American cartoonist and author Lynda Barry (born January 2, 1956) is as much a storyteller as she is a visual philosopher. From her 1999 graphic-novel-turned-off-Broadway-hit The Good Times Are Killing Me, exploring the interracial relationship between two girls, to her long-running, deeply empathic weekly comic strip Ernie Pook’s Comeek, Barry’s instantly recognizable works are invariably imbued with equal parts humor, irreverence, sensitivity, and wisdom. In 2009, her graphic novel What Is, published the previous year, received an Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work. But perhaps the most remarkable quality of Barry’s work is precisely its defiance of reality – the whimsy and wit with which she blurs the line between the real and, to borrow Sartre’s term, the irreal to peel away at some simple truth or grand complexity of what it means to be human. Learn more: http://literaryjukebox.brainpickings.org/post/40603830797 [http://thereconstructionists.org/page/13] What do Buddhist artist Agnes Martin, Hollywood inventor Hedy Lamarr, and French-Cuban author Anaïs Nin have in common? Their names may not conjure popular recognition, and yet, for Lisa Congdon and Maria Popova, these women represent a particular breed of cultural trailblazer: female, under-appreciated, badass. They are “Reconstructionists,” as the writer-illustrator duo call them – and for the next year, they’ll be celebrated on a blog of the same name. Every Monday for 12 months, The Reconstructionists will debut a hand-painted illustration and short essay highlighting a woman from fields such as art, science, and literature. The subject needn’t be famous, but she will, as Popova, the creator of Brain Pickings, puts it, “have changed the way we define ourselves as a culture." We spoke with Popova, and illustrator Congdon, about the inspiration.... [http://storyboard.tumblr.com/post/41698890843/the-reconstructionists-celebrating-badass-women]