Kottke.org Posts and Links for Sep 13, 2024
Hi, Jason here. This newsletter is a digest of posts and links from kottke.org, published every Tuesday and Friday. It's not absolutely everything from the site, but it's durn close. Unsubscribing is easy if you'd like to get off this ride. As always, you can read kottke.org on the web, via RSS, on Bluesky, on Mastodon, and in several other ways. Ok, onto the links!
Disco in the 80s but everyone is Lionel Messi. (This is incredible.) [instagram.com]
The World's Loudest Sound. The 1883 eruption of Krakatoa was so loud, it could be heard 3000 miles away. [kottke.org]
How to Monetize a Blog. I am taking very careful notes, so expect some big changes around here. Mind the vortex (vortext?) tho. [modem.io]
Man Replies 'STOP' To Political Fundraiser Text Like Powerful Wizard Casting Spell To Ward Off Mythical Beast. It me, 10 times a day. [theonion.com]
At long last, Robert Caro's The Power Broker is available as a Kindle ebook. It will be released on Sept 16 — you can preorder it here. [amazon.com]
The 365 Most Famous Quotes of All Time. "A study of humanity’s most brilliant, collected wisdom in 27 categories, backed by data and with real sources." [baos.pub]
The trailer for Apollo 13: Survival, a documentary film that uses original footage and interviews to tell the story of NASA's Apollo 13 mission. Now playing on Netflix. [kottke.org]
Quick summaries of the decades from the 1880s to the 2020s. "1990s — The first decade in a long time that's defined by technology not by drugs. Large-screen TVs, surround sound, satellite dishes, cable TV. Obsession with teenagers..." [samkahn.substack.com]
In a Red Bull stunt, Dawid Godziek rode a bike on a ramps course on top of a moving train, performing tricks between cars. Train & rider are moving at the same speed in opposite directions, so it counterintuitively looks like he's motionless. [kottke.org]
Yesterday I posted on Threads asking for advice about what to look for when touring colleges (my son is a senior, doing the college admissions thing). I got over 300 replies (and 40k views)...fellow parents, you might find some good info in there. [threads.net]
The latest issue of McSweeney's Quarterly is a tin lunchbox that comes with collectable author cards (Sheila Heti, Zadie Smith, George Saunders, Sarah Vowell, Michael Chabon, etc.) [store.mcsweeneys.net]
A recent scientific (DNA) study about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) finds no evidence of "ecocide" in the 1600s but shows pre-Columbian interaction/admixture of its Polynesian population with Native Americans (circa 1250–1430 CE). [nature.com]
I quite like these layered oil paintings by Moldovan artist Pon Arsher. [kottke.org]
Here's what happens to your skin & immune system when you get a tattoo. "Tens of thousands of cells are violently killed right away, ripped into pieces or damaged beyond repair." [youtube.com]
Small Trades (1950-51) is a project from master photographer Irving Penn that captured people of all kinds of professions, each wearing their work clothes and carrying the tools of their trade. [kottke.org]
Tuneshine is a "lo-fi digital album art display for streaming services". You just sign it in to Spotify or whatever and it displays the cover of the album currently being played. [tuneshine.rocks]
The isolating life of a pro tennis player who is not elite. "Your ranking determined your social status on tour. The guy ranked at number 90 in the world doesn't get as warm a handshake from the Slam champion as the guy ranked at 20." [theguardian.com]
Great Ball Contraptions are large & elaborate Rube Goldberg-esque machines built from Lego for transporting small balls from one place to another using a variety of creative mechanisms. They are mesmerizing to watch. [kottke.org]
Gooey-Prickles or Prickly-Goo. "Prickly people are precise, rigorous, logical — they like everything chopped up and clear. Goo people like it vague, big picture, random, imprecise, incomplete and irrational." [petafloptimism.com]
Looks like Francis Ford Coppola finally got US distribution for his self-financed blockbuster, Megalopolis. It's opening on Sept 27. Here's the official trailer. [youtube.com]
Old newsreel footage of penny farthing bike races in the 20s and 30s. "It turns out to be such a great race that when they come round on the third lap, the excitement runs higher than the bicycle." [kottke.org]
There's a store in Tokyo called Guruguru Shakashaka that has 600 different kinds of salt and offers customers the chance to make & purchase their own custom blends. [spoon-tamago.com]
12 principles for building a feminine economy. "Be grateful. Remember, wealth has nothing to do with money. Practice radical self-love. Nourish, nurture, savor. Feel how rich you are already." [web.archive.org]
👀 👋 🎉
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