Linked List: December 1, 2021

Wednesday, 1 December 2021

Disney+ Scrubs ‘The Simpsons’ Episode With Tiananmen Square Joke From Hong Kong Service ★

Andi Ortiz, writing for The Wrap:

Disney+ users in the U.S. may be able to stream every episode of “The Simpsons” ever made, but apparently, that’s not the case in China. With the platform’s launch in Hong Kong, users have discovered that one episode in particular has been scrubbed from the streamer — the one that mocks Tiananmen Square.

According to users, season 16 of the show offers episode 11 and then 13, but skips episode 12 altogether. The episode — first broadcast in 2005 and titled “Goo Goo Gai Pan” — follows the Simpson family on a trip to China, where they visit Tiananmen Square. While there, they spot a placard that reads: “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened.”

Profiles in courage.

Update: The other memory-holed episode of The Simpsons.

Square Changes Corporate Name to Block ★

CNBC:

Square is renaming itself Block as it focuses on technologies like blockchain and expands beyond its original credit card reader business.

Jack Dorsey’s payments giant said in an announcement the new name, effective Dec. 10, “acknowledges the company’s growth” and “creates room for further growth.” Block will still trade under the ticker SQ on the New York Stock Exchange.

Square was a perfectly fine name, and “Block” feels overly trendy. But, whatever. I do like the logo animation on the new Block website — a dot-xyz domain, not a dot-com.

Sal Piacente, Casino Cheating Expert, Reviews Card Counting and Casino Scams From Movies ★

Now I’ve got a list of movies to watch (or re-watch).

W.T.A. Suspends Tournaments in China Over Missing Tennis Star Peng Shuai ★

Matthew Futterman, reporting for The New York Times:

“While we now know where Peng is, I have serious doubts that she is free, safe and not subject to censorship, coercion and intimidation,” Simon said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

“I very much regret it has come to this point. The tennis communities in China and Hong Kong are full of great people with whom we have worked for many years. They should be proud of their achievements, hospitality and success. However, unless China takes the steps we have asked for, we cannot put our players and staff at risk by holding events in China. China’s leaders have left the WTA with no choice.”

The WTA continues to impress.

Alexis Gay: ‘When You Love the Em-Dash’ ★

One solid minute on the em-dash. Perfect.

The Talk Show: ‘Headline Goes Here’ ★

Special guest Jim Dalrymple returns to the show to discuss the past and future of Apple-centric reporting.

Sponsored by:

Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
Mack Weldon: Radically-efficient wardrobing.
Earnest: Freedom of choice meets student loans.

David Pogue: ‘Stephen Sondheim, the Teacher’ ★

David Pogue, writing for CBS News:

Stephen Sondheim may have been best known as one of the greatest composer/lyricists the theater has ever known. But he often said that he would have loved to have been a teacher — and he was an extraordinarily generous one to generations of young composers.

I was one of them. I came to New York right after college, full of ambition to write Broadway musicals. Somehow I met Sondheim, and for many years, he’d give me feedback on my songs, and I gave him computer lessons.

First of all, he always said, content dictates form. In other words, the kind of music you’re writing should depend on the character and the dramatic situation.

Facebook Ordered to Sell Giphy by U.K. Regulator ★

Jon Porter, reporting for The Verge:

The UK’s competition regulator has officially ruled that Facebook parent company Meta’s acquisition of Giphy should be unwound, a year and a half after the social media giant first said it was acquiring the popular GIF-making and sharing website. In a press release, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that it had come to the decision after its investigation found an acquisition could harm competition between social media platforms, and that its concerns “can only be addressed by Facebook selling Giphy in its entirety to an approved buyer.”

The CMA said the acquisition could be used to deny or limit other platforms’ access to Giphy GIFs and drive more traffic to Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. It also raised concerns that it could be used to require other platforms to provide more data to access the GIFs. Finally, the CMA also believes that Giphy’s advertising services could have competed with Meta’s, but that these were shuttered as a result of the merger.

Can you imagine Facebook trying to buy Instagram or WhatsApp now? I mean if even the Giphy acquisition is now considered problematic — Giphy! — imagine something bigger.