Saturday, October 04, 2008

articles of interest

in light of my concern about living an insufficiently intellectual life, i bring you articles of interest:
  1. on the architecture of airports. a review of a couple of new books on airports and why air travel went from glamorous futuristic ideal to drudgery (which i don't agree with, except when i transit at heathrow.  or charles de gaulle).
  2. apparently the danes, those happy folks , have come out on top of the happiest in the world survey, again for 2008.  this article, written by a brit who has lived in denmark for years explains why.
  3. because i can't resist another small shot at sarah palin, i give you this article, likening her as a phenomenon to the pet rock.
  4. i'm always interested in language and how it expresses...well...anything at all. this article explores why we express abstract feelings as temperatures. is there an actual psychological connection between coldness and being excluded?
  5. and because i travel so much, this piece on travel writing from world hum caught my eye. tho', i was a bit surprised to see someone being referred to as postmodern in a headline. i thought postmodernism was so over.
all of these links came from arts & letters daily, which i use as my homepage, in an attempt to remind me to keep a life of the mind alive on a daily basis. and i've been doing that for years, not just since i attended the symposium for peter. i guess when something becomes routine, it loses its meaning for us. so, this morning, i really had a look, rather than sailing immediately past into my gmail.

happy weekend everyone!

6 comments:

Sarah Jackson said...

what a great way to start your day. Thank you!

Magpie said...

oh, that's a good site...another one i check every day is artsjournal.com - it's more about the arts - but it collects stuff that i wouldn't otherwise see.

tangobaby said...

I want to read all of these...thank you for starting with the cream of the crop.

Arts & Letters Daily, here I come!

I used to love airports and airplanes. Remember when you were little and the stewardesses (because that's what they were called then) were so nice to you and you got toys and snacks? And of course you know I'll get to that pet rock article, too.

julochka said...

sarah--glad i could help.

magpie--have already bookmarked that one!

TB--i still hold out hope of becoming a stewardess (yes, i still call it that, it seems nicer than trolly dolly). and it's not too late for me on SAS (=Sexy After Sixty)

tangobaby said...

I've never HEARD of a TROLLY DOLLY! I want to be one, too.

(Do you get to wear one of those little hats? I want a hat.)

julochka said...

and gloves. preferably in red leather, which may mean i have to work for austrian airlines....