Earlier this year, before the “David Bowie Is” retrospective opened in Toronto, David Bowie revealed his top 100 must read books. The list provides a captivating look into the mind behind Ziggy Stardust and Major Tom. I like that Bowie’s list is expansive and diverse – including comics, autobiography, history, counter-culture, travel writing, poetry and lots of fiction. I also like that the books are relatively new, with only two selections being written before he was born. Bowie is known as “a voracious reader” who is reputed to read as much as “a book a day”. Here they are in reverse chronological order.
Tag: list
Tweets From The 144 Republicans Who Voted To Send The U.S. Into Default
Earlier this week a vote was held in congress on HR 2775. This was a vote to reopen the federal government and temporarily raise the debt limit. Despite the dire consequences of this senate amendment not passing, there were 144 republican representatives who voted against it. Below is a twitter timeline of all those representatives.
Tweets from @hubs/voted-to-default-the-u-s
It should be noted that representatives John Mica, Tom Petri, and Sam Graves are not included because they don’t have twitter accounts. Here is the complete list of republican representatives that voted to send the United States into default.

A List Of Words Containing The Word Ass
I was feeling a little sASSy so I figured I’d compile a list of words that contain the word ‘ass’ in them. I mean, why not? Sorted initially by the number of letters in the word and then alphabetically the list contains nearly 1,250 ass words. I feel it’s fairly comprehensive but if I’m missing a word please let me know. Enjoy.
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Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Must read List
During a Reddit AMA with Neil deGrasse Tyson a Redditor asked, “Which books should be read by every single intelligent person on the planet?” Below is a list of books he provided in his response along with his reason for choosing it.
1. The Bible – “to learn that it’s easier to be told by others what to think and believe than it is to think for yourself.â€
2. The System of the World by Isaac Newton – “to learn that the universe is a knowable place.â€
3. On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin – “to learn of our kinship with all other life on Earth.â€
4. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – “to learn, among other satirical lessons, that most of the time humans are Yahoos.â€
5. The Age of Reason by Thomas Paine – “to learn how the power of rational thought is the primary source of freedom in the world.â€
6. The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith – “to learn that capitalism is an economy of greed, a force of nature unto itself.â€
7. The Art of War by Sun Tsu – “to learn that the act of killing fellow humans can be raised to an art.â€
8. The Prince by Machiavelli – “to learn that people not in power will do all they can to acquire it, and people in power will do all they can to keep it.â€
Neil deGrasse Tyson goes on to say, “If you read all of the above works you will glean profound insight into most of what has driven the history of the western world.”
The Worst Passwords Of 2012
Having a look at this list of the 25 worst passwords of 2012 make me wonder why more people aren’t hacked. New entries to this year’s list include “welcome, ” “jesus,” “ninja,” “mustang, ” and “password1.” Below is a list of the top ten:
1. password
2, 123456
3. 12345678
4. abc123
5. qwerty
6. monkey
7. letmein
8. dragon
9. 111111
10. baseball
A Timeline Of Future Science Fiction Events
Below is a list of predictions made by speculative science fiction authors both past and present. Also listed is the novel or short story in which the prediction was made, as well as the year it was published.
Notably, the list puts the Hunger Games in the year 2108 and robot cats finally make an appearance in 2966. My favorite entry by far is the year 2107 when “Everyone blogs about themselves, all day, without shame: ‘only perverts do things in private.'”
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Traits That Happy People Have In Common
Mark and Angel provide some great reminders that life is what you make of it. I know, it is sometimes difficult to make anything of it, but happiness is often found in trying. Bottom line: You can choose happiness. Enjoy
- They are ‘glass half full’ people – while still being practical and down-to-earth. They have an ability to find the good in any situation.
- They understand that happiness is a choice, and consciously and methodically create their own happiness, while others hope happiness will find them.
- They are ambitious. They don’t believe in, or wait for fate, destiny, chance or luck to determine or shape their future. They take control and choose to live their best life rather than spending it on auto-pilot.
- They have clarity and certainty about what they want and don’t want for their life. They visualize and plan their best reality while others are merely spectators of life. They have identified their core values – what is important to them – and they do their best to live a life which is reflective of these values.
- They ask the right questions – the ones which put them in a happy, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.
- They rarely complain because they know it’s a waste of energy. All complaining does is put the complainer in a negative state of mind.
- They don’t procrastinate and they don’t spend their life waiting for the ‘right time’. They are busy, productive and proactive with their goals. While most are laying on the couch, over-planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, they are out there taking steps in the right direction.
- They are fearful like everyone else, but they are not controlled or limited by their fears – they face them and grow beyond them over time.
- They don’t blame others. They take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes, or their lack thereof.
- While they are not necessarily more talented than the majority, they always find ways to maximize their potential. They get more out of themselves by exercising their talents and their passions. In other words, they use what they have more effectively, which leads to long-term personal achievement and happiness.

Books That Every Artist Should Own
After consulting with fellow artists, professors, historians and college syllabi, ARTINFO has put together this list of books all artists should own. With an eye toward a balance of theory, history, reference, and practical guides this list includes over 22 books covering a multitude of subjects surrounding art.
- A Life of Picasso: The Cubist Rebel, 1907-1916
by John Richardson
- Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: Expanded Edition, Over Thirty Years of Conversations with Robert Irwin
by Lawrence Weschler
- The Lives of the Artists
by Giorgio Vasari
- Seven Days in the Art World
by Sarah Thornton
- Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists
by Joseph Sheppard
- Orientalism
by Edward Said
- The Art Museum
edited by Phaidon
- The Pink Glass Swan: Selected Essays on Feminist Art
by Lucy Lippard
- Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
by Walter Benjamin
- Walter Benjamin: Selected Writings, Volume 1: 1913-1926
by Walter Benjamin
- Art in Theory 1900 – 2000: An Anthology of Changing Ideas
edited by Charles Harrison and Dr. Paul J. Wood, Wiley
- Art and Illusion: A Study in the Psychology of Pictorial Representation
by E.H. Gombrich
- Why Art Cannot Be Taught: A Handbook for Art Students
by James Elkins, University of Illinois Press
- History of Beauty
by Umberto Eco
- On Ugliness
by Umberto Eco
- Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Art History, Combined Volume (4th Edition)
by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren
- The Continental Aesthetics Reader
edited by Clive Cazeaux
- ART/WORK: Everything You Need to Know (and Do) As You Pursue Your Art Career
by Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber
- Ways of Seeing: Based on the BBC Television Series
by John Berger
- Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography
by Roland Barthes
- Visual Thinking
by Rudolf Arnheim