MetaFilter posts tagged with brainpickings

"chance favors only the prepared mind"

the man of twists and turns — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 13:25:29 -0800

"The Art of Observation and How to Master the Crucial Difference Between Observation and Intuition"
Lessons In Mindfulness And Creativity

"Maybe Don’t Talk Shit About Ads If You Make Money On Affiliate Links."

ericb — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:12:33 -0800

Maria Popova's Brain Pickings is a very popular blog with over 500,000 visitors to her website every month. "Brain Pickings provides the bulk of her income. She eschews ads on the site, but openly solicits donations..."* "But there’s something Ms. Popova doesn’t mention in her appeals to donors, amid her talk of operating 'ad-free.' She might not run banner ads, but she appears to earn income from affiliate links. You read a glowing review, you click through to order the book, and Ms. Popova gets a commission. The accusation comes from an anonymous Tumblr [update: he has now named himself as Tom Bleymaier]..."* "[T]he tip jar on Brain Pickings seem less like an honest request for readers to help keep the site going, and much more a cynical attempt to maximize income from a business which is already extremely lucrative. Andrew Sullivan is being very open about how much money he’s making, and where it’s coming from; Popova, by contrast, is being very opaque."* "In a 2010 article, Popova said Brain Pickings was not-for-profit."* But, Tom Bleymaier "found out that a for-profit LLC was formed in New York called 'Brain Pickings LLC'.* "Now there’s grist for an honest and open debate: Do affiliate links count as advertising? Felix Salmon, for one, says they 'are a form of advertising' ..."* "Describing how affiliate ads affect writers is necessary [to discuss] given that the reason Popova told [Tom Bleymaier] she uses the 'ad-free' pitch is that she claims her affiliate advertising links are not ads."*

The Beatles Performing Shakespeare

nickyskye — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 06:02:11 -0800

The Beatles Performing Shakespeare. In 1964, the Fab Four added another art under their belt — live theater — when they performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” in color, to the sound of shouting hecklers (scripted, part of the play) and someone yelling “Go back to Liverpool!” (unscripted, decidedly unshakespearean).

"From Karl Marx to Richard Dawkins in 60 seconds"

the man of twists and turns — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:17:18 -0800

Six Famous Thought Experiments, Animated in 60 Seconds Each; One-Minute Animated Primers on Major Theories of Religion

Increasing the emotional energy of inanimate objects

davidjmcgee — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 18:54:50 -0800

Brain Pickings presents the Best Design Books of 2012. Because you weren't really going to get anything done today anyway, right? Bonus in case there's still day left: Best Science Books, Best Art Books. Double Bonus: each of these lists is on its own single page! Brain Pickings previously, run by MeFi's own (exactly once!) Maria Popova

Hunting in the USSR

ifjuly — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:01:42 -0800

Vintage Posters from the Golden Age of Travel 1910-1959 BrainPickings' page of vintage poster art pertaining to travel.

Maria Popova Is Busy

Bora Horza Gobuchul — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:33:39 -0800

Maria Popova may be the best curator of Awesome on the Internet after the blue's own hivemind. Her site, Brain Pickings, has been mentioned a few times, but no-one appears to have pointed out her Twitter feed or her contributions to TBWA's tumblr, Curiosity Counts. Some recent posts of note: a piece on digital parasitism and the business of culture, Terry Prachett's self-documentary Choosing To Die, her selection of the best children's and picture books of 2011. Also, the best of Brain Pickings from last week and 2010. When not doing all that, she's writing for several magazines, organising the effort to restock the Brookyn OWS library after its destruction by police, and curating physical objects, sent as gifts every quarter.

om nom nom

glass origami robot — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:26:14 -0800

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know about Culture in 10 Books