Daily Links 10-8-13

What happens to retired school buses, secret passageway bookshelves, Walt Disney, Winston Churchill, and more in today's roundup of links.

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Ever wonder what happens to school buses when they are retired? Well, wonder no more.

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A collection of 10 really cool secret passageway bookshelves.

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Arguments continue over baseball's current one-and-done wild card game. Peter Gammons is the latest to weigh in and he's arguing that the system worked the way that it was supposed to. I am inclined to agree. (Hat tip: Right Field)

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Why Walt Disney chose to build a theme park on swampland.

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One of my all-time favorite Winston Churchill quotes:

More here and here.

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Mark Twain's advice to young girls of 1865.

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Free audio versions of the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis.

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Could it be that we're spending too much time with earphones in our ears?

I had an earphone wake-up call the other day when I was being one such bad mom. I vaguely noticed the traffic policeman talking to himself and smiling and thought, “Yikes they let crazy people direct traffic?” About two blocks later it hit me: He was talking to me. Whoops.

I felt like a total jerk. I also realized that I am probably missing a lot of spontaneous verbal interactions with the other human beings that populate this earth, and that while perhaps my iPhone makes my dull afternoon walk feel a little more gangster or a little more like I’m in some cool movie, I’m missing a whole dimension of life.

We don’t need a poll or statistic to tell us that people are spending an enormous amount of time with their headphones on. We see it everywhere. The family out touring while the sullen teenager slumps along, hand in pocket, smooth, white nuggets blocking out the world. The eerie silence on the subway as everyone stares blankly ahead, iPhones cradled in their palms, the awkward elevator moment where you say “Hello!” only to realize your fellow passenger didn’t hear it, the muffled screechy wails of music interspersed with breathing on busses.