Film list: 12 most linguistically influential American movies since 1980, selected by Ben Zimmer

Ben Zimmer originally drafted this list in 2003. In 2013 comments, he mentioned that Mean Girls and Juno would also make the cut. Further comment from Zimmer: "I note that the OED now includes…

letterboxd.com

Opinion | Want to Fight Back Against Big Tech? Start Here.

A.I. is a political theory. And it is gobbling up our democracy.

nytimes.com

A Trojan Horse Is Supposed to Have Humans Inside It

Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey is full of contradictions about deceit and violence.

theatlantic.com

The Allure and Peril of Riding an Alaskan Wave for Six Miles

The tidal bore that rockets up the Turnagain Arm south of Anchorage can carry a surfer for an hour; it can also kill. Now that the secret is out, how long will authorities allow surfers to catch the wave?

nytimes.com

Inflammation Keeps Us Alive. It's Also Making Us Sick.

The discovery that chronic inflammation is a cause of myriad illnesses could be this century's biggest medical breakthrough.

nytimes.com

The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn | Official Trailer | Hulu

When a group of women are mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of The X-Files™️. Years after walking away from the FBI, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dr. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are pulled back from the shadows when a federal agent vanishes without a trace. In a case you’d ne

youtube.com

Are You Good at Mowing Lawns?

I don’t know what sort of neurodiverse bucket this puts me in, but I think a lot about mowing the lawn1 relative to how much time I actually spend mowing lawns (~6-7 hours per year). And so I was completely fascinated by

kottke.org

poetry camera

a new way to see your world

poetry.camera

Blogroll

We’ve been doing this since 1999. Here are some of our favorite fellow long-haulers, indie web stalwarts, and recent discoveries. Roll 404 Media / An independent, reporter-owned outl...

themorningnews.org

The Phone in Your Hand

A layer-by-layer teardown of the most intricate machine you’ve ever held.

everythingmachine.io

An 8K Cinematic Tribute to the Artemis II Mission

Using high-definition open source videos and photos from NASA and his own music, John Boswell (aka Melodysheep) created this mesmerizing eight-minute video recap of the Artemis II mission that enchanted us all back in th

kottke.org

Downloadable Past Catalog Archive

Past Catalog Archive.

pastcatalogs.com

Reading Maps - Maps & Travel Routes from Books & Films

Reading Maps plots real-world journeys from classic novels and films - Around the World in 80 Days, Heart of Darkness, James Bond, On the Road - on an interactive atlas.

readingmaps.com

Should You Use AI for a Task? Here’s a Simple Way to Decide - Schneier on Security

This essay originally appeared in The Guardian. I teach public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Munk School at the University of Toronto. And it will come as no surprise to you that my students regularly use AI to complete their writing assignments. Doing so is a waste of their tuition m

schneier.com

Every Sample from Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys

This video catalogs every borrowed sample from Paul’s Boutique by the Beastie Boys, from the soundtrack to Car Wash to the Sugarhill Gang to the Eagles to the Ramones to the Beatles. They play the original first an

kottke.org

The Z Suites, by Casimir Liberski ReTrio

13 track album

casimirliberski.bandcamp.com

How Podcasts Ruined America | Compact

“I was just speculating for a podcast. I had no personal information. I was just speculating for a podcast.” This was the testimony of Howard Lutnick, the sitting Secretary of Commerce, to the House Oversight Committee on May 6, 2026.

compactmag.com

Pilcrow, Dagger, and Octothorp, Oh My!

So, I don’t know what kind of nerd you are, but my brand of nerdiness dovetails neatly with this video about the origins of some of the most common symbols on your keyboard: #, @, &, §, *, ¶, †, and ‡, as well as ☞.

kottke.org

How drought shaped the Bronze Age world that inspired The Odyssey | CBC News

A new climate study suggests centuries of drought added pressure to the Bronze Age societies that inspired Homer's The Odyssey, revealing how environmental stress, food insecurity and failing trade networks may have shaped a world of collapse and survival.

cbc.ca

STG v.boxSquad

spacetypegenerator.com

What I Learned About Loss While Skateboarding at Costco

We’re all going to die. But first — just one more trick.

nytimes.com

Does Christopher Nolan Consider Himself a Bard for a Civilization at Dusk?

This 17-minute interview about the Odyssey with Christopher Nolan conducted by philosophy doctoral student Zhong Shu is one of the better ones I’ve seen. The first two questions are: Do you consider yourself a

kottke.org

How to plant a nuclear plant in Iran

The question is: what on earth is Google doing?

digitaldigging.org

The Listening Museum — 36 Keyboards, Sound-Mapped

36 mechanical keyboards. Click. Type. Listen. From IBM Model M (1985) to modern thocky customs.

sheets.works

Hans Zimmer: Live in Concert

Martin Timko (aka matogolf) cut this video of the best musical moments from Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert. He plays a number of pieces from various soundtracks, including Dunkirk, Gladiator, Interstellar,

kottke.org

Translator Of Original ‘Minions’ Epic Poem Slams ‘Sexless, Bloodless’ Film Adaptation

PHILADELPHIA—In a 4,500-word essay published in Harper’s Magazine, Emily Wilson, known for her popular translation of the Minions epic poem, blasted the latest film Thursday as a “sexless, bloodless” adaptation. “The first line of my translation is ‘Tell me about a kooky Minion,’ but the Minions in

theonion.com

What Are the Most Untouchable Records in Sports?

I ran across this post on Threads the other day: “What’s the hardest record in sports history to ever break?” A sampling of the replies: “Bill Russell’s 11 NBA championships including 8 in a ro

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