Americhrome

“Federal Standard 595—Colors Used in Government Procurement” has its roots in World War I, when in 1918 Bulletin No. 90 of the General HQ of the American Expeditionary Force established a color identified as “olive drab” as the official shade for tactical vehicles, though what exactly those words indicated was a subject of some confusion. In 1917, the manual for the Quartermaster Corps had defined olive drab as a combination of ochre and black pigments, though it did not mention a specific ratio, nor did it indicate which manufacturer’s pigments were best suited for the job.

Published: May 4, 2011
Length: 14 minutes (3,673 words)

The Beast Within

Turned on by “Taking On Tyson,” earlier this spring I immersed myself in the variegated programming of Animal Planet. As buds popped outside the window and vernally intoxicated squirrels chased their tails, I watched “Animal Cops: Miami, Infested!,” “Fatal Attractions” (exotic pets attacking their owners), and “Yellowstone: Battle for Life.” I watched and watched. Love the honey-colored Labrador, revile the giant stingray: this is the spectrum of human response to animals, more or less, and wherever along it you care to place your finger, you’ll find an Animal Planet show.

Source: The Atlantic
Published: May 10, 2011
Length: 6 minutes (1,503 words)

Reza Abedi’s Greatest Escape

Once in Venezuela, other teams were put up in nice hotels, but the Iranian team, at the insistence of its country’s officials, was forced to stay in military barracks. Abedi was in a room with his brother’s best friend, Asgari. Quietly in the showers or in private moments between matches, Abedi began sharing his intentions with a few teammates. Two other wrestlers, both named Abbas, confirmed that they, too, would not return.

Source: OC Weekly
Published: May 13, 2011
Length: 18 minutes (4,666 words)

Designer Shades, Quiet Hustle: The Entrepreneurs of the New York City Homeless Shelter

It’s a secret because homelessness is the one condition they find shameful. An inner-city hustler’s entire life is devoted to either rising above his station or projecting the illusion of same. So when the drug abuse or prison term or unemployability send him into the street, he needs a hiding place. Homeless shelters are a place for him to hide his shame. What I discovered at various shelters in New York City is that they are also the place where hustling goes into overdrive.

Published: May 13, 2011
Length: 7 minutes (1,812 words)

‘There Are Some People Who Don’t Wait’

On May 7th, Robert Krulwich gave the commencement speech to Berkeley Journalism School’s Class of 2011. That’s Robert Krulwich, who hosts the singular radio show Radiolab, one of the most accomplished pieces of science broadcasting in any nation. Robert Krulwich, who won a Peabody Award for broadcast excellence a few months ago. Robert Krulwich, whose blog Krulwich Wonders should be on everyone’s reading list.

Source: Discover
Published: May 12, 2011
Length: 23 minutes (5,825 words)

Why Facebook Needs Sheryl Sandberg

“There are compromises on not being in China, and there are compromises on being in China. It’s not clear to me which one is bigger,” she says. Three people familiar with these internal deliberations say that Sandberg and Mark Zuckerberg fundamentally disagree on the issue. Zuckerberg believes that Facebook can be an agent of change in China, as it has been in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia. Sandberg, a veteran of Google’s expensive misadventures in the world’s most populous country, is wary about the compromises Facebook would have to make to do business there.

Author: Brad Stone
Source: Businessweek
Published: May 12, 2011
Length: 16 minutes (4,046 words)

Becoming Katie (Part One)

The lone memento of Luke Hill’s unhappy existence hangs like a specter in his former bedroom, piercing blue eyes haunting from a 12-year-old portrait. It’s Luke at age 4, in a blue silk kimono, a glossy studio snapshot from when the family lived in Japan, during Dad’s service in the U.S. Marine Corps. This is Katie’s room now, and the picture of Luke hanging on her wall is the only one she’ll allow her mother to display in the house.

Source: Tulsa World
Published: May 7, 2011
Length: 7 minutes (1,876 words)

Free Science, One Paper at a Time

On Father’s Day three years ago, biologist Jonathan Eisen decided he’d like to republish all his father’s papers. His father, Howard Eisen, a biologist and a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, had published 40-some-odd papers by the time that he died by suicide at age 45. That had been in Febuary 1987, while Jonathan, a sophomore at college, was on the verge of discovering his own love of biology. At the time, virtually all scientific papers were just on paper.

Source: Wired
Published: May 11, 2011
Length: 4 minutes (1,033 words)

The People vs. Goldman Sachs

Thanks to an extraordinary investigative effort by a Senate subcommittee that unilaterally decided to take up the burden the criminal justice system has repeatedly refused to shoulder, we now know exactly what Goldman Sachs executives like Lloyd Blankfein and Daniel Sparks lied about. We know exactly how they and other top Goldman executives, including David Viniar and Thomas Montag, defrauded their clients. America has been waiting for a case to bring against Wall Street. Here it is, and the evidence has been gift-wrapped and left at the doorstep of federal prosecutors, evidence that doesn’t leave much doubt: Goldman Sachs should stand trial.

Source: Rolling Stone
Published: May 11, 2011
Length: 24 minutes (6,039 words)

J.P. Morgan’s Hunt for Afghan Gold

To Hannam, chairman of J.P. Morgan Capital Markets, Afghanistan represents a gigantic, untapped opportunity — one of the last great natural-resource frontiers. Landlocked and pinioned by imperial invaders, Afghanistan has been cursed by its geography for thousands of years. Now, for the first time, Hannam believes, that geography could be an asset. The two most resource-starved nations on the planet, China and India, sit next door to Afghanistan, where, according to Pentagon estimates, minerals worth nearly $1 trillion lie buried.

Source: Fortune
Published: May 11, 2011
Length: 20 minutes (5,059 words)