Published in GEN·PinnedMember-onlyMy Name Is Ahmed. Am I White?The law says yes. My experience says otherwise. — O, my greatest enemy and benefactor in the whole world is this dumb-hearted mother, this America, in whose iron loins I have been spiritually conceived… But alas, our spiritual Mother devours, like a cat, her own children. —Ameen Rihani, 1911 For as long as I could remember, I wanted to…Racism11 min readRacism11 min read
Published in GEN·PinnedMember-onlyNaming the Unspoken ThingInside the Bay Area’s craziest secret underground parties — What the fuck is this,” asks Jeffrey, so high that he cannot see straight, his face a melting candle. By “this” I don’t think he means the chemicals he’s ingested, which he’s taken on prior occasions, albeit at lower doses. Nor do I take him to mean Nana’s Living Room…Psychedelics18 min readPsychedelics18 min read
Published in GEN·PinnedMember-onlyConfessions of a Juul JunkieI’d never considered a future where a pod was out of reach. Moving to Barcelona changed that. — The nicotine is everywhere, and I am assailed on all sides. Hip Catalan separatists in jean cutoffs smoking their rollies, their tobacco laughter echoing up the cracked façades of this narrow Barcelona street and into my open window. The old lady in the apartment across the street from mine hanging…Vaping10 min readVaping10 min read
Published in OneZero·PinnedMember-onlyWhat Happens When a Computer Runs Your LifeThis software engineer let an algorithm pick where he lives, what he does—even what tattoo to get. Is he onto something? — Max Hawkins will be getting his first tattoo in a few days, and the panic’s setting in. Not because it’s a permanent choice — although it certainly is. And not because of the pain — he thinks that’ll be manageable enough. …Computer Science9 min readComputer Science9 min read
PinnedMember-onlyTripping on Acid with My DadThe Arab Spring brought my father back to America, and LSD helped us make up for lost time — All the familiar paranoias emerge on a bright summer day in Big Sur, as my older brother and I watch my 70-year-old father come up on LSD for the first time in…maybe ever? His eyes are closed, hands folded on his lap. …Egypt8 min readEgypt8 min read
Published in Timeline·PinnedThis magical drug mansion in Upstate New York is where the psychedelic ’60s took offOwned by one of America’s richest families, Millbrook hosted Timothy Leary, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Mingus and more — William Mellon Hitchcock was not your typical acid head. Billy, as he was called, was a tall, charming blonde stockbroker in his twenties who worked at Lehman Brothers, for one. He was heir to one of the largest fortunes in the country, for another. And he had a trust fund…Music9 min readMusic9 min read
Published in Long Now·PinnedMember-onlyHow Warren Buffett Won His Multi-Million Dollar Long BetBuffett’s wager is a lesson in taking the Long View — From the preacher warning that the day of reckoning is nigh, to the sports analyst prognosticating about the outcome of next week’s big game, to the fortune teller calling for hard times in Mercury retrograde, predictions are pervasive, but accountability is rare. …Finance13 min readFinance13 min read
Published in Long Now·PinnedMember-onlyThe Largest Early World Map is Unveiled For the First TimeUrbano Monte’s planisphere was centuries ahead of its time — On July 25, 01585, near the end of a century of unprecedented change, four Japanese boys stopped in Milan on their way back home to Japan. They’d been sent as the first Japanese Embassy to Europe three years earlier by the Jesuit missionary Alesandro Valignano. Their European tour took them…Maps6 min readMaps6 min read
Published in LEVEL·PinnedMember-onlyThe Boundless Optimism and Timeless Wisdom of Fantastic NegritoXavier Dphrepaulezz’s triumph is the feel-good story we need to hear — Update 6/7/22: Level has a new home. You can read this article and other new articles by visiting LEVELMAN.com. Before Xavier Dphrepaulezz became Fantastic Negrito, the Oakland musician who won two Grammys for Best Contemporary Blues Album in the past three years, he was, for a brief period in 2012…Music8 min readMusic8 min read
Published in Long Now·May 18, 2021Member-onlyHow Long is Now?The art of Alicia Eggert makes time tangible — I. Time The most commonly-used noun in the English language is, according to the Oxford English Corpus, time. Its frequency is partly due to its multiplicity of meanings, and partly due to its use in common phrases. …Art16 min readArt16 min read
