December 2010
52 posts
6 tags
“We are all dying of miscellany.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson, quoted from his journals in Between insanity and fat dullness: How I became an Emersonian.
Dec 31st
23 notes
6 tags
The enveloping air: Light and moment in Monet - By... →
Like many innovative artists, Monet, I believe, was unclear about what he had achieved. Or, to be more precise, he could not name his achievement. He could only recognize it intuitively, and then doubt it.
Dec 31st
3 notes
7 tags
The drunk's club: A.A., the cult that cures - By... →
An alcoholic writes about AA and recovery. This is a fantastic essay. [$] My own view-in-progress is that there is no such thing as alcoholism as a disease or an allergy or a condition, but that alcohol is a very effective and potentially addictive medication for a whole host of psychological and neurobiological problems. […]The problem with alcohol is not so much that it is an addictive...
Dec 31st
3 tags
The 10 best foreign films of 2010 - Roger Ebert's... →
Dec 31st
2 tags
Boredom Enthusiasts Discover the Pleasures of... →
Dec 30th
4 tags
mark larson | Favorite albums of 2010 →
My third year doing this labor of love. 2008. 2009.
Dec 29th
4 tags
The Western 101, via Netflix Watch Instantly -... →
Nice selection. See also Carmody’s earlier Film History 101 and Matt Penniman’s SciFi Film History 101.
Dec 29th
2 notes
5 tags
Never said about restaurant websites →
“Who needs the phone number of a restaurant when you could be enjoying stock photos of food?” (via) See also university websites.
Dec 29th
2 notes
5 tags
Gifting Digital Books — Craig Mod →
This is a good idea. My friend turns on their Kindle the morning of the day I select for the book to arrive. Their Kindle syncs with the Kindle cloud and — oh, look! A gift! The book is automatically downloaded. My personalized message — long or short — is displayed and kept as a part of that book. Furthermore, if I’ve opted to have my notes and highlights included with the book, those too, are...
Dec 28th
4 tags
Dec 28th
3 notes
4 tags
Dec 28th
1 note
5 tags
Out With Mariah’s Melisma, In With Kesha’s Kick -... →
“Melisma has retreated, while pop, which has just wrapped up one of its best years in at least a decade, has benefited from a return to less frilly, less bombastic vocal showcases.”
Dec 28th
5 tags
Dec 28th
2 notes
5 tags
Dec 27th
83 notes
5 tags
Dec 27th
3 notes
5 tags
Strip Clubs: Launch Pads For Hits In Atlanta - NPR →
“We’re all just hustling each other.” (via)
Dec 24th
4 tags
Dec 24th
4 notes
4 tags
The Inequality That Matters - Tyler Cowen - The... →
Dec 24th
2 tags
proverb.gener.at/or →
“Honesty has its thorn.” (via)
Dec 20th
3 tags
“Criticism can be instructive in the sense that it gives readers, including the...”
– Vladimir Nabokov.
Dec 20th
1 note
4 tags
The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs →
Good story. I’d forgotten about this one.
Dec 20th
4 tags
The Monkey's Paw by W. W. Jacobs →
Good story. I’d forgotten about this one.
Dec 19th
3 tags
“Criticism can be instructive in the sense that it gives readers, including the...”
– Vladimir Nabokov.
Dec 18th
4 tags
Sci-Fi Film History 101 (via Netflix Watch... →
A follow-up to Tim Carmody’s Film History 101 (via Netflix Watch Instantly). This one “features films that take a scientific possibility or question as their central premise”. I’ve got 11 of 15 crossed off the list.
Dec 18th
1 note
6 tags
Dec 18th
2 notes
6 tags
Dec 18th
2 notes
6 tags
Cary Grant’s Suit | Granta 94: On the Road Again |... →
North by Northwest isn’t a film about what happens to Cary Grant, it’s about what happens to his suit. Ha! I thought North by Northwest was kinda boring, and I honestly did spend much of my attention on his clothing. (via)
Dec 18th
7 tags
Dec 18th
1 note
6 tags
Dec 18th
5 tags
It's the Annual Kitchen Gift Guide - Megan McArdle... →
A thoughtful, elaborate gift guide from an enthusiast. Great ideas here. And I like this bit at the end: “There is as much snobbery in what food people won’t pay for as in what they will”. Also applies to people in general.
Dec 16th
7 tags
Dec 15th
6 tags
Dec 15th
6 tags
Cary Grant’s Suit | Granta 94: On the Road Again |... →
North by Northwest isn’t a film about what happens to Cary Grant, it’s about what happens to his suit. Ha! I thought North by Northwest was kinda boring, and I honestly did spend much of my attention on his clothing. (via)
Dec 15th
3 tags
Cocaine Blunts: Best Rap, 2010 →
This is the Best Rap list. There is no Drake. Other notable omissions include, but are not limited to: aging New Yorkers who have had more major deals than major hits; teenagers from Dallas or LA who keep giving different names to the same goddamn dances and won’t get off my lawn; autistic youtube sensations; dead men whose voices live on in the name of dollars; white people who aren’t wolves or...
Dec 15th
59 notes
3 tags
Film History 101 (via Netflix Watch Instantly)  →
austinkleon: Why the internet is awesome: you ask for something, and quite often you get an answer. Count me in. Always looking to add to my film viewings. 8 down, 25 to go.
Dec 15th
29 notes
5 tags
Dec 13th
1 note
5 tags
Marginal Revolution: Advice for planning a wedding →
Dec 12th
6 tags
Business clichés: The subtleties of corporate... →
“It’s terribly important, at least in American business meetings, to be constantly acknowledging the contributions other people have made”. (via) A further rhapsody on “deep dive”: There’s something athletic, soulful even, about the thought of physically diving into a spreadsheet, kicking around in its dusky deep columns, paddling lazily through the surf of...
Dec 12th
5 tags
Dec 12th
5 tags
Dec 9th
6 tags
“Your ancestors set up those trophies, not that you may gaze at them in wonder...”
– Demosthenes, quoted in Trophies « RyanHoliday.net.
Dec 8th
6 tags
Mira Kirshenbaum on Relationship Therapy |... →
“Therapy is not about insights. It’s about change.” Some of these sound really good.
Dec 8th
9 tags
Dec 8th
7 tags
SPIEGEL Interview with Umberto Eco →
We have a limit, a very discouraging, humiliating limit: death. That’s why we like all the things that we assume have no limits and, therefore, no end. It’s a way of escaping thoughts about death. We like lists because we don’t want to die. And also: I was fascinated with Stendhal at 13 and with Thomas Mann at 15 and, at 16, I loved Chopin. Then I spent my life getting to know...
Dec 8th
1 note
3 tags
Dec 7th
1 note
3 tags
What economic laws have worked best for Berkshire? →
It is all a matter of trying to find businesses with wide moats protecting a large castle occupied by an honest lord. Moats might be a natural franchise, brand loyalty, or being a low-cost producer. In a capitalistic society, all moats are subject to attack: if you have a good castle, others will want it. What we want to figure out is what keeps the castle standing and how smart is the lord....
Dec 7th
1 note
7 tags
Dec 5th
7 tags
Pitchfork: David Lynch Talks New Music Projects →
I just love musicians. They’re not all super-happy all the time, but when they’re playing they’re happy, and it’s such a beautiful thing. I also like them because they sleep late in the morning; they’re more like children.
Dec 2nd
1 note
4 tags
Wehr in the World: The importance of family and... →
Family first? This is one of the best things I’ve read recently. I can think of a few questions to gauge what is important to someone: If you could only achieve one thing in your life, what would it be? If you could only spend your life doing one thing, what would it be? If you could only know one person in your life, who would it be? How do you want to be remembered? How do you want...
Dec 2nd
5 tags
Dec 2nd
224 notes