the generalisto

Loving the woodcut feel of these book cover illustrations for...

Tue, 22 May 2012 08:59:31 -0500

Loving the woodcut feel of these book cover illustrations for the Evelyn Waugh series from Back Bay Books.

This Air France commercial with Benjamin Millepied and Virginie...

Mon, 21 May 2012 12:33:00 -0500

This Air France commercial with Benjamin Millepied and Virginie Caussin just made the sky the best place on Earth for this minute.

newshour: Poster from the 1860 election between Republican...

Sat, 19 May 2012 08:37:50 -0500

newshour:

Poster from the 1860 election between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas. Lincoln’s first name was commonly misspelled as “Abram” during his candidacy. (Library of Congress)

More prez posters

(…Sideways young Lincoln is really bugging me. ^KC)

Check out this work by Annie Bissett and the Shin Jidai exhibit...

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:37:09 -0500

Check out this work by Annie Bissett and the Shin Jidai exhibit in Minneapolis

K’Naan as a “Sufi rapper” in a David...

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:20:32 -0500

K’Naan as a “Sufi rapper” in a David Cronenberg film based on a Don DeLillo novel? This I gotta see.

planetmoney: Of each dollar the federal government spends, how...

Thu, 17 May 2012 02:06:15 -0500

planetmoney:

Of each dollar the federal government spends, how much goes to defense? How much goes to Social Security? How much goes to interest on the debt? And how has this sort of thing changed over time?

This graphic answers these questions. It shows the major components of federal spending 50 years ago, 25 years ago, and last year.

Read more here.

One has to wonder: What if education were a block unto itself on this graph? What kind of country would we be? How would our culture feel different?

liquidchroma: nownowband: Taken with Instagram at Minnesota...

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:05:16 -0500

liquidchroma:

nownowband:

Taken with Instagram at Minnesota Public Radio - American Public Media

Cool thing: there are three of those chairs in the lobby and each plays a stream of one of the three MPR services.

My boys love sitting in those chairs when they come to see their old man at the office.

Elizabeth Cotten’s “Freight Train” is just...

Tue, 15 May 2012 21:41:00 -0500

Elizabeth Cotten’s “Freight Train” is just what I needed this evening.

(h/t to Jeff Guntzel)

"The literal approach to scripture was used to enslave black people. I’ve said many times in black..."

Tue, 15 May 2012 07:37:51 -0500

“The literal approach to scripture was used to enslave black people. I’ve said many times in black churches that the black church is on the wrong side of history on this. It’s so sad because they were on the right side of history in their own struggle.”

- Theologian James Cone, on the black church citing scripture to exclude gays

Kara Holden offered this lovely intermission in response to a...

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:58:43 -0500

Kara Holden offered this lovely intermission in response to a question about the best song she’s heard all week: Beneath us, constellations.

liquidchroma: If you could look through Emmylou’s head, you...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 10:07:37 -0500

liquidchroma:

If you could look through Emmylou’s head, you would see me standing quietly, in awe.

You’ve never looked better. Her Red Dirt Girl album is one of my all-time favorites.

splendidtable: Food: Don’t waste it. From artist Frederic G....

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:54:36 -0500

splendidtable:

Food: Don’t waste it. From artist Frederic G. Cooper, this World War I poster that contains good advice for anytime.

[Library of Congress]

Just splendid!

18thandhoyt: Slightly addicted to the new album from First Aid...

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 04:53:06 -0500

18thandhoyt:

Slightly addicted to the new album from First Aid Kit. Why are all the good things Swedish?

Agreed, and ABBA never totally left the American consciousness.

beingblog: Orthodox Christians and Alevi Muslims in Turkey Fear...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:46:03 -0500

beingblog:

Orthodox Christians and Alevi Muslims in Turkey Fear Consequences of Syria’s Assad Losing Power

by Trent Gilliss, senior editor

As our radio show prepares for a production trip to Turkey this coming June, I’m watching for particular stories and voices that might foster our own sense of how to add to the news and information coming out of this country. PRI’s The World offers this smart report on one of the few Orthodox Christian communities in Turkey that has learned to survive in a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation.

Correspondent Matthew Brunwasser reveals the complexity of the social and religious issues of Tokaçlı, a village in Hatay province of Turkey, which was once part of Syria until 1938. With the Altinozu refugee camp ten miles from its back door and 20,000 Syrians expected to stream across the border, this multi-ethnic community is being confronted by the realities of a Syrian civil war:

“Minorities see the Assad regime as representing multi-ethnicity and religious tolerance. And they can’t imagine anyone in a post-Assad Syria giving them a better deal. Just ask Can Coban who owns a cafe here in Tokacli.

‘You can’t predict the future,’ Coban says. ‘But let’s say radical Muslims win the elections. The Christians’ lives will never again be normal like they are now. They could expel the Christians or their lives could get more difficult. They might be prevented from praying and practicing their religion. They live better now in Syria than we do here in Turkey.’”

Also at stake is a peaceful way of life for Alawite Muslims, known as Alevis in Turkey, because President Assad is an Alawite Muslim:

“Alawites make up about 16 percent of the population, and Sunnis resent them for monopolizing power. And so Alawites are terrified of a backlash. And in Hatay there are fears of that backlash spreading across the border.”

"The only thing that matters is how I feel about myself, my personal integrity, and my relationship..."

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:42:30 -0500

“The only thing that matters is how I feel about myself, my personal integrity, and my relationship with my Creator. Of course, it’s wonderful to be held in esteem and fond regard by family, friends, and community, but a central part of my spiritual practice is letting go of otheration. And casting one’s lot with the public is dangerous and self-destructive, and I value myself too much to do that.”

- —Ashley Judd, from her commentary for The Daily Beast’s Women in the World blog

No wonder this piece has been taking the media world by storm. It’s a powerful commentary, one that lets no one off the hook and reminds us that we’re all culpable of this type of thinking. I’m a father of two boys, and I’ve got some real work to do.

~Trent Gilliss, senior editor

(via beingblog)

beingblog: Touch Wood in a Japanese Forest with Bach by Trent...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:39:16 -0500

beingblog:

Touch Wood in a Japanese Forest with Bach

by Trent Gilliss, senior editor

Go to the woods of Kyushu, Japan. Engineer a massive xylophone (or is it a marimba?) to run down the slope of a forested hill. Take a wooden ball, place it at the top of said instrument, and push it. What do you get? Bach’s treatment of a traditional church hymn! Namely, “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

And, all this for a Japanese commercial for a kidney-shaped smartphone with the tagline, “Touch Wood.” I may be late to the party on this one, but when I think of all the time it took to set this up, the precision and measurements used to adjust it and actually make each piece, and how many takes the film crew shot, it continues to inspire even if it’s a year old.

And, here you can see how it was made:

I don’t know why I took so long to post this after letting it linger in the drafts dust bin for so long. The entire project is so creative and smart.

beingblog: Sylvia Boorstein Reads Neruda’s “Keeping Quiet” by...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:35:18 -0500

beingblog:

Sylvia Boorstein Reads Neruda’s “Keeping Quiet”

by Trent Gilliss, senior editor

If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps the huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of frightening ourselves with death.

During our show this week, Krista Tippett asked Sylvia Boorstein to read the Pablo Neruda poem she always carries with her. Quite a few listeners have asked where they can hear “Keeping Quiet” again, so here she is reciting the poem in front of a live audience in suburban Detroit.

Sometimes it’s the simple act of reading a poem that inspires so many to listen deeply and share what they felt.

The lovely Maria Kochetkova performing the Sleeping Beauty pas...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 03:22:00 -0500

The lovely Maria Kochetkova performing the Sleeping Beauty pas de deux with Sergei Polunin in Paris. There are few performing arts I know less about and admire more.

Boys took a five-mile bike ride. Coffee, good. Lemonade, good....

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 14:40:50 -0500

Boys took a five-mile bike ride. Coffee, good. Lemonade, good. Minneapolis bicyclists on trail, jackasses. (Taken with instagram)

Nicht so gut parking spot. (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:27:55 -0500

Nicht so gut parking spot. (Taken with instagram)