Three-Body Problem/Google Trips/Puzzles
Followable:
Cartoonist Danny Hellman did a lot of illustrations for Boing Boing when it was a zine in the 1990s. His Instagram feed reveals his fascination with European cemetery statuary, and his photos reveal some striking examples. — MF
Readable:
A science fiction novel I really liked is The Three-Body Problem. It is the first Chinese-written novel to win a Hugo award, and it is making waves in China and, in a new English translation, with the rest of the world. Complicated, deep, and seeped in a different view of China, it’s a masterpiece. — KK
Watchable:
I watched the new movie The Jungle Book all the way through without realizing that EVERYTHING in it, except the little boy, was a computer fabrication — a virtuality way beyond Avatar. Incredible. Hundreds of wild animals, hundred of species of plants, the rivers and jungles, were all computer generated and the whole movie “filmed” on a blue-screen stage in LA. It’s a good movie, but even better evidence of where virtual production — and all films — are headed. You can catch it now on Amazon. — KK
Travel:
Google Trips is a brand new app (for iOS and Android) that scans my Gmail for travel and dining reservations to build an itinerary and offer things to do at your destination. It’s worked like a charm so far, identifying every upcoming trip I have planned. It even created summaries for past trips. — MF
Bingeable:
Netflix just released the trailer for the new season of Black Mirror, which comes out Oct. 21. The show is dark. Every episode is a mini-adrenaline rush. It's become my Twilight Zone fix, since I've exhausted all those episodes. You can watch the last two seasons (7 episodes) now.
Stuff:
Pomegranate's Charley Harper puzzles are beautiful and sturdy. Each piece is glossy and locks well with other pieces, and it's a fun distraction for a few hours. I've bought two so far — Tree of Life and Exquisite Creatures. — CL
— Kevin Kelly, Mark Frauenfelder and Claudia Lamar