Nathan Pyle’s new project Strange Planet is very quickly very good. Like my personal fave webcomic name, it has a simple aesthetic and a well-defined voice. The result is a satisfying repetition: the jokes aren’t the same but the viewpoint is, so each new strip easily fits in with the rest. And if you’ve ever felt like an alien, you’ll relate.
Instagram comics are a thing now. Maybe they’ll never be Achewood, but they’re good.
Niki Nakayama Is Making Japan's Most Elaborate Cuisine Her Own (New Yorker)
“The most prominent American kaiseki restaurant is n/naka, a small Los Angeles establishment owned and run by the forty-four-year-old Japanese-American chef Niki Nakayama. Japanese cuisine, at the high end, is virtually all made by men. When n/naka opened, it may have been the only kaiseki restaurant run by a woman in any country.”The Last American Band: X (The Outline)
The band X is probably the most American expression of punk possible. They wanted to play rock and roll in the classic 50s sense. They wanted to sell out and get hit single money. They wanted to appeal to the heartland, in that vague Bruce Springsteen way. And they almost succeeded. (Side note: I’m glad Viggo Mortensen got out of that marriage.)What Was the Happiest Day on the Internet This Decade? (The Ringer)
I am SHOCKED that February 26, 2015 only comes in fourth. That day gave us both the Great Llama Escape Livestream AND the Dress. I am SHOCKED.How a Phone Glitch Sparked a Teenage "Riot" (Medium)
“Since it all began with a group of ingenious teenagers who took advantage of a flaw in the design of the Swedish national telephone system in order to create an unofficial hotline, the chaos at the park became known as the heta linjen-upploppet: the hotline riot.”The Psychological Trap of Freelancing (The Cut)
If valuing money over time is making us sad and paranoid, how do we stop?We are told that America is divided and polarized as never before. Yet when it comes to many important areas of policy, that simply isn’t true. (NYT via Numlock)
“About 75 percent of Americans favor higher taxes for the ultrawealthy. The idea of a federal law that would guarantee paid maternity leave attracts 67 percent support. Eighty-three percent favor strong net neutrality rules for broadband, and more than 60 percent want stronger privacy laws. Seventy-one percent think we should be able to buy drugs imported from Canada, and 92 percent want Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices.”“33 percent of young adults who had or expected fewer children than they considered ideal cited that worry over climate change factored into their family planning decisions.” (Broadly)
Is it morally acceptable to bring children into a world about to ravaged by climate change? For myself and many others, no.
XOXO stay The Coolest and don’t wear that gray midtown vest