D&F 10-25-20

Happy Sunday! It’s Portugal GP time in the Formula one world, and potentially a record-breaking victory for Lewis Hamilton, beating the previous “most 1st place victories” record set by Schumacher last decade.

If that all seems like Greek to you, perhaps I can interest you in the funniest video I saw this week:

Ok, wipe the tears of joy/anger/surprise off your face, and let’s get to those sweet, sweet links.

Links

• Superconductors are pretty wild, and this room-temperature one is even wilder! There’s only one minor catch—you have to crush the material using diamonds. Looking forward to a future where there’s tiny incredibly pressurized diamond vises inside my phone. That’s how physics work, right?
• Some cool new research on choice suggests that our choices influence our preferences by virtue of choosing. So much of how human behavior shakes-out ends up being way, way less smart and free than I’d like to think of myself. We’re just weird, wet meat sacks full of chemical and bacterial influence. Go figure.
• Have you read or heard about the absolute fuckery of Foxconn in Wisconsin? Here’s a story of how corruption, greed, and just a big old grift fucked-over an entire state. The level of research and the amount of time spent checking in on the “progress” of these factories is wild! This week’s Vergecast had an interview with the writer as well, and apparently he just hung out in Wisconsin for four entire months. That’s dedication.
• If you’re like me, you might need a drink after those links! Celebrate with some Gammel Dansk (old danish). I love this bitter dram whether with snacks or on the rocks. I was introduced to it during a really amazing meal that Mae in Portland did with a now defunct Portland Scandinavian restaurant. I think this liquor was the alcohol pairing for course 10 out of 11, right before we had some coffee to wake us up. I can’t remember what food it was paired with, just that I loved this stuff. It’s hard to find, but if you can get some, be sure to. I think my pal Brian brought me some from Denmark.
• Ever find yourself driving around wondering “hey what happens if someone shoots an RPG at me?!” Well, here’s the trick to beat those little buggers. I love how this armor is almost like a chain-length fence for misses. Low-tech the best answer sometimes.
• Instead of going to war though, what if we fed our neighbors, and enjoyed their snacks vicariously. I love small woodland creatures, and the idea of them sitting at a small picnic table brings me a large amount of joy.
• Finally, I’ll leave you with a really neat piece on an amazing musician named Adrianne Lenker (you might know her from Big Thief). She just released two albums that are pretty damn good. Seriously, check her out if you need some jams

Closing

This week was finally a bit chilly, which makes me deeply excited for the coming Winter. Just imagine, a brisk morning with a warm cup of coffee! Candles! Festive hats! Decorative gourds! Finnish rice porridge. Warm up those mulling spices, and let’s get excited.

Have you seen any fun, spooky films? What are your favorite fall traditions? Let me know <3

Also, you’ve voted, right? Against prop 22 and for Biden? Good. Thanks! We’ve got one more of these newsletters before a very tense week, and I want you to know I’m also fully clenched, waiting. We’ll get through this! Keep loving, and keep fighting, space cowgirls~