the coming of true spring

May 14, 2018

Welcome to Corgi-Class Starship, the newsletter that's glad to see ridiculous nonsense pageantry return to Eurovision after what seemed like an overabundance of mopey ballads in recent years. 

You'll Like This

Update(s) on thing(s) I made or somehow helped to bring about.Idea Factory Giveaway68 - The Hierarchy of Science Fiction"Jon (@ferociousj), guest co-host Jen (@jennifermarie), and special guest David Brothers (@hermanos) explore ideas around dining experiences, internet detoxing, and personal navigation before another foray into culinary madness."I'm not saying my hierarchy is the One Truth or anything as far as science fiction story types go, let's just lay that out right now. That said, I'd be happy to find out I'm not the only one who puts "robot stories" where I do.You can subscribe using:Apple PodcastsRSSStitcherGoogle Play MusicYou can also just go to the website to play or download episodes:https://ideafactorygiveaway.simplecast.fm/ 

Medium Ramble

Skippable if you're in a hurry.I'm back on my Bake Off bullshit again: which one is the best season? I'm just now noticing that there are some seasons we don't really revisit all that often. Maybe it's more accurate to ask which one is my favorite, and I don't know that I can answer that either. The best I think I can do is give a chronological but unranked Top 10 Bakers Thus Far list, which is as follows: 

  1. Mary-Anne (s02)

  2. Brendan (s03)

  3. Cathryn (s03)

  4. Ali (s04)

  5. Chetna (s05)

  6. Norman (s05)

  7. Nadiya (s06)

  8. Selasi (s07)

  9. Kate (s08)

  10. Flo (s08)

Honorable mentions: 

  • Kimberly (s04)

  • Nancy (s05)

  • Sandy (s06)

Side question: was there a national reckoning with John's family after s03 or what? His mom in particular seemed like a monster. Were they run out of the country post-final so John could finally live his life? 

#dadthoughts

Also skippable if you're in a hurry or don't care. No judgment.Six months! Half a year! I dont know if I have anything super profound to add to that yet! So I want to talk about how Quentin seems to be developing preferences. At least, I think. I'm pretty sure he has a favorite toy: a stuffed, knit Totoro that Mavis made for him before he was born and is perfectly sized for grabbing. Almost without fail, he smiles whenever we present him with it -- not something he does with every toy -- and it's the goddamn best thing ever. I'll try to capture it in photo or video form at some point, but something else Quentin seems to have is a strong sense of when he's being recorded, combined with the stubborn desire not to perform for the camera. It's the only explanation that makes sense right now. 

Fascination Corner

I read a lot of newsletters; here are some links that caught my eye. 

  • Did you know Netflix Research is a thing that exists? I want to go deep on this site, but I honestly have too much to do right now. Maybe later. 

  • Snapchat's users hated the redesign so much that they're actually rolling it back. Imagine that! I realize someone at Instagram thinks their algorithm rules, but they're literally the only person who does. Maybe they should take a cue from Snapchat, as they've done with ... certain other things. 

  • See, ticks like these are why I don't trust the outdoors. Thank fuck they're not in California, but it's probably just a matter of time (thanks, climate change). 

  • I didn't see Lady Bird, but I think this would have been great to witness no matter what (don't forget the follow-up). 

  • Tolerance is not a moral precept. Worth reading! 

  • Here's an interesting read on how YA fiction was invented back in the 60s and 70s; unsurprisingly, it looked a little different than it does today. 

  • Your interesting Vox read of the week is this one on bullshit jobs. 

  • Provided civilization as we know it is still intact, let's all agree to meet up in Norway in 2020, everybody. 

  • If we can coat buildings in photocatalytics that purify air just by having sunlight shine on them, why aren't we doing it everywhere immediately? What's the fucking holdup? (Rhetorical) (Do not @ me) 

  • The odds are 100% that Kanye did not read this Ta-Nehisi Coates thinkpiece, so how else can we get the message past his filter? Surely there must exist a rapper he respects with the lyrical skill to convert this into an A+ diss track that would light the internet aflame. Keep in mind I'm not talking about a transliteration -- no fool is going to try to set this article to a beat word-for-word -- but a translation of its essence into two or three verses and a good chorus. I'm not the one do it, but I feel like there exists out there a person who is. 

  • For so many reasons, a water-based battery for large-scale energy storage is a good idea, and I hope it turns out to be viable. 

  • Travel Is No Cure for the Mind. I bet I know people who would disagree with this, but it is interesting. 

  • The Facebook office calls 911 once every couple of days because of random crazies just showing up. In no way do they deserve this; it's just interesting data. 

  • This article says The Pentagon Is Making a Ray Gun to Stop Truck Attacks, but what it really means is they're working on a way to shut down truck engines remotely. Which is fine, but doesn't seem to do anything to kill the truck's, you know, momentum, which is kind of a large part of the problem. 

A Fictional Thing

Something made-up that somehow suggested itself to me and which I could not escape.A band and their albumELECTRODAVE + The Dance Team Captains, Please Eat Yourself 

Thanks

If you've read this far, I thank you. Feel free to forward this to someone you like, or inflict upon someone you don't.