Just a few links, to keep you off the street today, keep you out of trouble.

Joseph Brodsky’s family’s Leningrad residence—you cannot really say “apartment,” it was only a part of an apartment, as he said, “a room and a half”—is now a museum.

Interesting suggestion that we think of Facebook and other social media sites in terms of addictiveness, and esp so for certain groups, like teenage girls.  Not sure this is the best analogy, but it’s worth looking at this article.

A pretty interesting interview with Colson Whitehead.  Though I must admit it always feels like we’re playing poker against him in these things—like he’s actually keeping track of what cards have been dealt.  There’s something seriously guarded about him.

A wonderful piece about UVA’s gardeners. I can confirm that they are pretty humane people, as well as gifted with skills far beyond mine. I have known Mike Beaudrieu for at least 20 years; they make the Grounds we at UVA occupy so ravishingly beautiful.

Interesting interview with Musa al-Gharbi, a young social theorist. Gives me a lot to think about. I will read his article in Socius, as I am distantly acquainted with Ibn Khaldun’s work, and even more distantly acquainted with some of the other Islamic social theorists he writes on there.

Great piece: “Today, more Americans are becoming aware of the role Black pioneers played in shaping the West. One of the most commonly cited statistics is that during the golden age of the cattle drives (1865–1890), at least one in four cowboys was Black. But even that underplays the historical truth: that the West was a vibrant, racially fluid place.”

Get outside today--it's lovely where I am, I hope it is where you are.  Rock on!