As Rachel Syme points out, the person who made the Spotify playlist of every song mentioned in Patti Smith’s Just Kids deserves a free drink or two.
Just Kids Playlist
A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke’s science fiction is becoming reality. In 2014, a few strands of the late author's hair will travel on the first solar-powered spacecraft, which is named after his story, “Sunjammer.”
Don’t Let Amy Tan Walk All Over You
Sometimes things get a little kinky at Rock Bottom Remainders shows, the little known rock band with some big members including Amy Tan, Stephen King, and Dave Barry. Tan's signature song is "These Boots are Made for Walking." "For 'Boots' I’m especially gifted. I wield a whip and at the end of the song, I tell the boys to bend over," she told The Daily Beast for a "How I Write" interview.
Too Many Nevers
A new study out of Stony Brook University employs a complex statistical model to figure out what makes a book successful. Judging books on the basis of Amazon sales, awards won and Project Gutenberg downloads, the scientists determined that successful books have a higher-than-average ratio of self-references, prepositions and coordinating conjunctions. Unsuccessful books, on the other hand? A high ratio of adverbs and location markers.
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