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Not every essay is particularly relevant to the current day but I found them enjoyable and interesting nevertheless. If you don't have the time/interest to read all of it, the only required readings are the titular essay, Notes on Camp, and probably On Style wouldn't hurt.
Jan 28, 2024
Related Recs
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the first is Becca Rothfield’s book of essays all things are too small — really beautifully written with intriguing ideas about contemporary culture and consumption and excess and minimalism. mildly esoteric at times, but I’m a sucker for aesthetic and affective analysis so….
the second is from the book 21st Century Yoga: Culture, Politics, and Practice, which is a FABULOUS collection altogether. The specific essay that I legitimately have not stopped thinking about since I read it 5+ years ago is “Modern Yoga Will Not Form a Real Culture Until Every Studio Can Also Double as a Soup Kitchen” by Matthew Remski. 10/10 recommend as a yogi but also as someone fascinated by collectivity, compassion, and contemporary culture.
Sep 30, 2024
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"The more money an American accumulates, the less interesting he becomes."
“I'm not a conspiracy theorist - I'm a conspiracy analyst.”
“One is sorry one could not have taken both branches of the road. But we were not allotted multiple selves.”
“The unfed mind devours itself.”
“Until very recently, the artist was a magician who did his magic in public view but kept himself and his effects a matter of mystery.”
“Yes. With us the ability to detect mediocrity or anything else is rare. Evaluation descends, through ignorance, to mere opinion, and opinion is a matter of fashion. And fashion is based on middle-class, middlebrow values, despite the mock defiance of an occasional licensed fool, like Vonnegut.”
“Self-education is the point of education. But it is easier if you have escaped the stifling of the academy.”
“The critic must know more than either writer or academic. He must also value experience and have a truth-telling nature. I think I have that. In their youth most people worry whether or not other people will like them. Not me. I had the choice of going under or surviving, and I survived by understanding (after the iron - if not the silver — had entered my soul) that it is I who am keeping score. What matters is what I think, not what others think of me; and I am willing to say what I think. That is the critical temperament.”
"You can improve your talent, but your talent is a given, a mysterious constant. You must make it the best of its kind."
— Gore Vidal, my toxic opinionated egocentric guiding light in this sick sad world (quotes which are not broadly inspirational but are inspirational to me to be my best most audacious evil hater self)
May 27, 2024
This collection of essays is really thought provoking and just genuinely very interesting to read through!
Dec 30, 2024
Top Recs from @kg3
Finally got around to printing off a bunch of the essays and articles that I had saved on my computer for a while. I find it makes it easier to get myself to actually get around to reading some of the stuff. Paper is also a nicer reading experience, with less distractions and eye strain.
Dec 8, 2024
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Any pi.fyi rec (by someone else, not yourself) that you saw and then acted on yourself - read the book, listened to the album, watched the movie, tried the activity, etc.
Dec 9, 2024
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A search engine that filters out commercial websites so you can discover weird, small websites on different topics. I wouldn't use it as my main search engine but it's a cool way of finding stuff you otherwise wouldn't.
Aug 22, 2024