When the Hit Man Starts Talking
"A former FBI agent traveled to Louisiana to ask a hired killer about a murder that haunted him. Then they started talking about a different case altogether."
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The French liar
René Descartes, the founder of modern philosophy, was furiously condemned by his contemporaries. Why did they fear him? - by Sandrine Parageau Read at Aeon
Paradise Lost Explained: How John Milton Wrote His Epic Religious Poem from Satan’s Perspective
“Paradise Lost is one of the books which the reader admires and lays down, and forgets to take up again,” Samuel Johnson wrote in the late eighteenth century. “None ever wished it longer than it is. Its perusal is a duty rather than a pleasure. We read Milton for instruction,
The future doesn’t care
It doesn’t care whether you’re excited or filled with trepidation. It arrives, regardless. What an opportunity. Or a threat. Up to us.
Watch Animated Sheet Music for Miles Davis’ “So What,” Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” and Charlie Parker’s “Confirmation”
Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue changed jazz. It changed music, period. So I take it very seriously. But when I see the animated sheet music of the first cut, “So What,” I can’t help but think of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts cartoons, and their Vince Guaraldi compositions. I mean no
A Swim Through Jellyfish Lake
Jellyfish Lake in Palau is home to approximately 13 million jellyfish. Their mild stings mean you can snorkel in their midst and capture beautifully surreal scenes like this: If I had a bucket list, I think a swim in Jellyfish Lake w/ classical accompaniment might be on it.
How Silicon Valley Got Rich. “When Apple went public in 1980, it...
How Silicon Valley Got Rich . “When Apple went public in 1980, it created 300 millionaires. When Microsoft did in 1986, 3,000 employees became millionaires. After Google’s IPO in 2004, 1,000 employees held stock worth more than $5 million.”
“All games are cooperative. The very act of agreeing to & honouring...
“ All games are cooperative . The very act of agreeing to & honouring rules, & the deeper compact, of temporarily engaging in the roleplay that the drama taking place on the table is *important* - this is a fundamentally cooperative enterprise.” 💬 Join the discussion on
The Hyperallergic Art Crossword: July 2025
What do Henri Matisse, Hilma af Klint, and the Venice Biennale have in common?
Slain Palestinian Boy Honored in Illinois Playground Monument
Wadee Alfayoumi, who was murdered by his family’s landlord in 2023 in an anti-Muslim hate crime, is remembered in a new sculpture in his hometown.
Bookshop.org’s 100 Bestselling Books of 2025 (So Far)
Online bookseller bookshop.org recently released a list of their bestselling books of the year (so far) . The list is quite a bit different than what you might see from larger booksellers and looks more like what your local bookstore has on their bestseller list. The top five:
Magical Realism Permeates Christian Ruiz Berman’s Labyrinthine Paintings
"I grew up in the magical realist tradition, not only in terms of literature and painting but as a school of thought and culture," Christian Ruiz Berman says. Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing
What Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing?
"The demise of the English paper will end a long intellectual tradition, but it’s also an opportunity to reëxamine the purpose of higher education."
Always worth a read: the latest issue of Jodi Ettenberg’s The Curious...
Always worth a read: the latest issue of Jodi Ettenberg’s The Curious About Everything newsletter . (I have so many tabs open to read now… 🎉🫠) 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
When Hilma af Klint Found the Soul in Plants
Her Nature Studies invoke the promise of something greater, a direct line from the material world to the spiritual experience that art is presumed to offer.
A God’s-Eye-View of Earth’s Destruction
Edward Burtynsky's photographs once offered a prescient vision of large-scale anthropogenic changes; now, they feel more and more like a pretext for aesthetic dazzle.
Massive Mural of Ashamed Statue of Liberty Emerges in France
Dutch street artist Judith de Leeuw said she created the piece in response to the United States’s cruel immigration policies.
How I Solved the Century-Old Mystery of a Miraculous Shipwreck Survivor
"In a disaster worse than the Titanic, it was believed a young man swam over six kilometres to safety. It didn’t add up."
Uncoding Creativity in the Age of AI: What Makes a Great Poem, What Makes a Great Storyteller, and What Makes Us Human
I once asked ChatGPT to write a poem about a total solar eclipse in the style of Walt Whitman. It returned a dozen couplets of cliches that touched nothing, changed nothing in me. The AI had the whole of the English language at its disposal — a lexicon surely manyfold the
Mavis Pusey’s First Solo Museum Exhibition Spotlights Her Work in Geometric Abstraction
Mavis Pusey: Mobile Images advances new research and preservation efforts. On view at ICA Philadelphia from July 12 through December 7.
Bard MFA Presents the Class of 2026 Thesis Exhibition
Double Take brings together the culminating work of third-year MFA candidates at the Bard Exhibition Center/UBS Gallery in Red Hook, New York, on July 11–20.
Every Wes Anderson Movie, Explained by Wes Anderson
Clocking in at almost an hour, this “definitive interview” with Wes Anderson by Vanity Fair about all 12 of his films is perhaps only for Wes stans or cinephiles, but then again, listening to thoughtful, creative people talking earnestly about their work is almost always worth
Site-Specific Textiles by Rachel B. Hayes Radiate Within Vast Landscapes and Sunlit Interiors
From myriad swaths of vivid, translucent fabric, the Tulsa-based artist conjures striking installations. 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
“The fundamental dilemma [of media like NYT]: journalism is, by its nature,...
“ The fundamental dilemma [of media like NYT] : journalism is, by its nature, supposed to be on the side of accuracy, against lies & liars, but the GOP is lies & liars top to bottom. And for reasons of power & access, journalism can not say so.”
Here’s what Tom Holland’s lip-sync of Umbrella can teach us about stormwater...
Here’s what Tom Holland’s lip-sync of Umbrella can teach us about stormwater management . “So set designers must have accounted for the flow to go somewhere , but not all residential or commercial properties are so well drained.” 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
Science writer Jennifer Ouellette reflects on the 30th anniversary of Apollo 13,...
Science writer Jennifer Ouellette reflects on the 30th anniversary of Apollo 13 , including the movie’s realism “The actors, once locked in, breathed air pumped into the suits just like the original Apollo astronauts.” I love Apollo 13. 💬 Join the discussion on kottke.org →
From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
"I love giving vintage textiles another chance to go back up on a wall and be admired again, cherished," the artist says. 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
A Great Art Explained Book? Sign Me Up!
Ah, this is awesome: Great Art Explained is one of my favorite YouTube channels and there’s a book version coming out in the fall . Art can be thrilling, and resonate on a deep personal level. It is how you view the work, place it in context and understand its history that
The detention center in Florida easily fits the definition of concentration camp....
The detention center in Florida easily fits the definition of concentration camp . “This facility’s purpose fits the classic model, and its existence points to serious dangers ahead for the country.” Alligator Auschwitz .