Magpie 65/ america's Guy Fawkes?
For anyone who, like me, is watching the response to the UnitedHealth assassination with a sense of… I don’t even have a word for how I feel… two links:...
magpie 64/ too many books not enough time
Okay, let’s get into it. First off, some articles: Trauma and addiction – two things you already knew were connected, but now there’s research backing it up,...
Magpie 63/ Commentary without consequences
Welcome to the age of commentary without consequences. Here, the Broletariat reigns supreme. They’ve mastered the art of speaking with the conviction of a...
magpie 62/ thank god for mississippi
Hey Folks, I took a break from this digital soapbox. Here’s what’s been happening. Arizona: The Land of Contradictions I disappeared into the desert for a...
magpie 61/ the wrath of goodreads
I do most of my reading via digital channels, with a deep allegiance to Singapore’s National Library Board via the Libby app. Unsurprisingly, the libby app’s...
Magpie 60/ check cheddar like a food inspector
Red lobster got asset stripped and the makers of cheddar bay Biscuits are all out of cheese. "The retail apocalypse is all about having your real estate sold...
magpie 59/ the life and death of Richard Wright
Only one topic today, because it’s 9+ hours of podcast greatness: Benjamin Walker’s Theory of Everything published a 9 part podcast series that dives into...
magpie 58/ rewild the internet
While it’s an unlikely outcome without a level of government intervention that should make everyone nervous, the idea of ‘rewilding the internet’ is a fun...
magpie 57/ when toddlers dance to the Supremes
Let’s start with something joyful for a bleak week. You may recall the viral clip from 7 years ago where Pharrell Williams, nearly in tears, tells an awkward...
Magpie 56/ I love bluey, I hate cocomelon
dall-e: a triptych of small children watching screens - in the left panel a zonked out baby watching trashy reality TV, in the middle an attentive child...
Magpie 55/ OK, Chemical Computer
dall-e: image of "ok chemical computer" using a visual style similar to radiohead's music on the album 'ok computer' OK Chemical computers, can you compete...
Magpie 54 / Hippolyte Hodeau
Hippolyte Hodeau and his feuilles de poilus. Hippolyte Hodeau and his feuilles de poilus. While he had possibly the best name ever, I'm sharing here because...
magpie 53/ pinhole panoramas
Dall-e: an image of the lost scrolls of pompeii being red by a laser-eyed AI Almost all classical literature has come down to us from medieval monks, choosy...
Magpie 52/ Make the greatest impact you can in the time that you have
Mark Laabs' guiding principles I don't want to write this email. My friend Mark Laabs passed away from Cnacer. I met Mark a long time ago in Shanghai, when I...
magpie 51 / generative adversarial customer service
As always, thanks for reading. dall-e: make an image of a Chat-gpt customer service agent hallucinating customer friendly policies Air Canada ordered to...
Magpie 50/ 50 is weird
Happy Lunar New Year! dall-e: dragon lunar new year drone show over a quiet city Happy Lunar New Year. I have fond memories of the Lunar New Year chaos in...
magpie 49/ the great carrot robbery
dall-e: An old west train robbery of a train full of carrots The rise of 21st century train robbery -- awesome long read from NYTimes. “Sometimes products...
Shiny things 48/ BF Skinnier
dall-e: a hipster bodybuilder using injectable steroids while holding a cup of coffee and reading a book about bf skinner One hipster bodybuilder explores...
Shiny things 47/ sand mafias and legislation for sleep
dall-e: image of faceless human figure stealing sand from inside of a Livejournal webpate As always thanks for reading. Sand Mafias are another example of...
Shiny Things 46/ now on buttondown
cartoonish magpie bird with a pair of diamond cufflinks in its beak wearing a button down tuxedo shirt I've decided to move off of substack. Their nazi...
45/ worms eat knowledge
happy 2024
44/ I want God to be an Elephant
A list of my favorite newsletters to start/end the year
Shiny things 43/ 2 noses? where's my interstitium?
three recent moments where Eastern medicine collectively rolls its eyes and says "...we been sayin..."
shiny things 42/ you shot who in the what now?
A holiday gift guide and how SEO ruined the internet
Shiny things 41/ Fake CVs still work?
is an AI-based product team a GAN?
40/ The under-appreciated laws of business
I've written 40 of these so maybe it's time to share with your friends?
39/ data driven eye candy
also, trippy fruit, and equanimity.
38/ ocular sunburns and jazz giants
another hodgepodge of shiny bits from the junk drawer of the internet
37/ private equity shenanigans
does anyone in PE follow the Campsite rule?
36/ bug out borscht
cuz who wants to survive apocalypse without hot sauce?
35 / talismans of home
mine are green corn tamales, bought from a lady outside a Safeway.
34 / you only acknowledge a golden age when you see it glowing in your rear view
As always, thanks for reading
33/ pudding dot cool
Afghanistan, emotional intelligence and "24 hrs in the invisible epidemic.
32/ ancient stars and cow farts
if that doesn't make you click, what will?
shiny things 31/ Bach is beautiful
Multi-armed bandits for medicine, fake brands explain real brands & a wild story of upscale foodie tourist traps
Shiny things 30/ Bees?
All the sudden my personal zeitgeist is buzzzzzzzing
shiny things 29/
Scientific spirituality and remember that time we actually saved the environment that one time?
shiny things 28/
this time everything has a block quote
shiny things 27/
even an LLM won't make me a good rapper
Shiny Sports! 26/
The Messi spectacle comes to America
shiny things 25/ manufactured scarcity
Libraries and Learning as a battleground
shiny questions 24/ wait what the F#*@?
a bunch of links asking the hard questions
Shiny things 23/ wait but why?
Why is this indie-darling Barbie movie so surprising? via tabsWhy would anyone eat this? — Everything in Thailand, even the fast food, is delicious so this...
shiny things 22/ how to do everything
punk rock clown motel How to blow up a timeline How to design learning that people will remember via Jan Chipchase (and a demonstration of the concept)How to...
shiny things 21/ variations on a complex topic
a single topic deep dive
Shiny Things 20/ everything is probably probabilistic
things are heating up
Shiny things 19/ microfractures in microstructures
Uncertainties all the way down
Shiny things 18/ I give Quantitative Aesthetics 6.5 out of 10
Trying a new format
Shiny things 17/
Agile is not enough
Shiny things 16/
subverting the dominant narrative is hard work