June 4
French Bulldog in a baby stroller
French Bulldog in a baby stroller, French Bulldog in a baby stroller, French Bulldog in a baby stroller, French Bulldog in a baby stroller, French Bulldog in a baby stroller
Recorded in SNAKESURROUND™
ABA, prodigious creator of plenty of awesome short games like the one-dimensional Pac-Man variant PAKU PAKU, has just released a new game, free to play in your browser on itch.io: BLASNAKE. Start with Snake. Add enemies that try to get in your way. Give the snake the ability to destroy enemies by surrounding them! Collect dollar signs to become longer. At $30 though, the snake reduces in length and gets an extra life! And then there's THE MUSIC. Give it a try?
On the nature of luck
The Luck Factor I was wondering if luck could be quantified and measured? Who is the luckiest person alive? Came across this interesting read.
Your least favorite song sucks
"Acapella" is what happens when two musical strains that have produced plenty of "worst song ever" contenders on their own—theater kid energy and white hip hop—come together to produce something truly foul. But it is not the worst song ever, because enough people just haven't heard it. If you can't elicit a roomful of groans on mention alone, are you really in WSOAT territory? from Worst Song Ever [Dirt]
Seven Days at the Bin Store
An article on Defector about reselling to the resellers, and the detritus of modern production. Jen Kinney writes about her new neighborhood store: on global sludge products and their afterlives. [more inside]
Beloved Yolnu statesman who brushed shoulders with royalty dies aged 64
Beloved Yolnu statesman who brushed shoulders with royalty dies aged 64. Senior Rirratjinu elder M Marika, who devoted his life to protecting the natural environment and his people, has died at 64 years old in north-east Arnhem Land.
If you are thinking that 64 is a shockingly young age for someone to die in 2025, there is an appalling gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Aboriginal Australians, because of a variety of factors that limit access to healthcare, including living in extremely remote areas with limited availability of healthcare services and long travel times [8 hours or even several days] to healthcare services; low incomes creating a barrier to healthcare services; and racism by healthcare staff [both conscious racism and unconscious racism]. There has been a campaign for several years now to "Close The Gap" in healthcare access and life expectancy for Aboriginal Australians.
Telepathy Tapes
Telepathy Tapes are one of the top podcasts on Spotify. Have you heard about it? What do you think? I listened to the first episode of this podcast while at the gym and my inner skeptic came out. In short, the Telepathy Tapes claim some nonverbal autistic people are telepathic. The Telepathy Tapes are produced by a documentary filmmaker, Ky Dickens. Curious to hear about people's thoughts about this pop-science trend. [more inside]
A series on the history and design of cookbooks
Author and writer Dr. Julia Skinner is founder and director of Root, a fermentation and food history company that bridges the gap between modern people and historic food. Her substack, Root: Historic Food for the Modern World, is about "rediscovering the magic of everyday life through food, nature, and the creative process, plus recipes, writing tips, and stories." She has authored Wayfinding, a series on the history and design of cookbooks: [more inside]
AI Goes To Hollywood: Don’t Relax
“If you’re a storyboard artist,” one studio executive said, “you’re out of business. That’s over. Because the director can say to AI, ‘Here’s the script. Storyboard this for me. Now change the angle and give me another storyboard.’ Within an hour, you’ve got 12 different versions of it.” He added, however, if that same artist became proficient at prompting generative-AI tools, “he’s got a big job.” [more inside]
Angelica Jade Bastién on Substack
📚 Canadian small presses #23 📚
Under the fold, Prairie small presses Durvile & Uproute, Great Plains, Freehand Books, Frontenac House, NeWest, Radiant, Red Barn Books, Renegade Arts Entertainment, Shadowpaw, Stonehouse, and Summerthought. [more inside]
130 Days of Elon Musk
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a report showing that Musk’s net worth has increased by more than $100 billion since Election Day. The report (12 pages) lists the many ways in which he used his position in the federal government to stop investigations into his companies, undercut regulations, win federal contracts, gain access to data and sensitive information, attack his enemies, meddle in elections, and secure foreign deals, all without informing the American people of his conflicts of interest. [more inside]
Fruits of a poisonous tree
The FBI still considers Tylenol an open, active case. Despite a nationwide manhunt, thousands of hours of police work and an unsolicited confession from the only enduring suspect, no one has ever been charged for the poisoning that killed Mary Reiner, Paula Prince, Mary McFarland, Adam, Stanley, and Theresa Janus, or a 12-year-old girl named Mary Kellerman, a singular set of serial murders. James and Leann Lewis are now in their 70s and living in Massachusetts. There is no statute of limitations for the crime of homicide nor for the recurring grief that persists in its wake. from Poison Pill
June 3
Indigenous groups unite to save ancient languages
From opposite sides of the world, Indigenous groups unite to save ancient languages. The Yuchi tribe from Oklahoma and the Pertame people of Central Australia have joined forces to help ensure their traditional languages are passed on to the next generation.
Big wheel keep on turnin'
Many attempts throughout history either failed to function as intended or turned out to be carefully crafted hoaxes. Johann Bessler’s rotating wheel is widely believed to fall into the latter category—yet exactly how it worked remains a mystery. What made Bessler’s invention particularly remarkable was its ability to convince prominent intellectuals and political leaders of the era, including renowned mathematicians like Gottfried Leibniz, Johann Bernoulli, and Willem 's Gravesande, as well as the ruling prince of the German state of Hesse-Kassel. from Johann Bessler’s Mysterious Rotating Wheel
The Lie Machine
Diabolus Ex Machina -- This Is Not An Essay Presented to you in the form of unedited screenshots, the following is a ‘conversation’ I had with Chat GPT upon asking whether it could help me choose several of my own essays to link in a query letter I intended to send to an agent.
What ultimately transpired is the closest thing to a personal episode of Black Mirror I hope to experience in this lifetime.
“A heartfelt provocation about AI-assisted programming”
All progress on LLMs [for software dev] could halt today, and LLMs would remain the 2nd most important thing to happen over the course of my career.
Developer Thomas Ptacek opines about AI skepticism.
Developer Thomas Ptacek opines about AI skepticism.
"A.I." stood for "Alot of Indian people"
Bloomberg: Builder.ai Faked Business With Indian Firm VerSe to Inflate Sales, Sources Say. Instead of an AI product, the now-bankrupt company used 700 people. Builder.ui was a 1.5 billion dollar company, with a $455M investment from Microsoft. This persisted for eight years. [more inside]
A history and pattern of destructive and disorderly behavior
Despite it's lengthy history as a cultural center for DC's LGBTQ+ community and a focal point for peaceful Pride celebrations for decades and during DC's hosting of this year's WorldPride, the National Park Service has made the surprising and sudden decision to close DuPont Circle for the duration of Pride Weekend citing, "a history and pattern of destructive and disorderly behavior..." [more inside]
dimensonality
#freethread: In his 2024 collection Inventions of a Present: The Novel in its Crisis of Globalization (g/Verso Books), Jameson [wiki] turns again to the novel, a form that, molded out of experiences and fantasies within the historical present, comes to serve as “time’s relief map, its furrows and spurs marking the intrusion of history into individual lives or else its tell-tale silences,” as he puts it [protean] [more inside]
Beauty is sometimes the instrument that achieves some nonaesthetic goal
The lesson we should take from functionalism is that, while there are unlimited contexts, real and imaginary, in which a building can legitimately be viewed, there is usually some functional context that should take precedence when deciding what to build. The functional context is simply the context created by the purpose of the building. It should take precedence when deciding what to build because it is the context in which the most important stakeholders – those who live and work in and around the building – will ordinarily see it. This makes architecture very different from other art forms. from Machines for living in [Works In Progress] [more inside]
June 2
“The dragon lady next to me at the Second Life rave was too close.”
Bridge to eQualia is a fourteen thousand word story about an internet sleuth by Blackle Mori that began as a Bluesky thread. You can also read it as a visual novel.
Glorious outback puppet show keeps Dreamtime stories alive
Glorious outback puppet show keeps Dreamtime stories alive. An entire community helps bring to life a giant puppet show, telling ancient stories of creation, in Western Australia's northernmost town.
CONDEC corporation annual report for the year ended July 31, 1969
The surprisingly groovy art of the CONDEC corporation annual report for the year ended July 31, 1969. (Consolidated Diesel Electric Company).
"Du Deffand, vous etes la mere"
Marie du Deffand.
"Biographies of the obscure -- history's "lesser lives" -- often have a fixed agenda: either they are bent on telling the other side of a story hitherto dominated by a famous protagonist (and hardly ever to the advantage of said protagonist), or they propose to right history itself by rehabilitating figures it has unjustly chosen to ignore."
'Oh, Shut up, Voltaire' (NYT. 1995) [more inside]
"Biographies of the obscure -- history's "lesser lives" -- often have a fixed agenda: either they are bent on telling the other side of a story hitherto dominated by a famous protagonist (and hardly ever to the advantage of said protagonist), or they propose to right history itself by rehabilitating figures it has unjustly chosen to ignore."
'Oh, Shut up, Voltaire' (NYT. 1995) [more inside]
Actor Jonathan Joss murdered in homophobic attack
Gay Native American actor Jonathan Joss, known from Parks and Rec and as the voice actor of John Redcorn on King of the Hill, was shot dead by a neighbor outside of his home in San Antonio, in what his husband has stated was the culmination of a campaign of homophobic harrassment and violence that had also involved the burning down their house and the killing of their dog. San Antonio police apparently did nothing about the numerous complaints received.
Same Mountain, Different Result - Simon Yates wins the Giro d'Italia
In 2018, British cyclist Simon Yates was living one of the great accomplishments of professional cycling, wearing the Maglia Rosa, the Giro d'Italia's leader's jersey and was only two competitive stages away from standing at the top of the podium. Then Colle delle Finestre rose up before him and on its mountain side, Yates cracked, losing the energy to push forward and watched fellow countryman, Chris Froome, pass him by and onto his eventual Giro victory. Seven years later and one competitive stage remaining in the 2025 Giro, Yates returned to Colle delle Finestre and won the Maglia Rosa and the Italian grand tour. [more inside]
You Know Things are Fucked Up When
The NY Post reports a story about immigration cops in a less misleading way than the NY Times. [more inside]
A nontrivial problem for modern compatibility
These days, most emulators presume a 4:3 display aspect ratio, which generally gives you a close enough pixel aspect ratio, and default scaling generally looks good enough. A casual user doesn't really need to worry too much about it, but I feel there's value in giving it some thought. from Superauthenticity: Computer game aspect ratios
The Aperiodical
The Aperiodical is a "magazine and blog for people who already know they like maths and would like to know more." They publish interviews, news, games, and more, such as satirical book covers and a new counting-forwards integer sequence suitable for a lullaby. They also host a monthly "Carnival of Mathematics" linking to "mathematics-related blog posts, YouTube videos or other online content". (Previously: π Day puns, The Big Internet Math-Off 2024, a card trick.)
The New Yorker Profiles Curtis Yarvin AKA Mencius Moldbug
A somewhat savage profile in which TNY's Ava Kofman spends what seems like way too much time with the progenitor of the "Dark Enlightenment," highlighting the way that he's become an intellectual leading light of the second Trump Administration while also noticing that Yarvin's philosophy, to the extent you can call it a philosophy, doesn't really hang together even on its own terms. [more inside]
Spend a minute in a park from the comfort of your screen.
One Minute Park lets you spend sixty seconds in a park somewhere in the world. You can also upload a minute long video here.
No one puts anything over on Claude C. Dobbs
“ What happens when you ask an advanced AI to run a simple vending machine? Sometimes it outperforms humans, and sometimes it spirals into conspiracy theories.” [more inside]
📚 Canadian small presses #22 📚
Under the fold, Canadian play publishers J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing, Infinipress, and Playwrights Canada. [more inside]
Historical Tech Tree
The tech tree is an interactive visualization of technological history from 3 million years ago to today. A work in progress, it currently contains 1798 technologies and 2055 connections between them.
Gold coasting
Unlike fiat currencies imposed by former colonial powers or managed through inflationary central banks, the Nilar is based on natural-moral law principles and designed to protect people’s purchasing power, property rights, and economic sovereignty. It provides a stable, decentralized, and ethical foundation for trade, savings, investment, and development across the continent.
June 1
From wasteland to oasis, Bottle Bend's remarkable transformation
From wasteland to oasis, Bottle Bend's remarkable transformation. Drew Fincher remembers when there was little life to be found at Bottle Bend Reserve on the Murray River. Today, the river bend is home to an array of plant and animal life thanks to the passion of volunteers. (Australia)
Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb launches major attack on Russian air field
Ukraine today pulled off one of the most audacious attacks of the war — a coordinated attack on four Russian air fields and a naval base by a special operation called Spiderweb. This one is right up there with the sinking of the Moskva and the truck bomb attack on the Kerch Bridge. [more inside]
The LGBTQIA+ News Post, First Day Of Pride Edition: June 1, 2025
Welcome to the first Pride Month LGBTQIA+ News Post. We're all beautiful on our own way..
Let's get things started with a list of pride festivals across the world! [more inside]
South Sudan's Failed Peace Deal
Conflict in South Sudan has devolved from the 2018 R-ARCSS, a peace agreement ostensibly unifying two warring sides (the reigning South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-
in Opposition), to a state of disorganized regional and ethnic conflict, stoked by internal and external actors for their own benefit. Jousha Craze, interviewed on American Prestige (previously), provides a detailed breakdown of various South Sudanese leaders and groups, as well as a critique of ineffectual diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. [more inside]
Bottom line: bet on fish
You’re in a rush and you need to grab a bottle of wine for a special occasion. You’ve got $40 and no preference for red or white, but you like wines with animal labels. Which wine are you buying? from The pour-igin of species [The Pudding]
One for the Ages
The Video Game History Foundation (previously) has unveiled a collection of over 100 hours of video from Cyan’s history, including interviews and production footage, from the original Myst game (1993) all the way to Myst V: End of Ages (2005.)
They also posted a highlight video. [more inside]
They also posted a highlight video. [more inside]
Possible subspecies of endangered Leadbeater's possum found in NSW
Possible subspecies of endangered Leadbeater's possum found in New South Wales. Forest ecologist Professor David Lindenmayer says the shock discovery of critically endangered Leadbeater's possum is likely a new subspecies. (Australia) [more inside]
Corgi on a skateboard
Corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard (corgi on a skateboard, corgi on a skateboard)
Tracking the bits of life
Behind this restless historical & philosophical searching is heartbreak
Blaxell writes transness. She writes transly. And writing transly means more than writing a body. It means writing a world in which world and body are kin. This transness doesn’t turn backward toward a body’s past or away from the gazes of others, back into solitary orbit. When Blaxell does transness—and she’s not just writing transness; she’s doing transness—it turns outward. It lives. It makes. It meets you. from All That Lovely Old Transsexual Shit, a review in the LARB by Agnes Borinsky of Worthy of the Event: An Essay by Vivian Blaxell
May 31
Re-introducing native seeds to make the environment more rain-ready
Farmers already pleased with arid land rehabilitated with native seeds. Pastoralists in the far west of New South Wales are trialling new ways to manage arid landscapes by re-introducing native seeds to make the environment more rain-ready. (Australia)
No sanction imposed; judge criticized the error as a “disgrace”
AI Hallucination Cases Paris research fellow Damien Charlotin is compiling misuse of AI from legal decisions around the world. "This database tracks legal *decisions* in cases where generative AI produced hallucinated content – typically fake citations, but also other types of arguments. It does not track the (necessarily wider) universe of all fake citations or use of AI in court filings." Click the arrows under "Details" at the far right to get juicy details about each case. [more inside]
May 31st 1985 Tornado Outbreak
May 31st 1985 Tornado Outbreak During the evening hours of Friday, May 31, 1985, just as people were getting ready to enjoy a late Spring weekend, one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in United States history took place. A total of 43 tornadoes carved paths of destruction across the Northeast U.S. and Canada. [more inside]