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  "description": "I recently came across Clive Thompson's Linkfest newsletter (hosted on Buttondown just like my own Newsletter Leaf Journal). Each issue consists of links he collected from around the web with commentary (also similar to Newsletter Leaf Journal, but with more links and commentary). I saved a good number of links from all the issues (mainly science and history related) that appeared in my feed reader after I added his feed. I also found a couple of websites of interest from his newsletter that […]",
  "path": "/naferrell/touching-the-gowanus-canal-04-06-26/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-06T16:26:21.000Z",
  "site": "https://social.emucafe.org",
  "tags": [
    "blogrollEntry",
    "gowanus",
    "gowanusCanal",
    "lifeInBrooklyn",
    "ust like my own Newsletter Leaf Journal",
    "Linkfest 35",
    "December 2021 Justin and Justina dialogue",
    "stand by my recent assertion",
    "Webmention"
  ],
  "textContent": "I recently came across Clive Thompson’s Linkfest newsletter (hosted on Buttondown just like my own Newsletter Leaf Journal). Each issue consists of links he collected from around the web with commentary (also similar to Newsletter Leaf Journal, but with more links and commentary). I saved a good number of links from all the issues (mainly science and history related) that appeared in my feed reader after I added his feed. I also found a couple of websites of interest from his newsletter that are now part of my feed collection.\n\nIn Linkfest 35 last May, he shared a link about Brooklyn’s Venetian-esque waterway, the Gowanus Canal. Like me, he adds some commentary about the Gowanus Canal for the benefits of readers who are not from Brooklyn. But unlike me, he lives _next to the Canal_. Mr. Thompson described it as “phantasmagorically polluted” and suggested that “[t]ouching it with your bare hand would give you, like, _syphilis_ or something.” I respectfully disagree. I think touching it with your bare hand would cause you to grow a new finger on that hand. My position is consistent with my December 2021 Justin and Justina dialogue suggesting that the Canal would cause seagulls seen in its vicinity to grow thumbs.\n\nAll jokes aside, I stand by my recent assertion that the Gowanus Canal has improved dramatically over the last few years. With that being said, I would still not sign up to be Mr. Thompson’s neighbor right next to the Canal.\n\nYou can reply to this article from your own site by sending a Webmention.",
  "title": "Touching the Gowanus Canal?"
}