Thoughts and sketches on humans, nature, running, and the end of the world
Clutter is the language of the Pentagon calling an invasion a “reinforced protective reaction strike” and justifying its vast budgets on the need for “counterforce deterrence.” As George Orwell pointed out in “Politics and the English Language,” an essay written in 1946 but often cited during the wars in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Iraq, “political...
Perhaps I am starting to get comfortable again with museums, perhaps the Museum of Modern Art in New York City is just a really cool place to visit. There was a big Dada exhibition at the MOMA: Sophie Taeuber, Marcel Duchamp, Jean Arp, Man Ray, Max Ernst, George Grosz and so many others. I...
One of my first blog exchanges was with with Jory Des Jardin discussing how women’s heads (or at least our heads) seemed continuously busy in an inner dialog about what’s going on, what we should or should not do, what’s right and what’s wrong. Often, these annoying inner voices are talking about us. Like...
A few months ago I wrote about the distinction between vision and reality of online socialization that Russell Beale made in his talk at CHI2006. The Vision was about what’s good about the digital connected world: plenty of free information and the ability to connect with many individuals in real time. The Reality was...
In number games and social software, dana boyd observes how we sometimes get obsessed with numbers that represent our performance—think game scores or, in her example, increasing miles per gallon while driving an hybrid car. The effect on our behavior can be even more powerful when these measures are socially determined as for the...
I’ve almost finished reading Stephen King’s On writing. I love this book. No wonder: it discusses the topic I love reading about—writing, the evolution of a passion, and elements of style—and tells a story with a happy ending. On Writing is also the story of the support, recognition, and love that are needed to...
