SPD has a review of the re-design of the Times’ Magazine. Of particular interest is the discussion of the new faces chosen. I have to agree with some of the more recent commentators–I’m not too thrilled with all parts of the design: it’s kind of design-y for my taste. (h/t Andy Whitehead)
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)
Current Crop of E-Readers Compared: iPad vs. the Rest – e-Readers – Lifehacker
Lifehacker review of the iPad and Kindle, bit primarily from a techie’s perspective. (I find these reviews and reviewers always problematic because they’re bleeding edge adopters who in turn adopt this faux-reasonable tone, as if anyone should agree that their marginal, non-mainstream interests are somehow…normal!)
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)
Other uses for a Kindle….
I’m still kind of incredulous: yesterday morning I saw a subway passenger from upper Manhattan using a Kindle as a mirror to check her hair. Waaaaay Cool!
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