Bob Dylan “Like A Rolling Stone” – Official Interactive Video
Very well done. More details here.
Putting Pencil to Paper: FiftyThree debuts the best iPad stylus yet
Cooool.
More here
•Rob Ford’s unchecked lies to Peter Mansbridge
3 big whoppers in 3 minutes
Toronto apartment rentals: how did they get so nuts?
On the critical lack of affordable rental housing in Toronto. I know most of my renter friends have recently migrated to the east side because rents on the other side of the Don have really gone nuts in the past couple years.
The PlayStation 4 sold one million units in 24 hours, a number that is even crazier in context
The context is that this is North America only, and beats every other historical console including previous gen’s champ the Wii (600,000 in first eight days). Caveat: it probably has a lot to do with pre-orders and constrained stock in previous generations.
Fordlandia, Update 430
I was off on a shoot yesterday and the volume of Ford news that has passed since my last writings is truly staggering. I’ve read some of the unredacted police interviews with Ford staffers, which are amazing. And then there’s “I have more than enough to eat at home”, and the council proceedings today.
But I don’t really have time to unpack everything, and you presumably know all about it anyway, so I just want to reflect on one aspect: I’m definitely feeling pity for Mayor Ford, in a manner I did not expect. This guy is the worst mayor in Toronto history, maybe in history general. He’s a liar and a hypocrite and a bully. But I also think of how he just wanted to play football and him as a teen huffing around the track alone, trying in vain to lose weight. How it seems he has always been bullied by his brother. How he must have felt obliged by his father’s legacy as an MPP to enter politics. How his family has misled and enabled him.
Most of all though this is a story of denial, both Ford’s self-denial and his followers’ denial about him. Ford is led astray by two primary self-delusions. The first is that he has a political future, and the second is that he doesn’t have an alcohol abuse problem (and perhaps other substance abuse issues). If he disabuses himself of the first delusion while holding onto the second, he could be in a lot of trouble and this could end very badly. I don’t want this to happen – partially because of some shoots of humanity yet emerging from my charred and blackened heartscape, partially because if he died it would really take the glow off all of the fun we’re having.
Ford more years!
Daring Fireball: The Retina iPad Mini
I was due for a new iPad so I ordered one of these things. Pretty excited about it.
Judge orders release of more material in Mayor Rob Ford investigation
Could really put the carnival at City Hall today into perspective.
PlayStation 4 Review
Amazing web design.
Constipated cats, sticky blue poop and more: Japan’s 9 weirdest vending machine toys
Sleep: When Brain Cells Shrink & Neuro Trash Is Flushed Away
Sleep may be the brain purging brain-waste.
Rob Ford Crack Case File #429
There was a good Fifth Estate episode about the Ford affair on friday, and it’s now online. The followup post from the ‘broker’ of the crack tape is also key. Here is what Rob Ford can expect in rehab – a moving piece from someone who has experienced it. But lest we get carried away in our sympathy, we should deconstruct his fiscal record. Also: will Rob Ford give crackheads a better name? Somehow I doubt it. I’m not sure on that article’s claims about crack’s exaggerated dangers (there are no studies on many illegal drugs because it would be illegal to do so), but who knows.
Robot trade fair opens in Japan (video)
(via)
Look Inside Apple's Spaceship Headquarters
Renders! With happy fake employees! Looks amazing, though.
Up in Arms
Interesting thesis.
<blockquote> <p>The original North American colonies were settled by people from distinct regions of the British Isles—and from France, the Netherlands, and Spain—each with its own religious, political, and ethnographic traits. For generations, these Euro-American cultures developed in isolation from one another, consolidating their cherished religious and political principles and fundamental values, and expanding across the eastern half of the continent in nearly exclusive settlement bands. […] There’s never been an America, but rather several Americas—each a distinct nation. There are eleven nations today.</p> </blockquote>
How income inequality hurts every Canadian's chance of building a better life
The Globe is doing a series of articles on income inequality. Good so far.
Veterans plan silent protests of government policies
“In fighting a case brought against the charter by a group of severely disabled veterans, the government is arguing that the Crown has no sacred duty to care for veterans – a position that has outraged former military personnel.”
Flipping Supreme: An Underground Clothing Store in Chinatown
Pitchfork Reviews Reviews’ David Shapiro on the ancillary markets for clothing from a particularly popular skate shop:
The enterprise, which its owner refers to as Unique Hype Collection, is in the business of buying clothing from the skate-inspired men’s fashion brand Supreme at retail prices, waiting until the items have sold out at Supreme’s physical stores and online shop, and then putting those items up for sale in the mall and on eBay at significant markups.
Let’s play Rob Ford Apology Bingo!
Our Year of Magical Thinking
Great article on the feeling and significance of the Ford years
39 Breathtaking Photos of North America's Most Photogenic Mayor
All the top hits.
On Ford's Poll Numbers
From 308. His base “might have shrunk to a size that does not make him capable of winning.”
Notes from Mayor Ford's Crack Pipe, Update 428
Funny that I thought I could “deal” with this matter, in terms of posts to the site and in terms of time spent, by updating once a day. The story is too unstable though, unscripted, as unpredictable as a… well, as a crackhead. Notes made early yesterday seem almost quaint by the end of the day, after Doug Ford’s attacks on Police Chief Bill Blair, Rob Ford’s stunning admission of crack use, and then a teasingly dramatic press conference in which Ford failed to resign. Good summary of the day here, but odds are you know what happened.
What happens now? When Ford made his admission after months of stonewalling and lying, it came to mind that the timing must indicate some upcoming disclosure he was trying to get ahead of. There was news from the courts indicating information gathered in the wiretaps of Projects Traveller and Brazen 2 could soon be released. This would include alleged Ford dealer Lisi’s cellphone wiretap transcripts, so that will almost undoubtedly be more bad news for Ford.
City Hall is essentially trying to route around Ford at this point, with two different motions proposed – one that would strip the mayor of his powers to appoint the executive and committee chairs, essentially demoting him to lone-wolf councillor status. The other would force him to take a leave and seek help. Both have the support of his once-allies, but the former seems more likely to work. The longer he stays in, the more dirt will surface, the more negative international attention will accrue to our city, and the more unanimous the desire to get rid of him will be.
Other things of interest: that Vice article I posted yesterday has been disputed by both Towhey and Massoudi. Also, read Robyn Doolittle’s account of how the crack video story began.
One last thing: will Ford get re-elected? A lot of people are worried about this because there was the Forum poll that reported his support had gone up since Blair confirmed the crack tape exists. That was a 5% increase, within the margin of error and part of a poll that also reported a majority wanted him to resign. There is a more recent poll that has Ford losing all hypothetical 2014 races. Yes, Ford Nation still exists, but the borders are receding as time and dirt wears on. Ford won election with the support of a number of visible minorities, to say nothing of soft support across Toronto (including some 30% of downtowners who may not have realized just how much he was at war with them). As the dirt in the news wears on, no longer dismissable as some bizarre conspiracy, the contradictions in the Ford myth become harder to sustain.
OK, the fun part. The Daily Show’s take, and Colbert. Chris Farley tribute mayor!!