Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Markit’s US Services PMI missed expectations of 53.7, priting at 53.3, its lowest since Feb 2014 (mid Polar Vortex). From record highs in June, PMI has plunged non-stop for six months leaving Markit noting Q4 growth is looking more like 2.0% than the 5.0% exuberance in Q3. US Services PMI plunges… and along with…
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) If you are a music fanatic and money is no issue, you might want to consider a Sony Walkman. Seriously. Sony’s new ZX2 Walkman costs $1,119.99, and it plays music at a super-high resolution. That means songs on Sony’s new Walkman sound more life-like than the typical CD, MP3 or streaming media…
Platisher — the ugliest journalism word of 2014 — lives on in 2015. (Despite the fact that I can’t hear it without thinking: “Feather-footed through the plashy fen passes the questing vole.”) It survives because it’s useful, describing a very of-the-moment idea: an online outfit that is both a publisher (paying staff or other contributors…
It was less than a week ago when Zero Hedge broke the news that for CNBC, 2014 Was The Worst. Year. Ever. Much to the embarrassment of CNBC, its staunch defender David Rosenberg, and not to mention its advertisers who realized they overspent substantially for the reach they were promised and received instead, the report…
Thirty-four years ago, at the launch of Ted Turner’s Cable News Network, the founder made a grandiose and specific promise about his newly created round-the-clock operation. “Barring satellite problems, we won’t be signing off until the world ends,” Turner declared. And in anticipation, he prepared a final video segment for the apocalypse: We’ll be on,…
This Is How We Forget History January 5, 2015 – Features I’m usually patient with new TV shows. I’m a Fringe fan, after all: sometimes it takes a few episodes or seasons for a show to find its legs. So like, I was skeptical about AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, but willing to give it…
Pandagon is daily opinion blog covering feminism, politics, and pop culture. Come for the politics, stay for the complete lack of patience for the B.S. and bad faith coming from conservative leaders and pundits. No oppression is greater than having to speak to women before they will have sex with you. Oof. Laurie Penny has…
A few people have forwarded me MIT professor Scott Aaronson’s post about nerd trauma and male privilege (link here, it’s comment #171) It’s part of a larger discussion about sexism in STEM subjects, and its essence is simple. Aaronson’s position on feminism is supportive, but he can’t get entirely behind it because of his experiences…
Before you start limbering up your fingers to write NOT ALL WHITE GUYS before you even read the article, lemme just say this: I KNOW. The only reason I’m able to track the performative phenomenon I’m about to discuss is because it only occurs in a small subset of white guys. Since most white guys are…
Two stories dominating my social-media feeds of late have begun to run together in my mind: the nationwide protests against police brutality toward Black citizens, and the unfolding story of an alleged rape at University of Virginia, which may or may not have happened as reported in a recent Rolling Stone article. Both reveal our…