Links are at the end.
Mormons gone wild.
Why not?1
Three of the most famous works by Vincent van Gogh have each been recreated at a microscopic size—smaller than a period—inside of a watch, making for the ultimate in wearable art.
Art is a dangerous game. Two sons of billionaires throw down in Montauk.2
Art collector and proprietor of New York’s Venus Over Manhattan gallery Adam Lindemann was arrested in Montauk on July 5 for criminal trespass in the third degree, a misdemeanor, and harassment in the second degree, according to police records published by the East Hampton Press.
Terminator, heal thyself.3
For the first time, scientists have spotted metal healing itself after cracking — an observation that could pave the way for the creation of structures and robots capable of mending themselves.
So we have AI, and now self-healing metals. The writer says not to worry about Terminators, but that, of course, is what they want you to think.
Covering two percent of the globe in this ultra-reflective white paint might make a dent in global warming. Sherwin Williams, where art thou?4
With this whitest white, it’s almost as if Ruan has created an air conditioner that runs on zero energy—and without the downside of emitting heat outside even as the A/C cools interiors. The air conditioning needs of a building coated with barium sulphate paint are expected to decrease by up to 40 percent.
. . .
Compared to the air temperature at mid-afternoon, a surface painted with the whitest white can be eight degrees Fahrenheit cooler. At night, the difference is even more pronounced, at up to 19 degrees.
Dropping the surface temperature from 118° F to 110° would be swell. In related news, climate is among the reasons Texas has been rated the least livable state in the country.5
Texas received 53 out of 350 points for its 2023 Life, Health & Inclusion score, giving it an F in its Top States grade and the lowest nationwide, securing its number one spot on the list.
You will be shocked and amazed to learn that most of the ten worst states are southern and run by Republicans, although truth be told they weren’t any better back in the yellow dog days; just not so hot, is all.
Take the rankings with a grain of road salt, though, because most of the 10 best states are frigid for way too many months each year, the exceptions being Hawai’i and (parts of) Oregon.
This Washington Post op-ed bemoans that Trump shattered mutuality. “Our system assumes that swearing to uphold and defend the Constitution creates mutual trust for each party to do their assigned job.”6
The original title of the piece was something like “Our system will unravel if our presidents take classified materials when they leave office.”
That could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how one understands “ravel,” and on what one thinks of our system, but in the context here one could make a swell argument that the reason Trump was in a position to walk off with a bunch of classified stuff is that the system is already pretty fucking unraveled. (Or raveled.)
Not a lot of people uphold or defend the Constitution, and most of the ones who do are unsworn adversaries of the ones who are supposed to. Presidents are probably the worst at it on a large scale, although of course the security forces are really bad on a more local basis.
Allow me to renew my call for publishing the presidential daily brief in time for most people to read it with their morning coffee.
Boots Riley is among my heroes. He has a series running on Amazon Prime Video, which is here reviewed by the art and design columnist at the LA Times,7 and here by Jorge Cotte in The Nation.8
Today’s music is more on the mellow side than usual, which may help explain why this relative chiffon took so long to write. Adrianne Lenker is the lead singer and occasional lead guitarist for Big Thief. The band has been among my favorites for the better part of a decade now.
Alice Phoebe Lou, “Shelter;”9 Adrianne Lenker, “songs;”10 Big Thief, “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You;”11 Skullcrusher, “Quiet the Room.”12
That, Comrades, is all I got. Be well, take care, subscribe if you don’t mind the occasional giant lacuna. It’s free unless you want to pay.