I read The Catcher in the Rye three times. First, because I heard it was a popular book for assassins and serial killers. I read it to see what the big deal was, and I didn’t see the big deal. Then I heard it was supposed to be the autobiography of every American youth, so I read it again. I still didn’t get it.
Years later, while walking through Central Park with two friends, I pondered where the ducks go in the winter. These friends reminded me that Holden Caulfield wondered exactly the same thing, so I read Catcher a third time. Sorry, amigos, but that kid is a whiny bitch.
and Holden Caulfield is a friend of mine
we go drinking from time to time
and I find, it gets harder every timeHere’s to Lifeby Streetlight Manifesto
I did love Franny and Zooey though.
Khan Academy
A hyper-educated man named Salman Khan has created over 1000 YouTube videos to teach subjects as diverse as chemistry, differential equations, finance, and much more. Each video is about ten minutes in length and the lesson is illustrated on a virtual blackboard. I’ve been educating myself about the Geithner Plan for bank bailouts.
The potential for knowledge inspired by that massive library reinforces my growing desire to learn patience. After all, it takes three minutes and eight seconds just to learn a half windsor knot.
Vanilla Forum Software
I opened a private message board for my drawring circle using Vanilla. I find it to be lighter and cleaner than every other forum. This is ideal — any forum I use should be focused more on conversations, not avatars and signatures. Warren Ellis uses the same software for Whitechapel.