An interesting debate over at A Brief Message on the role of the designer.

From On Campus, the Vassar Campus newsletter:

If it weren’t for Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, the popular women’s journal of the 19th century, Vassar would be “Vassar Female College” and Thanksgiving Day wouldn’t exist.

Troy Duster in the Chronical Review:

The Second Reconstruction in the 1960s, beginning with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, gave black people access to the work force, the voting booth, and public accommodations like hotels and restaurants. Among the many defending white privilege at the time was George H.W. Bush. Running for the Senate in Texas in 1964, Bush viciously attacked his opponent, Ralph Yarborough, for voting in favor of the Civil Rights Act, characterizing Yarborough as a left-wing demagogue.

“Come On Baby” (remix). Hov is killing it.

Sam Chennault:

“I used to give a f*ck / Now, I give a f*ck less,” Jay-Z states on “Success,” and here he’s abandoned Kingdom Come‘s beach chair for a spot on a dirty street corner. The album is painted in washed-out grays and dark blues, drained of hooks and informed by the loss and soulful sway of soaring horns and rattling bongos. This is nostalgia as blood lust, gangster rap as social commentary, and Jay wears his politics on his sleeve throughout, aiming at Imus on “Ignorant Sh*t” and licking shots at Reagan on “Blue Magic.” This is an excellent return to form.

I still like this kind of blurb review. So perfect for the web.

“Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)” (Damn Jigga is on the roll)

I was hoping that a review of Jay-Z’s new album in the Village Voice would come from either Greg Tate or Elizabeth Mendez Berry, but Amy Linden turns up:

As you’d expect from (still) one of the best wordsmiths in hip-hop, there’s some killer wordplay here, and judging by the lyric sheet passed out to critics, Jay wants us to notice.

Muddy Mississippi Waters (crazy good)

Noam Cohen on the impact of Twitter:

When Mr. Starr awoke the day after his suicidal posts and began reading the messages left on his cellphone that night, he felt simultaneously touched and mortified. Many Twitter users who knew him personally were frantic to speak with him. Some he had never met were frantic to have him type something, anything, to confirm that he was alive.

It’s actually a very useful design concept. The New York Times Magazine uses it in its layout quite often.