- I missed it the first time around, but a Studio 360 episode featuring Connie Willis, Janelle Monae and David Goldberg on time travel will rerun this weekend–or you can download it here. I already put it on le iPod. (Via Charlie Jane.)
- Timothy Williamson in the NYT on the nature of imagination and its intersections with science and philosophy.
- A wonderful short essay by Jessica Francis Kane, "Where We Write: The Merits of Making Do," about the author's penchant for writing in libraries. There is much, much too much excellence in this essay to capture with a quote, but a snippet: "I began to suspect I was too susceptible to the idea of the “writer’s desk” and decided it might be better to do without one. Somewhere along the way, I began to work in libraries. More important, I began to get work done in libraries. I acquired a laptop, a padded case for it, and a backpack. I carried pens, a notebook or two, a legal pad, and a few books. Very soon I felt like the academic equivalent of the college student backpacking abroad—I was entirely self-sufficient! I didn’t need a private desk and the talismanic power of special objects surrounding me."
- Marvelous post, including lots of photos, about literary pets. Worth a visit for the Edith Wharton shoulder puppies picture alone. (Via Austin.)
- We're going to NYC next weekend for a wedding (alas, we won't have time to see very many people, as it's a superquick trip), but dang! I'd have loved to catch the Met's exhibit on women's fashion that closed last weekend. The 1930s starlet gowns in the photo are to drool for.
- Smart Bitches has a nice wrap-up of the latest "We Must Protect the Children from … BOOKS!" lunacy, happening down in Texas at the Humble Teen Lit Festival, which decided to disinvite Ellen Hopkins after a librarian raised concerns with the superintendent. All the other authors have dropped out, and there have been some excellent posts you can get to via SB. Make sure you catch Tera Lynn Childs' letter to the superintendent informing him of her own decision. Bravo, guys.
- Finally, the best vintage safety manual ever, entitled "It's Great to Be Alive!" Remember: "Don't play in abandoned ice boxes–they are death traps!" Also, if you do play in the ice box, don't expect any plums. I ate them. (Via Juliet.)