Weekend Links 4-24-20

Back again with another roundup of interesting links. Unfortunately not as many items of interest as I would like. It's either because there isn't much of interest out there or that I am not spending as much time on line as I used to searching for stuff. It's probably more the latter as I continue to try to consciously avoid reading the news because it's depressing.

There's no doubt the coronavirus pandemic will be disruptive to many business sectors. I didn't realize that so many processes in the grocery industry were so manual until I ran across this article. I will say that I had first heard of and used Instacart several months ago as a way to save time. But I didn't realize what an essential part of life it would become.

The origins of baseball are a bit fuzzy and certainly debatable. For the record, Abner Doubleday definitely did not invent the game. However, it is clear that its popularity grew out of a need for exercise in light of pandemics in the late 19th century. By the way, this looks like it will be a fascinating book.

This week marked the 70th anniversary of Vin Scully's debut as the voice of the Dodgers. Here's a look back at the beginnings of his storied career.

An appreciation of Simon and Garfunkel. I used to listen to them a lot and need to go back and revisit their music.

A history of the iconic McDonalds Happy Meal. It's far more controversial than you might think.

Recommended historical non-fiction to read during the quarantine. I have only read the last two books on the list and thoroughly enjoyed both. Also, Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors. I've been looking forward to reading his latest book too.

Add Ikea to the list of companies that is publishing its popular recipes. Now if we could get the recipe for their cinnamon rolls....

Have a great weekend.

Weekend Links 1-5-18

Some random links of interest for the first weekend of 2018:

For better or worse, most people learn history through popular culture. As Peggy Noonan points out, both the media and entertainment industries bear responsibility to treat history with respect. In other words, get it right.

This is interesting: a list of 22 things not to buy at the grocery store.

Tweet of the week:

The more fractured and tribalistic our culture wars become, the more Christians need wisdom in making public political alliances (e.g. party membership, aligning with a candidate or cause). Our alliances themselves (or lack thereof) have growing witness costs. God, give us wisdom

— Jonathan Leeman (@JonathanDLeeman) December 30, 2017

Speaking of Twitter, here is why MoonPie is the best account to follow on Twitter. You won't regret it.

How one company uses lava lamps to keep the internet secure. What's even more amazing is you can actually see it for yourself.

Newsmax recently released a list of the 100 most influential evangelicals in America and Tim Challies has a few thoughts about the list. Perhaps most interesting to me is his astute observations (as a Canadian) of the peculiarly American mix of evangelicalism and politics.

Here's some useful advice on how to read more books. For what's it worth, my goal is to read at least 52 books this year (at least one per week).

How World War II helped give birth to the softcover book. This is explored more fully in When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning

Book recommendation of the week: Destiny of the Republic - A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard.

I love reading history books particular those about Presidents. I admit I knew little about President James Garfield and even less about how he died. The tragedy in his story is that his death could have easily been prevented except that it was his own doctors that were ultimately responsible for his demise. This is a fascinating book and one I would heartily recommend.

Daily Links 12-19-13

In today's edition: how Tom Hanks became Walt Disney, fun facts about Mary Poppins, the psychology of grocery stores, and more.

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Tom Hanks portrays Walt Disney in the new movie Saving Mr. Banks which opens nationwide tomorrow. Here's the story behind how he transformed himself into the entertainment icon:

“This film portrays a side of Disney we haven’t seen before,” Director John Lee Hancock reveals.

“It’s not the Walt we know from The Wonderful World of Disney, which was fun to explore,” Hancock continues, “but, someone had to play Walt Disney, become Walt Disney. Who would that be? There was really only one person that all of us could think of—Tom. I wasn’t trying to put a rubber mask on Tom and make him look exactly like Disney. I wanted Walt Disney to come from inside. Tom is such a fine actor that that’s where he begins his work—from the inside. 

“Tom grew his own mustache,” Hancock continues in describing Hanks’ physical “transformation” for the role. “There’s a lot of voice work, the way he walks, the body position, the way he holds his hands, the way he touches his mustache. How he phrases things and lets sentences roll off the end. He simply became Walt Disney to me and I was completely amazed.”

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And, since we are on the subject of Mary Poppins, here are 21 things about the film you probably didn't know.

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This looks like a fun site: Pulp! the Classics.

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Yes, the way your grocery store is laid out is designed to mess with your head:

As we’ve seen in Guy’s Grocery Games, navigating a grocery store is not an easy feat. You go in for milk and leave with six bottles of wine (on sale!) and a bag of chips. Our friendly grocers are just honest businesspeople trying to sell some food. We would never accuse them of Jedi mind tricks. 

Okay, yes we would. No consumer arena has been as psychoanalyzed as much as the grocery store. Like any responsible business owner, grocers have studied their consumers and learned what makes us tick. Often referred to as “the racetrack,” a grocery store is designed to get you into the “track” and make you go as slowly as possible through every aisle. Most of the major products have been strategically placed to maximize your time and money spent.

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The incredible story of one of the most amazing pieces of music every written, George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (complete with links to the song).

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Some words of wisdom from Casey Stengel