A Weekly Digest

I love Friday round ups. The continued future of this weekly compilation is uncertain but in the spirit of capturing a snapshot of some of the interesting things I read this week, here goes nothing:

An analysis of the literary environment that set the stage for the success of one of my favorite author’s most famous novels (and the growth of magical realism): How One Hundred Years of Solitude Became a Classic

A Boundless Battlefield: What Happens When a Barrio 18 Soldier Tries to Leave the Gang

Beautiful, free photographs? Can be modified and reused as content online? Perhaps this has been a thing for a while, but I stumbled upon Unspash this week.

Added to my Movies To Watch list: “Happy as Lazzarro” Alice Rorchacher, the film’s director, is crazy talented - her 2015 film “The Wonders” looks breathtakingly beautiful as well. “Roma” by Alfonso Cuarón seems dreamy and evocative - a black and white toned, semi-autobiographic movie elevating the ordinary of 1970s upper middle class life in Mexico into something extraordinary (this will begin streaming on Netflix on December 14, and I am counting down the days).

The Building Science Corporation is a superb resource for robust envelope design and education. I live in a kit house, and this “deep energy retrofit case study” of a 100-year old home in Massachusetts is incredible. While the article nears a decade old, the concepts and their application remain relevant. Air barriers! Thermal barriers and vapor control! Actual testing of systems and analysis of real energy use! Where is the heart-eye emoji?