Full Width [alt+shift+f] FOCUS MODE Shortcuts [alt+shift+k]
Sign Up [alt+shift+s] Log In [alt+shift+l]
Top Categories > history
#all #programming #history #technology #startups #life #science #literature #creative #architecture #design #travel #comics #finance #AI #indiehacker #cartography Muted Categories [alt+←][alt+→]
The Universe of...
Claude helps me find more presidential emoji A couple of years back I tried to make a list of emoji representing the U.S. presidents. Many of...
10 months ago
23
10 months ago
A couple of years back I tried to make a list of emoji representing the U.S. presidents. Many of them were fun and easy, or at least amused me. But for some I was stumped. What emoji represents Zachary Taylor? I've been playing around with Anthropic's LLM “Claude” for a while,...
Flashbak
12 Perfect Christmas Gifts From Dianne B, A Postcard Set from 1983 In 1983, photographer Peter Hujar (1934–87) created Twelve Perfect Christmas Gifts from Dianne B, a...
10 months ago
42
10 months ago
In 1983, photographer Peter Hujar (1934–87) created Twelve Perfect Christmas Gifts from Dianne B, a mini-portfolio of 12 postcards. Eight are by Huja, plus four in colour by Neil Winokur and a sleeve by Ken Tisa. The postcards for maverick boutique owner Dianne Benson are lovely...
The Universe of...
Polish Spam Content warning: mass killing of farmed animals Today I complained that my email provider had...
10 months ago
22
10 months ago
Content warning: mass killing of farmed animals Today I complained that my email provider had delivered a spam message to me that was in Polish. I understand that spam can be hard to identify, but Polish isn't, I don't know Polish, and any message sent to me in Polish can be...
Overcoming Bias
Tension-Filled Black Holes Most matter pushes against nearby matter, via a positive “pressure.” That’s why Earth holds its...
10 months ago
24
10 months ago
Most matter pushes against nearby matter, via a positive “pressure.” That’s why Earth holds its shape, instead of collapsing down to a point mass.
Wrong Side of...
The Scottish Play Canon Club podcast: Macbeth
10 months ago
Flashbak
Très Parisien: The Height Of French Chic 1920-1936 Très Parisien magazine sold itself as ‘chic’ and ‘elegant’. Published between 1920 and 1936 it...
10 months ago
43
10 months ago
Très Parisien magazine sold itself as ‘chic’ and ‘elegant’. Published between 1920 and 1936 it presented creations by such couturiers as Louise Chéruit, Premet (best known for La Garconne, or The Flapper, a black dress with a white collar and cuffs introduced in 1923, Philip et...
Trying to Understand...
No More Heroes. Pity the nation that needs someone else's.
10 months ago
CrimethInc.
History Repeats Itself: First as Farce, Then as Tragedy : Why the Democrats Are Responsible for... Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election. That means that we will have to fight many of...
10 months ago
24
10 months ago
Donald Trump has won the 2024 presidential election. That means that we will have to fight many of the battles of 2017-2020 all over again. But first, in order to understand the scale of what we’re up against, let’s look at how we got here. The Hot Potato Changes Hands Again We...
Hidden History
Pennsylvania Dutch Shoofly Pie (A diary in honor of my native state of Pennsylvania, which may or may not decide the outcome of one...
10 months ago
29
10 months ago
(A diary in honor of my native state of Pennsylvania, which may or may not decide the outcome of one of the most consequential US elections in modern history.) The story of a Pennsylvania Dutch classic dessert is as colorful as its unusual name… In 1517, Martin Luther began a...
The Universe of...
Just ANSWER THE QUESTION Here's a Math SE pathology that bugs me. OP will ask "I'm trying to prove that groups and are...
10 months ago
28
10 months ago
Here's a Math SE pathology that bugs me. OP will ask "I'm trying to prove that groups and are isomorphic, I constructed this bijection but I see that it's not a homomorphism. Is it sufficient, or do I need to find a bijective homomorphism?" And respondent will reply in the...
Flashbak
Stock Car Racing in 1972 In the early 1970s Henry Horenstein was taking photos of Speedway racers and fans at circuits in...
10 months ago
53
10 months ago
In the early 1970s Henry Horenstein was taking photos of Speedway racers and fans at circuits in Seekonk, Massachusetts and Thompson, Connecticut. In 1972, women only raced each other, hair was grown out crewcuts slicked and draped, and TV-led big business had yet to move in....
Classical Wisdom
Are Propaganda and Politics Inevitable Bedfellows? And Does Democracy Make It Worse?
10 months ago
Flashbak
The Horny Monkey And A Nose Pick: Humorous Japanese Postcards by Kokkei Shinbun Sha – 1907-1909 The postcard above is over an ‘Amorous Monkey (Iroke zaru)’ attempting to undress a Japanese woman...
10 months ago
47
10 months ago
The postcard above is over an ‘Amorous Monkey (Iroke zaru)’ attempting to undress a Japanese woman against her will. It’s an unusual tableaux. But then a lot about Japanese portrayals of sex is unfamiliar to all but the most adventurous Westerner (this Japanese sex guide and rope...
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Prometheus and AI?
10 months ago
African History...
Acemoglu in Kongo: a critique of 'Why Nations Fail' and its wilful ignorance of African history. There aren’t many Africans on the list of Nobel laureates, nor does research on African societies...
10 months ago
Wrong Side of...
Fellow believers or fellow citizens? Liberalism dies in darkness
10 months ago
Flashbak
16 Characters From A Film Never Made : Found Photos From The American Dream Film noir was coined in 1946 by the Italian-born French critic Nino Frank to describe the crime...
10 months ago
43
10 months ago
Film noir was coined in 1946 by the Italian-born French critic Nino Frank to describe the crime thrillers laced with smoky cynicism, femme fatales and amoral ambiguity first produced by Hollywood in the 1940s. “These ‘dark’ films, these films noirs, no longer have anything in...
A Collection of...
Referenda ad Senatum: November 1, 2024: Ancient Weapons, Lost Works and Roman Spooky-Stuff! Welcome back! At last, the hiatus has ended and we are back to regular weekly posts. As we’ve done a...
10 months ago
51
10 months ago
Welcome back! At last, the hiatus has ended and we are back to regular weekly posts. As we’ve done a few times before, this week I am breaking the hiatus by taking a chance to answer a few shorter questions posed by my patrons over at Patreon who are the Patres et Matres...
Classical Wisdom
Democracy The Greeks' Greatest Gift?
10 months ago
Wrong Side of...
The Phantom of Polarisation Do people actually disagree that much?
10 months ago
Dr Alun Withey
Victorian Swappers! Adverts for exchange in the 19th century. Victorians were inveterate 'swappers' (NB: this might not be what you think!). Newspapers and...
10 months ago
74
10 months ago
Victorians were inveterate 'swappers' (NB: this might not be what you think!). Newspapers and journals were full of ads for objects sought and to be exchanged. These offer a fascinating insight into what was considered desirable, the value of objects, and the processes of...
The Scholar's Stage
Republican Debates on China: A Political Compass MANY HAVE TRIED to pin Trump to Heritage’s “Project 2025.” The Trump campaign has not only refused...
10 months ago
49
10 months ago
MANY HAVE TRIED to pin Trump to Heritage’s “Project 2025.” The Trump campaign has not only refused to endorse Project 2025—they have refused to endorse any detailed policy plan whatsoever. Trump prefers to keep his options open. One unanticipated benefit of this approach is that...
Classical Wisdom
Where to Stay While in Search of Homer? ***Only 15 Seats Left
10 months ago
Flashbak
Cars of Britain in the 1970s In the 1970s, David Rostance was photographing life in the UK. Inevitably, his pictures of...
10 months ago
47
10 months ago
In the 1970s, David Rostance was photographing life in the UK. Inevitably, his pictures of Birmingham, The Black Country, London and Wolverhampton included cars. He took the above picture of the Ford Cortina Mk.1 parked on the roadside on 5th February 1978. It could be seen a...
Dreams of Space -...
Space Witch (1959) Here is a Halloween space book post for you. I have done posts for Christmas, Easter and Yuri's...
10 months ago
22
10 months ago
Here is a Halloween space book post for you. I have done posts for Christmas, Easter and Yuri's Night but never one for Halloween. Space Witch is a pleasant story about a witch who wants to expand her frightening to creatures on other planets. She constructs a "space broom" and a...
Hundred Rabbits
Summary of changes for October 2024 Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of...
10 months ago
26
10 months ago
Hey everyone! This is the list of all the changes we've done to our projects during the month of October. Summary Of Changes 100r.co, added Rabbit Waves and Logbooks. Updated woodstove installation, no windlass with 1 photo, mini dodger and Victoria to Sitka logbook with Week 3...
Wrong Side of...
Educated rage American polarisation: part 2
10 months ago
Overcoming Bias
How Every Empire Falls On the radio yesterday, I heard the soulful song That’s How Every Empire Falls, written by RB Morris...
10 months ago
26
10 months ago
On the radio yesterday, I heard the soulful song That’s How Every Empire Falls, written by RB Morris sometime before 2005, and performed at various times by Morris, John Prine, and Marianne Faithfull.
Trying to Understand...
Unlike For Like. BRICS and how international institutions work.
10 months ago
Flashbak
A Tour of The Westwood Mall, Michigan, 1972 – 1984 We’re off to the Westwood Mall in Michigan in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most of the images here are...
10 months ago
39
10 months ago
We’re off to the Westwood Mall in Michigan in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most of the images here are from the store’s opening on August 3 1972. We see shopper browsing for music in Recordland beneath a poster for the singer Cyndi Lauper, buying into the ‘grapefruit diet’, getting...
Wrong Side of...
American polarisation The menace of bipartisanship has been defeated
10 months ago
Res Obscura
A very deep history of Halloween Or, how far back can historical analysis take us?
10 months ago
Hidden History
A Tale of Kale (And Cabbage, and Brussels Sprouts, and Broccoli, and Cauliflower…) These vegetables (and Kohlrabi, and Collard Greens, and Gai Lan, and Bok Choy, and Red Cabbage) may...
10 months ago
43
10 months ago
These vegetables (and Kohlrabi, and Collard Greens, and Gai Lan, and Bok Choy, and Red Cabbage) may be familiar in the kitchen, but they do not exist anywhere in nature—and they are all the same species of plant. The Brassica is a very large and diverse family of plants, with...
Classical Wisdom
Last Chance Secure Seats for the In Search of Homer Trip
10 months ago
Flashbak
Frank Stewart’s Portraits of The American Journey – A Story of Jazz And Justice “Just how somebody in photographs can treat black people with dignity. That I’d never seen before” –...
10 months ago
44
10 months ago
“Just how somebody in photographs can treat black people with dignity. That I’d never seen before” – Frank Stewart   Frank Stewart (born 1949) was 14 when he took his trained his Kodak Brownie on the March on Washington for Jobs in Freedom, otherwise known as the Great March in...
Classical Wisdom
Should We Be Afraid of Technology? Lessons from Prometheus and Frankenstein
10 months ago
Flashbak
British Artist Finds An Incredible Album Of Found Photos Seeking vintage photographs as a source of inspiration for her work, British artist Emily Loveridge...
10 months ago
45
10 months ago
Seeking vintage photographs as a source of inspiration for her work, British artist Emily Loveridge came upon this album of pictures. “I find images that resonate with me and then with that I try to bring their characters to life in my work,” she tells us. “I bought the slides on...
Overcoming Bias
Prioritizing Concrete Proposals I think often about the non-immediate future, and wonder how to best allocate effort to make that...
10 months ago
25
10 months ago
I think often about the non-immediate future, and wonder how to best allocate effort to make that future better. And the first steps in this process are often to identify interesting classes of scenarios, and then estimate their desirability, chances, and ease of influence.
Classical Wisdom
Weekend Roundup Variety is the Spice of Ancient Life
10 months ago
African History...
The role of firearms in African military history, and the guns of the Benin kingdom. "The Zulus appeared almost to grow out of the earth.
10 months ago
Wrong Side of...
Inside the Catholic State The world that created Caravaggio
10 months ago
Flashbak
Vanishing Point: New Zealand and Australia in the 80s and 90s “I approached my subjects with a sense of urgency. I believed that my world, as I knew it, was...
10 months ago
34
10 months ago
“I approached my subjects with a sense of urgency. I believed that my world, as I knew it, was drawing to a close” – Kathryn McCool on life in New Zealand in the 1980s   Kathryn McCool was 18 when her father gave her a camera (a Ricoh SLR) he’d bought at auction. As Kathryn …...
A Collection of...
New Acquisitions: 1933 and the Definition of Fascism Today we’re going to look at definitions of fascism and ask the question – you may have guessed – if...
10 months ago
69
10 months ago
Today we’re going to look at definitions of fascism and ask the question – you may have guessed – if Donald Trump is running for President as a fascist. Worry not, this isn’t me shifting to full-time political pundit, nor is this the formal end of the hiatus (which will happen on...
Overcoming Bias
Drift Poll Winner: Rational Culture Over the last day, I did two sets of polls comparing 16 cultural drift scenarios (detailed here) re...
10 months ago
26
10 months ago
Over the last day, I did two sets of polls comparing 16 cultural drift scenarios (detailed here) re their likelihood and desirability. (I later added influence.) Here are best fit priorities (relative to 100 max), sorted by priority sum:
Classical Wisdom
Monsters of Mythology Who Made the Top Ten?
10 months ago
Flashbak
A Day At New York City’s Off-Track Betting in 1982 In 2010, around 50 Off-Track Betting (OTB) parlors around New York City were shuttered. 1,000...
10 months ago
53
10 months ago
In 2010, around 50 Off-Track Betting (OTB) parlors around New York City were shuttered. 1,000 employees lost their jobs. And another part of old New York went the way of the Automat and the Times Square peep show. The New York State Legislature enacted its first off-track betting...
Wrong Side of...
The Tears of Strangers are only water On the limits of empathy
10 months ago
CrimethInc.
Capitalism Thrives on Death—Death to Capitalism : Two Posters Ahead of Halloween, on the heels of several months of forest fires, hurricanes, and heat waves, we...
10 months ago
27
10 months ago
Ahead of Halloween, on the heels of several months of forest fires, hurricanes, and heat waves, we present two posters—”Capitalism Is the Dance of Death” and “Capitalism Thrives on Death.” Learn how to make wheatpaste and cover the walls of your community in these! Capitalism Is...
Flashbak
In the Night Garden: The Magical World of George Shiras George Shiras (1859 – 1942) began photographing in 1889, and was the first to use camera traps and...
10 months ago
46
10 months ago
George Shiras (1859 – 1942) began photographing in 1889, and was the first to use camera traps and flash photography when photographing animals. Shiras, a lawyer who became a politician, borrowed a hunting technique he learned from the Ojibwa tribe called jacklighting, when fire...
Res Obscura
Post-postal What did we lose when we stopped writing letters?
10 months ago