Allman Brothers, Indian Policing, North Korea, China, Dogs

The Road Goes On Forever

Amanda Petrusich | Oxford American | 12th January 2016

Glorious appreciation of the Allman Brothers. "Idlewild South is a more controlled record, but there is still a specific rowdiness to it, an elasticity. Midnight Rider feels like a kind of apotheosis of Southern rock — if not its precise genesis — in both spirit and form. Gregg and Payne broke into Capricorn Studios in the middle of the night to record a demo of the song. It’s like they had to grab it before it ran off" (4,770 words)

The Police Said: Shall We Give Him The Treatment?

Sushma and Pushpa | The Ladies' Finger | 7th September 2015

Notes on reporting a sexual harassment case in India. "The police had asked us what we expected from them, and we said that we just wanted him to never do it again. They took him upstairs and we did not know exactly what was happening at first. Soon we could hear him being beaten up; we could hear them hitting him and we could hear his screams. This happened while his family was around and they went crazy" (2,075 words)

How Crazy Are The North Koreans?

Joel Wit | New York Times | 10th January 2016

Former arms inspector on the costs of treating North Korea like a pantomime villain: "I take my hat off to the North Koreans. They have played their cards extremely well. A large number of countries have tacitly accepted North Korea as a nuclear weapons state. How has the North been able to do this? A big reason you will not often hear is that Americans simply don’t take them seriously" (1,040 words)

Mo Zhixu & Qiao Mu & Song Zhibiao | China Change | 6th January 2016

"As the year 2015 was drawing to its end, a new expression was born on China’s social media: 'the Zhaos' (赵家人). New phrases pop up regularly online in China, but 'the Zhaos' has been hailed as revolutionary. Never has an expression captured the essence of China’s politics and economy with such pithiness and precision—that a class of people thinks China belongs to them, acts like its owner, and is indeed the owner" (1,880 words)

Dogs Are Not People

Colin Dayan | Boston Review | 23rd January 2014

"Books abound on dog love, loving dogs, what it means to have or be with a dog. Even while we are ostensibly doing everything in our power to ascertain the nature and desires of dogs, the questions we ask obscure or betray what is most salient about them and necessary to their lives. Dogs are not people. Dogs are not humans. But we are desperate to appropriate whatever it means to be dog and to make that over in our image"

Video of the day: The State Of The Union

What to expect: CNN presents a documentary about the State of the Union address in the style of Wes Anderson (3'50")

Thought for the day

The earth has grown a nervous system, and it's us
Daniel Dennett