The helicopter team that films the Tour de France https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/07/how-helicopters-bring-us-amazing-views-of-the-tour-de-france

It sounds just like the kind of joke that is ubiquitous in today’s cheap-and-cheerful souvenir industry: “I went to Rome and all I got you was this lousy pen.” But the tongue-in-cheek inscription recently deciphered on a cheap writing implement during excavations in the City of London is in fact about 2,000 years old. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jul/27/joke-on-roman-souvenir-bloomberg-building-site-city-of-london

Goodbye, Alan Moore: the king of comics bows out
The pioneer of serious superheroes – who is retiring – has transformed the genre over 40 years of rebellious invention https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/18/goodbye-alan-moore-the-king-of-comics-bows-out

The Museum of Obsolete Media https://obsoletemedia.org/

Behold the Google Sheets Formula Clock, a working analog clock built with a single Google Sheets formula https://www.benlcollins.com/spreadsheets/google-sheets-formula-clock/

"Country music is about love, loss, nostalgia for the past, and connections to land, family, and rural places. What could be more Navajo?" https://www.sapiens.org/culture/navajo-music/

A few lessons in Historical Male Peacocking https://www.messynessychic.com/2019/07/25/lessons-in-male-peacocking-from-lord-gaga-to-the-king-of-afrofuturism/

New law lets Pennsylvania foster kids attend college tuition-free. https://www.mcall.com/news/pennsylvania/mc-nws-pa-fostering-independence-through-education-law-20190725-ikkhp66qmnhg7lcq5lplzya37i-story.html

>>Today's music to edit by...

Holy Moses let us live in peace
Let us strive to find a way to make all hatred cease
There's a man over there
What's his colour I don't care
He's my brother let us live in peace
He's my brother let us live in peace
He's my brother let us live in peace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm7b-32Mpbs

30 artworks to see before you die
...not what I'd put on the list, but that's part of the fun of such things, no?
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/mona-lisa-leonardo-da-vinci-hokurai-the-great-wave-vincent-van-gogh-the-starry-night-a8986556.html

TIL Gore Vidal wrote mystery novels under a pseudonym. #cosobookclub https://crimereads.com/remembering-gore-vidals-slyly-subversive-mystery-novels/

"If it becomes law, the bill would make it easier for the government to impose tougher penalties on illegal robocallers and fraudsters and demand that carriers deploy call authentication tech like SHAKEN/STIR at a faster pace."
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/24/20707147/house-robocalls-ftc-stopping-bad-traced-act-approval

The man who found the Titanic is coming for Amelia Earhart. Robert Ballard will use the E/V Nautilus in his underwater search for the aviator’s downed plane. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/07/bob-ballard-found-titanic-can-find-amelia-earhart-airplane/

"The doner kebab has outsold traditional favourites like the Bratwurst to become Germany’s favourite fast food." https://www.1843magazine.com/food-drink/world-in-a-dish/dont-knock-the-doner-kebab

Equifax Might Owe You $125 for Its Massive Data Breach. Here's How to File a Claim https://time.com/5634465/equifax-125-data-breach-how-to/

Makers of bamboo cups claim their products are reusable and ecologically friendly. German consumer group Stiftung Warentest tested 12 brands of bamboo-based containers and argues that it's best to avoid them. https://www.dw.com/en/keep-your-hands-off-bamboo-coffee-cups-german-consumer-group-warns/a-49713624

Mr. Darcy’s Ten Thousand a Year https://notesonliberty.com/2019/04/16/mr-darcys-ten-thousand-a-year/

"We measured the pockets in both men’s and women’s pants in 20 of the US’ most popular blue jeans brands." https://pudding.cool/2018/08/pockets/

"Most of us have convinced ourselves that the more time we have, the better we can produce or perform what is important to us. With time, there’s space—to reconsider, to develop, or at least to get a stroke of merciful inspiration." https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-long-does-it-take-to-make-a-classic-album/

Mapping the Effects of the Great 1960s ‘Freeway Revolts’
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/07/freeway-revolts-interstate-highway-system-data-urban-history/594082/