Field Ledger Archive
12,927 entries across the years, 2003–2026.
highsnobiety.comThe Best Summer Accessory Is a Shaved HeadA fashion writer argues that shaving one's head is the most practical summer style choice, combining functional cooling (removing hair's insulating properties) with aesthetic edge. The buzzcut requires minimal maintenance, complements various clothing styles, and appeared prominently in Spring/Summe✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wtop.comThese Numbers Suggest the K-Shaped Economy Has Finally Begun to Close Its GapBank of America data shows consumer card spending grew 5.1% year-over-year in May 2026, the strongest in nearly four years, with discretionary categories like travel and dining leading. The spending gap between income brackets (the 'K-shaped economy') narrowed to its lowest level since June 2025, th✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wtop.comTrump is expected to make election conspiracies a focus of his national addressPresident Trump plans a primetime national address focused on election machines and voting integrity, revisiting unproven claims about the 2020 election. Democrats warn he's attempting to delegitimize the 2026 midterms, while Republicans distance themselves from relitigating past elections. The spee✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
thecancunsun.comThe Unwritten Rules Of Claiming A Pool Chair At A Cancun All-Inclusive ResortThe article describes the competitive morning ritual at Cancun all-inclusive resorts where guests arrive at dawn to claim prime poolside chairs, treating it as a tactical operation with unwritten social rules and territorial behaviors.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50tore..................................................
se be explore mile minded
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Not All Sand Is Yoga Sand
It’s about how the world runs on tiny grains we ignore—and why the “easy” stuff (like desert sand, or shortcuts) doesn’t actually hold.
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Drive Your Own Nervous System
Eight six-week courses, ~54 guided audio sessions — every classical breath up to the full Ashtanga Pranayama Sequence, engineered to start dead simple.
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nautil.usThe Fight Against Colony Collapse Disorder Started 19 Years Ago TodayColony Collapse Disorder (CCD) emerged in 2006-2007, killing 30-90% of some honeybee hives and threatening pollination of one-third of U.S. crops. Nearly 20 years later, despite federal action and research identifying multiple causes—varroa mites, pathogens, pesticides, transport stress, poor nutrit✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
A Beginner’s Guide to Systems Theory
What is systems thinking? Let's dive into systems theory, exploring interconnectedness, feedback loops, and emergent properties. We'll untangle this complex web together and maybe learn to think bigger in the process! #systemstheory #interconnectedness #feedbackloops
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Afternoon Yoga Club
Aging bodies matter, sure—but the real yoga win is the stuff you can’t measure: community, confidence, and a nervous system that finally unclenches.
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The Yoga Contractor Trade-Off
Most yoga jobs in the US are 1099. That's the default, not a choice you opted into. Here's the math that determines whether it's actually worth it.
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dazeddigital.comCould Brazilian jiu-jitsu cure your body dysmorphia?The article explores how Brazilian jiu-jitsu disrupts the common female experience of treating the body as an aesthetic project requiring constant management. By engaging in grappling-based martial arts, practitioners shift from viewing their body as something to be presented and managed to experien✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.comMexico to file criminal complaints over migrants killed by ICE in USMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced criminal complaints in US courts over deaths of 17 Mexican migrants since Trump's crackdown—14 in detention, 3 killed during operations. The move follows the shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, whom authorities claim weaponized his vehicle des✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
From Obedience to Inquiry: When I Started Asking Why in Practice
The values audit behind Foundations of Praxis: I kept teaching that beginners deserve to understand from day one — then I stopped talking about it and built the on-ramp. Designed sequence, guided audio, count videos, a Practice Recorder you own.
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Stop Making Ashtanga a Cult! Part 2: Strategies
Michael Joel Hall discusses his intervention strategies to address unhealthy group dynamics in Ashtanga Yoga practice.
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theparisreview.orgClearly Fake: Zurbarán’s Uncanny RealismAn essay on Francisco de Zurbarán's 17th-century religious paintings explores how hyper-realistic detail coexists with total implausibility, creating images meant to compel belief rather than merely depict. The author draws parallels between Counter-Reformation visual propaganda and today's AI-gener✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
futurism.com-trillion-trees-stopEcologist Thomas Crowther, who sparked the trillion-tree planting movement in 2019, now urges leaders to stop mass tree planting. He warns that such campaigns enable greenwashing, stifle biodiversity, and distract from cutting emissions, arguing instead for preserving and naturally expanding existin✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Cheap Fruit, Expensive People
It’s about legal guest workers on U.S. farms—and how “doing it right” costs more than the market wants to admit.
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futurism.comAI Is Pushing Older Employees Straight Out of the Workforce, New Report FindsA Boston College study found that after ChatGPT's 2022 release, workers 55+ in AI-exposed white-collar jobs (coding, tax prep, accounting) are leaving the workforce at significantly higher rates—often into unemployment rather than retirement. This contradicts the narrative that AI primarily threaten✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
themarginalian.orgThe Art of Dignity Beyond Pride: How to Move Through Heartbreak Like Frida KahloMaria Popova examines Frida Kahlo's letters to photographer Nickolas Muray, written after he ended their affair to marry another woman. Kahlo's correspondence demonstrates a dignity beyond pride—she openly expresses devastation while simultaneously wishing him happiness, requesting mementos back not✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
npr.orgJustice Department subpoenas New York Times reporters over Air Force One reportingThe Justice Department subpoenaed four New York Times reporters over their anonymously sourced reporting on Air Force One security concerns, demanding they testify before a grand jury. Federal agents delivered subpoenas to journalists' homes after the FBI had previously asked the Times to withhold t✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50were carved from
Marble"
"You win best
body in here, for sure"
—The Boys
"I wish I had
put on more muscle
during this bring
phase"
— Me
Note to Self: Ask Yourself
this: What are you
doing it for?
were carved from
Marble"
"You win best
body in here, for sure"
—The Boys
"I wish I had
put on more muscle
during this bring
phase"
— Me
Note to Self: Ask Yourself
this: What are you
doing it for?
The Future of Yoga Economies
A companion to The Digital Caste and The Architecture of Generosity. The conversation about yoga economics runs the same loop. Teachers can't make a living. Studios can't stay open. Students can't afford classes. Everyone assumes the problem is price — find the right number and…
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Interoceptive Awareness Protects Against Stress
A 2017 study found that interoceptive awareness, the ability to sense internal body signals, is linked to greater stress resilience. Yoga trains this capacity directly.
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futurism.comFanDuel Is Using Personal Messages From Sports Stars to Keep Gambling Addicts HookedSports betting companies like FanDuel are using personalized video messages from star athletes to retain high-value users, including those with gambling addictions. A lawsuit accuses these platforms of deliberately fostering addiction, with surveys showing 42% of active bettors feel they spend more✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Multiverse at Newcastle Art Gallery - ABC News
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-08/brian-rob
inson-multiverse-newcastle-art-gallery/106722446
nytimes.comForeign Actors Aim to Exploit Divide on A.I.State actors in China, Russia and Iran have sought to exploit the U.S. public debate over the effects of the technology.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
nautil.usWhat Makes Humans StupidStupidity is not the absence of intelligence but its misapplication—using sophisticated tools, theories, or systems to make simple problems harder rather than easier. Unlike ignorance or honest error, stupidity involves the elaborate defense and institutionalization of wrong approaches, requiring in✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Name It. Move On.
It’s about telling the truth about your mood without turning it into a lifelong identity—or a daily beatdown.
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Keep the Method, Lose the Throne
Ashtanga’s method is a gift; the guru-centric machinery is optional. I didn’t just say so — I built the self-owned platform that unbolts one from the other.
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wtop.comThe District Fringe Festival returns with comedy, drama and puppetsThe District Fringe Festival offers emerging playwrights and performers an affordable platform to stage new work across three D.C. venues over three weekends. By charging creators just $400 versus typical $5,000+ theater rentals, the festival prioritizes accessibility and audience-building for untes✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
thecancunsun.comCancun Projected To Be The Number One Destination In Mexico This SummerDespite headlines about decreased international flights to Mexico and travelers delaying plans around the 2026 World Cup, Cancun is projected to be Mexico's top destination this summer, contradicting the narrative of decline. The article highlights the disconnect between media framing and actual tra✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
nautil.usIf You Want Animals to Understand You, Speak SlowlyResearch analyzing 2,000+ vocalizations across 98 species found animals communicate at roughly 2.7 Hz (three vocalizations per second), a rhythm likely evolved because brains process sound structure best at this speed. Humans speak faster due to complex language needs, but revert to this ancestral r✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
thecancunsun.comForget Sargassum! These Are The Top 3 “Seaweed-Proof” Activities In Cancun This YearA travel article addressing how tourists can adapt their Cancun vacation plans when sargassum seaweed makes beaches unusable. The piece suggests alternative activities that aren't beach-dependent, reframing disappointment as opportunity for different experiences.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
quantamagazine.orgIs Life Just Different?Philip Ball examines the concept of biological agency—the idea that living organisms devise their own goals and act on them—as a way to distinguish life from non-living matter. The debate centers on whether organisms are simply genetic automata or genuine decision-making agents that integrate contex✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.comUK judges begin hearing appeal over Trinidad and Tobago anti-gay lawUK judges are hearing an appeal over Trinidad and Tobago's colonial-era law criminalizing same-sex intimacy. A 2018 ruling struck down the law as unconstitutional, but was overturned in 2023; the case now tests whether 'savings clauses' preserving British colonial laws after independence remain vali✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50of sweat and surrender"
– MADONNA
of sweat and surrender"
– MADONNA

Practicing Without the Teacher’s Count: Making the Sequence My Own
I ran a values audit on myself and didn’t like how cheap talk is. So instead of posting that practitioners should be able to practice alone, I built the tool that makes it possible — every pose, both sides, counted breath by breath, on a platform I own.
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Flight Simulator
It’s about why yoga practice makes some people weirdly calm when life throws them—sometimes literally—off the horse.
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experimental-history.comThe Decline of Deviance 2Adam Mastroianni argues that many forms of deviance (crime, teen drinking, smoking, pregnancy) have declined since the 1990s due to rising prosperity, not intentional policy. He explores why we fail to celebrate these wins and introduces three internet-accelerated trends: cultural carcinization (con✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50In a 2001 Nylon Magazine interview with James Servin, Björk said she wrote “Bedtime Story” for Madonna hoping it would encourage her to be more intuitive and less logical.
That Nylon story included an incredible anecdote. Servin wrote:
“I sent a fax to Madonna via her publicist Liz Rosenberg, with the question: ‘Did singing the lyrics Björk wrote for Bedtime Story lead you in the direction of going more with the flow?’”
In response, Rosenberg wrote:
“I’ve never thought Madonna was a ‘go with the flow’ person before or after recording Bedtime Story. She goes with a flow — but it’s a flow of her own creation, if you know what I mean.”
What a perfect description of Madonna’s career: “A flow of her own creation.” But with “Confessions II” and its PR rollout, we’ve caught a few glimpses of instances where Madonna couldn’t create her own flow. Her inability to fully control her world is humanizing.
In a 2001 Nylon Magazine interview with James Servin, Björk said she wrote “Bedtime Story” for Madonna hoping it would encourage her to be more intuitive and less logical.
That Nylon story included an incredible anecdote. Servin wrote:
“I sent a fax to Madonna via her publicist Liz Rosenberg, with the question: ‘Did singing the lyrics Björk wrote for Bedtime Story lead you in the direction of going more with the flow?’”
In response, Rosenberg wrote:
“I’ve never thought Madonna was a ‘go with the flow’ person before or after recording Bedtime Story. She goes with a flow — but it’s a flow of her own creation, if you know what I mean.”
What a perfect description of Madonna’s career: “A flow of her own creation.” But with “Confessions II” and its PR rollout, we’ve caught a few glimpses of instances where Madonna couldn’t create her own flow. Her inability to fully control her world is humanizing.

Ashtanga Yoga: Your Practice, Your Choice, and Your Subjective Experience
This episode is on the topic of subjectivity in Ashtanga Yoga.
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popville.com“Museum Café (partnership with local coffee experts Slipstream) Grand Opening and Free Community Day” at The National Museum of Women in the ArtsThe National Museum of Women in the Arts opened a new café in partnership with DC roaster Slipstream, featuring a Colombian coffee line cultivated exclusively by female farmers. The opening coincided with a Free Community Day offering extended hours, drop-in art activities, gallery talks, and tours✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50actually everything you hate about people.”
Another is that the worst thing about the
internet is “knowing what everyone thinks about
everything.”

The Architecture of Generosity
A companion to The Digital Caste People talk about yoga economics as if the central question is price. Class rates. Membership tiers. What a teacher should earn. Price matters — but it isn't the variable that governs everything else. Overhead is. Overhead determines what prices…
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ReligionForBreakfastThe Camel and Needle: Did Scholars Mistranslate Jesus’s Famous Saying?A methodical demolition of two viral misreadings of a single Gospel verse — with manuscript evidence, Aramaic lexicography, and a medieval fabrication trail. Rare case of biblical scholarship that's genuinely satisfying to follow.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Portable Yoga
When you’re practicing far from the “real” yoga scene, yama and niyama are the parts that still work anywhere—and they tell you what’s healthy.
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futurism.comRich People Can Afford Good Education for Their Kids. They’re Raising Them on AI Slop Anyways.Alpha School, a $75,000/year private network backed by wealthy tech figures and promoted by the Trump administration, uses AI tutors to compress education into two-hour sessions. Former employees report the AI curriculum is poorly structured, students need far more than two hours daily, and the scho✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
futurism.comMeta’s AI Data Center Caught Infecting Town Water Supply With Deadly BacteriaMeta's data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming contaminated municipal wastewater with Cupriavidus gilardii, a rare multidrug-resistant bacterium with a 31% mortality rate, during a fill-and-flush cooling system startup. The incident prompted city officials to ban fill-and-flush discharge for all data cente✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
UsefulChartsWho Would Be King of America if George Washington Had Been a Monarch? [Updated]A deceptively playful 'what if' that keeps cashing out into real history — slavery, Civil War allegiances, DNA science, and Black aristocracy hiding in plain sight. The Washington family tree is a funhouse mirror held up to America itself.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.comCuban zoo celebrates birth of Bengal tigers amid energy crisisCuba's national zoo celebrated the rare birth of four Bengal tiger cubs, including a white tiger, amid severe fuel shortages and energy crises. Zookeepers maintain animal care despite receiving only 25% of needed diesel fuel, adapting by using horses, buggies, and electric tricycles while relying on✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
npr.orgMilitant LGBTQ+ rights group 'the Lavender Panthers' was founded on this day in 1973In 1973, gay preacher Ray Broshears founded the Lavender Panthers, a street vigilante group protecting LGBTQ+ people in San Francisco's Tenderloin from violent attacks. Though controversial and problematic, the group exemplified community-led mutual aid filling gaps left by a homophobic society, and✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
bbc.co.uk'Here to stay' - Fans react to the rise of soccer in the USThe BBC reports on growing soccer popularity in the United States as the 2026 World Cup draws large stadium crowds and widespread interest. Fans discuss whether soccer's rising profile in American culture represents a lasting shift in the sports landscape.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50“The day began with absence. The annual Independence Day parade down Constitution Avenue — something I had planned to photograph — was canceled because of extreme heat. Washington had just endured some of its hottest days on record, with the heat index nearing 108 degrees.
Though it seems nobody has contracted the potentially deadly bacterium as a result of Meta’s fill-and-flush, the city’s response to the incident underscores the degree to which people across the US are scrutinizing data centers — and the undeniable impact they have on their neighbors.
“The day began with absence. The annual Independence Day parade down Constitution Avenue — something I had planned to photograph — was canceled because of extreme heat. Washington had just endured some of its hottest days on record, with the heat index nearing 108 degrees.

Be the Filter
It’s about how to learn from imperfect teachers without swallowing their whole worldview along with the useful stuff.
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Stop Making Ashtanga a Cult! Part 1: The Problem
Michael Joel Hall offers a different approach to Ashtanga Yoga grounded in humanist values, personal agency, and inclusivity, rather than dogma or hierarchy.
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My Teaching Journey — Ashtanga Tech
I started teaching yoga because a friend of mine caught dengue fever. Ashtanga Tech — the podcast. Keep the practice, lose the guru. Michael Joel Hall on Ashtanga yoga without the authoritarianism. 🎧 Listen to the podcast: https://pub-477a42ee397942aa87e96485ef790f2c.r2.dev/podcast/ashtanga-tech/feed.rss If a stuck practice or a bad room is on your mind — text CULT to 202-816-5612.
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sciencedaily.comQuantum mechanics once baffled scientists. Now it's changing the worldA Science perspective traces quantum mechanics from its early-20th-century paradoxes (Schrödinger's cat, Einstein's "spooky action") to today's practical technologies: lasers, microchips, quantum computing, and gravitational-wave detection. Researchers now apply quantum coherence and entanglement to✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
futurism.comSomething Weird Is Going on With the 66 Billion Trees China Planted in a Huge WallChina's Great Green Wall—66 billion trees planted since 1978 to stop desert expansion—shows planted forests growing 66% faster in canopy density than natural forests, likely due to youth and active management. However, researchers note this advantage is temporary; natural forests remain superior for✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
wamu.orgFood defined social hierarchy in 1776. Here’s what was on the table.In 1776 America, food was a primary marker of social class and wealth. The gentry emulated European dining with imported ingredients and elaborate meals, while the enslaved and lower classes ate simpler fare from local sources. Founding Fathers like Jefferson and Washington used food strategically—J✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50eating the stuff that now people
are paying a lot of money to have,”
Miller said, referencing
the current movement
against heavily processed foods.
They would also be eating more
pork, ham, bacon and sausage,
liver pudding and offal.
Tesla Will Make More from AI Than Robotaxi
July 5, 2026 at 3:12 PM by Brian Wang
NextBigFuture.com
AI data centers and compute represent a much bigger and faster-growing opportunity for Tesla than robotaxis. AI can generate $50–100 billion in annual revenue per gigawatt of power — dramatically outpacing typical robotaxi economics.
eating the stuff that now people
are paying a lot of money to have,”
Miller said, referencing
the current movement
against heavily processed foods.
They would also be eating more
pork, ham, bacon and sausage,
liver pudding and offal.
Tesla Will Make More from AI Than Robotaxi
July 5, 2026 at 3:12 PM by Brian Wang
NextBigFuture.com
AI data centers and compute represent a much bigger and faster-growing opportunity for Tesla than robotaxis. AI can generate $50–100 billion in annual revenue per gigawatt of power — dramatically outpacing typical robotaxi economics.

Ten Years of Practice, No Idea Why: Building the System I Couldn’t Find
For years I mistook obedience for depth. The day I started reading my practice as a system instead of a set of instructions — and started instrumenting it like one — everything I’d called discipline turned out to be drift.
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nautil.usThe Dangers of AI Voice ClonesAI voice-cloning technology can now duplicate voices from seconds of audio, enabling both scams and marketing manipulation. Recent research shows voices similar to our own are more persuasive, likely due to evolutionary safety signals and cognitive balance theory. Companies collecting voice data thr✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
The Mouse Arm Side and the Coffee Side Are Both Tight
Your office wired one side of your neck on and the other side off. Marichyasana D pays the price.
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futurism.comMajor Union Livid After 1,000 Factory Workers Were Replaced With 50 RobotsGeneral Motors idled over 1,000 workers at its Detroit Factory Zero plant after installing 50 AI-integrated manufacturing robots (called 'cobots') to bolt body panels onto electric vehicles. The UAW views this as retaliation for their 2023 strike victories and a cost-cutting measure to weaken union✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50to be Self Evident."
was almost
"We hold these truths
as SACRED."
Quite a difference it
makes -- power not from the
divine, but from the people
spread the gospel
https://pressreader.com/article/281483578118622
The Washington Post Fri, Jul 3, 2026
At D.C. fair, evangelists see ripe soil to
spread the gospel
https://pressreader.com/article/281483578118622
The Washington Post Fri, Jul 3, 2026
At D.C. fair, evangelists see ripe soil to
spread the gospel
https://pressreader.com/article/281483578118622
The Washington Post Fri, Jul 3, 2026
At D.C. fair, evangelists see ripe soil to
spread the gospel
https://pressreader.com/article/281483578118622
The Washington Post Fri, Jul 3, 2026

Cortisol Dropped After a Single Yoga Class
A 2007 study found that people new to yoga experienced significant decreases in cortisol, the primary stress hormone, after just one class.
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Don’t Guess. Assess.
“Don’t guess, assess” is a data thesis. We turned every posture into a diagnostic you can actually read — joint by joint, no guru required.
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arstechnica.comWing Commander IV and the FMV future that never quite wasA retrospective on Wing Commander IV (1996), a space combat game that epitomized the mid-90s ambition to merge Hollywood production values with interactive gaming. The game featured Mark Hamill and other actors performing on 35mm film with massive sets, costing $12 million and shipping on six CD-ROM✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
bbc.co.ukInstagram running ads promoting child sexual abuse material in India, BBC findsBBC investigation found Instagram running ads in India that promoted child sexual abuse material, using explicit search terms and linking to Telegram channels. The ads exploited Instagram's advertising system to direct users to illegal content, raising questions about platform moderation and algorit✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Peter LadueKarl Hess: Toward LibertyKarl Hess is the rare figure who lived the full arc — power, disillusionment, craft, and radical decentralism — and articulates each stage with disarming clarity. This transcript is a masterclass in how principled apostasy actually works.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theguardian.com‘Vanishingly rare’ copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archivesA volunteer at the UK National Archives discovered one of only 11 surviving copies of an early printing of the US Declaration of Independence, found among papers seized from an American privateer ship captured by the British in 1776. The document's remarkable provenance traces its journey from a New✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Two Tracks
A teacher showed up sick, taught brilliantly, and asked a rude little question: are body and mood really the same thing?
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Your Maha Sadhana
A reminder that asana isn’t the whole practice—it’s training for how you treat people, reduce harm, and maybe enjoy your life.
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Kit Betts-MastersThe Viral Tiny E-Reader Just Got SeriousA low-key but persuasive case for buying back your reading habit with a $99 e-ink device — useful both as a product note and as a reminder of why deliberate friction matters. The habit argument is the real payload.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Cercle RecordsArodes Ft. Yo Trane – Something SpecialA slow-burn vocal house track that earns its intimacy — the lyrics build from quiet longing into full declaration without ever overselling it. The restraint is the point.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Big ThinkThe leadership mistake high performers makeA precise diagnosis of why high performers fail when promoted — and a clear reframe of what leadership actually requires. Worth returning to whenever the pull toward doing over directing gets loud.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Kit Betts-MastersBOOX Go 6 Gen 2: The Tiny Workflow TestA live, hands-on workflow stress-test of the BOOX Go 6 Gen 2 — handwriting recognition, Bluetooth keyboard lag, and the Tappy remote all get honest real-time verdicts. Essential for anyone considering this as a pocketable productivity device.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comInside the Food Truck Mafia Wreaking Havoc Around the National MallThe article exposes an organized network of unlicensed, unsafe food trucks operating around the National Mall in Washington, DC. These vendors violate health codes, fire safety regulations, and vending laws while a coordinated system (described as a 'mafia') controls territory through intimidation a✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
nytimes.comIt Wasn’t Bill Maher Who Stole the ShowWhat the politician and the comic have in common became clear at the Mark Twain Prize ceremony, where the winner was called “underrated.”✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
nytimes.comFunnily enough, all of the great apes love to laugh, in the same rhythmic way we do.A study of chimps, gorillas and other great apes, including human children, sheds light on how laughter has evolved.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theconvivialsociety.substack.comDo Not Resign From LifeL.M. Sacasas argues that AI's primary impact is demoralization—not because machines outperform humans, but because their ambient presence makes people question whether their skills and efforts still matter. He rejects the framing of human exceptionalism, suggesting that if something is yours to do,✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
Who Am I? The Yoga Question Behind Every Other Question
Self-inquiry sounds soft. In practice it's the hardest thing in yoga.
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washingtonian.comWhat Time Are DC’s July 4 Fireworks Actually Happening?A Washingtonian article reports confusion over DC's July 4th fireworks start time (10:30 PM vs 11 PM), with the event expanding to 40 minutes and 850,000 shells for America's 250th anniversary. The piece details extensive security restrictions on the National Mall including bans on chairs, coolers,✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
arstechnica.comSony erases digital content from libraries; reminded we don't own what we buySony is removing 551 StudioCanal titles from UK PlayStation customers' libraries due to expired licensing agreements, with no refunds offered. The incident highlights that digital 'purchases' are actually long-term licenses that can be revoked when distribution rights expire, not permanent ownership✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
sciencedaily.comScientists may have finally found how Alzheimer's spreads through the brainResearchers discovered that Arc, a protein normally involved in neuron communication, helps toxic Tau protein spread between brain cells in Alzheimer's disease by packaging it into extracellular vesicles. Arc has a dual role: it helps diseased neurons expel excess Tau (protective), but this allows t✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
sciencedaily.comScientists say creatine may help fight depressionA systematic review of five randomized controlled trials found mixed evidence on whether creatine supplementation helps with depression. Two studies showed significant benefits when combined with antidepressants or cognitive behavioral therapy, while three found no effect. Researchers suggest creati✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
tricycle.orgLanding on One’s Feet in the VoidBhikkhu Bodhi examines Buddhist accounts of sudden awakening amid crisis—Kisagotami's grief, Patacara's catastrophic losses, Siha's despair—arguing that these stories reveal a second track to liberation alongside gradual training. He suggests that the involuntary stripping away of all reference poin✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
commoncog.comA Retrospective on Goldratt’s Thinking ToolsA reflection on workshops teaching Goldratt's Theory of Constraints Thinking Tools, framing them as common-sense reasoning made systematic and repeatable even under emotional duress or frustration. The five tools (Current Reality Tree, Evaporating Cloud, Future Reality Tree, Prerequisite Tree, Trans✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
quantamagazine.orgAfter 80 Years, Mathematicians Give Famed ‘Erdős Method’ an UpgradePaul Erdős introduced the probabilistic method in 1947, proving certain mathematical objects (like clique-free networks) exist by showing random selection yields them with nonzero probability—without constructing them directly. For 80 years, progress on diagonal Ramsey numbers stalled until three ma✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
themarginalian.orgTrue Love Will Find You in the End: Kurt Vonnegut on When to Stop Trying and When to Try AgainMaria Popova uses Vonnegut's long, painful marriage to Jane Cox as a meditation on the hardest equation in life: when to keep trying and when to stop. She frames the question through an Andean image of treeline—the precise point where conditions turn inhospitable to growth—and traces how Vonnegut me✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
theconvivialsociety.substack.comFriendship SufficesL.M. Sacasas memorializes David Cayley, the Canadian broadcaster and interpreter of Ivan Illich who died at 81. The essay celebrates Cayley's generosity and uses his death as occasion to reflect on Illich's claim that hospitality and friendship are the ground of hope and political life, illustrated✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
astralcodexten.comThe Metaculus Democracy Threat IndexScott Alexander reviews the Metaculus Democracy Threat Index, a crowdsourced forecasting tool that aggregates 153 questions about US democratic health to produce a transparent, less expert-dependent alternative to traditional democracy indices. He weighs its strengths (transparency, finer-grained pr✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
MJH INC: Building a Personal Sovereign Internet
From chatrooms at thirteen to running a world in Ultima Online to building communities for companies — a life spent tending rooms online. Now I'm turning that instinct on my own data: pulling twenty years of my life off the platforms and onto ground I own, and building the habit of micro-journaling in my own garden instead of Meta's.
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wtop.comHumor laurels for comedian Bill Maher as the Kennedy Center navigates Trump-era upheavalComedian Bill Maher will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, an event happening amid significant institutional upheaval after President Trump installed allies on the board and attempted to close and rename the venue. Maher's selection is notable given his long, con✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
akrites.orgWe All Depend on Open Source. We Will Defend It TogetherAn open letter from the technology industry, and the launch of Akrites - a coordinated effort to remediate vulnerabilities in the open source software the world runs on.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
experimental-history.comReading the news is the new smokingI quit. I feel great. You can too.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
newscientist.comRead an extract from Slow Gods by Claire NorthThe New Scientist Book Club’s read for July is Claire North’s space opera Slow Gods. In this extract from its second chapter, we learn about the upbringing of its protagonist on the planet Tu-mdo✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comMap: Navigating the National MallYour guide to road closures, fences, bathrooms, water fountains, and more.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
popville.com“D.C. Police Agree To Compensate District Resident Handcuffed for Playing Star Wars “Imperial March” Theme Near National Guard Troops”photo by Diane Krauthamer From the DC ACLU: "The District of Columbia has agreed to pay to settle a First Amendment lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.), on behalf of Sam O’Hara, a D.C. resident who was handcuffed for playing the "Imperial March" from Star Wars while✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
lionsroar.comHow to Speak Up in Difficult MomentsA Buddhist practitioner recounts standing with interfaith clergy outside an LA detention center during ICE actions, speaking unprepared to riot-geared LAPD officers about the fear he sensed in them. He traces how the Eightfold Path, particularly Wise Speech and sila, helped him move past lifelong co✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
lionsroar.comUsing Heartbreak as PracticeA Latina Buddhist practitioner reflects on the bodhisattva vow through the story of Chenrezig shattering at the world's suffering. She argues that genuine practice should break us open in response to injustice like ICE raids, and warns against spiritual bypassing that hides behind concepts like equa✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
toddhargrove.substack.comWalkingChapter 9 of Healthy Movements for Human Animals✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
washingtonian.comI Went to Trump’s Great American State Fair. It Was Bleaker Than I Expected.Opening day of the Freedom 250 event in DC was sparsely attended and shockingly boring.✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50
popville.comJUST IN: Action at the Atlantic Plumbing Movie Theatre in Shaw!2112 8th Street, NW Thanks to Jay for sending: "New chairs at Atlantic Plumbing movie theater Shaw" Nice!✦ Read ad free and get the full MichaelFilter · $5.50Get MichaelFilter
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