Various and Sundry

Conflict in a Cannes

By Bjorn Munson | May 25, 2017May 24, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

Netflix, via its movie premieres at the celebrated Cannes Film Festival, has gotten a resounding, “Non!” (no) from the famously film-loving French. Well, at the very least there were boos. Jordan Zakarin has a piece in Inverse from last Friday about how this really reflects on Hollywood more than Netflix. Essentially, Netflix is making a bet on films Hollywood no longer wants to (because they’re so enamored of franchises and tentpole films). Alissa Wilkinson has a piece in Vox from yesterday…

The Absolutely Wurtz History of the World

By Bjorn Munson | May 24, 2017May 23, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

I would be remiss in my duty to the Prime Directive of the Internet –that being to forward all time-sucking memes, videos, and articles t0 everyone I can– if I were not to make sure you knew about Bill Wurtz‘ latest project: a 20-minute entertainingly off-the-wall history of the entire world. Be warned: the narrator is irreverent to all peoples, religions, and himself. He also tends to swear.

Various and Sundry

New Legal Precedent in Gerrymandering

By Bjorn Munson | May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

As that rare group of regular readers knows, eliminating gerrymandering and related cockamamie contrivances to prevent people from voting is near and dear to my heart. As explained by German Lopez in Vox, the Supreme Court has recently ruled in a redistricting case in North Carolina in a way that may help combat cockamamie efforts in the future.

Various and Sundry

The VHS Tapes We Left Behind

By Bjorn Munson | May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

Growing up a cinemaniac, there are, quite naturally, a number of actors and directors and screenwriters I would like to meet. However, I daresay I would not shake the hand of any of them so vigorously as I would the hand of film historian and critic, Leonard Maltin. Maltin’s indispensable and always entertaining movie guide was a fixture in our household. Not only did we get each annual edition, but we held on to the…

Various and Sundry

What’s in a Name? (Internet Age Edition)

By Bjorn Munson | May 16, 2017May 15, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

Any name factors into one’s identity whether it’s unusual or common. Not having visited Scandinavia, I’ve only ever met one other Bjorn in person. Names are fascinating, arbitrary things. So what do you make of someone who has the same name as you? Julie Beck, the recipient of an uncommon yet not unique name, details her quest in The Atlantic to find all the other Julie Becks in the United States. Perhaps because a name is…

Various and Sundry Writing

Aubrey de Grey and the Efforts to Engineer Away Aging

By Bjorn Munson | May 11, 2017May 8, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

Sean Illing has an interview in Vox with biogerontologist Aubrey de Grey about his work on tackling aging. Aubrey de Grey, whose prodigious beard is dwarfed by his prodigious research ambitions, famously believes that combating aging is an engineering problem. In other words, medical therapies can be developed and can be worked on now given our current scientific understanding of aging damage. I remember first learning about the work of Dr. de Grey when he and others set up…

Various and Sundry

Tuesday Tale of Terror: Living Without a Cell Phone!

By Bjorn Munson | May 9, 2017May 8, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

I have a long, long list of articles I save to read later… and eventually, later becomes “now.” Alan Levinovitz has a piece in Vox from March 2016 that is sure to chill certain technophiles to the bone: going through modern life without a cell phone. Missing a friend’s birthday party was my final impetus to get a cell phone originally. My confusion about the location would have been solved with a two minute phone call or a…

Various and Sundry

God Still Loves, Man Still Kills

By Bjorn Munson | May 3, 2017May 3, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

Alex Abad-Santos has a couple of interviews in Vox with the creators of God Loves, Man Kills, the seminal X-Men graphic novel that debuted 35 years ago. For many avid comic readers at the time –including myself– this was an eye-opening paradigm shift in what stories “comics” could tell. (For ardent comic/graphic novel historians raising their hands to point out the work of Will Eisner, I was too young to read A Contract with God when it came out in…

Various and Sundry

The Computer has Reached a Verdict

By Bjorn Munson | April 21, 2017April 17, 2017 by Bjorn Munson

When I talk about automation with people, I often like to point out how the scope of automation now appears to encompass what knowledge workers do. Indeed, from what I’ve read, various implementations of automation, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are already coming into play in both the legal and healthcare sectors of the economy. In other words, well beyond traditional notions of automation, which usually involve manufacturing and factory work. While I had heard of algorithms…

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Category: Various and Sundry

Conflict in a Cannes

The Absolutely Wurtz History of the World

New Legal Precedent in Gerrymandering

The VHS Tapes We Left Behind

What’s in a Name? (Internet Age Edition)

Aubrey de Grey and the Efforts to Engineer Away Aging

Tuesday Tale of Terror: Living Without a Cell Phone!

God Still Loves, Man Still Kills

Recommended Reading: The Fate of Google Books

The Computer has Reached a Verdict