“The national-security state tends to love monopolies—a coöperative monopoly augments and extends the power of the state, like a technological prosthesis. In general, when a dominant firm, or a few firms, holds power over part of the information industry, we can expect intelligence agencies to demand coöperation and partnership. Over time, the firm can become a well-compensated executioner of state will. If history is any guide, the longer that companies like Facebook and Google stay dominant, the more likely it becomes that they will serve as intelligence partners to the United States and other governments.”
(via Cat stands for election in Mexican city | World news | guardian.co.uk)
NYU: lighting justice on fire since 1831. We made it, y’all.
(From former Local editor Rosie Gray: NYU Denies Booting Chinese Dissident)
I wish John Sexton would actually walk around with a paper printout of the NYU logo taped to his chest.
Today is National Bourbon Day.
“From a feminist perspective, this lovelorn virginal victim persona presents no shortage of problems, but regardless of how plainly Swift’s fairytale plays into patriarchal extremes, it’s impossible to deny the fact that she’s one of the few women in her rarified position to have authored her own narrative since its inception. That Swift is wholesome, apolitical, obliging, and innocuous is neither congenital nor superimposed—if it were, she would have crumbled beneath it a long time ago. Taylor Swift has simply (and accurately) estimated what it is that the world wants her to be — a living embodiment of heavy-hearted American idealism — and is personally intelligent enough to reflect it with implausibly modest effort. In this sense, Taylor Swift the woman is neither a patsy nor a pawn — she’s a fucking genius.”
Zac Pennington > Taylor Swift - The Talkhouse
Ladies and gentlemen, Zac Pennington.
don’t even step to that south pole squad, son
An NYC Resistor’s project turned a Minitel into a Tumblr Time Tunnel.
Pssst: they have an interactive show this weekend.
holy shit this rules so hard
The mighty Double Dagger asked to use one of my photos for the layout of their final EP. Which means that I can finally cross “be thanked in the liner notes of a hardcore record” off of my bucket list.
Me on Google Street View, eating a massive ice cream cone outside of the D.C. Shake Shack. Big shoutout to the homie Andy Lomeli (a.k.a. “Shake Shack Chair Dude”) for spotting this.
“Ever since 9/11, the US has allowed the war on terror to frame a new domestic authoritarianism that is strikingly at odds with America’s passionate sense of its own freedom. This week’s revelations have stunned millions of Americans whose justified outrage against 9/11 surely never led them to expect such routine and unrestrained surveillance on such a massive scale. US politicians have a poor post-9/11 record of confronting such powers. Even now, it is possible that many will look the other way. But this is an existential challenge to American freedom. That it has been so relentlessly prosecuted by a leader who once promised to stand up against such authority, makes the challenge more pressing, not less.”
(via How a Waka Flocka Flame Concert Ended Her Marriage and Saved Her Life : TheSource)
Deth P. Sun, one of my favorite visual artists (and one of Tumblr’s as well), is currently showing a ton of new work at Grumpy Bert in Boerum Hill. This is his first NYC solo show in years, so if melancholic paintings of skeletons, cats and ghosts floating in space sounds like your idea of a good time, you will want to get down to Grumpy Bert before June 30th.
First pool day of 2013!!!
If you live in Brooklyn, keep your eyes peeled for my dude Darren rolling into your hood with this inspired contraption. From their Tumblr:
The mobile pool party brings together crazy bicycle hackery, blistery hot Brooklyn afternoons, and watery fun. We’ll be rolling into various Brooklyn neighborhoods, firing up the jambox & BBQ, and inviting passersby to join us for a dip, a dog, or just to hang out and enjoy the breeze.
The mobile pool can be filled up in a matter of minutes via a connection to a city fire hydrant. Basically, they are taking the old Brooklyn summer tradition of commandeering fire hydrants to the next level.
Really hope this is Jack Dorsey’s whip.
