New York web designer Jason Kottke has quit his financial-services day job to devote himself full-time to blogging. Kottke’s financial plan for his blog — and thus for himself — does not include advertising, which he fears would be a barrier between his readers and himself. Instead, he is following prominent journalist and blogger Andrew Sullivan’s lead and calling on those readers to support him with donations.
Tag: 02.23.05
Thompson’s Death May Overshadow His Life’s Work
The manner of Hunter S. Thompson’s death Sunday night could pull the focus away from his literary and journalistic merit, perhaps permanently. “Thompson’s suicide may now make it easier for the forces of reaction to dismiss his achievement. See what you get, they’ll say, for taking drugs, for mocking authority, for making yourself part of the story? It took Hemingway’s reputation years to recover from his suicide, and he’s still not all the way back. Death is only a good career move for the romantic and the obscure. For the hard-living, or the already famous, somebody’s always ready to spin suicide into a cautionary tale.”
Which Instrument Is That? Whisper In My Ear.
“Every concertgoer has wished at one time or another for a little guidance while listening to an unfamiliar piece of music — an experienced voice that could subtly whisper, ‘Here comes the second theme again,’ or, ‘That’s a bass clarinet making that rumble’ at the relevant moment. Now, thanks to wireless technology, that voice is available. Sotto voce, of course.” The hand-held Concert Companion was inspired by art-museum audio guides and operatic supertitles.
Kramer: Gates Are A “Defacement” Of Central Park
Hilton Kramer hates the Christo Gates. “My own view is that the gates are nothing less than an unforgivable defacement of a public treasure, and everyone responsible for promoting it—including our publicity-seeking Mayor—should be held accountable, not only for supporting bad taste but for violating public trust. What has to be understood about this whole affair is that it’s not only an assault on nature, but also the wanton desecration of a precious work of art.”
Lost Shelley Letters To Be Sold
“A newly discovered set of letters written by the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley are to go on sale after being found in a trunk at a house in London. The correspondence, written by Shelley and his friend and biographer Thomas Jefferson Hogg, was destined for a car boot sale before being identified.”
OED To Embrace ‘Wife-Beater’?
“Coming soon to a dictionary near you: ‘wife-beater.’ Not the abusive husband, mind you — but the sleeveless, white undershirt. The ‘wife-beater’ — frequently spotted on Kid Rock, available at your neighborhood Gap — is soon to be immortalized in the Oxford English Dictionary. It’ll likely be added, somewhere between ‘whip’ and ‘women’s lib,’ next month.”
Stratford Festival Founder Dies
Tom Patterson, the founder of Canada’s Stratford Festival, as died. He was 84. “Without Tom Patterson, there would be no Stratford Festival of Canada. His was an extraordinary vision at an extraordinary time.”
Why McBank Architecture Is Bad For Us
“Banks used to be about ritual and permanence. They resembled Greek or Roman temples, with the banker playing the secular priest, dispensing loans instead of benedictions. Banks inspired awe, though their built-for-the-ages classicism was salesmanship, designed to convince depositors that their money would be safer in the vault than stuffed in a mattress. No more. Now banks want to look like Starbucks, not the Parthenon.” As branch banks approach omnipresence, can their new designs balance customer-friendliness with character?
Barenboim’s Successor? Symphony Takes The Question To The People
“At Tuesday night’s packed Chicago Symphony Orchestra town meeting, the dominant tone was exceedingly civil — more akin to placid chamber music than a crashing symphony. The gathering at Symphony Center’s Buntrock Hall was called to let the public sound off on the CSO’s search for a new music director to replace Daniel Barenboim after the 2005-06 season. … Many had specific names in mind — Pinchas Zukerman, Erich Kunzel — to fill Barenboim’s podium. One man delivered a prepared paean to National Symphony Orchestra conductor Leonard Slatkin.”
Smithsonian’s Small, Prosecutor At Impasse Over Sentence
“More than a year after he pleaded guilty to buying tribal art made from the feathers of endangered birds, Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence M. Small has not started the 100 hours of community service he was sentenced to by the federal court, in part because of a disagreement with the U.S. attorney over what he should do.” Small became Smithsonian secretary two years after the 1998 purchase.