Friday afternoon coffee reads

Here is a roundup of the best reads from the week. These may not be new to the internet or you, but they were of fresh interest to me.

  1. Rent control needs retirement, not a comeback.
  2. Quincy Jones on Michael Jackson, his relationship with the Trumps, and the problem with modern pop.
  3. The life of Otha Porter Martin, a young miner photographed by Lewis Wickes Hine. There is a great hi-definition image of young Martin on Shorpy.
  4. The real Burning Man: Driving converted delivery trucks, Roadtreks, vintage RVs, “skoolies” and the odd Prius, a few thousand gather in defiance of consumerist society.
  5. From 2012: The period for making B.F.F.’s, the way you did in your teens or early 20s, is pretty much over.