the oldest news on the internet

the ringer takes a stab at covering the nashville hot chicken trend and offers a fairly in-depth history.

thx phil!

oh that's interesting.

The Resolute desk is a large, nineteenth-century partners' desk often chosen by presidents of the United States for use in the White House Oval Office as the Oval Office desk. It was a gift from Queen Victoria to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 and was built from the timbers of the British Arctic Exploration ship Resolute. Franklin Roosevelt requested the addition of a door with the presidential seal to conceal his leg braces.[1] Many presidents since Hayes have used the desk at various locations in the White House, but it was Jackie Kennedy who first brought the desk into the Oval Office in 1961 for President John F. Kennedy. It was removed from the White House only once, after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963, when President Johnson allowed the desk to go on a traveling exhibition with the Kennedy Presidential Library. After this it was on display in the Smithsonian Institution. President Jimmy Carter brought the desk back to the Oval Office, where Presidents Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used it. It is currently in use by President Barack Obama. (via)

that explains a lot.

from the new yorker. there's more, including a princess manor shout-out.

bonus link: how yelpers talk about restaurants in greenpoint vs. bed-stuy (hint: racist).

FYI

Proud. pic.twitter.com/9J44PCYeuQ

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 26, 2015

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed." - Justice Kennedy

fortnightly boat (book)

erik larson, author of many narrative nonfiction bangerz, including "the devil in the white city", has a new book and it is about...

the sinking of the lusitania! it's called "dead wake"!

you can read an excerpt here, before it comes out on march 10.

toot toooooooooooot.

radiolab : american football

this ep is fascinating.

i just found a video of daddy longfingers's new years resolution.

(via)

weird stuff like this is why i follow the American Museum of Natural History on twitter and instagram

From the archives: an illustration of "the destruction of Saint Pierre, Martinique" 1902 http://t.co/95k6EXAJiK #tbt pic.twitter.com/bbjZKeILGq

— AMNH (@AMNH) December 4, 2014

nErD aLeRt!

here's a very upsetting list of projects that were slated for review by the Landmarks Preservation Committee to receive landmark status. over the holiday weekend, they announced they were uncluttering their backlog and dropped them from consideration. the list includes some of your favorite places like green-wood cemetery and union square park, and this ceeyute WPA-era fire pumping station in coney island.

2 days!

let's take a little morning hype break.

did you find something strange at the beach?

take it to the american museum of natural history and they will identify it for you. no gems, and NO ANIMALS (living or dead). happy identification day!

your fortnightly boat

ghost ship alert!

As the Ohio River flows towards the Mississippi, its waters lazily make their way through the American midwest. Roughly 25 miles downstream from Cincinnati, some of the water diverts to a gap on the southern shore into a creek and up against a ship that seems to have docked for the last time. It's a vessel that fought in two World Wars, served as a yacht, set the scene in a pop star's music video, carried one of the world's greatest minds, and shuttled tourists around the nation's largest city - all before it found itself left to be forgotten by time and history in the murky waters. (via)

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Things I am depressed about:

• Phillip Seymour Hoffman
• NYC being a slushfest of nastiness
• The amount of sour cream I consumed during the Superbowl
• Wearing ugly boots for the past 18 days straight
• When is Game of Thrones coming back?
• Phillip Seymour Hoffman
• There's not even any movies I want to watch

Are you feeling the same way? Here are some uplifting and vintagey cool gifs from the March on Washington. Because weird things bring me out of a funk and make me (kinda) happy. 

 

 

born yesterday podcast

ms. dangles told me about this highly entertaining and informative podcast and i've been listening ever since. there are only a few episodes, and a kickstarter to fund more, so feel free to binge listen. HISTORY!!!!

nErD aLeRt!

the latest interactive feature from the NYT examines the history of the high-rise and its effects on the built environment and society. it's pretty fun and timely if you consider we are watching rosemary's baby tomorrow night at scary movie wednesdays. #thedakota

take a peek!

NATURAL HISTORY HOLY GRAIL ALERT!!

The giant squid has been captured on video in its natural habitat for the first time ever.

This long-sought after footage — considered by many to be the Holy Grail of natural history filmmaking — will be revealed by Discovery Channel and NHK in January 2013.

With razor-toothed suckers and eyes the size of dinner plates, tales of this creature have been around since ancient times. The Norse legend of the sea monster the Kraken, and the Scylla from Greek mythology, might have derived from the elusive giant squid.

This massive predator has always been shrouded in secrecy, and every attempt to capture a live giant squid on camera in its natural habitat has failed. Until now. (via)

beats antique

I'm trying out blogging from the airplane on my iPhone. is it working?

i'm not going to name names...

...but it has recently come to my attention that SOME of us haven't been keepin' up with our robyn.

please join me for robyn wednesday on spotify. robyn's modern classics all lined up chronologically for your listening pleasure.

used to be.

manhattan bridge, 1914. a funeral following the battle of veracruz.

are we going to see this?

thx bunners!