Links for the voracious

Source: Awesome People Reading

 

I like to share a skosh of all the old and new tidbits I find online.


Arthur the dog's arduous trek through the Amazon rainforest and his new life in Sweden.

Creating art from the detritus of everyday life. 

 

Music librarians reveal the history of Mozart's Seranata by analyzing just one page of the composition.

 

Watch master book restorer Nobuo Okano transform a beloved well-worn book.

Three teenage sisters and a love for hard rock music. The Warning is my new favorite  band.

 



 

 

 

 

 

From: The desk of Kiki Maldoon, American Patriot

Date: April 9, 2015

Subject: Party achievements, January- March 2015

Fellow Patriots, 

Some people think Republicans don't have a sense of humor. You'd need one to survive eight years of Obummer! My housekeeper told me Republicans have been tearing up America like an episiotomy. I just laughed. What a hoot! It has been a stunning 2015. First, Texas Senator John Conryn changed the name of the subcomitte he now leads. It was called the Subcomittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. He just chopped off 'civil rights' and 'human rights' from the name. This man is a genius. The Constitution as it was originally written had all the best stuff in it. The special rights crowd didn't see this coming. Some people around town have given Senator Conryn the nickname "Big Bunyons." If he has bunyons, his Italian leather loafers would be stretched to the nubs. There is no visual evidence of bunyons, hammer toes or corns as far as I can tell. 

Linds Graham, the gentleman from South Carolina recently told a real eye-popping story at an intimate dinner party for the GOP's most dedicated supporters. According to Linds, there's a Negro bailiff over at the Supreme Court. Talk about affirmative action. He is apparently undeportable and engages in sassy banter with Justice Sotoportorico. When they're conversing the room smells like refried beans and menthol cigarettes. Can you imagine?

Arkansas turd blossom Tom Cotton was at the same dinner drinking his body weight in Dr. Pepper. He's a bit dramatic, but Tom made some good points. He said, "those liberals must feel really stupid. People who love America, who own National Treasure on Blue Ray are running the show now." He is completely right. I agree with him and the other forty-six senators about Iran. Those senators sure put the ayatollahs on notice with that beautiful letter they put together on Google Translate. American ingenuity at its best. Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa wasn't at the dinner. Word is she's been scouring the Capitol for trash bags to wear as rain ponchos. 

 

Not everyone is made for this life. To fight for American values you have to be tough. If only Governor Bobby Jindal and Senator Marco Rubio could get over that messy minority business. Jindal referred to himself on television as a pre-existing condition. Poor Rubio has the nimbleness of a crack baby despite not being on crack or a baby. 

Thank God for Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. They would commit mass murder to get their points across. Ted and Rand running for president is giving me night sweats. 2015 is shaping up to be a great year. 

God Bless America!

-Kiki Maldoon

 Director, GOP Patriot Relations 

Links for the voracious

Medievalist Dorothy Kim brings librarian and archivist Belle da Costa Greene's name back into the public consciousness. Thanks to People of Color in European Art History for posting Kim's tweets.

Hen? Sweden makes the move to make language more inclusive and dynamic.

The future is coming and you will not be here.

 

If you are looking for something to read, browse the titles of the best sellers of the 20th century.

 

Misquoting Aristotle about excellence.

 

The way Marshall McLuhan read.

 

 

 

 

Loving Cookie

Empire is over for the season, but the return of Cookie Lyon cannot come too soon. She is an iconoclast adored by millions of people. Cookie is unapologetically herself. She sacrificed her freedom to ensure her husband's success. In return, he divorced her and did not allow her children to visit her in prison. Cookie's return to her family and the business built on her drug dealing is that of a triumphant hero. The people in her life may not view her return in such glorious terms, but Cookie is not bothered by their lack of vision.

Source: Mic.com

She is not ashamed of her past. Those intimidated by her gravitas attempt to use the fact of her incarceration to demean her, but Cookie will not be cowed. Cookie is beloved because she is honest and righteous. Her truth telling is bracing in its depth and hilarious in its application. There is no room for shame when one is on a mission to avenge herself. Propriety only serves to diminish women like Cookie who fight for their place in the world. As the lion is not concerned with the opinion of sheep, Cookie does not require praise from small minds. She is Cookie. Take a bite at your peril.

Source: Mic.com

To survive a summer without Cookie, enjoy some sartorial playtime with Cookie paper dolls from Vulture.com.



 

 

Carmen McRae: Ms. Jazz

Credit: Tom Copi- Michael Ochs Archive/ Getty Images

 

When Carmen McRae died on November 10, 1994, she was remembered as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. "With [Ella] Fitzgerald and the late [Sarah] Vaughan, Miss McRae formed the troika of female American jazz singers," the Los Angeles Times reported. She wasn't as well known as her two counterparts, but she was adored worldwide by her legion of dedicated fans. The jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason described her style this way: "Carmen McRae sings the lyrics like Laurence Olivier delivers Shakespeare."

 

 

For Ms. McRae singing was an immersive experience. "Every word is very important to me," she said. "Lyrics come first, then the melody. The lyric of a song I might decide to sing must have something that I can convince you with. It's like an actress who selects a role that contains something she wants to portray."

 

Ms. McRae recorded over 35 albums full of elegant, magisterial singing. In her Los Angeles Times obituary, Ms. McRae was quoted as telling friends, "I don't want a funeral. I don't want flowers. All I want to be remembered for is my music."