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thirteenny:

gofwd:

Every movie set in New York, all in one place. 

Very cool! Movies right outside our door. 

"Solitude is never absolute. We are always with someone, even if it is only our shadow. We are never one—we are always we. These extremes are the poles of human life."

Octavio Paz (via theparisreview)

"Happiness is excitement that has found a settling down place, but there is always a little corner that keeps flapping around."

- From the Mixed-up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler. 

In memory of the great E. L. Konigsburg, an author who taught us to laugh and dream with her thoughtful children’s books - Happiness will always abound as long as her books are flapping around (and they are… at the Library).

(via nypl)

poetrysince1912:

Enjoy some contemporary Shakespeare for the Bard’s birthday.

You can read Sonnet XVIII (Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?) here, and learn more about Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation contest here. The National Finals of Poetry Out Loud take place next week in Washington, DC. The event is free and open to the public. Come and root for poetry! (Non-Washingtonians: there will also be a live webcast, and you can host your own viewing party!)

nypl:

below red clay
and the river
with its arms wrapping around
us like a shawl
where it is so deep there is
only blackness

Today’s winning poem is the second poem submitted by @vernaausten. LIKE and SHARE your favorite little poems: http://www.nypl.org/poetrycontest

upworthy:

A Lawyer, A Wizard, And A Vampire All Walk Into An Infographic…

I have an English degree and I haven’t even read half of these. What book on this list do you think every person should read?

[Original infographic by David McCandless for Information Is Beautiful. Found onThe Guardian.]

"A newspaper published a story about the Surgeon General’s office that contained information about the size and location of the Army of the Potomac. A furious Hooker complained to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton that the chief of the Secret Service “would have willingly paid $1,000 for such information” about Confederate forces."

Ford Risely, The New York Times, Birth of the Byline.

Risley, a professor of communications and head of Penn State’s journalism department takes us through Civil War era journalism and how the byline came to be.

Indeed, during the first two years of the war, an increasingly aggressive and competitive press had published stories that infuriated military leaders on both sides. The Civil War was the first war widely covered by American newspapers. And in their zeal to report the greatest event of their lives, newsmen produced a decidedly mixed bag of stories.

On one hand, many reporters honestly and faithfully chronicled the fighting. Tireless correspondents went to extraordinary lengths to report stories, often on tight deadlines. However, other newsmen mistakenly, and in some cases recklessly, reported the conflict. Correspondents less concerned with the facts and more interested in rushing stories into print wrote damaging stories that hurt their side.

Following the journalistic practice of the day, correspondents wrote anonymously during the war, most using a pen name or no name at all. Newsmen liked the custom, believing the secrecy allowed them do their work better. As one reporter wrote, “The anonymous greatly favors freedom and boldness in newspaper correspondence … . Besides the responsibility it fastens on a correspondent, the signature inevitably detracts from the powerful impersonality of a journal.”

However, commanders did not like the practice because newsmen often could not be held accountable for what they wrote. McClellan had complained to Stanton of reporters repeatedly “giving important information” about the Army in their stories. “As it is impossible for me to ascertain with certainty who these anonymous writers are,” he wrote, “I beg to suggest that another order be published holding the editors responsible for its infraction.”

After the news leak, General Order No. 48 was issued, which required that all reporters with the Army of the Potomac—of which Hooker (mentioned above) was commander—“publish their communications over their own signatures.” 

And the byline was born.

Related: A few more thoughts on journalism history from our archives.

(via futurejournalismproject)

nprfreshair:

Over at The NOOK Blog David Sedaris, whose new book is called Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, names his Five Favorite Unusual Book Titles. They’re pretty funny. Also, charming and poetic. For example:

3. A Passion For Donkeys by Elisabeth D. Svendsen

This is a non-fiction book, but the title would work just as well for a novel or poetry collection.

In other news: It’s SEDARIS DAY on the show tomorrow.

HT Susan Orlean

Image via Flickr

papermag:

We’ve got beautiful, never-before-seen images from the ‘Look Up New York’ campaign. They’ll remind you how pretty New York City buildings are.

statenislandlisa:

the culmination of indifference on a tuesday  mid morning fog and bitter drizzle but not one regret; we are that many shades of diminished.