October 14, 2016
Infographic: Every spell cast in the Harry Potter books, mapped by word position. / public.tableau.com
The ACLU won court support for its rebuke of Baltimore police’s method of tracking #BlackLivesMatter protesters by deploying facial recognition technology to social media feeds. Facebook and Twitter promptly abrogated the services that enabled the police, but had previously done little to oversee its use. / The Verge
“Some part of the reason I wanted to document what free love might look like was to reveal shared experiences of the lives we were living that fell outside a happiness that could be bought or sold.” Emily Dewitt’s Future Sex revives the nuance lost by talking about sex and feminism with language from the past, language that no longer applies to the relationships we have. / The Ringer
Manhattan rents display year-over-year decline for second time in two years. / Bloomberg
“With the words themselves established, we had to teach Malcolm how to swear—in what situations and contexts. His cussing boot camp was in our family van. Driving through the city, a car squeezed in front of us without signaling. ‘See Malcolm, that guy’s an asshole.’” Parents raising an autistic child realize their son can learn when to curse if they teach him the meaning, rather than obscure it. / Washington Post
Not everyone is happy after Dylan’s win. Should the Nobel Prize really go to someone for whom it’s just a feather in the cap, rather than a career-defining achievement? The question of whether Dylan should even be up for the award lurks, too, but he’s never been uncertain about whether he is a singer or a poet—or a folkie or a rocker, a faker or a prophet, or Robert Zimmerman, or Elston Gunn, or Lucky Wilbury. / poets.org, Flavorwire, Wikipedia
Beirut offers lessons on how not to rebuild a war-torn city. / The Washington Post
A list of books to read if you agree with the author that Obama’s been a good president and that Clinton will be a good successor, and still you want to know why many of your neighbors disagree with you. / Bloomberg
“Please: let’s not torture ourselves with any gyrations about genre and the holy notion of literature to justify the choice of Dylan.” Dylan chronicler and New Yorker editor David Remnick says don’t freak out about the Dylan win. / The New Yorker
Long, interesting article on how games like FIFA, designed to mimic a sport meticulously, are changing how the sport is played in real life. / The New York Times
Two op-eds of interest from the right side of the aisle, with headlines that should be pretty self-explanatory: Kimberly Ross’s “In The Era Of Trump, (R) Stands For Rationalization,” and Charles Krauthammer’s “Trump’s Promise to Put Hillary Clinton in Jail—and to Undo Democratic Norms.” / redstate.com, nationalreview.com
A gallery of “Lesser-Known 21st-Century Southern Writers,” by Daniel Wallace. / Southern Cultures
Melania Trump’s demand that People reporter Natasha Stoynoff retract her claim that she had a brief, friendly conversation with Mrs. Trump when they crossed paths in New York after Stoynoff said Donald Trump had groped and kissed her during a photo shoot seems bizarre on the face of it. / people.com
ICYMI: Michelle Obama spells out why Donald Trump and Billy Bush’s misogynistic word vomit goes way, way beyond “boys will be boys.” / YouTube
“We intend to study conditions and do all in our power to give Yoncalla a good, efficient government. At the worst, we can’t do much worse than the men.” In 1920, frustrated with crumbling town infrastructure and scandalized by how many residents flouted Prohibition and exhibited public drunkenness, the temperance ladies of Yoncalla, Ore., ran for mayor and every seat on the town council, and won. / The Atlantic
The Maldives withdraws from the Commonwealth before it can get booted for a slightly substandard take on human rights. / BBC
“You can shrink the most sublime of stars using only your language.” Your Friday poem: Ken Chen’s “You May Visit the Cosmos but You May Not Speak of It (or on the Tackiness of Elegy).” / Poetry
“Of course rock lyrics are not poetry. They don’t need to be.” Oldie but goodie article by novelist Michael Chabon on the beauty of song lyrics. / New York Review of Books
Extremely rare footage of a blue whale nursing its calf, as captured recently off the California coast. / mercurynews.com
What happens if neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton receive enough electoral votes for an outright win? After all, it’s possible, but unlikely. / thefiscaltimes.com
You’ve already read this story multiple times, and somehow it keeps being interesting: “Are Wet Wipes Wrecking the World’s Sewers?” / The Atlantic
A new website allows you to buy leftovers from buffet restaurants, mostly hotels. / Vice
“Powerful men do not always have to impose themselves on women in order to indulge their appetites inappropriately.” The politics of sexual assault. / The Economist