Lockerbie, HIV, Movies, Alpacas, Alpacamania
The Avenger: Solving The Lockerbie Bombing
Patrick Radden Keefe | New Yorker | 28th September 2015 | Metered paywall: 6
Ken Dornstein's brother died in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Colonel Qaddafi's Libya set up a $2.7 billion compensation fund for victims' families, but without claiming responsibility. For two decades, Ken has been investigating and may now have found the bomb-maker. The reckoning he seeks is not "an act of retribution" but "the delivery of a message." "It would be enough for me to say his name and have him turn his head" (10,300 words)
She’s 10. She has HIV. This is the moment she learns the truth
John Woodrow Cox | Washington Post | 18th September 2015
“It’s not easy ... to convince children who don’t feel sick today that, without medication, they will feel sick someday later.” The pills she needs are hard to swallow, and 10 year old JJ sometimes skipped a quarter of her doses. Till now, she only knew she had a disease and that “no one should touch her blood.” Will telling her it is HIV give her new resolve and focus, or drive her into a spiral of despair and despondency? (5,140 words)
The Battle Over The Worst Movie Ever
Jake Rossen | Playboy | 24th September 2015
A movie enthusiast stumbled on the original reels for a low budget, poorly-dubbed 1966 independent film and crowd-funded $50,000 to "clean, scan, restore and distribute a high-definition copy." “It was like adopting an ugly puppy," he said. Then came threatened lawsuits from the original director's son. "J.R.R. Tolkien’s kid catches shit," says the son, "but he just wants to protect his father’s work. Same thing" (4,660 words)
6 Differences Between Llamas And Alpacas
Andrew Amelinckx | Modern Farmer | 25th September 2015
Admirably padding-free guide to differentiating these two members of the camel family. Alapacas are shorter and lighter; they have smaller ears and blunter faces. Alpacas have finer hair than llamas and produce more fleece, but that seems to be due to selective breeding. "Alpacas are very much herd animals ... [and] tend to be a bit more skittish than llamas, which are often used as guard animals for alpacas." That's about it (230 words)
The Definitive Guide To Raising Alpacas
Andrew Amelinckx | Modern Farmer | 22nd September 2015
A decade ago saw "the peak of [U.S.] alpacamania," apparently. Post alpaca-bubble, raising them for profit is probably a mistake but they still make great pets and groundskeepers. "You can nab a pet, basically a cute lawnmower, for as little as $200"; they "eat less per month than a Labrador retriever," and health requirements are limited to annual haircuts, "basic vaccinations, antiparasitic medicines, and quarterly toenail clippings" (1,660 words)
Video of the day: The Black Hole
What to expect: 2009 Comedic short directed by Diamond Dugs about an office worker with his own personal black hole (2’34”)
Thought for the day
By nature, men are nearly alike; by practice, they get to be wide apart
Confucius