Now that we're well on into our planet's sixth mass extinction event, and with recent news that we're charging towards environmental catastrophe faster than ever, it's time we start thinking about contingencies not in terms of "if" but in terms of "when." Let's say, just for argument's sake, that the human species will survive. Some people, like Annalee Newitz, author of Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans Will Survive A Mass Extinction, think we will! But even if she's right, certainly, there will be changes we'll have to get used to. Besides the hilarious "Great, I'll have beachfront property" jokes the wittier among us[...]
Did you get your Hurricane Sandy mementos yet? A whimsical "I survived Hurricane Sandy" mousepad is one of many excellent ideas floating around, post-storm, and we have gathered a few others you might want to implement immediately:
Marathon contestants are welcome, but during the run they must wear BabyBjörns filled with supplies to be delivered door-to-door along the route.
Outlawed giant soda cups can be used to scoop dead baby rats from your drinking water.
Do you live in a home without books or magazines? Or have you burned them all for heat yet? Then great news! It's likely a good chunk of the East Coast may lose power and Internet. So here are some things that you could either PRINT OUT (yes, I am serious) or of course also save to your nice, long-lasting-battery'd digital reading device.
The story of the Occupy Wall Street Archive starts with Jeremy Bold, so we might as well too. When Hollywood decides to cash in and make its OWS movie, central casting could do worse than work off a picture of Bold—he has a dark goatee and black [...]
Some things aren’t as good as they used to be, but that isn't true of birth control. Some tips from the footnotes of history, used by women (and in some cases, men) far less fortunate than us:
• A pessary made of dried crocodile dung (Ancient Egypt)
• A mixture of olive oil and oil of cedar, placed in the vagina (recommended by Aristotle)
• Bloodletting, as current medical tradition held that sperm was merely blood turned white by the heat humor. The French physician Jacques Ferrand, author of A treatise on lovesickness, recommended that, if moderate bloodletting failed to dampen libido, the man must be bled until he "is [...]
A new Amnesty International report says that worldwide trends show that capital punishment is "becoming a thing of the past." Here's hoping so. But the fact that China and the U.S. are not leading the way in this regard, but rather, pulling the numbers in the other direction, well, that seems bad, doesn't it?
"Gooch, what's all the fuss about, homie? Your latest work Trap God is still in our rotation and you haven't had buzz like this since The State vs. Radric Davis. And it ain't because of no bickering beef. It's cause the trap beats and charismatic flows are back on point like Rondo. But there you go ruffling everyone's feathers. With all due respect, we need less diss antics and more ratchet musical masterpieces. You ain't been locked up in a minute. So stay in it to win it and stack that unnecessary bullshit on the shelf. No one's questioning your realness, the deal is, we just want more good [...]
"I’d bet anything that if the president staked out such an Obama Plan, Buffett and a lot of other business leaders would endorse it."—Thomas Friedman
"To his immense credit he took a big gamble on killing Osama Bin Laden."—Roger Cohen
"I’ll bet he’s not a Charlie Stross reader; if he were, he’d know about the scene in The Jennifer Morgue involving a PowerPoint presentation that turns anyone who watches it into a murderous zombie."—Paul Krugman
"The bet Punch Sulzberger made his whole career is that people wanted — and would pay for — great journalism."—Joe Nocera
