Mar 26

Mar 26 Weekly Roundup #21: Facebook and angering apps

Reading

After You, Jojo Moyes. I got Moyes' newest novel in this series, Still Me, so I decided to reread the other two as a refresher before getting into that one.

Too Much Music: A Failed Experiment In Dedicated Listening, NPR. My dad passed this article along to my brother and I (both intense music fans) back in January and I’ve had it saved in my phone, waiting for a time when I could devote all my attention to it. Well, it took two months, but that time has come. I started out scoffing at the writer’s notion that the flood of music due to streaming could be a bad thing, I never remembered every title in every album or the release year anyways. But by the end of the article, I could see where he was coming from. It prompted me to write my own piece on this phenomenon so I'm going to stop here.

The Man Who Knew Too Little, The New York Times. I can absolutely see the temptation in living this way, but I think I would feel guilty.

Video Shows Sacramento Police Shooting Unarmed Black Man In Grandparents' Backyard, NPR. HORRIFYING. I don't care who you're searching for, there's no reason to shoot at the first sign of movement. He was a KID. And the fact they muted the end of the video? Oh, no, that's not sketchy at all.

Mark Zuckerberg’s Reckoning: ‘This Is a Major Trust Issue,’ The New York Times. This whole scandal is exactly why I don't sign up for any of those personality or "what's your aura color" quiz apps. I've never trusted them with even my most basic info, never will. I do like that they're changing it so apps can no longer access your data if you haven't used it in three months. And fuck Cambridge Analytica and fuck Aleksandr Kogan, they can just leave those bans right on up there forever as far as I'm concerned. But I honestly feel better knowing that they're getting ahead of all the bots and fake news before the midterms. We don't need any 2016 repeats.

Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data was a 'grossly unethical experiment,' The Verge. The misuse of private data and lack of overall privacy is disgusting and extremely concerning.

U.N. Fact Finders Say Facebook Played a 'Determining' Role in Violence Against the Rohingya, Time. I don't think anyone could have ever imagined what Facebook has become and what it has been used for. Even Zuckerberg.

China pushes back, threatens new tariffs on pork and other goods, CBS. Guess it's a good thing I don't really like pork...but really, this will likely affect our wallets.

Austin bombings suspect kills himself as police close in, CBS. On one hand, good riddance. On the other, you coward. Now we may never know what the motives were and if they're possibly preventable in the future.

Post-Apocalypse: Finding Paradise At The End Of The World, Refinery29. Video on a group who is really, really into Mad Max (the most recent film).

Teachers And Those Magical OK Go Videos: A Match Made In Science?, NPR. I love the collaboration. This group has always had extremely creative videos, but to use them for education? I wish my teachers had that idea back in the day.

Rihanna condemns Snapchat for ad making light of domestic violence, The Verge. I mean, come ON Snapchat! Is no one looking at your ads before approving them?? Who thought this deserved approval??

Um, Shaggy Is Performing at the Queen’s Birthday Concert, Vanity Fair. I love this.

The Disney Decade, The Ringer. As a child who grew up watching Cinderella while wearing the dress and mini glass slippers with my best friend, I'm thoroughly okay with this Disney domination. Also totally fine with the dusting off of old characters, umm The Incredibles 2 anyone??

How It All Went Down, The Players Tribune. A response to Richard Sherman leaving Seattle, by Richard Sherman. "But just keep in mind: I didn’t choose to leave Seattle. The Seahawks chose to let me go."

These photos reveal why the 26-year-old organizer of disastrous Fyre Festival concert could spend 10 years in prison, Business Insider. And kids, this is why we don’t try to scam people.

Kushner Cos. filed false NYC housing paperwork, AP. Shocker...

Saudi Crown Prince Boasted That Jared Kushner Was "In His Pocket," The Intercept. In other Kushner news...

Trump furious over leak of warning to not congratulate Putin, CNN. L. O. L.

Governor decries temporary block on abortion law, AP. Thank you, Carlton Reeves. Finally, someone with some sense and morals.

4th blast in Austin leads police to believe a 'serial bomber' is on the loose, CNN. What is WRONG with people??

The Fight Over Teacher Salaries: A Look At The Numbers, NPR. Teachers should be paid more, end of discussion. They help develop and mold our nation's growing minds, constantly deal with shitty, obnoxious parents and never get the credit they deserve (or the supplies). Why is this such an impossible debate.

Doctors hope for blindness cure after restoring patients' sight, The Guardian. Possibly within FIVE YEARS!! Science is truly amazing.

Doctors Say They've Found a 'Game Changing' Stem Cell Treatment for MS, Fortune. Seriously...see my above comment.

Fatal Uber Crash Raises Red Flags About Self-Driving Safety, CityLab. No matter how quickly the victim came out of the "shadows," it wasn't her fault and this is still the exact worry critics have always had about self-driving cars. Clearly, they're not ready for the public.

How I Stopped Feeling Trapped in a Life I Didn’t Want, Tiny Buddha. "If you do anything, and I mean anything at all, that moves you closer to a place of peace or excitement, please give yourself a pat on the back." I'm giving myself a pat on the back for finally starting this blog.

Florida State one win away from Final Four after defeat of Gonzaga, USA Today. Whaaaat.

Loyola-Chicago Beats Nevada to Advance to Elite Eight, Sports Illustrated.

She Was Told 'No' 100 Times. Now This 30-Year-Old Female Founder Runs a $1 Billion Business. Entrepreneur.

Irish Border Problem Frustrates Brexit Trade Negotiations, NPR. " 'Perhaps in other countries this might not be a problem, but given the history of problems and tensions, and given the nature of the peace agreements in Northern Ireland, this is a real whopper,' he [BBC political correspondent Rob Watson] says."

Trump calls for death penalty to ‘get tough’ on drug pushers, AP. Ok. I understand the theoretical logic, murder gets the death penalty, drug dealers could be causing the deaths of tens, hundreds or more. But. The war on drugs hasn't worked so well before. It's going to take more than after the fact arrests. And “great commercials” aren't going to stop kids from yielding to peer pressure or just wanting to try drugs, no pressing needed, neither will this goddamn wall. We need to make smarter decisions NOT FINISHED

Claire's files for bankruptcy, CNN. Fast fashion chains and online shopping are killing the retailers of our childhood. "Claire's joins a long line of retailers that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years, including Toys "R" Us, Payless Shoes, Gymboree, Rue21, The Limited and RadioShack."

The Redemption of Lime Crime, the Internet’s Most Notorious Beauty Company, Racked. I'd actually never heard of this company until a few months ago, but that's not super surprising considering I only became interested in makeup and makeup companies a few years ago, particularly more colorful, "trendy" companies. I guarantee the negative history won't affect the company's future. People just won't know about it.

Cynthia Nixon Unveils Candidacy for Governor of New York, Variety. Not...totally sure about this.

Listening

Sleepyhead, Passion Pit. This song has just always made me happy.

Stacy's Mom, Fountains of Wayne. I stumbled across a playlist called "Guilty Pleasures" and, man, is it good.

U Up? Betches Media. A podcast that discuss dating and the struggles that come with it, particularly in this day and age. It's good background noise while I'm working, but the guy's voice can definitely get annoying.

Watching

Love, Netflix. Season 3 is now up so I binged that over the past week. I like this show, but it's almost a love-hate relationship. Mickey and Gus sometimes just drive me up a wall—they can be so grating.