Carpe Libra

Slate has a post on some good reading, books and web sites, about the founding of America. Included you will find a site that documents the editorial changes to the Constitution.
“That all Men are created equal and independent; that from that equal Creation they derive Rights inherent and unalienable”—that was reasonably well said. “That they are endowed [...]

It is my personal and humble opinion that Mark Twain is overrated. He could spin a fine sentence here and there and be clever, but not nearly to the extent to which he was published.
However, I seem to be in a minority in that opinion, which is fine. Some people who disagree with me want [...]

What’s more fun than mowing your lawn today? Looking up words on Visuwords, of course! Visuwords is an online graphical dictionary and thesaurus. Why the little bubbles are so mesmerizing, I have no idea, but they’re definitely more fun to look at than blades of grass.

Librivox has volunteers record chapters of books which are in the public domain. There are about 1500 currently available. Download and listen for free! Or volunteer your time and read a chapter for their database. Hey, we could do a Carp book and have our members read chapters for posterity!

Spain has a new literary distribution device: vending machines selling novels.
I think the hardest part of this, besides having to go to Spain to use one, is getting a variety of books. They would at least all have to be the same size. But all in all, not a bad idea.

Carp author, Rudyard Kipling, was a studious author. He was made that way by an over-controlling wife (her portrait is above the fireplace) who controlled the ins and outs of Kipling’s writing room. Although his writing room may look pleasant, it became more or less a prison cell.
The chair at his desk was kept on [...]

Dante’s Inferno has taken some pretty tough blows on the Carp 500 rating system. It is pulling a 4.9 out of 10 after ten ratings. We are not the only ones struggling with the book.
In an effort to make the Inferno more accessible to the sad, sad, non-condemning-the-pope-to-hell-world that we live in, several people have [...]

Carp author James Joyce wrote many poems, including a book of 36 verses entitled Chamber Music. Producer James Nichols decided to put Joyce’s book into a musical rendition starring various musicians from REM and Sonic Youth.
Back in 1969 Syd Barrett, former Pink Floyd member, turned the fifth stanza into a song but no one has ever attempted [...]

Edith Wharton, author of the Carp book Ethan Frome about suicidal tobogonists, is also struggling to keep her house open. Well, she’s not so much struggling as she’s rather dead, but her house is.
Apparently, when the economy is tight people don’t want to visit old musty homes with furniture resembling furniture that authors may have sat [...]

We told you earlier that Twain’s Connecticut home/museum was having financial problems. The state of Connecticut has decided to give them $50,000 to keep the home open.
In other Twain related news, George Carlin was recently awarded the Mark Twain humor prize with a large celebration scheduled in November to give Carlin the award. Unfortunately (or fortunately, [...]