Culture & Media, page 2
History, society, film, books, internet culture, travel, places. 148 links, newest first. Page 2 of 3.
Links 51 to 100
The Useless Web
Tool · theuselessweb.com · Issue #184
A website with one button that sends visitors to a random useless website.
Summary
A website with one button that sends visitors to a random useless website. It also keeps an archive of removed sites and accepts submissions of new ones. The site is created by Tim Holman and appears to be free to use.
The Secret Behind Japanese Cities
Read · noahpinion.blog · 12 min · Issue #184
Noah Smith reviews Emergent Tokyo by Jorge Almazán and Studiolab and argues that Tokyo's walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods come from permissive zoning and small-business rules.
Summary
Noah Smith reviews Emergent Tokyo by Jorge Almazán and Studiolab and argues that Tokyo's walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods come from permissive zoning and small-business rules. He points to multi-tenant zakkyo buildings, pocket neighborhoods and looser sign and liquor rules, and suggests U.S. cities could adopt parts of this model. He cites about 160,000 restaurants in Greater Tokyo against 25,000 in the New York metro area.
How The Gambling Epidemic Is Destroying Society
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #183
A video from the channel Moon presenting gambling as an epidemic that is damaging society.
Summary
A video from the channel Moon presenting gambling as an epidemic that is damaging society.
Why It Sucks to Be Born as a Giant Anaconda
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #180
Dinzo tells a brief story about a giant anaconda's life in this 8-minute video from November 2024.
Summary
Dinzo tells a brief story about a giant anaconda's life in this 8-minute video from November 2024. The title frames the video around the hardships of being born as a giant anaconda. The video is free to watch on YouTube.
How to sound more British
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #179
A short TikTok on how to sound more British.
Summary
A short TikTok on how to sound more British.
The Secret History of the Vatican's Wealth
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #176
FINAiUS, a channel where the creator researches, writes and produces documentaries alone, presents a film on the Vatican Bank, known as the IOR.
Summary
FINAiUS, a channel where the creator researches, writes and produces documentaries alone, presents a film on the Vatican Bank, known as the IOR. The video describes a web of hidden secrets, unexpected alliances and intriguing mysteries around the Church's finances. The description names God's Banker and The House of Rothschild as sources for the film. The video is free to watch, with optional Patreon support.
How your name shapes your life
Short · youtube.com · Issue #176
A YouTube video on how your name impacts your life.
Summary
A YouTube video on how your name impacts your life.
Notable People: Interactive Map of Famous Birthplaces
Tool · tjukanovt.github.io · Issue #173
Notable People is an interactive world map by Topi Tjukanov that shows where famous people were born.
Summary
Notable People is an interactive world map by Topi Tjukanov that shows where famous people were born. Each location displays only the most notable person there, with data built on Wikidata and Wikipedia. Visitors can filter by culture, discovery and science, leadership, or sports and games, and can show real place names. The project was inspired by The Pudding's People Map of the U.S.
Aria for a Cow
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #172
Aria for a Cow is a 3D animated short by the CGMeetup channel, posted in October 2016.
Summary
Aria for a Cow is a 3D animated short by the CGMeetup channel, posted in October 2016. A farmer who ignores his dairy cow is confronted by Aria, a bovine diva who performs a musical number with backup bulls and demands respect for more than her milk. The film is based on an unreleased song by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, and it is free to watch on YouTube.
What peacocks and Ferraris share
Short · youtube.com · Issue #172
A YouTube video on what peacocks and Ferraris have in common.
Summary
A YouTube video on what peacocks and Ferraris have in common.
Layla: AI Travel Planner with Human Advisors
Tool · layla.ai · Issue #172
Layla is an AI travel planner that builds itineraries around a traveler's dates, budget and style.
Summary
Layla is an AI travel planner that builds itineraries around a traveler's dates, budget and style. A human travel advisor then reviews the plan and books the trip. Template itineraries, such as a 10-day Sardinia and Capri villa trip, can be changed before booking. The company offers a package price guarantee and 24/7 support, and planning carries no fee, with travelers paying only for what they book.
ShopYourTV: Find Where to Buy TV Show Outfits
Tool · shopyourtv.com · Issue #170
ShopYourTV lists the outfits worn by hosts and guests on talk and morning shows such as The Talk, The View, Good Morning America and The Drew Barrymore Show.
Summary
ShopYourTV lists the outfits worn by hosts and guests on talk and morning shows such as The Talk, The View, Good Morning America and The Drew Barrymore Show. Each entry pairs a person and show with an outfit description, such as a red floral cape dress, so readers can look up where to buy the clothing. Some entries feature non-clothing items too.
Audiences want honest, unscripted conversation now
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #169
CNN's prime-time week reportedly hit 83,000 viewers, the lowest level of all time
Summary
Audiences want honest, unscripted conversation because trust in mainstream media has collapsed, the speaker argues.
The speaker cites about 83,000 viewers for CNN's three-hour prime-time block over one week in May, calling it the lowest of all time. They argue the media has lost audience trust, and claim that 30-year-olds now trust social media influencers more than mainstream media, for the first time. The speaker concludes that honesty and unscripted delivery matter more than teleprompter presentation.
Key points- CNN's prime-time week reportedly hit 83,000 viewers, the lowest level of all time
- The speaker says 30-year-olds now trust social media influencers more than mainstream media
- Audiences reject teleprompter puppets and reward real conversation, he says
Listen Notes: Podcast Search and Directory
Tool · listennotes.com · Issue #169
Listen Notes is a podcast search engine and directory that presents its own selection of the best podcasts for US listeners.
Summary
Listen Notes is a podcast search engine and directory that presents its own selection of the best podcasts for US listeners. The page features shows such as METRO with Sarah Koenig. The site indexes about 3.8 million podcasts and 196 million episodes, with country, language and category filters. Browsing and searching need no login, and the site also offers a podcast API.
How Expensive Is Traveling Japan? Two Weeks on $1,000
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #168
Abroad in Japan argues that Japan, once famed for being very expensive, is now affordable for travelers.
Summary
Abroad in Japan argues that Japan, once famed for being very expensive, is now affordable for travelers. The 30-minute video works out a two-week budget of about $1,000, covering budget accommodation, whether the JR Rail Pass is worth buying, cheap transport, low-cost dining and attractions that cost 500 yen or less. It ends with a 14-day cost breakdown.
Lessons from Singapore on Homeownership
Read · 3quarksdaily.com · 14 min · Issue #167
Eric Feigenbaum argues that widespread homeownership builds security, wealth and social stability, and presents Singapore as a model.
Summary
Eric Feigenbaum argues that widespread homeownership builds security, wealth and social stability, and presents Singapore as a model. Homeownership there rose from about 27 percent at independence in 1965 to about 90 percent by the 1990s, through public housing built by the Housing and Development Board, financing for all income levels, and letting buyers use mandatory Central Provident Fund savings for down payments.
How Polish sounds to foreigners
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #166
A short TikTok on how the Polish language sounds to foreigners.
Summary
A short TikTok on how the Polish language sounds to foreigners.
A cactus named Felipe
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #165
A short TikTok about a cactus named Felipe.
Summary
A short TikTok about a cactus named Felipe.
The End of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration
Read · nathangoldwag.wordpress.com · 7 min · Issue #165
Nathan Goldwag's essay traces the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, roughly the late 1890s to the 1920s, as the last flowering of Victorian ideals, cut off by the First World War.
Summary
Nathan Goldwag's essay traces the Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration, roughly the late 1890s to the 1920s, as the last flowering of Victorian ideals, cut off by the First World War. It covers the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897 to 1899, Shackleton's Endurance expedition, and Scott's party, which reached the South Pole 31 days after Amundsen's team and died on the return journey.
Corporate jargon hides a leaner-company plan
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #164
The translator reads Q1 as a weak quarter that management is upset about
Summary
Corporate jargon hides a plan to become a leaner organization, in a satirical all-hands meeting.
A comedy sketch shows an all-hands meeting where a presenter's "corporate translator" explains the jargon. The presenter says Q1 was strong with some process gaps, while the translator says management is upset. When asked about layoffs, the presenter denies it and says the organization will become much leaner, with a figure of 25% of the organization mentioned.
Key points- The translator reads Q1 as a weak quarter that management is upset about
- Gaps in processes are being fixed to make the company leaner, the speaker jokes
- A line claims the cut will be 25% of the organization, delivered as jargon
Poolsuite: Summer Internet Radio
Tool · poolsuite.net · Issue #164
Poolsuite is an internet radio station that plays what its site calls an infinity pool of summer sounds, 24 hours a day.
Summary
Poolsuite is an internet radio station that plays what its site calls an infinity pool of summer sounds, 24 hours a day. It also offers a mini app version of the player. The site describes itself as the ultra-summer internet radio station.
The Surprising Pattern Behind Color Names
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #162
Vox's video explains why many languages add color words in the same order.
Summary
Vox's video explains why many languages add color words in the same order. It covers a 1969 study by Berkeley researchers Paul Kay and Brent Berlin, who argued that languages add color terms in a consistent sequence, based on a test in which 20 respondents named 330 colored chips. Languages with few color words usually have black, white and red, and later ones add green or yellow, then blue.
How Breaking Apartment Rules Could Create Better Homes
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #160
The About Here video argues that many rules governing apartments limit better design, and that relaxing them could lead to better living spaces.
Summary
The About Here video argues that many rules governing apartments limit better design, and that relaxing them could lead to better living spaces. It was made with Urbanarium, which ran a design competition asking what apartments could look like without some of those rules. The competition entries are published at decodingdensity.com.
LibriVox: Free Public Domain Audiobooks
Tool · librivox.org · Issue #155
LibriVox is a volunteer-run project that records free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world.
Summary
LibriVox is a volunteer-run project that records free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers from around the world. Its catalog holds more than 21,800 works, including over 2,700 non-English titles in 49 languages, searchable by author, title, genre or language. Anyone can listen or download for free, and volunteers can sign up to read.
Music Map
Tool · musicmap.info · Issue #154
Musicmap is an interactive genealogy of popular music genres, reduced to 234 main and intermediate genres on a map that runs through time.
Summary
Musicmap is an interactive genealogy of popular music genres, reduced to 234 main and intermediate genres on a map that runs through time. Each genre has a description and example songs, and users can search by genre, artist or song. Kwinten Crauwels is credited for the concept and design. The site is free to use, though it also sells art prints.
Annie Jacobsen on What a Nuclear War Would Look Like
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #152
Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen discusses what could happen minute by minute if a nuclear bomb hit, and how nuclear decision-making works.
Summary
Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen discusses what could happen minute by minute if a nuclear bomb hit, and how nuclear decision-making works. Chapters cover who controls the nuclear button, the football briefing system, how a launch would be detected, the aftermath and casualties, and the role of AI in military systems. The roughly two-hour interview is hosted on The Diary Of A CEO.
Nostalgia Machine
Tool · thenostalgiamachine.com · Issue #152
Nostalgia Machine lets you enter a year and get the biggest hits from that year.
Summary
Nostalgia Machine lets you enter a year and get the biggest hits from that year. It suits music fans who want to revisit the past.
PokeRogue
Tool · pokerogue.net · Issue #151
PokeRogue is a Pokémon fangame inspired by roguelite games.
Summary
PokeRogue is a Pokémon fangame inspired by roguelite games. Players battle endlessly while gathering stacking items, explore many biomes and push Pokémon stats beyond normal limits.
Chile's Desert Where Fast Fashion Ends Up
Read · nationalgeographic.com · 13 min · Issue #150
John Bartlett's National Geographic article describes how Chile's Atacama Desert has become a dumping ground for discarded clothing from fast fashion.
Summary
John Bartlett's National Geographic article describes how Chile's Atacama Desert has become a dumping ground for discarded clothing from fast fashion. Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014, and used clothes arrive at the Iquique duty-free port, where some end up in the desert. Much of it is synthetic and will not biodegrade, while small startups turn textile waste into yarn and insulation.
Avoid Clickbait: Schopenhauer on Bad Writing
Read · fs.blog · 3 min · Issue #149
Shane Parrish of Farnam Street applies Arthur Schopenhauer's essays On Authorship and On Reading to clickbait.
Summary
Shane Parrish of Farnam Street applies Arthur Schopenhauer's essays On Authorship and On Reading to clickbait. Schopenhauer separated writers who write to understand a subject from those who write for pay, and the second group produces much of today's clickbait. The article advises avoiding bad writing so your mind gets better raw material, and lists warning signs such as headlines built for clicks.
Improv breakup song about germs
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #147
The rant asks for six feet of distance over a partner's germs
Summary
An improviser performs a confrontational freestyle song addressed to a partner who sneezes, wipes his nose and avoids washing his hands. The song turns a breakup into jokes about germs, COVID and the need for six feet of distance.
Key points- The rant asks for six feet of distance over a partner's germs
- Jokes about wiping a nose with an unwashed finger in a supermarket
Teaching victimhood primes people for discrimination
Short · youtu.be · Issue #147
Women told they had facial scars reported more discrimination after the scars were removed
Summary
The speaker argues that teaching people they are victims primes them to see discrimination, and teaching strength is better.
The speaker describes an experiment in which women were told they were attending interviews to study discrimination against facial disfigurement and were shown scars that were later removed. Afterward they reported more discrimination, which the speaker links to priming. The speaker argues young people should be taught that they are strong and capable rather than victims.
Key points- Women told they had facial scars reported more discrimination after the scars were removed
- They took interviewers' comments as referencing scars that were no longer there
- The speaker says young people should be taught they are strong and capable
HowStuffWorks
Tool · howstuffworks.com · Issue #146
HowStuffWorks is a portal of articles that answer the questions people wonder about late at night.
Summary
HowStuffWorks is a portal of articles that answer the questions people wonder about late at night. It is aimed at curious readers.
I Tested Viral TikTok Food Hacks
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #144
Joshua Weissman tests viral TikTok food hacks to find out which ones are actually true.
Summary
Joshua Weissman tests viral TikTok food hacks to find out which ones are actually true. He is a food content creator with a large cooking audience, and the video is free to watch on YouTube. He also sells a cookbook, Texture Over Taste.
Similar Songs Finder: Spotify Playlists From One Song
Tool · similarsongsfinder.com · Issue #140
Similar Songs Finder builds a Spotify playlist from a song the user enters, finding over 100 similar songs from one track.
Summary
Similar Songs Finder builds a Spotify playlist from a song the user enters, finding over 100 similar songs from one track. Users can regenerate for another batch of 100, and each result opens in Spotify so it can be saved. The tool is completely free.
Cyber Warfare Explained
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #139
Johnny Harris's 28-minute explainer, published in February 2024, argues that cyber warfare is a constant but largely overlooked threat.
Summary
Johnny Harris's 28-minute explainer, published in February 2024, argues that cyber warfare is a constant but largely overlooked threat. The video describes it as ranging from influencing elections to disrupting nuclear facilities, and says countries including Israel, America and Russia are part of a growing cyber arms race. Chapters cover zero-day vulnerabilities, Cyber Warfare 2.0 and silent timebombs.
Calcio Storico: Florence's Historic and Brutal Sport
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #133
RugbyPass's 21-minute Next of Kin documentary follows Max Lahiff to Florence to watch Calcio Storico, a historic and very physical Florentine tradition.
Summary
RugbyPass's 21-minute Next of Kin documentary follows Max Lahiff to Florence to watch Calcio Storico, a historic and very physical Florentine tradition. The video calls it one of the most savage sports in the world.
A manager's rules on rest and family time
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #133
Says not to open laptops when sick or after 5:30 pm, since health matters more
Summary
A manager tells staff to rest when sick or after 5:30, and to take family time without losing personal time.
A comedy sketch of a manager holding a check-in with an employee. The manager says not to work while sick or after 5:30, that picking up a child from daycare does not need personal time, and checks that the employee's workload on one account is manageable. When a colleague is said to require requests to go through a portal, the manager says that the team follows his pecking order instead.
Key points- Says not to open laptops when sick or after 5:30 pm, since health matters more
- Says picking up a child from daycare should not cost personal time
- Asks staff to confirm the workload is manageable and on track
Songtell: Song Meanings and Backstories
Tool · songtell.com · Issue #131
Songtell is a website that explains the meaning and backstories behind song lyrics.
Summary
Songtell is a website that explains the meaning and backstories behind song lyrics. It combines AI-powered analysis with community contributions, which the site says are verified before being woven into its analysis. A weekly list shows the songs readers are viewing most.
Which Classic Movies Have Stood the Test of Time
Read · statsignificant.com · 13 min · Issue #127
Daniel Parris, writing in the Stat Significant newsletter in November 2023, uses MovieLens rating data to measure which films keep their staying power.
Summary
Daniel Parris, writing in the Stat Significant newsletter in November 2023, uses MovieLens rating data to measure which films keep their staying power. He compares each film's yearly ratings with the typical decay curve for its age, so films rated well above expectation are the enduring ones. The data has over 20 million ratings from 1995 to 2015. Examples include Back to the Future, Blade Runner, Metropolis and Star Wars.
MisGif: AI Face-in-GIF App for Group Chats
Tool · misgif.app · Issue #123
MisGif is an AI app, pronounced mis-JIF, that puts a user's face into favorite GIFs, TV shows and movies from a single selfie, made for group chats.
Summary
MisGif is an AI app, pronounced mis-JIF, that puts a user's face into favorite GIFs, TV shows and movies from a single selfie, made for group chats. The page shows a GIF grid credited to Tenor and lists an iOS app as coming soon.
How Fast We Adapt to Technology
Read · blockbuster.thoughtleader.school · 30 min · Issue #122
Michael Simmons revisits Alvin Toffler's 1970 book Future Shock and finds its premise partly true.
Summary
Michael Simmons revisits Alvin Toffler's 1970 book Future Shock and finds its premise partly true. He argues that technology's side effects behave like a chronic disease, and that the bigger problem is adaptive lag, as culture and regulation lag far behind technology. Smartphone blue-light fixes took about ten years after the iPhone, and AI is presented as the next case. He criticizes Marc Andreessen's Techno-Optimist Manifesto for focusing on benefits.
Ancient Greece in 18 Minutes
Watch · youtube.com · 18 min · Issue #117
An English-language crash course on ancient Greece from the Russian channel Arzamas, narrated by Brian Cox.
Summary
An English-language crash course on ancient Greece from the Russian channel Arzamas, narrated by Brian Cox. In about 18 minutes it covers Homer, the Minotaur, the 300 Spartans, Greek theatre, the Parthenon and democracy. The video is an English version of an earlier Arzamas video, published in May 2017.
Google Arts & Culture
Tool · about.artsandculture.google.com · Issue #117
A non-commercial Google initiative that puts art and culture online by working with museums, institutions and artists to digitize and publish their collections.
Summary
A non-commercial Google initiative that puts art and culture online by working with museums, institutions and artists to digitize and publish their collections. Its web platform and apps let people explore artworks and artifacts from museums worldwide, including virtual tours and detailed information about the works. The site features a machine learning project that revived some of Gustav Klimt's long-lost masterpieces.
Leaving finance for a life of his own
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #115
Chose finance after a book compared degree earnings potential over time
Summary
The speaker left a finance career after a 2007 promotion made him feel trapped, and chose a life of his own instead.
A scene from the documentary Minimalism shows a man recounting his career in finance. He describes choosing finance after reading about degree earning potential, and being promoted to junior partner at the end of 2007. Alone in his office afterward, he says he wept, realizing he felt completely trapped by the life he had built to win.
Key points- Chose finance after a book compared degree earnings potential over time
- Wept in his office after a promotion, realising he could never leave the money
- Took the elevator down 28 stories and decided to build a life of his own
Germany: The Dark Secrets of the Super Rich
Watch · youtube.com · 27 min · Issue #113
A 28-minute fern video from August 2023 on where the wealth of three German dynasties came from: the Oetkers, the von Fincks and the Quandts.
Summary
A 28-minute fern video from August 2023 on where the wealth of three German dynasties came from: the Oetkers, the von Fincks and the Quandts. The video says these families have dark secrets in their histories, and credits research by David de Jong. It includes a sponsored segment for a data removal service.
Music Movie Quiz
Tool · movie-music-quiz.com · Issue #113
A quiz for testing how well you know music from film hits, suited to killing time.
Summary
A quiz for testing how well you know music from film hits, suited to killing time.
Songfacts: Stories Behind the Songs
Tool · songfacts.com · Issue #112
Songfacts is a music site covering the stories and meanings behind songs, with facts, chart positions, songwriter interviews and lyrics.
Summary
Songfacts is a music site covering the stories and meanings behind songs, with facts, chart positions, songwriter interviews and lyrics. It also offers songwriting advice, quizzes and trivia games such as Fact or Fiction, and browsing by artist, year or theme. The site is published by Songfacts, LLC.
Why Poland Is Quietly Becoming Europe's Next Superpower
Watch · youtube.com · 11 min · Issue #111
An Explained with Dom video from August 2023 analyzes Poland's transformation over the past three decades.
Summary
An Explained with Dom video from August 2023 analyzes Poland's transformation over the past three decades. Its sections cover the Polish economic miracle, the country's military strength and the question of how real that miracle is.
Only some IMAX theatres show Oppenheimer uncropped
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #107
Nolan filmed in the 1.43 IMAX ratio, which most theatres crop to widescreen
Summary
Only certain IMAX and dual-laser theatres show Oppenheimer uncropped, so check the screen before buying tickets.
The speaker advises choosing a cinema format for Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Nolan filmed in two aspect ratios, and the IMAX 1.43 ratio is shown fully only on IMAX 70mm and dual-laser IMAX screens. Other theaters crop it to widescreen, which the speaker says earned the nickname Croppenheimer. The full frame conveys the scale of the bomb and evokes 1940s CRT screens.
Key points- Nolan filmed in the 1.43 IMAX ratio, which most theatres crop to widescreen
- Other screens crop the image, which gave the film its Croppenheimer nickname
- The speaker points to a website that verifies which theatres show it uncropped
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