Welcome to the weekend,
This week officially logged our first 100 degree days of 2021 here in west Texas. I can confirm it is every bit as hot as it looks. It feels like summer, which means tacos, seltzer, and sitting in the shade all weekend long. Here are the best links from the week:
Last weekend, I jumped down a rabbit hole on the origins of the Great Books canon, which was inspired in part by John Erskine. The first president of The Julliard School of Music, Erskine is credited with inspiring Mortimer Adler to compile the Great Books reading list as well as the Great Books curriculum at St. John’s College.
A mesmerizing visual representation of where chess pieces go to die.
This article, Why Parking Kills Cities, presents a well-constructed argument against minimum parking requirements, which balloon budgets and asphalt lots, minimize green spaces, prioritize cars over pedestrians, and make building adequate housing in cities all but impossible. All this, while managing to give the area all the charm of an elevator.
The latest essay from Thomas J. Bevan, On Pretentiousness, was both thoughtful and surprising. We look at the etymology of the word and the necessary evil of performing through life.
Lovely words from beloved illustrator and author Eric Carle. I can still remember the amazement I felt reading through The Very Caterpillar for the first time as a tiny tot. The colors! The sweet story of transformation! What a sweet legacy Carle has left behind him.
Currently reading: Literary Democracy by Larzer Ziff
Have a beautiful (and cool) weekend.
