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Hi, friends. Welcome to the latest edition of Newley’s Notes.
Here are ten items worth your time this week:
😶 1) Shot: Facebook hearings didn’t move the needle on regulation. [Axios] — That’s Axios’s big takeaway after Mark Zuckerberg’s Congressional testimony. Among the other important themes, Kim Hart and David McCabe write: “Confusion over the digital ads ecosystem,” Zuckerberg’s many mentions of AI applications for fighting scourges like fake news, and the “trust gap” between Facebook and its users.
🕵️ 2) Chaser: I Downloaded the Information That Facebook Has on Me. Yikes. [NY Times] — Opening the file “was like opening Pandora’s box,” Brian X. Chen writes.
₿ 3) A Sidelined Wall Street Legend Bets on Bitcoin [NewYorker.com] — In this tech-related longread of the week, Gary Shteyngart profiles Michael Novogratz.
🍎 4) Headline of the week: In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information. [Bloomberg] — A reminder that Apple — and other Silicon Valley firms that wield enormous power — are furious when their staff talk to the press. My favorite line from the memo to staff: “While it may seem flattering to be approached, it’s important to remember that you’re getting played.”
🍜 5) Where to Find Bangkok’s Best Street Food While You Can [NY Times] — My pal Matt Gross spent a week in the Thai capital eating tasty food from roadside vendors. The piece is an illuminating look at at the ever changing nature of cuisine and culture in that great city.
🏍️ 6) The American Chopper meme, explained. [Vox] — Matthew Yglesias sheds some light on something you may well have seen online, and scratched your head at, over the last week or so.
👩💻 7) How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You) [WaitButWhy] — Another epic post from Tim Urban, featuring characteristic humor, rudimentary art, and mind-boggling flow charts.
📺 8) That One Night: The Oral History of the Greatest ‘Office’ Episode Ever [Rolling Stone] — Ten years after “The Dinner Party” aired — yep, the one in which Pam, Jim, Andy and others pay a visit to Michael and Jan at their condo — the actors weigh in on what Rolling Stone calls “a master class of dark comedy.”
🐐 9) So 2 Goats Were Stuck On A Beam Under A Bridge… — The feel good story of the week comes from Pennsylvania. The photos are required viewing. The creatures wandered out onto a narrow beam on a bridge 100 feet above the ground. And got stuck. Click through to find out what happened. (Thanks, Arun!)
⏳ 10) Mesmerizing YouTube videos of the week: The Sand Tagious YouTube channel features dozens of sound-rich videos showing the manipulation of modeling sand. Volume all the way up on this one.
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👊 Fist bump from New Delhi,
Newley