A Guide to Selfies, What the NCAA Really Wants and More #Mustreads

Good morning!

Here’s some Internet detritus for you to sift through, brought to you by Re/code:

1. Do you have questions about “selfies?” What are they? Why are they here? Why do we like them? Why are they making a mess on the carpet? When will they leave us? Find answers to (most of) these, and more, at Quartz. And for another detailed look at The Selfie, this 2013 New Yorker piece from Kate Losse examines its history, by way of the selfie’s relationship to Myspace, Facebook and the front-facing iPhone camera.
2. In August, Vice made the talented and acid-tongued sportswriter Tomas Rios the editor in chief of Vice Sports. Yesterday, he wrote the kind of thing they hired him for. Titled “Jameis Winston and the NCAA’s Golden Cage of Privilege,” he unpacks why the NCAA shrugs at rape accusations surrounding its biggest star (Florida State’s championship-winning quarterback Winston), but freaks out over allegations of student-athlete autographs exchanged for cash. For more on Rios, read his “60-second interview” with Capital New York from the beginning of September.
3. On any given night in Baltimore, there are 3,000 people sleeping on the streets. There are also more than 16,000 vacant homes in Baltimore, which most of us are aware of because they were a gritty and realistic backdrop for “The Wire.” In the Atlantic, read about Housing Our Neighbors, an activist group that wants to use those empty houses to address the city’s homeless problem. Some context: As this ThinkProgress article notes, Charlotte, North Carolina, has substantially reduced its homeless population by basically giving houses to the homeless.
4. Slow march of capitalism, update infinity: A restaurant opening in Washington, D.C., will be charging its customers an extra dollar for “artisanal ice cubes.” Head to Eater for details.
5. Ever since we heard the first few bars of the unsettling and ear-wormy “Nightcall,” the ’80s-inspired electro song that opened the movie “Drive” in 2011, it feels like “Miami Vice” has invaded most forms of electronic music. Yesterday, the Scottish group Chvrches (pronounced “churches”) dropped “Get Away,” an excellent track that’s solidly of the moment. Take a listen at Soundcloud (and note the art they chose).

If you see any stories you’d like to send our way (or have any questions/comments about stories we’ve recommended), feel free to shoot an email to noah@recode.net.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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