What better way to celebrate Halloween than a bit of H.P. Lovecraft lore.
If you are looking for a memorable read for Halloween, you can’t go wrong with Shirley Jackson’s very spooky 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House. The intriguing opening paragraph is one of the best in modern literature and will entice even the most reticent reader.
No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against the hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.
Tom Clark October
In the video below, CGP Grey explores the good, the bad, and the ugly methods for boarding airliners. Generally airlines board passengers using the slow back-to-front method even though other boarding systems would be faster. I have long surrendered to the whims of each air carrier and dutifully waited in line without so much as a whine of complaint. Still, it’s nice to imagine a better way.
H/t to Drew Lerman
H/t to TBTP follower Milly R. for sending me a link to this mindblowing animation of Bosch’s painting Le Jardin des Delices, which was created by Eve Ramboz for an eponymous show last year.
Devoted fans have been anxiously waiting for New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to reopen. The museum closed in summer for a four-month $450 million renovation project, and will finally unveil its makeover to the museum-going public today.
The museum now has 30-percent more space with an additional wing, allowing for another 1,000 artworks to be on display. MoMA’s lobby has been opened up, with its museum store being relocated to a lower level and expanded.
During the four month closure, every artwork was taken down to wholly reorganize the museum’s collection. MoMA’s galleries will no longer be defined by individual genres. Instead, they have brought everything together under one circuit, marrying photography, architecture, design, film, painting, new media and sculpture under the same roof.
On a personal note, I have been a huge MoMA fan all of my life. For a few years, I even had a paid family membership—until it got too expensive to justify. When I was in high school, it was one of my favorite places to hang out when I skipped school. So, I look forward to these big renovation projects to discover the changes and improvements.
