Posts by: Joshuah Bearman
The last place where the post office tries to decipher your bad handwriting
Or just impossible addresses, like “the one addressed to the house ‘down the street from the drugstore on the corner’ or one intended for ‘the place next to the red barn.’”
...moreR.I.P. Harry Weathersby Stamps, ladies’ man, natty dresser, accomplished traveler, hater of Daylight Savings Time
A wildly entertaining obit from the Biloxi Sun Herald:
...moreHe despised phonies, his 1969 Volvo (which he also loved), know-it-all Yankees, Southerners who used the words “veranda” and “porte cochere” to put on airs, eating grape leaves, Law and Order (all franchises), cats, and Martha Stewart.
The Other Argo
In 2007 Rumpus pal Joshuah Bearman wrote a Wired article that became the movie Argo. Originally there was a different opening to this article, called The Bond Opening.
...moreBaghdad Country Club
The following is an excerpt from “Baghdad Country Club” by Joshuah Bearman. You can find the full story on The Atavist.
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Iraqis have a word, barra, which means “out there,” and for those lucky enough to be inside the Green Zone came to mean the rest of Baghdad, the bedlam beyond the T-walls.
Tara Donovan Draws with Pins
I can’t get enough of Tara Donovan’s work, so I was excited to see a new series of pin placements, like so:
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5,318,008
I’m glad there’s a wikipedia entry for 5,318,008 = BOOBIES, and many other entertainments from algebra class:
Arachnophobes, Steer Clear of South Eastern Pakistan
Because last year’s floods drove the spiders to the trees, which now look like this:
...moreBadass
Hideaki Akaiwa used scuba gear to navigate tsunami-submerged city to rescue his wife, and days later, his mother.
...moreSimple, Obvious, but Effective
Photographer Irina Werning recreates childhood photos.
They look like this and speak volumes about youth, adulthood, and all that’s in between:
...moreVirginal Super Soldiers
Why aren’t more people talking about Ghaddafi’s elite team of virginal super soldiers?
We all knew Ghaddafi was a megalomanaical and evil dictator with a flair for fashion. But who knew he could combine all his interests in one stroke of evil genius with the Amazonian Guard, a team of hand-picked, martial arts-trained, marksman virgins in matching berets?
...moreNaturalists’ Deaths By Unnatural Causes
Richard Conniff, author of The Species Seekers, found himself, while researching that book, cataloging the strange deaths of many naturalists over the past two centuries.
He compiled them on his website. It makes for fascinating reading. Among my favorites:
...moreThe Incomparable Grace of Print
Portugal has a new, staple-stitched, full-color, full-bleed newspaper that was just voted the best designed paper in the world:
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Best Shot From the Nine Eyes of Google
Collections of imagery culled from Google Street View have been around for some time now, but Jon Rafman has the best eye for discerning the funny, surprising, and poignant moments captured by what amounts to the most extensive documentary photography project of all time.
...moreUSAF and Medusa
The only problem with naming your new weapons system “Gorgon Stare” as the Air Force has done: Medusa’s lapidogenic vision was actually used against her.
In fact, it was classic asymmetrical warfare: the vastly more powerful Gorgon’s Stare against mortal little Perseus and his shield.
...morePoor Malchik
In Tokyo, at the Shibuya Station, there is a statue of a dog named Hachiko who would come and greet his master every day after week, even after his master died.
...moreThere Will Be Blood — and Power Ups
The epic, in (surprising metaphorically effective) 8-bit-ification.
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