kottke.org
@kottke.org
home of fine hypertext products since 1998. https://kottke.org
What are you thankful for today? [kottke.org]
What Are You Thankful For?
It’s been a really tough year for many of us, the citizens of the world. But on this day of thanksgiving in the US, I wanted to ask you all: what are you thankful for today?
I’m thankful that I was able to travel to say
kottke.org
November 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
What are you thankful for today? [kottke.org]
Lovely, intricate map of all the rivers in the US (lower 48). [kottke.org]
All of the Rivers
Perhaps inspired by All Streets, Ben Fry’s map of all the streets in the US, Nelson Minar built a US map out of all the rivers in the country.
Minar put all the data and files he used up on Github so you can make yo
kottke.org
November 26, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Lovely, intricate map of all the rivers in the US (lower 48). [kottke.org]
“Art is valuable precisely because it is not easy to create. We are interested in art, in any and all of its forms, because humans made it. That’s the very thing that makes it interesting; the who, the how, and especially the why.” [joshcollinsworth.com]
Alchemy
Some thoughts on attempts to create gold out of nothing, and how generative AI, in many ways, mirrors that doomed pursuit
joshcollinsworth.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:42 PM
“Art is valuable precisely because it is not easy to create. We are interested in art, in any and all of its forms, because humans made it. That’s the very thing that makes it interesting; the who, the how, and especially the why.” [joshcollinsworth.com]
If Quantum Computing Is Solving “Impossible” Questions, How Do We Know They’re Right? “In order to validate quantum computers, methods are needed to compare theory and result without waiting years for a supercomputer to perform the same task.” [scitechdaily.com]
If Quantum Computing Is Solving “Impossible” Questions, How Do We Know They’re Right?
A new Swinburne study is addressing a core paradox: if quantum computing is solving problems that cannot be checked by conventional methods, how can we be certain the results are correct? Quantum computing has the potential to tackle problems once thought unsolvable in areas including physics, me
scitechdaily.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:52 PM
If Quantum Computing Is Solving “Impossible” Questions, How Do We Know They’re Right? “In order to validate quantum computers, methods are needed to compare theory and result without waiting years for a supercomputer to perform the same task.” [scitechdaily.com]
Thoughts and Prayers is an HBO documentary about “the impact of the $3 billion active shooter preparedness industry on schools and communities across America”. It’s completely sickening that we choose to live this way in America. [kottke.org]
Thoughts and Prayers
This is the trailer for an HBO documentary called Thoughts and Prayers about “the impact of the $3 billion active shooter preparedness industry on schools and communities across America”.
It’s tough to watch, as is th
kottke.org
November 26, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Thoughts and Prayers is an HBO documentary about “the impact of the $3 billion active shooter preparedness industry on schools and communities across America”. It’s completely sickening that we choose to live this way in America. [kottke.org]
In a London increasingly dominated by rideshare services, some drivers are still opting to study for years for The Knowledge, “the grueling examination that requires applicants to essentially memorize more than 100 square miles of city streets”. [nytimes.com]
November 26, 2025 at 5:02 PM
In a London increasingly dominated by rideshare services, some drivers are still opting to study for years for The Knowledge, “the grueling examination that requires applicants to essentially memorize more than 100 square miles of city streets”. [nytimes.com]
My Recent Media Diet, the Japan Edition. Includes mini-reviews of One Thing After Another, A House of Dynamite, Deacon King Kong, The Age of Innocence, and a bunch of stuff I did in Japan. [kottke.org]
My Recent Media Diet, the Japan Edition
Konnichiwa! I’m back from Japan and finally getting over my jetlag, which took much longer than I expected. Here’s a list of all the things I’ve been reading, watching, listening to, and experiencing over the past few mo
kottke.org
November 26, 2025 at 1:52 PM
My Recent Media Diet, the Japan Edition. Includes mini-reviews of One Thing After Another, A House of Dynamite, Deacon King Kong, The Age of Innocence, and a bunch of stuff I did in Japan. [kottke.org]
Chindōgu is the Japanese practice of inventing things that are not exactly useful but neither are they useless; they’re more unuseless. E.g. tiny umbrellas for shoes or chopsticks with a tiny fan on them to cool your noodles before you slurp them. [kottke.org]
Chindōgu: The Japanese Art of “Unuseless” Inventions
Chindōgu is the Japanese practice of inventing things that are not exactly useful but neither are they useless; they’re more unuseless, a term coined by chindōgu’s originator Kenji Kawakami. Some examples are tiny umbrel
kottke.org
November 25, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Chindōgu is the Japanese practice of inventing things that are not exactly useful but neither are they useless; they’re more unuseless. E.g. tiny umbrellas for shoes or chopsticks with a tiny fan on them to cool your noodles before you slurp them. [kottke.org]
To Explore Violence Against Women, She Drugs Herself Onstage. “It’s an attempt to explore whether performance can give form to the disorganizing experience of trauma, its gaps and obsessional thinking.” [nytimes.com]
To Explore Violence Against Women, She Drugs Herself Onstage
With her performance piece ‘The Bride and the Goodnight Cinderella,’ Carolina Bianchi poses questions about trauma, art — and where the two connect.
www.nytimes.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:42 PM
To Explore Violence Against Women, She Drugs Herself Onstage. “It’s an attempt to explore whether performance can give form to the disorganizing experience of trauma, its gaps and obsessional thinking.” [nytimes.com]
What’s the difference between an artist and a creator? “An artist is a self-directed artistic expressor” vs. “a creator is a self-directed market expressor”. (Wondering where I fit on the 4-quadrant graph…) [ystrickler.com]
What’s the difference between an artist and a creator?
In 1973, experimental filmmaker Hollis Frampton wrote a letter to MoMA that captures a paradox that still defines creative work today. The Museum of Modern Art had offered the filmmaker a retrospective of his work. However he was also told there would be “no money included at all” and it
www.ystrickler.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
What’s the difference between an artist and a creator? “An artist is a self-directed artistic expressor” vs. “a creator is a self-directed market expressor”. (Wondering where I fit on the 4-quadrant graph…) [ystrickler.com]
Does Harrison Ford Know His Lines? Vanity Fair quizzed Ford on his lines from movies & TV shows and he did pretty well. Great stories & lore too. On Blade Runner: “I like any cut without the narration.” [kottke.org]
Does Harrison Ford Know His Lines?
Vanity Fair sat down with Harrison Ford and asked him to identify which of his lines he’d said in which movie, mostly as a way of getting him to talk about his career. A few observations:
I love that they trolled him
kottke.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Does Harrison Ford Know His Lines? Vanity Fair quizzed Ford on his lines from movies & TV shows and he did pretty well. Great stories & lore too. On Blade Runner: “I like any cut without the narration.” [kottke.org]
There are two of these in my small VT town. It's hilarious/disturbing to see them in the grocery store lot parked next to some RAM F150 Hemi SuperCab behemoth.
Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better. “Kei trucks are city-sized, not highway-sized.” [nyc.streetsblog.org]
SEE IT! Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better - Streetsblog New York City
One Brooklyn business has seen the future of safe streets and heavy lugging — and it’s going to be O-KEI!
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 25, 2025 at 5:11 PM
There are two of these in my small VT town. It's hilarious/disturbing to see them in the grocery store lot parked next to some RAM F150 Hemi SuperCab behemoth.
Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better. “Kei trucks are city-sized, not highway-sized.” [nyc.streetsblog.org]
SEE IT! Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better - Streetsblog New York City
One Brooklyn business has seen the future of safe streets and heavy lugging — and it’s going to be O-KEI!
nyc.streetsblog.org
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Small Japanese Pickup Truck Shows Bigger is Definitely Not Better. “Kei trucks are city-sized, not highway-sized.” [nyc.streetsblog.org]
America’s Polarization Has Become the World’s Side Hustle. “Social media monetization programs have incentivized this effort and are almost entirely to blame.” Team USA just scoring own goal after own goal these days. [404media.co]
America’s Polarization Has Become the World’s Side Hustle
The ‘psyops’ revealed by X are entirely the fault of the perverse incentives created by social media monetization programs.
www.404media.co
November 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM
America’s Polarization Has Become the World’s Side Hustle. “Social media monetization programs have incentivized this effort and are almost entirely to blame.” Team USA just scoring own goal after own goal these days. [404media.co]
Requiem for Early Blogging. “I still look for people with early blogger energy, though — people willing to make an effort to understand the world and engage in a way that isn’t a performance, or trolling, or outright grifting.” [elizabethspiers.com]
Requiem for Early Blogging
As part of Talking Points Memo’s 25th anniversary, I wrote an essay on early blogging, and what I miss about it. Here it is, in its entirety: Whether I like it or not, the first line of my obituary will probably be that I was the founding editor of Gawker.
www.elizabethspiers.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Requiem for Early Blogging. “I still look for people with early blogger energy, though — people willing to make an effort to understand the world and engage in a way that isn’t a performance, or trolling, or outright grifting.” [elizabethspiers.com]
The Surprising Benefits of Giving Up. A recent meta-analysis reveals that “adjusting our goals in response to stress or challenges, rather than grinding on, is often ‘a more appropriate and beneficial response’”. [nautil.us]
The Surprising Benefits of Giving Up
The Surprising Benefits of Giving Up: Ditching or adjusting goals in the face of adversity might often be the best thing for us.
nautil.us
November 24, 2025 at 11:36 PM
The Surprising Benefits of Giving Up. A recent meta-analysis reveals that “adjusting our goals in response to stress or challenges, rather than grinding on, is often ‘a more appropriate and beneficial response’”. [nautil.us]
A thread of “feel good” YouTube channels to watch. E.g.: “CinemaTherapy. Two former college roommates (one a filmmaker, the other a therapist) analyze movies.” [threads.com]
November 24, 2025 at 10:22 PM
A thread of “feel good” YouTube channels to watch. E.g.: “CinemaTherapy. Two former college roommates (one a filmmaker, the other a therapist) analyze movies.” [threads.com]
I love these poetic textural landscapes by Korean artist Lee Hyun-Joung. [kottke.org]
Poetic Textural Landscapes by Lee Hyun-Joung
I’ve posted about Korean artist Lee Hyun-Joung’s swirling and swooping work before, but I recently saw one of her pieces in person and decided to feature some of her most recent stuff. It’s always a good time t
kottke.org
November 24, 2025 at 9:12 PM
I love these poetic textural landscapes by Korean artist Lee Hyun-Joung. [kottke.org]
Lots to like about Variety’s list of 100 Best Comedy Movies of All Time, but Coming to America at #46 and no Trading Places at all make me question the list’s credibility. [variety.com]
The 100 Best Comedy Movies of All Time
Variety’s list of the 100 best comedy movies of all time includes ‘Annie Hall,’ ‘Pretty Woman,’ ‘Waiting for Guffman’ and ‘Young Frankenstein.’
variety.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Lots to like about Variety’s list of 100 Best Comedy Movies of All Time, but Coming to America at #46 and no Trading Places at all make me question the list’s credibility. [variety.com]
How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails. They reveal “a power elite practiced at disregarding pain” who have “learned to look away from so much other abuse and suffering” to protect their network of power. [nytimes.com]
Opinion | How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails
This power elite was already used to ignoring the powerless. Redeeming a disgraced sex offender was a logical next step.
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:36 PM
How the Elite Behave When No One Is Watching: Inside the Epstein Emails. They reveal “a power elite practiced at disregarding pain” who have “learned to look away from so much other abuse and suffering” to protect their network of power. [nytimes.com]
What’s All the Fuss About Pluribus? “The show never adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Carol makes for a maddeningly tunnel-visioned protagonist — one with a shocking lack of curiosity…” [kottke.org]
What’s All the Fuss About Pluribus?
So I’ve been watching Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan’s Pluribus on Apple TV and this review from Inkoo Kang resonated with me (emphasis mine):
Millions of offscreen casualties aside, it’s clear that Gilligan is a
kottke.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:46 PM
What’s All the Fuss About Pluribus? “The show never adds up to more than the sum of its parts. Carol makes for a maddeningly tunnel-visioned protagonist — one with a shocking lack of curiosity…” [kottke.org]
“The Little Movie That Couldn’t”: ‘Mallrats’ Turns 30. I can’t remember if I was one of the few that saw this in the theater, but I loved this movie on VHS/DVD. Haven’t seen it for, what, 20 years though… [theringer.com]
“The Little Movie That Couldn’t”: ‘Mallrats’ Turns 30
In the fall of 1995, Kevin Smith’s second film was a box office humiliation. Now, it’s become an embarrassment of riches. We chat with Smith about the movie and how it forever altered his career.
www.theringer.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:56 PM
“The Little Movie That Couldn’t”: ‘Mallrats’ Turns 30. I can’t remember if I was one of the few that saw this in the theater, but I loved this movie on VHS/DVD. Haven’t seen it for, what, 20 years though… [theringer.com]
“Today, the only naked bodies that many Americans will likely ever see are their own, a partner’s, or those on a screen. Gone are our unvarnished points of physical comparison — the ordinary, unposed figures of other people.” [theatlantic.com]
The End of Naked Locker Rooms
What we lose when casual nudity disappears
www.theatlantic.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:12 PM
“Today, the only naked bodies that many Americans will likely ever see are their own, a partner’s, or those on a screen. Gone are our unvarnished points of physical comparison — the ordinary, unposed figures of other people.” [theatlantic.com]
Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound. “I do not miss people when they are not there. My children and grandchildren are dear to me, in a muffled way.” [kottke.org]
Meet the Aphantasics, Those Who Can’t See Mental Images
We’ve talked before about how some people can picture things in their heads quite vividly and others can’t at all. The latter group has a condition called aphantasia.
As soon as I close my eyes, what I see are not eve
kottke.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Some People Can’t See Mental Images. The Consequences Are Profound. “I do not miss people when they are not there. My children and grandchildren are dear to me, in a muffled way.” [kottke.org]
Activists are role-playing ICE raids in games like Fortnite & GTA to teach people what to do IRL situations. “Many people may not have seen an interaction with ICE yet, it’s a way to get folks to know or get used to what that might look like.” [wired.com]
Activists Are Using ‘Fortnite’ to Fight Back Against ICE
Players are role-playing ICE raids in “Fortnite” and “Grand Theft Auto” to prepare for real-world situations.
www.wired.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Activists are role-playing ICE raids in games like Fortnite & GTA to teach people what to do IRL situations. “Many people may not have seen an interaction with ICE yet, it’s a way to get folks to know or get used to what that might look like.” [wired.com]