Ridiculous bug report from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. “And in this case, because there are other social media companies involved, Twitter, what do all of these groups though, have in common? And I’m going to refresh your memory. They were all communicating on a private cloud server known as Jira.”
Ted Gioia: What did Robert Johnson encounter at the crossroads? “For people of faith in 1930s Mississippi, a crossroads decision wasn’t ignorance or superstition, but solid theology. And it didn’t require an actual intersection or fork in the road to be binding.”
There’s new music from Feist. The Hiding Out in the Open video is marvelous.
Tom Breihan, in his ongoing series, The Number Ones, on Justin Timberlake’s SexyBack. “On paper, Justin Timberlake’s ‘SexyBack’ lyrics look like flexes. But Timberlake doesn’t sound too horny or self-assured on ‘SexyBack.’ Instead, he’s got the panicky skeeziness that I associate with a big night out. He’s trapped in the moment, obeying his whims, and slightly nervous about where that might take him. I’m not sure what he’s on, and I’m not sure he knows, either. But he’s sweating, he’s grinding his teeth, and he’s going with it.”
Just finished: My Name is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout, 5/5 stars. “Sarah Payne, the day she told us to go to the page without judgment, reminded us that we never knew, and never would know, what it would be like to understand another person fully.”
Just started: Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus.
Still reading: Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change, by W. David Marx. “The principle of detachment means all status symbols require alibis – reasons for adoption other than status seeking. Beck listened to avant-garde noise for its aesthetic charms, not just to show off indie cred.” (ORLY?)
Listening to: The Last of Us podcast from HBO. I never played the game, but it’s wonderful to listen to showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann break it all down. The show’s good, too.