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The Oatmeal on AI art
The Oatmeal on AI art. Astute and poignant.
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The craze of 6 7
most previous Internet meme trends were based in some grounding of logic. 6 7, however, has become a prime example of how brain rot can ascend into pop culture.
Now teachers avoid breaking kids into groups of six or seven, or asking them to turn to page 67, or instructing them to take six or seven minutes for a task. Six is a perfect number, and seven is a prime number, but only a glutton for punishment would put them together in front of a bunch of 13-year-olds.
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Adopting a coffee name
There are lots of different reasons to adopt a coffee name, giving a barista a name other than your own.
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Climate change, creating hybrid species
One of the consequences of climate change is the creation of hybrid species.
Hybrid species are surprisingly common in the plant kingdom, but less so among animals, with around 10 to 15 percent of bird species known to hybridize. But as the ranges of animals shift due to changes in global climate, the likelihood of encounters between species that have never interacted before increases, which may lead to new ecological communities. “It’s an interesting sign of what is potentially to come in climate change and biodiversity shifts,” Stokes says.
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Lost albums
Steve Hyden goes long on lost albums:
These are the three kinds of “lost” albums I am interested in:
1. Albums that remain unreleased, either by artist’s choice or record-label maleficence.
2. Albums that were unreleased for a time but then came out after they achieved iconic
“lost” status, to the point where even now they still seem “lost” even though they technically aren’t anymore.3. Albums that might not actually exist.
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Hampsters getting an MRI
Veterinary medicine has to get creative to provide treatment. Here’s a video of a hampster getting an MRI.
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The bankification of everything
Every company offers credit card now. This has led to every company becoming an unregulated bank.
Upward of 40 percent of Americans now pay for basic items like groceries and health care using borrowed money — and this excludes credit cards. A third of younger Americans hold their savings on nonbank tech platforms like Venmo, and industries from retail to transportation derive anywhere from 14 percent to half of their profits from partnerships with credit card companies.
While this new type of financialization takes many different forms, the endgame is the same: Most major corporations now aspire to become unregulated banks, opening up new avenues to make even more money hand over fist. Banks operating credit cards are the highest-profit-margin enterprises in the economy. Every company wants a share of the loot, amassed from high fees and low overhead costs.
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Taco Bell 50K marathon
In Denver, someone figured out a 50 km loop that stops at 10 Taco Bells. Naturally, you would create an ultra marathon involving eating Taco Bell menu items.
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Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman broke up. Then she had to record a love song for him
Karly Hartzman wries an essay about her breakup, yet having to record a love song. It’s full of lyricism and captures a certain feeling.
I filled my Marvin the Martian cup with tequila on our neighbors’ porch next door. While swaying on the wooden porch swing, I ate collard greens with pork-jowl bits that my bandmate Xandy brought to the party. I nursed several pieces of homemade cornbread.
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Everynoise, the music genre explorer
Everynoise, the music genre explorer. You click a genre and get a sample. Selections skew electronic, but still fun.
