Miscellany. 02.13.12.

Things I deeply covet: Moby Dick as illustrated by Rockwell Kent. Double. Whoaaaa. The image above is from Vol. 1, Ch. 8: “Yes, the world’s a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow.” (Image courtesy of SUNY Plattsburgh.)

• Lucid dreaming. This is so Inception.
• On Intellectual Property: A fascinating piece that looks at the fuzzy overlap of ideas, using Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech as the focus. For artsy types debating the creative boundaries between one work and another (as in: Cariou versus Prince), this is a must-listen.
• Brent Staples argues that advertising portrays African-Americans in more forward, nuanced ways than the dramatic arts.
• I’m late on this, but it’s very worthwhile: An essay by Glenn Greenwald on the protocol for public figure deaths. Well done.
• Sorta related: A great critique of the Henry Miller mythmaking machine. (The Rumpus.)
• The best of the West can be found…in Japan.
• “There will be Wi-Fi and bad coffee.” Gary Shteyngart on the future.
• A history of pop-music special effects.
• Artcritical has a good essay about the Diane Arbus monograph just reissued by Aperture. (@heartasarena.)
• Cataloguer of ephemera and overlooked bits of popular culture: The New York Times profiles Jim Linderman.
• Crocheted hyperbolic surfaces — and other math art.
• “The Consumer Product Safety Commission Has Issued a Voluntary Recall for ‘Baby Boomers.’”
• 1970s rock star at their parents homes. The interiors are a visual feast, especially the Zappas’ purple nurple Los Angeles living room. (Thank you, Dona McAdams.)
• Werner Herzog on chickens.