Posts by author
Zach Koehn
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On DVD: 180° South: Conquerors of the Useless
“The best journeys answer questions that, in the beginning, you didn’t even think to ask.” Questions are both asked and acted upon in Chris Malloy’s 180° South. The documentary is a cautionary tale of adventure in a decaying world, following…
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This is Beach Art. This is Life. This is Living Beach Art.
I spend my time on the ocean or walking in its sands. I’ve seen some really beautiful pieces of art made from driftwood and plastic bottles, wash-out lines drawn in ever-flowing sand, pieces of oceana. But never have I seen…
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Libraries Are Going to Get (Even More) Popular
Now, I spent a relatively sizable portion of my youth wandering the dust-infected and narrow corridors of the public library. Other people called it bookish, I called it discovery. Therefore, I was all too happy when I read NPR’s points…
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Some Books Are Good, Some Books Are Bad…
But recommending a good book depends on who you are and who the recommendation is meant for. We all know Amazon’s machinated recommendations and the like are bogus. Only people can really valuate books that are written by people. When…
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Kids Love New Things… And Paper is Not New.
Children’s books can help us to understand the brave new world of electronic media. PW on what challenges the future holds for writers, publishers and booksellers alike, but also how this new interactive art form could make kids care about reading…
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Books Still Make Us Smarter
Recent University of Tennessee research showed that books still increase the reading scores of under-privileged youths. The Internet, other research shows, does not. If you want to be smart in an intellectual sense, read this NYT column but then drop…
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For Us, the Daydreamers. From Science.
It just keeps progressing. Now scientific study is getting to the useful stuff, like re-inventing use into useless everyday things like daydreaming. Creativity depends on wandering. We all know it, that horizontal drift the mind takes away from whatever it…
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Better Faster Stronger… Flexier: eBooks dEvolved
“Some computer developers envision tablet computers so flexible that you will literally be able to roll them up and slip them in your bag or pocket — just as you would do with a newspaper or magazine today — and…
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Children’s Books Destroy Rainforests?
“Most of the top 10 children’s publishers have released at least one picture book containing paper fiber linked to the destruction of Indonesian rainforests.” Karen Springen has much to say about children’s books publishers and their efforts to go green.…
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Renaissance Amateur
“He has painted over 2,500 works and is a published novelist and poet. Billy Childish is creativity personified.” Billy Childish has the punk teenage heart of a fifty-year old. He spurns professionalism by embracing amateurism. The choice to remain amateur gives…
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Finding God with a Point of View
We all learned about the various sorts of PoV in middle school. Yet third person omniscient stood out as odd and unachievable without the genius of God. Our teachers assuaged doubt with some abstract definition. The search through the genealogy…
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Aqueous/Artistic/Inspiration
Thomas Campbell is a self-described stuff maker, creating clean sloping lines and eccentricities through mostly any medium. The Gregory Lind Gallery recently held his exhibition, which housed bronze sculptures, paintings on wood, gourds, paper and canvas. He paints, sprays and…