Stream of Reading (Prepare to be Forwarded) – An Archive of What I'm Reading
Galaxy Quest, the Star Trek parody that turned out better than some official Trek movies, is getting a TV reboot. The cult sci-fi satire followed a cast of washed-up actors who starred in the fictional Galaxy Quest series, affectionately poking fun at sci-fi fandom in such a shrewd way that Star Trek star George Takei jokingly called it “a powerful piece…
Bonding over nothing is still bonding. This is something that people need to remember when they turn their noses up at the popularity of the Reddit Button. In the three weeks since it has appeared, it has been described as an evil April Fool’s joke, a social experiment, and a total waste of time. The…
In 1998, Carnegie Mellon researchers warned that the internet could make us into hermits. They released a study monitoring the social behavior of 169 people making their first forays online. The web-surfers started talking less with family and friends, and grew more isolated and depressed. “We were surprised to find that what is a social…
The last few years have been an unmitigated disaster for American law schools, which is excellent news for anyone with even the vaguest interest in getting a legal education. Sure, the job market for new lawyers hasn’t exactly been peachy. Yes, the U.S. has too many law schools, given how uninterested Americans are in law school. And…
Yahoo’s renewed search deal with Microsoft is even more laissez-faire than it looks at first glance. A filing from the internet pioneer reveals that either company can call it quits from October 1st onward — all they have to do is send a breakup letter and sit tight for four months. There’s no sign that…
View this image › A student at McGuffey High School with the words “anti-gay” drawn on his hand. Supplied Students at a Pennsylvania high school held an “Anti-Gay Day” protest on Thursday, wearing coordinated flannel shirts, writing “anti-gay” on their hands, and sticking Bible verses on LGBT students’ lockers. “We came in to school on…
DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. are teaming up to launch “DC Super Hero Girls” in fall 2015, a new initiative that will create a new superhero universe designed specifically for girls. “DC Super Hero Girls” will follow female superheroes and supervillains of the DC Comics, “prior to discovering their full super power potential.” Wonder Woman,…
In many cities around the world—New York, San Francisco, London—most people find the rent to be unaffordable. Buying is out of the question. Perhaps that is because your city’s housing stock is now just another fungible financial instrument, like pork bellies. You, the middle class resident of a major urban area, may have complained at…
It is not even enough for a Tesla model-S. Elon Musk, the chief executive of Tesla, earned $35,360 in 2014, 49 per cent below the pay package he received a year earlier as he eschewed any bonuses and stock option awards, according to a filing with US securities regulators on Wednesday. Mr Musk, who earned…
The Sony email hack is making the rounds again—but not for the reason you might expect. After WikiLeaks republished the embattled company’s emails in their entirety last weekend, certain aspects of Sony’s very public embarrassment have once again been making headlines. Perhaps one of the strangest revelations to have gained traction is ex-Sony chief Amy…