CityLab
NYMagThis is the scariest take I’ve read on impeachment. We have arrived at the future Neil Postman warned us about in the 80s: no debate is possible because there's no space for serious debate. In Amusing Ourselves to Death Postman asked, "Who is prepared to take arms against a sea of amusements? To whom do we complain, and when, and in what tone of voice, when serious discourse dissolves into giggles? What is the antidote to a culture’s being drained by laughter?" Everything is entertainment.
nytimes.com
This article is very motivating to me. I should set up a semi-private Mastodon instance for locals. We have some good tools available to make New Internet happen.
href.coolGet thee to this list. So many feels retracing these footprints. I wasn’t walking alone this whole decade—the weird web was carrying me.
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Prestige TV to Me
This sinus infection I’ve had for what feels like forever has been miserable but I did catch up on some good TV to keep myself distracted. My loss can be your gain! Here are some recent shows I recommend for binging and I don’t think you need to have a fever to enjoy them.
- The Bureau - French spy drama. I haven't been this addicted to a show since The Wire. Mathieu Kassovitz of Amélie fame in a completely different role here. RIYL: anxiety. (4 seasons streaming on Sundance.)
- Name of the Rose - Middle Ages crime procedural set in a monastery! What's not to love? John Turturro is fantastic as man-ahead-of-his-time William of Baskerville. RIYL: logic. (8-episode miniseries streaming on Sundance.)
- The Mandalorian - I was primed to not like the new Star Wars offering but a certain puppet character makes up for many flaws. RIYL: shooting. (Streaming on Disney+.)
- Modern Love - This anthology love letter to New York has such stellar casting for each mini-movie. RIYL: feelings. (Streaming on Amazon Prime.)
- Letterkenny - Hicks vs. skids in rural Canada. Had to look up so much hockey slang to sort myself out for this show, boys. RIYL: drinking and punching. (7 seasons streaming on Hulu.)
Florent Crivello"But everything that looks good doesn’t necessarily work well. In fact, those two traits are opposed more often than not: efficiency tends to look messy, and good looks tend to be inefficient."I really enjoyed this essay about perceived efficiency and complexity. Especially with the Chesterton’s Fence kicker. Understanding an existing system before changing it is important.
Clear Fall Scene
Wired
This sure feels like an iconic photo that sums up the impeachment hearings in so many ways. Twitter people had fun with the Morrissey remix. And Alexandra Petri is a national treasure: Foolproof ways to be not guilty of crimes.
amnesty.org
"Either we must submit to this pervasive surveillance machinery – where our data is easily weaponized to manipulate and influence us – or forego the benefits of the digital world. This can never be a legitimate choice."Amnesty International the organization is wrestling with their use of Facebook in the wake of this report: We called out Facebook and Google but still need them. That's exactly the problem. They go on to say:
“We are trying to pull off the difficult balancing act of carrying out our duty to spread our human rights message while spending money with companies profiting from problematic surveillance. The reputational risk grows with every scandal. ”I hope we see some progressive organizations start to distance themselves from Facebook. If they won’t, who will?
YouTube
Take 25 minutes to watch this. He makes a fantastic, succinct argument for regulating social media to stop the reach of hate speech.
theregister.co.uk
People are greedy. That's why we can't have nice things. Here’s more about why this is horrible from the EFF: Nonprofit Community Stands Together to Protect .ORG.
Copper Maran Juvenile