April 20, 2017
“Months pass and I do not go back.” One way to escape a marriage of psychological abuse: a rickety 1998 Volvo wagon. / Longreads
“There are the hats that we call a Kmart, Walmart special. Some people from out of town come here with those cheap straw hats, it’s kinda like a heehaw hat, comical. But we like it. They’re trying. They’re proud to have it on.” A brief interview with James White, proprietor of the Broken Spoke, a bar and dance hall in Austin, Tx., about the honky-tonk business, dancing, and cowboy fashion. / Vestoj
If Trump establishes doctrine in the Middle East, it’ll be from Gens. Mattis and McMaster: Keep the allies you make. / Wall Street Journal
“Squirrels are common and abundant wherever mast-producing hardwoods are found, but you won’t see them if you don’t take them seriously.” There are plenty of life lessons about patience and items of general interest to be found in “Four Key Tactics For Successful Squirrel Hunting,” by Stephen D. Carpenteri. E.g., “Fidgety, impatient hunters will see few squirrels!” / Game & Fish Magazine
“How to wait for a very long time,” a meditative short film by Jill Goritschnig, about a fisherman who’s hard to please. From Cinanima 2017 Portugal. / Vimeo
Sarah Hepola writes for the Times’s new love/travel issue about a gift she found by not marrying in Mexico. / New York Times
Some recent abstractions of the natural world by artist Danny Joe Rose III. Seen here, “Bellow of the Sea,” 2016. / Danny Joe Rose III, “Digital Landscapes”
How to read a book a week: Turn even a few minutes of free time into reading time. / GQ
Trump’s constant flip-flops don’t signify maturity. They show he has no idea what he’s doing. / Bloomberg
“The anger that I had toward her began to melt away. Dolezal is simply a white woman who cannot help but center herself in all that she does—including her fight for racial justice.” Ijeoma Oluo’s illuminating interview with Rachel Dolezal. / The Stranger
Bangkok ignores the world’s love for its street food, plans to raze the scene entirely. / TIME
The sounds of some vigorous, extended sex—with participants making quite a racket—interrupts a professional tennis tournament the other night in Sarasota, Fla. / sports.yahoo.com
Four percent of Donald Trump’s public statements are entirely true. Forty-nine percent are false or crazy false. / Politifact
A brief film of mountaineers Nick Bullock and Paul Ramsden on their first ascent of Tibet’s Nyainqentangla South East, via the North Buttress. The duo recently won a Pilet d’Or, the climbing world’s highest honor. / alpinist.com
Three of the four leading candidates in France’s Sunday election are “unabashed pro-Putin populists.” / Quartz
A history of Hipgnosis, the designers who changed the concept of what an album cover should be. / 1843
An opioid epidemic should convince people to leave behind libertarian “legalize everything” approaches. / Vox
Gay Catholics flock to celibate priesthood—for protection. Something like a quarter of American priests are gay. / Slate
“Some South Florida homeowners, stuck in a twist on the prisoner’s dilemma, are deciding to sell now—not necessarily because they want to move, but because they’re worried their neighbors will sell first.” From the new “Climate Changed” vertical: Rising seas and stronger storms have investors and insurers spooked on Miami real estate. Who will be left holding the bag? / Bloomberg
Early ‘bergs clog Canada’s “iceberg alley” sooner than normal, some 616 icebergs so far this year. / The Guardian