When You Kill Ten Million Africans and You Aren’t Called ‘Hitler’ – King Leopold II of Belgium, who “owned” the Congo.
The Dannemora Dilemma. “‘Little Siberia’ turned out to be the prison’s nickname.”
The Weekly Sift addresses the Duggars’ brand of fundamentalist Christianity and other stuff. Plus What’s So Scary About Caitlyn Jenner?
The 2016 U.S. Presidential Race: A Cheat Sheet and The Crystal Ball‘s 2016 Electoral College ratings. I have NO idea who the Republican candidate for President will be.
If it’s not Jeb Bush, and I have my serious doubts that it will be, then one of those people from the “he/she can’t win” category could possibly emerge.
ADD on blaming the victims of today’s disastrous economy for trying to survive it.
What Poverty Does to the Young Brain.
Disunion, The Final Q&A: The New York Times’s series on the Civil War.
Franklin Graham Calls for Christian Boycott — Here Are Some Ideas for Targets.
Rachel Dolezal and minstrelsy.
David Kalish: The Fine Art of Procrastination.
THE MARVEL-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX and a follow-up.
Drawing the Undrawable: An Explanation from Neil and Amanda Gaiman, re: The New Statesman and Art Spiegelman.
Microsoft’s Windows 10 will be available on July 29. This SHOULD mean you can update from Windows 7, and I can get rid of the dreadful Windows 8.
How to create strong passwords.
Why Pluto Is a Planet, and Eris Is, Too.
Now I Know: The Lights That Almost Led to World War III and America’s Most Wanted Coincidence and Why are there so few $2 bills?
Gouverneur is a small town of about 6,000 located in St. Lawrence County, NY. But how do you PRONOUNCE it? In English and in French.
Berowne: George Gordon. Better known as Lord Byron.
Never-before-seen film of the legendary aviator Amelia Earhart — from her last photo shoot ever, shortly before she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
The origin of that Orange Church of God sign I see on Facebook all the time. Speaking of which: 6 Facebook Statuses That Need To Stop Right Now.
Mark Evanier’s childhood Christmas chicanery.
The app that identifies plants from a picture. Seriously, I could use this.
What is a tessellation? Math, and design.
True: Why are the Tony Awards so afraid of the Tony Awards?
The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson: America’s Mozart?
James Taylor’s creativity flows anew.
The Mary Lou Williams Suite, the jazz pianist and arranger. Includes the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee.
SamuraiFrog ranks Weird Al: 60-51. He also brought to mind that the birthday of Todd Rundgren is coming up, which reminded me of a 1985 album I own on vinyl that I haven’t heard in a good while. LISTEN to A Cappella, or at least the last song, a cover of the Spinners’ Mighty Love.
Bert Jansch’s Blackwaterside, first recorded in 1966. Which sounds an awful lot like Jimmy Page’s instrumental Black Mountain Side, from Led Zeppelin’s 1969 debut.
DJ Otzi – Burger Dance, “based on the premise that the single aspect of American culture most readily recognizable in the rest of the world is fast food.”
This list is rubbish, but hey, it has links to Beatles songs. The most skippable Beatles cuts, from “All You Need Is Love” to “Yellow Submarine”.
Muppets: Puppetman and Kermit the Frog and Grover on The Ed Sullivan Show and Grover is Special and the 1962 pilot Tales of the Tinkerdee and some other stuff.
Legendary Special-Effects Artist Rick Baker on How CGI Killed His Industry.
Actor Christopher Lee, Dracula and Nazi hunter, dies at 93. From The Guardian and BFI and the Hollywood Reporter and Bruce Hallenbeck in Diabolique and Mr. Frog and Gordon at Blog This, Pal.
Ornette Coleman, Jazz Innovator, Dies at 85.
Dustbury notes the passing of Monica Lewis, a voice, at least, you’ve heard, if you are of a certain age.
GOOGLE ALERTS (not me)
Roger and Carmen Green of Baraboo, Wisconsin celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.