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Ha: New York Bookstore Owner Makes Case That His Stores Ought To Get Tax Breaks Amazon Was Going To Get

His argument for assistance is simple: The stores generate $650,000 in annual tax revenue for the city and state, and his 75 staffers (on a payroll of $1.7 million in 2018) spend “virtually all” their income in the city. In addition to its status as a small-but-mighty economic engine, he adds, “Book Culture contributes simply by being what we are, storefront businesses active in a community.”

The Académie Française Has Ruled On The Difference Between A Slut And A Bastard

Yes, with this recent bulletin, les immortels of the august body founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1634 want to be sure that all French-speakers properly distinguish between une salope (a slut) and un salaud (a bastard) — and they warn that the alternatively gendered forms of these words (un salop for men and une salaude for women) are archaic and should be avoided. (Twitterverse, à l’attaque!) – The Local (France)

The So-Cal Native Who’s Giving Cambodian Classical Dance A Queer Twist

“[Prumsodun] Ok, a Long Beach, California, native whose parents were Cambodian refugees, not only restages traditional works of Khmer classical dance but also uses the stories and vocabulary of the ancient style to create new works that center LGBTQ+ characters and perspectives. In the process, he’s helped to revitalize and bring global attention to an art form that was nearly wiped out with the vast majority of its practitioners in the Khmer Rouge genocide of the late 1970s.” – Dance Magazine

An Oral History Of The Orgy Scene In Kubrick’s ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ (It Was Supposed To Be A Lot Better Than It Came Out)

Turns out Stanley Kubrick and colleagues worked on and rehearsed the scene for weeks, and it was highly (if not always clearly) thought out. Then Kubrick died, and the rest of the team had to figure out how to avoid an NC-17 rating without him. Journalist Bilge Ebiri talks to Kubrick’s assistant director and personal assistant, the choreographer (yes, there was one), composer, dancers, and actors involved (though not Tom Cruise or Nicole Kidman). – New York Magazine

Fake Science Journals Are A Blight On Research

“At the most benign level of the junk industry are papers, published in journals with no effective screening process, that are obvious nonsense—about Martians being supermanagers on Mars, chocolate being a “superfood,” or even just the sentence “get me off your fucking mailing list” repeated 863 times. But beyond these papers, in journals with varying standards and reputations, are far more dangerous, flawed studies, including misleading reports about safe drinking water, fake “proof” that humans aren’t responsible for climate change, or bogus research that vaccines cause autism.”  – The Walrus