document.write('\x3cmeta http-equiv=\x22x-dns-prefetch-control\x22 content=\x22off\x22/\x3e\x3col class=\x22tumblr_posts\x22\x3e\x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhwp5mMJSB1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22Nicholas Carr contrasts situational information overload, easily assuaged by search engines and filters that let us find our needle in a haystack, with ambient overload, which he describes as \x26amp;#8220;haystack-sized piles of needles\x26amp;#8221;:\x0a\x0aWe keep clicking links, keep hitting the refresh key, keep opening new  tabs, keep checking email in-boxes and RSS feeds, keep scanning Amazon  and Netflix recommendations \x26amp;#8212; and yet the pile of interesting  information never shrinks.\x0a\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eNicholas Carr \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.roughtype.com/archives/2011/03/situational_ove.php\x22\x3econtrasts\x3c/a\x3e situational information overload, easily assuaged by search engines and filters that let us find our needle in a haystack, with ambient overload, which he describes as \x26#8220;haystack-sized piles of needles\x26#8221;:\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eWe keep clicking links, keep hitting the refresh key, keep opening new  tabs, keep checking email in-boxes and RSS feeds, keep scanning Amazon  and Netflix recommendations \x26#8212; and yet the pile of interesting  information never shrinks.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhurvfQ8Zl1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22\x0aThere are  women who inspire you with the desire to conquer them and to take your  pleasure of them; but this one fills you only with the desire to die  slowly beneath her gaze.\x0a\x0afrom The Desire to Paint by Charles Baudelaire\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThere are  women who inspire you with the desire to conquer them and to take your  pleasure of them; but this one fills you only with the desire to die  slowly beneath her gaze.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3efrom \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://michellejanefondalee.blogspot.com/2009/11/desire-to-paint-charles-bauldelaire.html\x22\x3eThe Desire to Paint\x3c/a\x3e by Charles Baudelaire\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lht172Tnto1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22At SAI, Steve Cheney writes about how Facebook is \x26amp;#8220;no longer a social network\x26amp;#8221; but essentially a reality-TV broadcaster. \x26amp;#8220;People don\x26rsquo;t want one normalized identity, either in  real life, or virtually,\x26amp;#8221; he argues. Nonetheless, Facebook imposes unity on our online behavior and broadcasts our doings more or less indiscriminately, which in turn makes what we do \x26amp;#8220;sterile and  neutered.\x26amp;#8221;\x0a(Image: Vivian Maier)\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eAt SAI, Steve Cheney \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.businessinsider.com/how-facebook-is-killing-your-authenticity-2011-3\x22\x3ewrites\x3c/a\x3e about how Facebook is \x26#8220;no longer a social network\x26#8221; but essentially a reality-TV broadcaster. \x26#8220;People don\u2019t want one normalized identity, either in  real life, or virtually,\x26#8221; he argues. Nonetheless, Facebook imposes unity on our online behavior and broadcasts our doings more or less indiscriminately, which in turn makes what we do \x26#8220;sterile and  neutered.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e(Image: \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/\x22\x3eVivian Maier\x3c/a\x3e)\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhr47zwcXd1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22At the Beheld, Autumn Whitefield-Madrano discusses how prettiness can become an implicit contract in which small favors come at the cost of a broader complicity:\x0a\x0aI\x26rsquo;ve never consciously exploited being a  young-enough, attractive-enough woman for personal gain. But that\x26rsquo;s  just it: I\x26rsquo;ve never consciously done it. How many times have I  told myself that I\x26rsquo;m just being friendly\x26mdash;and meant it! I am a friendly  person!\x26mdash;quietly knowing that on the back end there\x26rsquo;s a small reward that  I might not get if I weren\x26rsquo;t a young-enough, attractive-enough woman?\x0a\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eAt \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.the-beheld.com/2011/03/unreal-power-of-pretty.html\x22\x3ethe Beheld,\x3c/a\x3e Autumn Whitefield-Madrano discusses how prettiness can become an implicit contract in which small favors come at the cost of a broader complicity:\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\x3cspan\x3eI\u2019ve never consciously exploited being a  young-enough, attractive-enough woman for personal gain. But that\u2019s  just it: I\u2019ve never \x3cem\x3econsciously\x3c/em\x3e done it. How many times have I  told myself that I\u2019m just being friendly\u2014and meant it! I am a friendly  person!\u2014quietly knowing that on the back end there\u2019s a small reward that  I might not get if I weren\u2019t a young-enough, attractive-enough woman?\x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhk1lpNhMu1qas3b3o1_r1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22Brooklyn based lit-mag Armchair/Shotgun\x26nbsp;kick off their Author Drink Review with Teddy Wayne, author of Kapitoil at Angel Share. Drinks ordered:\x26nbsp;(1) Stormy Weather (2) Whip the Mule\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eBrooklyn based lit-mag \x3cem\x3e\x3ca href=\x22http://armchairshotgun.com/\x22 target=\x22_blank\x22\x3eArmchair/Shotgun\x3c/a\x3e\x3c/em\x3e\u00a0kick off their \x3ca href=\x22http://armchairshotgun.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/author-drink-review-teddy-wayne/\x22 target=\x22_blank\x22\x3eAuthor Drink Review\x3c/a\x3e with Teddy Wayne, author of \x3cem\x3eKapitoil \x3c/em\x3eat Angel Share. Drinks ordered:\u00a0(1) Stormy Weather (2) Whip the Mule\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhfxyyxJ9h1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22On Friday, March 4, a symposium: The Scandals of Susan Sontag, at CUNY\x26amp;#8217;s Elebash Recital Hall. \x0aAt Inside Higher Ed, Scott McLemee reviews Terry Castle\x26amp;#8217;s memoirish The Professor and Other Writings.\x0aIn the LRB, from March 2005, Castle recounts her turbulent \x26amp;#8220;semi-friendship\x26amp;#8221; with Sontag:\x0a\x0aThen she stopped abruptly and asked, grim-faced, if I\x26rsquo;d ever had to  evade sniper fire. I said, no, unfortunately not. Lickety-split she was  off \x26ndash; dashing in a feverish crouch from one boutique doorway to the  next, white tennis shoes a blur, all the way down the street to  Restoration Hardware and the Baskin-Robbins store.\x0a\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eOn Friday, March 4, a \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.csgsnyu.org/2011/02/march-4-the-scandals-of-susan-sontag/\x22\x3esymposium\x3c/a\x3e: The Scandals of Susan Sontag, at CUNY\x26#8217;s \x3cspan class=\x22bold16\x22\x3eElebash Recital Hall. \x3c/span\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eAt Inside Higher Ed, Scott McLemee \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.insidehighered.com/views/mclemee/mclemee325\x22\x3ereviews\x3c/a\x3e Terry Castle\x26#8217;s memoirish \x3cem\x3eThe Professor and Other Writings\x3c/em\x3e.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eIn the \x3cem\x3eLRB\x3c/em\x3e, from March 2005, Castle \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n06/terry-castle/desperately-seeking-susan\x22\x3erecounts\x3c/a\x3e her turbulent \x26#8220;semi-friendship\x26#8221; with Sontag:\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eThen she stopped abruptly and asked, grim-faced, if I\u2019d ever had to  evade sniper fire. I said, no, unfortunately not. Lickety-split she was  off \u2013 dashing in a feverish crouch from one boutique doorway to the  next, white tennis shoes a blur, all the way down the street to  Restoration Hardware and the Baskin-Robbins store.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lh54r3GcNZ1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22\x0aEaten away by the Everglades, Florida is a drowned state, the end of  America, and thus the ideal setting for a story about the end of  American manhood. This is the tip of the country; this is a peninsula  that pokes feebly at the ocean, which feels nothing.\x0a\x0aAt This Recording, Elizabeth Gumport assesses John McNaughton\x26amp;#8217;s neglected 1998 masterpiece, Wild Things .\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eEaten away by the Everglades, Florida is a drowned state, the end of  America, and thus the ideal setting for a story about the end of  American manhood. This is the tip of the country; this is a peninsula  that pokes feebly at the ocean, which feels nothing.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eAt This Recording, Elizabeth Gumport \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://thisrecording.com/today/2010/3/8/in-which-its-good-to-see-you-girls-getting-along.html\x22\x3eassesses\x3c/a\x3e John McNaughton\x26#8217;s neglected 1998 masterpiece, \x3cem\x3eWild Things\x3c/em\x3e .\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgttqblyTS1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22The librettist of a new opera based on Anna Nicole Smith\x26amp;#8217;s life defends his choice of subject:\x0a\x0a\x26ldquo;People ask me if she\x26rsquo;s worthy,\x26rdquo; he wrote. \x26ldquo;What\x26rsquo;s \x26lsquo;worthy\x26rsquo;? And who  gets to decide? Everything is a fitting subject for an opera. Every life  lived contains glory and tragedy. If we live our lives on a scale of  one to 10, then most of us, most of the time, experience something  between three and seven. Anna was ones and 10s from beginning to end.\x26rdquo;\x0a\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eThe librettist of a new opera based on Anna Nicole Smith\x26#8217;s life \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/is-anna-nicole-smith-worthy-of-an-opera/article1910008/\x22\x3edefends\x3c/a\x3e his choice of subject:\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\u201cPeople ask me if she\u2019s worthy,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWhat\u2019s \u2018worthy\u2019? And who  gets to decide? Everything is a fitting subject for an opera. Every life  lived contains glory and tragedy. If we live our lives on a scale of  one to 10, then most of us, most of the time, experience something  between three and seven. Anna was ones and 10s from beginning to end.\u201d\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgs8fnJ8bj1qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22\x0aDull-eyed, he gazed at the wall of books. He hated the whole lot of them, old and new, highbrow and lowbrow, snooty and chirpy. The mere sight of them brought home to him his own sterility. For here was he, supposedly a \x26amp;#8216;writer\x26amp;#8217;, and he couldn\x26amp;#8217;t even \x26amp;#8216;write\x26amp;#8217;! It wasn\x26amp;#8217;t merely a question of not getting published; it was that he produced nothing, or next to nothing. And all that tripe cluttering the shelves \x26amp;#8212; well, at any rate it existed; it was an achievement of sorts\x26amp;#8230; But it was the snooty \x26amp;#8216;cultured\x26amp;#8217; kind of books that he hated the worst. Books of criticism and belles-lettres. The kind of thing that those moneyed young beasts from Cambridge write almost in their sleep \x26amp;#8212; and that Gordon himself might have written if he had had a little more money. Money and culture! In a country like England you can no more be cultured without money than you can join the Cavalry Club.\x0a\x0a\x26mdash;from George Orwell\x26amp;#8217;s Keep the Aspidistra Flying\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cblockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3eDull-eyed, he gazed at the wall of books. He hated the whole lot of them, old and new, highbrow and lowbrow, snooty and chirpy. The mere sight of them brought home to him his own sterility. For here was he, supposedly a \x26#8216;writer\x26#8217;, and he couldn\x26#8217;t even \x26#8216;write\x26#8217;! It wasn\x26#8217;t merely a question of not getting published; it was that he produced nothing, or next to nothing. And all that tripe cluttering the shelves \x26#8212; well, at any rate it existed; it was an achievement of sorts\x26#8230; But it was the snooty \x26#8216;cultured\x26#8217; kind of books that he hated the worst. Books of criticism and belles-lettres. The kind of thing that those moneyed young beasts from Cambridge write almost in their sleep \x26#8212; and that Gordon himself might have written if he had had a little more money. Money and culture! In a country like England you can no more be cultured without money than you can join the Cavalry Club.\x3c/p\x3e\x0a\x3c/blockquote\x3e\x0a\x3cp\x3e\u2014from George Orwell\x26#8217;s \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://www.george-orwell.org/Keep_the_Aspidistra_Flying/1.html\x22\x3e\x3cem\x3eKeep the Aspidistra Flying\x3c/em\x3e\x3c/a\x3e\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a            \x3cli class=\x22tumblr_post tumblr_photo_post\x22\x3e\x0a                \x3cimg src=\x22http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lgo9kfgRQ71qas3b3o1_400.jpg\x22 alt=\x22The Last Psychiatrist responds to a New York magazine story about men replacing real sex with masturbation to online porn: \x26amp;#8220;No one climaxes unexpectedly from watching online porn. You decide you\x26amp;#8217;re done\x26amp;#8230; You have to decide  the time has run out. This is why online porn is so problematic:  there\x26amp;#8217;s no natural end in sight\x26amp;#8230; You don\x26amp;#8217;t do it because you\x26amp;#8217;re horny, you do it  because you\x26amp;#8217;re bored.\x26amp;#8221;\x22 class=\x22tumblr_photo\x22/\x3e\x0a                \x0a                \x0a                    \x3cdiv class=\x22tumblr_caption\x22\x3e\x0a                        \x3cp\x3eThe Last Psychiatrist \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2011/02/hes_just_not_that_into_anyone.html\x22\x3eresponds\x3c/a\x3e to a New York magazine \x3ca target=\x22_blank\x22 href=\x22http://nymag.com/print/?/news/features/70976/\x22\x3estory\x3c/a\x3e about men replacing real sex with masturbation to online porn: \x26#8220;No one climaxes unexpectedly from watching online porn. You \x3cem\x3edecide\x3c/em\x3e you\x26#8217;re done\x26#8230; You have to decide  the time has run out. This is why online porn is so problematic:  there\x26#8217;s no natural end in sight\x26#8230; You don\x26#8217;t do it because you\x26#8217;re horny, you do it  because you\x26#8217;re bored.\x26#8221;\x3c/p\x3e\x0a                    \x3c/div\x3e\x0a                \x0a            \x3c/li\x3e\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a\x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a        \x0a\x0a                        \x0a    \x0a\x3c/ol\x3e');