The Thing Quarterly: Issue 10

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In the age of ubiquitous information, The Thing Quarterly brings back the element of surprise with a subscriber-powered publication kept under lock and key until delivery. Edited by Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan, The Thing is “a periodical in the form of an everyday object,” inviting artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative types to come up with visual work that incorporates text.

Recently unveiled, writer and radio producer Starlee Kine designed issue 10, featuring an onion cutting board with “Crying Instructions” literally burned onto it. An included locker poster of TV character McNulty from “The Wire” mid-weep plays off the theme.

Kine will host a cooking demonstration for The Thing on 15 May 2010 at NYC’s Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, where she’ll demonstrate the proper methods for cutting an onion in addition to a reading and signing. The event will also include David Lipsky, David Rees and Arthur Jones. Half of all proceeds from copies of The Thing (and 100% from food and drinks) sold will benefit Housing Works, a non-profit offering shelter, medical assistance and other social programs to people with HIV and AIDS.

Kine’s issue also sells as an individual issue for $60 and will sell from Printed Matter in New York, the Mattress Factory Museum Shop in Pittsburgh, The Curiosity Shoppe in San Francisco, and online from The Thing. A yearly subscription runs $200, and will include Kine’s issue as well as future work by artist Chris Johanson, clothing collective Doo.ri, curator Matthew Higgs, and (you heard it here first) actor
James Franco
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Penguin Great Ideas Series

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A while ago, for its 60th anniversary, Penguin Classics published its beautifully designed ‘Great Ideas’ series. Divided into five installments (philosophy, politics, science, etc.), the fifth is to be released this year. Each book is between 75-150 pages, with its own uniquely designed cover. They’re actually quite addictive to buy because of their fantastic price, not to mention the fact that the books themselves are great reads. I’m hoping to collect them all by the end of the year. Check out some of the series’ titles here.

ACTAR buys Birkhäuser

Dezeenwire: Spanish architecture and design book publisher ACTAR has bought Swiss publisher Birkhäuser. More details from Actar below: (more…)

10 newspapers on the decline

It’s no secret that the newspaper industry is on the decline. A week ago the Rocky Mountain News became the latest victim to close shop with other national papers nearing the same fate. 24/7 Wall St. has put together a list of 10 newspapers across the country that are the most likely to close or go digital in the near future.

1. The Philadelphia Daily News
2. The Minneapolis Star Tribune
3. The Miami Herald
4. The Detroit News
5. The Boston Globe
6. The San Francisco Chronicle
7. The Chicago Sun Times
8. NY Daily News
9. The Fort Worth Star Telegram
10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer


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