Category: Aux
From the introduction to his review of geographer Brett Christophers’ new book The Price Is Wrong, William Davies cites the taxonomy developed by economic historian Fernand Braudel in which the terms ‘market’ and ‘capitalism’, while frequently used interchangeably, “denote very different sets of institutions and logics” and “may even be opposed to each other”: More…
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A thoroughly engaging and entertaining write-up, with a refreshingly honest perspective, of one person’s experience at the supposed “best restaurant in the world” [c/o kottke.org]. Perhaps it wasn’t intended as such (as the writer makes it clear they would’ve got a kick out of the place were they not feeling unwell) but to me, Noma simply oozes pretentious bolloxology — both in the superior notions of the institution itself, and its reflection in the cult that ‘foodies’ have built around it, and others like it. #link
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The measurements are US imperial (sigh) but it’s more or less a two-to-one ratio of water volume to pasta weight. I made macaroni and it came out fine, certainly good enough for me. #link
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How much do I want this Lego-compatible model of a Hong Kong bus, with digital destination board and all? Quite a lot. #link
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Ostensibly, it’s an analysis of online reaction to the LK-99 story but there is, as the saying goes, a lot to unpack here. The drama angle, for instance, speaks a lot to me, as a wrestling fan; it’s also alarming to think that ‘the real world’ might be reduced to the storytelling dynamic of pro wrestling (which I love dearly, but come on). #link
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Absolutely embarrassing that The Brazen Head has 16th place in this list of ‘the most legendary restaurants in the world’. I had lunch there once when I was on jury duty and the Irish stew was flavourless, watery muck. [c/o Kottke.org] #link
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Oh, this? Just a video of a herd of guinea pigs living wild in a Dutch garden. [c/o TKSST] #video
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What a wild story, almost like a surrealistic aside in dystopian fiction. #link
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Simpler then I’d assumed! On a similar note, we made horchata (from Chef John’s recipe) the other day and it turned out really well. #link
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A collection of free single-purpose online tools for web developers (and potentially tinkerers like me). #link
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I’ve already changed the font here, to Inconsolata. But since it’s a work in progress, I might test this one out. And if I ever want to go a bit less harsh and ‘code-y’, there’s Inter. #link
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I also need to try this, although I’ve decided I only really like tofu when it’s either crunchy on the outside, or pillowy and melt-in-the-mouth. So we’ll see how this goes. #link
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I’m going to try this, but I’ll bake the tofu instead as I’ve had good results doing that recently. #link
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I made this a few weeks ago, and the second time it turned out great. The first was botched due to poor-grade, almost bitter syrup (thanks but no thanks, Aldi) and issues with bringing the syrup up to temperature. Second attempt, I used a bigger pot for the two bottles’ worth; I took it a little higher than the recipe suggests, up to soft ball stage on our sugar thermometer. And I didn’t bother adding nuts. The mixture went in a silicone bread loaf mould to cool and I just chopped it into squares a few hours later. Also, it actually tastes better the day after you make it. #link
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We all know RSS was killed off by the double-whammy of Google shuttering Reader (for no real reason) and Facebook becoming the de facto walled garden for the majority of people online (finally realising the promise of AOL!). But it also never died. My blog has been consistently publishing a feed since the early days, although some backend SSL issues with my domain mean it’s not currently validating. But! You can subscribe to it just fine with NetNewsWire, which I’ve returned to after a few years with Feedly (which is also good, but it no longer recognises my feed, so…) and with which I’m rebuilding my ‘blogroll’. I’d also love the option to send newsletters from my Gmail inbox to NNW, but not enough to pay Feedbin $5 a month for it, sorry. #link
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If I may editorialise for a minute (because I did write up a news brief on the subject earlier today): there seems to be an element within Dublin City Council that’s obsessed with remaking the city into something it isn’t, rather than capitalising on and improving what it is. More…
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On the dark side of SimCity: “Behind one of the most iconic computer games of all time is a theory of how cities die—one that has proven dangerously influential.” #link
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And how the iconic ‘Marber grid’ was made. #link
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A fantasy card-drawing game that’s best with two players, so worth adding here as a reminder. #link
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The last time I made overnight oats, the texture was, well, off-puttingly glutinous. But if I do get the urge to try again, I might do it this way. #link
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“Carrie Lam is a Theresa May-like figure who seems to thrive on a performative stoicism, standing firm in the face of a self-inflicted crisis that a more capable politician would simply wiggle out of. She is a tragic figure in the same way that a pilot who points the nose of the aircraft at a mountain and refuses to listen to the passengers screaming for her to turn is a tragic figure. You puzzle over her motives while also wishing that someone, anyone, would throw her out of the plane.” Great analysis here on the protest the west has seemingly put behind it (because if the markets are untroubled…). #link
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This kind of ‘reputation management’ is clearly awful but makes perfect sense, and reminds me of an article I read recently about what I believe was the US agricultural giant Cargill, and how it uses SEO tricks to keep its bad press buried on the web, but which I now cannot find (touché). #link
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Bee shared this one with me, from 10 years ago: a quietly furious tale of prejudice where pride — in one’s self-appointed expertise (in this case, junk science about arson investigations), in one’s convictions (the failings of eyewitness testimony), whatever it may be — comes before truth and justice. #link
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So, my site passes muster up to Level 2 here, pretty much (my h-card is ‘incomplete’ but I’m not adding my email address, sorry). I think I’ve done all I can for now, unless I need/can use Bridgy? #link
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The Art Of Warez, a short documentary on ANSI art culture (with bonus Black Dice on the soundtrack). [c/o pete @ Thumped] #video
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From Tokyo at Night, by Mateusz Urbanowicz, c/o the recent Kottke.org post on his Tokyo Storefronts. Prints are available, too, though I don’t see shipping info so YMMV. #image
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Someone please remind me I was looking at/for this. #link
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Phil’s choice is people working with wood. Lately mine has been Rescue and Restore; before that, videos from the driver’s seat of Japanese bullet trains. #link
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Because it’s 2019 and basic IT literacy means nothing anymore. (Stop embedding images in Word docs FFS.) #link
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Forty-plus years of Super Sentai tokusatsu covered in about eight minutes. Interesting to see how blatantly toy-oriented the Japanese shows are compared to the western adaptations. #video
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This here is really well done and is rekindling an idea Bee and I have had for ages. #link
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Olly with an excellent breakdown of the philosophy behind antifascism, one that also serves as a takedown of the naivety of certain journalistic quarters in the face of racist rhetoric and manipulation. #video
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An essay on the multi-million-dollar protein food industry. Which is pretty much like the gluten-free industry, or any other mass-market food fad. #link
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Diana Smith’s art made in the medium of CSS and HTML. Very impressive. By the way, this is from my MeFi favourites, where I occasionally save stuff that interests me. #link
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Hummus is dead easy to make and I really should make some more often. (Same goes for chimichurri, though I’ve found it harder to get the flavour balance right.) #link
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Sometimes all you need in your life is some baby capybaras. [c/o TKSST] #video
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I could be from anywhere within a massive red blotch from Cavan to Wexford, which feels like the research on Hiberno-English could be more specific. #link
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I shouldn’t find this funny but I do. #link
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I still have a bunch of Nat Geo maps from when I had a subscription that need to go up on a wall or something. #link
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If there’s a moral to this story, it’s that these things can’t be forced. Imposing orthography from above? That’s been done before: Cyrillic, Korean, even modern Irish. But the nuts and bolts of communication are something else. How may people speak Esperanto, after all? #link
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The Noticing newsletter is a welcome arrival in my inbox every week, and to close this year there’s a double-whammy best-of-2018 compendium (the B-sides are here). #link
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Easily adjustable website frameworks via Bootstrap or CSS. Nicely done. #link
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For working out text size ratios for website display. #link
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Linked on a blog read by no-one. Oh, the irony! #link
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This must have been a heavy situation. Heavy, get it? #link
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A longform debunking of nearly every contemporary food/health myth you’ve ever heard. #link
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The Milwaukee Bucks design above, from the late 1970s, might be my favourite from this massive Flickr repository of NBA basketball courts through the years. [c/o Kottke] #image
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Filing this for future reference, when I finally get to grips with JavaScript. Then I can understand potentially useful tools like Stimulus, ‘a modest JavaScript framework for the HTML you already have’. #link
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Wait, what?! Why?! #link
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