The Magpie #002: Let’s Guillotine Billionaires Together!
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Magpie, a wire service for the weird compiled from the open tabs of writer Alex de Campi. Here’s what’s going on:
NEWS
Please enjoy this transport minister’s face as he explains that flooding at two Melbourne train stations was due to a couple having sex in a stairwell (eww)
Chik-Fil-A has launched a streaming app. We eagerly await Taco Bell’s 24 hour Cheech & Chong channel.
The Cuban power grid is seriously fucked, also why the hell does the US still have sanctions against Cuba? Oh yeah, Trump.
The un-damming of the Klamath river is going—dare i say—swimmingly, with salmon already reappearing. Truly epic decades-long work by the native peoples living along the river.
Former Abercrombie CEO arrested in sex trafficking op. Girl, we saw the ads, nobody is surprised.
New Bram Stoker short story discovered!!!
FEATURES
Speaking of Stoker, his wife was exceptionally pissy and vindictive about Murnau’s NOSFERATU, to the point we’re very lucky that copies of the film survive.
Absolutely buck wild deep dive on AI romance titles and audiobooks on OverDrive/Libby (a major library eBook app). Do not mess with romance readers or librarians, they are smart and tenacious and VERY good at solving mysteries.
More shams and scams: the search to find who makes Trump’s “swiss-made” watch.
This story about a young man’s secret life on World of Warcraft is lovely, but have tissues handy.
I love stories about how rich and powerful men are kind of crap at their jobs, actually, and this long read on oligarch Evgeny Lebedev DELIVERS.
ART & CULTURE
Also please enjoy this excellent, free model of Moo Deng for 3D printing.
Why have you all not told me about the 8-Bit Big Band earlier?!
Also I’m really into Laufey at the minute, maybe you are too?
SCIENCE & HISTORY
Here’s the academic paper that crab graphic is from.
North America: Where do our Halloween traditions come from?
A neuroscientist answers your questions about why ADHD makes you like that.
Fascinating look at why we should conserve the habitats of mythical beasts as well as real ones.
RIP to the last of the Night Witches.
RECIPE
We are still in the middle of The Applening (our attempt to deal with the giant bag of cooking apples we helped a friend pick a couple weeks ago) but rather than deluging you with apple recipes, here is a very timely recipe for pumpkin chutney that uses the guts from carved pumpkins.
That’s all! Until next week…
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Oh, I initially thought the 8-Bit Big Band would be playing swing music in 8-bit style!