via Shorpy Historical Photo Archive – Vintage Fine Art Prints by Dave
March 1943
“Argentine, Kansas. Freight train about to leave the Santa Fe railyard for the West Coast.&rdqup;
Jack Delano, Office of War Information
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The best movies from books
via Abe Books by Beth Carswell
I adore films. It’s funny; if I spend two hours watching television, I sometimes feel guilty, as though I’ve wasted my time. But time at the cinema rarely leaves me feeling as though I’ve just lost two hours to the brainless abyss (I will be polite and not mention the exceptions that come to mind). So I will almost always choose a film over a television show. And even better than a movie, of course, is a book, and when comparing the two, the limitations of modern technology (particularly when compared to our own boundless imaginations), mean that books almost always win, for me.
Continue reading and find out which books Beth rates even when they are made into films!
And this is one that I must say I think is 200% better as a film.
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via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Frame of reference
Do you know what “sprezzatura” means? How about “starboard out, starboard home”? Secret frames of reference govern writing… more
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An Intellectual History of the French Revolution
via 3 Quarks Daily: Hugh Gough at The Dublin Review of Books
Anyone looking for a neat explanation of the French revolutionary terror faces the problem of choice. Since the collapse of Jacobin rule after Robespierre’s execution in Thermidor Year II, debate has raged over how an event that began with the promise of liberty and fraternity degenerated so rapidly into fifteen months of mass imprisonment and death. During 1793 and 1794 around three hundred thousand people were jailed, many of them dying from disease and neglect, a further seventeen thousand were guillotined or shot and a quarter of a million killed in civil wars, of which the Vendée was by far the most deadly.
After Thermidor the revolution’s opponents argued that terror on such a scale was inherent in the entire revolutionary project from the outset, part of a “genetic code” of violence and intolerance deeply embedded in the revolutionary gene. The revolution’s supporters, on the other hand, defended terror as the product of difficult circumstances, a regrettable but necessary expedient to combat the threats posed to the republic by civil war and military invasion.
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WATCH: profile of guitar maker Creston Lea
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder
Burlington, Vermont luthier, Creston Lea, builds hand-made electric guitars and basses in a classic American style. This film explores Lea's particular design aesthetic and place in the boutique electric instrument world, as well as his long-time collaboration with artist, Sarah Ryan
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via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Claude Debussy
Life was not going well for Claude Debussy: bad marriage, bad health, debt, writer’s block. Then he escaped Paris for Normandy… more
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What Killed the Dinosaurs Drove the Kangaroo’s Cousin to Extinction
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
The theories behind the demise of the dinosaurs is well-known. Death by asteroid is one of the more popular possibilities, but volcanic eruptions may have had a part to play. Regardless, these reptilian giants died-out – food became scarce and temperatures dropped, allowing our smaller furry mammalian ancestors to have their time in the sun. But Eric Mark of Forbes explains that our species could have been wiped out just as easily, according to a recent study.
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I vehemently deny that I chose this story specifically based on the picture!
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What Killed the Dinosaurs? Volcano, Asteroid, or Both
via Big Think by Natalie Shoemaker
Sixty-six million years ago a cataclysmic event cause an entire population to go extinct. We know them today as the dinosaurs, but the reason for their extinction has divided the scientific community into two main camps: by asteroid or by volcanic eruption. The latter camp has discovered new evidence that may tip the scales in their favour, or at least balance the argument for the less-popular theory.
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via Arts & Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Metaphor
A good metaphor allows you to see the world in new ways. But there aren’t many good metaphors. Most annoy and distract rather than illuminate… more
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The animations, art, and short films of Nicholas Fong
via Boing Boing by Xeni Jardin
Flash-based animations and gorgeous, weird little GIF dreams by Nicholas Fong.
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