Cure insomnia, cure depression: Link between sleep and mental illness recovery may be ‘boon to the field’, Ryerson research suggests
Cognitive behavioural therapy is really on a roll these days.
Funkaoshi: Year 10
Ram’s site turns ten. I have been reading his excellent blog for ages.
Bob Dylan “Like A Rolling Stone” – Official Interactive Video
Very well done. More details here.
Putting Pencil to Paper: FiftyThree debuts the best iPad stylus yet
Cooool.
More here
•Rob Ford’s unchecked lies to Peter Mansbridge
3 big whoppers in 3 minutes
Toronto apartment rentals: how did they get so nuts?
On the critical lack of affordable rental housing in Toronto. I know most of my renter friends have recently migrated to the east side because rents on the other side of the Don have really gone nuts in the past couple years.
The PlayStation 4 sold one million units in 24 hours, a number that is even crazier in context
The context is that this is North America only, and beats every other historical console including previous gen’s champ the Wii (600,000 in first eight days). Caveat: it probably has a lot to do with pre-orders and constrained stock in previous generations.
Fordlandia, Update 430
I was off on a shoot yesterday and the volume of Ford news that has passed since my last writings is truly staggering. I’ve read some of the unredacted police interviews with Ford staffers, which are amazing. And then there’s “I have more than enough to eat at home”, and the council proceedings today.
But I don’t really have time to unpack everything, and you presumably know all about it anyway, so I just want to reflect on one aspect: I’m definitely feeling pity for Mayor Ford, in a manner I did not expect. This guy is the worst mayor in Toronto history, maybe in history general. He’s a liar and a hypocrite and a bully. But I also think of how he just wanted to play football and him as a teen huffing around the track alone, trying in vain to lose weight. How it seems he has always been bullied by his brother. How he must have felt obliged by his father’s legacy as an MPP to enter politics. How his family has misled and enabled him.
Most of all though this is a story of denial, both Ford’s self-denial and his followers’ denial about him. Ford is led astray by two primary self-delusions. The first is that he has a political future, and the second is that he doesn’t have an alcohol abuse problem (and perhaps other substance abuse issues). If he disabuses himself of the first delusion while holding onto the second, he could be in a lot of trouble and this could end very badly. I don’t want this to happen – partially because of some shoots of humanity yet emerging from my charred and blackened heartscape, partially because if he died it would really take the glow off all of the fun we’re having.
Ford more years!
Daring Fireball: The Retina iPad Mini
I was due for a new iPad so I ordered one of these things. Pretty excited about it.
Judge orders release of more material in Mayor Rob Ford investigation
Could really put the carnival at City Hall today into perspective.
PlayStation 4 Review
Amazing web design.
Constipated cats, sticky blue poop and more: Japan’s 9 weirdest vending machine toys
Sleep: When Brain Cells Shrink & Neuro Trash Is Flushed Away
Sleep may be the brain purging brain-waste.
Rob Ford Crack Case File #429
There was a good Fifth Estate episode about the Ford affair on friday, and it’s now online. The followup post from the ‘broker’ of the crack tape is also key. Here is what Rob Ford can expect in rehab – a moving piece from someone who has experienced it. But lest we get carried away in our sympathy, we should deconstruct his fiscal record. Also: will Rob Ford give crackheads a better name? Somehow I doubt it. I’m not sure on that article’s claims about crack’s exaggerated dangers (there are no studies on many illegal drugs because it would be illegal to do so), but who knows.
Robot trade fair opens in Japan (video)
(via)
Look Inside Apple's Spaceship Headquarters
Renders! With happy fake employees! Looks amazing, though.
Up in Arms
Interesting thesis.
<blockquote> <p>The original North American colonies were settled by people from distinct regions of the British Isles—and from France, the Netherlands, and Spain—each with its own religious, political, and ethnographic traits. For generations, these Euro-American cultures developed in isolation from one another, consolidating their cherished religious and political principles and fundamental values, and expanding across the eastern half of the continent in nearly exclusive settlement bands. […] There’s never been an America, but rather several Americas—each a distinct nation. There are eleven nations today.</p> </blockquote>
How income inequality hurts every Canadian's chance of building a better life
The Globe is doing a series of articles on income inequality. Good so far.
Veterans plan silent protests of government policies
“In fighting a case brought against the charter by a group of severely disabled veterans, the government is arguing that the Crown has no sacred duty to care for veterans – a position that has outraged former military personnel.”
Flipping Supreme: An Underground Clothing Store in Chinatown
Pitchfork Reviews Reviews’ David Shapiro on the ancillary markets for clothing from a particularly popular skate shop:
The enterprise, which its owner refers to as Unique Hype Collection, is in the business of buying clothing from the skate-inspired men’s fashion brand Supreme at retail prices, waiting until the items have sold out at Supreme’s physical stores and online shop, and then putting those items up for sale in the mall and on eBay at significant markups.
Let’s play Rob Ford Apology Bingo!
Our Year of Magical Thinking
Great article on the feeling and significance of the Ford years