2026-03-14 21:28:40
It’s getting a little ridiculous, isn’t it? 28 years of kottke.org, as of today. Older than Google. Older than The Matrix. Older than Christopher Nolan’s feature film career. Older than Elle Fanning. Older than Kurt Cobain when he died. 47,300 posts since March 14, 1998. It might outlast American democracy.
KDO retains its old school vibe but with some new tricks. Friends and readers have remarked recently that I seem to be having fun with the site again and that’s true. Still excited by the possibilities of what the site could become. I hope you’ve been enjoying it.
I’d like to once again thank KDO members for supporting the site — I never get tired of the member thanking. They each pay a few dollars a month to keep the site free to read for everyone, regardless of income, something I feel very strongly about in this era of paywalled media. As Hamilton Nolan has noted — his site operates on the same principle — sites/newsletters like these have progressive funding structures, where people’s contributions are based on their ability to pay to help keep the site available to all. If you’d like to help support the site in this mission, you can check out your membership options here. ✌️
P.S. I hope you enjoy the birthday logo and fireworks — they’ll be around until Monday.
Tags: kottke.org
2026-03-14 05:51:01
For the first time in awhile, copies of two lost episodes of classic Doctor Who have been discovered. Both are from the William Hartnell era and feature the Daleks.
2026-03-14 03:29:18
The Great Friendship Flattening. “I amass bits of knowledge about my loved ones — my sister’s boyfriend published a poem; my friend left her job — as a spectator, in the same way that I might learn about an influencer’s favorite books…”
2026-03-14 02:50:24
Why Movies Just Don’t Feel “Real” Anymore. “A deep dive into the first principles of movie immersion: on perceptual realism, indexicality, haptic visuality, and cinematic qualia.”
2026-03-14 02:21:00
Some genius has taken an audio sample of the hum of a grocery store freezer, cleaned it up, and extended it into a 10-hour video. The freezer’s hum, variously compared to Brian Eno’s music and “an electrical gong bath”, went viral enough to warrant an article in the Guardian last month:
“Anyone noticed how nice the freezers sound in the eccy road co-op?” someone wrote on the Sheffield Reddit page in January. “It’s like all the fans have been carefully tuned to the calmest droning chord ever, it’s like being in an electrical gong bath.”
Earlier this week, another Redditor shared a video of the freezers in all their aural glory, later earning a huge second audience when reposted to X. A debate ensued. Was it tuned to C# major? Could you hear the opening of Nothing Compares 2 U somewhere in the electronic hum? “I think it’s developed a slight discordant edge over the last couple of months,” one Reddit user wrote. “It’s ageing like fine wine.”
2026-03-14 01:45:59
Recommendations of 25 medieval manuscripts to explore online. “Almost every institution with a significant collection of medieval manuscripts digitizes many of their most significant works and makes them freely accessible online.”