Weekly Wreck of the Web #13

Ten links of interest:

1. Don't Get Your Undocumented Friends in Trouble: A How-To

2. The Women's Strike and the Messy Space of Change

3. Fascism Facts

4. The Attorney Fighting Revenge Porn [This was horrifying. These men are horrifying.]

5. The Many Faces of Bertie Wooster

6. "All Resistance Is Local": A Plan of Progressive Action for the Trump Years

7. Tank and the Bangas: Tiny Desk Concert

8. Vital Signs from ProPublica

9. New music video from Aimee Mann

10. Why Typography Matters -- Especially at the Oscars

Weekly Wreck of the Web #12

Ten links of interest:

1. Photographs That Show Action Figures Interacting with Everyday Objects

2. Gabby Giffords to GOP: If I Could Go to Town Halls After Getting Shot, You Can Show Up for Voters

3. The Future Is Female --- And Still Unrelentingly Misogynist

4. The "Day Without a Woman" Strike, Explained

5. The Walled Off Hotel by Banksy - in pictures

6. Startup Workers See Sexual Harassment on "Breathtaking" Scale in Silicon Valley

7. Inside Schitt's Creek

8. There's an Intriguing Sociological Reason So Many Americans Are Ignoring Facts Lately

9. Best Photos of the Day: Sydney Mardi Gras and China's People's Congress

10. Is Obama's "Wire Tapp" the End of Donald Trump? Maybe! A Holy-Shit-Y'all Investigation into WTF!

Quote for These Times #7

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

[Happy International Women's Day]

"There was a fashion just now, Noel complained, of writing and talking about women as if they were some separate, peculiar, and rather contemptible species, instead of ordinary human beings, with ordinary human qualities."

--- Crewe Train,

Rose Macaulay, 1926

(Rec. #84)

Weekly Wreck of the Web #11

Ten links of interest:

1. Malta's Secret Tunnels: Inside the Newly Discovered Underworld of Valletta

2. The Truth About GMOs

3. Photos: "This Protest Is Real News" & Other Favorite Signs from "Not My President Day"

4. NYPL Digital Stylist: Oscars Edition

5. Using 13,000 Pennies to Renovate an Old Floor

6. Drop in Teenage Suicide Attempts Linked to Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

7. Based on a *True* True Story? Oscars Edition

8. The Complete 4-Page Guide to Surviving an Authoritarian Regime

9. Possibly the Most Exhaustive Study of "Manspreading" Ever Conducted

10. Think Different: Can Advertising Defeat "Alt-Right" Propaganda?

Rec. #402: Fly / Art

What: Like most good Tumblrs, the concept of Fly/Art is simple, and simply stated --- hip-hop lyrics on art.

It's good! I recommend it!

How to get it: http://flyartproductions.tumblr.com/

The updating scheduling seems to come in bursts, so don't be discouraged that the most recent post is from February 20.

Quote for These Times #6

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

"Now, he told me, I could see what humanity was worth. It could form the conception of justice, but could not trust its flesh to provide judges. Whatever it started was likely to end in old men raving."

--- The Fountain Overflows,

Rebecca West, 1956

(Rec. #224)

Weekly Wreck of the Web #10

Ten links of interest:

1. The Problem with Femvertising

2. Michael Schur's Response to "Are Liberals Helping Trump?"

3. Tragedy Plus Time: How Jokes Won the Election

4. What's on the Menu? Help the NYPL Improve a Unique Collection

5. Make the Fur Fly: Annual Ferret Racing in Yorkshire - in Pictures

6. How America Counts Its Homeless - And Why So Many Are Overlooked

7. Museums and Libraries Fight "Alternative Facts" with a #DayofFacts

8. Movie Theaters Nationwide Will Screen 1984 to Protest Trump

9. People Recreate Photos of Their Immigrant Ancestors

10. Tufts Is Offering a 5-Day Program to Train Mathematicians to Be Expert Witnesses for Court Cases on Redistricting and Gerrymandering

Weekly Wreck of the Web #9

Ten links of interest:

1. What the Fuck Just Happened Today?

2. Collection of Self-Portraits by Women Artists

3. Barney Frank: Here's How Not to Waste Your Time Pressuring Lawmakers

4. The Media Under-Reports Threats of Islamic Terrorism -- to Muslims

5. Art for the Public

6. An Idiot's Guide to Whataboutery

7. The 64 Stages of Trump Grief (Campaign Launch - Present Day) [Michael Schur, I love you, but you forgot PARALYZING DREAD]

8. Want to Help Fight Legal Battles? There's a Crowdfunding Site for That

9. The Original Trump Haters

10. Here Are Your 4 New Best Friends: "Okay." "Wow." "No." CHILLY AWKWARD SILENCE

Quote for These Times #5

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

"There is no such thing as inner peace. There is only nervousness or death. Any attempt to prove otherwise constitutes unacceptable behavior."

--- Fran Lebowitz,

Metropolitan Life, 1978

(Rec. #188)

List #64: Happy Birthday, Paul Abbott

Who: Paul Abbott is a master of darkly comic, often suspenseful, television series. The characters are complex; the dialogue is the sharper, more articulate version of how people actually think; and the humor bites through even the muckiest of muck.

Alibi, 2003

Hit & Miss, 2012

Reckless, 1997-1998

(Rec. #290)

Shameless (U.K.), 2004-2013

(Rec. #14)

State of Play (U.K.), 2003

(Rec. #104)

Touching Evil, 1997-1999

N.B.: People keep adapting Paul Abbott's stuff -- pay close attention to the years listed here and settle for nothing less than the original.

Weekly Wreck of the Web #8

Ten links of interest:

1. Reddit Is Tearing Itself Apart

2. Being Kellyanne Conway: Because Life Is Easier with Alternative Facts

3. Queer Muslim Women from the South: We're Here and We're Fierce

4. Dystopia in The Good Place

5. World's Largest Smog-Sucking Vacuum Could Rid Cities of Pollution

6. 33 Badass Women Leading the Resistance (on Twitter)

7. MoMA Forefronts Art from Countries Affected by Trump Travel Ban

8. The Politics of Pockets

9. Media Coverage of Domestic Violence More Likely to Excuse White vs. Black Perpetrators

10. A Moment with ... Ashley

Weekly Wreck of the Web #7

[Yes, I am behind on these. Oops.]

Ten links of interest:

1. Twitter Account Documents Jewish Refugees Turned Away by America in 1939

2. Michael Schur Got Himself a Tumblr

3. The Art of "No"

4. Thanks to Trump,  the Doomsday Clock Advances Toward Midnight

5. Rejected Porcelain Restored More Beautifully with Gold Lining

6. Just How Big Was the 2017 Women's March?

7. "Immigrants Are America": Protesters Mass at Airports - in Pictures

8. Immigration Ban Protest in Harrisonburg

9. My Time at Standing Rock Taught Me What We Need to Do to Resist

10. Samantha Bee to Roast Donald Trump at Alternative What House Correspondents Dinner

Quote for These Times #4

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

"Do you know why one can't take the law into one's own hands? ... Because the law is too big to fit in one pair of hands. So if you feel you've got a comfortable grip on whatever you're holding, you can be pretty sure it's not the law."

--- Mildred Benjamin,

Territory, Emma Bull, 2007

(Rec. #10)

Weekly Wreck of the Web #6

Ten links of interest:

1. Is Covergirl's New Coverboy a Feminist Coup or a Capitalist One?

2. Of Course Fiona Apple Made a Trump-Shaming Rallying Cry for the Women's March

3. Signs from Women's Marches Around the World

4. Hero Librarians Create Fake Reader to Save Books, Outsmart Algorithms

5. Aimee Mann Is Back and Bummed Out as Ever on Her New Album Mental Illness

6. Teaching While Black

7. The Otherworldly Genius of The Good Place [SPOILERS]

8. Broadway Preview: Spring 2017

9. Kitten and Cameraman

10. Cute Dog Things from Twitter

Quote for These Times #3

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

"Not that I want to be a god or a hero. Just to change into a tree, grow for ages, not hurt anyone."

--- Czeslaw Milosz

Rec. #401: The Good Place, season 1

What: The show begins when Kristen Bell's character learns from Ted Danson's character that she's dead and in "The Good Place."

First problem: She realizes she doesn't belong there.

Second problem: Everything that follows.

Comparable to: Created by Michael Schur, so it's tonally similar to his other shows, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Privilege check: The show passes the Bechdel test and (misleading poster notwithstanding) features characters of a variety of ethnicities. It's not too heteronormative, although this particular universe is comprised of paired soulmates, which seems to preclude both polyamory and asexuality. Overall, especially for a rich white dude, Michael Schur (and his team) do pretty well.

How to get it: Stream the whole thing on Hulu, including episodes with extended cuts!

Perfect for rewatching the whole first season, which is probably what you'll want to do after the truly excellent season finale.

Quote for These Times #2

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read."

--- James Baldwin

Weekly Wreck of the Web #5

Ten links of interest:

1. Hong Kong's "Villain Hitters" Use Sorcery to Vent Political Anger

2. A Reminder that Brooklyn Nine-Nine Is a Great Show

3. How Some Cool Silent Film Effects Were Done

4. A Moment of Silence for Black and Brown Talent That Grew on Vine

5. Spectacular Rooftops Around the World

6. There Will Soon Be 100 Days of Anti-Trump Songs

7. The Internet Is Becoming Unreadable Because of Lighter, Thinner Fonts

8. Lin-Manuel Miranda Wrote a West Wing Song

9. Newspaper Lists Trump Inauguration as a Twilight Zone Reboot

10. Hidden Figures as a GIF

Quote for These Times #1

[not to be confused with its sister ongoing feature, Quote from a Fictional Character]

"How happy we were, and how little we realized how nice it was to be lazy and happy, without fear and anxiety and horror knocking at the back of one's brain like a little gnome with a hammer."

--- Henrietta,

Henrietta's War, Joyce Dennys, 1939

(Rec. #344)

Weekly Wreck of the Web #4

Ten links of interest:

1. Yoko Ono's Cleaning Pieces

2. I Am Not Your Negro Trailer: James Baldwin Talks Race Relations in America

3. Travel Man Christmas special ["48 Hours in Florence"]

4. Hong Kong in the 1950s Captured by a Teenager

5. The Best Photographs of Barack Obama's Presidency

6. This Artist Is the Only Person Banned from Using the World's Pinkest Pink

7. This Year's Golden Globes, Grammys, and Academy Awards Will All Be Hosted by White, Straight Men Named James

Three-parter from The Guardian:

8. Climate Deniers, Conspiracists and One-Percenters: Trump's Cabinet of Characters

9. Trump's Cabinet Picks: Here Are All of the Appointments So Far

10. What You Need to Know: Confirming Trump's Cabinet