To the future.

John's Top Longreads of 2012

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 17:00:44 -0500

Here are some things I think are worthy of the time required.

They are either highly engrossing or highly pertinent.

Most are both. I hope you enjoy them!

“The Innocent Man, Part One & Part Two” This one’s showing up on many “best of 2012” lists. A story about our justice system as a whole, and a deeply personal story about one case in particular.
“The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever” We’ve all gone bowling, but there’s more to it than a lot of us know. Regardless, this story, like much of the best sports writing, is not really about the sport, but about magic moments, heartbreak, and camaraderie.
“Obama’s Way” I’d read just about anything written by Michael Lewis. I hope some day this article becomes a book which becomes a movie.
“The frequent fliers who flew too much” Remember the Pudding Guy who gamed the system for airline miles? This story’s just as good.
“Death Takes a Policy: How a Lawyer Exploited the Fine Print and Found Himself Facing Federal Charges” Read this or listen to the NPR story.
“The Secret History of Guns” Here’s an article that soberly lays out how America’s gun control debate got where it is today.
“Guns ‘R Us” A reporter works behind the counter of a gun store in Arizona shortly after the shooting in Tucson.
“The Lost Projects of Louis C.K.” As is usually the case, his is an overnight success story many many years in the making.
“Lottery Winner Jack Whittaker’s Losing Ticket” I think about this guy every time the media gets the public riled up about Powerball jackpots.
“A Pickpocket’s Tale” This one made it just under the wire.

"Don't make a mess"

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:34:23 -0400

animalsbeingdicks:

Screw you, mom! You don’t run my life!

There. Done.

Taken with Instagram at Beam Interactive

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 12:08:16 -0400

Taken with Instagram at Beam Interactive

Taken with Instagram

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 19:32:34 -0400

Taken with Instagram

Orange You Glad? (Taken with Instagram)

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:13:08 -0400

Orange You Glad? (Taken with Instagram)

the ersatz vegetarian: how to prepare yourself for a baby (according to Jezebel)

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:55:43 -0400

the ersatz vegetarian: how to prepare yourself for a baby (according to Jezebel):

theersatzvegetarian:

Practice wrestling a large, slippery fish three times a week.

Wake up every two hours at night, punch yourself in the face, walk around for 28 minutes pleading in jibberish. Go back to “sleep.” Repeat.

Socialize with friends in 18-second increments.

Practice asking for the check, boxing up…

My Drunk Kitchen, S2E01: Meat Pie! (by MyHarto)

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:05:23 -0500

My Drunk Kitchen, S2E01: Meat Pie! (by MyHarto)

Animals Playing With iPhones (video)

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:45:31 -0500

Animals Playing With iPhones (video)

Design Research Building #nofilter (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:28:11 -0500

Design Research Building #nofilter (Taken with instagram)

Happy Friday, hope you get lucky this weekend. Lucky Catch for...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:20:34 -0500

Happy Friday, hope you get lucky this weekend. Lucky Catch for 57 Dollars! (by danamal55)

There’s lazy, and then there’s this guy.

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:25:06 -0500

There’s lazy, and then there’s this guy.

The Joy of Books (by crazedadman)

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:18:05 -0500

The Joy of Books (by crazedadman)

Gorillaz- Feel Good Inc. LIVE (by ATOWill)

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:03:05 -0500

Gorillaz- Feel Good Inc. LIVE (by ATOWill)

Another Look at Launch Speed in Angry Birds | Wired Science | Wired.com

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:34:57 -0500

Another Look at Launch Speed in Angry Birds | Wired Science | Wired.com:

I guess I should say that s is the distance the sling shot is pulled back and k is the spring constant. But the point is that if I make a plot of launch velocity squared vs. the sine of the launch angle, it should be a linear function. Here is the plot I first created.

Captain Awesome scores a touchdown. (by ZachThePenguin)

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:42:08 -0500

Captain Awesome scores a touchdown. (by ZachThePenguin)

Louis CK's Shameful Dirty Comedy

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:21:49 -0500

viafrank:

I’ve been thinking about Louis CK lately. I’m a fan of his show on FX, and I’m so happy his recent adventure in distributing his newest comedy special himself has been a rousing success. But my thoughts are going elsewhere to wonder why he has blown up in popularity in the past couple years, and why his comedy seems to resonate with these times. It always feels like there’s a comedian willing to address contemporary concerns with insight and honesty for each moment in time. All the greats had their focus: Richard Pryor and Chris Rock had race, George Carlin had absurdity, and I think Louis has hit on some sort of subterranean undercurrent of emotion that I didn’t realize might be swelling until I listened more closely: shame.

Read More

On December 16, 1965, while in orbit above planet Earth, the...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:15:04 -0500

On December 16, 1965, while in orbit above planet Earth, the crew of Gemini 6 added another milestone to their already historic mission.

Astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford reported sighting an object, a satellite, in a “polar orbit…traveling North to South.”

“Stand by, he’s trying to signal something,” reported Schirra.

The next thing heard at Mission Control was a rendition of Jingle Bells performed by the astronauts using instruments which they had smuggled onboard.

The Song from Outer Space (by buzzlab)

Taken with instagram

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:54:44 -0500

Taken with instagram

Gizmodo: Here Is the Absolute Saddest Business Card in the World [Image Cache]

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:01:41 -0500

Gizmodo: Here Is the Absolute Saddest Business Card in the World [Image Cache]

gq: The Complete A-to-Z 2011 High-Bro Almanac* Today: A through...

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:11:17 -0500

gq:

The Complete A-to-Z 2011 High-Bro Almanac*

Today: A through C

Aaron Sorkin. Wins screenwriting Oscar for Facebook movie. Nails self-aware walk-and-talk cameo on 30 Rock. Pulls off Moneyball for the big screen. A colossus.

Adam Scott/Paul Rudd/Jon Hamm “Handsome Funny Guy” Axis, The. You can’t hate.

Alec Baldwin’s Twitter Feed.

@AlecBaldwin Good. Now Chris Christie and I can hang out.
@AlecBaldwin Road work in NY is awful. Roads suck. Better roads in Anguilla than NY.
@AlecBaldwin Vote for Chynna Phillips on Dancing With The Stars!!! To vote for Chynna via phone: call 1-800-868-3404.

Arrested Development, The Announced Return of. Another season! A movie! Ambivalence from Michael Cera in re: both!

Attack the Block. High-Bro Criterion Collection Pick, UK Edition. Like a John Carpenter flick set in a London slum. In most alien-invasion movies, the teens run from the monsters. In this one, they run at them. With bats.²

Bellflower. High-Bro Criterion Collection Pick, Ultra-IndieEdition. Bromance of the year. Two buds in seedy L.A. share love of Mad Max, build a flamethrower/monster car, make poor romantic choices with bad girls.

Bon Iver. May: sad genius. August: Phil Collins.

Bridesmaids. Funny movie, with funny women in it! Note to high-bros: Enjoying it does not retroactively confer a women’s-studies degree from Smith.

Charlie Day. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia hero stole Horrible Bosses from Jasons Sudeikis and Bateman. For a good time, search “Charlie Day Loves to Yell” on NYMag.com.

Community, The Nonstop Metaness Spoofiness of. The top three episodes:

1) The one where a paintball fight turns into a classic-Westerns mash-up.

2) The one that spoofs GoodFellas with the sale of illegal chicken fingers.

3) The one where they build a diorama of them building a diorama. Christ.

Click here for GQ contributor David Roth’s complete almanac.

* Spoofing antiquated reference materials = high-bro¹

1. Dude! A footnote on an asterisk! Totally high-bro!

2. Plus: killer soundtrack!