This week's links. Enjoy.
The Virtues of Shyness
James Parker meditates on shyness and how, in these reality TV days, it may very well be a rare and wonderful quality to have. As a very shy person myself, this is heartening news. Via The Morning News.
Record Store Days
From the L.A. Times article by August Brown: "Picture a time when new technologies are threatening the livelihood of performing musicians. Music business titans are scrambling to adapt to the decentralization of distribution. Skeptics say it was all better back when music was an intimate transaction between artist and fan, instead of a fleeting bit of consumption. The year is 1924. The new technology is the vinyl album, and the new retail concept — as seen by one particular forward-thinking San Francisco piano dealer — is the record store." Follow the link for more from the new book Record Store Days by Gary Calamar and Phil Gallo. Sounds like a great read! Via Jacket Copy.
The Pleasures and Pains of Coffee
A fascinating and somewhat alarming essay by Honoré de Balzac, who had a notorious coffee addiction. He wrote this essay to explain why coffee obsessed him — and why he would consume up to fifty cups a day while working on his series of novels La Comédie Humaine, even chewing on the beans themselves when desperate. Not surprisingly, he died from the effects of caffeine poisoning at 51. And you thought your coffee habit was bad! Via Lapham's Quarterly.
Empty L. A.
Photographer Matt Logue has a fascinating series of photos of a completely empty Los Angeles — a ghost town version of a normally teeming city. Very cool.
Modern Doll Houses
Doll houses based on modern architecture are becoming more popular these days with serious collectors (such as this one owned by New Yorker illustrator Kathy Osborn) — here's a list of some of the most intriguing designs. I love the tiny reproduction of Arne Jacobsen's 1928 home! Via Design Observer.
The First Art Was Body Art
Paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson discusses his theory of how art first emerged from bodily decoration — which in turn emerged from the earliest human bonding rituals. Via @brainpicker.
Stop Motion Film Contest
In honour of the first-ever retrospective of Eadweard Muybridge's work at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, NPR is having a little contest. Create a stop-motion animation, sequence of stills or anything else that moves Muybridge into 2010 — the top three Muybridge-inspired creations will be featured on the NPR Picture Show blog, as well as the official Corcoran Muybridge exhibition website. Deadline is 11:59 pm, May 15.
Brie and Apple Sandwich
Proof that just a few good ingredients are all that's necessary to make a great meal — in this case, good bread, a bit of Brie, apple slices and a few leaves of fresh basil, assembled and grilled for a few minutes for a perfect spring lunch. From ivory pomegranate, via tastespotting.
(the lovely photograph is by James Merrell)