music Spirit of The West's John Mann dead at 57 years old Seamus Bellamy

wired Wired just canceled Bruce Sterling's long-running blog Mark Frauenfelder

scams Eggs and bananas frequently play role in curse removal scams Jason Weisberger

russia Russian soldier proposes with 16 tanks in the shape of a heart on Valentine's Day Thom Dunn

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson's daughter Christina on the new edition of her father's book, Ishtar Rising Mark Frauenfelder

black mirror The most disturbing horror film of the season is Peloton's new commercial John Struan

racism Kentucky lawmaker freaks over Day of the Dead zombies Thom Dunn

Kanye West's "Sunday Service" choir sings iconic Nirvana songs with Christian lyrics David Pescovitz

religion Exorcist training and conference next month in Chicago David Pescovitz

drugs At a Chinese cemetery, scientists discover some of the oldest evidence of pot smoking David Pescovitz

drugs Oakland, California decriminalized shrooms, peyote, and other psychoactive plants and fungi David Pescovitz

burning man The BLM's Burning Man environmental impact statement is terrible, calls for drug searches, dumpsters, and a 19,000,000lb concrete wall Cory Doctorow

politics Trump's pastor to flock: Give me your January salary or God will punish you Xeni Jardin

Copyfight Happy Public Domain day: for real, for the first time in 20 years! Cory Doctorow

music THE BUREAU: Part Seven, "Lockdown in the Building, News of an Active Shooter Near the Cafeteria" — with Mr Quintron's Circuit-Bent Guitars Ethan Persoff

guillotine watch Thousands of Wisconsinites turn out to protest outgoing Republicans' plan to seize power after electoral defeat Cory Doctorow

music Reggae is now on UNESCO's list of protected cultural heritage David Pescovitz

happy mutants Scenes from the Bangalore Literature Festival Jasmina Tesanovic

happy mutants The OZORA music festival is a psychedelic tribal gathering I keep coming back to Ferdinando Buscema

art The Weird of Wendy Pini Rob Beschizza