February 2011
42 posts
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“Having left my job at Sotheby’s, I’m relieved to have so much more time on my...”
– Wedding Day Countdown - Telegraph
You guys! This is not a joke!
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“Everything in America is pointed towards the how-to; towards guaranteed,...”
– Darin Strauss: “The tragedy wasn’t mine to own” | Books | The Observer
Ah! I forgot to log this book in my list of ‘currently reading’ posts because I read it, the whole thing, on the Eurostar between Brussels and London when I was internet-free. Which was good....
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“It is surely not coincidental that most great lovers in literature are devoid of...”
– BBC News - A Point of View: Why books do not prepare us for real love
Solid advice from Alain de Botton, via somethingchanged.
On a question for people who write hateful things...
If the sexual assault of a woman by an angry mob is reported in the news, what is the value of going to a website and writing about how you believe that it was her fault? What do you accomplish from that except the smug satisfaction of knowing that you have, once again, disseminated a bit of hate? What useful agenda does it promote? What endpoint are you aiming for?
“When people react to rape by suggesting women brought it on themselves, they...”
– Adding insult to Lara Logan’s injury | Amanda Marcotte | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
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On the flea market at Place du Jeu de Balle
The grand old pictures made me sad.
Just think, I said as we walked past, how much money families would have spent to have these portraits made - how important they were to them. And now they’re for sale because the subjects died and no one was interested and strangers will buy them for ironic reasons. Or tear out the pictures and use the frames.
True, he said. But you can see how it...
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On not having anything to write about today
GLAMOUR Cover Archive →
There’s lots to love here.
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“Two new comedies about friends who have sex-sans-romance tell us that it’s not...”
– Friends with benefits - Taboos & Tolerance, Love & Sex - The Independent (by me)
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“Do spelling and grammar mistakes annoy you?
If your date answers...”
– The Best Questions For A First Date « OkTrends
What does this all MEAN?
oliveryeh asked: re: "On a good response to a bad review": Thanks for pointing out those articles. Sometimes you have to wonder about the world of literary critiquing and if the old establishment, and its powers, will continue to exist in the new world of technological abilities. The Internet has brought about more balance and, when warranted, exposes the weaknesses behind the critique.
On a good response to a bad review
Bad reviews are shite to get. Of course, it’s important that some of us get them; it’s important that critics have the freedom to express their opinions fully (I have done so myself, and I’m not ashamed…except when years later I meet the authors in person, and I’m a little ashamed). That’s what I told myself when one reviewer said that I “write like [I] am...
“Lord, give me patience as I watch Malia go to her first dance, where there will...”
– Barack Obama (via laikaaon)
UGH UGH UGH.
Mr President, I understand that you have to be religious once in a while to cater to voters who don’t live near a coast, but please leave the sexuality (or lack thereof) of your twelve-year-old daughter out of it.
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I'm listed in Tumblweeds under books, writing,...
I’m listed in Tumblweeds, a user-generated community directory that rates Tumblr bloggers by their number of followers. Find me listed in #books, #writing, #london
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"Forcible Rape" Language To Be Eliminated from HR3 →
A small but important victory.
“The Upper House was recommended to me when I was looking for places to stay in...”
– Gwyneth Paltrow, GOOP, 3rd February 2011
Celebrities! They’re just like us! They travel to exotic lands and eat club sandwiches!
Google Art Project Takes You Inside The Tate →
The end of productivity, the beginning of endless hours of awe. (via michaelrundle, who aptly remarks: WOW)
tobi-with-an-i-deactivated20110 asked: You say you're originaly from New York but did you grow up in England?
The tone of your writing seems English rather than American if that makes any sense.
The tone of your writing seems English rather than American if that makes any sense.