Link Party: 6/27-7/1

Saturday was wonderful.
Saturday was wonderful.

Here’s what I read last week:

1. I will really, really miss The Toast.

2. Bill Cunningham was a rare gem and I was very sorry to hear of his death. Because I really, really think you should know about him, here are two articles.

3. The present and future of the Washington Post, courtesy of Jeff Bezos.

4. What President Barack Obama does during the evenings.

5. An investigative journalist returns from an undercover mission in North Korea — only to face her critics.

And a bonus: I need to use it more often, but I love the idea behind This. — a social media network where you can only share one link per day. I get a daily newsletter sharing links from my network and the editor’s top picks. Sign up, find me and we can turn up the Link Party.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Link Party: 6/13-6/17

A new Jenny Holzer installation at the Broad Museum.
A new Jenny Holzer installation at the Broad Museum, which I visited yesterday.

I read so many great articles this week, and I couldn’t pare them down to the best six because they were all. so. great. The more the merrier. Here’s what I read:

1. Can Netflix survive in the world it created? (My take: probably not.)

2. How Silicon Valley nails Silicon Valley. (Do you watch this show?  I love it. Start watching it.)

3. This is a very emotionally difficult interview to read, but you really should read it — an interview with a woman who recently had an abortion at 32 weeks.

4. The underground economy that rules New York City’s food carts.

5. A delightful conversation about basically nothing with Paul McCartney.

6. Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo and the power of the unfinished album.

7. An inside look at how Yahoo derailed Tumblr.

8. Barbara Williamson, one of the most famous radical sex experiments of the 1970s, and her life today.

9. An excerpt from a new book about Max Perkins, the editor who discovered F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway.

10. The best of the Dirtbags.

Have a great weekend.

Link Party: 5/30-6/3

This is one of my very favorite pieces at LACMA -- an Alexander Calder fountain installation.
This is one of my very favorite pieces at LACMA — an Alexander Calder fountain installation.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. “Seven People Dancing,” by Langston Hughes.

2. A father takes his 14-year-old daughter to see Hamilton. It’s okay if you tear up a little bit while you read this post.

3. The fabulist who changed journalism.

4. Even though I have my reservations about the candidate herself, this is a masterfully-written profile on Hillary Clinton.

5. The language of glossy fashion magazines.

And a bonus: The skeletons in Bruegel’s The Triumph of Death. The best line: “What time is it? Trick question. It’s always Skeleton Time.”

Have a great weekend.

Link Party: 5/2-5/6

I love jacaranda trees.
I love jacaranda trees. 

This week was a great week in Internet writing. Here’s what I read:

1. This new Joan Didion piece is just her notes from reporting on the Patty Hearst trial in the 1970s, and it’s still incredible writing. I am in awe.

2. America and Allrecipes.

3. The eternal magic of Beirut.

4. The stories of the first group of people to sign up for Remote Year, a program that promised both work and travel.

5. Jane Jacobs and her contributions to urban planning, in light of her 100th birthday.

And a bonus: Texts from Samuel Coleridge.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Link Party: 1/18-1/22

Plants, man.
Plants, man.

What happened to all of my time this week? I have no idea. Back to regularly scheduled programming next week.

Here’s what I read:

1. This is a fascinating article on the future of parking — I have reservations about self-driving cars, but I’m all for making cities more livable.

2. I originally listened to this story about a woman who self-diagnosed her own genetic mutation on “This American Life,” and found the accompanying article in the Atlantic equally compelling.

3. This guy listened to an album every day for a year and had some great insights about how we consume music.

4. You know I love the entire Dirtbag series, so you shouldn’t be surprised I loved Dirtbag Hera.

5. These short story vending machines make me believe in the goodness of humanity.

And a bonus: I love this parody Twitter account about Bernie Sanders’s thoughts.

Have a great weekend.

Link Party: 1/4-1/8

El Niño skies.
El Niño skies.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. An abridged history of red lipstick.

2. I did not know that private, off-the-record briefings between Barack Obama and media members were a thing, but now I’m glad I do.

3. The parallels between web design and architecture.

4. The deep space of digital reading.

5. The second-season title cards of “Mozart in the Jungle.” (I wrote about the first season here.)

And a bonus: Kanye West’s American Idol audition is golden.

Have a great weekend.

Link Party: 11/9-11/13

Echo Park Lake water lilies.
Echo Park Lake water lilies.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. I loved this article about how the world is still interested in the tenants of punk rock.

2. The Four Seasons is offering a round-the-world trip in 24 days for $120,000. It actually sounds terrible.

3. Let’s talk about why people from Southern California, including myself, through the word “the” in front of freeway names.

4. This was an incredibly poignant essay about what it’s like to go to a summer camp for disabled kids.

5. Doc Martens as a sartorial canvas.

And a bonus: If you’re in the L.A. area, you should really visit my new favorite stationery store.

Have a great week.

Link Party: 10/26-10/30

Here, have a photo of a pretty tree I parked under this week. This is the extent of my photography these days, but I'm working on it.
Here, have a photo of a pretty tree I parked under this week. This is the extent of my photography these days, but I’m working on it.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. You might be a basic witch.

2. Baby Michel Foucault. (Side note: The Toast made me laugh a lot this week.)

3. Here’s another book to add to my very long list of books to read: “The Other Paris.”

4. The fascinating history of the midnight movie showing.

5. I’m so glad that there are business people who are still interested in print media. Case in point, Peter Barbey and the Village Voice. (Also, I am very upset about Grantland. It was a Link Party staple, and I miss it already.)

And a bonus: I have been thinking about this Vine for the past week. It is perfect.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Link Party: 10/5-10/9

I keep finding little spray-painted phrases and pictures around Santa Monica. Love the concept. Here's one featuring my feet and a stick.
I keep finding little spray-painted phrases and pictures around Santa Monica. Love the concept. Here’s one featuring my feet and a stick.

Here’s what I read this week:

1. The secret to great driving songs.

2. This story about a New England magazine that has managed to stay in business for 80 years makes me believe in the future of journalism.

3. After reading about it and how it’ll stream Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest movie, I think I’m going to have to take a closer look at MUBI.

4. In light of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s decision to modernize the plays, here’s the history of changing Shakespeare’s language.

5. After reading about Sloane Crosley’s “The Clasp,” I’m excited to get my hands on it.

And two bonuses: Two monks invent religious iconography. Mallory Ortberg is a national treasure. This week I’ve also been listening to You Must Remember This, a podcast about the forgotten or secret stories of Hollywood. Specifically, I’ve been listening to the 12-part series about Charles Manson’s Hollywood. It is incredible.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Link Party: 8/24-8/28

The weather has been super hot in SoCal, but the pretty clouds in the evening make up for it.
The weather has been super hot in SoCal, but the pretty clouds in the evening make up for it.

Oh man, what a week. That’s all I can say. Here’s what I read:

1. This writer played a word game based on Moby Dick when he had insomnia. His observations are fascinating.

2. A highly scientific, real-life exploration into how anyone could possibly like the rapper J. Cole. (Disclosure: I liked his latest album when it came out, but have become more ambivalent with time. He’s fine, I guess.)

3. Here’s a great profile on Marc Jacobs.

4. Why does the Internet love Amal Clooney?

5. How to tell if you’re in a chivalric romance by Chrétien de Troyes. (This is probably only funny if you’ve read Chrétien de Troyes, but I promise that it is very funny and you should probably read some Chrétien de Troyes.)

And a bonus: If we’re friends on Facebook, you’ve probably noticed that I am in a first-class seat on the Oscar Isaac train. Watch this and melt.

Have a great weekend.