Most weeks, my Quality Linkage columns are split into featured links and miscellaneous ones, with the former section often full of quotes, nice big images and illustrations (with linked credits wherever possible), more details/research, etc.
This time however, I thought I’d keep things simpler by presenting a more straightforward list of links with shorter descriptions.
(This may or may not have anything to do with a surprise out-of-state visit by my wife’s grandparents yesterday, heh, although I really do like to mix things up from time to time regardless.)
Enjoy!
🎻: Only those with no inkling of the true history of classical music would ever think it merely some stodgy artform destined to be heard on elevators. The premier of The Rite of Spring is perhaps the most famous example of the extreme ways in which some audiences have reacted to (or during) orchestral performances. There are many more examples in this “list of classical music concerts with an unruly audience response”.
🎮: Over the course of several months, YouTuber and game hardware modder “Shank” made his own GameCube Joy-Cons for the Nintendo Switch, which has got to be every Nintendo fanboy and fangirl’s dream setup. I know I want it.
🗺: I bet you didn’t know you could make an entire world map made up of South Americas and it…wouldn’t be that wrong-looking at all.
📡: The folks at app/game studio Panic are putting out a pilot run of a podcast that’s all about the “quirky sub-plots, surprising side quests, and curious characters that round out Portland’s most lovable indie software and game publishing company.” The first episode [transcript here] covers how the mega-hit Untitled Goose Game came to be, and how they even got involved with the project.
🥘: I won’t say the recipe in this “Hobo Stew and Corn Bread” video is anything particularly outstanding — though it would be mighty welcome on a cold day, to be sure — but that’s not why I’m linking it. The guy in it, David Canterbury, is a bushcraft/survival expert with a ton of cool tips to share. He throws several of them out there in this video alone, and he doesn’t waste time with fancy words or flashly teaching methods. Solid stuff right here.
🕺🕺: To this day, Cab Calloway and the Nicholas Brothers’ legendary “Jumpin Jive” musical number stands as one of the all-time great dance sequences. Fred Astaire declared it “the greatest dancing he had ever seen on film,” which is hardly faint praise. The part where they leapfrog over one another down the stairs, landing in the splits each time, still makes my head shake in disbelief after a dozen viewings over the years.
🗑: If your bathroom trash bin only ever sees dry waste, you might try making your own liner from newspaper and spare yourself the use of plastic bags.
📚: Is it weird to link something about myself here? There’s only one way to find out: I’ve been spending some time fleshing out my Goodreads profile, to both document the books I’ve read and keep track of things I’d like to read (or re-read, in some cases). If you’re into sci-fi/fantasy stuff, feel free to friend me! I’m always looking for more recommendations, even though it’s unlikely I’ll ever get through my wishlist as is 😅
☕️: This short video of the world’s smallest cup of coffee is amusing but mostly I found it oddly relaxing?
✈️: Mark Ovenden and Maxwell Roberts wrote a book about the history of airline route maps, and were interviewed about it by Smithsonian Magazine — both are great reads for aviation and cartography nerds alike.
✂️: This analysis of which emoji scissors actually close has made a lot of rounds these past couple weeks, but in case you haven’t seen it, it’s pretty interesting how few of them actually… wait for it… make the cut. Ha-ha, tip your servers folks.
Neat Stuff We’ve Published Recently
- Buying Guide: Men’s Self-Care
- Bring incredible pizza to your very own backyard with the Ooni 3 outdoor pizza oven.
- Printing doesn’t need to be this arcane, complicated thing. The Brother HL-L2300D printer brings exactly the right amount of spartan and nothing more.
- Aukey’s 18-watt USB-C PD charger is small yet mighty.
- LaunchCuts for iOS is a brilliant way to organize, sort, and filter your Shortcuts library. It’s the utility Apple should’ve made.
- Not only does Fisher’s raw brass bullet space pen write anywhere and in any conditions, it’ll only look better and better with time.
- VSEER’s PS4 controller phone mount offers a console-like experience while gaming on the go.
Got any suggestions for articles, videos, stories, photographs, and any other links you think we should be posting in our weekly Quality Linkage? Please do let us know on Twitter.