Friday, August 06, 2021

Weekend Links 8-6-21

 It is a bakers dozen of interesting items for your weekend enjoyment. Let us dive in!

Part of the Apollo 11 spacecraft might still be orbiting the moon. That is pretty amazing if true.

Answering the important questions: why do performers say "break a leg?

Why Sneakers is one of the most interesting espionage/heist movies of the 1990s. Warning: this article contains spoilers.

Uncovering the mystery of the lost second novel by Emily Bronte. 

The Adirondack chair is synonymous with rest and relaxation. But it was originally invented to help cure disease.

Ian Fleming served in naval intelligence during World War II. His real life missions would inspire his later writings of James Bond novels. 

Watch Alfred Hitchcock explain how he shot the iconic shower scene in Psycho (and show off his droll sense of humor at the same time).

Speaking of Hitchcock, why Rope is his experimental masterpiece. 

A group of German physicists are studying why beer coasters don't fly like Frisbees when tossed.    Something tells me that copious amounts of beer were consumed in the process of conducting these experiments.

Who invented the pencil? The answer is not quite as straightforward as you might think.

I learned a new word this week: tsundoku. I totally embrace it.

Sophie Hannah on why Agatha Christie is a great writer

Podcast of the week: this episode of 30 with Murti. Thirty years ago When It Was A Game premiered on HBO. The documentary consists entirely of 8mm and 16mm home movies taken by players and fans from the 1930s to the 1950s. This podcast features an interview with George Roy, one of the producers of the film, who tells how the program came into being and, more importantly, how they managed to find all those films. 

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