Hello! Long time no talk.  I heard you all singing this song, and I’m back!

Here’s some strange and utterly fascinating research:

• When a landfill was dug up to find out if Atari had buried its games there, it wasn’t a bunch of guys with a bulldozer. It was a team of archaeologists (and, of course, the media).

• Weather models currently use data from the 1960s to the present, largely because not enough is digitized. But “nobody wants to spend the time and money it takes to scan and input 100 million pieces of pieces of old, musky, often disorganized paper.” Except, of course, for some very dedicated (unpaid) volunteers.

• Spinach doesn’t have a lot of (absorbable by humans) iron in it. If you thought it did, blame a longstanding academic myth. This paper unravels the myth, but more interesting than the myth itself is the investigation into citation and source practices. I was transfixed with fascination reading this. I might be the only one that feels this way about citations.

Sometimes you get a job and realize later it’s not quite what you wanted and move on to something totally different. Sometimes when you do that, you were working in an atomic weapons depot then became a peace activist.

Your grandmother survived the bombing of Hiroshima. She was stigmatized by society, and traumatized for life. Turns out that kind of trauma is so powerful that it can cross generations.

Another kind of trauma, but one that can unite communities, is what has been happening in Ferguson. The media attention has died down, and many sites have quality coverage, but St. Louis journalist Sarah Kendzior is asking what happens after Ferguson?

Mining is also traumatizing, but to the earth.

• As an accompaniment to this story about asbestos, here is a strangely humanizing story of an asbestos mine, told from the perspective of the mine.

• These digitally altered photos draw a stark distinction between the destruction of a mine and the yield of the mine.

• And if you read one thing in this newsletter, read this graphic novella about the mining industry and its effects on the environment. It’s by Kate Beaton, who writes Hark! A Vagrant. (Many thanks to Rob for pointing this link to me, many months after I read the story).

In case you were unaware (I was certainly unaware), ramen noodles are serious business. A company called Sun Noodles essentially dominates the American industry, and for good reason – they essentially created the market here. A great story about noodles, and the ultimate customer service. If you’re a sucker for “how it’s made” videos, you’re in luck. Here’s a peek into one of their factories.

And finally, in these days of living, loving, and transacting online, sometimes unlikely apps can become social media. Like a payment transaction app.

I’m going to leave you with a few music selections this week, to make up for lost time.

• Jack + Eliza- Hold the Line. Listen because: They sound like Slow Club, or if The Shins had a girl.

• The Prettiots - Boys I Dated in High School. Listen because: You miss the ‘50s, you want to listen to The Rosenbergs on a calmer day, you’ve heard of Billy Zygote.

• Alt-j - Every Other Freckle. Listen because: You want to groove along to this smooth gravelly love song. The phrase “I want to be every button you press”. (Thanks to Lisa for sharing this song)

• Hey Rosetta! - Kintsukuroi. Listen because: They sound like Bombay Bicycle Club, the phrases “she stood akimbo” and “raised on pixels”, anthemic indie rock.