It took the inventor of dynamite 158 years to blow up irony. The Nobel Prizes were famously established in the will of Alfred Nobel. While Nobel invented dynamite (and a lot of other stuff) and made his fortune off that creation and by selling armaments, the peace prize given in his name was just awarded to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo "for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again." Maybe the Nobel committee should start giving awards for reputation management? Or maybe my nuclear reaction is the result of being too jaded by our current era when lying and gaslighting are often rewarded. Let's focus on the positive and embrace the progress this award represents. NPR: A Japanese organization of atomic bombing survivors wins the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. 2Novel Use of FictionDuring a speech in Pittsburgh, Barack Obama lamented that Trump can lie about something as serious as a hurricane and not pay a price. "The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments ... My question is, when did that become OK?" Sadly, it's more than OK. For a lot of politicians and others, it's working. In The Atlantic (Gift Article) Charlie Warzel explains why what’s happening in America today is something darker than a misinformation crisis. I’m Running Out of Ways to Explain How Bad This Is. "Even in a decade marred by online grifters, shameless politicians, and an alternative right-wing-media complex pushing anti-science fringe theories, the events of the past few weeks stand out for their depravity and nihilism. As two catastrophic storms upended American cities, a patchwork network of influencers and fake-news peddlers have done their best to sow distrust, stoke resentment, and interfere with relief efforts. But this is more than just a misinformation crisis. To watch as real information is overwhelmed by crank theories and public servants battle death threats is to confront two alarming facts: first, that a durable ecosystem exists to ensconce citizens in an alternate reality, and second, that the people consuming and amplifying those lies are not helpless dupes but willing participants." 3Tough as Old Boots"It was the call the family of a young British climber who went missing on Everest 100 years ago had given up hope of ever getting. Last month, a team of climbers filming a National Geographic documentary stumbled on a preserved boot, revealed by melting ice on a glacier. This boot was believed to belong to Andrew Comyn 'Sandy' Irvine, who disappeared while attempting to climb Everest in June 1924 with his partner George Mallory. What's more, it could potentially help solve one of mountaineering's biggest mysteries: whether or not the pair succeeded in becoming the first people to summit Everest, 29 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the top." BBC: Family tells of 'relief' after 1924 climber’s foot found on Everest. 4Weekend WhatsWhat to Watch: It's always perplexing how some shows that are pretty good get a ton of attention and many awards while other shows that are much better get very little attention and few awards. As far as I can tell, Pachinko's main Emmy nomination was Outstanding Main Title Design. Yet, the show is a multigenerational epic with an outstanding cast, great cinematography, etc. Season two is out on AppleTV and it's another excellent one. Check out Pachinko. (And yes, the main title design is quite good.) 5Extra, ExtraWhat Elon Strange Trip It's Been: Something is pretty wrong in American politics if the best we can hope for is that our billionaires will outspend their billionaires. "In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, the richest man in the world has involved himself in the U.S. election in a manner unparalleled in modern history. He has effectively moved his base of operations to Pennsylvania, the place that he has recently told confidants he believes is the linchpin to Mr. Trump’s re-election. He has relentlessly promoted Mr. Trump’s candidacy to his 201 million followers on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter that he bought for $44 billion and has used to spread conspiracy theories about the Democratic Party and to insult its candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris." NYT (Gift Article): Musk Is Going All In to Elect Trump. (If he wins, the billions he blew ruining Twitter will seem like a bargain.) 6Feel Good FridayWaPo (Gift Article): Doctor running half marathon sees woman collapse, saves her, finishes race. "Emergency room doctor Shane Naidoo saw Chrystal Rinehold on the ground and helped her, then accompanied her to a hospital. After, he completed the race."
|
