Link About It: This Week’s Picks
From unsung female sport stars to the USA’s first punk store and a Philippe Starck-designed smartphone, our look at the web
1. Unsung Heroines of Sports History
Molly Schoit’s book based on the Instagram @TheUnsungHeroines handle, “Game Changers: The Unsung Heroines of Sports History” celebrates the forgotten, lesser known female athletes who paved the way for today’s sports stars. From Jackie Towanda (the first woman to box at Madison Square Garden) to Conchita Cintrón (a bullfighter also known as The Golden Goddess) and Renée Richards (the first transgender woman to play in a professional tennis tournament) the book is full of significant images and stories from a century of sportswomen. Read more and take a look at a slideshow at The Cut.
2. Toby Mott’s “Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print 1976–80”
With a punk memorabilia collection that stretched 40 years, Toby Mott was the right person to dive in and pick out 450 items from “well-known and obscure bands, designers, venues and political groups” for the new book “Oh So Pretty: Punk in Print 1976–80.” It’s Nice That’s Rebecca Fulleylove interviewed Mott, who says that punk was “like an explosion in the dull conformity we were used to” and that it was (and is) much more than spiky hair and music; “it’s about freedom.” The book aims to show not just the obvious aspects of the movement, but also how incredibly creative it really was. Read more at It’s Nice That.
3. The Gossip’s Beth Ditto’s Plus-Size Fashion Line
Singer/songwriter/sometime model and all-the-time badass, Beth Ditto has just released her second collection of clothing for plus-sized people and it’s breaking all the rules regarding how larger women “should” dress. The idea of wearing “flattering” or minimizing shapes and colors was far from her mission. Ditto tells R29, “I think it’s really cool to… really draw attention to yourself; I want to create big shapes, meant for big bodies, that aren’t about hiding or slimming or smoothing.” Further, Ditto says that the problematic term “plus-size” itself needs to be addressed—but only after designers and brands extend their sizing to include items for larger bodies. Read more on Refinery29.
4. Dead Star’s Ghoulish Glow
In NASA’s recent Hubble Space Telescope picture of the Crab Nebula, a dead star’s ghoulish green glow can be seen—some 6,500 light-years from Earth. Despite the neutron star being dead, astronomers say the color is due to “the star’s tell-tale heart, which beats with rhythmic precision” at its center. Part of the constellation Taurus, this star seems to have dressed up for Halloween.
5. America’s First Punk Store: Manic Panic
Best known these days as a hair dye brand, Manic Panic actually began as a punk store in NYC. Believed to be the first-ever punk shop in the United States, Manic Panic was opened in 1977 at St Marks Place in the East Village, by sisters Tish and Snooky Bellomo. In an interview with Atlas Obscura (which occurred at the Manic Panic Long Island location) Snooky says, “We did know, from early on, at the dawn of punk, we knew it was such a special thing, and such a special scene to be a part of.” Read more about these pioneering punks at Atlas Obscura.
6. Philippe Starck Designed a Smartphone
Celebrated French designer Philippe Starck has designed his first-ever smartphone, and the screen is almost edge-to-edge—covering 91% of the front of the phone. Made for Xiaomi (a Chinese company), the phone is called the Mi Mix and features a 4,400 mAh battery—meaning it will last longer between charges than an iPhone. There’s also something rather alluring about the ceramic body. Find out more on Dezeen.
7. Spotify Offering 215 Hours of Free Language Lessons
We all associate Spotify with music, but there are actually some 215 hours of foreign language lessons available. So after you listen to your Discover Weekly playlist and want to feel a bit more clever, why not take a class in beginners’ Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian or Swedish? Just go to Spotify, click browse and scroll down to “Word.” (There are also audiobooks, guided meditation and poetry to listen to.)
8. A David Bowie Emoji is Coming
The next iOS update (10.2) will introduce a bunch of new emoji—including, finally, an avocado. Along with the all-important fruit, there will be more animals (rhino, shrimp, shark and more), food (pancakes, bacon, baguette and more) as well as more sports emoji. Perhaps most exciting, and sweet, is the inclusion of a David Bowie emoji—based on his famous 1973 album Aladdin Sane. Soon we really won’t need language at all.
Link About It is our filtered look at the web, shared daily in Link and on social media, and rounded up every Saturday morning.
