• “During the 1860s, several photographers based in Moscow and St. Petersburg produced a series of cartes-de-visite showing Russian ‘types.’ These remarkable portraits provide a fascinating record of working-class townspeople, artisans, street vendors and peasants, some staged performing an activity, such as drinking tea or gaming, and some photographed in the performance of their occupation.”
• Chicago’s Adler Planetarium could get a Space Shuttle when they are retired next year, but competition is fierce from Texas, Florida, and New York.
• I knew Groupon was doing well, but I didn’t think they were doing THAT well: according to Forbes, it is one of the fastest companies to reach a $1B valuation (YouTube being the fastest, but it has yet to see profit).
• Finally, a particularly depressing list from Wikipedia: list of last occurrences.

Illustrations by Lilli Carré in Chicago Magazine this month:

In 1855, the city embarked on a far-fetched scheme to hoist itself out of the mud and gunk. On the 155th anniversary of the project’s launch, we take a lively illustrated look back.

• Tracking the evolution of the Windows through its icons. Makes me a touch nostalgic actually.
• This extensive ‘oral history’ of Galaxie 500 on Pitchfork recounts the band’s history in their own words.
• John Pozadzides, CEO of Woopra, analyzes where most of the referral links on the web come from (and where marketers ought to spend their time).
• Design homages: If Saul Bass had continued doing movie posters, and a motorcycle that looks like something out of the Rocketeer.