Lyndsie Bourgon

theparisreview: The lost language of Italian parasols and the...

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:58:11 -0400

The lost language of Italian parasols and the men who made them.

… they were inclined to be grumpy, suspicious, and maddeningly reluctant to share any expressions that related directly to the craft of umbrella-making, because obviously their commitment to trade secrecy outweighed any desire to preserve the language they must have known was on the verge of extinction.

My favourite things about now.

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:49:00 -0400

records

the tpl

backyard summer

patio, beer, simon

My favourite things about now.

meaghano: luckyshirt: Meaghan O’Connell (@meaghano) has joined...

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 16:32:58 -0400

meaghano:

luckyshirt:

Meaghan O’Connell (@meaghano) has joined our proposed SXSW panel, and I am waiting on replies from 2 other prospective panelists.

Read more about it here if you haven’t, and please help us get this panel approved by voting for it here. There is less than a week left before voting closes.

Thanks, everyone.

I’m just going to leave this here…

interesting people, interesting things

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:29:00 -0400

Leave it to Connor, I say!

Via Armadillo Studios, he posted top picks for this year’s SXSW Interactive fest. Hey, know someone trying to get into that??? Jks.

Anyway, here are my journo/writing choices. Because if I get to meet Blake Eskin, voice of my favourite podcast ever, I will rejoice:

Why Journalists Need to Think Like Geeks: This is kind of a hard thing to hear, mainly because most journalists think their geek quotient is maxed out. But Eskin is my web editor hero. Also, we really need to be thinking more like geeks, and The New Yorker, of all traditional media, is doing a kick-ass job online. So lets learn from the man, shall we?

Bloggers & The Newsroom: The ChicagoNow Experiment: The Chicago Tribune’s experiment with uncensored blogs was totally crazy, completely interesting, and an amazing model. Just what we need!

The Death of Long form Journalism: Please. Long live long form! No really, have you read Slate? Because it’s the future. And you know what? Readers know it, and they’re reading it online. I would also be happy to see Missing the Point: The Long vs. Short Form Debate, because come on, the title’s right on. Let’s stop moaning and starting doing.

So Long and Thanks for the Babelfish: Who doesn’t like a Babelfish reference?

With the wild wolves around you

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:08:50 -0400

I am sitting in a cafe, taking a wee writing break before conducting two possibly ridiculous interviews this afternoon, and apparently I’ve found my writing muse/motivator/soundtrack.

Michelle tells me Bon Iver wrote his album in THE WOODS allcaps. YES.

(via sashafrerejones)

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:48:53 -0400

(via sashafrerejones)

meaghano: Tao Lin’s new book Richard Yates came in the mail...

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:59:00 -0400

meaghano:

Tao Lin’s new book Richard Yates came in the mail today. Tao, you are beyond insane.

I remember hearing a reading of this at WORD bookstore probably two years ago now, and kind of losing it in a good way, so I am excited to read it.

Am currently reading this for a review assignment. Bizarre!

theatlantic: Google celebrates the 71st anniversary of The...

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 09:10:25 -0400

theatlantic:

Google celebrates the 71st anniversary of The Wizard of Oz with a nifty new doodle, while The Guardian marks the occasion with 71 morsels about the American fairy tale. They don’t make movies like this anymore, do they?

thumbs up!

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:10:29 -0400

After the wedding had died down last weekend we were driving in a red car down a Massachusetts highway, towards Boston. Jenn said that sometimes she looks back and has to remind herself that certain things happened. Like part-time jobs during university and couples that broke up a long time ago and stuff.

I want this to be one of those things I look back on in five years or ten years and I say, “Oh yeah, that happened!” and I’ll feel a wave of nostalgia/a warm glow of happiness.

This is me saying that my lovely cousins and friends Caitlin and Connor, along with myself, have submitted a panel to this year’s SXSW Interactive Festival. It’s about social media and conflict! It’s going to be absolutely horribly interesting!

We’ve made it past the first stage selection - now we need your votes. If you’re at all interested in this kind of thing, it would be awesome if you gave us a little thumbs up. If you’re not, you can probably avoid the thumbs down symbol next to it. Just sayin’.

life: “Forget the movie, let’s pull the job!”-Frank Sinatra...

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 15:29:17 -0400

life:

“Forget the movie, let’s pull the job!”
-Frank Sinatra jokes upon hearing the plot for Ocean’s 11, the Vegas heist flick that opened 50 years ago today (Aug. 10, 1960)

The Rat Pack: 25 Never-Seen Photos

I’ve seen this floating around a bit, and thought...

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:18:47 -0400

I’ve seen this floating around a bit, and thought I’d pass it on to Tumblr.

A warning that if you are feeling pangs of nostalgia for Halifax, this might not help. But boy, it’s beautiful.

"I do things like get in a taxi and say, “The library, and step on it."

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:41:36 -0400

“I do things like get in a taxi and say, “The library, and step on it.””

- David Foster Wallace (via wordpainting) (via aaknopf, beelockwood) (via theparisreview)

Absolutely fantastic.

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 09:38:27 -0400

Absolutely fantastic.

hellotypewriter: TypeWriter Message Wall - Bloor St, Toronto...

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:57:50 -0400

hellotypewriter:

TypeWriter Message Wall - Bloor St, Toronto (by pdinnen)

Well, hello there! Are you in the market to have your mind...

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:26:47 -0400

Well, hello there! Are you in the market to have your mind blown, or to feel choked up and also spectacularly great today? You’re just in luck!

D’bi Young will change your life.

Love courageously.

staceymayfowles: beulahgirlie Good lord this is like peering...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:27:23 -0400

staceymayfowles:

beulahgirlie

Good lord this is like peering into my brain at any given moment.

it's normal!

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:06:09 -0400

“When do you have to accept non-phenomenality? Is that an absurd idea? Or am I trashing a lot of good opportunities for a decent, non-detestable life in pursuit of something I’ll never achieve?”

This person’s question is excellent, as it encompasses the ridiculous roller coaster ride of emotions that is “writing.” Do we really need writing advice from Emily Gould? Yes, apparently.

That's it.

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:06:17 -0400

“It’s not possible to advise a young writer because every young writer is so different. You might say, “Read,” but a writer can read too much and be paralyzed. Or, “Don’t read, don’t think, just write,” and the result could be a mountain of drivel. If you’re going to be a writer you’ll probably take a lot of wrong turns and then one day just end up writing something you have to write, then getting it better and better just because you want it to be better, and even when you get old and think “There must be something else people do” you won’t quite be able to quit.”

— Alice Munro (Via diana-vilibert)

Emphasis added. That basically explains it.

"It’s an impossible standard I asked my writers to live up to. I asked my reporters to try to..."

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:38:14 -0400

““It’s an impossible standard I asked my writers to live up to. I asked my reporters to try to report their stories so they understood those worlds as completely as fiction writers understand the worlds they’ve imagined. Details emerge only when writers do 101 interviews. The bulk of writers in the internet age accept rumors as fact, but reporting triumphs. For a writer to assume he has something to say in an audacious act… it’s an amazing responsibility, and it’s a privilege.””

- Keynote speech from David Granger, Editor-in-Chief of Esquire at the “Future of Freelancing” conference.

deep breath

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:49:18 -0400

diana-vilibert:

“The best training is to read and write, no matter what. Don’t live with a lover or roommate who doesn’t respect your work. Don’t lie, buy time, borrow to buy time. Write what will stop your breath if you don’t write.”

— Grace Paley, The Paris Review