Max B
@maxburke.bsky.social
Former music writer, interested in technology, culture, history, nature.
DOLLYOGRAPHY: A Listener's Guide to Dolly Parton by Paige La Grone Babcock (Arthur, 2004) arthurmag.com/2021/10/04/a...
DOLLYOGRAPHY: A Listener’s Guide to Dolly Parton by Paige La Grone Babcock (Arthur, 2004)
A Listener’s Guide to Dolly Parton by Paige La Grone Babcock Originally published in Arthur No. 8 (January, 2004), accompanying Karin Bolender’s cover feature on Dollywood, “…
arthurmag.com
Green Day guitarist is obsessed with the hidden pathways of the Berkeley Hills www.berkeleyside.org/2026/08/18/b...
Green Day guitarist is obsessed with the hidden pathways of the Berkeley Hills
Jason White has lived in and around Berkeley since the early ’90s. He’s on a mission this year to hike every path and staircase in the hills.
berkeleyside.org
Bay Area's wildest house lists at $899K and just hit the market for the first time www.sfgate.com/realestate/a...
Bay Area's wildest house just hit the market for the first time
It looks like it landed from another planet.
sfgate.com
Today: a remembrance of Dick Vivian, the SF record store owner whose friends and fans credit him with changing their lives through music and the "Dick Vivian sound." We talk to two of his disciples who plan to keep his iconic record shop going. www.coyotemedia.org/dick-vivan-k...
Dick Vivian Knew the Right Record Could Change Your Life
The beloved owner of Rooky Ricardo’s Records died in July at 78. But the Haight St. shop’s new owners — and Vivian’s countless musical disciples — say his legacy lives on.
coyotemedia.org
Andon Market, the AI-created store with no clear purpose for existing beyond as a marketing tool for the startup behind it, made headlines again this week after its AI agent manager decided to fire a human employee. buff.ly/6YBSFAj
That AI Store Manager In Cow Hollow Just Fired Its First Human Employee
Andon Market, the AI-created store with no clear purpose for existing beyond as a marketing tool for the startup behind it, made headlines again this week after its AI agent manager decided to fire a…
buff.ly
Defined by space-age motifs, sloping roofs and sky-high neon signs, 'Googie architecture' responded to a time of great change in America. Take a tour of its remaining gems
7 perfectly preserved examples of Googie architecture in Los Angeles
Join us on a tour of the space-age, mid-century gems
wallpaper.com
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
404media.co
A collector has discovered 97 copies of the unreleased version of Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt in a Wisconsin warehouse. https://bit.ly/4bDKGUD
Two security researchers bought cheap domains—including noreply.net and deleteduser.com—and set up email listening services. Hundreds of companies are sending them corporate secrets. https://www.wired.com/story/sensitive-info-goes-into-no-reply-emails-constantly-this-guy-sees-it-all/
Sensitive Info Goes Into ‘No Reply’ Emails Constantly. This Guy Sees It All
Two security researchers bought cheap domains—including noreply.net and deleteduser.com—and set up email listening services. Hundreds of companies are sending them corporate secrets.
wired.com
NEW POST: ⚓️ From SEA SLUT II to BILBOAT BAGGINS, a deep dive into AIS vessel data turns up 50,000 boat names packed with nautical puns, dirty jokes, and Tolkien deep cuts. 📊 Includes a fun searchable interactive to look through the data. www.beautifulpublicdata.com/boat-names/
50,000 boat names
From SEA SLUT II to BILBOAT BAGGINS, a deep dive into AIS vessel data turns up 50,000 boat names packed with nautical puns, dirty jokes, and Tolkien deep cuts.
beautifulpublicdata.com
The World Cup has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of public transportation in North America and provided cities with the opportunity to test and implement novel approaches, writes scholar Deb Chachra. https://www.dezeen.com/2026/06/30/world-cup-transit-opinion-deb-chachra/
"The World Cup is a unique opportunity for different transit approaches"
The World Cup has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of public transportation in North America, providing cities with the opportunity to test and implement novel approaches.
dezeen.com
An Instagram post about Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to wealthy communities in Marin County, CA, turned one California student newspaper into a free-speech flash point. The students say they were just doing their homework.
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out
An Instagram post turned one California student newspaper into a free-speech flash point. The students say they were just doing their homework.
wired.com
For two decades, Emily Shur, who shot for glossy magazines in the early 2000s, has been sitting on a trove of images from a bygone era of fame. www.newyorker.com/culture/phot...
A Celebrity Photographer’s Hidden Stash of Polaroids
For two decades, Emily Shur, who shot for glossy magazines in the early 2000s, has been sitting on a trove of images from a bygone era of fame.
newyorker.com
How did luxury ice get so hot? L.A. Material contributor Anna Holmes traces the rise of bespoke ice, learns what makes it unique, and gets into the details with the L.A.-based representative for the Japanese ice company that supplies trendy bars like Vandell. Read more: buff.ly/Yky6xH1
Did ChatGPT train on The Day of the Locust? Here's my latest on the Palisades Fire for @lareported.bsky.social and the parallels between the painting in the novel & the actual inferno. Plus new stuff about the man who was accused of starting the fire. #booksky lareported.substack.com/p/palisades-...
Halloween ends. Giant skeleton season doesn't. Across Los Angeles, homeowners are keeping their 12-foot skeletons up long after Oct. 31, dressing them for every holiday and turning them into neighborhood celebrities. The very L.A. reason why people aren't putting them away.
Why 12-foot Halloween skeletons have become year-round fixtures across Los Angeles
Giant skeletons, once confined to Halloween decorations, now tower over L.A. homes year-round. Some think they're fun. Others have a bone to pick.
latimes.com
thanks to Grace Robins-Somerville of @pastemagazine.bsky.social for capturing the spirit of what we’ve been building with Encore hyped to get the story out there and to see everyone adding their concert memories!
Could concert-based social media be the next big thing in live music?
Paste Magazine is your source for the best music, movies, TV, comedy, videogames, books, comics, craft beer, politics and more. Discover your favorite albums and films.
pastemagazine.com
Beautiful piece by @sammillerbb.bsky.social The Life Of A Fan Is Measured In Careers open.substack.com/pub/pebblehu...
The Life Of A Fan Is Measured In Careers
Gladden. Transitive Verb. To make glad.
open.substack.com
This one is for everyone who remember The New Parish...
Who gets to break the rules?
What the transformation of an Oakland nightclub reveals about race and regulation
eastbayyesterday.substack.com
New: I got footage of a cop in Florida who met a woman on a TV set then surveiled her for weeks, ran her license plate through a surveillance system, then stalked and pulled her over. One of the most egregious cases you’ll ever see: www.404media.co/footage-show...
Footage Shows Cop Stalking Woman He Met on a TV Set After Surveilling Her With a License Plate Reader
A Florida police officer met a woman on a TV set, surveilled her for weeks, stalked her, and nearly caused a head-on collision while chasing her to pull her over.
404media.co
Leaders around the world are banking on tech advances to solve climate change. One leading idea involves capturing carbon pollution from the air and then burying it underground forever. It sounds practical. Here’s why there's no conceivable way it can work: (THREAD)