Michael Blowhard writes:

Dear Blowhards --

Websurfer magnifique and thinking-guy extraordinaire Dave Lull has pointed out a number of pieces and postings that I'm eager to pass along. This is the electronic age, and information shall be free.

* Gene Callahan praises a new book about the British philosopher Michael Oakeshott. Callahan's piece isn't just a good book review, it's a good introduction to the thinking of a provocative and brilliant guy.

* Why are so few superstar designers female? Design Observer's Michael Bierut tries to dodge a "Larry Summers moment."

* Someone has written up the history of sexiness in fragrance -- as in perfume and cologne -- advertising. That's some excellent (and short) social history.

* You may find the new realism (aka the New Classicism) in painting dismayingly kitschy or you may celebrate it as a long-overdue return to real values. There's no question, though, that it's a happening thing. And ain't that an interesting fact? NPR broadcasts a short report about the new realism.

* Maxine wonders if the moment has finally arrived for print-on-demand to replace the traditional book-publishing model.

* Paul Collins writes about some seriously Slow Food. Paul also has a funny posting up about a new device called the iGallop. The iGallop may look NSFW but it isn't.

* The Slow Movement is flourishing in its leisurely way at The Slow Review.

* Lifelong learning buffs now have a blog just for them: Open Culture. Resources, many of them free, abound.

* Prairie Mary explains why she blogs. Great line: "Blogging is halfway between dreaming and preaching." (Mary herself points out a story reporting on a new list of "additives, antimicrobals and agents" that has recently been approved for use as "processing aids" on meat and poultry products.)

* "Why obsess over a few pounds?" asks Scientific American's Michael Schermer. The London Times' Jeremy Clarkson shares his own attitude towards keeping in shape: "What I tend to do when it comes to the business of being fit is not bother. I eat lots, and then I sit in a chair."

* The U.S.'s top yoga teachers lead lives akin to those of rock stars, reports the LATimes's Jenny Hontz. Yoga remains mega-popular in LA, it seems. Where 20 years ago there were only three yoga studios in Los Angeles, now there are more than 200. Hontz refers to the L.A. yoga market as "saturated," which sounds like an understatement.

Best, with many thanks to Dave Lull,

Michael

Jack Paar: Do you exercise?

Oscar Levant: I stumble, then fall into a coma.

That's about my take on all this obsession with weight, exercise and yoga.

Posted by: Peter L. Winkler on February 8, 2007 1:36 AM






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