Author: Paul Romaine

Paul Romaine is a grant writer and independent curator in New York City.

Textbook reshaping in NYT Magazine – How Christian Were the Founders? -by Russell Shorto

[Note: I was going to let this story pass and allow my comments to sit in my personal diary because they turn on matters of religious faith and because so much of the activism described here seems to me to arise from personal insecurity and need for affirmation from external sources, and these are always… Continue reading Textbook reshaping in NYT Magazine – How Christian Were the Founders? -by Russell Shorto

Do School Libraries Need Books? (NYT)

Image by promaine via Flickr A not terribly interesting debate at the Times’s RoomForDebate blog on school libraries and whether they should have books. The discussion (not the right word for a handful of interested parties talking/emailing to a reporter) shaded into future of the book, and “they should both exist!” (And why the illustration:… Continue reading Do School Libraries Need Books? (NYT)

Books and Twitter: Neither Luddite nor Biltonite (George Packer in the New Yorker)

Neither Luddite nor Biltonite: Interesting Times : The New Yorker Image via Wikipedia George Packer at the New Yorker writes: Just about everyone I know complains about the same thing when they’re being honest—including, maybe especially,, people whose business is reading and writing. They mourn the loss of books and the loss of time for… Continue reading Books and Twitter: Neither Luddite nor Biltonite (George Packer in the New Yorker)

Laura Miller on Kindle vs eBook

Laura Miller at Salon has a good backstory on Amazon’s Kindle and the Apple iPad eBook reader. Laura Miller – Salon.com: “This dust-up is the culmination of a long-standing feud between Amazon and book publishers. What triggered it, however, is something new: the introduction of Apple’s iPad.” Note Miller comments about publishers’ fear of Amazon’s attempt… Continue reading Laura Miller on Kindle vs eBook

Chinese calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hahn

An example of Chinese calligraphy by Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. The words are “Mindfulness,” “Concentration” and “Insight.” In August 2009, Thay, as his students call him, fell ill and was hospitalized in Boston. The doctors wouldn’t let him do anything except one hour of walking meditation each day in the park across the… Continue reading Chinese calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hahn

Art Conservation, Publicity and the Met

I’m fascinated by issues relating to conservation of cultural objects, but most of the publicity goes to fine art conservation–if there is any at all. Friday’s disaster at the Metropolitan Museum, where a woman taking an adult education class fell on an early Picasso, The Actor, and tore a 6″ hole in the canvas, got… Continue reading Art Conservation, Publicity and the Met

Apple’s iBook on the iPad

Today’s Apple announcement (liveblogged at the NY Times) had Steve Jobs diplomatically say of Amazon’s Kindle, that Apple “we are going to stand on their shoulders and go a bit farther.” The iBook app allow eBook viewing and purchasing within the application (like iTunes), so it’s not necessarily tied to a particular hardware. The Times… Continue reading Apple’s iBook on the iPad

Cha-cha-changes: Canada’s History

  The New York Times reports that the Hudson Bay Company’s historical publication has given itself a new name, Canada’s History, with the subtitle “Formerly The Beaver.” Name changes have traditionally been a problem for periodicals–both cataloging and shelving. But as in the case of Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College), this change could really help.… Continue reading Cha-cha-changes: Canada’s History