“We’re in a golden age of comedy now where everyone can say...

“We’re in a golden age of comedy now where everyone can say exactly what they want, free of the fear of censorship, except by the government. Donald Trump has made comedy legal again!”

Health Insurers Are Hiking Premiums as Their Profits Balloon. “The US’s six...

Health Insurers Are Hiking Premiums as Their Profits Balloon. “The US’s six largest health insurers reported massive profits last year, doling out billions on stock buybacks and dividends.”

Ozzy Osborne died today at the age of 76. His farewell concert...

Ozzy Osborne died today at the age of 76. His farewell concert a few weeks ago was the highest-grossing charity concert of all time, raising more than $200 million. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

A Behind the Scenes Look at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts

Follow Architectural Digest as they head behind the scenes at the offices of NPR Music to see how the now-iconic Tiny Desk Concerts come together. My favorite bits are the callouts of all the stuff on the shelves behind the artists: Adele’s water bottle, Sabrina Carpenter’…

Teaser trailer for Pixar’s next film, Hoppers. “We put this 🧠 into...

Teaser trailer for Pixar’s next film, Hoppers. “We put this 🧠 into this 🦫.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Coming Soon: Your Professional Decline

I stumbled across this July 2019 article by Arthur C. Brooks about professional decline and it gave me lots to think about: Your Professional Decline Is Coming (Much) Sooner Than You Think. One of the takeaways is that different stages of your life require different approaches…

Since 2004, new editions of the Choose Your Own Adventure books have...

Since 2004, new editions of the Choose Your Own Adventure books have included branching diagrams of all of the possible paths through the books. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Some madman/genius put cut, copy, and paste into Doom....

Some madman/genius put cut, copy, and paste into Doom. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Rival Consoles — Soft Gradient Beckons

I love the look of this black & white animated video made by Anthony Dickenson from thousands of hand-painted frames for Rival Consoles’ song Soft Gradient Beckons. Stick around after the song ends for a behind-the-scenes look at how it was made. If I plan too much, it’s…

Programmer Przemysław Dębiak recently defeated an advanced OpenAI model in a coding...

Programmer Przemysław Dębiak recently defeated an advanced OpenAI model in a coding competition. “The contest echoes the American folk tale of John Henry, the steel-driving man who raced against a steam-powered drilling machine in the 1870s.” 💬 Join the d…

Anil Dash on seeing Wu-Tang Clan in 2000, the last time all...

Anil Dash on seeing Wu-Tang Clan in 2000, the last time all nine members of the Wu-Tang Clan appeared together on one stage together. “At the time of the performance, [O.D.B.] had been on the run…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

VSCO Has the Answer to All the Problems Instagram Makes for Photographers

It's said, "The best camera is the one you have with you." And for many people, that turns out to be their smartphone. With cellphone photography reaching new heights, one can't possibly ignore the cultural and technological footprint it has left behind. To help photographers wh…

Today (July 22) will be the second-shortest day since 1973. “The difference...

Today (July 22) will be the second-shortest day since 1973. “The difference will be just 1.34 milliseconds less than the standard 24 hours.” (Also, the Earth is spinning faster and we don’t really know why?) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Streamlining HTML web components

If you’re a front-end developer and you don’t read Chris Ferdinandi’s blog, you should change that right now. Add that RSS feed to your feed reader of choice! Lately he’s been posting about some of the thinking behind his Kelp UI library. That includes some great nugget…

Was the Sony RX1R Mk III Worth Waiting For? I’m Still Not Sure

Upon taking the Sony RX1R Mk III out of the beautiful gray box that Sony delivered their review unit on loan to me, I stared at the camera. It's every bit as gorgeous to behold as the GAS whispers in your mind tell you it is. The Sony RX1R Mk III is small, lightweight, and remin…

The 5 Best Zoom Lenses for Travel Photography

Zoom lenses are quite important for a variety of reasons. It allows you to frame your scene without having to move, and makes it easy to capture images on the go, too. As a result, many in travel photography prefer such lenses, which enable them to reduce their workload. So, her…

Nikon P1100 Review: The Best Point and Shoot for Bird Photography

“The lens takes like 5,000 years to move,” is what Managing Editor Nilofer Khan said to me when I showed the Nikon Coolpix P1100 in our weekly video call. “By the time you zoom in, the bird is gone.” In many cases and situations, she’s not wrong. In fact, in most situa…

The Most Observed Plants & Animals in Each US State

XKCD mapped the most observed plant and animal for all 50 US states as reported by iNaturalist users. I had no idea bumble bees were such a popularly observed animal — the common eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) is most-observed in Vermont, Wisconsin, Maine, Connecticut…

A look at 40 years of Rembrandt self-portraits. “Rembrandt documented his face...

A look at 40 years of Rembrandt self-portraits. “Rembrandt documented his face as it aged through time, from the fresh-faced playfulness of youth to his careworn old age.” He did about 100 self-portraits in total. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Use Our Presets for Those Precious Moments

If you photography people, then you're going to want to try this. Our presets are designed to make editing a minimal task so you can get back to shooting! We're in love with Retro Digital. Luckily, that's when we founded the website closer to two decades ago. So we dove into our…

When the Icebergs Came to Town

A few weeks ago, a pair of icebergs drifted close to Innaarsuit, Greenland. Photographer Dennis Lehtonen captured the visit — you can see the photos on Instagram or in the Arctic gallery on his website. From Colossal: A couple of weeks ago, Lehtonen and locals spotted an…

Gregor Formanek is likely the very last SS guard of a concentration...

Gregor Formanek is likely the very last SS guard of a concentration camp to be charged by German prosecutors. “Did he enjoy the power he had? Did he care? Did he find it boring? Did it make him uneasy?”

nikitonsky is being grumpy

nikitonsky: This is exactly backwards! Checkbox (top) should be square, radio buttons (list of reasons) should be round. Come on! Thanks @chuhlomin for the picture UPD: You can select multiple reasons, so checkboxes are correct there. My bad #Amazon #Checkbox #RadioButton #Unsu…

How to Flood-Proof a Hurricane-Prone Florida Town

In Florida, flooding is a huge cause of death and destruction from hurricanes. This video looks at how a town called Babcock Ranch was designed to withstand hurricane flooding through some smart engineering. Yet this one town, Babcock Ranch, has been hit by four hurricanes an…

“The Alamo announced Friday a whimsical and nostalgic new addition to its...

“The Alamo announced Friday a whimsical and nostalgic new addition to its growing collection: the original, screen-used stunt bike from the beloved 1985 film Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure.” Round of applause for everyone involved. 💬 Join the discussion on kottk…

iNaturalist Animals and Plants

The 3 Best Cameras That Make Multiple Exposures Effortless

Multiple exposure is one of the few techniques that allows you to make a whole story within one image. For some, it is a creative expression technique to be used sometimes and others utilize it for aesthetic purposes. Either way, multiple exposures can be fun, especially if it's…

Catherine Lacey’s The Möbius Book is both a memoir and a novel,...

Catherine Lacey’s The Möbius Book is both a memoir and a novel, does not have a beginning or an end, and is “readable from either side”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →

Intricate Drawings by Shunshun

I am totally smitten with the intricate drawings of Japanese artist Shunshun. It’s worth clicking through to see them in detail. Here’s a look at his process: You can follow Shunshun on Instagram. Tags: art · Shunshun 💬 Join the discussion…

Portugeating

Hi Chris. You mentioned you were off to Portugal soon to explore Lisbon and Porto and I promised I’d send along some food tips from my previous visits. I’ll skip over the obvious. No doubt you’ll seek out pasteis de nata in Lisbon. And I’m sure someone will convince you…

“Terrible night’s sleep? Here’s how to make it through the day…” Maybe...

“Terrible night’s sleep? Here’s how to make it through the day…” Maybe hold off on caffeine, limit carbs + easy energy, “snack” your exercise, get out in the sun, nap (but not too long), and head to bed at your normal time. 💬 Join the discussion o…

A remake of The Thomas Crown Affair with Michael B. Jordan, Danai...

A remake of The Thomas Crown Affair with Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Kenneth Branagh, and Lily Gladstone? Yeah, I’m into that. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →