Simon Reichley tells the odd story of The Book Beat in Oak Park, how its Facebook page and all the content on it disappeared without warning, and how the page was restored.
Author: Matthew Westphal
Top Posts From AJBlogs 03.09.17
Female Power (from Medusa to Merkel)
I love reading Mary Beard. She may be a professor, the highest of high-brow professors, but she writes — and speaks (albeit with a British accent) — like an actual human. Enjoy. … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2017-03-09
What Makes People Troll, And How To Stop Them (Or At Least Slow Them Down)
A team of four computer science professors at Stanford and Cornell used studies to work out what moves ordinary people to start trolling online, when it’s likely to happen, and measures that can make it less likely to spread.
Looking At Oliver Sacks’s – Well, ‘Journals’ Isn’t Exactly The Right Word
The man wrote constantly, and he would do it on anything: notebooks, hotel pads, envelopes, menus, sheet music … Bill Hayes, Sacks’s widower, showed a bunch of his notes to Maria Popova, who transcribed some of the best ones.
The First Celebrity Chef
Bartolomeo Scappi, who was the personal cook of popes and author of the earliest illustrated cookbook, was the first man known to have scoured different cities for new ingredients and recipes and to have invented new dishes just for the sake of creativity. His banquets were renowned among prelates and nobles all over Europe.
Comic Sans Font Is Actually A Public Good, And Here’s Why
In response to the well-known quip that “Using Comic Sans is like turning up to a black-tie event in a clown costume,” Lauren Hudgins argues that “hating Comic Sans is ableist.” Drake Baer explains why.
The Live-Action ‘Beauty And The Beast’ – Inside Disney’s $300 Million Gamble
“Why did Disney decide that modernizing [the beloved animated film] was a risk worth taking? … Some people see a cynical money grab, a way to keep those theme park turnstiles clicking and little girls begging their parents for princess gowns. But the answer is actually a lot more complex.” Brooks Barnes investigates.
In A First, West End Theatre Asks Patrons Not To Eat In Their Seats
The Ambassador Theatre Group has asked ticketholders to the revival of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? “that no food be consumed during the performance.” (This may have been at the request of star Imelda Staunton, who has publicly complained about the practice.) This request is evidently unusual enough that ATG later felt the need to stress that food has not been banned outright.
Imelda Staunton And Critic Agree: Eating In Your Seat Is A Crime Against Theatre
Michael Billington: “I’ve only lately become aware of how popular this is. … Some theatres, I’ve discovered, even encourage the practice by supplying a meal-and-drink package, as if their patrons might die of hunger or thirst during the arduous business of watching a play. Does it matter? I think it does.”
The Louvre’s Vermeer Show Is A Chaotic Mess
Demand so high it crashed the ticketing website. Frustrated crowds queued up for hours past their scheduled viewing time – which they can arrange only after tickets have been purchased. Angry patrons treating innocent security staff so badly that the latter are threatening to strike. But a Louvre spokesperson says, “We should be happy to see that crowds can also show up for an Old Masters exhibition, and not just for contemporary shows.” (Yes, what a surprise that must have been for the museum that houses the Mona Lisa.)