I’m writing this last link dump of the year just after learning of the deaths of both Carrie Fisher and George Michael. Both too young, both last-minute additions to the seemingly endless list of prominent people lost in 2016. Puts me in a melancholy frame of mind.
- The pretend gardener: student discovers hidden life of Renaissance spy: Newly discovered early modern spycraft, this time a Florentine “gardener” assigned to spy on James I’s court. Seems this comes out of meticulous labor-of-love research by a Cambridge undergrad – I’ll be curious to read his research when/if it comes out.
- Interview on “True Crime with Dan Zupansky” with true crime writer Daniel Ellis on his book “Corpsewood”: a bit morbid; I include it because 1) having spent the first half of my life in Georgia, I’m amazed I’d never heard of this before, and 2) the occult interests of the two victims (wildly inflated both then and now, but even so RTMI). Turns out you can still visit the ruins, though perhaps this isn’t recommended (Tangentially: gotta stop listening to so many true crime podcasts. Fascinating but exactly what I don’t need in these dreary winter days).
- We Tracked Down A Fake-News Creator In The Suburbs. Here’s What We Learned: A fake news creator claims he did so in an effort to show how easy it was to perpetuate fake news but his intention backfired dramatically. Over a month old but still relevant, I’m looking for more info about the hazards of indulging/critiquing “boutique realities”.