Vintage Quarterbound Classics

Part of PenguinUK's "Quarterbound Classics" series, which you can buy through Blackwell's.
www.penguin.co.uk/series/VINCL...

Cover of the book.

Spine of the book.

Page 1 of the book.

The dream: A well-designed clothbound novel with no accompanying dust jacket. Especially if that novel is Calvino's IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT A TRAVELER.

(Fingers crossed there isn't a misprint in chapter two that leads me on an adventure involving literary terrorists and fascist book burners.)

When you lower the bar for acceptance, you simultaneously lower your retention rates, which are tied to your credit ratings.

I’ve had the same editor since 1967. Many times he has said to me over the years or asked me, Why would you use a semicolon instead of a colon? And many times over the years I have said to him things like: I will never speak to you again. Forever. Goodbye. That is it. Thank you very much. And I leave. Then I read the piece and I think of his suggestions. I send him a telegram that says, OK, so you’re right. So what? Don’t ever mention this to me again. If you do, I will never speak to you again

Maya Angelou on the joys of being edited

Kundera rankings so far...

1. LAUGHTER/FORGETTING
2. UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS
3. IMMORTALITY
4. LAUGHABLE LOVES
5. ART OF THE NOVEL

Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later.

"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."

Jake's not an idiot. He knows this is a bigger f-you to the left. This is him signaling to his new boss that he's not going to ruffle any feathers.

French film star Nathalie Baye dies at 77, AFP reports French film star ​Nathalie Baye, ‌who starred in Steven ​Spielberg's "Catch ​Me if You ⁠Can," has ​died at ​the age of 77, AFP ​reported ​on Saturday citing Baye's ‌family.

French film star Nathalie Baye dies at 77, AFP reports reut.rs/4vE928Y

Tell the truth and get fired.

Screenshotted excerpt from linked article reading as follows: "In public, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has cultivated a reputation for care and caution. The papers reveal a different side of him. At a critical moment for the country and the court, the papers show, he acted as a bulldozer in pushing to stop Mr. Obama’s plan to address the global climate crisis. When colleagues warned the chief justice that he was proposing an unprecedented move, he was dismissive. “I recognize that the posture of this stay request is not typical,” he wrote. But he argued that the Obama plan, which aimed to regulate coal-fired plants, was “the most expensive regulation ever imposed on the power sector,” and too big, costly and consequential for the court not to act immediately."

OOP

New York Times got receipts on John Roberts being like, 'I know this isn't how anything works, but a Democratic president is about to implement a policy!!'

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

Oh nice!

Spoke to a grad student there who was unfamiliar with Kiarostami and who now wants to watch Koker, Close-Up, Cherry, etc. I'm so jealous that he now gets to experience those films for the first time.

Gave a talk on film music and puzzle narration at Montclair State yesterday.

That's gotta be one of the most gorgeous campuses in North America. My goodness.

BREAKING: A jury has found Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be an illegal monopoly that overcharges fans.

After the federal government settled the case, 34 states kept pursuing the giant ticket and concert company.

Now, the states have won.

New: CNN decided against airing a potential segment interviewing Mark Ruffalo over his advocacy against the Paramount/WBD merger.

A producer privately said there were “legal considerations around what we can and cannot cover or say while the merger is ongoing.”

www.semafor.com/article/04/1...

Tweet from Elon Musk: "*Soros Organization has taken over Hungary"

Antisemitism is structurally necessary for Elon Musk's politics, because he wants to brand himself as the insurgent populist fighting the elite, but as the world's wealthiest person, he needs a definition of "elite" that is not strictly rooted in wealth or corporate ownership.

My god. Essential, horrifying reporting here.

ActBlue donors can request refunds if they donated to Swalwell’s campaign.

Pass it on.

Holy hell.

I get what Mark is saying. But also, stories are not designed to be told chronologically.

A chart of Dow Jones Futures crashing

Is this bad?

Finished THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES. Mostly amazing, but not all the stories/chapters land. I think that's the point. Will likely revisit in a few years after I read more of his work.

Wait, was that actually Vance's hair?

Cancer could also use a Vance endorsement.

I hope more people focus on the import of this turnout last year. Not least bc standing up to bigotry can itself be a rallying cry.

Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau at Coachella

Orbán Viktor @PM_ViktorOrban Had a great meeting today with @IDUAlliance Chairman @stephenharper. International cooperation between right-wing, conservative parties is more important than ever. Chairman Harper is a great ally in this respect. Thank you for your support, Mr. Chairman! Orbán Viktor

It's kinda interesting to think about how differently Justin Trudeau and Stephen Harper have spent their retirement years

If this were the general, I think you'd see different dynamics.

We sucker punched them, and now they wont let us steal their lunch money... which is bad news, sure, but I think it's more bad for them as they... (checks notes...) still have their lunch money.

77% of the eligible electorate went to vote in the Hungarian election!
Fingers crossed 🤞