“What does it mean when what you own is essential to who you are? In our everyday grasp of owning things, we tag it materialism, consumerism, consumption. But I trust you’ll agree that the possession of books is not identical to the possession of shoes: Someone with a thousand books is someone you want to talk to; someone with a thousand shoes is someone you suspect of belonging to the Kardashian clan.”
Tag: 04.19.15
We’ve Got Another Faked-Memoir Scandal To Feast On
“The ‘memoir’ of a British war correspondent who purportedly committed rape, murder and other crimes before dying last year was initially written several years ago as a novel, it has emerged. Author Colin Carroll had described the novel in an interview more than five years ago with a local newspaper in Cork.”
The Dangers of Returning Artifacts
“For those of us who have worried about how to frame the loss of artifacts when multitudes are being raped, murdered or displaced, it is a message that is paradoxically comforting – or at least useful. The fate of living humans and the fate of ancient stones turn out to be intimately linked.”
Toni Morrison Has Had It: ‘I Want To See A White Man Convicted For Raping A Black Woman’
“We need to have a conversation about race. This is the conversation. I want to see a cop shoot a white unarmed teenager in the back. And I want to see a white man convicted for raping a black woman. Then when you ask me, ‘Is it over?’, I will say yes.”
The New Whitney Museum ‘Might Just Solve The Impossible Problem Of Contemporary Art,’ Says Jerry Saltz
“Believe it or not, I am in love with what this building represents – and with its perfectly titled inaugural show, ‘America Is Hard to See.’ The show includes 600 works by around 400 artists, drawn entirely from the museum’s collection of over 21,000 works by 3,000 artists, and it makes me think this museum might just point to one way through the current morass.”
Norway Will Be The First Of Many Countries To Turn Off FM Radio
“Frequency modulation, or FM, radio was patented in 1933 and has been recording and sharing the human story for nearly a century. But its days are clearly waning.”
A Fabled British Bookstore That Was About To Fall Down Gets A Happy Crowd-Sourced Response
“Four steel columns were required at Scarthin Books, in Cromford, Derbyshire, to support the weight of about 100,000 books. Thousands of pounds were raised within days of the appeal starting and it is now close to hitting a £10,000 target.”
How Do Nice Downtowns Get That Way?
“In every place we’ve been, every one we’ve talked with about downtown recovery stresses the crucial importance of getting people to live there.”
Even PBS Knuckles Under To Celebrity, Sony Emails Show
“[Ben] Affleck’s family used to own slaves, a fact that he sought to cover up before his episode aired, according to e-mails from the Sony hack, uploaded last week and cataloged into a searchable database on the WikiLeaks site.”
American Classical Musicians To Visit Tehran Will Be The First Since The Iranian Revolution
“‘Opening up the cultural interaction between two nations whose governments have been at odds for so long can be a window to hope and peace,’ said Iranian-born composer Reza Vali, a Carnegie Mellon University music professor.”