Art and shiny things…
1)Coffee Prince (Kdrama). This is one of the most famous kisses in drama-land, and for good reason. Our hero FINALLY conquers his panic, fear, confusion and repression, grabs the paint-spattered Eun-Chan in the deserted coffeeshop, and kisses her with long-simmering heat and passion. Perfect setting, great buildup, long-held kiss – good stuff.
I hear the dead sea move
In my legs, waves overhead
Child, the wild jetty-walk
Man, the echoed illusion
Pure eyes in the woods
Weeping seek the hospitable head
-Nancy Naomi Carlson translating René Char, via Sakura Review
Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, and indisputably one of the best young adult novelists out there. So have two bits of deliciousness today.
First, Buzzfeed did a great interview of her, from Ashley Ford who goes by smashfizzle on Tumblr –
“The first time Rowell wrote about the struggles of her childhood was in her column for the Omaha World Herald. Her voice lowers a bit, serious but without shame. “I was living in rural areas often without power or a phone or a car. Our water came from a well and a pump. My dad was not around and when he was around, he was not good. There was a lot of alcohol abuse and drug abuse. I feel like I need to say that I’m probably sane and alive because I had a really great mom. Eventually, when we moved to the city and we were on welfare, it was a step up. Being poor in the city was easier than being poor in the country.”
Despite their living conditions, Rowell remembers a home where her father read her The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Books were her safe haven. “My mother was very strict, there was very little on television that we were allowed to watch, there were very few movies that we were allowed to watch. But she’d let me read anything.”
And a favorite Youtube book reviewer Polesandbananas covered Landline with her usual pizzazz –
“Set the foot down with distrust on the crust of the world — it is thin” – Edna St. Vincent Millay
Great, great essay by Lev Grossman over on Buzzfeed, on the time he left everything and went on a roadtrip to become a great writer.
“You can’t be that lonely now, not anymore, but back then loneliness was a totally different animal: It came at you hot and strong, raw and uncut….
What I hadn’t figured out yet was that it’s OK not to be a genius, whatever that is, if there even is such a thing. Since then I’ve learned that the creative life may or may not be the apex of human civilization, but either way it’s not what I thought it was. It doesn’t make you special and sparkly. You don’t have to walk alone. You can work in an office — I’ve worked in offices for the past 15 years and written five novels while doing it. The creative life is forgiving: You can betray it all you want, again and again, and no matter how many times you do, it will always take you back.”
These whimsical pocket notebook from Rifle Paper Company are utterly floating my boat – aren’t they both gorgeous and functional? They’d be a great supplement/substitute for Moleskin. Fuel the creative life, kids.
Mina Price, who goes by Paperpie on Tumblr, creates gorgeous, moody, dreamy illustrations, and has contributed illustrations for such high-profile works as the Eleanor and Park special edition (from which I will post soon). In the meantime though, enjoy the two below one-offs. The first was conceived as a kind of pro e-reader celebration.
Coffee and Irony 