Sacred Hoops, Sodom by the Sea, Stories of Resilience, etc.
In which I discover there's a toilet paper emoji.
🙋 Hello. Hope you all had a great holiday weekend. Summer is (almost) here.
🏀 Read this week: Sacred Hoops, by Phil Jackson, who won two championships playing for the Knicks before winning 11 championships as head coach of the Bulls and Lakers, the NBA record. “The Lakotas’ concept of teamwork was deeply rooted in their view of the universe. A warrior didn’t try to stand out from his fellow band members; he strove to act bravely and honorably, to help the group in whatever way he could to accomplish its mission.”
🍏 Apple released its list of the 100 albums of all time and I don’t wanna talk about it.
🎡 Coney Island was once full of dueling, backstabbing theme parks, and at one point was referred to as “Sodom by the Sea.”
✈️ No one can explain why planes stay in the air. “There is no simple one-liner answer to this.”
🏙️ Behold, Franklin Lloyd Wright’s last dream, to turn Ellis Island into a self-contained city of the future: “The project would have had apartments for 7,500 residents, along with theaters, hospitals, churches, schools, a library, and even a sports arena.”
🪙 Did you know some bits o’ bitcoin are more valuable than others? “Those produced in the year bitcoin was created are considered vintage, like a fine wine. Other coveted sats were part of transactions made by bitcoin’s inventor.”
🦓 Stripes, spots, and more: working out animal’s patterns. “…But the stripes of chipmunks and tigers, the speckles on fishes and chickens, and many other glorious animal features are laid down with exquisite precision. In a remarkable feat of self-organization, a uniform surface becomes patterned.”
🐋 ‘100 for the Ocean’ brings together 100 photographers to support marine conversation. “From June 1 to 30, you can purchase prints for $100, with 100% of the net proceeds supporting three under-funded and under-recognized nonprofit organizations focused on ocean advocacy and action.”
🧻 Ann Arbor, Michigan has launched a portable toilet program. “In November, Ann Arbor City Council approved a year-long pilot program that will place eight free portable public restrooms across the city, with hopes to increase convenience for visitors and community members alike. The bathrooms, designed by Thorne Labs Inc., are being installed this week and will open to the public throughout the coming weeks.”
🪴 This 392-year-old bonzai tree survived Hiroshima. “Three decades later, in a rather remarkable act of forgiveness, the Yamaki family gifted the pine (along with 52 other cherished trees) to the United States, during the bicentennial celebration of 1976.”
🥲 An even better story of resilience: “Maxwell Smart lost his family in the Holocaust, but was saved by his mother’s instruction to run. It was seven decades before he told anyone what had happened.” “One morning, they awoke to the sounds of screaming and gunfire. Silence fell. They waited a few hours, then went to investigate. A nearby bunker had been discovered and the dead bodies of its inhabitants lay by the river. The boys took some of the shoes and clothes for warmth, then Smart spotted movement on the other side of the river. He realised that one of those killed had been holding a baby – which was still alive. He told Janek they had to go and save it.”
❤️ ‘Til Sunday, remember to keep the Hoping Machine running.
Love,
Luke
