The 300-plus volumes in the Richard Brautigan Library are private creations made publicly accessible, thanks to an impractical fictional concept that became an impractical reality, and resisted oblivion through persistence, grief and — in true Brautigan fashion — a series of odd, benevolent coincidences. – Seattle Times
Blog
Share This? Our Online Sharing Habits May Be Deadening Real Life
We get that little jolt of pleasure when we share something online and the likes and comments pile up. It’s addictive (and meant to be). But there’s a case to be made that empty low-cost likes can start to replace genuine sharing of experience in real life. Are “likes” the new junk food? – The New York Times
Why Some Writers Reject Writing On Computers
The reason these writers choose old-school tools is that when it comes to writing, computers are too efficient and make changing things too easy, and this ease can slow things down. Writing by hand allows writers who pen their drafts to proceed in a linear fashion rather than continually being tempted to rearrange words on the screen before they know precisely where the story is going. – Quartz
Sir David Adjaye On His Design For DC’s African American Museum And How Architecture Can Shape Issues
“I believe that good design can provide a critical inquiry into social responsibility and civic consciousness. Spaces should provide access to a collective consciousness, reflecting the times we live in now. People are constantly affected by, responding to, and reshaping their built environment, and I believe designers have a responsibility to steward these dialogues.” – GQ
EU Approves Copyright Reform: Could This Bring Down The Internet As We Know It?
“While the legislation does not explicitly state so, it is widely assumed that to conform with the law, online platforms will have to install filters to prevent users from uploading copyrighted material. Opponents say this is technically impossible and will lead to widespread censorship.” – Billboard (Reuters)
Yo Yo Ma Brings His Cello To The US-Mexico Border
“As you all know, as you did and do and will do, in culture, we build bridges, not walls,” he said. After his performance, he gestured to the bridge to his right. “I’ve lived my life at the borders. Between cultures. Between disciplines. Between musics. Between generations.” – NPR
Tuba Virtuoso Sam Pilafian, 69
As a busy soloist, a founding member of the influential Empire Brass quintet and a partner to the acoustic guitarist Frank Vignola in the jazz group Travelin’ Light, Mr. Pilafian expanded the musical possibilities of his lumbering instrument. – The New York Times
Americans Are Losing Whatever Empathy For ‘Others’ That They Once Had
Americans seemed to be into empathy from roughly post-WWII to the 2000s. Then things started going sideways. Now, it’s “Empathy, but just for your own team. And empathizing with the other team? That’s practically a taboo. And it turns out that this brand of selective empathy is a powerful force.” – NPR
The Joy – And Reality – Of The American Library In Paris
If you’re an English-speaker jaded about the City of Lights, head to the library. “As I learned more about the American Library and its place in the history of literary Paris, I recovered some long-repudiated belief in the city’s magnetic pull and inspirational force. Conjuring scenes of my old heroes in the library’s reading rooms made me swoon all over again, decades after their work first moved me.” – LitHub
Misty Copeland Curated A Special Dance Photo Section Of The New York Times
OK, that’s pretty cool – here’s an explainer on what she picked, and why. – The New York Times