I've never seen Lost but apparently it's just a bunch of people on an island reading aloud from Finnegan's Wake.
(via skybarn)
"andrew graham, ninja of photobombs, appeared. he's freelancing his face off and getting work left and right, which is always good to hear." mediapost, dec. 2009
February 2, 2010
9:32 pm
January 27, 2010
10:30 pm
Supposing we made a pact with a painting and agreed to sit down and look at it, on our own with no distractions, for one hour. The painting should be an original, not a reproduction, and we should start with the advantage of liking it, even if only a little. What would we find?
Increasing discomfort. When was the last time you looked at anything, solely, and concentratedly, and for its own sake? Ordinary life passes in a near blur. If we go to the theatre or the cinema, the images before us change constantly, and there is the distraction of language. Our loved ones are so well known to us that there is no need to look at them, and one of the gentle jokes of married life is that we do not. Nevertheless, here is a painting and we have agreed to look at it for one hour. We find we are not very good at looking.
In the West, we avoid painful encounters with art by trivializing it, or by familiarizing it. Our present obsession with the past has the double advantage of making new work seem raw and rough compared to the cozy patina of tradition, whilst refusing tradition its vital connection to what is happening now. By making islands of separation out of the unbreakable chain of human creativity, we are able to set up false comparisons, false expectations, all the while lamenting that the music, poetry, painting, prose, performance art of Now, fails to live up to the art of Then, which is why, we say, it does not affect us. In fact, we are no more moved by a past we are busy inventing, than by a present we are busy denying.
Urban development in Cairo is so extreme that the Pyramids can be seen from the window of one Pizza Hut.
3:03 pm
Nude Beach = Tourism Incentive: Brunswick (S.C.) Resident
“In an e-mail to county commissioners and staff, one Brunswick County visitor requests that the board allow Bird Island to be a nude beach. He says it will bring in tourist dollars. He says he would be more inclined to buy a house on the beach if sun bathing in the buff was allowed. He said now he has to go to Haulover Beach in Florida.”
My former co-editor is doing some crack reporting nowadays.
January 26, 2010
The Future of Designed Content →
8:02 pm
Read this, really. The conclusion (Gawker Media as the future of designed content) is speculation that seems unlikely, but as an alternate history, it should be exhilarating for both designers and content creators.
(Robin is on such a roll lately, it’s amazing.)
There is a lot of “designed content” out there, but it’s underappreciated. The average web viewer doesn’t care, the same way that foodies seek out thoughtfully crafted food, web geeks seek out well designed content. The Average Joe wants the equivalent of Internet Junk Food.
8:00 pm
Oh yes, there’s a news release about this.“A number of community groups, homeless advocates and political leaders will go to [terrible movie director and Atlantic Yards developer] Bruce Ratner’s office on Wednesday, January 27th at high noon to perform a citizen’s arrest of Mr. Ratner.”
January 25, 2010
![via Neatorama, yaldabaoth:
An autistic Canadian second-grader has created a meme that has traveled to Antarctica, where scientists in a British research facility have posted the image and declared it to be “official policy in Antarctica.” Background:
In October, [Michelle Chipman] was walking down the hall when she kicked an inflatable penguin — which had been won at the Regatta — out of her way. Seven-year-old Colby… promptly advised her that kicking penguins was prohibited. He left the room for a minute, returned requesting Scotch Tape and then posted a hand-drawn sign — a woman kicking a penguin, in a circle with a diagonal line through it (as in a No Smoking sign). Written around the image was the decree Colby had issued earlier — “No kicking penguins.”
The popularity of the sign and the message has resulted in the creation of t-shirts, proceeds from the sale of which are being used for the benefit of autism societies.](http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kwth4r5u5d1qz8fp2o1_500.jpg)
via Neatorama, yaldabaoth:
An autistic Canadian second-grader has created a meme that has traveled to Antarctica, where scientists in a British research facility have posted the image and declared it to be “official policy in Antarctica.” Background:
In October, [Michelle Chipman] was walking down the hall when she kicked an inflatable penguin — which had been won at the Regatta — out of her way. Seven-year-old Colby… promptly advised her that kicking penguins was prohibited. He left the room for a minute, returned requesting Scotch Tape and then posted a hand-drawn sign — a woman kicking a penguin, in a circle with a diagonal line through it (as in a No Smoking sign). Written around the image was the decree Colby had issued earlier — “No kicking penguins.”
The popularity of the sign and the message has resulted in the creation of t-shirts, proceeds from the sale of which are being used for the benefit of autism societies.
January 24, 2010
12:30 pm
caro:
“The best way to counter the Tea Party movement, which is all about stopping things, is with an Innovation Movement, which is all about starting things. Without inventing more new products and services that make people more productive, healthier or entertained — that we can sell around the world — we’ll never be able to afford the health care our people need, let alone pay off our debts. Obama should bring together the country’s leading innovators and ask them: “What legislation, what tax incentives, do we need right now to replicate you all a million times over” — and make that his No. 1 priority. Inspiring, reviving and empowering Start-up America is his moon shot.”— Friedman: More (Steve) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs (via fred-wilson, jayparkinsonmd, mikehudack)
Excessively idealistic in my opinion, but inspiring and on the right track.
As idealistic thought, this is an excellent idea, which is probably Friedman’s intended tone. But as a matter of actual policy, it’s profoundly bad.
