Miller says: A true shop has a life, a breath, a status, set not by algorithms but by minds and hearts. And you know it. It’s true. It’s why we love local bookshops. Why we love kissaten . In fact, let me pause for a second on that point: Perhaps the biggest single factor in why kissa are “so cool” or “feel good” or feel “otherworldly” stems from... See more

In our On Margins chat, we mention Obama, how his ascension symbolized some “completion” — “it was love triumphing over hate, and peace over war, and all sorts of things of the way we were told how things were going to play out because of the natural order of the world, that there would be some sort of correction and this was the correction.” It’s... See more

There’s a ruthlessness that’s taken hold across all strata of cultural making (and life itself). Everything turned into a casino, “traps” galore. Billions as the only goal. Achieved celebrity? Start a coffee brand (or gin brand, or tequila brand; I’m shocked nobody is selling their own cigarettes). Leave “nothing on the table.” Epicurean... See more