Digital Digest: 23/08/2010

The Best Of The Web

Technology

Wired.com

We’ve had Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates and Noah Wylie as Steve Jobs in Pirates of Silicon Valley and Tim Robbins as a fictionalised version of Gates in AntiTrust. Now, look out for a film about Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page. But who will play them?

Ind.pn/aF5C

Science

NewScientist.com

New research suggests that an incredibly old Chinese remedy for gastrointestinal problems may spare cancer patients the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy and boost the effectiveness of treatment in general. Not good news for those who call into question the efficacy of herbal medicine, but what is the secret of the 1,800-year-old recipe? Find out here:

Ind.pn/alRKv2

Food

Kuvaton.com

Following last week’s New York Times pieces on food souvenirs, here is a site that takes the concept that much further, using international cuisine to put together surprisingly appetising flags. There’s a sashimi Japan, a fruity Brazil, a biscuit-based New Zealand and a meat pie Australia. Surprisingly amusing. Check them out here:

Ind.pn/ci4EQc

Beauty

Economist.com

Maybe a Mohawk to the office isn’t quite your thing, but how you wear you hair – on your head and your face – can mean a lot. Even more for Shahryar, a trendy young Iranian from Tehran, who was arrested for sporting an afro. Read about the ideological and political significance of hair in this piece from the Economist.

Ind.pn/9xG2bp

Arts

NewYorker.com

The New Yorker has published a chapter from Sean Wilentz’s forthcoming book, Bob Dylan in America. In it Wilentz argues that Dylan’s relationship with the Beat Generation is as essential to Dylan’s biography as his immersion in rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and Woody Guthrie. Read it here:

Ind.pn/cEn6sp

Music

Pitchfork.com

Arcade Fire arrive in the UK this week to play a number of shows and festivals. If you’re going to see them, watch their new video for Ready to Start to get yourself excited: it’s an invigorating, cinematic live performance shot in black and white. If you don’t have tickets, take a look to see what you’re missing out on.

Ind.pn/8Ys5XD

Society

NYTimes.com

It’s harder than ever to be in your 20s. According to this mammoth report, the way that society has evolved with young people leaving home, getting married and having children later, there is a case to declare the existence of a new stage of life: emerging adulthood. Read the about the new 20s here:

Ind.pn/byW6aI