From the monthly archives:

November 2008

Linkblog

The books we love, love us back. In gratitude, we should promise not to cheat on them — not to pretend we’re better than they are; not to use them as target practice, agitprop, trampolines, photo ops or stalking horses; not to sell out scruple to that scratch-and-sniff infotainment racket in which we posture in front of experience instead of engaging it, and fidget in our cynical opportunism for an angle, a spin, or a take, instead of consulting compass points of principle, and strike attitudes like matches, to admire our wiseguy profiles in the mirrors of the slicks. We are reading for our lives, not performing like seals for some fresh fish.

The books we love, love us back. In gratitude, we should promise not to cheat on them — not to pretend we’re better than they …

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Linkblog

[F]or almost 50 years, I have received narrative, witness, companionship, sanctuary, shock, and steely strangeness; good advice, bad news, deep chords, hurtful discrepancy, and amazing grace.

[F]or almost 50 years, I have received narrative, witness, companionship, sanctuary, shock, and steely strangeness; good advice, bad news, deep chords, hurtful discrepancy, and amazing …

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Linkblog

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp…

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Linkblog

Print’s Not Dead

Print’s Not Dead
Just a few minutes ago, some of my colleagues noticed a line forming out in front of the Times Building. People are …

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Linkblog

One great way to briefly turn the conversation toward myself at a party is to answer the question, “So, what do you do?” with, “I’m a writer.” Not that most of the people I’ve met at parties have read my novels or short stories or feature articles; when they ask, “Have I seen any of your stuff?” I shrug and the conversation moves on. If I want attention for an hour or so, however, I’ll tell them my horrible secret — for several years I made much of my freelance income writing term papers.

One great way to briefly turn the conversation toward myself at a party is to answer the question, “So, what do you do?” with, “I’m …

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Linkblog

Success from the something that nothing provides

Success from the something that nothing provides
Gladwell: Can an unlikely group succeed in a counterintuitive fashion? Can underprivileged outsiders have an advantage? As evidence, …

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Linkblog

Bjork Explains Televisions

Bjork Explains Televisions

An incredibly informative video in which Bjork explains the inner workings of her old CRT television. “This looks like a city…. This …

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Linkblog

Coen Brothers Movie Breaks Out in Rural Minnesota [True Crime]

Coen Brothers Movie Breaks Out in Rural Minnesota [True Crime]
Headline: “Andover man shot with crossbow, beaten with bat, run over, burned.” Subhead: …

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