The Morning News

Camp ToB 2020

Week Five: The Night Watchman

It’s a new month and a new book matchup at Camp ToB. This week we’re discussing the first half of Louise Erdrich’s The Night Watchman.

by The Tournament of Books Staff

To stop Trump from playing their music at rallies, artists may have to sue—as the Rolling Stones are now threatening to do.

↩︎ Pitchfork 1h

Serene collages on paper of waterfalls, by Thomas Danthony.

↩︎ This Isn't Happiness 1h

Blacks in the US know fascism has long been a part of America.

↩︎ The New York Review of Books 1h

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The Editors' Longreads Picks

Since May 2014, US Post Office delivery trucks have caught on fire approximately once every five days.

↩︎ VICE 2h

Act 1 of the Hamilton soundtrack if it had been performed by the Muppets.

Kudos to Animal for that rendition of "You'll Be Back" (at 19:01).

Yankee Stadium can hold 11% of its capacity safely during the pandemic—not the 20% the team owner wants.

↩︎ NJ.com 2h

Citing "security risks," Amazon tells employees they must remove TikTok from mobile devices that access Amazon email.

↩︎ The Verge 2h

An epidemiologist answers questions about the safety of children, teachers, and families as schools figure out how to reopen.

↩︎ Vox 1d

In almost every area of life, people are undermined and exploited, then made to feel that their inability to thrive is somehow their fault. It’s not unreasonable for someone living under such conditions to decide they simply can’t provide for a new life.

Jessa Crispin explains why she doesn’t have children.

↩︎ The Guardian

A podcast episode for those who would be moved.

Rough Translation did a good job with this one: stories from five continents about the global impact of George Floyd's murder.

A Trump-like candidate in Iceland—who ran against "elites" to defend white, wealthy men—loses the presidential race, for now.

↩︎ The Ballot 1d

A wooden sculpture of Melania Trump, carved by a chainsaw, was burned in her hometown in Slovenia over the July 4th weekend.

↩︎ Reuters 1d

After the pandemic hit, airlines vowed to enforce social distancing. The reality is: not so much, particularly on American.

↩︎ The New York Times 1d

When I examined my history, I found the following search: insane after coronavirus? coronavirus made me insane? This can’t be entirely blamed on the illness.

Patricia Lockwood reviews the frightening fever dream that was (and perhaps still is) her experience of the coronavirus.

↩︎ The London Review of Books

Scientists warn that doctors may miss signs of serious brain disorders triggered by COVID-19, even among the mildly affected.

↩︎ The Guardian 1d

Germany bans single-use plastics beginning next July, falling in line with an EU directive to reduce waste.

↩︎ Deutsche Welle 1d

Trying to flip a bicycle with a trailer attached is a tricky thing.

Via kottke

Philosophers compete to write the most compelling argument to convince people to donate a surprise bonus payment to charity.

↩︎ Nautilus 1d

Our laughter ‘is always the laughter of a group’, as Bergson put it. Even in those cases when we are effectively laughing alone, to, or perhaps at ourselves, laughter always presupposes an imagined audience or community.

Philosopher Henri Bergson’s general observations about laughter remind us “that to be human is to be alive and free.”

↩︎ aeon