The Week: May 16, 2014

Do you ever have a sad experience that lets you reflect on the beauty of existing?

(That was a really awful sentence. Sorry. I think I just gagged a little.)

What I mean is, have you ever found yourself crying about something, and then you realized that the reason you’re upset is that you actually care and that is, weirdly, kind of wonderful? And so you’re still sad, but also kind of content?

That’s how I’ve felt this week. A lot of these links reflect that sentiment. Some are beautiful. Some are sad. And I think they’re all pretty wonderful.

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French photojournalist Camille Lepage was killed in Central African Republic this week. The French government is regarding her death as an assassination. Here is some of her powerful work.

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Heavy, but worth the read: a look at Frozen‘s Elsa, and how she’s become an icon for many in the trans community.

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The New Yorker explores what went down between Jill Abrahmson and the Times.

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Find out why red M&Ms disappeared for nearly a decade.

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A rather helpful explanation of what that HDR setting on your camera is, and when you should (or shouldn’t) use it to take a photo.

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An in-depth look at one of medical science’s most famous patients, and why much of what we know about Phineas Gage may be wrong. (Also? I kept touching the hole in my own skull at least a half-dozen times while reading that article.)

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I was interviewed on the Daily Travel Podcast. I ramble, I take overly-deep breaths (seriously, I’m a heavy breather), and my mic keeps cutting out. But my interviewer, Nathaniel, is awesome.

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A mom learns a valuable lesson from her daughter.

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Photographer Warren Kirk specializes in taking photos of Melbourne, Australia’s fading suburbs. His work is vivid, kitschy, and surprisingly familiar.

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Community is officially cancelled. And I am officially disappointed.

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Have a wonderful weekend. I’ll be back on Monday.