NEW RESOURCES

Arizona State University: ASU bird collection gets its ducks in a row. “Currently, it contains over 1,400 skins from around 450 species belonging to 75 families. While birds from Arizona are particularly well-represented in the collection, there are also specimens from 26 U.S. states, as well as from Canada, Mexico, Ecuador, Samoa, Kiribati and Kazakhstan…. When a collection is digitized, the information it contains is put into an online database. Information about the birds in the Ornithology Collection can be searched for and openly accessed through the Consortium of Small Vertebrate Collections.”

WUSF: As Hillsborough County explores forgotten cemeteries, a national archive tracks lost Black graves. “Meanwhile, The Black Cemetery Network, started a year ago by another USF anthropologist, Antoinette Jackson, is tracking Black cemeteries that have been neglected, partially relocated, found beneath developed property, or lost entirely…. As of Sunday, the site lists 12 cemeteries in Florida and 41 nationally. It lists founding information, relevant history, maps, and links to news articles.”

Philadelphia Inquirer: Only four Kmarts are left in the U.S. and two are in New Jersey. “Ben Schultz, 23, was too young to have experienced Kmart’s powerful hold on American retailing. Plus, he said, ‘my family was more of a Target family.’ In his teen years, Schultz worked at a McDonald’s in a parking lot in front of a Kmart. ‘On my lunch break I would wander around there [the Kmart],’ he said. ‘There weren’t many people in there.’ Now a graduate student in public history at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, Schultz has become an expert on Kmarts and the company, putting together a spreadsheet and a map of every Kmart — when it opened and when it closed, with the address and other information.”

University of Notre Dame: Literatures of Annihilation, Exile, and Resistance Launches New Website. “The new website includes an archive of recorded events featuring transnational writers and scholars from Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Colombia, Chile and the United States whose work bears witness to truth and history and to the global struggle for freedom.”

USEFUL STUFF

Mashable: The underrated apps every video content creator needs to try. “If you’re like me, you’re always on the hunt for new apps for content creation. But if app-hunting isn’t your pastime, no need to worry because I’ll share some of my discoveries right here with you. As a video creator myself, I’m often playing around with interesting apps I come across. I usually deal with longform content, so you won’t find any mobile apps on this particular list. All the recommended software and web apps here are for desktop computers.”

MakeUseOf: A Beginner’s Guide to Responsive Images in HTML. “A responsive image is an image that adapts to different device characteristics. When done right, responsive images can improve the performance and user experience of a site. This article explores how you can create responsive images in HTML using srcset and the picture element.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

BloombergQuint: Google Reaches Undisclosed Settlement in Discrimination Suit. “Alphabet Inc.’s Google has reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount with Chelsey Glasson, who said she faced discrimination by the search giant after she became pregnant. Glasson sued Google in 2020 after repeated efforts to report pregnancy discrimination were ignored, she said in October. She estimated her legal fight would cost more than $100,000 and take a heavy toll on her mental health. Glasson said her experience at Google left her with insomnia, panic attacks and heart palpitations.”

The Register: Users complain of missing data in UK wills search service . “Users have complained of missing data and trouble logging in after the UK government updated its old probate search service. Run by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), the probate and will search service is a handy tool for hunting down probate records for documents and wills in England and Wales. It can be useful for working out who has the legal right to deal with a deceased person’s property as well as a being a boon for researchers tracing family history.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

I don’t watch much “regular” TV, but most nights you can find me chilling in front of the video box for a couple of hours watching whatever I find interesting on YouTube. Last night, for example, I learned about a recent fusion energy breakthrough, explored the history of Portugal, and got my mind blown once again by Corridor Crew. You may remember me linking to them last November after they scanned a ghost town with a phone. Now? They’re livestreaming deepfakes. You thought deepfakes were crazy just as pictures or edited snippets? Take 18 minutes and 32 seconds out of your life and check out this video.

CNET: How Minecraft Is Teaching Kids to Face the Threat of Climate Change. “How do you teach a child about bushfires that could engulf their home? How do you teach a child about how floods and rising sea levels loom over parts of their country? In a place like Australia, where climate catastrophes are not only common, but becoming increasingly ever present, it’s all the more important to prepare children for the future. What better tool than the game they already spend all their free time playing? Minecraft is the answer. If you build it, they will learn.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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