This is what happens when you poke around in old collections: Three unknown shark specimens spur scientists to look at other dead animals, not to mention live ones, to determine the sharks’ closest relatives and to see if any may still be alive. – Gizmodo
Blog
What Would It Take To Mute – And Prosecute – R. Kelly?
After a six-part documentary series on Lifetime in which dozens of women and women’s families came forward to accuse the singer of abusing and molesting young women and teenage girls, prosecutors say he’d be hard to try because “bringing a case is difficult without cooperating victims.” – The New York Times
We Know You Love ‘Bird Box,’ But Could You Please Not Drive While Blindfolded?
People. Last week, Netflix asked us all – begged us, really – not to take the “Bird Box Challenge” – but someone wasn’t listening. “A teenager with her hat over her eyes drove into oncoming traffic in the city of Layton while taking part in the so-called ‘Bird Box Challenge.'” (No one was injured.) – BBC
The Latest Reading Accessory Is A Candle (Or Twelve)
Reading: It’s a lifestyle thing. “Candles are also now a common impulse purchase at independent bookstores, along with tote bags and coffee. There are shelves upon shelves of literary-themed ones at the Strand in New York, which famously brags of 18 miles of books.” – The New York Times
Will Anyone Buy Troubled UK Entertainment Chain HMV?
The chain, which accounts for a third of all physical music sales in Britain and a quarter of all physical DVD sales, had a terrible holiday season and is going under – but there are offers with those “hoping to buy the long-established music retailer, which employs 2,200 people, [given] a deadline of Tuesday to submit bids.” – The Guardian (UK)
Internet Protocol Mappers Led Police Back, And Back, And Back To This Random Couple’s House
So you think your phone, or tablet, or computer, was stolen and then landed at an address in South Africa? Er, no. This was all a big mistake. “John and Ann’s house must have just missed MaxMind’s cut-off for remediation. Theirs was the 104th most popular location in the database, with over a million IP addresses mapped to it.” – Gizmodo
Composer Anthony Braxton Has Only Gotten Far Busier Since ‘Retirement’
To be fair, the MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner only retired from academia. Perhaps that’s why he’s cheerfully working on a five-day opera, a 12-album set of a previous cycle of music, and overseeing his foundation and his label. – The New York Times
An Ad Gone Viral Tells The Story Of Race And Ballet
The English National Ballet ad for Swan Lake stars a Black American dancer – but the show sure doesn’t. “Ballet is interesting because it can be seen both as an enclave of whiteness and privilege, and as an outrunner of change.” – Quartz
The New Spider-Man Movie Is An Indictment Of Live-Action Superheroes
Dear deities of entertainment, why in the world do we have awkward, clunky live-action movies strewn with CGI when animation exists? (Guess why. P r o f i t.) – BuzzFeed
Stephen King Angrily Tweets At Paper For Cutting Book Reviews, And Then Boom
The paper, Maine’s Portland Press-Herald, tweeted that it would restart regional book reviews if King – a Maine writer, of course – could bring in 100 new subscriptions. As of Sunday, the number was at 200 and counting. – The New York Times