Even in a deep sense, truly rewarding, spiritually rewarding pastimes and so on.
—
Dana Taylor,
USA Today,
23 June 2026
Some pastimes are distractions, some are distortions, and some few are true distillations—refining a city or a place or a community to its essence, deliciously sipped by all.
Bratislava offers quieter pleasures, with its hilltop castle presiding over a compact old town with Prague’s charm minus the crowds.
—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 June 2026
Other pleasures are the fireplaces in the bedroom and living room (one wood burning, one decorative), original crown moldings, and the in-unit washer-dryer combo tucked away in a closet.
We’re surrounded by sensory delights, and a new book argues that being more attuned to them could be a balm for digital exhaustion.
—
Patricia Marx,
New Yorker,
17 June 2026
The psychologists, economists, and happiness advocates have saddled the rest of us with an impoverished and incomplete picture of gratification and its distinctive delights.
Among the New Wave of American filmmakers in the mid-’70s, Spielberg and his friend George Lucas stood out as directors with ambitions to make old-fashioned popular entertainments.
—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
10 June 2026
Often, producers of these entertainments answer that question through music.
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