You Might Like … to Glance at Bangalore, Burke, Bullion, Beer, Blue 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.

Vimeo – For Hire! Bangalore Rickshaw – Xaver Xylophon – A delightful animated video collapsing a day in the life of an autorickshaw driver to four minutes. Beautiful colours and great use of sound to enhance the simple animation. (And if your interest in autorickshaw drivers is piqued, you might want to see the charming film Amal.)

berfrois – The Fall of Nicolas Sarkozy: Yes, it was Personal – John Gaffney – From charm to its lack, we explore why it was that Sarkozy was made to disappear. But, we’re warned, French leaders don’t stay dead, but phoenix-like rise again in one guise or another.

The American Scholar – The Right Honourable Mr. Burke – Brian Doyle – Speaking of politicians who resist death, Edmund Burke has been with us ever since. Or has he? The writer tells us “the actual man is faded away—the man his wife called Ned, fond of vulgar puns and lewd jokes, an ample man, thin as a lad and then never again; the chatterbox ‘never unwilling to begin to talk, nor in haste to leave off,’ as Samuel Johnson said . . .”

Internet Archive – Hyena Stomp – Jelly Roll Morton – Now for something completely different, so kick back and enjoy the maniacal laughter of the soi-disant inventor of jazz.

Bodlein Libraries / Royal Archives / ProQuest – Queen Victoria’s Journals / Sketchbook – Queen Victoria – Three great men in a row is too many, so it’s time for a great woman. Who drew. Who knew? (You would, if you read Ruth Bird’s recent column on Slaw.) At any rate here are dozens of her casual works of art. And the site is chock full of other interesting material as well.

calm.com – a place to relax – While we’re in England we might as well keep calm before we carry on. Here’s a site that offers you (for your fullscreen delight) a field of gently waving grass and relaxing musical sounds, along with an optional (thank goodness) soft-voiced baritone guide to tell you how to relax.

BusinessWeek – Odyssey and the Lost Spanish Treasure – Susan Berfield – You’ve had enough relaxation. Now it’s time to get stuck in the angst of an international treasure dispute involving “nine tons of 200-year-old silver coins” that the US courts ordered sent “back” to Spain. Read the comments, too, for the various possible takes on this case.

YouTube – Flower Pot Fridge – Household Hacker – There you are, arriving at the cottage to find there’s no power, hence nothing to cool the beer with. This dead simple (if you’ve got two flowerpots and sand) DIY fridge is really quite remarkable. Nature is amazing. So is cold beer.

Empirical Zeal – The crayola-fication of the world: How we gave colors names, and it messed with our brains (part I) – Aatish Bhatia – The Japanese had no word for green until the 20th century, we learn; until then it was all blue to them. Which makes me feel better for not knowing whether turquoise is green or blue and always getting it wrong.