Art, Truth, and the Work Ahead
This moment marks new beginnings — grounded in the past and prepared for a world we can imagine and build anew.
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Becoming a Centenarian
"Like The New Yorker, I was born in 1925. Somewhat to my surprise, I decided to keep a journal of my hundredth year."
1981 time machine
If you went back 45 years, the built world would be eerily similar–the clothes, the cars, even the haircuts. Except you’d quickly notice that there were no personal computers and no smart phones. That for seven or ten hours a day, every day, people were interacting in real
What’s Entering the Public Domain in 2026: Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, All Quiet on the Western Front, Betty Boop & More
Though it isn’t the kind of thing one hears discussed every day, serious Disney fans do tend to know that Goofy’s original name was Dippy Dawg. But how many of the non-obsessive know that Mickey’s faithful pet Pluto was first called Rover? (We pass over in dignified silence the
Celebrate Public Domain Day with Betty Boop and Piet Mondrian
"The Little Engine That Could," a Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel collaboration, and many other works are now free to use and reuse.
Fred Wilson Reflects Our World in Black and White
The artist confronts us with a colonial shadow of real and manufactured images that reflect our current existence and its distortions.
‘Modern Japanese Printmakers’ Celebrates Vibrant Mid-20th-Century Innovation
Trailblazing Japanese artists innovated unique techniques, merged traditional mediums with new methods, and reveled in experimentation. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7
Kottke Wrapped 2025
Spotify really started something, didn’t they? Everyone has a “Wrapped” this year; I even got an email one from the cruise line on which I took a trip this summer. Like, “Congratulations! You went on {1} cruise for {7} days!” — and then nothing else. Two stats. So I thought for
Nancy Friedman: 52 Things I Learned in 2025. Incl. “Seventy-one percent of...
Nancy Friedman: 52 Things I Learned in 2025 . Incl. “Seventy-one percent of people in Iceland are Costco members” and “In Sweden, the largest size of Hellmann’s mayonnaise — 600 grams — is called “American size”. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Happy Public Domain Day to All Who Celebrate! You Can Now Use Betty Boop, Nancy Drew and 'The Maltese Falcon' for Free
On January 1, 2026, copyrights will expire for comics, books, movies, musical compositions and other creative works from 1930, as well as sound recordings from 1925
Kent Hendricks: 52 Things I Learned in 2025. Incl. “Birders in the...
Kent Hendricks: 52 Things I Learned in 2025 . Incl. “Birders in the United States spend $107 billion per year, including $93B on binoculars, feeders, cameras, and other equipment; and $14B on travel. That’s more than the GDP of New Hampshire.” 💬 Join the discussion on