The New York Times yesterday published a story about how Facebook shared user data with select corporate partners, including contact lists and private messages.
Facebook gave Netflix and Spotify the ability to read users’ messages, and other tech giants including Microsoft, Amazon, and Sony access to data on users’ friends, according to hundreds of internal documents obtained by the paper and interviews with dozens of “former employees of Facebook and its corporate partners.”
I looked on my phone and was surprised that I hadn’t already deleted the app (I never use it) but finally did so this afternoon.
Petapixel has a short article on how to modify a TLR camera (my Yashica, for example) to focus more easily, using nothing more than some rubber bands, aluminum foil, and a ruler. Plus, it’s set up as a visual picture guide instead of a 15-minute video that I can’t be bothered to sit through.
There was some concern that the third season of The Grand Tour was going to be its last, but apparently Clarkson & Co. are signed on for seasons beyond, and even better, they’re ditching the tent! This means there’ll be more specials like the Botswana, Vietnam, and Namibia trips, which are an order of magnitude more entertaining.
The Number Ones is a daily recap of hit singles from the beginning of the Billboard 100 in 1959. It’s an interesting mix of songs with a lot of good background, and there’s usually a couple of alternate versions that are worth a listen.
Another good band back from the dead: Doves have announced a reunion tour, beginning in the UK. Maybe hopefully they will make it over to the US for some dates next year. I became aware of them when I found a Doves sticker in a music sampler in the late 90’s/early aughts, and became a huge fan after hearing Lost Souls in its entirety.
From Stereogum, a list of 48 bands and 64 more bands that took 20 years or more between releases. There are some deep cuts in here but because this is primarily a rock-oriented site there’s not enough soul, R&B or blues representation here.
The Deadwood movie is officially in production. Set 10 years after the series, almost the entire cast is back.
File this under HELL YES I MUST GET TICKETS: Massive Attack announced a 20 year anniversary tour of Mezzanine, with Liz Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins, a band I ordinarily can’t stand) who sang vocals on Teardrop, Black Milk, and Group Four. US dates haven’t been announced yet, but when they do I have to see this.
I was looking through old pictures with Finn on Flickr yesterday and stumbled across my Jalopyrama photos from 2016, which happened right around this time of year. Worried I’d missed it, I did a search and was sad to learn they had to cancel it this year because of problems with the venue. This is sad, and I hope they can reorganize for 2019 because it’s an incredible event that I want to see again.
Hark! A Vagrant is an online comic (now archived) about odd and unknown elements of history. I love the illustrations and the subject matter, and I feel like I stumbled over this site years ago but forgot about it at some point. (via)