A Better Course

16 October 1861: The consequences of crinoline | From the Guardian | guardian.co.uk "Our countrywomen are apt to follow a fashion abjectly, we are told, because they have a horror of appearing independent in their judgement about external appearances, and of earning the name of being 'strong-minded women'" (tags: none)

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How Companies Learn Your Secrets – NYTimes.com "Because birth records are usually public, the moment a couple have a new baby, they are almost instantaneously barraged with offers and incentives and advertisements from all sorts of companies. Which means that the key is to reach them earlier, before any other retailers know a baby is […]

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Bigger than Jah | Montreal Mirror While our taxi driver navigated through the seemingly end­less sea of cars, we asked if there was anyone else he would have liked to see at the Jamaica Jazz and Blues festival. His response was, “No, she [Celine Dion] is better than number one. There is no one better. […]

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designswarm thoughts » Blog Archive » Unexportables "When you can be anywhere, you have to celebrate where you are right then and there. That’s luxury." (tags: none)

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Why Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ Makes Everyone Cry – WSJ.com An appoggiatura is a type of ornamental note that clashes with the melody just enough to create a dissonant sound. "This generates tension in the listener," said Martin Guhn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia who co-wrote a 2007 study on the subject. […]

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Arcades, Mallrats, & Tumblr Thugs – The New Inquiry "'Junkspace is like being condemned to a perpetual Jacuzzi with millions of your best friends… Seemingly an apotheosis, spatially grandiose, the effect of its richness is a terminal hollowness, a vicious parody of ambition that systematically erodes the credibility of building, possibly forever.' Koolhaas was referring […]

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Team Fortress 2 | I Can’t Taunt Without My Radio "Are you a hip-hop gangster named Todd? That's gonna vary from person to person, obviously, but it's not totally out of the question!" (tags: none)

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Don’t Confuse Passion with Competence – Scott Anthony – Harvard Business Review "Passion only matters if it leads to an innovation that delivers impact, whether that impact is measured in revenues, profits, improved process performance, or something entirely different." – This incredibly obvious point does not get enough play for my liking (tags: none)

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The tweelight of the gods « 33revolutionsperminute’s Blog “In my view, wackywriting has its roots in the sort of language used by some middle-class parents to their young children: jolly, zany and childlike, but with a colder undercurrent of authority, judgement and passive aggression. (tags: none)

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Fake Non-Fiction Best Sellers – Front Page – Magical Wasteland "Warner argues that snapping is, ultimately, a democratizing force– the explosion of compressed air from the palm of the hand makes this signature sound a direct and forceful personal statement." (tags: none)

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