January 31, 2021

A New Database of Sea Shanties and Traditional Nautical Songs

Spotted via Reddit: Mainsail Café, a database of sea shanties and traditional nautical songs. The site contains information on almost 400 songs and over 120 albums. There’s also a collection of 47 printed items here. I get the impression this site is still filling out, but there’s already a lot to explore here, and there’s a great feature to pull random entries from the categories you’re exploring. One thing I noticed: no ads at all. Not even affiliate links in the album/book lists. Recommended.

New Resources 0
January 31, 2021

The Hill: How VR is bringing Black history to life for middle schoolers across America

The Hill: How VR is bringing Black history to life for middle schoolers across America. “It’s a lot easier to bring down a statue than it is to put one up. But the Movers and Shakers of NYC found a way to cut through some of the red tape using a piece of technology most Americans have in their pockets. Using augmented reality, a new app allows students, teachers and the general public to learn Black history and pay tribute to the people who are often left out of textbooks. In addition to a catalog of monuments to women, people of color and the LGBT community, the Kinfolk app contains a digital archive of Black, Indigenous and Latin history.”

New Resources 0
January 31, 2021

BBC: Like a good deal? Maybe a hagglebot can help

BBC: Like a good deal? Maybe a hagglebot can help. “Earlier this month, the Olympics for hagglebots was held: the 11th annual competition for artificial intelligence (AI) that has been trained to negotiate. Called the Automated Negotiating Agent Competition, it pits more than 100 participants from Japan, France, Israel, Turkey and the United States against one another, in five leagues.”

Research & Opinion 0
January 31, 2021

Politico: Zuckerberg’s pledge to depoliticize Facebook hits grassroots movements

Politico: Zuckerberg’s pledge to depoliticize Facebook hits grassroots movements. “Facebook’s decision to permanently stop recommending political groups to its users is a major hit for movements that have grown to rely on social media to draw in first-time activists. But progressive grassroots organizers and digital campaign strategists saw something else in the tech giant’s announcement: a cop-out.”

Tweaks & Updates 0
January 31, 2021

Global News: USask Professor creates pig plotted map for locating wild boars on Google Earth

Global News: USask Professor creates pig plotted map for locating wild boars on Google Earth. “Ryan Brook has been researching and tracking wild pigs and extremely invasive species across Saskatchewan and Western Canada for over a decade, recording over 54,000 wild pig occurrences over that span…. Brook took all of the data he’s collected over the years and used it to create a ‘pig-pointed’ map. The map can be downloaded and then layered over top of google earth, highlighting the presence of pigs in the provinces’ rural municipalities.”

Research & Opinion 0
January 31, 2021

Garage: How ’70s Magazine “Radical Software” Predicted the Future

New-to-me, from Garage: How ’70s Magazine “Radical Software” Predicted the Future. “In the spring of 1970, a group of self-proclaimed “hardware freaks” published the first issue of Radical Software, a print magazine that detailed emerging trends in video, television, and early computing. Its pages burst with enthusiasm—there are guides for creating neighborhood documentaries, comedic recipes for ‘video rabbit,’ and calls for new ‘information economies’ meant to liberate data from private ownership. In an article for Rhizome, artist Phyllis Segura (then Gershuny, co-founder with Beryl Korot) writes, ‘the underlying circumstances that led to Radical Software… [were] curiosity and confinement.’ Sound familiar?”

New Resources 0
January 31, 2021

Smithsonian Magazine: Hundreds of Holocaust Testimonies Translated, Digitized for the First Time

Smithsonian Magazine: Hundreds of Holocaust Testimonies Translated, Digitized for the First Time. “On Wednesday, people around the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day—the anniversary of the January 27, 1945, liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp. Due to pandemic restrictions, survivors and educational groups couldn’t visit the sites of Nazi atrocities as they have in years past. But a new digital resource from the Wiener Holocaust Library in London offered an alternative for those hoping to honor the genocide’s victims while maintaining social distancing. As the library announced earlier this month, hundreds of its survivor testimonies are now available online—and in English—for the first time.”

New Resources 0
January 31, 2021

Mashable: How to learn calligraphy online

Mashable: How to learn calligraphy online . “Calligraphy may make you think of parchment scrolls and feather quills, but it’s also a popular modern art and crafts activity that millions of people around the world study and practice. This visual art can be a very rewarding hobby, offering a relaxing, almost meditative creative exercise. A few hours practice a week should give you some decent basic calligraphy skills within a matter of months. (Some talented calligraphers even turn their hobby into a profitable sideline by designing invitations, posters, flyers, and the like.)”

Uncategorized 0
January 31, 2021

Good Housekeeping: 7 Virtual Mardi Gras Events That’ll Bring the Party to Your House

Good Housekeeping: 7 Virtual Mardi Gras Events That’ll Bring the Party to Your House. “Back in November, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell confirmed that Mardi Gras 2021 is ‘not canceled, just different.’ In fact, she clarified that Mardi Gras is ‘a religious holiday and in no way will it be canceled in our city.’ She’s right: While many of the public events that draw massive crowds have been called off due to health and safety concerns, there are so many virtual Mardi Gras events taking place, so those who celebrate can enjoy the holiday festivities while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Take a look at these virtual events, all of which are taking place in the first two weeks of February, to find fun ways to bring the party and incredible spirit of New Orleans to your home.”

COVID-19 0
January 31, 2021

CNET: Facebook is working on how to keep ads away from crime and tragedy news topics

CNET: Facebook is working on how to keep ads away from crime and tragedy news topics. “Facebook has announced it’s working on “topic exclusion controls” with a group of advertisers to ensure ads don’t appear on the News Feed next to certain topics. Facebook said Friday that while developing these tools, it will also build in ‘safeguards to protect people’s privacy.’”

Tweaks & Updates 0
January 31, 2021

Bleeping Computer: USCellular hit by a data breach after hackers access CRM software

Bleeping Computer: USCellular hit by a data breach after hackers access CRM software. “Mobile network operator USCellular suffered a data breach after hackers gained access to its CRM and viewed customers’ accounts. In a data breach notification filed with the Vermont attorney general’s office, USCellular states that retail store’s employees were scammed into downloading software onto a computer.”

Security & Legal Issues 0

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