Ken Tucker, writing for Grantland, overviews the current state of late-night television and offers a look at what the future may hold for the genre:

Recent fur balls coughed up from the crevices of Couch Land include Jimmy Fallon taking over The Tonight Show as early as February 2014 and Jay Leno calling NBC a pit of “snakes” on the air shortly after it was reported that NBC Entertainment president Robert Greenblatt complained about the Tonight Show host joking about the network’s loser ratings. There’s Jon Stewart’s recent announcement that he’s taking summer leave of The Daily Show to direct a movie (why does this make me think of an idea Garry Shandling would have rejected for The Larry Sanders Show?). And don’t forget the rumors that Howard Stern or Seth Meyers might replace Fallon. Wait around another week and we’ll probably hear that David Letterman, forsaking a prolonged Johnny Carson–style on-camera farewell tour, has resigned by burning his double-breasted suits in his Westchester backyard so that Jimmy Kimmel will finally achieve his life’s dream of following in his idol’s shoes for a future of endless editions of “This Week in Unnecessary Censorship.”

Megan Gambino, writing for Smithsonian.com, on French photographer Thierry Cohen’s project to depollute the night sky from city light:

Three years ago, Cohen embarked on a grand plan to help remedy this situation. He’d give city dwellers a taste of what they were missing. The photographer crisscrossed the globe photographing cityscapes from Shanghai to Los Angeles to Rio de Janeiro, by day—when cars’ head and taillights and lights shining from the windows of buildings were not a distraction. At each location, Cohen diligently recorded the time, angle, latitude and longitude of the shot. Then, he journeyed to remote deserts and plains at corresponding latitudes, where he pointed his lens to the night sky. For New York, that meant the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. For Hong Kong, the Western Sahara in Africa. For Rio and São Paulo, the Atacama Desert in Chile, and for Cohen’s native Paris, the prairies of northern Montana. Through his own digital photography wizardry, Cohen created seamless composites of his city and skyscapes.

Cohen’s photographs are as stunning as they are clever.

(via: pourmecoffee)

Catherine Brahic, writing for New Scientist:

“Amphibian horror” isn’t a movie genre, but on this evidence perhaps it should be. Harvard biologists have described a bizarre, hairy frog with cat-like extendable claws.

Trichobatrachus robustus actively breaks its own bones to produce claws that puncture their way out of the frog’s toe pads, probably when it is threatened.

That’s nice, but talk to me when its claws are made out of adamantium.

Brian Delaney:

One of my favorite techniques for creating a simple, unique, and memorable look is through the use of negative space.

The following are examples of negative space logos and symbols in action

Very cool. I’m partial to Finger and Elephant2.

The Bill Gates Foundation issues a call for the next generation condom:

The one major drawback to more universal use of male condoms is the lack of perceived incentive for consistent use. The primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom, creating a trade-off that many men find unacceptable, particularly given that the decisions about use must be made just prior to intercourse.  Is it possible to develop a product without this stigma, or better, one that is felt to enhance pleasure?  If so, would such a product lead to substantial benefits for global health, both in terms of reducing the incidence of unplanned pregnancies and in prevention of infection with HIV or other STIs?

I’m sure there will be plenty of awkward scientists asking for field research volunteers.

All kidding aside, maybe this will improve worldwide health. Also, the winner will receive $100,000.

Dave Stopera, BuzzFeed, with a list of things that are gone but not forgotten. I’m partial to Mr. Feeny.

My internet buddy and fellow SoM meteorology graduate, Matt Mahler, shares his story of weight loss - the successes and failures:

I’ll never forget the first workout. Sunday, November 4, 2012. I weighed 225 pounds, was morbidly out of shape, had a horrible diet, and hadn’t seriously worked out in about 4 years. (I tried P90X at the beginning of 2012, but like everything before it, I never saw it through.) I distinctly remember feeling like I was going to die after that first workout. Thinking things like, “What have I done?” and “There’s NO WAY I’ll stick with this.” Now, here I am. 4 ½ months later, still working out, and actually ENJOYING it! Some days, the workouts SUCK. They’re tough. They’re hard. They hurt. But they’re worth it. And I love it.

As someone who went through a similar process, I know how hard Matt has worked. Keep it up, Matt. More people will be inspired than you know.

Brent Simmons on RSS following Google’s closure of Reader:

Even if you don’t use an RSS reader, you still use RSS.

If you subscribe to any podcasts, you use RSS. Flipboard and Twitter are RSS readers, even if it’s not obvious and they do other things besides.

Lots of apps on the various app stores use RSS in at least some way. They just don’t tell you — because why should they?

RSS is far from dead.

Today, I turn 29. For this reason, I have one request. Instead of spending the time it would take to write a message on my Facebook page, in an email, or on Twitter - I ask you to instead spend a mere 29 seconds. Spend that time thinking of someone you love or admire. Spend that time telling someone that you care for or love them. Spend that time hugging or kissing your partner. Spend that time dreaming of your favorite place or memory. Spend that time being thankful for all you have in life.

As this is posted, I am somewhere in the Caribbean on vacation with my wife. I am thinking only of her. I will tell her that I love her more than life. I will hug her and kiss her. I will be reminded of our many great memories. And I will be thankful that she has enriched my life beyond that which I deserve. Rest assured, my birthday is a happy day. Make the day equally happy for yourself and others.

Senator Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, wrote an Op-Ed for the Columbus Dispatch about his change in position on gay rights:

I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to make a lifetime commitment to love and care for each other in good times and in bad, the government shouldn’t deny them the opportunity to get married.

That isn’t how I’ve always felt. As a congressman, and more recently as a senator, I opposed marriage for same-sex couples. Then something happened that led me to think through my position in a much deeper way.

Two years ago, my son Will, then a college freshman, told my wife, Jane, and me that he is gay. He said he’d known for some time, and that his sexual orientation wasn’t something he chose; it was simply a part of who he is. Jane and I were proud of him for his honesty and courage. We were surprised to learn he is gay but knew he was still the same person he’d always been. The only difference was that now we had a more complete picture of the son we love.

This is good news. Some have chastised Portman for only caring once he was directly affected. Really, though, that’s human nature. It is always easier to relate with personal experiences than to empathize with those for whom we are ignorant.