Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom for Inspiration and Healing from the Heart of Japan . “Hiroko awakens readers to the idea of a traditional spiritual flexibility that seamlessly coexists with the modern secular world…” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Liam Neeson Narrates Anti-Vax, Pro-RFK Documentary . In the narration, he calls the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines “dangerous experiments”.
For artists, freelancers, and the self-employed, tax season can feel like a looming cloud. A new book by artist-turned-tax-specialist Hannah Cole offers an antidote.
His constructed images feel especially relevant as we navigate AI and questions about photographic reliability.
This video by Ian Lauer is an excellent accessible explanation of the basics of astrophotography as he runs through the process of how he captures a long-exposure image of the Andromeda galaxy. This picture is still black and white — and no, the galaxy is not devoid of color.
Women ceramicists challenge conventions in clay, India’s drag scene, olive trees in Gaza, dystopian airport lounges, Jenny Holzer’s roommate, and the real story of “Jingle Bells.”
Funniest McSweeney’s piece I’ve read in awhile: The Mastermind Box Cover: What the Hell Were They Thinking? “Warmth is for Sorry! This is not a hug. This is a chess clock in a stranger’s living room telling you your parents are getting divorced.”
Her photography captures both celebrities and everyday people with such intimacy that they might call to mind your neighbors and friends.
From the V&A Museum, here’s a 90-minute video of someone knitting a pair of gloves using a knitting pattern from the 1940s from the museum’s archive. Featuring soft-spoken moments, natural yarn sounds, needles gently tapping, and the soothing rhythm of slow, careful making,
Rubio explores the relationship between past and present in beads, sequins, and rhinestones. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Medieval Motifs and
“There is something so magical about the dyeing process that has continued to captivate me.”
Aging Out of Fucks: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore . “…that point in midlife when your capacity to pretend, perform, and please others starts shorting out like an electrical system that’s finally had enough.”
Thread: What was typography like in the Soviet Union? “They did not just have 1 font everyone had to use. As a matter of fact, there were 39.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
"He went in search of a better life for his family. His brother refused to let him go alone. Only one survived the journey."
Also: the best Paris shows of the year, protest at the New School, Maureen McCabe's magical creatures, and Liz Collins's groundbreaking textiles.
The simple rule: Nine shortcuts take longer and are less productive than simply doing the work the right way the first time. When we look for one-quick-tip and the lazy hack, we’re wasting time we could have spent on the direct path instead. When a shortcut becomes the best way
You may have seen every single one of Studio Ghibli’s animated films, going well beyond the Hayao Miyazaki-directed My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service to the less widely known but also charmingly crafted likes of Ocean Waves, My Neighbors the
Navigating a world in flux demands some understanding of who you really are, and some of my favorite pieces from this year speak to that need.
Image via Wikimedia Commons The site Fast Company published an article that describes the “Complaint Restraint project,” an initiative that aims to create a “positive life by eliminating negative statements.” It’s an admirable goal. Though most of us have a perverse love of
Around 40% of full-time faculty were offered buyouts and programs are on the chopping block as the university faces a $48M deficit.
New evidence suggests that Neanderthals were making fire in the UK 400,000 years ago . The previous earliest date of human fire-making was a mere 50,000 years ago. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
How do we live whole in a breaking world? It helps to bless what is simply for being. It helps to thank everything for its unbidden everythingness. And still we need help — help holding on to the beauty amid the brutality, help stripping the armors of certainty to be
This year, we read too many incredible books to count — here are a few that stuck with us, including tomes on Marsha P. Johnson, Mary Cassatt in Paris, and Ruth Asawa and mothering.
From the archives of London’s V&A Museum, a selection of items that were used by Victorian-era mourners to remember and pay tribute to loved ones who had died, including jewelry with human hair, black dresses, jet black jewelry, mourning cards, and postmortem photography.
This week, we honor a sculptor of buildings, a photographer of the absurd, and the “Chekhov of Trenton.”
For Shuo Hao, finding the proper place is at the heart of her practice. The Chinese artist, who is currently based in Paris, has long been interested in the ancient text Yijing and how it offers a system of understanding for a world perpetually in flux. The cosmological book
Olga de Amaral’s sculptural tapestries, Otobong Nkanga’s multi-media oeuvre, Meriem Bennani’s footwear-as-soundscape, and more.
The trailer for It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley , a documentary film about the late singer/songwriter. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
The artist takes a mystical, magical journey through America's supernatural past in a retrospective at the Benton Museum of Art.
