Sunday Reads...
- Greg McNeilly
- Jul 13
- 3 min read
An irregular roundup of thought-provoking reads. Most made me go “hmm…” — none should be mistaken for endorsement.
Quote of the Day:
"You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was Dostoevsky and Dickens who taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, who had ever been alive." - James Baldwin
Counter Narrative:
Good news! Deaths from extreme weather events are at an all-time low. Every premature death is tragic, but it is good to know this trend is heading in the right direction.
The return of faith, it’s real.
And speaking of less than good news – WTF! Parents giving their kids serial killer names?
Moa time? Maybe once again.
The history of “English” lawn keeping gets noted.
How colors got/get their name.
Time’s top “100 Creators” are listed.
Travel:
Lonely Planet lists the world’s top 23 beaches. (One of Michigan's best makes the list.)
A dozen domestic budget-friendly travel spots have been rounded up.
What are the globe’s most “colorful” travel destinations? (Stunning!)
A round-up of photos from last week’s “Running with the Bulls.”
Take a literary artwork quiz – it’s fun! (Disclosure: I only got 80%.)
Homeschooling… at Disneyworld.
What makes someone “cool,” a study concludes: Extroverted, Hedonistic, Powerful, Adventurous, Open, and one more.
Say it ain’t so! Nathan’s Hot Dogs is not an American-owned company.
This must be made up. Vice chronicles a new cult in England that is gathering steam.
Is Gen Z yearning for a pre-Internet age? Apparently.
Is “mass incarceration” over?
Why do humans have hair?
Attention is currency. What more in your bank? Watch this, and do nothing else. Just watch this with all of your attention. Rewire your brain!
Has one of America’s political parties turned to hate and violence as its creed?
Government K12 school enrollment plummets by 1 million students.
AI stuff:
On-the-job learning is being squeezed hard between AI and “remote” work. Duh!
Ok, now for bad news: AI is fueling the more “kid porn.” Oy!
AI interrupts or deciphers a 1,000-year-old text from Persia, here.
Could AI create a miscarriage of justice?
Remember that ’60s big hits band, Velvet Sundown? No, you don’t.
End of an era – ceremonial horses out for adoption at the Army?
The CIA-Oswald link gets murkier in new documents, noted here.
“Western Europe” is the new hotbed of authoritarianism, notes the WSJ.
Who are nuts blaming mother Nature’s Texas flooding on? A 25-year-old tech bro. It is challenging to be humble, and many feel compelled to blame this tragedy on human evil. Yet walking away from humility seldom ends well for those who take the stroll.
Star Trek fan? This site tracks the development cycle of technology featured in the classic show, highlighting how close we are to its completion.
Wages are growing in the U.S. The middle class’s only disappearance is into the higher class, where their numbers have more than doubled. Good news!
Russia – dissenters fail to fall in line:
A nearly extinct art form – only four artists still at it. Watch here.
