- James Fallows on the China Xinjiang / Uighur controversy: "The point about separate fact-universes is one of the sobering marvels of the modern info-age. It's true within the United States, as discussed long ago here; and it's true between countries, as China, Turkey, and the rest of the world all digest different versions of the Xinjiang 'truth.' Main point: the internet, mobile phones, and other info technology, far from eliminating the country-by-country differences in information and belief, in some ways may increase them, as each little info-sphere is able to reinforce its own view of the world."
- Wonderful account of a man remaking his life as a pen-and-ink artist of theater rehearsals. I'm officially jealous.
- Garden path sentences.
- Personal informatics.
- The fate of the Neanderthals. Modern humans have driven thousands of species to extinction without exerting itself; this explanation makes perfect sense to me.
- Funny, rueful poem: "Rereading Jane Austen's Novels".
- Evan Dorkin's you-were-there account of seeing Monty Python's stage show at NYC's City Center in April 1976 (complete with some Playbill scans). Now that is a birthday gift worth remembering.
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Michael E Brown
@brownstudy