The unfortunate history of racial bias in photography. Subscribe today: http://goo.gl/0bsAjO For decades, the color film available to consumers was built for white people. The chemicals coating the film simply weren't adequate to capture a diversity of darker skin tones. And the photo labs established in the 1940s and 50s even used an image of a white woman, called a Shirley card, to calibrate the colors for printing. Concordia University professor Lorna Roth has researched the evolution of skin tone imaging. She explained in a 2009 paper how the older technology distorted the appearance of black subjects: "Problems for the African-American community, for example, have included reproduction of facial images without details, lighting challenges, and ashen-looking facial skin colours contrasted strikingly with the whites of eyes and teeth." How this would affect non-white people seemingly didn't occur to those who designed and operated the photo systems. In an essay for Buzzfeed, writer and photographer Syreeta McFadden described growing up with film that couldn't record her actual appearance: "The inconsistencies were so glaring that for a while, I thought it was impossible to get a decent picture of me that captured my likeness. I began to retreat from situations involving group photos. And sure, many of us are fickle about what makes a good portrait. But it seemed the technology was stacked against me. I only knew, though I didn’t understand why, that the lighter you were, the more likely it was that the camera — the film — got your likeness right." Many of the technological biases have since been corrected (though, not all of them, as explained in the video above). Still, we often see controversies about the misrepresentation of non-white subjects in magazines and advertisements. What are we to make of the fact that these images routinely lighten the skin of women of color? Tools are only as good as the people who use them. The learned preference for lighter skin is ubiquitous in many parts of the world, and it starts early. That's an infinitely tougher problem than improving the color range of photo technology. Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com to get up to speed on everything from Kurdistan to the Kim Kardashian app. Check out our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H Or on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o

Mixes. Need to have a listen

Photocopying a new zine today. https://t.co/GXQF0eC8Vn

read, doi

Been such a hard day coding I need a drink https://t.co/8vuroxJH7U

Without fundamental breakthroughs, by 2019 we will not be able to make a violin small enough to express our sympathy towards failed startups

need to see this

Taken from 'Sweatbox Dynasty' LP by TOBACCO, out August 19, 2016. Order at The Ghostly Store: http://www.theghostlystore.com/products/tobacco-sweatbox-dynasty Or at the retailer of your choice: https://Ghostly.lnk.to/tobacco

It's Friday the 13th! If you're in Nashville, go see D. Striker, the man that only plays on Friday the 13th. It's literally the only time this year you can see him.

If not in Nashville, enjoy your weekend! I've got many irons in the fire that I hope to stoke this weekend and share with you soon. They may or may not have to do with this and/or this.

On to your distracting goodness...

• Can't Stop Watching - why is this ongoing marble maze so fascinating? I can't put my finger on what could possibly make it so appealing but there it is.
• McConaughey Grunting Supercut - the best noises from Mr. McConaughey.
• Clipping - "Summertime" - Endurance Challenge! How much of this freaky face masking can you endure?
• Russian Spears Drone - combine LARP'ing with a skillfull spear embracing Russian and a drone and you got yourself a YouTube hit.
• Wendy's Drink Rap - how long has it been since you dove headfirst into a major fast food chain rap from the 1980's? Probably too long.
• Gimme your attention - I'm sneaking this in near the end but this is clearly the best thing in the list this week.
• Marvin Gaye Scary Cat - okay, maybe this one is the best. Please let this be a new meme to take the Internet by storm.

If you need some useless facts about Friday the 13th, here ya go.

Can't believe there are so many songs about love and only one where someone welcomes someone else to a jungle.

I have to believe something this vile can't possibly be true https://t.co/psvmI8FBhB

new favorite Nashville Cream column

I mentioned it the other day but I'm extremely intrigued by Seeso's latest offering, a BBC4 licensed title called Flowers. The series stars Olivia Coleman (Peep Show) and Julian Barratt (Mighty Boosh) and I've not seen much beyond the trailer. That being said, the involvement of those two under the umbrella of a weighty British "Dramedy" is more than enough convincing.

I post this so you're aware of the show's existence in general but also just to take note that many of these new OTT channels that are sprouting up actually have some great shows to draw you in. I know I'm biased but I'm pretty excited to see where all that leads.

What can I say? I love a depiction of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The work of Michal Karcz certainly delivers in that respect. The Polish photographer / painter has a real knack for creating quiet landscapes of solitude with just the right amount of eerie intrigue. His 500px portfolio is filled with these moody images that seem like they could be part of a larger narrative but certainly work well on their own.

Rather enjoying the dive into the Hunting series of works from Reza Derakshani. There's a fascinating blend of rudimentary cave drawings and strange pixel glitch art.

via Kate.

adding to my ReadLater

why do I find these so fascinating?

AND a tour. dang

neat

clearly they were filmable