🥀 Inside the last true political machine in America — The Economist

Rosemont is such a weird little place. My dad worked at a White Hen in it when I was a kid so I spent a lot of time there before the outlet mall, casino, and restaurant district, but the extent of the nepotism is wild.

🎤 Why Rappers Stopped Writing: The Punch-In Method — NY Times

This honestly explains a lot. Modern rappers are great at muttering in the pocket, but completely lack the dynamism and storytelling of the greats.

🎸 “Pop-Punk Has Long Been Funny, but Who Gets to Make the Jokes?” — NY Times

I agree with a lot of this and I do wish blink would’ve grown more in the direction their self-titled album seemed to be going, but I still love the early stuff. Now I guess I need to give 100 gecs another shot.

🏀 Knicks getting Raptors’ O.G. Anunoby, deal RJ Barrett — ESPN

This feels like a great move for the Knicks; OG is a perfect fit next to Brunson and needs the ball less than Barrett. Plus Precious as a backup big will be nice.

🎙️ Breaking Down The Power Broker (with Conan O’Brien) — 99% Invisible

Following along with this monthly series might be what finally gets me to breakdown and crack open the old copy that’s been taking up way too much room on the bookshelf.

🦸 Top 20 Comics for 2023 — Off Panel

Off Panel is by far the best comics podcast right now and this is was fun (as it is every year).

🪭 Fediverse Fans

Awesome little directory you can add yourself to along with your interests.

📱 I am the fold

This is just a neat little thing.

via: Public Announcement

💆 Ohio Governor Blocks Bill Banning Transition Care for Minors — NY Times

Would you look at that, some news out of Ohio that’s not devastating. Although it’s unlikely to last given the supermajority in Ohio’s legislature.

👃 This Was the Year of Breathing Through Our Noses — GQ

I think I might have a deviated septum so I’ve been using nose strips at night to help my breathing and it’s made a world of difference.

💣 The Pentagon wants a new powerful nuclear bomb. Please don’t give it to them — Salon

If we are solving for issues of global security and stability, the “additional option” we need isn’t the ability to commit an unprecedented war crime and indiscriminately murder more than a million people in an instant flash of blinding nuclear devastation; it’s a $10-billion investment in food, shelter, medicine, clean air and water — and, apparently, conscience.

Ugh…

🍷 Introducing… — booze

I mentioned potentially blogging about wine now that I’m in Napa and I had this pika.page blog just sitting there so… Introducing: booze–a blog about wine, beer, and cocktails.

🏒 CONNOR BEDARD MICHIGAN GOAL 🤯😱🥍 — YouTube

Even if you’re not a hockey fan this goal is worth watching. Bedard is so fun it’s just a shame the Blackhawks are so crappy.

🌐 We’re not building a web browser — Arc

The example of searching something and being given five tabs vs all potential results has me extremely nervous for the direction they are potentially heading. There’s so much internet to discover and if their idea is limiting it, then I don’t want it.

🗞️ 2023 Winter Solstice Zine Sale — Helvetica Blanc

Get 33 incredible looking digital art zines by @helveticablanc@merveilles.town for only $23 bucks through their itch.io store.

✍️ write.omg.lol

A very cool new notepad interface for omg.lol-ers that connects to your Pastebin. Created by @bw@social.lol.

🎴 GameBoy Wallpapers for iPhone — Designer Tom

Another cool Gumroad offering. These come in 20 different colors and the “screen” of the gameboy perfectly surrounds the time and widgets on your lock screen.

via: @robb@social.lol

💙 boop display font — Ramsés Cabello

Very cool display font from @rc@social.lol. Only €4.99 too!

📺 Warners Bros. Discovery in talks to merge with Paramount Global — Axios

We knew there’d be a consolidation of streamers, but it still feels weird they aren’t worried about potential anti-trust issues here. The Sheridan-verse would surely become huge.

🏫 University Presidents Under Fire — The New Yorker

A balanced piece that hits at the issues from both sides and again leans into that grey area. No matter what side (or lack of sides) you take, you lose.

📰 When the New York Times lost its way — The Economist

A journalism that starts out assuming it knows the answers, it seemed to me then, and seems even more so to me now, can be far less valuable to the reader than a journalism that starts out with a humbling awareness that it knows nothing.

Super long piece, but well written and hammers home (to me) the fact we live in a world that’s not black and white, but no one knows how to live in the grey.