What I saw on the web on 2026.5.18

[reblogarythm]

1. Sagas and Itihasa: Cultural Cognates
   by Rajan Parrikar
   https://www.parrikar.org/nibbles/2026/05/18/sagas-and-itihasa-cultural-cognates/
   a comparison of two traditions of epic poetry
   via rss
   
   
2. Let's talk about Trump destroying half of Canadian tourist visits....
   by Belle of the Ranch
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IashroBKKw0
   yup, it is so
   via rss
   
   
3. I should not have liked the world’s first smart home.
   by Tom Scott
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2lEgMHF2Fo
   in which Tom visits what's perhaps the closest one can get to a period-accurate real steampunk house?
   via
   
   
4. The Enshittification of History
   by Charlie Stross
   https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2026/05/the-enshittification-of-histor.html
   in which Charlie makes some plausible guesses about the next few years. not recomended for people who want to be hopeful about things
   via rss
   
   
5. This video is for you... maybe
   by Hank Green and assistant
   https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uKFCmpJ0lwk
   for those of you for whom this is
   via rss
   
   
6. Disagreeing charitably with others: a guide
   by Ozy Brennan
   https://thingofthings.substack.com/p/disagreeing-charitably-with-others
   an excellent reminder about epistemic humility
   via rss
   
   
7. This is a composite of the Moon, Mars, and Earth I made.
   by Paul Byrne
   https://bsky.app/profile/theplanetaryguy.bsky.social/post/3mm5ope34ac2k
   all taken in the last six weeks, and they're to scale with each other
   via discord