You Might Like … to Hear About Scranton, Rennes, MakerBots, Helicopters, Gorgeousness, Spain and More

This is a post in a series appearing each Friday, setting out some articles, videos, podcasts and the like that contributors at Slaw are enjoying and that you might find interesting. The articles tend to be longer than blog posts and shorter than books, just right for that stolen half hour on the weekend. It’s also likely that most of them won’t be about law — just right for etc.

Please let us have your recommendations for what we and our readers might like.

YouTube – Chris Hedges: The Absurdity of American Empire – GRITtv – Something a little extreme, a little scary, as the days get shorter. This radical journalist and author talks about America’s “sacrifice zones” — Appalachia, Scranton, Camden, etc. — “ravaged by the excesses of capitalism, [that] prefigure our collective future.” See also Hedges’ piece in the current Walrus magazine, A Metaphor for America.

New York Times – The Self-Destruction of the 1 Percent – Chrystia Freeland – Unless, of course, the rich simply implode. This article compares America’s 1% to the wealthy of 14th century Venice, and we all know what happened to them. Right?

dataviz.fr – Rennes: Visualisation de données – Rennes Métropole – Find the rich — or the middle class for that matter — in Rennes, France, with this interactive map of metropolitan data. Tell the map (in English) “who you are” and you’ll see where it’s most likely you’ll find your Doppelgaengers in that town.

Edge – Brains Plus Brawn – Daniel Lieberman – Think Rennes is too far? Start walking. Lieberman, Harvard prof of evolutionary biology, is of the view that your boots were made for walking — and running — very long distances, and that traces of this ability can be found in our heads. As always with Edge stuff, there’s a video as well, in case you don’t feel like reading.

Wired – The New MakerBot Replicator Might Just Change Your World – Chris Anderson – In case your boots weren’t made at all, you might have a chance soon to make them yourself, thanks to 3D printers that are getting cheaper each year. Already pundits are scoffing that no one needs one of these in their home — a sure fire sign that we’ll all have one soon.

Vimeo – Human-Powered Helicopters: Straight Up Difficult – NPR – Meanwhile people are trying to fly by flapping their wings. Well, by pedalling. And they’re doing it, which is a sort of retro triumph.

SoundCloud – Their Helicopters Sing – Godspeed You! Black Emperor – This retro Montreal group is back pedalling. Here’s a track from their latest vinyl albumn (Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!) best consumed, I’d say, after you’ve lifted off a little yourself. Nice brief review in The Guardian.

YouTube – How to be Gorgeous Kinetic Type – Stephen Fry / saifsohailkhan – For something more… mellifluous, you cannot do better than Mr. Fry. Here’s a lovely piece of the big man’s silliness accompanied by animated type.

honeynet.org – HoneyMap – IT Security Research Group – Equally attractive, but for quite different reasons, is this pot of honey. German IT researchers have set up some fake vulnerable computers to see which hacker flies are drawn in. This interactive map shows you the results, live. Alas, their name is legion. Makes for a sobering sight.

aeon magazine – Jejeje – Dan Hancox – Sobering, too, is the plight of Spanish youth at the moment. Demonstrating, moving back with their parents, emigrating . . . everything but finding work.