Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Photo: Getty Prison conditions in the United States—where inmates routinely face sexual violence, torturous isolation, and warehousing that leaves them vulnerable to things like extreme heat—have galvanized prisoners into using whatever means at their disposal to prevent the state from gaining access to their labor. That is why prisoners across America are now on strike…
The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether a fugitive Malaysian financier laundered tens of millions of dollars through two associates and used the funds to pay a U.S. legal team that includes former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and a lawyer who represents President Trump, according to people familiar with the matter. Jho Low, the…
Which Web sites get the most traffic? According to the ranking service Alexa, the top three sites in the United States, as of this writing, are Google, YouTube, and Facebook. (Porn, somewhat hearteningly, doesn’t crack the top ten.) The rankings don’t reflect everything—the dark Web, the nouveau-riche recluses harvesting bitcoin—but, for the most part, people…
Darwyn Cooke’s widow isn’t letting anyone put words in his mouth. Source: Twitter Surprisingly, some members of ComicsGate have the belief that what they’re doing is benefiting the comics industry as a whole. Among their ranks they include comics professionals Ethan Van Sciver, Jon Malin, and or so they thought, Darwyn Cooke. Unsurprisingly, Marsha Cooke, Darwyn’s widow, shot that…
Getty Images. Photo by Drew Angerer In early 2019 the L train in New York City will shut down for 15 months to repair damage caused during Hurricane Sandy. Leading up to the closure, VICE will be providing relevant updates and proposals, as well as profiles of community members and businesses along the affected route…
Photo: DEA / BIBLIOTECA AMBROSIANA/De Agostini via Getty Images The bathroom is a mysterious place. What goes on inside varies for everyone, or maybe it doesn’t; we simply do not know. The question has prompted some discussion in the past, and I suspect it will continue to do so until we are all under 24-hour…
In June, while the earth was experiencing a record-breakingly hot summer, a scientific paper was published in Nature Geoscience suggesting the planet’s long-term temperature rise could be double what was previously predicted by climate models. Drawing on the collaborative efforts of 17 international scientists, the same bleak study argued that the effects of climate change,…
Imagine a group of people who believe that manatees are destroying civilization. Even though there is abundant evidence showing that humans endanger manatees and not vice versa, this hypothetical group continues to insist that manatees are a menace. Imagine further that reporters are assigned to cover this group. But instead of including facts about manatees…
Image wrap box Free blurb with Takeaway A growing share of new homes on Airbnb are year-round rentals owned by hosts who never live in them. These rentals now surpass private rooms inside a house occupied by the host, one of Airbnb’s traditional offerings, according to company data for a week’s worth of listings from…
Melissa McCarthy plays detective Connie Edwards, who works with puppet partner Phil Philips (performed by Bill Barretta), in “The Happytime Murders,” a comedy directed by Brian Henson, the son of late puppet master Jim Henson. Hopper Stone/courtesy of STX Entertainment There are circumstances under which I could recommend The Happytime Murders, Brian Henson’s long-at-ninety-minutes detective…