We bring you our favourite findings from around the internet this week.
Wells Tower takes his dad to Burning Man
Wells Tower reports on his father-son trip to Burning Man, the world’s largest chemically enhanced self-expression festival, for GQ. ‘When I mentioned to friends that I was going to Burning Man with my 69-year-old father, “Good idea” were the words out of no one’s mouth,’ he writes.
Jane Austen stamps on sale in Britain
A set of Jane Austen stamps has just been released in the UK, to celebrate the 200th birthday of Pride and Prejudice. Newly-commissioned artwork depicts scenes from all six of her books.
Authors love libraries
Following Horrible Histories creator Terry Deary’s diatribe against libraries for lessening his book sales, Flavorwire has compiled 25 feel-good tributes to libraries from favourite writers. ‘I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it’s better than college,’ said Ray Bradbury. ‘People should educate themselves — you can get a complete education for no money.’
The science of junk food
You might want to put down your chocolate and rethink your lunch after you read this New York Times article on the science of junk food. Yale University professor of psychology and public health, Kelly Brownell is quoted: ‘As a culture, we’ve become upset by the tobacco companies advertising to children, but we sit idly by while the food companies do the very same thing. And we could make a claim that the toll taken on the public health by a poor diet rivals that taken by tobacco.’
Fully sick: wearing a bikini in Antarctica
What do you do if your magazine is famous for its swimsuit issue, and images of unclad women are readily available at the click of a mouse? You go extreme. Kate Upton, the cover girl of Sports Illustrated’s latest swimsuit issue, posed in a bikini in Antarctica - and got pretty sick as a result. ‘When I came back, I was losing my hearing and eyesight … My body was shutting down because it was working so hard to keep me warm.’ What exactly are the ethics of that?
