posted August 21, 2017 #

Nashville 1:25-1:31pm #eclipse2017 https://t.co/clAOUxvdjx

posted August 21, 2017 #

I almost liked watching people watch the eclipse more than watching the eclipse itself. #eclipse2017 https://t.co/Mvu7Ucu4cH

posted August 21, 2017 #

Post-hardcore gods @QuicksandNYC tease their 1st LP in 22 years, Interiors, out in 2017 via @epitaphrecords… https://t.co/JERW4XqA2f

posted August 21, 2017 #

Wow, someone caught the #SolarEclipse2017 mid flight! Breathtaking. ❤️ https://t.co/gzNCNiaWVR

posted August 21, 2017 #

Giant blessed wife blots out midday sun https://t.co/SFgWT7sgId

posted August 21, 2017 #

The eclipse made me cry It's the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life

posted August 21, 2017 #

I feel like I'm on a different planet.

posted August 21, 2017 #

Just a regular 1:25 pm sunset here in Nashville https://t.co/cZOfggQ3n3

posted August 21, 2017 #

ECLIPSE DAY! #jemandtheholograms #jem https://t.co/6XrBIM0qf9

Solar Eclipse 2017

posted August 21, 2017 #

If you haven't heard, today is a Total Solar Eclipse that passes over a wide swath of North America. While it's true that they actually happen every 18 months, they don't often happen where they can be observed - which makes it noteworthy. In fact, if you're thinking on an even grander scale, a total eclipse won't even be a thing that exists forever.

It is estimated that, in slightly less than 1.4 billion years, the distance from the Earth to the Moon will have increased by 30,400 km. During that period, the apparent angular diameter of the Moon will decrease in size, meaning that it will no longer be able to completely cover the Sun's disk as seen from the Earth.

So, let's consider ourselves lucky! I'm going to tear myself away from the Internet and try my best to enjoy the experience.

NASSA will have a live broadcast, Bonnie Tyler will sing Total Eclipse of the Heart live, Third Man Records will occult the sun with Weather Warlock and we can only hope that our Alien Overlords will finally reveal themselves.

posted August 20, 2017 #

Y'all. I called it: There are Eclipse glasses truthers on my FB feed. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

posted August 20, 2017 #

@jamiebradley @AshSpurge if you look right at the eclipse you get free LASIK

posted August 20, 2017 #

@jamiebradley Listen Im just saying you cant open the gate to Dimension X unless you look at the eclipse full on wh… https://t.co/Yq407PeTeB

posted August 20, 2017 #

Adding cheese to our tour rider is my single greatest accomplishment. #merchgirl #cheese

posted August 20, 2017 #

Spotted at the Wilson co fair: a "bless up" calf tattoo with what I think was the babadook?

posted August 18, 2017 #

A white person shared this true tea on Facebook. So I'm sharing it here. https://t.co/7xlPprY0ef

Friday Videos - Aug. 18th, 2017

posted August 18, 2017 #

I've watched that gif for a solid ten minutes. Never gets old.

Bullshit! - I try to keep things light for Friday videos but this is a nice short piece on the power of Bullshit and how it's more dangerous than flat out lying.
Nidhogg 2 Launch Trailer - if you never played Nidhogg, find a way to treat yourself this weekend. It's great. I'm on the fence about the style of the new version but I imagine the gameplay is just as fun.
A Study in Planets - a facepalm inducing argument with a twist ending.
X-Files - short, sweet and pretty much perfect.
Police Chase - defining dedication.
Chad VanGaalen - Pine and Clover - I can not resist the charms of the animations of Mr. VanGaalen. Song is solid too.
Best Clog Dancing - how about six minutes of clogging to cleanse your palette?

I also watched this 20-minute piece on What You Need to Know From The Secret History of Twin Peaks and recommend it. Normally I don't love these kinds of channels but the pacing is right and the information is solid. I also watched Sasha Velour train on makeup for 20-minutes and was riveted.

Essential Phone

posted August 18, 2017 #

Spent the morning perusing the site for Essential, the new company from Andy Rubin (previous CEO of Android Inc). The company's mission is admirable - create high class devices with all the craftsmanship you already expect but with an eye on interoperability. Devices should play nicely together and not become technologically obsolete just because. The Why I Started This article from Rubin himself directly states "Devices shouldnâ€™t become outdated every year. They should evolve with you."

The hardware is a full edge-to-edge screen, really nice camera, vanilla Android with no bloatware and an eye on accessories that are, hopefully, future proofed. Sounds great but there are plenty of dissenting voices that say it fails to solve the one problem all the other phones have, you can't replace any of the parts. If the battery dies, good luck opening it up and putting in a new one because that isn't part of the evolution they have in mind.

It's a bit of an unfair comparison because none of the major phones on the market have replaceable batteries and I'm sure there is a reason for that other than planned obsolescence. Regardless of the gripes, it's nice to have another option out there. Yes, it's still iOS vs Android but at least there's a big player in there that just might have the ability to change the way phones are thought about in terms of their longevity. And that's a good thing.

Ferdio Data Viz

posted August 18, 2017 #

I'm barely a novice in the realm of data visualization but I do know that I enjoy this Data Viz Project from ferdio (an infographic company). There's something compelling about the playfulness and simplicity of the graphics that makes it more intriguing to parse the information out of them. Maybe that's just me but I've stared at my fair share of boring Google Sheets diagrams and this certainly seems better.

Long story short, here's a bunch of charts and graphs that are well designed and maybe, just maybe, will become a toolbox for actual real world usage someday.

Counter Culture: Nashville's Grimey's Records

posted August 17, 2017 #

nice little featurette