Dictionary illustrations from the 19th century in the Pictorial Webster’s.

Hey, melt your brain! Why not?

Musician Jay-Z’s DECODED, in which he will “decode all the lyrics from my records; I’m going to pick the select ones and reveal the double entendres that people may have missed or may have got and want confirmation on it,” to Chris Jackson at Spiegel & Grau, by Matthew Guma at Guma Agency.

(h/t to Kate Ankofski, who had this posted as her gchat status message)

Even though I think most ‘canon’ talk is just another popularity contest — I would not include a book in any ‘canon’ unless it has huge cultural impact, and longevity of 500 years or so, and, um, that leaves what?  foundational Judeo-Christian texts?  other similar religious monomyths?  what else?  Seriously.  — the book-centered site The Second Pass has listed books they would nominate to nix from the Western Canon — wait, just the definition of the word ‘canon’ alone makes me gag a little: since when are writers supposed to respect any sort of institution/law/principle, and can we really say definitively that another artist’s work is ‘authentic’ outside the catharsis the artist achieved in his/her bedroom/prison cell/cabin while they’re creating?  I guess the calling-into-question of what makes something ‘authentic’ is another discussion.  Maybe it’s only ‘quality’ being talked about, and then doesn’t that just revert back to the culture-boom/500yr thing anyway?  Ddddoinkyff.

My dear friend Brad, one of the best-read and brightest autodidacts I know, reads Burroughs’ Queer and wonders if maybe he would have developed an appreciation for it earlier if he had been introduced to it in a classroom. Bonus: Four Tet managed a Madvillian remix that is as good as the original. I know. Hard to believe. Forgive me Madlib.

The 8th issue of Sleepingfish, coedited by Derek White and guest Gary Lutz, is now open for electronic submissions.