It was a whirlwind of a week: I flew to Portugal last weekend and got back home yesterday after spending a few days in Porto and about 20 hours in Zurich, which was very, very cold. I am surprised that I even read anything: I left my computer at home and traveled with only an iPhone. Here are my recommended picks from this week. Hope you enjoy them.

  • “The Lonely Launchpads and Rusted Rockets of America’s Abandoned Space Facilities.” This photo essay serves as a reminder that all technology will turn to rust one day. [Atlas Obscura]
  • “Why You Need to Move to Footwear’s ‘Silicon Valley.'” Portland is more than just Portlandia. It is the epicenter of the activewear and athletic shoe industry, thanks to the hovering presence of Nike and Under Armour. [The Business of Fashion]
  • “The City of Eternal Boom.” That’s right, Austin is red-hot and all for the right reasons. Texas summer isn’t one of them. [Texas Monthly]
  • “Sridhar Vembu: The Code Breaker.” Sridhar Vembu eschewed the fashionable outside capital route and instead built Zoho, his tiny yet giant Indian SaaS company, the old-fashioned way. Yet his business philosophy is anything but old-fashioned. [Open]
  • “Humans Pretending to Be Computers Pretending to Be Humans.” Just read it. So good. [The Lifted Brow]
  • “Keep Smiling.” Or where the selfie really came from. [The Paris Review]
  • “How the $100 Million ‘NYPD Blue’ Creator Gambled Away His Fortune.” His story is a rude reminder of what addiction can do to you. [The Hollywood Reporter]

Here are some of my recent writings, just in case you missed them:

 

Om Malik

Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. More....