How to write about climate: Pull up a barstool:

David Roberts burnt himself out through too much Twitter, so he’s announced that he’s going to stop writing about climate change for a year.

This makes me sad, because David Roberts is not particularly replaceable. He is more or less unique among people who write about climate in being intelligent, articulate, concerned, and (here’s the key part) scrupulously honest.

There are plenty of people who are committed advocates talking about climate. But too many of them have fallen prey to making themselves propagandists, willing to mislead and cherry-pick in the name of making their case.

Roberts never did that.

In this piece he offers instructions on how to replicate him while he’s gone. I’m not confident anyone will actually be able to do that. But it’s a nice thing to hope for.

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chicago-reader:

We teamed up with the Sun-Times to help out with your weekend Agenda. We’re thinking art and apple picking.

So, I’ve started reading Patricia O’Reilly’s fictionalized biography of Kathleen Newton, A Type of Beauty. Stylistically it’s a bit flowery for my taste, but I’ve only just started. Maybe it will grow on me.

I kind of love the wide gulf between O’Reilly’s version of Newton’s early life, and in particular of her “fall”, and the version offered in this video, which talks about Newton while discussing the Tissot exhibit currently at the Art Institute of Chicago. The video’s version of Newton’s life is more salacious, which is probably unsurprising; it makes a better story, after all.

O’Reilly was the person responsible for much of Newton’s Wikipedia article. That article arguably crosses the line into what Wikipedia editors would disparagingly refer to as “original research”, but as a dyed-in-the-wool inclusionist I have a hard time faulting O’Reilly for that.

When I look at Tissot’s portraits of Newton, I’m necessarily looking through the eyes of love. It’s hard not to feel sympathetic, given the events of Newton’s life, however they might be spun. And the spin matters. In her calm, unapologetic gaze there’s a response to the Victorian slut-shaming she endured, and a challenge: To consider her not as a symbol, not as a morality tale, but as a person, one who made her way the best she could, given the forces beyond her control that shaped her life.

I liked this article about Newton from the Chicago Reader: James Tissot’s tragic muse.

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thekitchenknight:

there’s something so calm and restful about watching honeybees buzzing all over the lavender and sage and oregano 

thousands of things are happening around them but there they are, steady and singleminded, quietly doing what they’re good at (and supporting all life in the process, though i’m sure that’s never occurred to them)

i think it’s good to be reminded once in a while that you don’t have to carry the world on your own, and that in reality you’ll make a much better job of helping it if you just concentrate on what you can do, one day at a time instead of taking everything all at once

(because honestly, your spirit wasn’t made to handle everything at once, and you’ll only hurt yourself if you try)

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Sometimes I wish I could mash the “like” button repeatedly, because one “like” isn’t enough. In those situations, I typically reblog.

The same thing sometimes happens in the Pandora client: Oh, look: I’ve already given this song a “thumbs up”. But it deserves more!

That just happened. Apparently posting a YouTube clip of the song is my equivalent of repeatedly mashing the “thumbs up” button in Pandora.

You’re welcome. :-)

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boatporn:

And this, wonderful citizens, is why ketches are SO FUCKING AWESOME. BECAUSE YOU CAN PUT SPINNAKER ON EVERY DAMN SPAR.

That’s Kialoa III. Growing up ocean racing in the late 1970s, I was a big fan of this boat. Under owner Jim Kilroy, Kialoa III was the class of the world ocean racing circuit for a decade. The elapsed-time record she set in the 1975 Sydney-Hobart Race stood for 21 years.

Eventually the sleds came along and all those displacement-era records were blown away, but no boat ever replaced this one in my imagination.

More details here.

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seabois:

Benjamin Edwin Minns

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alcyere:

autumntime sadness- Berchtesgaden, Bavarian Alps, Germany (by tobiviereinseins)

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shickalenia:

If you aren’t already impressed by what Antoinette Tuff did the other day, here’s her entire 911 call in which she’s incredibly calm and does what she needs to do to stop the school shooter through compassion and understanding.

That was way more intense than I was expecting.

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fairy-wren:

Collared Redstart. Photo by Bill Holsten

Never seen one of these, since they don’t make it to North America typically. Pretty spectacular, don’t you think?

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Reblogging for the tagged reference to “the autumn fandom”, which made me think of this:

“For these beings, fall is ever the normal season, the only weather, there be no choice beyond. Where do they come from? The dust. Where do they go? The grave. Does blood stir their veins? No: the night wind. What ticks in their head? The worm. What speaks from their mouth? The toad. What sees from their eye? The snake. What hears with their ear? The abyss between the stars. They sift the human storm for souls, eat flesh of reason, fill tombs with sinners. They frenzy forth….Such are the autumn people.”

— Ray Bradbury

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xkcd: Columbus:

Randall Munroe and J. R. R. Tolkien: two of my favorite imaginations.

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succexiest:

christinelinnell:

berniesu:

Amazing. 

http://bit.ly/LBDEmmys

Get outta here! Way to go, you guys.

whaaaat!

It’s been interesting following the reactions of the various honorees to the Emmy. A community of creators sharing their joy, giving virtual high-fives, celebrating what was by all accounts a team effort.

And… this.

Not to take away from Hank’s contribution; it was his money at the outset, his vision, and his periodic check-ins with Bernie that provided key guidance. People willing to take big risks sometimes have big egos, and when those risks pay off it’s understandable if they crow a little.

But some of the stuff that’s happened since the show ended, especially the grumbling about how the Kickstarter overage is being spent and the lack of accounting for that, has left me feeling a little less charitable. And yeah, he lampshaded it with the “I’m going to take that down tomorrow” part, but still, there’s a whiff, at least to me, of his taking more individual credit than is quite seemly, under the circumstances.

But maybe that’s just me being sensitive. The Emmy is really cool, regardless, and everyone who worked on the show deserves to be proud of what they accomplished.

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aivlysann:

Day 4: An animal you’ve never drawn before. (aka most puffed up birds in all existence)

Refs: 1,2,3,4.

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boatporn:

packardgoose:

a Rozinante – LF Herreshoff

Favorite!

The original Rozinante, as described in L. Francis Herreshoff’s The Compleat Cruiser, is pretty much a perfect boat.

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thebrainscoop:

venomouswalrus:

YES

From Welcome to The Field Museum

Michael is so proud of the “Gaudy Chairs ‘n Lamps” because he made up that entire thing in post-production and IT LOOKS SO REAL. 

Also there’s a Blackhawk’s jersey on the baby statue in the shot with SUE that he colored green so it doesn’t stick out as much. 

#brainscoopeastereggs

Michael did a great job. But I’m pretty sure the punctuation mark on ‘n is backwards. It should be an apostrophe, not an opening singlequote. Not that it would matter to anyone but the old-school typographer who took me under his wing back when I was first learning this stuff.

The whole thing is kind of spectacular, though. Going from the leaky basement with sopping cardboard boxes and broken bottles to… this… is amazing. What an adventure.

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dearestheart:

A wild Rochester appears! This scene looks intense, guys!!

(credit: chelseabunyan)

The reverse angle is messing with my mind. I never imagined there was a wall there. Also, look: camera. And a pillow.

Good thing I don’t do meta about AoJE. Because if I did I’d be all over this.

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scinewsnetwork:

Farewell, Montana

I held off watching this one for a while. I was busy, and I was expecting it to be kind of sad. Which it was, but it’s also really beautiful, in the quirky, interesting, human way the whole series has been.

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thenewenlightenmentage:

Approaching Storm

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