Having a couple of weeks off from ClientCo, so naturally I've picked up a stomach bug from somewhere 
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- A Sea Story - "On a stormy night on the Baltic Sea, more than 850 people lost their lives when a luxurious ferry sank below the waves. From a mass of material, including official and unofficial reports and survivor testimony, our correspondent has distilled an account of the Estonia's last moments.” Graphic account of the loss of the ferry MS Estonia in 1994.
- Short Trip - ”Short Trip is the first instalment in a collection of interactive illustrations created for the web. It has been created as a study into capturing the essence of graphite on paper within a digital context, and to learn more about web-based graphics technologies. Short Trip will run on most devices supporting WebGL, including mobile devices.” Use the left and right arrow keys, or touch the left and right of the screen on a phone or tablet, to take a train on a journey, stopping at the various stations to let passengers on and off. Don’t go too fast, as you’ll want time to admire the beautiful landscape through which the line runs
- Vietnam, the CIA, and the World’s Fastest Aircraft - The story of Operation Black Shield and the top secret A-12 spy plane: ”The A-12 made its first flight in 1962. Lockheed’s Kelly Johnson hadn’t designed the A-12 for Vietnam, but Vietnam was the war it was born into. Johnson had created the airplane in response to the CIA’s need for something that could fly faster and higher than its subsonic U-2, another Johnson-designed reconnaissance airplane, which the agency had relied on since the mid-1950s to provide high-altitude photography. The A-12 was unlike anything anyone had ever seen.”
- Painting the Town Red: Spies & Secret Agents in London Restaurants & Hotels in the 1920s - "I have spent the last few years combing through the MI5 files for the 1920s. Right from the start I was struck not just by what these unique documents have to say about the secret services and their battles with the new Soviet state (which was created after the Russian Revolution in 1917), but also by the fascinating perspectives that they provide on British society in general." From the Café Royal to the Dolphin pub in Uxbridge, spies of the 1920s had a rather more sedate pace of life than CIA pilots over Vietnam.
- A 14th-century plague helped reveal just how long humans have polluted the planet - "When the Black Death barreled through Europe in the 14th century, people had every reason to believe the end of the world was at hand. During the height of the pandemic, entire towns were felled… And metal mining ground to a halt. When smelting ceased, lead that would have been released into the atmosphere stayed in the ground. Amidst the chaos, air pollution plummeted.” Now the drop in industrial activity consequent upon the plague is being studied through analysis of ice cores from the Alps.
- This Gay Man Was Given Repeated Electric Shocks By British Doctors To Make Him Straight - "While studying for his A-levels, Jeremy Gavins was sent to NHS psychiatrists to "cure" his homosexuality. Here he tells BuzzFeed News how the treatment, forced on him by doctors, teachers, and the Catholic church, destroyed his life."
- Frank Zappa’s ‘Vaultmeister’ Talks On Preserving A Legacy - "As one of the most prolific musicians of all time, Frank Zappa was also a visionary when it came to preserving his own legacy. His legendary vault contains thousands of hour’s worth of concert tapes, rehearsals, album masters, video footage and countless other sonic treasures." Interview with archivist Joe Travers, who works with the Zappa Family Trust to conserve and release the archived material.
- Shoplifters and other Villains - the Secret Bookseller on the many and varied kinds of thieves encountered in bookshops: ”I’m going to take all that bad stuff, all those nasty encounters we booksellers regularly sweep under the carpet, and sweep it all back out again, for one blogpost only. Let’s shine some light on that incessant line-up of villains, swindlers, kleptos, lawbreakers and general unpleasantness that booksellers have to deal with, here on the front line of retail.”
- The State of Being Stuck - Ben Orlin: ”Last year, I got the high school math teacher’s version of a wish on a magic lamp: a chance to ask a question of the world’s most famous mathematician." Andrew Wiles’s answer explains the importance of accepting being stuck.
- Vintage Patterns - Fancy a spot of dressmaking? ”We are a collaborative Wikia dedicated to documenting Vintage Sewing Patterns (25 years old or older) that anyone can edit! Browse vintage dress patterns and completed vintage sewing projects, explore amusing illustrations and ogle classic movie stars. Search patterns available from our vintage pattern vendors or add your name to a wishlist."
Happy invoicing!
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