“Is it your reputation that’s bothering you? But look at how soon we’re all forgotten. The abyss of endless time that swallows it all. The emptiness of all those applauding hands. The people who praise us — how capricious they are, how arbitrary.”
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations (4.3)
Barnes and Nobles is gonna start serving food and alcohol.
Everybody’s cracking jokes about how it’s a desperate attempt to stay relevant in the age of Amazon.
But you know what? Props to them. This is exactly what Blockbuster didn’t do. At no point was Blockbuster like “Hey, movie rentals aren’t the lucrative enterprise they once were. Perhaps it’s time we become known for our cheesy garlic bread.”
Okay but…if someone wants to take me on a date to a Barnes and noble and get me dinner and a drink and then let me peruse the stacks like I’m not saying no. A sandwich, a beer, and 2-5 books on various topics I hope I’ll someday read about? Good night.
The Swedish equivalent of Blockbuster is now best known for its candy, snacks and sodas.
This is El Ateneo Grand Splendid, an old theatre turned bookstore in Buenos Aires:
The stage itself was turned into a cafe:
You can’t even begin to comprehend the massive amounts of money this place makes, despite the fact that they turned the theatre boxes into reading nooks like this:
I’ve literally spent days holed up in there reading books for free while also consuming massive amounts of coffee and pastries.
Adapt or die, people.
Take me to Buenos freaking Aires… Leave me in this bookshop… Never look for me, you will not find me again.
On this day, 1 January 1863, Pres Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. However he did not do this because he was anti-racist, or out of the goodness of his heart:
“I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races; that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people…” - Abraham Lincoln.
He did it because he was a savvy political operator, as explained by historian Howard Zinn: https://libcom.org/history/lincoln-emancipation-howard-zinnhttps://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1310660505785763/?type=3
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