Random Friday Links July 2021

 

Here's an anticipated new feature: Random Friday Links

Every week at work, I leave my computer running, only turning it off on the weekend, for reasons having to do with the age of my computer and the amount of time it takes to boot up.

I am in the habit of not closing browser tabs I am intrigued by, or interested in. But then on Friday afternoon, I shut down the computer, only to start up the process again on Monday. I feel like it might be worthwhile to preserve these links in this ephemeral form. Here's the first entry.

I anticipate no annotation, to explanation, no explication for these links. Just check 'em out. Or not.

https://ashesstillwaterboats.com/making-a-canoe-paddle/

https://ensorings.com/products/elements-classic-silicone-ring-gold

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sKmX40HA6Y

https://app.crackingthecryptic.com/sudoku/6D4r2QfF7N

https://www.qajaqusa.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=349669&module_id=358631

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6ifqKK_voU

What I'm Listening To, June 2021

 Elephant9's Arrival of the New Elders: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8AhM_vwdnM

How Many Genders Are There?

 I like this guy. The only better answer I can think of is "When's lunch?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMDlFn-NGKk

 

For family reasons, I have been

The Rhythm of the Machine (What I'm Listening To)

 Schnellertollermeier's "Piccadilly Sources": a recent find thanks to WREK's afternoon randomness. 

 

The Futile Utility of the Cell Phone

Thursday morning I woke up and found that various family members had been texting and calling all night (my cell phone is set to stop ringing at 9:30). My mom had been on the couch watching the aftermath of the Capitol riot like the rest of the country, gotten up for a glass of water, and tripped on a throw rug. Bottom line:

Buttercream Dream

A few years back, a regional wrestling league called Southern States Wrestling had a heel called "The Progressive Liberal."

This guy seems a little more dynamic.

https://twitter.com/CoreyRForrester/status/1275828895145758720?s=20

Thug: An Introduction to the History of a Nasty Word

Has anyone else noticed the gleeful way certain people use the word "thug"? Like it tastes good in their mouth when they say it? Like they have found a socially acceptable substitute for the N word? That anagram of "ginger," which was "taken away" from "us" by "political correctness?" 

It turns out that "thug" was brought into the English language in the 19th century to help justify the British Empire's conquest of India. So it's been doing the work of dehumanizing the racial "other" to justify violence against them all along.

https://sshankar.net/2020/06/04/s-shankar-thug-the-rhetorical-work-of-a-contemporary-american-word-originating-in-colonial-19th-century-india/?fbclid=IwAR2ud0eiL1aFU4x02wcWDYPENvh9vwjiX0zXX8wrcctKJFQOa0h6phhAY34

I knew Shankar in grad school, where he was a real standout. Proud to point at him and say "I know this guy!"