Around the world #6

Photo by Helen Levitt (via Lens Culture) * Jeff Weiss calls out Lil Wayne with a pretty incisive counterpoint. ("Wayne is neither savior nor Satan. What he is a talented rapper with absolutely no concept of quality control.") Lil' Boosie and Lil Mama, consider yourselves put on notice. [Idolator] * Shane talks to both My Brightest Diamond and Bell in a single month. Lucky bastard. [The Torture Garden] * I just discoverd Lens Culture and its amazing slideshows. So all morning, I've been combing through its archives, and I've decided Helen Levitt's collection of street photography may well be the best. [Lens Culture] * The Virginia Festival of the Book was one of the better events while I was at school, and it's nice to see them continue their winning streak with readings by my two very favorite poets named Charles. [Virginia Quarterly Review] * A new photo essay about parkour in NYC. Yeah yeah, I know parkour is best enjoyed with video, but the shots (with more of Derin Thorpe's work here) are still worth a look. [New York Press] * In light of Junot Diaz's Pulitzer win, Bomb's rerunning his terrific 2007 conversation with Edwidge Dandicat. Between Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Dandicat's Brother, I'm Dying, the only award they've yet to win this season is the Dundie. [Bomb]