Whim

Race you to the top!

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The New York Review of Books has condensed Thoreau's 14-volume journal into one abridged book, edited by Damion Searls. He talks to the NYRB bloggers about the monstrosity of the project, the selection project, and his love for Thoreau.

http://nyrb.typepad.com/classics/2009/11/a-conversation-with-damion-searls-about-thoreaus-journal.html

There have been selections from the Journal, but they all feel like grab-bags of the good bits, not the way reading the Journal really feels. Especially with Thoreau, snippets can feel sententious or bossy or crabby, and the Journal isn't. You have to leave in the "boring bits"-because first of all, they're not boring, and second of all, they're what make the excerptable snippets as great as they are. There was no edition both big enough and holistically enough edited to capture the feel of the thing.

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An 11th grade teacher is suspended after giving his students a copy of Chuck Palahniuk's short story "Guts" to read in class. You may remember the story from the hyped up faintings that occurred when Palahniuk was reading the story on his book tour. I think I am on the school's side for this one...The story's available online:

http://chuckpalahniuk.net/features/shorts/guts

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Pretty Japanese barcodes...leave it to them to have well-designed barcodes:

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/japan-even-barcodes-are-well-designed

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I heart typography

http://fashionablygeek.com/t-shirts/i-love-typography/

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Ok, now things are getting crazy. A mustache for...your...BIKE! What?!


http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33586942

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The minimalist's tea cup. So pretty.


http://www.baileydoesntbark.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=306_337_350&products_id=291

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