Each week, our editors gather their favorite finds from around the internet and recommend them to you right here. These are not articles about watches, but rather outstanding examples of journalism and storytelling covering topics from fashion and art to technology and travel. So go ahead, pour yourself a cup of coffee, put your feet up, and settle in.
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'Dr. Phosphine' And The Possibility Of Life On Venus ?Wired
Chemistry is a funny thing, and so is the search for extraterrestrial life. They are, in fact, two great things that go great together. The likeliest scenario for the detection of life on other worlds is the detection of chemical biosignatures ?the presence of chemicals, or fluctuations in levels of chemicals, or both, which have no explanation other than the metabolic processes of alien life. The problem is that various chemicals can be produced by a range of processes, some of which are metabolic pathways in living organisms, but some of which are not, and telling which is which is far from easy (Mars, for instance, has seasonal fluctuations in the amount of methane in its atmosphere, but there's no certain proof whatsoever, at this point, that microbial life is the reason). Recently, however, researchers have found evidence of a chemical compound called phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. Venus is one of the most inhospitable of planets ?surface temperature hot enough to melt lead; surface atmospheric pressure 90 times that on earth's surface, and it rains sulphuric acid (the Venusian atmosphere is almost pure carbon dioxide, and its greenhouse effects have turned Venus into the hell-world it is today). But things are more moderate in the upper levels of the clouds which permanently shroud the Venusian atmosphere, and it's possible ?just possible ?that there, life has found a foothold, with phosphine as its signature. Phosphine is produced almost exclusively on Earth by anaerobic microbes. If there is life floating above the bleak surface of Venus, definite proof is years away, but the presence of phosphine may be a first glimpse of its existence.
?Jack Forster, Editor-in-Chief
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A Debutante Delayed: Little Edie Beale's Life After Grey Gardens ?Town & Country
One of the foremost documentaries in the cinéma vérité style is Grey Gardens, a deeply personal look into the lives of the wildly eccentric Big Edie and Little Edie Beale, in their East Hampton home. The story goes that the mother and daughter were living in squalor in what was ?at one time ?a venerable estate in the wealthy town. They were related to Jacqueline Kennedy, who helped to renovate (more restore) their home and get the two women back on their feet. Famed documentarians Albert and David Maysles got wind of their story and approached the Beales about documenting their lives. The result is one of the more astounding pieces of documentary cinema there is. The film was released in 1975, and I couldn't recommend it more. This article from Town & Country, however, details Little Edie Beale and her post-Grey Gardens life after her mother passed away. This is something of a deep cut, but if you're into the film, I think you'll enjoy it.
?Danny Milton, Editor
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Enjoying The Forbidden Fruit Of An Electric Bike ?Adventure Journal
There's plenty of crossover in the cycling community and the fake watch world, so I'm sure many readers have been forced to think through electric bicycles in much the same way we've had to come to our own conclusions on quartz replica watches and smartwatches. It's hard being a purist when confronted with the obvious advantages of modern technology, but in this essay in Adventure Journal, one rider does some soul searching and gets one step closer to reckoning with this ever-present internal conflict.
?Cole Pennington, Editor
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The Growing Allure Of "Made In Portugal" ?Heddels
I can't say for sure when I first realized that more and more of my clothes read "Made In Portugal." It was at least a few years ago, and I guess it was something I just accepted as a fact without question. It wasn't until this week, however, when I noticed this article by Albert Muzquiz in Heddels ?a menswear news site ?that I started to think about what that exactly meant. Muzquiz does an excellent job of discussing the socioeconomic and cultural factors that influence Portugal's status as a capital of garment making in 21st-century Europe, while also providing relevant comparisons to U.S. manufacturing. We often talk about the importance of where things are made at HODINKEE, and this piece does an excellent job of bringing in a new perspective.
?Logan Baker, Editor, HODINKEE Shop
Enya Is Everywhere ?Pitchfork
Whether you know it or not, you've heard quite a lot of music inspired by Enya. The ethereal Irish songwriter rose to prominence in the 1980s and became ?rather immediately ?a punch line. Nowadays, however, music lovers don't discover songs and albums by browsing CD racks with stiflingly narrow genre labels like "New Age" affixed to them. Instead, algorithmically generated playlists surface songs new and old, largely based not on the genres a listener might claim to like, but the textures and structures they actually like. In this brave new world, some of the most innovative songwriters and producers not only are able to discover the world of Enya, but they're also able to draw inspiration from it. In this hefty piece from Pitchfork, writer Jenn Pelly investigates why Enya was initially written off as airy fluff and how her unique point of view has come to influence much of modern music as we know it.
?Dakota Gardner, Web Editor
Lead image by Iman Gozal
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