Is it possible to figure out Shakespeare’s politics from his plays? At the very least, there’s a lot we can learn.
The People Hath Spoken
The Colonized Space of Language
Recommended Reading: Iona Sharma writes about language as a colonized space, with its own history, politics, and tradition.
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One Ring to Rule All Them Slots
“The parties are pleased that they have amicably resolved this matter and look forward to working together in the future.” The estate of J.R.R. Tolkien and Warner Bros. have settled an $80 million lawsuit over the digital merchandising of products from The Lord of the Rings series, reports The New York Times. Of particular offense to Tolkein’s estate: “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Online Slot Game.” Before any of that, though, there was The Story of Kullervo.
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Building the Library of Utopia
Google ran into a wall of litigation when it tried to create a public digital archive of every book in the world. Now a team of academics is taking on the challenge. Nicholas Carr examines whether Robert Darton and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society can succeed where Silicon Valley failed. Also be sure to check out our review of Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
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Occupy a Classroom
NYU students can take a 4-credit undergraduate course on Occupy Wall Street and America’s debt issues this spring. According to the university’s website, this year’s tuition costs start at $19,672.
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Solitary Reader
Rebecca Solnit writes on loneliness, intimacy, and writing in The Faraway Nearby. Melissa Holbrook Pierson reviewed the book at The Millions.
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Franz Kafka: The Video Game
I hope the Franz Kafka video game isn’t anything like the Franz Kafka airport.
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Appearing Elsewhere
I wrote an essay for The Dublin Review on the strange phenomenon of Internet unboxing videos, in which people remove new purchases from their packaging and talk us through the process in exhaustive detail. You can read the whole thing online here.
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