. I can attest that both the chicken and the donuts at Lee’s Fried Chicken and Donuts, which was in my neighborhood, were very good.
“The bewildering descent of Scott Adams and Dilbert“.
“We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately.”
RIP, Ian Falconer, stage designer and author/illustrator of the Olivia children’s books, which our family dearly loved.
RIP, Chaim Topol, actor best known for playing Tevye in the stage and screen versions of Fiddler on the Roof.
“Three reasons to believe that COVID evolved naturally, not in a lab”.
“Pfizer ready to launch RSV vaccines for older adults, pregnant women in US, Europe”.
RIP, Robert Blake, actor best known for the TV show Baretta and for being acquitted of the murder of his wife.
A great story about Malachy McCourt – author, actor, raconteur and man-about-town – written by one of my high school classmates.