Laugh without my permission again.

Today marks the 30-year anniversary of Chernobyl, a disaster that you can now witness first hand! And why stop there, when VR gamemakers want you to "play" 9/11 and the Titanic? Tragedy simulation, it appears, is a budding niche in the VR industry. I feel like this stuff was plenty real the first time ... but maybe that's just me. :-/

1. There's trouble in emoji-land, and it involves medievalists. Critics say Unicode has become obsessed with fluff and no longer spends time on more scholarly scripts. ALTHOUGH, given a choice between "bacon" and "middle comma," there's really no contest.

2. The most popular authors you've never heard of have a book out this week. It's called "Imagines," and it's obsessed with teen Internet fantasies. Serious literature this is not -- but damn, it's fascinating. (I should know, because I read the whole *600-plus* page thing.)

3. Forget RFID chips or implanted magnets: Women were hacking their bodies long before that trended. No one sees IUDs as cyborgian, though -- maybe because they're not new inventions. Or maybe it's because we only call something "tech" when it's made for/by men. I mean, we had Slimfast long before there was Soylent...

we have all been this dog at some point in history
(link)

Pocketable: On the surreal burn-out of life and work in Silicon Valley. (6416 words/26 minutes)

Postscripts: 29 tech interns who make way more than me. 23 face swaps that are p. funny. 58 Facebook posts that prove olds are great; 6 Google searches that show Google's weight. Cities designed for walking texters. "Laugh without my permission again." Schools think web filters protect kids, but it's actually hurting them. Even star athletes need Tinder; your dog, alas, does not need hugs. I want NONE of these dumb custom emoji ... except maybe this one with pugs. :)

Until tomorrow!
@caitlindewey

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