Just a quick plug for The Broken Land (originally published in the UK with the much better title Hearts, Hands and Voices), by Ian McDonald. McDonald is one of the great underappreciated science fiction writers of the twentieth century and this is one of his great, underappreciated novels. It's a biotech parable for the Irish Catholic/Protestant conflict, and the bones of that conflict are fleshed with one of the saddest, funniest, strangest stories I've ever read. Start with the Ancestor Tree, on which the heads of the recently dead are spiked, where their brains are kept alive and linked into an (ahem) neural net that makes an oracle out of the combined wisdom of all the dear departed. When the ancestors grow old, the bark grows over their eyes and they go into a dreamtime of bio-computational fantasy. There's an adventure story in here, and a coming of age story, and a lot of deeply kinky biotech thinking, and some of the most poetic prose I've ever read.
Ian McDonald's Hearts, Hands and Voices
Vintage 1967 Sony tape recorder ad: 18-pound camera and recorder pack goes 'anywhere you go' – a look at retro technology
This vintage Sony Tape Recorder Ad from 1967 boasts about their new videotape recorder that "goes anywhere you go". I definitely take the ease of my iphone camera for granted.… READ THE REST
Japan's Extinct Media Museum makes me feel ancient
There is no punch in the gut like seeing familiar objects, not just from your childhood but from your 30s, in a museum, like something from King Tut's tomb. The… READ THE REST
1 in 5 job listings either fake or never filled
The Wall Street Journal, citing internal data from a hiring agency, reports that one in five job listings never result in a job being gotten. They're either left unfilled or… READ THE REST
Goodbye TikTok, hello brainscrolling
TL;DR: Stop wasting time scrolling and start learning—Pearls Premium gives you lifetime access to bite-sized, 15-minute summaries of bestsellers for just $29.99. TikTok might get banned, and while it may feel… READ THE REST
Find the perfect color match every time with this handy dandy sensor
TL;DR: Match any color like a pro with the Nix Mini 3 — the go-to gadget for $69.97 until February 9. Ever stared at a wall and wondered, What shade of blue… READ THE REST
Who needs daylight? This night-vision device has you covered
TL;DR: Explore the night with this compact night-vision device — on sale for $99.99 (reg. $159) for a limited time. The night is full of wonders — if you can actually see them.… READ THE REST
