Finding time for side projects and putting out new versions of Cuppings is difficult as always, but I’m glad we have a new version out this week again.
The list of things still to do is long as ever but for now enjoy the newest most up to date version of your favourite coffee drinking guide.
But these subjects of the Islamic Emirate could not be kept from watching Stranger Things or Game of Thrones or Japanese anime; they had a better knowledge of Breaking Bad than I did. On Twitter—they, like so many Afghans, were avid users—shared soyjack memes and called themselves “sigma males.” They talked about feminism, “LGBTQ,” and pronouns—strange things to complain about in a country where women can’t go to school. They were becoming Westerners: culture war, America’s most successful soft-power export, was their induction. The younger members of the Taliban, online enough to follow Andrew Tate, were not immune.
Now he was getting excited. “Martyrdom,” he said, “would make me much happier than being a bureaucrat and working in the ministry. On the word of Sirajuddin Haqqani, we would happily blow ourselves up tomorrow!”
This is a wild piece about peaceful life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Everything we continue to learn about the very earliest people is completely fascinating.
Next time I go to Turkey, a visit to the Taş Tepeler is definitely in order.
Oh Beirut, it seems nothing has changed since the last time I was there. Things have pretty much only gotten predictably worse.
I’ve had a number of amazing and unforgettable experiences with Couchsurfing mostly staying in Berlin way back in the day. This history of the site’s rise and fall fills in what happened after I lost track.
https://www.inputmag.com/features/rise-and-ruin-of-couchsurfing
A lovely interview about the magic bus and the hippie period in Istanbul revolving around the Lale Pudding Shop which is still in business.
Als ik het verhaal over witwassen in de Amsterdamse binnenstad hier lees, denk ik dat het hier in Berlijn zonder overdrijven tien keer zo erg is (decennia armoede, corruptie en geen enkele prioriteit bij de lokale overheid).
https://www.groene.nl/artikel/ze-zijn-hier-zo-lekker-aan-het-witwassen
An interesting story about the interaction between loving the outdoors and Instagram culture.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2415324/instagram-social-media-geotagging-outdoors-oversharing
We have to build these ultra rapid trains anyway, so let’s start on it tomorrow.
A lovely set of easter eggs hidden in Switzerland’s official maps.