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A pair of rare video clips of Jimi Hendrix playing an acoustic guitar. “Jimi could make an acoustic sound like an electric, and an electric like something else.” [kottke.org]

Jimi Hendrix Goes Acoustickottke.org A true master of the electric guitar, Jimi Hendrix missed the era of MTV Unplugged by almost 20 years and video & audio clips of him playing an acoustic guitar can be difficult to find. Open Culture recently collected a

In this interview, Errol Morris talks about truth, documentary filmmaking, and AI. “Truth, I like to remind people — whether we’re talking about filmmaking, or film journalism, or journalism, whatever — it’s a quest.” [niemanlab.org]

Errol Morris on whether you should be afraid of generative AI in documentarieswww.niemanlab.org “Our task is to get back to the real world, to the extent that it is recoverable.”

Important not to forget with all that is going on: Republicans will likely try to end almost abortion access in the US if the elections go their way this fall. Those are the stakes, period. [slate.com]

Don’t Be Fooled By the Gauzy Coverage of the GOP’s “New” Abortion Platformslate.com Reactions from conservative advocates reveal that this platform is just as harsh as it has been in the past.

E.B. White writes to a man who has lost faith in humanity. “As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate.” [kottke.org]

E.B. White Writes to a Man Who Has Lost Faith in Humanitykottke.org From Shaun Usher’s Letters of Note, here’s a letter written by E.B. White in 1973 to a man who said he had “lost faith in humanity”. It begins: As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate

If you’re on Bluesky, you can follow the Downticket Democrats bot: “I share donation links to US Democrats running for legislative seats in competitive districts.” [bsky.app]

After 12 years, Pete Wells is stepping down as the NY Times’ restaurant critic. “I realized I wasn’t hungry. And I’m still not, at least not the way I used to be.” But also: “My cholesterol, blood sugar and hypertension were worse than I’d expected.” [nytimes.com]

After 12 Years of Reviewing Restaurants, I’m Leaving the Tablewww.nytimes.com Pete Wells is moving on from his role as the Times restaurant critic, a job with many rewards and maybe too many courses.

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Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz to every woman, LGBTQ+ person and immigrant who works in tech: you’re disposable if doing this makes us even more money

Nothing About the Attempted Assassination Redeems Trump. “That Trump is a victim does not obligate anyone to forget the millions of people he would make victims if given the opportunity.” [theatlantic.com]

Nothing About the Attempted Assassination Redeems Trumpwww.theatlantic.com This crime does not erase what the former president has done, or what he has promised to do.

It’s Amazon’s annual Prime Day sale and I’ve pulled out some of the best deals on stuff that I actually use or am coveting, including AirPods Pro, Splendor (board game), the M3 Macbook Air, and a Bluetooth gadget for plane seatback audio. [kottke.org]

It’s Random Midsummer Shopping Day Again! (AKA Prime Day)kottke.org For the last few years, Amazon has spent a couple of summer days putting a bunch of their most popular items on sale for their Prime members. This year, Prime Day runs from July 16-17 and includes a number of things th

15 books about Appalachia to read instead of Hillbilly Elegy that counter “the stereotypes of [Republican VP pick] J.D. Vance’s version of Appalachia”. [kottke.org]

“15 Books About Appalachia to Read Instead of Hillbilly Elegy”kottke.org From Kendra Winchester at Book Riot: Since Hillbilly Elegy came out in 2016, I’ve experienced countless people claiming to now “understand” where I come from and what Appalachian people are like. But they don’t think

Investigation Finds Secret Service Failed To Account For Nation’s 393 Million Guns. “The Secret Service failed to heed the real threat posed to the former president by the hundreds of millions of firearms in the hands of everyday Americans.” [theonion.com]

Investigation Finds Secret Service Failed To Account For Nation’s 393 Million Gunswww.theonion.com WASHINGTON—In a damning report that raised pointed questions about the federal agency’s security procedures, an investigation by the House Committee on Homeland Security concluded Monday that the Secret Service failed to account for the nation’s 393 million civilian-owned guns while protecting for

There’s a 25th edition version of Brian Greene’s The Elegant Universe coming out. I devoured this book when it first came out and I still have not read an easier-to-understand summary of modern physics and quantum mechanics. [amazon.com]

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theorywww.amazon.com

Gorgeous aerial photograph of sea ice in the Baltic Sea. [kottke.org]

Baltic Icekottke.org Oh, I really like this particular image from Bernhard Lang’s series of aerial photographs of sea ice in the Baltic (part one, part two). (via colossal)

Cyanokites are a collection of five paper kites of different shades of blue, a sly homage to the cyanometer, an instrument designed to measure the blueness of the sky. [kites.playgroup.design]

Printernet: Get a custom print version of your reading list sent right to your door. Each issue has five slots you can fill with any text-based content (articles, etc.) [getprinternet.com]

Molly White: Fighting bots is fighting humans. “Any attempt at limiting bot access will inevitably allow some bots through and prevent some humans from accessing the site, and it’s about deciding where you want to set the cutoff.” [mollywhite.net]

“The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe; for the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because his handle was made of wood, he was one of them.” [kottke.org]

The Cleverness of the Axekottke.org There’s a version of The Woodcutter and the Trees series of fables that I ran across the other day that’s particularly relevant to this moment in history: The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the ax

Area codes that are also HTTP response headers. For instance, 404 (Not Found) is an area code in Atlanta and 406 (Not Acceptable) is the area code for Montana. [dougsillars.github.io]

Edith here. Miranda July’s All Fours is one of the must-reads of the summer. I devoured it and drew about it. Have you read it? What did you think? [kottke.org]

Reading Miranda July’s All Fourskottke.org Links: Miranda July, All Fours (There’s also a sizable free sample on Libby) NYT: The Women Rethinking Marriage and Family Life Because of Miranda July (“the talk of every group text”) Yale Review: The novelist on

This Crystal Fragment Turns Everything You See Into 8-bit Pixel Art, and It’s Fascinating. “The lens minecrafts scenery without electricity.” [yankodesign.com]

This Crystal Fragment turns everything you see into 8-bit Pixel Art, and it’s FASCINATING - Yanko Designwww.yankodesign.com https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4VN2ZZZT9c&feature=youtu.be There is no denying that modern graphic resolutions have reached unachievable heights. Yet, there are many with an emotional connect to pixelated style: an art form that rekindles memories of early computers and video game graphics. If you

This clip of Gene Kelly gently refusing Kermit’s request to perform Singin’ in the Rain on the Muppet Show is just super charming and lovely. (Spoiler alert: he performs it.) [kottke.org]

Gene Kelly Doesn’t Want to Perform Singin’ in the Rain on the Muppet Showkottke.org The legendary dancer, actor, and singer Gene Kelly appeared on The Muppet Show in season five, in what turned out to be the last episode of the show ever filmed. The episode’s gag involved Kelly being under the impress

Enduring 129°F in Death Valley. “The breeze only makes things worse, by blasting apart the thin and fragile atmosphere of cooled air that millions of your pores produce by sweating. Your heart hammers faster and faster. Your cognition starts to blur.” [theatlantic.com]

I Went to Death Valley to Experience 129 Degreeswww.theatlantic.com Sweating through one of the hottest days in history

Ayo Edebiri browses the Criterion Collection closet and picks out some of her favorite movies. She is so joyfully nerdy about film, I love it. [kottke.org]

Ayo Edebiri Browses the Criterion Collectionkottke.org As if we needed more reasons to love her, Ayo Edebiri is a total film dork. First, there’s the account on Letterboxd — her review of Empire Strikes Back: “this movie is great but I was really shocked by how ugly Yoda w

There’s a Devil Wears Prada sequel coming… “Gird your loins.” [variety.com]

‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Sequel in the Works at Disney With Screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna in Talks to Returnvariety.com Disney is developing a sequel to ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ with screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna in talks to return.

XKCD wrote A Crossword Puzzle; it’s got clues like “Lola, when betting it all on black 20 in Run Lola Run”, “8mm diameter battery”, and “badbeef + 9efcebbb”. [kottke.org]

XKCD: A Crossword Puzzlekottke.org Although I am slightly disappointed this isn’t a “real” crossword puzzle, I do admire Randall Munroe’s commitment to the bit. And then there’s the gray letters…

I’ve linked to these before, but the Do Not Reply images (which gently dunk on social media reply guys) are now available on their own site — and you can order IRL stickers too. [donotreply.cards]

DONOTREPLY.CARDS→ENdonotreply.cards DO USE DO NOT REPLY CARDS FOR BETTER REPLIES ↱

The Teasingest Teaser Trailer for Severance Season Two. “In season two, Mark and his friends learn the dire consequences of trifling with the severance barrier, leading them further down a path of woe.” [kottke.org]

The Teasingest Teaser Trailer for Severance Season Twokottke.org Well, the teaser trailer answers almost no questions about the second season of Severance, so job well done with the teasing there lads. Here’s one thing though: the season starts on January 17, 2025 on Apple TV+. Oh,

Did you know you can renew your US passport online now? The State Department is beta testing the new online renewal system for the next several months. [travelandleisure.com]

You Can Now Renew Your Passport Online — Here’s Howwww.travelandleisure.com The State Department, which manages the distribution of passports, announced a new beta test of an online passport renewal program.

New book out this fall: Comic Sans: The Biography of a Typeface. “Author Simon Garfield tells the story of how Comic Sans emerged from speech bubbles on educational software to become one of the most recognized — and reviled — typefaces on Earth.” [amazon.com]

Comic Sans: The Biography of a Typeface (The ABC of Fonts Series)www.amazon.com

The Science Behind the Emotions in Inside Out 2. “Around 13 or 14, the ability to picture oneself on the outside, to imagine different scenarios, arrives as a result of brain development.” Hence, the rise of anxiety, envy, embarrassment, etc. [kottke.org]

The Science Behind the Emotions in Inside Out 2kottke.org For National Geographic, Tony Hale (who played Fear in Inside Out 2) talks to psychologist and author Dr. Lisa Damour about Pixar’s new film, her role as a consultant for the filmmakers, and what science says about the