hannahglover

Munroe’s Thing Explainer

Could you describe your work to someone new if you had to use fewer than 1,000 words? I certainly hope so – that’s two or three typed pages. If you need more than that, maybe you don’t really know your own project as well as you should. But what about this twist – try to use only the 1,000 most common words in the English language. This is the idea behind a new book by XKCD’s Randall Munroe, a cartoonist so creative that he sometimes doesn’t use any words at all.

The thousand most commonly used words (actually, the ‘ten hundred‘ as the word ‘thousand‘ is not among the thousand most commonly used words) include terms like love (but not hate) and mind (but not brain) – according to the reliable reference The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists, published…

Tea is enjoyed all over the world as an herbal remedy, a rainy day comfort, or simply a breakfast drink. In many cases, tea is consumed as a way to pass the time with others, but Japan and England in particular have elevated tea to the status of ritual. Also known as the Way of Tea, the Japanese tea ceremony chanoyu is a carefully orchestrated performance focused on the powdered green tea, matcha. Governed by rules regulating preparation, serving, and consumption, chanoyu, literally “hot water for tea,” is far more complex than the misleading translation suggests. Conversely, English High Tea, also known as Afternoon Tea, is a relatively unstructured affair. These traditions are not based on religion, family, or rites of passage; they are cultural constructs built around themes of indulgence, status, and aesthetic.

A demonstration of the Japanese tea ceremony. Photo credit: ourcamden.org.

Though the merchants who…

(c) National Trust, Blickling Hall; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Oh social media. So much of it lambasted for cultural demise, yet it’s just a current way to do what people have done for centuries, which is self-fashion. As the European monarchs of old had self portraits painted in very particular ways of presenting themselves and their power, as autobiographers have carefully edited their lives to print and sell to the masses, so Facebook and Instagram serve as the common man’s modern equivalent.

Because we have easy access to present ourselves, the ability to literally create a persona of whoever we want to be is possible (though the reality of ourselves will always be apparent to those who actually interact with us). Additionally, we have easy access to…everyone else. So to create ourselves online, we have a virtual “closet” of personalities to try on and present to the world. We…

Tools of the trade for a slate maker

To celebrate their 80th anniversary, Penguin released 80 ‘Little Black Classics’. Number 24 is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling taken from Plain Tales from the Hills, which was published in 1980.

The tales set in imperial India are all told through the eyes of an omniscient narrator. The stories full of myth, secrets, mystery and magic make unique and interesting reading, like nothing I’ve read before.

Kipling’s tales whilst full of fantasy and magic, do still successfully portray a vivid image of India and its cultures.

These Little Black Classics are a great way to read something by an author you’ve never read before as they offer a quick read of some of their work. If like me you’ve never read any Kipling, this book could be your place to start.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Amazon UK

Amazon US

During a street fair on Aug. 15, 10 murals will be painted on a large wall on Dean Street in Prospect Heights.

from NYT > Arts http://ift.tt/1I5kWZ3