NPR: ‘Dark Archives’ Explores The Use Of Human Skin In Bookbinding . “Megan Rosenbloom, a young librarian-in-training, wanders through the Mütter Museum’s collection of medical oddities. In an inconspicuous corner, she discovers a display case of leather-bound books with their covers closed — unusual for rare books. The caption explains these books are closed because their binding is more notable than their contents, and that’s because they were made from human skin. This marks the beginning of Rosenbloom’s obsession with ‘anthropodermic bibliopegy’ and the opening scene to Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin…”
AFP Fact Check: This satirical video was made in 2020 using old black and white movie clips
AFP Fact Check: This satirical video was made in 2020 using old black and white movie clips. “A video supposedly made in 1956 that warns of a deadly virus that will spread from ‘somewhere in Asia to the rest of the world’ by ‘the year 2020’ has been shared on Facebook thousands of times alongside a claim it accurately predicted the Covid-19 pandemic. The claim is false; the video creator told AFP it was made in 2020 for satire, in response to Covid-19 misinformation. ”
CNET: Facebook is testing a feature to help you connect with your neighbors
CNET: Facebook is testing a feature to help you connect with your neighbors. “Facebook may soon be moving in on Nextdoor’s turf with a new feature that helps users connect with others who live near them. The feature, called Neighborhoods, lets users display local posts, groups and marketplace items, a Facebook spokesperson said, confirming information in a tweet sent earlier Tuesday by social media consultant Matt Navarra.”
Profile: Petersen Museum Archivist Laura Fisher Leads Effort to Preserve Automotive History (Automobile Magazine)
Automobile Magazine: Profile: Petersen Museum Archivist Laura Fisher Leads Effort to Preserve Automotive History. “Leading the efforts to preserve automotive history at the Petersen Publishing Archive is Petersen Automotive Museum archivist Laura Fisher, 30, who took us on a tour. After walking the aisles, rummaging through boxes, and a quick stroll in the Vault, we sat down to chat.”
CNBC: Voters want Senate to prioritize coronavirus relief over Supreme Court, new poll finds
CNBC: Voters want Senate to prioritize coronavirus relief over Supreme Court, new poll finds. “About two-thirds of voters nationally and in six electoral swing states believe the Senate should focus on passing more coronavirus aid rather than confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, according to new CNBC/Change Research polls.”
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Covid Plus Decades of Pollution Are a Nasty Combo for Detroit
Bloomberg BusinessWeek: Covid Plus Decades of Pollution Are a Nasty Combo for Detroit. “For decades, Black Americans like [Theresa] Landrum, who’s in her 60s and describes herself as a 48217 environmental-justice activist, have fought to limit industrial emissions in their neighborhoods. More than two dozen industrial sites surround hers. People in 48217 live on average seven fewer years than in the country as a whole, and asthma hospitalization rates in the area are more than twice as high as those of Michigan and about five times higher than those of the U.S.”
Bloomberg: Hospitals Across the U.S. Are Crammed With Covid-19 Patients
Bloomberg: Hospitals Across the U.S. Are Crammed With Covid-19 Patients. “U.S. hospitalizations for Covid-19 hit the highest point since Aug. 22, with New York doubling its count from early September and at least 10 other states reporting records. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, cited four national studies that predicted a probable in-patient increase of as much as 6,200 daily over the next four weeks.”
Reuters: How social media companies will handle post-U.S. election scenarios
Reuters: How social media companies will handle post-U.S. election scenarios. “In the run-up to the U.S. vote in November, social media companies like Facebook Inc and Twitter have announced new rules for various post-election scenarios.”
The Conversation: We must make moral choices about how we relate to social media apps
The Conversation: We must make moral choices about how we relate to social media apps. “As an ethics professor, I’ve come to realise that we must make moral choices about how we relate to our technologies. This requires an honest evaluation of our needs and weaknesses, and a clear understanding of the intentions of these platforms.”
Slate: When Learning Pods Came to Greenbrier Elementary
Slate: When Learning Pods Came to Greenbrier Elementary. “The playground at Greenbrier Elementary School in Charlottesville, Virginia, probably looks a lot like the playground at your child’s elementary school, the one she hasn’t been back to since March. There are pale beige slides and walkways and bridges and four swings. It’s here that this story begins and it’s here that this story will—hopefully, someday—end.”
Coronavirus: Italians find new ways to eat out (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: Italians find new ways to eat out. “The ebb of the first wave and summer al fresco dining saw an encouraging return to business for many Italian eateries and bars; but as the cold sets in, this second wave in is forcing restaurateurs to find new ways to stay afloat.”
Martin Bashir: BBC journalist ‘seriously unwell’ from Covid (BBC)
BBC: Martin Bashir: BBC journalist ‘seriously unwell’ from Covid. “BBC journalist Martin Bashir is ‘seriously unwell’ with complications from coronavirus, the corporation has said. The 57-year-old, who made headlines across the world with his 1995 interview with Princess Diana, is currently BBC News religion editor.”
Green Bay hospitalist: For first time ever, most of my patients have same illness. It’s COVID-19, and you may be spreading it (Green Bay Press Gazette)
Green Bay Press Gazette: Green Bay hospitalist: For first time ever, most of my patients have same illness. It’s COVID-19, and you may be spreading it. “Thankfully, we have improved our therapies and we are seeing fewer deaths from COVID-19. But deaths are occurring, and the death toll doesn’t capture the full extent of the devastation. There may be permanent damage to organs, such as the heart and lungs. Some who survive may face a lifetime of difficulty breathing. The virus can cause serious damage to the lungs and it is still too soon to know how much damage may be irreversible.”
ProPublica: The Trump Administration Allowed Aviation Companies to Take Bailout Funds and Lay Off Workers, Says House Report
ProPublica: The Trump Administration Allowed Aviation Companies to Take Bailout Funds and Lay Off Workers, Says House Report. ” The federal government gave grants and some loans to airlines and their contractors, who were then meant to keep workers on their payrolls. The amount each company received would be based on six months worth of payroll from last year. In exchange, the companies had to agree not to conduct any layoffs until October, about six months after the CARES Act was passed. But ProPublica found that the companies laid off workers throughout the spring and then took the money intended to preserve the jobs they had already cut.”
CNN: New Photoshop tool could help fight fake images
CNN: New Photoshop tool could help fight fake images. “Adobe’s popular photo-editing software has long been used to manipulate media, and as digital tools get better and better it’s becoming more difficult to tell what’s real from what’s Photoshopped. The company is trying to do something to fix this problem, which its software didn’t originate but helped propagate for decades (such as with this popular faked image of a shark swimming on a flooded freeway).”