Who the hell was the holographic anime star singing on Letterman? Let us explain | The Verge.

This is a pretty good explainer of how Hitsune Miku came to be so popular and how virtual stars could be, in some ways, better than human ones.

That Time My Job Involved Tossing Dead Babies Into a Crematory.

Hippocampal Neurogenesis, Depression, and Stress | The Scicurious Brain, Scientific American Blog Network.

Wow! Interesting research in the field of depression. I’ve always felt that our understanding of how the brain works is insufficient to actually treat problems that involve it (such as cognition, mental processing, and emotion). It will be interesting to see what new ideas come of research like this.

Today’s Apps Are Turning Us Into Sociopaths | WIRED.

While I found the article informative I find fault in its entire premise. It’s easy to pick examples of tech that are bad for our humanity (really, isn’t that the whole premise of Silicon Valley … I kid), but you can’t disclaim all tech because of this. I think there are still plenty of shining lights of progress even in today’s apps. They’re just not the ones that get venture capital.

Fresh doubts over a Texas execution | The Washington Post.

In Ferguson the violence of the state created the violence of the street | Gary Younge | Comment is free | The Guardian.

…the police have come too late to the notion that they are there to “protect” lives. “The law,” wrote James Baldwin, “is meant to be my servant and not my master, still less my torturer and my murderer.” Those who call for law and order now must understand that there is no order because men with badges have been acting lawlessly.

There’s Something Rotten In The State Of Social Media | TechCrunch.

Tomas van Houtryve: A Sky Full of Cameras | PROOF.

…a small girl saw my drone hovering in the sky and asked her mother what it was. I heard the mother answer, “It’s a drone, and if you don’t do your homework, it’s going to go after you!”

This Politician Says A Graffiti-Themed Toy Promotes Drug Abuse and Drug Dealing, Cites No Data – ANIMAL.

I totally want this toy. Uh … for my kids, of course.