John Lappin

Today's the 959th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. As viewers of King and Conqueror will know, William was able to surprise Harold by crossing the Channel in his hovercraft, and the English king was already exhausted, having recently seen off a Martian invasion.

A thing I think doesn't get internalized enough in the discourse of the European subjugation of the Americas is that there was no way for contact between Europe and those continents to not end in abject disaster for indigenous Americans because of disease burden.

Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ @realchrisrufo This is great news. We've hired the classicist Spencer Klavan to teach at New College of Florida. Goodbye gender studies; hello, Greek literature. Quote Spencer A. Klavan @SpencerKlavan · Aug 19, 2024 Truly excited to be teaching an online survey course in Greek literature this fall semester @NewCollegeofFL. Even more excited that it's open to the public. Please join in here! We'll be reading Homer, Aeschylus, Aristophanes, and lots more. https://ncf.edu/youngheretics/ 7:36 PM · Aug 19, 2024 · 840.8K Views

Oh, babes. Have you got a big surprise coming...

Still looking for someone, haven't found a single person so far (that I can contact). I have a 46-episode script that I need translated. This would be a paid job!

In 1979 the Gossamer Albatross became the first human-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel. Bryan Allen was its pilot and engine.

Happy #BicycleBirthday, Bryan!
Born October 13, 1952

Pretty sure I say this every Columbus Day, but getting hauled back to Spain for excessive brutality in 1500, just as the Inquisition was really getting fired up, is some genuinely Evil Guys Hall of Infamy material

Billion tries.

nope, not in a million tries

“ …the stars
burning so extravagantly those nights that
anyone could tell you they would never last.”

I have been opening oysters independently, so to speak, for forty years now, off and on, always with some sense of anxiety and usually with shell fragments ending up in the meat. Last week I splashed out on a proper French oyster knife (€17), and now I'm opening the things like a TV chef.

Tools.

A letter to viz on why we should be removing British objects from people’s rectums, not foreign ones

I ❤️ Viz

Goes back to the argument I made in the Guardian earlier this year that the world is in danger because the techbros have completely misunderstood a bunch of sci-fi and fantasy...

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

Pinochet and the Vans of Death | Ariel Dorfman In 38 Londres Street Philippe Sands investigates a Nazi war criminal’s collaboration with the Chilean dictatorship’s system of repression, torture, and murder.

New evidence that Walter Rauff, a former SS commander, helped design and manufacture vans used to disappear dissidents in Pinochet's Chile: www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

lol, story on the very next page

Recruiters Use A.I. to Scan Résumés. Applicants Are Trying to Trick It.

This reminds me of high-frequency trading: a technology-driven zero-sum arms race with minimal social benefits.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/b...

It’s so easy for armchair critics living in safety to find fault, tear things down, scoff. Would they prefer war to continue, more Palestinians die? Of course the deal is risky, flawed, lacks details. But, in our imperfect world, this is what we got, and I’d rather it succeed, than the alternative.

lmao

But for all that adoption, self-checkout’s ROI remains murky. Despite some labor cost savings, companies must pay upfront to install the kiosks, and for ongoing software licensing and maintenance fees. Theft associated with the lanes has spurred retailers like Target and Walmart to cut back on the technology. And customers continue to report frustrations with glitches or theft-prevention measures. Last year just over one-third of US transactions were at self-checkout lanes, according to FMI, a notable drop from 44% in 2023.

Always cheers me up to remember my local Dealz had to remove all their self-checkouts because Dublin 8 locals made it the most shoplifted-from Dealz in all of Ireland.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Perhaps Conservatism wasn't Adenauer, De Gaulle or Ike. They were outliers from a very specific post war time. 1920s/30s version as the norm? Uniquely vulnerable to non-democratic forces.
I mean good god. Look at the UK version now.

Cans of “fjord” beer

Bottles of “moraine” wine

When buying beer and wine for a glaciology conference you need to get the appropriate stuff. I don’t make the rules. 🧪⚒️❄️

Should the New York Times be sold to Pennysaver and its editors sent to work in Amazon warehouses? It depends on who you ask.

A sign that says “No Sword-Fighting in the Shop” next to a display of toy swords

I also appreciated this sign in the Globe gift shop ⚔️🚫

Farage, Arron Banks, and convicted Russian asset Nathan Gill have all parroted the Russian lie that NATO and EU expansion provoked Putin into invading Ukraine.

That's a lie for a Western audience. Putin is much more honest about Russia's imperialist motives when he's speaking to a Russian audience.

Summer 1924. A British-registered floating pub appears 15 miles from the US coast. It's a hit with thirsty prohibition-era yacht owners.

Among the many possibilities for the next few years, the scenario of swapping one pair of dominant parties (Lab and Con) for another (Reform and LD) is intriguing, under-discussed and, in English elections, not entirely implausible either (several county councils made this leap in May)

4. A general sense of ease and openness to others and ideas amid the permanent population
I am not saying that is easily measured.

A classic case of irresponsible both-sidesism from the NYT. The story is that Trump and MAGA propagandists are lying about Portland to incite a conflict, not that there are different views of the matter.