BOOK CLUB: Filterworld by Kyle Chayka
Ever wonder why everything is the same everywhere you go?
I just finished reading the book Filterworld by Kyle Chayka. I first heard about it last year on a lengthy Verge interview he did about how culture around the world is flattening and all becoming the same no matter where you go or where you’re from.
I’ve been intrigued by this idea for several years now as I’ve noticed every city slowly becoming the same, with the same types of stores, the same kind of dress, and the same Instagrammable aesthetic. It’s obviously a generalization of sorts but I know I’ve felt a little of this here and there with how every social media platform (which is a huge part of any piece of the internet these days) is algorithmically serving content. With globalization and the interconnectedness of supply chains, that algorithm is what makes somebody halfway around the world buy the same thing I might buy in my own city. And in the same way, how those same tastes change so much more quickly once it has saturated its intended market or demographic.
There are a lot of examples in the book of flattening culture but in the end, a bright light is shone on true curators of art and culture which I found really satisfying. It’s not all lost if we can filter out the noise of the algorithm’s feed.
Pick up the book here or visit your local library for a copy.
Ivanpah Solar Electric station is shutting down
The beautiful Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating station in California is shutting down.
Way out in the Mojave Desert, adjacent to Death Valley, lies one of the most beautiful solar energy generating stations in the US called Ivanpah.
The whole complex consists of 3 major units all reflecting solar light towards a center tower receiver. If you drive by it on a sunny day, the towers have this magnificent glow that can be seen for miles.
The project was completed back in 2014 and at a cost of about $2.2 billion and is reported to be one of the largest solar facilities in the world. I visited this place back in 2022 and marveled at this feat of engineering up close, surprised mostly at the time that I could drive so close to it without any security run-ins.
Today, 2 of those 3 towers are closing, with the 3rd one in danger of shutting down as well.
Play DOOM inside a PDF
Somebody ported the classic DOOM video game inside a PDF.
I mean, this is art. Maybe even Art with a capital A.
If you open this link inside a Chromium browser (Google Chrome), you’ll be presented with a fully playable black and white version of the classic DOOM video game. Yes, playable. The complete source is posted over at Github and based on what I can understand, it seems like the creator is using the Javascript support naturally allowed in a PDF file to make this interactive PDF.
If you prefer to play DOOM in full color on your browser, check out this link here.
Graffiti artist VAYNE covers the John Lewis Freedom Parkway in Atlanta
VAYNE completes one of the largest pieces of graffiti in the world.
Just got word from the Museum of Graffiti that the artist VAYNE has completed a huge piece over the John Lewis Freedom Parkway in Atlanta, GA. VAYNE has been killing it with huge pieces in NYC but seeing the size and scale of this one in Atlanta is just on a whole other level!
If you find yourself in the area visiting the nearby Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, don’t forget to check this monster piece out!
NYPD Chevy Bolt electric car
Some photos of the NYPD Chevy Bolt electric car.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is rare, but the Chevy Bolt vehicle in the NYPD fleet is definitely uncommon. The NYPD has used several generations of the Chevy Bolt to introduce electric vehicles into their line-up for several years now but seeing the latest generation with full TRAFFIC decals is always neat. The car is just so small, a perfect replacement for the SMART cars the NYPD introduced a few years back and no longer really use.
What will be interesting to see is how long these Chevy Bolts last on the streets since Chevrolet discontinued the vehicle in 2024.
Past Lives
I think about this film a lot.
I find myself thinking a lot about this movie Past Lives.
I think I first saw it at home last summer nearly a year after its limited theatrical release date. It had received a lot of recognition and press due to the directorial debut of Celine Song and I consider it maybe the best film I watched in 2024. Everything from the cinematography to the music is just damn near perfect to me. Greta Lee’s portrayal of an immigrant Korean-Canadian making their life in NYC is not something I can directly relate to, but I found her part convincing nonetheless (and in parallel with some of the stories of my friends who do identify with her character’s journey).
The movie is a quiet masterpiece of cinema from one scene to the next; A love story without the word love uttered, reminiscing about a past that once was but will never be again, and the threads of time and life that get interwoven in the process of two people meeting again.
The soundtrack is fantastic as well, with the song “See You” getting heavy rotation on my train and bike rides in the city. It’s also used in this compilation video below. It makes me sad and happy at the same time — I kind of like it.
Healthcare CEO target fliers in Chinese
The healthcare CEO posters are now in Chinese.
The targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione on December 4th last year has sparked an odd campaign of retribution by some anonymous (and presumably angry) recipients of American healthcare organizations.
Today, for the first time, I saw the CEO target flyers in Chinatown, NY in Chinese.
Cheap way to make your own MTA Subway countdown clock at home
Here’s an affordable way to turn any screen into a Subway countdown clock.
There are a number of unique ways to have a Subway countdown clock timer in your own home, but many of them require a good chunk of investment or technical know-how.
My favorite one I’ve seen is this DIY LED matrix display that looks most like the actual countdown timers in the NYC Subway. But even this one requires quite a bit of elbow grease to get working.
There is also this Arduino Subway Clock that uses a tiny LED display but the final result, while providing the correct information, doesn’t quite look the part.
And there is this small informational display running on a Raspberry Pi that doesn’t quite look like any of the clocks in the stations but still provides relevant arrival information.
The cheapest most affordable option however, outside of the MTA’s official website, is this customizable website from Subway Here. If you have an iPad or a TV or anything with a browser, all you have to do is bookmark the page (or leave it on a TV screen all day long) and the subway information for any selected lines is shown. I’ve had this set up on an iPad and it works great.