Hello, dear readers.
I hope you’ve had a healthy February and have learned something new during Black History Month.
May your March be warm and full of flowers. And hopefully a vaccination.
Here are this month’s links:
AIM - Remember AOL Instant Messenger? Here’s the last message sent on the service.
Black History - The history of Black History Month.
Cake - We all love cake. It’s cake. It’s great. But have you been aging your cake? Some think giving it a little time before you eat it might make it even better.
Dave Thomas - The city of Washington, DC is paying $13 million to buy “Dave Thomas Circle,” the location of a notoriously dangerous traffic circle (and mediocre Wendy’s).
Eulogy - RIP, Christopher Plummer.
Foodies - Tucci Gang, unite! I want to dig in to Stanley Tucci’s new CNN series, “Searching for Italy” and learn all about Italy’s regional cuisine. Also, if you’re not following him on Instagram, you’re missing out.
Gina Carano - The actress is officially fired from “The Mandalorian” after tweeting and sharing some stuff online that was, uh, not great.
Hear Hear - Taylor Swift has completely re-recorded/re-made her “Fearless” album, with six never-released-until-now songs. (Listen to “Love Story” here.)
Ice Volcanoes - Last year, on the shores of Lake Michigan, people saw this rare phenomenon.
Joy - On why Black joy is not just important—it’s vital. “Joy and resistance are one and the same.”
Keep Writing - Want to improve as a writer? One author suggests reading your work out loud.
Leadership - From the Harvard Business Review on leading teams when everyone, including you, is exhausted.
Mars - We’re on Mars! Again! And this time we brought microphones!
National Anthem - The story of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as the Black National Anthem.
Office Geography - Every office has its own maps, geography, and sense of place. Where do you cry in your office? What does it mean when you are moved to a different floor? A WIRED piece examines those shared maps.
Pearl Earring - Get way up close with the famous Vermeer painting, “Girl with a pearl earring.” Find a spot on the painting and zoom in…and keep zooming in…and in…in some places, up to 140x.
Q & A - Not an interview, per se, but a story of how author Madeline L’Engle had a years-long correspondence with Ron Irwin, a member of the Black Panther Party who was serving time in prison.
Ragnarok - Has inevitable environmental destruction and the collapse of life as we know it been…exaggerated?
Secret Messages - Someone call Robert Langdon. Edvard Munch wrote a secret message in his painting, “The Scream.”
Taxes - The ultra-wealthy people who argue they should be paying more in taxes. (New Yorker, possible paywall)
Urban Planning - How one urban planner used the video game “Animal Crossing” to level up his skills.
Vespucci - Meet the explorer after whom America was named, Amerigo Vespucci.
Winners - Here are all your 2021 Golden Globe winners.
X - Iceberger.
You Wish - Can you make it into this website? Only one person is allowed at a time.
Zomorodi - Manoush Zomorodi, the author of Bored and Brilliant, talks to GQ about the importance of boredom.
Special thanks to Linda and Karyn for their contributions to this issue!
Have a suggestion for the next issue? Reach out to me by replying to this email. And if you enjoyed this edition, go ahead and forward it to a friend and tap the heart at the top of the page.
See you in a month,
-Brady