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Junot Díaz: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma

Illustration by Ben Wiseman; photograph courtesy the author Audio: Listen to this story. To hear more feature stories, download the Audm app for your iPhone. X⁠— Last week I returned to Amherst. It’s been years since I was there, the time we met. I was hoping that you’d show up again; I even looked…

6 years ago

Is the Next Nobel Laureate in Literature Tending Bar in a Dusty Australian Town?

nytimes.com

G oroke, Victoria, a former stagecoach stop in southeastern Australia, pop. 200, is not the sort of place you would expect to host a daylong academic symposium. About five hours from Melbourne by car, the town has the feel of an evacuation nearly complete. Empty storefronts line the main street; the…

6 years ago

Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?

nytimes.com

Amazon ran a commercial on this year’s Super Bowl that pretended its digital assistant Alexa had temporarily lost her voice. It featured celebrities like Rebel Wilson, Cardi B and even the company’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos. While the ad riffed on what Alexa can say to users, the more intriguing…

6 years ago

For the Compton Cowboys, Horseback Riding Is a Legacy, and Protection

nytimes.com

For Anthony Harris, 35, walking to the corner store to buy a soda in his hometown, Compton, Calif., often comes with the risk of being stopped and searched by the police. But when Mr. Harris and other members of a group of horse riders known as the “Compton Cowboys” choose to ride their horses to…

6 years ago

Opinion | The Bright, Shiny Distraction of Self-Driving Cars

nytimes.com

The promise of self-driving cars can be alluring — imagine taking a nap or watching a movie in a comfortable armchair while being shuttled safely home after a long day at work. But like many optimistic images of the future, it is also a bit of an illusion. Automated cars may indeed make commuting…

6 years ago

When Your Body Tells You What Your Brain Won’t

nytimes.com

He told me he wanted to marry me in an old city by the sea. All day we had bicycled the cobbled streets of St. Augustine, Fla., a town once invaded by conquistadors. Now the Spanish buildings stood crumbling but beautiful along the water. We had been drinking, which gave him courage. He said he…

6 years ago

Why I’m suing over my dream internship

theguardian.com

T he first time I encountered a digital toilet seat was at the central London headquarters of Monocle, the self-consciously chic monthly magazine and 24-hour digital radio station for those who enjoy their geopolitics served with a side of artisanal Swiss sunglasses . The futuristic commode offered…

6 years ago

A Brief History of the Prison Bae – Our Prison Love Affair – Medium

medium.com

Richard Allen Davis (L) in court with attorney Barry Collins (R). Photo by Scott Manchester/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images S amantha Spiegel was 19 years old when she started writing letters to some of America’s most notorious murderers. A pretty art student with corkscrew curls and…

6 years ago

What It's Like to Die Online

marieclaire.com

“I have tried filming this video so many times, but I just don’t know what to say.” Fifteen-year-old Sophia Gall has cancer, but from her hairless head and the title of the video, “My Cancer Is Worse Than Ever,” we already knew that. The problem is that there’s nothing left that can be done. Gall…

6 years ago

12 Things Everyone Should Understand About Tech

medium.com

Tech is more important than ever, deeply affecting culture, politics and society. Given all the time we spend with our gadgets and apps, it’s essential to understand the principles that determine how tech affects our lives. Understanding technology today Technology isn’t an industry , it’s a method…

6 years ago

Welcome to Powder Mountain – a utopian club for the millennial elite

theguardian.com

J eff Rosenthal is standing near the top of his snow-covered mountain wearing a fluffy jacket, fingerless gloves and ripped jeans. “It’s surreal, man!” he says, shivering as he surveys the landscape of newly laid roads and half-built homes. “That’s Ken Howery’s house, the co-founder of PayPal .…

6 years ago

WHO’S A NAUGHTY BOY THEN? | Dave Trott's Blog

davetrott.co.uk

Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary is a very peaceful place. Well it was, until the mayor’s wife visited the newest addition: Barney the parrot. As she came closer, to inspect the parrot’s beautiful plumage, Barney saw her gold chains and regalia. He said “You can fuck off.” Everyone hoped it was a…

6 years ago

A woman’s final Facebook message before euthanasia: ‘I’m ready for my trip now...’

theguardian.com

At the ‘Levenseindekliniek’, End of Life Clinic, at The Hague. The clinic is a ‘last resort’ for those who have been refused euthanasia elsewhere.Photograph: Judith Jockel for the Guardian A t 2pm on 26 January, Aurelia Brouwers lay down on her bed to die. Clutching a toy pink dinosaur and listening…

6 years ago

‘I’m 78 on an £18,000 income and live a very good life in London’

theguardian.com

Judith McGowan: ‘I’m of the generation that was taught to be canny with money.’Photograph: Alicia Canter for the Guardian I t always fascinates me when I talk to other retired people that they don’t seem to know what their income is. I always know exactly what my earnings and outgoings are and,…

6 years ago

This Preacher Would Be Happy to Share Your Bowl of Açaí

nytimes.com

LOS ANGELES — On a strip of Wilshire Boulevard, not far from where the rapper Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down in a drive-by shooting some 20 years ago, a black plastic pool had been placed on the sidewalk outside the El Rey Theater. It was a balmy December afternoon, and the theater had been…

6 years ago

This Is How To Be Your Best Self: 3 Secrets Backed By Research - Barking Up The Wrong Tree

bakadesuyo.com

This Is How To Be Your Best Self: 3 Secrets Backed By Research *** Before we commence with the festivities, I wanted to thank everyone for helping my first book become a Wall Street Journal bestseller. To check it out, click here . *** How should we treat other people? Well, if you look at ancient…

6 years ago

A Quiet Exodus: Why Black Worshipers Are Leaving White Evangelical Churches

nytimes.com

FORT WORTH — Charmaine Pruitt wrote the names of 12 churches on a sheet of paper, tore the paper into 12 strips, and dropped them into a Ziploc bag. It was Sunday morning and time to pick which church to attend. This time of the week two years earlier, there would have been no question. Ms. Pruitt,…

6 years ago

I have prostate cancer. But I am happy | George Monbiot

theguardian.com

Illustration: Sébastien Thibault I t came, as these things often do, like a gunshot on a quiet street: shocking and disorienting. In early December, my urine turned brown. The following day I felt feverish and found it hard to pee. I soon realised I had a urinary tract infection. It was unpleasant,…

6 years ago

The Secret Sorrows of Over-Achievers

thebookoflife.org

It’s often hard not to feel envious of them – as they ascend the stage to collect another prize, float their start-up company, are promoted a decade ahead of their peers or dominate the music charts or bestseller lists. Over-achievers torment us rather a lot. © Flickr/IndieCade But we should, more…

6 years ago

Teenage Brothers on Sex, Social Media, and What Their Parents Don’t Understand

thecut.com

“Wrestling,” by photographer Nicole Rosenthal, of her sons. How to Raise a Boy is a weeklong series centered around this urgent question in the era of Parkland, President Trump, and #MeToo. Carlos, 16, sat down one Saturday night to talk about teenage life with his brother Liam, 14. They live in a…

6 years ago

How to make better use of everything you read

work.qz.com

I once downloaded a speed-reading app that would flash individual words across my phone. I aggressively set the rate to 400 words per minute and braced for the onslaught. I used this system to parse essays, primers, and long-form interviews, all in the name of advancing my career. Yet, all I had to…

6 years ago

Computer Nostalgia and Malignant Doppelwelts - Christopher Butler

chrbutler.com

AboutEssays Newsletter Computer Nostalgia and Malignant Doppelwelts I am nostalgic for the computer. Yes, for the thing that, today, I have more of than I ever needed — or ever wanted. In a world where computers are as ubiquitous and invasive as roaches — where few tangible goods are made that…

6 years ago

How to Balance Your Media Diet – ART + marketing

artplusmarketing.com

Nutritional Media: Part Two of The Media Pyramid Media Pyramid 1.5 — thanks for feedback and comments so far! PART ONE: YOU ARE THE MEDIA YOU EAT PART THREE: WHY WE LIKE THINGS THAT ARE BAD FOR US We Hunger for Ideas A defining aspect of humanity is that we are driven, fed and led by ideas as well…

6 years ago

I Am the Very Important Longread Everyone is Talking About

mcsweeneys.net

Here is an anecdote about a very small and seemingly irrelevant occurrence that happened way back in like, 2009. It doesn’t involve anyone you’ve ever heard of and it’s honestly not that interesting. But trust me, once you make it to the end of this thing, it’ll all make total sense, and you’ll feel…

6 years ago

As American editors sharpen their pencils, some advice on writing short

poynter.org

If two examples constitute a trend, then a movement is afoot among editors to encourage short writing. It began at The Washington Post, where an editor argued that many stories could be tighter. Before you could say “Strunk and White,” an editor at The Wall Street Journal made the same case. What…

6 years ago

Can You Imagine A Supermarket With No Plastic?

fastcompany.com

In an Amsterdam supermarket, a new “plastic-free” aisle is a microcosm of the entire store. It’s possible to buy around 700 items–meat, sauces, produce, yogurt, snacks, cereal, drinks, enough for a week’s worth of groceries–but nothing is packaged in conventional plastic. Any package that looks like…

6 years ago

For Two Months, I Got My News From Print Newspapers. Here’s What I Learned.

nytimes.com

I first got news of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., via an alert on my watch. Even though I had turned off news notifications months ago, the biggest news still somehow finds a way to slip through. But for much of the next 24 hours after that alert, I heard almost nothing about the shooting.…

6 years ago