With the writers abuzz with talk of securing Amtrak Residencies, Tom Zoellner’s concisely titled Train comes at a good time. The Los Angeles writer rode the rails in six different countries on three continents to research his new…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_XPiZvx3AM

You could spend a couple of minutes try to tease out the influences that are so obvious in this one or you could just accept that at this moment in our culture it is virtually impossible to create anything…

“For failing to broadcast sufficient levels of Canadian-made pornography — and failing to close-caption said pornography properly — a trio of Toronto-based erotica channels has earned a reprimand from the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission.” [Via]

“With spring just a few weeks away, Park Slope residents are wondering if discarded holiday trees littering their sidewalks will ever be picked up by city garbage collectors.”

“The British use of understatement and satire is thought to originate from the Vikings, typically noted for raping and pillaging throughout history, when they brought trade from across the world to British shores.”

“The Lower East Side is divided largely between those who don’t remember the 1970s and those who wish they didn’t.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Hgbtl8mQE

My favorite Maori soprano turns 70 today. If you know her, you probably know her from this. And rightfully so. Happy birthday!

UPDATE: The Rockaway Beach seal waved at us http://t.co/wcvMcIJLH8 pic.twitter.com/kzBGHJyCsG

— DNAinfo.com New York (@DNAinfo) March 6, 2014

Don’t let anyone tell you that there isn’t still a place for wonder in this world.