dangerousmeta!, the original new mexican miscellany, offering eclectic linkage since 1999.

DYT: Why Did A Millionaire Winch An F1 Car Up An Apartment Block?

To hang it from his ceiling. Upside-down. Butofcourse!

NPR: Authors Take On Native American Stereotypes.

“At the root of all of this is the idea of authenticity [snip] It’s the idea that Native people exist in an unchanging past, and that to be an authentic, real Indian, you somehow have not changed and adapted to the modern world. But Native people and Native cultures have always adapted to circumstances, they’ve always infused and integrated with other cultures. It’s always been that way.”

Esquire: Penny Loafer Style Through History.

I grew up in Princeton, for heaven’s sake. I always have a wearable pair.

Supreme: Brick.

A fashion house is selling a brick for ... $30. Do a search, you’ll find many incredulous takes on this one.

Pet rock, it ain’t.

In These Times: The United States Isn’t an “Idiocracy.” It’s an Oligarchy.

“Life under Trump will look more like Mad Max than Idiocracy, and the only way to stop him might be to grow some empathy for the so-called idiots across the aisle and, together, punch up—not down.” A problem is, TV, cable and movies have been portraying dystopias as inevitable, even as attractive. Look at Burning Man; dystopia with services - and the elites’ status is maintained. All myth. Mad Max is pretty damned painful, if you lived it in reality.

NY Times: Why New Jersey’s Trains Aren’t Safer.

You could just have crush zones, like the long sand inclines you see on ski mountains for brakeless trucks. Tech fails. Analog (physical) fixes are more reliable. And CHEAP. NJ Transit’s skint.

Guardian.UK: New Jersey train crash - critical injuries reported in Hoboken – live updates.

Train never stopped, apparently hit end-of-track bumper in the station at cruising speed. Only worse situation would be a head-on, or a head-on in a tunnel. I cringe to think of it, after riding the rails to NYC for thirteen years.

Vox: New research suggests an aging workforce is holding back economic growth.

Read to the end before, like me, you have a bloody fit. A lot of assumptions here. At 56, I’m more productive than I’ve been since my 30’s. But I have to be. I wonder if they included sole proprietors and/or freelancers in the study.

NY Mag: Ballerinas Hate This Kendall Jenner Video for Vogue España

“Speaking from experience, ballet is much less about ‘running around’ and ‘just not caring’ and much more about broken toenails, blisters, and the grueling pursuit of perfection.” When you get to be 56, as I am, the great span of years between myself and being 20 makes itself manifest. So there is that filter. The other is, the whole concept of this video is ill-advised. The narrative is 16-year-old fluff, the visual acting 8-year-old mannerisms - not a 20-year-old ‘top model’ narrative. Or at least I hope not. It’s ... uncultured, even. I’d had four different jobs by 20, working to get through school, to make a living. Life gets real. Fast. Hers is unreal, and Vogue’s framed it in disrespectful ways. People should act their age, don’t you think? You don’t buy ballet slippers - you earn them. She’s been terribly ill-served by the director here.

SciAm: “Last Shipwreck” from WWI’s Battle of Jutland Found Near Norway.

“Although the wrecks of the Tarpon and the Warrior are legally protected as war graves, McCartney said all war wrecks in the area are threatened by illegal salvage operators, who plunder them for the valuable metals inside. He said the most valuable items are the bronze condensers that were used in many wartime ships’ engines, which are worth tens of thousands of dollars as bronze scrap when melted down.” Dangerous work, that.

Catapult: Do you believe in true love?

“I believe in the romance of the moment. It is a fleeting moment – sometimes submerged in the minutiae of life, buried amidst the debris of our busyness and distractedness. But that one fleeting moment can keep that flame of magic and life burning.”

PS Mag: Early Childhood Education Is Not a Profession

“There is no recognized early childhood education profession. The early childhood education field does not conform to the standards of organized professions nor is it held accountable as such, as reflected in the variability in teachers’ knowledge and skills.” Really? Seriously?

The Atlantic: What America Lost as Women Entered the Workforce.

Long read. The little old ‘widder ladies’ kept eyes on us kids, made sure we behaved within the bounds of propriety. Well, as long as we were within the range of failing eyesight.

FishbowlNY: Town & Country Celebrates Rich Ladies.

“Vreeland was also asked why she was a Swan, and well, god bless her lack of self-awareness.” Name check. The husband of Diana Vreeland is descended from Michiel Jansen Vreeland’s first son. I am descended from the third son. Yet if you compare physical features, the browline seems to be a strong genetic component in the male line.

BBC: Why you feel busy all the time (when you’re actually not).

“We live frenetic lives, at least in part, because it makes us feel good about ourselves. To put it mildly, this makes no sense. Perhaps we’d pause long enough to realise that – if we weren’t so damn busy.”

MeFi: Animated math.

Cool.

Atlas Obscura: Disaster Response Now Includes Rapid Mapmaking.

Very much appreciated, given the increase in historically-unprecedented weather and natural disaster events.

NY Times: Air Force, Running Low on Drone Pilots, Turns to Contractors in Terror Fight.

You mean Flight Simulator’s not enough?

Caskers Selection: Port Ellen 14th Release 35 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Gift gratefully accepted.

Guardian.UK: Borrowed time - US library to enforce jail sentences for overdue books.

“Library customers can end up owing large sums to the library because they are able to take out up to 25 books at a time, which could have a retail value of $25 each.” Bad patrons, but this also sounds like bad management.

Youtube: Airlander 10 crashing into the ground cardington shed airship.

Bounce, more like. Doesn’t look like the cockpit/passenger section ever contacts the ground, just the blimp nose. Inexperienced pilot, methinks. I suppose it responds even more slowly than a conventional blimp ... though I saw no last-minute recovery attitude adjustments.

ProBlogger: How Working Fewer Hours Can Increase Your Productivity.

Experiment with Pomodoro techniques. It works. Don’t get bogged in the details, just use the 25 minute spans as recommended, eschew all distractions, and concentrate.

ArtDaily: In Togo, a revival of the ancient allure of waist beads.

“What is currently attracting men is the djonou, especially when the colours are well chosen.”

The Atlantic: The Couple Who Worked as Truck Drivers Together.

“I just sit on my butt and turn the steering wheel, but gross over a thousand dollars a week. You can’t say I’m lazy, can you?”

New Yorker: What Happens When We Decide Everyone Else Is a Narcissist.

“If ‘toxic self-absorption’ is indeed the new American disease, then it will be important to remember that no one has immunity.” There is nothing more damaging and wrong than involuntary psychoanalysis. Over each other. Even over politicians. Any psychologist will tell you decent analysis is a time consuming, intricate process. Generalizations are prone to bias. An individual with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology ruined my opportunity to be fluent for decades. ‘60’s. I admit I’m a bit unreasonable and immovable over this, given my own experiences. I don’t think I’m alone. Read James Hillman. Where is moving locations as a therapy in modern psychology? Exactly. Not everyone benefits from the modern SSRI -> endless talk therapy route.