May 2010
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“And what he has created—with “The Wire” and now with “Treme”—is a kind of novel...”
– THE READ: David Simon’s World | The New Republic
April 2010
9 posts
How can the NYT have an article about the seductive and dangerous qualities of PPT without quoting Edward Tufte? http://nyti.ms/ciuEdE
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“Those types of PowerPoint presentations, Dr. Hammes said, are known as...”
– Yeah, so, I admit it—I’ve tried my hand at that too …
Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War - PowerPoint - NYTimes.com
Another incredibly mousable graphic from the folks at the NYTimes. This time, subway ridership. http://nyti.ms/9wQIS3
This is getting so meta! Nonetheless, an interesting look behind the curtain for us laymen: ‘What a Tweet Looks Like http://bit.ly/bik8AW
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“I don’t think Palin’s phraseology is actively attractive to her fans. Rather,...”
– What Does Palinspeak Mean? | The New Republic
A fun little desconstruction of spoken English from a number of sources. It shows that Palin is indeed speaking the way many people do. The problem is that this means she isn’t thinking any more clearly than they are either.
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'We're All Gonna Die - 100 meters of existence' →
This is a very interesting photograph, but I can’t quite imagine it installed. A web browser seems like its perfect medium—a long print in a gallery doesn’t strike me as equally compelling.
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“Seriously, how “vibrant” a culture of intellectual inquiry are you...”
– James Fallows: Every So Often It Must Be Said… - International - The Atlantic
I once knew someone who had an pathological fear of Bjork ever since the red carpet Ostrich Dress and Egg fiasco. Maybe its the same thing in this case …
It’s barely dawn, but this morningjas a hot-city feel to it.
March 2010
29 posts
This taxi driver is playing the live action version of Grand Theft Auto.
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James Fallows' Interview with Google's Dan... →
Fallows’ raw transcript of his interview with Google’s chief council gives some insight in the timing and process of Google’s withdrawn from mainland China. What blows my mind is the Chinese stance that censorship is a reflexive responsibility, that such a practice is a law, and that all of these things can be discussed so rationaly. I know that this is one of the basic...
A great little report by #TNR on the contrasting scene in DC: anti-healthcare Tea Partiers and pro-immigration families http://bit.ly/bpbY5L
Save funding for NY State Parks and Preservation, via #MAS http://bit.ly/boWGp4
“During the president’s first year, as Obama’s and the Democrats’ poll numbers...”
– John B. Judis, Democrats Discover Their Base | The New Republic
[A good “sideways glance,” as my thesis advisor always used to day.]
Via @Pogue, I tried #numberquotes.com. It’s weird. So many of their metrics are about how many iPhones, MacBooks or Escalades you could buy.
“Lots of times the families will go down to Kinko’s,” the funeral...”
– Raiding Eternity - Myspace - Gizmodo
Life in the Cloud.
(We’ve heard this story before, but this is a nice, albeit slightly mawkish, riff.)
Dear USAir Shuttle business traveler: your shiny tassle loafers & roller-attaché do not make you a better human being. But my hair wax does.
Develop Don't Destroy's Last Gasp
Well, maybe they will live on to cry foul as the design get’s changed again and again and again.
I wish they had been more successful, but the rallies and the grassroots activism didn’t amount to much in the face of a plan that had been blessed as far away as Albany. After my recent run-in with the Jacobs-Moses reenactors reminded me, the paradigms for opposing development in this...
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Naked Capitalism: China, Germany Committing World... →
My ability to absorb the message at Naked Capitalism waxes and wanes. Sometimes the details seem too arcane, and sometimes the prose seems to purple. The problem with the latter excuse, is that, if the last three years have taught us anything, we need to take seeming hyperbole at face value. (A side note: James Fallows has been this same subject, and comparing the coverage by these two has been...
It’s within a walk of the office, so we better all go our and try the 99-Cent Slice. - http://nyti.ms/aka1Kp
Listening to Roberta Gratz discuss her book, The Living City, Jane Jacobs, and Robert Moses, courtesy of @MAS.
After a little to much caterwauling about Moses, Roberta Gratz recommends the Jane Jacobs’ the Economy of Cities. @MAS
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“[Jean Nouvel’s new building’s] shifting appearance in the skyline is...”
– The failure of activists to derail Atlantic Yards despite themselves seems to have written quite an epitaph for their movement. As Ouroussoff says, I assume it will take them just as long to regain their credibility as it will take the financiers to rebuild their war chests. Does this mean that we...
On the streets of NYC, every trash can sports at least one broken umbrella today. Some are bristle with more like black sea urchins.
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Up here in Ipswich, all of the rivers seem to have broken their banks. Time for a bailout.
Damn it—this rain just won’t stop!
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“…in the iPhone OS, the concept of the file is essentially gone. It’s been...”
– Apple is doing something rather daring with their new iPhone OS. They are essentially omitting features that people once took for granted in a typical computer. And one of the biggest things they’ve omitted is the visual file system. Instead, in the iPhone OS, the concept of the file is essentially...
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Francisco Toro on the uncomfortable dependency of Spain and Venezuela. FARC and ETA make an ugly pair. Via @TNR http://bit.ly/csiYDq
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“every day, your cursor protects you from unclear UI. It helpfully turns into a...”
– Both a very interesting observation about current computer UI and what the iPad will force UI designers to do.
I know a number of people who, when reading on their computer, are extremely active mouse users. They constantly highlight things by selecting them—somewhat unconsciously—and...
The Red Carpet show on ABC is much, much less pleasant than going to the dentist. Maybe they could solve the sound problem too.
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“I think Siracusa is exactly right that Jobs has a particularly acute sensitivity...”
– Daring Fireball: This Apple-HTC Patent Thing
John Gruber has put together some nice thoughts on why the Apple suit seems so odd (despite being legally totally run-of-the-mill) and yet so very Apple-like. Once again, the most persuasive vision of a Cuppertinologist seems to be that it is All About...
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The Internet? Bah! →
So, back in 1995, Clifford Stoll at Newsweek got it very very wrong. One of the best parts is right in the lede, where he cites the following as perposterous:
They speak of electronic town meetings and virtual communities. Commerce and business will shift from offices and malls to networks and modems.
This Chrome ad is completely endearing. Who would have guessed that Browser Wars 2.0 would be a battle of the cute? http://bit.ly/djhT7A
February 2010
37 posts
That’s the second uninspired meal I’ve had at Bar Boulud. I think that may get it crossed off list, despite the fun interior.
That LSD-inspired Friskies ad they’ve been playing during the Olympics is one of the most inspired pieces of crazy I’ve seen in a long time.
“The invocation of “the people” sounds inclusive, but it is a technique of...”
– The People’s People | The New Republic
Palin’s stubburn refusal not to go down in flames leaves me in a lingering depression. After the exhausting effects of the Great Recession, I really don’t have the energy to deal with this. Can’t Tina Fey just permanently take over...
Just saw a montage from last night’s men’s figure skating. Those costumes are so absurd they make Blades of Glory look simply conservative.
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The new 96th St IRT station is looking more and more like a baseball hat. Or a colossal toenail. Neither association does it any favors.
I think my Apple rumor-mongering sites have lapsed into post-partum depression now that the whole upas thing is old news. It’s lonely!
I’m at 202 Cafe in New York, NY http://gowal.la/s/TFh