"Throw away your mind. Throw away the acquisition of knowledge, the tempting ballast of academic learning, the heavy quoting of past literary masters, the pile-up of clever echoes. Can a wanton leave-taking of self and an ultra-attentive look at the abhorrent be tolerated in the liberal compact of the university?"
-Throw Away Your Mind by Colin Dayan in LA Review of Books
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"Beirut was once known as the Paris of the Middle East. So why have attacks in France gotten so much more attention than bombings in Lebanon?"
-The Empathy Gap Between Paris and Beirut by David A. Graham in The Atlantic
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"More than any other element of fiction writing, description creates immersion. It’s important to get this one right."
-The Fatal Flaw in Weak Descriptions by Rachel Starr Thomson in JaneFriedman.com
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Happy Birthday, Tomorrowland author Joseph Bates.
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Alan Watts on death (via Brainpickings):
Photo by Pierre Olivier Carles