An adult education center in my area just implemented a CSA program for art–you pay $300 for a share, and get nine pieces of art over three months. On the other side of it, the artists who participate receive stipends of $1,500 for 50 pieces of art. The money made supports the center running the program, which in itself is a strong presence for community engagement with art.
11 books you can read and enjoy before the apocalypse.
When the paper book is a thing of the past, but subversion is still a threat to the future, what will we burn?
Gary Shteyngart Stars in Super Sad True Trailer Story 2: Rise of the Machines
Yesterday, the trailer for the paperback edition of Super Sad True Love Story premiered on NY Mag’s Vulture blog. James Franco isn’t in this one (sorry, ladies), but Paul Giamatti (fellas!) is! It is really funny!
Zounds! Astounding Science Fiction Recommendations!
In honor of something or other, The Guardian recently posted a wicked list of science fiction recommendations from some of the genre’s best writers.
Thursdays, they are the worst. But here are some links to put a little bit of Friday in your Thursday. It’s raining Thursdays! Party in the U.S.Thursday!
The sport of horse racing, which celebrates the whipping of inbred and fragile horses for purposes of monetary gain, has been sullied.
On Mark McGurl’s Strange, Belated Response to Elif Bautman’s “Get a Real Degree”
Batuman’s article is worthy of serious discussion; this isn’t it. Rather, McGurl has wasted an essay trying to out-snark Batuman — and I think it’s safe to say that she’s a better and far more entertaining crank than anyone.
A few years ago, I saw Rick Prelinger give a speech called “On the Virtues of Preexisting Material: A Manifesto,” a stirring treatise on the value of cultural recycling. It included points like “Why add to the population of orphaned works?” and “The ideology of originality is arrogant and wasteful,” and “The pleasure of recognition warms us on cold nights and cools us in hot summers.”
In which Stephen Spielberg likes CGI and I admit to never having read Tintin.