Quickies: Giving Nyarlathotep a Chance, Worst Sex Writing of the Year, and the History of Double Dare

• How Alchemy Has Been Depicted in Art Through the Ages – “Some of the symbols shown relate to Venus (linked to copper), Mercury (linked to quicksilver), along with ‘primary catalysts’ like sulfur. Their design is almost mystical, akin to the hidden codes of a secret order. It’s a fascinating example of how alchemy has been depicted over the centuries, which is the subject of the new Getty Research Institute exhibition, The Art of Alchemy.”
• Look, All I’m Saying Is Let’s At Least Give Nyarlathotep a Chance – “Okay, so maybe we were a bit overconfident in our own candidate’s chances. But to be fair, Jerry, it’s not like anyone really expected the Crawling Chaos to make it all the way through the primary season, let alone the convention process. By the time the muckity-mucks up in Washington realized that an Outer God had a true shot at the White House, it was already too late for any kind of realistic comeback. Hell, I can’t even believe it myself. He isn’t even one of the true Elders, for christsakes.”
• The Nominees for the Worst Sex Writing of the Year Are Here to Make You Cringe – “As she talked Andret would make gentle, two-fingered tugs all the way around the hem of her dress to expose the lacy parts of her undersuit, like a child pulling candles from the rim of a birthday cake.”
• Post-Election, Overwhelmed Facebook Users Unfriend, Cut Back – “Garrity was one of more than 150 people who have shared their stories with NPR, recapping how they are recalibrating their attitude toward social media after this year’s election. Donald Trump’s surprise victory ended an emotional roller-coaster of a presidential race, which has left Facebook, Google and Twitter scrambling to rein in a proliferation of fake news and harassing behavior.”
• Watch the artistry and engineering that goes into making pop-up books – “By varying the angle of the v-folds behind each component, Reinhart can adjust when and how each piece will appear as the page is turned. Some of Reinhart’s pop-ups use as many as 20 v-folds, many of them building off of each other to make movement possible.”
• “It smelled like death”: An oral history of the Double Dare obstacle course – “Below, in oral history form, you’ll hear from the show’s creators and production staff, as well as from Summers, Russo, and Harvey themselves. The results are fascinating, a look back at a relatively undocumented time in television that viewers might remember but not know the stories behind. Slip on your big, white Reeboks; grab a set of kneepads; and get reading.”

Featured Image: Nickelodeon