Una bella raccolta di libri non nuovi ma molto importanti sul mondo della tecnologia. Perché in un settore dove le novità tech si susseguono molto velocemente, succede la stessa cosa anche per quanto riguarda i libri, ma è un peccato perderne alcuni, che sono di valore.

Money quote: "If the modern tech landscape is defined by obsolescence, then we wanted to celebrate the books about it that have stood the test of time. Language is a technology — one of our oldest and most powerful."

https://www.theverge.com/c/23771068/best-tech-books-nonfiction-recommendations

Sta finendo un'epoca. Con Sonoma, la nuova versione di macOS, vanno in pensione alcuni degli ultimi modelli di Mac con processore Intel e tra poco potrebbero non essercene proprio più. Ecco qui la situazione aggiornata, per chi in autunno pensa di aggiornare.

Money quote: "In addition to the new Mac Pro, Apple also announced macOS Sonoma at WWDC 2023 earlier this week. The update doesn’t bring any significant changes, except for some improvements to FaceTime, interactive widgets on the desktop, and a new API for porting Windows games to the Mac. But even so, Apple has dropped support for some Intel Macs with the update.
For instance, none of the iconic 12-inch MacBooks can run the new version of macOS. The 2017 MacBook Pro won’t get the update either. When it comes to the iMac, while the 2017 iMac was the oldest supported model on macOS Ventura, the update to macOS Sonoma requires the 2019 iMac or newer."

https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/08/apple-intel-mac-macos-updates/

Planimetria di un Silo, anatomia di una storia - la mia rubrica su Fumettologica

https://fumettologica.it/2023/07/silo-serie-tv-apple-romanzi-hugh-howey/

I "Golden passport" sono una cosa davvero interessante: a fronte di un mondo dove la gente letteralmente muore per arrivare in paesi dove non vogliono farli entrare in nessun modo, ci sono altre persone che si comprano nazionalità e passaporti per potersene andare dove vogliono. Gli ultraricchi possono, i comuni mortali no.

Money quote: "The ultrarich are collecting not one, but sometimes two or three passports and multiple citizenships, and all the privileges they confer. These passports, often issued by nations particularly welcoming of cash, can be a kind of collector’s item, a status symbol luxury good to show off at bougie soirees. It also cracks open the door to a possible escape, should things go south for the holder in their personal life or in their country of origin.

All it requires is money — anywhere from $100,000 on the low end to more than $1 million on the high end, invested in property or a public good — plus background checks and a short wait for approval. Called “golden” passports, they don’t even actually require the wealthy to reside in the places where they hold citizenship."

https://www.vox.com/money/23762537/golden-passports-wealthy-explained

Come si disegna un cavallo? Mica facile. Disegnatori anche bravi ci sbattono il grugno. Ma adesso Emma Hunsinger sul New Yorker spiega bene come si fa. Interessante! E pieno di disegni facili.

https://archive.is/yfz5d

Una storia di balene salvate durante la pandemia. Ma anche di studenti che si raccontano sul giornale dell'università. E di come si raccontano le storie e di che voce cercare per dire quello che vuoi dire. E dell'impatto della pandemia in chi vuole fare la differenza. L'idealismo della biologia marina in una lettura forse non spettacolare ma certamente intrigante, perché apre le porte di un posto luminoso e pulito: un ambiente completamente estraneo al resto della società.

Money quote: "It’s a conversation that would have looked a lot different just one year ago when Anastasia and I were attending graduate school virtually. Likely from home, likely on Zoom, likely with a Google Doc trannoscript of my notes—but certainly not in front of the ocean, inspiring each thread of conversation with a renewed vigor to protect “all of this,” as Anastasia often puts it, gesturing at the brown pelicans, marine mammals, and students all enjoying their local marine protected area. For students like her, going to school virtually highlights just how important it is to connect with the places you’re working so hard to protect."

https://bren.ucsb.edu/news/saving-whales-during-pandemic-story-student-team-navigating-remote-times

Il fumetto che racconta la storia di Patrick Zaki - il mio articolo per Fumettologica

https://fumettologica.it/2023/07/patrick-zaki-fumetto-gianluca-costantini/

Una mappa semplice semplice che mostra i tassi di morte per l'uso eccessivo di alcool in Europa. L'Italia e la Grecia hanno una educazione al bere che il resto del continente ci dovrebbe invidiare. Pure la Spagna non è male. (I paesi invece islamici hanno un approccio diverso e punteggi conseguenti).

https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/uszfck/oc_alcohol_death_rates_in_europe/

La terza dentizione

Money quote: "A clinical trial scheduled for July 2024 will initially be for participants with tooth agenesis, a genetic condition that results in the absence of teeth, but the scientists have a view to making the treatment available for general use by as soon as 2030."

https://newatlas.com/medical/humans-grow-new-teeth-drug-trial

"Barbie" è un blockbuster sovversivo e postmoderno - la mia entusiastica recensione per Fumettologica

https://fumettologica.it/2023/07/barbie-film-recensione-margot-robbie/

Costa solo otto dollari. È la web-serie del regista Steven Soderberg. Bella assai.

Money quote: "Funny Thing About The Future

It’s never going away. Or at least not anytime soon. But what to DO with it? Or ABOUT it? These questions—and many more—can be answered with a few clicks and few bucks (for two good causes). But be warned: with every answer will come more questions, because, hey: IT WERE EVER THUS."

https://extension765.com/blogs/soderblog/command-z

Tokyo è una città meravigliosa e Hayao Miyazaki uno dei miei autori preferiti. Un connubio perfetto vedere il suo ultimo film in un cinema della capitale giapponese.

https://antoniodini.com/ultimo-film-hayao-miyazaki/

10 libri di fantascienza da leggere questa estate - la mia selezione per Fumettologica

https://fumettologica.it/2023/07/libri-di-fantascienza-estate-2023/

Stranissimo articolo su una artista che conoscevo solo superficialmente. Ma la foto di apertura vale tutto.

Money quote: "Joanna Sternberg’s relationship with visual art has been a lifelong pursuit. They recall developing a childhood interest that wasn’t always encouraged in school. “When I was home drawing, it was so much fun, and I would just get lost in it. In middle school, I started really wanting to draw all the time and was always drawing something else during class,” they explain. "

https://thevinylfactory.com/features/joanna-sternberg-interview/

Storia orale della serie animata di Batman che nel 1992 aprì una nuova prospettiva sul cavaliere oscuro.

Money quote: "BT: Neither of us had ever produced a series before, so that was a big gamble on her part. There was a period in the early couple months of production where, literally, Eric and I didn’t know if we were gonna show up and find the locks changed on our offices. I mean, this had never really been done before for TV. What we wanted to do was quite a bit more adult than, say, shows like G.I. Joe or Transformers or He-Man. Those shows were deliberately designed for young kids, and nobody else. If you were 13, that was pretty much the cutoff point for a show like He-Man or G.I. Joe. But we wanted to do a show that would appeal to kids and also to adults, as well. Basically, we were making the show for ourselves."

https://www.vulture.com/article/oral-history-batman-the-animated-series.html

Dovremmo cominciare a parlare di più dei libri per ragazzi e bambini. E dovremmo anche cominciare a pensarli in maniera diversa, lasciando più spazio ad autori che sono percepiti come meno convenzionali dalla cultura mainstream.

Money quote: "I get it—trees are a thing that kids and adults have in common (also: benches). Kids climb them and adults like to … look at them, I guess. We adults can’t stop writing and publishing books like this. And since there is no real critique of children’s books (since any children’s book author or illustrator is assumed to be trying to do something nice for kids, and don’t knock it), we keep making more of them—the kids haven’t told us otherwise. As The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson put it in a radio interview, “When you read an adult novel there’s always about three pages of reviews.”

For kids’ books, there are none."

https://lithub.com/let-the-kids-get-weird-the-adult-problem-with-childrens-books/

È uscito il secondo numero dell'annuario "The html Review" (che già il titolo è geniale). Tanta tanta roba da leggere.

Money quote: "Our 2023 issue is made up of 17 contributions that span modes of digital literature and experiment. We have poetic instruments, interactive fictions, illustrated essays, movable lyrics, linguistic gardens, and pixelated memories. I like to think each piece we publish is a specific illumination of how literature can exist in digital spaces. They are each reflective of a World Wide Web built with fingerprints visible, inviting all to participate and take ownership.

After all, this issue comes at a time when both our reading and digital lives are perilous."

https://thehtml.review/02/

Qui invece il primo numero

https://thehtml.review/01/

Recensione fotocamera digitale Leica Q3, forse la migliore compatta di sempre: il mio articolo (e ci sono anche un po' di foto del Giappone! Ma poco perché nonostante la macchina bestiale non sono bravo)

https://www.macitynet.it/recensione-leica-q3/

Mostly Weekly, la mia newsletter gratuita, continua anche d'estate. Si parla di vestiti alla marinara in Giappone e lingue perdute in Cina, fra le altre cose. La trovate qui:

https://antoniodini.com/weekly/230/

Avete presente la tragica fine del generale Custer e del Settimo cavalleggeri, massacrato dagli indiani? Beh, la narrativa è molto, molto viziata. E adesso c'è finalmente una riscrittura di quella storia che spiega anche i motivi per cui il racconto è diventato quel che è diventato.

Money quote: "Marshall is writing a book on how distorted narratives about the “Indian wars” after the Civil War made their way into schools. The answer reveals a potent mix of the powerful who engage in history making: soldiers burnishing their own reputations, loved ones honoring family members, lawmakers lobbying for federal dollars, and textbook writers mythologizing American Manifest Destiny."

https://time.com/6288437/custer-last-stand-history-education/

Ta-da!