Linkfest

I've been wanting for days and days to write some stuff about what's happening on my interior landscape, but have been too busy churning out actual work (made some updates to my website, though, alongside working on the big book project). So, in lieu of content, you get some of the interesting things that have come up in the past several weeks.

Design & typography

Beautiful and colorful, both from This Is Colossal:
The Chromatic Typewriter: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2011/12/the-chromatic-typewriter/?src=footer
A Massive Black Field of Cut Steel Plants Hides a Colorful Secret: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/01/a-massive-field-of-cut-steel-plants-reveals-a-colorful-secret/

The Met has a new section on their (recently overhauled) website called "Connections", a long series of thematic presentations with voiceovers by various Museum personnel and specialists. It's really nice.
http://www.metmuseum.org/connections/

Of historical interest, courtesy of c1: a film about Linotype (click to read about/see the trailer if you don't know what that is) that premiered in NYC this past weekend:
http://laughingsquid.com/linotype-the-film/

"How to Build a Newsroom Time Machine": Typesetting and layout the old-fashioned way, or, what "on the pasteboard" really means (probably also courtesy of c1, though it's been so long I forget!):
http://journoterrorist.com/2011/08/02/paperball2/

Writing

Gotham Writer's Workshop offers FREE writing classes! (well, one-hour workshops, but it could be fun):
http://www.writingclasses.com/CommunityEvents/index.php

An old one from Neil Gaiman about how to get published and/or how to get an agent:
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2005/01/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about.asp

Work

Fascinating:
Scaling back consumption in service of happiness:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/business/08consume.html?_r=1&hpw=&pagewanted=all
See also: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-case-for-a-21-hour-work-week.html

Useful:
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/the-100-best-lifehacks-of-2011-the-year-in-review.html
(srsly, read only the ones that you find interesting! Skip the rest!)

Relationships

Unbelievably beautiful:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arjuna-ardagh/goddess-worship_b_660896.html

Insightful:
http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/11/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/naming-elephants-10-ways-to-use-radical-honesty-to-improve-your-relationship.html

Not really so insightful, but several people pointed me at it:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/01/20/the-gingrich-question-cheating-vs-open-marriage/

Mmm!

Scotch tastings in NYC:
http://nycwhisky.com/events-old

Star Wars

I forget who pointed me at this, but I am totally loving it (and I'm on about page 52 of 600+ and counting -- they just got up to Episode IV last month).
Darths & Droids is an "RPG screencap comic" that re-envisions Star Wars: Episode I (The Saga Begins) as a roleplaying campaign. Apparently inspired by DM of the Rings, but funnier in terms of making sense of the weaknesses of the source material.
http://www.darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html

This reminds me that I also wanted to post this link when it first came to my attention several months ago:
Secret History of Star Wars: A Tribute to Marcia Lucas
http://secrethistoryofstarwars.com/marcialucas.html

Jewish

Jewish Sacred Theatre – Its Components and Its Means:
http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=525

A handy nuts-and-bolts link on kashering your kitchen:
http://njop.org/resources/kosher/how-to-keep-kosher/