This week's links. Enjoy.
Mona Lisa's Elusive Smile Explained
A scientific explanation of why Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa appears to us as sometimes serious, sometimes smiling. Fascinating. Via New Scientist.
A Pretty Downloadable Card
Lovely Pauline Grayson of mufn inc is offering a free download of her pretty modern floral notecard design — perfect for any occasion. Via How About Orange.
A Better Pencil
An interview with author Dennis Baron, a professor of English and linguistics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, whose new book A Better Pencil provides an historical context for the current debates about how technology is transforming our lives. His thesis: Every communication advancement throughout human history, from the pencil to the typewriter to writing itself, has been met with fear, skepticism and a longing for the medium that's been displaced.
Meet a Blue Whale
Get up close and personal to a blue whale without leaving your chair, with this lifesize version on your monitor. Via Creative Review blog.
Happy Birthday, Ursula K. Le Guin
Yesterday was Ursula K. Le Guin's 80th birthday. The multiple-award-winning writer is best known for A Wizard of Earthsea and is thought of for her science fiction, although she has crossed many boundaries — here she discusses her influences. I loved the Earthsea trilogy when I was a kid — and it stands up well to rereading as an adult, too.
The Laptop Club
A collection of laptops designed by seven- to nine-year-olds in North Carolina, with keyboard buttons for “Barbie.com,” “best friends” next to “friends,” “HP [Harry Potter] trivia,” and “werd games” as well as “rily werd games” — all compiled by Amy Tiemann, who writes (parent.thesis), the parenting and technology blog for CNET.com — plus her own web site, mojomom.com. Utterly charming. Via The Morning News.
Please Sir
A lovely blog that's truly a pleasure to look at. Go and enjoy.
Stack America
Wonderful idea. Via Design Observer: "Andrew Losowsky, co-curator of Colophon, the independent magazine biennale, introduces a new alternative to print magazine subscriptions: Stack America. Every two months receive a random assortment of independent magazines and 'zines."
(photograph from my archive of Domino Deco File images)