Microlog: Arts & Culture
The Sad, Beautiful Fact That We’re All Going To Miss Almost Everything
In other words, I need to relax about missing all that stuff in my feed reader. See also: Anne Billson in the Guardian on the Fear of Missing Out, or Fomo. Permalink ·
Charlie Brooker: How to handle the shop snobs
I maintain that nobody really knows what work is till they’ve worked behind a till. Permalink ·
The Apostate: Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology
In short, Scientology isn’t just ridiculous. It’s dangerous. See also: Fact-checking the Church of Scientology and Bobbie Johnson on what Scientology tells us about journalism. Permalink ·
McSweeney’s on The State of Publishing
A series of columns about where the book industry is headed. Permalink ·
Erase and rewind
On the recent deletion of swathes of content from the BBC website, which will in the future prove to be as shortsighted as the erasing of archive videotapes in previous decades. Permalink ·
Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth ‘Crying In Rage’
A depressing story about the dark side of the space race. Permalink ·
What does it mean to be Irish?
Storyful tracks the Irish citizenship test Twitter meme. Permalink ·
Gateways to Geekery: Kurt Vonnegut
Confession time: I’ve never read any Vonnegut. But he really seems like my kind of writer. Permalink ·
Miracle Above Manhattan
The story of how the High Line evolved from urban relic to a model for future city green spaces. Permalink ·
‘What I Really Want Is Someone Rolling Around in the Text’
On the future of marginalia in the age of the e-reader. I’m of the opinion that e-books make things easier, especially for people like me who can’t/won’t write in their books. I’d never highlight passages or scribble notes in a physical copy, but I’d happy do it all day with an e-book (I did it a lot while reading Moneyball). Permalink ·
The OED and Oxford Dictionaries
The OED makes the distinction between its various dictionaries. Handy to know. Permalink ·
Arcade Fire and the ‘Never Heard of It’ Grammys
“It’s not really about knowledge or information. It’s an argument, for the most part, and a faintly aggressive one — a way of insisting that what you pay attention to really does define the world.” Yes. And an interesting point to note: many who know well of the Arcade Fire, myself included, reacted in the opposite manner as they’re so ubiquitous to us (they are stadium-filling rock stars, after all). [c/o Clusterflock] Permalink ·
The lost art of editing
I think – in fact I know – most people don’t realise how much input editors have into the work of writers. Permalink ·
Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, side-by-side-by-side edition
In the original German, plus two English translations. [c/o Trivium] Permalink ·
When Should I Visit?
Random guide to the best days and times for visiting London’s many museums and galleries. Just keep hitting refresh to find the one you want, or let serendipity be your guide. Permalink ·
What are your best magazine articles of all time?
There’s something off about that headline, but there’s a good selection of long-form writing here. Permalink ·
Some links on copyediting
“It’s a hard job, but someone’s gotta do it. Permalink ·
Where was the Nighthawks diner?
Best of the web right here. Just read it. Permalink ·
Toward a Grand Unified Theory of n00bs
The big problem here is that it’s never been easier for web novices to learn about the web, but their patience has dwindled by the same degree. It’s the same reason why people don’t read manuals. Permalink ·
UpStart: an alternative election poster campaign
“UpStart is a non-profit arts collective which aims to put creativity at the centre of public consciousness during the Irish General Election Campaign in 2011. We plan to do this by reinterpreting the spaces commonly used for displaying election campaign posters in Dublin City.” Best thing to come out of this whole ridiculous situation. The poems are my favourites; better than any bullshit election manifesto. (By the way, if anyone starts a Flickr gallery of these posters, please do let me know.) Permalink | 0 Comments ·
Walking in Holden’s Footsteps
Completely forgot about this when I was in New York last year; seems like I traced some of his steps. Another time! Permalink ·
Oral History at the End of the World: World War Z and its Cousins
I still need to read the Max Brooks books; I feel like I’ve missed out on the whole zombie zeitgeist. Permalink ·
Yes There Are Grocery Stores in Detroit
Combatting the media’s perception of the Motor City as a blight-ridden hellhole with no redeeming qualities. Indeed, there’s better grocery shopping in Detroit than in the whole of Dublin FFS. Permalink ·
Five Emotions Invented By The Internet
That third one? That’s me, that is. Permalink ·
Proposed Unicode symbols for Emoji
These are awesome. Permalink ·
The Noun Project
“The Noun Project collects, organizes and adds to the highly recognizable symbols that form the world’s visual language, so we may share them in a fun and meaningful way.” See also: Iconic, “a minimal set of icons consisting of 136 marks in raster, vector and font formats — free for public use.” Permalink ·
Bobbie Johnson’s idea for digital books
“I like this, but I fear it may be unworkable (how to provide proof of purchase, for one; and there’s so many deleted titles that will never be digitised). Permalink ·
The Blog in 2011: More Pictures, More Words
Nine years on, and I’m still trying. Permalink ·
Wake Up, Geek Culture. Time to Die
Everybody and their dog has already linked to this, but anyway. I get what Patton Oswalt is saying (I feel his dismay at his treasured obscuria being co-opted by the mainstream) but for me, the age of Everything That Ever Was — Available Forever is a dream come true. Permalink ·
Muppets with People Eyes
Exactly what the title says. Permalink ·
Inception and Gotham
I’m seeing Gotham everywhere now; it’s becoming the new Trajan. Perish the thought. Permalink ·
A Mexican, a Kiwi and a Nigerian walk into a bar…
Two things from this: every country has jokes about other countries; and the vast majority of said jokes are interchangable. The lack of uniqueness is surprising. Permalink ·
Superheroes are misunderstood
Margin note: Fringe culture in general is misunderstood; always has been and always will be. Permalink ·
Don’t forget the Motor City
Can Detroit be saved? David Byrne thinks it’s too late for restoration, but maybe something better can come out of it. Permalink ·
Kanye West, media cyborg
Actually the title of this piece is a bit misleading, as the point is that we’re all media cyborgs now. Permalink ·
660 Miles, 468 Stations, 106 Years
“Images of the New York Subway by NYT photographers. See that first pic, the 7 train in Queens? I’ve been right there. Permalink ·
Peter Saville’s headstone for Tony Wilson
The ‘Cultural Catalyst’ bit is the perfect description. Permalink ·
The luckiest bastards alive
Some of these look very faked to me. You’ll know which ones I mean. Permalink ·
Pen and Pixel: A Retrospective
On the infamous rap album cover design house. The scary thing is, they’re actually not that bad till around 1997, when they start getting crazy with the Photoshop. Permalink ·
Wikipedia’s list of emoticons
The breadth of subtlety these things can convey is frankly astonishing. Permalink ·
Jim Henson on Making Muppets
One from the archives here, way back in 1969 at the birth of Sesame Street [c/o Boing Boing]. Permalink ·
Champion of Magazines: An Interview with Andrew Losowsky
More inspiration for that project I’m currently mulling over. See also: Magazero; MagCloud; Newspaper Club. Permalink ·
BBC Genome: The Complete Broadcast History of the BBC
More historiography! A perfect example of the permanence of the web given focus. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry on Neon magazine
Remembering the late, lamented Neon – the original version, that is. One of the best film magazines ever. Posting this here as inspiration for a new project I’m kicking about in my head. Permalink ·
On Wikipedia, Cultural Patrimony, and Historiography
This got me thinking about something else: in a sense, blogs can be personal historiographies, can they not? Interpreting historiography in a personal sense seems to describe what I’m doing with my blog at the moment, creating a record that I might someday look back on. Permalink ·
Why my kids are pop-culture illiterate
I’m only posting this here as an example of the kind of smug elitism – the attitude that popular or ‘corporate’ culture equals low culture and is therefore unfit – that I truly detest. As if there’s some virtue in their kids being unable to relate to their peers on a basic cultural level! Bullshit of the highest order. Permalink ·
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
The AskMeFi hive mind recommends books that analyse horror movies. I’ll be adding some of these to my wish list. Permalink ·
Vanity Press Plus: The Tweetbook
Tempted to do this for my own tweet archive. Permalink ·
Play Mastermind
It’s a bit more quick-fire than the real thing, but still all kinds of awesome. Permalink ·
Documentary on One
RTÉ Radio 1’s documentary and podcast archive. Why aren’t they promoting this more widely? It’s a fantastic resource, the kind that makes the licence fee worth paying (even though RTÉ denies the licence fee funds online activities). Permalink ·
How to Create a Stop-Motion Animation Movie on Your Mac Using Your Digital Camera and iLife
For another future project I’m mulling over. It’s how they make Robot Chicken, more or less, so that’s good enough for me. Permalink ·
Fixing the Bus System
“The bus system in every city I know is broken, hardly usable, and we hardened urbanites only cope with it because we’re so used to it.” The symptoms he gives for this brokenness are all ones I would identify in my own experience. Some can be remedied to an extent by providing better information, online or otherwise. But I also see his point that such solutions might only be for the tech-savvy, or those with access to mobile devices (not everyone has an iPhone, whatever Apple et al want us to believe) [c/o del.icio.us/blech]. Permalink ·
Notes on Susan Sontag’s On Photography
Saving this for when I eventually get round to reading the book. Permalink ·
Making ambient music on a MacBook
Some good links and advice here, but why is Ableton always the stock answer for such questions? Garageband and the like work just fine. Most people simply want to dick around with making sounds; they don’t wanna be George bleeding Martin. Permalink ·
The Mona Lisa Curse on YouTube
Robert Hughes’ documentary on the corruption of art in the commercialised world (previously broadcast on Channel 4). His disdain for the bullshit of the contemporary art world is refreshing. Permalink ·
Devour: hand-picked videos
Basically YouTube, curated. It would surprise me if the Google boffins aren’t working on something just like this for the site itself. Permalink ·
Haim Saban: The Influencer
A long profile of the Israeli entertainment mogul behind most of the cartoons I watched as a kid (and later, the insufferable Power Rangers); now he’s positioning himself as a power broker in US-Israeli relations. At least he wants peace in the Middle East (it’s good for business) but what if he didn’t? It’s a scary thought. Permalink ·
A taster of recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Plenty
Great stuff here; this dude does vegetarian food that’ll appeal to even the most hardened carnivore. Permalink ·
Bourdain’s Disappearing Manhattan
Anthony Bourdain explores New York’s gastronomic institutions, under threat by the march of progress. I hope we’ll get to see some of these places when we’re in NYC later this month. [c/o Kottke] Permalink ·
Is John Lewis the best company in Britain to work for?
I’m frankly amazed that so few businesses are run along these lines. I shouldn’t be, but I am. Permalink ·
Takeshi Kitano: one original gangster
It’s not enough being a good actor, a great director and the Japanese Chris Tarrant; no, the bastard has to be an accomplished artist as well. Permalink ·
Wikipedia on the Dunning-Kruger effect
A cognitive bias in which “people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it”. In other words, the dumber you are, the more likely you are to think you’re smarter than everyone else; conversely, the truly smart ones tend to underestimate their own intelligence for fear of patronising others. The end result is a social climate where the likes of Fox News can thrive. Oy vey! Permalink ·
Make your own sourdough
Filing this for future reference. Mmmmm, bread. Permalink ·
Charlie Brooker: My plan to save mankind
Basically, the inability of the average individual to transcend the linear comprehension of time is to blame for everything from climate change to the obesity epidemic. And it’s a very convincing argument. Says Brooker of the exceptional few: “Every jogger is essentially a clairvoyant. They’ve transcended the shackles of contemporary subsistence and risen above the likes of you and me, to witness a vision of the future so captivating it blocks out the pain of the present, so enticing, they’re literally compelled to run towards it.” Permalink ·
Roger Ebert re-enters the ‘games as art’ debate
This isn’t even really a debate: anything can be art in the right context or circumstances. Ebert should know better. Permalink ·
Counting the cost of the long journey home
The one thing that seems to be forgotten with the recent stories and flighty prose about the ash cloud disruption is how most people just don’t have the time or the money! We have tight budgets, jobs to get back to, medicine to take, promises to keep, etc — we simply can’t sit there and wait while the airlines leave us hanging. Permalink ·
The League of Moveable Type
High-quality open source fonts. Because we don’t all have the resources of a design house. Permalink ·
Dunkie Drinks Dunkin’s Coffee
Sadly it’s only an April Fool’s prank. I wish it was real. Permalink ·
Infovore: A book of photographs that I made
Very, very nice. I may have to make one myself. Permalink ·
Kottke on ‘the new rules for reviewing media’
It’s an interesting phenomenon, but not the kind of trend I want to see. Kottke says: “In the end, people don’t buy content or plots, they buy physical or digital pieces of media for use on specific devices and within certain contexts.” I disagree: people DO buy content. If I buy a book, I’m buying it for the story; the format is entirely secondary, regardless of my personal preferences. Giving a book a bad rating because you can’t read it on your Kindle or whatever? That’s just bullshit whatever way you cut it. Permalink ·
Confessions of a Book Pirate
“In truth, I think it is clear that morally, the act of pirating a product is, in fact, the moral equivalent of stealing… although that nagging question of what the person who has been stolen from is missing still lingers.” This here is the kicker; the spectre that looms over all forms of electronic copying. And the reason why the question still lingers is because ‘piracy’ is just as easily compared to the second-hand marketplace as it is to outright stealing — and nobody would call someone who buys second-hand books or music a thief, would they? [c/o Kottke] Permalink ·
Charles Bukowski and the Computer
Reading this makes me sad at how little the literary world has embraced the digital age. They can’t all be reactionary luddites, surely [c/o MetaFilter]. Permalink ·
Serendipity Killed the Cat
For Dave Pell, ‘controlled serendipity’ is more like an uncontrollable addiction. In my view, guess it depends on whether those doing it are doing it for others or themselves; the difference is significant. Permalink ·
‘Controlled Serendipity’ Liberates the Web
Someone at the NYT discovers link-blogging, even though hundreds if not thousands of people have been doing it for YEARS! Everything said here, everything quoted by others, it can all be said of blogging in general — or at least blogging as it was a decade ago [c/o LinkMachineGo]. Permalink ·
How to use a semicolon
I may have blogged this before, but it’s worth posting again. Indeed, the ‘divine semi-colon’ is nothing to be feared. Permalink ·
Your pal, John K.
A fan of John Kricfalusi (of Ren & Stimpy fame) wrote to the man himself, and received a more than generous reply. This is for all of us who are too scared to say hi to our heroes (although I’ve shaken the hand of mine, and he complimented my shirt). Permalink ·
Some visualisations of stories and narratives
I’d like to see one for The Wire, or The Sopranos. Or The Simpsons. Or better yet: one tracking crossovers between different movies/series (cf. The Tommy Westphall Universe Hypothesis). Permalink ·
Jonathan Lethem on the streets of Brooklyn
An interview with the author of The Fortress of Solitude upon the release of his latest, Chronic City. According to Lethem, the Brooklyn he loves is marked by “a definitive incompleteness”. Couldn’t the same be said for any city-with-a-soul? Permalink ·
Looking into the past
Is there an augmented reality app for this kind of thing? If there isn’t, there should be. Just imagine the possibilities! Permalink ·
The Weird Book Room
Just goes to show there’s a market for just about everything, however small that market might be. Permalink ·
Omphaloskepsis for the nation
The Irish blogosphere gets itself in a tizzy about the ‘death of blogging’. Blah blah blah, whatever. If the only thing you care about when you blog is doing it for other people, then you’re doing it wrong. End of story. Next! Permalink ·
In praise of… pies
“There is… an essence of pie; it dwells in the borderland where pastry meets with filling to create a third taste, and complete the pie-makers’ holy trinity.” Mmm, yes indeed. Permalink ·
Wall of Knowledge
Isn’t this more or less what Trinity’s Long Room would look like if you turned the shelves by 90 degrees? Permalink ·
Falling out of love with Murakami
I love Murakami, and I don’t care about the clichés (the enigmatic women, the jazz, the pasta), nor that his stories are one-off experiences (as I never re-read books anyway). Permalink ·
‘These videogames are not art. They are extreme pornography’
O RLY? Actually this might be one of the few instances where the comments section is better than the article itself — which needless to say is hideously ill-informed. Permalink ·
Inside the topsy-turvy world of record label royalty reporting
Do people really still believe that (the vast majority of) artists get anything like a fair deal from major labels? Permalink ·
Trailblazing
Courtesy of the Royal Society, a pretty neat timeline of cultural and scientific achievements from 1650 to the present (and beyond…) Permalink ·
Kottke on the origins of Green Eggs and Ham
I had no idea. Permalink ·
Israeli troops describe shooting Gaza civilians
Why am I not surprised? Permalink ·
Irish ISPs rally against record label anti-piracy threat
A good thing, too. The mainstream can suck a lemon; real music needs the audience the internet can provide. Permalink ·
A poor photographer blames his tools
Too right. Even the crappiest cameras can take great pictures; it’s the user’s eye that counts. Permalink ·
Fimoculous: Why I Blog
I’m not a fan of Andrew Sullivan, but this is a good piece, and I’m
linking to this for one particular quote: “A good blog is your own
private Wikipedia.” Permalink ·
The Guardian profiles Fray Tormenta, the Mexican wrestling priest
Published near the release of Nacho Libre, the film very loosely based on his life. The Independent also has a profile of ‘Friar Storm’ — or ‘Father Thunder’, as he was called in a documentary on lucha libre I once saw on RTE Two in the early ’90s. Permalink ·
David Byrne posits a Marshall Plan for the Middle East
I was thinking of something along these same lines when I first noted this link some months ago: some Americans love to boast about their nation’s nobility towards Europe both during and after the Second World War, but their government hasn’t demonstrated much of anything like it elsewhere in the world in the 60-plus years since. Isn’t it about time they started building things instead of destroying them? Permalink ·
What Really Causes Civil War?
In the end, it all comes down to greed, power and money. Permalink ·
How I never quite fell for South Africa
The Guardian’s Rory Carroll reflects on his tenure as Africa correspondent, giving a glimpse of the all-too-real dark side of the ‘Rainbow Nation’. Having been there (and soon to return) myself, beyond the paths where the tourists tread, I can somewhat identify with his sentiments. Permalink ·
Foreward: A Book Design Blog
Filing this for future reference [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]. Permalink ·
The Brand Underground
I’m not sure how to take this article on independent fashion brands from the NYT. On one hand the author is trying to compare independent streetwear labels and associated ‘anti-brands’ with the underground cultural signifiers that came before them (graffiti taggers; record labels like SST; bands with strong visial identities like Black Flag, etc.) but on the other, the whole thing reads like an advertisement for cooler-than-thou hipster elitists (which is surely the antithesis of the genuine independent, underground spirit the author wishes were there). In the end, I’m left thinking that it’s all just commerce, and that money ruins everything worthwhile. Permalink ·
Mark Steel Lectures on YouTube
They’re only excerpts, but you’ll love them. Why can’t school be like this? [c/o Mind Hacks]. Permalink ·
Anil Dash has rounded up a selection of anti-Wikipedia links
Filing here for future reference; these should have much relevance to the previous question. Permalink ·
The Colbert Report analyses Wikipedia
Funny guy, that Colbert. I don’t think the net should be too worried about this — you can see in his eyes that he understands more than what he’s saying. And besides, it raises a fair question that requires debate: What exactly is Wikipedia for, anyway? Permalink ·
The Penguin Blog
Stop the presses! Publishing house catches on to blogging malarkey! But seriously, it’s a very good thing that such a company has seen fit to put a more human face on what are normally quite anonymous operations. It might even stoke some sort of qualitative loyalty for the imprint, akin to that enjoyed by independent record labels. Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. Permalink ·
Boing Boing post sparks grammar dispute
See if you can spot the error that Andy and Brad have made. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry on the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
No longer willing to fill this blog with more depressing/angering reports of continuing atrocities — such as the killing of UN peacekeepers despite numerous warnings — I’m filing this for future reference; I don’t think it’ll be beaten as a concise historial record of these recent events for some time. Permalink ·
Former hostage Brian Keenan gives his perspective on the current Middle East crisis
Wise words from someone who knows what he’s talking about. Permalink ·
Blogging From the Belly of Beirut
A good story from Wired about blogs as a meeting point for conversation between all sides of the current conflict that manages to be both positive and desparingly grim at the same time. Permalink ·
Independent infographic
They sure have a way with their front pages; a shame that their website isn’t up to the same standard. (See also: some more infographics on the Middle East conflict.) Permalink ·
Photos of Lebanon on Flickr
Disturbing, to say the least. Viewer discretion is advised [c/o del.icio.us/jack]. Permalink ·
Good comment on a MetaFilter thread about the current Middle East crisis
“…I think that regardless of whether the Israeli response is justified, it’s definitely downright stupid policy. I think it’s also very arguable that the response has been disproportionate at the very least, but like I said, I prefer not to take sides. Regardless, the onus of responsibility is on Israel to [stand down] — since they do have a professional army under governmental control, unlike Lebanon — and they’re doing everything but taking the high ground. They are actively discouraging the conditions necessary for peace.” Agreed. Israel is certainly in a difficult position — knowing that even if they stop, Hezbollah won’t — but you can’t fight fire with a flamethrower. And that’s my last word on the matter, because writing about the wrongs of the world makes me too angry and depressed. Permalink ·
Lebanon: the world dithers
Three days on, and we’re still dithering. This appeasement of Israel’s strong-arm tactics isn’t helping anyone. Permalink ·
Israeli terrorism in Lebanon
A Barbelith thread on the current disaster in the Middle East, to which I have been contributing intermittently. I may have gotten off on the wrong foot with my presumption that paramilitary terrorism was being ignored in favour of singly condemning ‘big bad’ Israel, but let’s not kid ourselves here: while I will never have any sympathy for the likes of Hezbollah and Hamas, I have absolute conviction that the Israeli government and the IDF are also committing acts of terrorism against the citizens of Lebanon (and, yet again, the disenfranchised people of Palestine). It’s disproportionate to a morally unjustifiable degree — and whatever way you want to dress it up, it is and will always be wrong. The cycle of violence has to be stopped. Now. Permalink ·
Paul Hammond’s notes on typography from @media 2006
Just to add my own note: Helvetica might be unfashionable, but it’s underappreciated. Same goes for Georgia, which actually looks just fine in print too (if you like your fonts with a little padding round the middle). The real problem as I see it is that the wrong typefaces are being used in the wrong contexts: I never, for instance, saw Comic Sans in a real world, ‘meatspace’ setting until computers exploded in popularity in the late 1990s — is it really as popular as it’s made out to be, or are people just lazy, with no conscious understanding of the message and/or sub-text that such a font conveys? Permalink | 0 Comments ·
Overlooked graphic design: European stamps
Neat. I was something of a philatelist in my youth, so these bring back some memories. Permalink ·
What does a website sound like?
Mine sounds a lot blander than I imagined. But I haven’t been posting much lately, which could explain it. Permalink ·
MetaFilter Writers Group
Jack started a group for aspiring writers/MeFites to exercise their narrative muscles. Permalink ·
The National Magazine Cover Archive
It’s not a big archive — but they’re about quality, not quantity. Permalink ·
Dry cleaning typography in Tokyo
I think my brain would melt from wonderment if I were to visit Tokyo right now. Is there anything I can take to prevent that for when I do go? Permalink ·
From a list of new Library of Congress subject headings that received Dewey Decimal numbers last year
I’m not a professional cataloguer (though I could have been) but shouldn’t the last one be ‘Video games—wrestling’? Permalink ·
Haruki Murakami hits out at Japanese nationalism
Just a pity he’s preaching to the choir. Permalink ·
BLDGBLOG’s Your Hidden City favourites
I like the last one the best, if only for the lighting. Permalink ·
Soundwalk
As the tagline says, these are ‘audio tours for people who don’t normally take audio tours.’ A bit on the expensive side, but might be worth it if you want to get a new angle on a played-out environment, to better appreciate it. Permalink ·
Travels with iPod
Basically, audio travel guides and walking tours for your mp3 player. A great idea, especially to help lone travellers to get a feel for unfamiliar places [c/o del.icio.us/mhonan]. Permalink ·
Farms of fear
A recent Sunday Times Magazine story on an extraordinary spate of racism-fuelled killings in South Africa’s Limpopo province. If it does only one thing, it shows just how much further the country has to go, socially and economically, before full reconciliation can ever be reached. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for San Francisco burrito
I’d love one of those right about now. Permalink ·
Record sleeves designed by Peter Saville
He did a lot more than just the Factory stuff, you know [c/o del.icio.us/jonhicks]. Permalink ·
Mini Pixel Icons
A great collection of minuature infographics for websites. I may be using a few of them here in the near future. Permalink ·
Howard Zinn: America’s Blinders
The radical historial tells it like it is. Permalink ·
Hanging out over London at 1,000ft
Or to quote The Guardian’s own Charlie Brooker: “Wahey! I’m in a HELICOPTER!!” Permalink ·
Google Trends: Pirate Versus Ninja
It had to be done. As you can see, the pirate just about has the edge (aside from a particularly huge influence in Scandinavia — because of its historically maritime culture, perhaps?). However if you pluralise the terms, ninjas are completely trounced across the board. Which can only mean one thing: that ninjas work better alone. Permalink ·
Kinja card for MacDara Conroy’s website
I’d forgotten all about Kinja, but it seems to have improved slightly and differentiated itself somewhat with these ‘card’ thingies. Mine is even using a screenshot from this site as it looked 18 months ago. That’s so cute! Permalink ·
The Tumblelist
Probably the most comprehensive listing of tumblelogs in the world. And they deemed this humble site ‘close enough’ for inclusion. That’s nice of them. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for the Irony mark
If the internet ever needed its own punctuation symbol (emoticons don’t count) then this would be it [c/o Tumble]. Permalink ·
City In Silence
“This daily project, started in 1997, aims to capture the beauty and mystery surrounding New Yorkers in the majestic setting of the Big Apple.” Permalink ·
Paper Pixel
A new photolog discovery for me. Excellent stuff. Permalink ·
Are US campuses in the grip of a witch-hunt of progressives, or is academic life just too liberal?
My view? It’s neither; the root of this is merely the age-old conservative fear of education. Permalink ·
Photojournalist Simon Wood meets the people who lost most when Mandela won
Id est, the Afrikaaner underclass in today’s South Africa. There’s still a lot of bitterness, still much resentment. But by and large, they only have themselves and/or the apartheid goverment’s protectionist policies to blame for their current predicament. Permalink ·
White off the scale
The Observer Music Magazine explores the murky underworld of neo-Nazi hate music. A great place to start for those previously unaware, although it does ignore two factors: that a) as a contributor to the letters page points out, plenty of (if not most) skinheads are anti-racist, which has been the case since the culture first emerged over 40 years ago, and b) the insidiousness of many elements within the black metal scene, where white supremacism and anti-semitism are rife. Permalink ·
The Art of Wesley Willis
He could whup a donkey’s ass. Permalink ·
Coney Island I
There’s something about these images that really captures that intangible transition from spring to summer. Permalink ·
eyetwist_signs_162.jpg, by eyetwist
You just don’t see art like this ‘round these parts. Permalink ·
Tiltomo
A content-based visual image search engine. for exploring Flickr by colour or theme. If you want to lose yourself for a few hours [c/o WaxyLinks]. Permalink ·
DIY Frappuccinos
That’s great and all, but pray tell, what is this ‘vanilla coffee’ of which you speak? Permalink ·
Links on the ‘broken windows’ theory
See also: Wikipedia entry for Fixing Broken Windows. Permalink ·
Tierra Del Fuego
Since Maciej moved to Argentina he’s been regularly recording his travels and experiences, both in text and in great photo studies like this one (you may need to reload the page to get all the images). Permalink ·
Celebrating One Year of Anarchaia
Chris celebrates the first anniversary of the tumblelog with some stunning statistics. Just look at those numbers. That’s crazy. Permalink ·
Malcolm Gladwell has a blog
And quite a good one it is too. Permalink ·
Dan Chung’s photo blog
For me, this is the highlight of the new site. Not only do we get impressive images from a photojournalist at the top of his game, but we also get the story behind them, and even technical details for the photo-nerds. This is exactly the the type of thing that will keep newspapers alive and kicking in the internet age. Permalink ·
Comment is free
The Guardian’s new comment blog, to which I am finally linking. It’s only been up a few weeks but can already boast over 1,000 posts (compared to my measly 2,021 since November 2001). Some really thoughtful stuff in there, and it’s great to see the writers getting involved in the comments, too. Permalink ·
Barbelith discusses book format and readability
Myself? I hate paperbacks with shitty-quality paper and type that’s too small, but I also find hardbacks unwieldy and far too expensive. And I only wish I had the space for trade paperbacks. Oy. (See also: Literary Novels Going Straight to Paperback; related Metafilter thread.) Permalink ·
Forty-one percent of Israel’s Jews favour segregation
I hate to bring up the ‘A’ word, but… Permalink ·
Wikipedia study ‘fatally flawed’
Basically, Britannica’s fucked because their subscription revenue stream has been taken away from them by Wikipedia, which by now has really transcended the traditional idea of the encyclopaedia. Everyone knows Wikipedia’s flawed, but in the same way as the opinion of someone smart whom you trust is flawed. Britannica just doesn’t get it; if anything’s really flawed here, it’s their attitude. Permalink ·
The BBC has a ranked list of rude words
Reminiscent of George Carlin’s seven dirty words, but the difference is you can say most of these words on British TV as long as it’s after the watershed. Permalink ·
Multitasking is bad for you
What is it with kids today? It’s great to be connected and all, but it’s nice to have a time-out now and then. Permalink ·
The Most-linked Blogs in September 2000
I didn’t start my blog till just over a year later, by which time quite a few of the sites listed here had exploded in popularity — a ‘blog bang’, if you will. Permalink ·
Ansel Adams’ Lost Los Angeles Found
A stunning photoset. Might not be around for long though due to copyright issues, so get it while it lasts [c/o MetaFilter]. Permalink ·
Modernism is abroad, generally
Dan Hill’s take on The Guardian’s Modernism special from a couple of weeks ago. I’m hoping to make it to the V&A exhibition before it ends in July. Permalink ·
Multiples, by dgray_xplane
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De Gullah Nyews
Mat with a great post on the Gullah translation of Luke’s Gospel: “Jedus say, ‘Papa, paadon dem, cause dey ain’t ondastan wa dey da do.’” Permalink ·
Reading Blogs Is a Time-Consuming Endeavor
Tell me about it! I don’t even have enough time to post on my own one! Permalink ·
intensify.org
Yet another arresting design, but by someone who seems to have a redesign compulsion so it might not be around for long. Which would be a shame. Permalink ·
Wilson Miner / Live
Another beautiful design. I love the solidness of the lines and boxes and blocks of colour. Permalink ·
I Am Alert (but not alarmed)
Absolutely gorgeous site design. Permalink ·
Lego Allianz
Remember the Allianz Arena link from a while ago? Well they’ve bloody well gone and made it out of Lego! Needless to say I want one. (There’s many more pics here.) Permalink ·
Rodcorp’s overview of the recent Art Shock series on Channel 4
This covers the first two shows, which were the only two I watched. Rod pretty much captures my own thoughts. Permalink ·
John Updike on Chip Kidd
Kidd is the darling of book cover design, and with good reason. Permalink ·
Dave Gorman’s Flickr adventure
The British funnyman on his latest project. Gorman is a good one; he actually ‘gets’ this kind of thing, and in turn makes it more accessible to the wider world. Permalink ·
abattoir wall closey, by Hutch1000
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Converting your colour images to mono
I’ve been converting to greyscale all along, and it looks like that’s the best way to go for the non-expert. Handy to know there are other options, though. Permalink ·
The South Africans are already on their second blog awards
We’ve got some catching up to do. Of course, that won’t happen until I am finally recognised for my greatness, oh yes. Permalink ·
News Page Designer
Where designers of news pages get to show off their stuff. Permalink ·
Introverts of the World, Unite!
An interview with Jonathan Rauch, champion of the introverts’ cause. I, for one, salute him [c/o kottke.org]. Permalink ·
Accusations of anti-semitic chic are poisonous intellectual thuggery
A surprisingly tabloidish headline (for The Guardian) hides a pretty nuanced and fair analysis of attitudes on all sides of this debate. Permalink ·
Negativland Interviews U2’s The Edge
A full transcription of Negativland’s playful ambush of The Edge over the whole U2/SST controversy [c/o Waxylinks]. Permalink ·
Linda Smith, 1958-2006
You really don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, do you? She was one of those people whose voice and wit were just utterly distinctive, and the world is a worse-off place now that she’s passed on. See also: Jeremy Hardy pays futher trubute [c/o helium3]. Permalink ·
Panic on the streets of Dublin
Good analysis from Slugger as always. I have to say, the whole thing took me by surprise. Loyalist march? In Dublin? Huh? But whatever my philosophical objections to the march, what happened in town on Saturday was a disgrace. It wasn’t a protest; it was just out-and-out criminality. I agree with the one commenter on a related post who observed of the rioting that “a few people … throw a few stones then every junkie and scumbag within a radius of ten miles arrives lookin [sic] for a mill.” That’s certainly what it looked like to me (from the comfort of my own home, admittedly). Permalink ·
Harper’s Yearly Review for 2005
Twelve months boiled down to three paragraphs by Paul Ford. Needless to say it’s America-centric. I guess the rest of the world needs its own yearly review. Permalink ·
hyperpeople
A dissertation-length meditation on the increasing interconnectedness of the modern world, by Mark Pesce. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I might find the time on my travels next week. Permalink ·
What is your dangerous idea?
I don’t have one. Yet. Lots of thought-fodder here, though [c/o anti-mega & Mind Hacks]. Permalink ·
Grocer’s Apostrophe on Flickr
Id est, grammatical mistakes in public signage. Some are less annoying than others, such as the ones that subscribe to the ‘if in doubt, leave it out’ philosophy; I mean, you can always add in your own apostrophe if you’re desperate enough [c/o del.icio.us/torrez]. Permalink ·
Nominations are open for the Irish Blog Awards
Considering that the only true qualifiers for this here blog being Irish are my own nationality and place of residence, somehow I don’t think I’ll be getting any notice (see also: the 2006 Bloggies, which I probably won’t be able to vote on seeing as I’ll be out of the country) [c/o Sigla Blog]. Permalink ·
Not If But When
Photographs by Brian Urlich. Just right for evoking those new year blues [c/o fastlad]. Permalink ·
Urban Diptychs
Gorgeous long-exposure street photography by Keith Kin Yan. Permalink ·
Robots. Better than people?
Notes on an Economist article about the Japanese relationship with robots. They get along well, it seems, because they don’t have the fear. One of the benefits of cultural isolationism, maybe? Permalink ·
The History of the Universe in 200 Words or Less
It should really be subtitled ‘United States edition’, seeing how America-centric it is. But still [c/o Kottke’s rest of the best]. Permalink ·
Photos from the scene of the Boxing Day shooting in Toronto
It happened at one of the busiest downtown sections of Yonge Street, outside Sam the Record Man. I’ve been there. Pardon my self-absorption, but it’s scary to think that my own path in life crossed with a gang shooting, however many years separate. (Joey DeVilla has more background on the event, with related statistics.) Permalink ·
Positive Negative
Stunning photography by Frank Kolodziej. This is but a sample; there’s plenty more within. Permalink ·
US troops seize award-winning Iraqi journalist
War zone or not, there’s no excuse for this. Hell, in any other context it’d be attempted murder. Good luck getting an apology out of ‘em. Permalink ·
Tokyo Blues, by Nurri Kim
Also recommended: Green Crack [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound] Permalink ·
On King Kong, the Empire State and the dynamism of the city
Following up on my own post about the movie, Things Magazine examines it in context with both the real history of New York’s landscape, and with its own cinematic predecessors. Plenty of useful links, too [c/o Kottke]. Permalink ·
SA divisions on reconciliation day
A late link from a few weeks ago, but still relevant. Some good food for thought. Permalink ·
Is MetaFilter the realisation of Habermas’ public sphere?
On reading the initial comments here, I do wish some MeFites weren’t so bloody picky and snarky. But if we have to put up with the dicks in real life, I suppose we have to put up with them everywhere. Anyway, some good links here. Permalink ·
“Little Red Book prompts DHS visit” was Big Fat Lie
I had a funny feeling about the story from the beginning. If it was true then surely the guy would’ve been arrested and interned, no? Scary to think that the truth could be more shocking than the fiction, but that’s the world we live in today. Permalink ·
Hello, would you like a free book?
Yes I would, thank you very much. And if I didn’t already have three of them, I would’ve taken at least five. Reading isn’t just a ‘women’s thing’, despite McEwan’s little social experiment. Permalink ·
Dusk Drive
Beautiful images. The colours remind me of winter in South Africa, seen from the car window. Permalink ·
Thinking Outside the Grid
Designers are really starting to do some cool things with CSS. Never mind what this guy says. Permalink ·
Photos of Munich’s Allianz Arena
I learned about this place last summer, when The Guardian had a piece about it. We need more buildings like this. Permalink ·
Reflections in the Evening Land
“The celebrated critic Harold Bloom, despairing of contemporary America, turns to his bookshelves to understand the trajectory of his country.” Permalink ·
Dictionary of Americanisms, by John Russell Bartlett
Filing this for future reference [c/o MetaFilter]. Permalink ·
Ren and Stimpy artist has a serious side
Those are some beautiful paintings. And he’s got a blog, too. Permalink ·
Stop the war (the other one)
Ben Edwards runs the numbers. Sigh. If only politics was really about serving the people… Permalink ·
How to recognize Japanese fonts
A dedicated typeface for sake barrels? It makes a lot of sense, when you think about it… [c/o Airbag] Permalink ·
stereophonic
Photography by Katsura Komiyama. Wish it was easier to navigate, but the photos are gorgeous [c/o vudeja]. Permalink ·
Suck.com, Gone for Good?
Important and influential website disappears from the web. But sad story takes positive spin when important and influential bloggers rally to save it. I love the internets. Permalink ·
The Catacombs, Paris
Creepy. I wouldn’t go down there alone. Permalink ·
The Rock Star’s Burden
Paul Theroux in the New York Times, on Africa as a “theater of empty talk and public gestures”. Permalink ·
What next for Zimbabwe?
“With the economy in tatters, endemic poverty and unemployment, and continued political strife, where is Zimbabwe heading as 2005 draws to a close?” BBC News readers have their say. Permalink ·
Desmond Tutu: “We have probably not done as well in regard to… those who thumbed their noses at the truth commission … We probably should have done what the legislation requires and really prosecuted people.”
It’s not too late to make things right, for everyone’s sake. Permalink ·
“Our democracy is only 11 years old. We need more time to put the past behind us.”
A sad story about an artists’ commune being ‘invaded’ by people from a nearby township, that says a lot about the lack of real effort the government has made to improve conditions for the most disenfrancised in the last decade. If only all sides could get over the bitterness of the past and see what’s really going on… Permalink ·
Glitch Browser
An online tool that ‘glitches’ all the images on a given webpage with noise, artefacts, etc. Not that it does much for this page… Permalink ·
Lego Escher
If Lego sold kits like this in art galleries, they’d make a mint… well okay, maybe not. But I’d buy one. Permalink ·
“I am inclined to think of late that as much depends on the state of the bowels as of the stars. As are your bowels, so are the stars.”
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“China: The Three Emperors, 1662-1795”, Royal Academy, London
If I was in London, I would so be there. (So you don’t have to eat your hat, Jack.) Permalink ·
A list of residential high-rises constructed in the last few years in Beijing
I want an apartment at Yuppie International Garden. Just sounds like the place to be. Permalink ·
Verbatim: The Language Quarterly
I found this at least a year ago but never linked at the time. Well worth a download. Permalink ·
Little things that we do
A quirky feature about “the tics and rituals that punctuate our lives”. I’ve got a few. Permalink ·
What colours are the different lines on the London Underground?
I love standards and consistency, me. Permalink ·
How planespotters turned into the scourge of the CIA
This is a great story. Makes my heart warm, so it does. Permalink ·
Definition of ‘mouth-breather’
I breathe through my mouth sometimes because my nose is often congested. But I don’t leave my jaw hanging open. My point is, I find this term offensive. There’s a war against me, I know it! Permalink ·
Fuck Christmas
A sentiment for the day that’s in it. Permalink ·
Japanese battle pencils
Need I say more? Permalink ·
MetaFilter’s guide to Go
The board game, that is. I’ve always wanted to learn. Permalink ·
Photography by Tom Flemming
I can’t remember how I found this. Through links to this site in Technorati, perhaps? Anyway, some stunning work here. Just wish there was an archive I could link to. Permalink ·
Long exposure photographs of Tokyo
These are just gorgeous. The sprawl, the compactness, the oversaturated colours, everything [c/o Vudeja]. Permalink ·
New York Changing, by Douglas Levere
Some stunning then-and-now photography from the Big Apple. I’ll get there some day soon, I swear. Permalink ·
The Archi-Tourist
A free, Wiki-based travel guide to contemporary architecture around the globe [c/o gravestmor]. Permalink ·
Illustrated Invisible Cities
I’ve heard so much about the book. I might get it for the long trip to South Africa. Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for CamelCase
The technical term for the way I spell my first name. Seeing it written incorrectly is a pet peeve of mine. Fastidious of me? Maybe. But it’s my name! Permalink ·
Wikipedia entry for Hiberno-English
A good introduction for everyone else to the way my people speak. But aside from that, this gets my vote just for the incongruity of seeing the skangerism ‘Wats de stary bud?’ in an academic context. Permalink ·
Gradient Image Maker
Because I’m too lazy to learn how to do this in Photoshop Elements [c/o del.icio.us/jack]. Permalink ·
Color Scheme Tool
For when I get tired of all the grey around here [c/o del.icio.us/jack]. Permalink ·
Everybody Loves Chris Ware
And so they should. This is a very nice tribute. Permalink ·
Dictionary.com/fantod
I heard this on Countdown recently. Delightful, isn’t it? Permalink ·
Recipe for Vietnamese Iced Coffee
Mmmm, fattening. [c/o Megnut] Permalink ·
Confusion reigns over Pretoria name
Most people are ignorant or misled about the origins and signification of either name, so why not just use them both? We do it here (Dublin/Baile Átha Cliath) and it works just fine for us. Permalink ·
This circus of grief has nothing to do with Best
Damn straight [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]. Permalink ·
Jews and the Christian right: Is the honeymoon over?
It was only a marriage of convenience to begin with. Permalink ·
Guardian Newsblog: Helping Hoder
See my comment? The first in the list? It was actually in response to a comment left by the apparently racist Deric Williams who appears repeatedly further down the thread. I wish they’d edited mine to keep it in context, or just left in the original remarks, but anyway… Permalink ·
Blogger denied entry to US after guard googles him
Forget the main story for a moment and breeze through the comments. Who would have thought that tech nerds could be so disgustingly jingoistic and xenophobic? Permalink ·
Class of 2005, by markhamnolan
Guess which one I am? Permalink | 2 Comments ·
dictionary.com/prestidigitation
Def: ‘Sleight of hand.’ You learn something new every day. Permalink ·
No more compulsory Irish for the Leaving Cert?
There shouldn’t be any compulsory maths, either. If they expect us — as they do — to choose subjects for the senior cycle based on what we’d like to do when we leave school, then surely we should have the choice to drop maths if we so desire. I would have in a heartbeat. Permalink ·
Design Engaged book list
I shouldn’t really post this. I have enough books to read as it is [c/o del.icio.us/thoughtwax]. Permalink ·
The Great Ask MetaFilter Transatlantic Duvet/Topsheet War
I can’t understand why you’d use a sheet with a duvet. It’s completely unnecessary, and just makes more work for yourself in the morning [c/o A Whole Lotta Nothing]. Permalink ·
“An almanac of Complete World Knowledge compiled with instructive annotation and arranged in useful order by me, John Hodgman, a professional writer, in The Areas Of My Expertise”
I’ve subsequently seen the man on The Daily Show, and it makes me want his book even more. Permalink ·
Short Guardian profile on Paul Auster
Probably best not to read this if you don’t know the ending of The Music of Chance. Which I didn’t until I read this. Thanks a lot. Permalink ·
Why do we disagree?
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Tad, 1991, by keaggy
Thanks to Andre for the find. Nice one. Permalink ·
Flat Light, by Tim Gasperak
Just beautiful photographs. I’d love to get prints of these. Permalink ·
Structure of George Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations
It’s like Lego for writers. Or something. Permalink ·
MG Redesign Blog
Is it just me, or are American newspaper designs a tad too ‘showy’? Permalink ·
MetaFilter tackles that old chestnut, the corruption of Christian values
Sit back with a bucket of popcorn and enjoy the show… Permalink ·
The Nine Most-Wanted Time Capsules
Makes me wonder how badly future humans will understand us as we are today. Permalink ·
Hobo Signs & Symbols
Oh, what romantic notions… Permalink ·
“My wife gets nervous when I swear at the radio, so I’ll say it here: there is no /zh/ sound in Mandarin Chinese!”
I’ll be sure to remember that. Permalink ·
Moreno Glacier, Calafate, Patagonia, Argentina, 2005, by the mighty jimbo
Just set up posting from Flickr. Need to liven this place up a bit. Permalink ·
To Blunt the Razor’s Edge
The Morning News’ guide to beards. But I don’t think my own one fits into any of their categories. Permalink ·
Zimbabwe voices anger at US envoy
Something tells me Zimbabwe’s government officials didn’t like being told off by their parents when they were younger. Permalink ·
Angry SA passengers burn trains
Again?? And twice in one week?? It’s no wonder the trains are late — they keep bloody burning them!! Permalink ·
McSweeney’s has a new online store
But international postage is still an unbelievable 18 dollars for an 8-dollar magazine. Seriously, what’s up with that? Permalink ·
Eight Year Old Physics Student Admitted to College
Yawn. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — show me a kid who’s a genius in the humanities. Only then will I be impressed. Permalink ·
Burning down the house
More perspective on the unrest in France. I need say no more; these opinions reflect my own. Permalink ·
What’s happening in France?
Yeah, I know. I’m like two whole weeks late with this one. The Guardian has more reports, like this one. Permalink ·
More typography resources
A supplement to this entry from a few days ago. Permalink ·
Cory jumps the gun on the Peter Pan/Google Print controversy
Oh Cory, Cory, Cory. If you’d done a little research on this, you’d know that JM Barrie, the author of the book in question, was a supporter of Great Ormond Street and provided for the donation of his copyright to the hospital after his death. So it’s not like the British government just handed it out arbitrarily. The principle of your argument might be worthy, but the facts change things a little, don’t they? Permalink ·
CSS Reboot Fall 2005
I had no idea this was happening again, I swear. [c/o mezzoblue] Permalink ·
Typography Crash Course Roundup
A good spot for jumping in. Permalink ·
Israel accused of ‘road apartheid’ in West Bank
Sadly, this isn’t very surprising. I know why Israel feels it has a moral imperative to commit such actions — they want to prevent any means that Palestinian militants can use to attack Israelis — but since these actions are usually at the expense of innocent Palestinians, there’s really no morality there. Conservative Israelis need to sit down and think about what their government is really doing, what their attitudes and behaviour are fostering, and what the bigger picture really looks like — and they have to go first, if they need a moral imperative so badly. Only then can we ever get to a path which leads to the disappearance of Hamas and their ilk, and the birth of a free Palestine co-existing with Israel for mutual benefit. Permalink ·
The Observer on the Muji phenomenon
This is a great article. I’m a fan; Muji just happens to manifest my preferred design aesthetic. And besides, their branch in Dublin is the only place where I could find a plain black pencil case. Permalink ·
Orwell’s Six Rules
I’m going to print these out and stick them up somewhere. Permalink ·
Leonardo Da Vinci: Of the order of learning to draw
Good advice from the master. Permalink ·
The Design Encyclopedia
A potentially invaluable resource. Permalink ·
Books on adaptive design
If someone would be kind enough to buy me lots of these, I’d really appreciate it. Permalink ·
Visual Editors
They could do with some help on their own page layout. Can you say ‘irony’? Permalink ·
Whitespace
A weblog about design. Looks interesting. Permalink ·
CSS Color Chart
Lots of colours. Lots. Permalink ·
Crit: The SVA Graduate Student Design Blog [c/o Design Observer]
Might be good. Might be pretentious bollocks. I’ll give it some time. Permalink ·
Papercraft 12-sided calendar [c/o Submit Response]
Handy. (Note to self: buy new ink for printer.) Permalink ·
Weapons witnesses ‘IRA-nominated’, says Ian Paisley
He could be telling the truth, but I don’t believe anything that Paisley says. He’s the perpetual boy who cried wolf. Permalink ·
Bulky Jacket Syndrome
I love how any pretense to reasoned discussion is lost to worthless namecalling after just a few comments. (See also the Guardian article this refers to.) Permalink ·
Little White Lies
A new magazine about movies, or rather the thoughts and conversations they inspire. Looks interesting. Permalink ·
The Funny Pages [c/o kottke.org]
The NYT cashes in on the vogue for literary comics with their new section. But it’s a good thing. Permalink ·
Hospital shock for SA’s minister
Yeah, ‘cause hospitals never have queues. I wonder if she handed out garlic and beetroot. Permalink ·
Crime in South Africa Grows More Vicious
And just when I’ve gone and booked my flights and all! Permalink ·
Paul Auster: The Definitive Website
Plus more Auster goodness linked by thoughtwax. Permalink ·
100 Most Often Misspelled Words
Filing this for future reference. Permalink ·
Boing Boing’s $1 million Intelligent Design challenge
They’re willing to pay out to anyone who can provide empirical evidence that Jesus is not the son of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Brilliant! Permalink ·
What is a “graphic novel”? [c/o LinkMachineGo]
This answers the question cleary and concisely. And in pictures! Permalink ·
Comic Relief: Newsweek’s primer on graphic novels
It was written by committee, so caveat lector. Permalink ·
The Marvel Database Project [c/o Subtraction]
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LibriVox [c/o Mat Honan]
An open source project to produce audio versions of books in the public domain. Why didn’t I think of that? Permalink ·
Foreword: A Book Design Blog [c/o Languagehat]
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South Africa tops road rage list
I’m not surprised. They drive far too fast and never slow down for pedestrians. But in a way, you can’t really blame them. I mean, who wants to get carjacked? Permalink ·
Mo Mowlam: A moderniser, but never an apparatchik
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Mo Mowlam, former Cabinet Minister, Labour party stalwart, thoroughly decent person, has died
Why do all the good ones have to go? Permalink ·
South Africa is trying to avoid Zimbabwe becoming a “failed state”, its deputy foreign minister has said
Too late: it already is. Permalink ·
Israel begins Gaza Strip pullout
Also, readers give their views (most of which are typically blinkered). Permalink ·
“I remember being on holiday in Germany when I was young. I wanted to sit down and the only seat was reserved with something. It’s taken me 20 years to find out that this was illegal. Maybe that one event is what made me want to be a lawyer.”
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Got Game?: Images and history of board and card games from 3000 BC to the present [c/o Interconnected]
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A History of Role-Playing Games [c/o MetaFilter]
I had the AD&D Player’s Handbook when I was younger, but I didn’t have anyone else to play with. That, and I couldn’t make head nor tails of it. Permalink ·
Flying cats! [c/o kottke.org]
They’re cats! And they’re flying! Permalink ·
Observer review of Jonathan Lethem’s The Disappointment Artist
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Dan Chung’s photographs of Niger
Forget the words. The pictures say it all. Permalink ·
The Fall of the House of Saud
Note to self: Print this out. Permalink ·
Robin Cook: 1946 - 2005
You never expect these things to happen. At least he went out while he was living the life he wanted. Permalink ·
Logos by the Numbers [c/o del.icio.us/magnetbox]
I had no idea there was a classification system for logo designs. Wonders never cease. Permalink ·
Poets, dadaists, and word nerds: Rejoice
Some useful hints, tips and exercises here. Permalink ·
Revealing Chicago: An Aerial Portrait [c/o del.icio.us/magnetbox]
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On Current TV’s on-air graphics
It all seems so impatient; always looking forward to the next item before you’ve even considered the one you’re watching. Watching the news shouldn’t be like using an iPod. (Douglas Rushkoff has a more detailed critique.) Permalink ·
We Are the Web
Wired’s special edition celebrating 10 years of the world wide web. Permalink ·
Plagiarism Test
I scored 90% first attempt. I wish they’d tell me what I got wrong, though. Permalink ·
Try Before You Buy Fonts
Why didn’t anyone think of this before? Permalink ·
Garrison Keillor appreciates his mobile phone [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]
As do I. Most people, you see, just don’t know how to use them. I’m getting tired of people complaining about their phones always ringing, the ‘never being out of contact’ thing or whatever — no one ever said your phone has to be on all the time! Permalink ·
Banksy at the West Bank Barrier
I’m amazed he wasn’t shot to pieces. Permalink ·
Morning Hike
My, Corvallis is beautiful country. Permalink ·
The message of Hiroshima
I’m preparing a longer entry to mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing. In the meantime, here’s something I wrote two years ago. Permalink ·
The Big Fish: The story of Suck.com, the first great website
A fascinating look at what went on behind the scenes on the web before I first logged on; I didn’t catch on to Suck until just before it closed forever. Permalink ·
Smart City Radio: Podcasts on cities and urban life [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]
Lots of great stuff here to fill up my iPod with. Permalink ·
John Gruber’s Notes on Notes
I like sidenotes, I do. Wish there was an easier way to implement them, though. Permalink ·
HopStop.com: Subway Directions and Bus Directions for New York City
Filing this for future reference. Permalink ·
Flickr images now rated by ‘interestingness’ [c/o Onlineblog]
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Patent Room: The art of industrial design [c/o MetaFilter]
The proprietor also runs the interesting Adventure Lounge. Now, if only there were more hours in a day… Permalink ·
Ask MetaFilter thread on sprawling post-modern novels [c/o kottke.org]
Yet another list, I know! As for this one: I’ve got a breeze-block sized paperback of Infinite Jest waiting to be delved into. Permalink ·
South Africans’ long wait for land
See also: Land reform or revolution?: Africans and others give their views. Permalink ·
We are all threatened by this plague
I find it more than sad that HIV/Aids is only posing a threat now that it’s registering as a ‘national security concern’. Permalink ·
SA minister cleared in Aids row
In all seriousness, what the fuck? Permalink ·
The making of internet terrorists…
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“No doubt Tony Blair doesn’t consciously think in terms of ‘darkies’ or Mahometan savages, but the grim and very dangerous truth is that the terrorists he will never negotiate with or give an inch to are Asian by birth or descent and Muslim by religion, whereas the terrorists he propitiates are Catholic, Aryan, white Europeans.”
The rest of the piece pretty much whitewashes over the conditions that brought the Provos into being — it almost insinuates that the oppression of Catholics in the North is a mere belief in the minds of Gerry Adams and co. — but the point made here is spot on. Permalink ·
Nick Sweeney on Scientology
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Simon Waldman on Wikipedia’s success
An old piece that’s been floating around in my tabs for months, but well worth a read. Librarians and other information professionals should pay close attention. Permalink ·
Michael Palin’s travel books online for free
Nice one! I always liked the TV series. Now, to copy and paste… Permalink ·
What if they had a protest and everyone came? [c/o Interconnected]
On Live8 and the logic of protest. Permalink ·
An open letter to Jan Hommen, chairman of Reed Elsevier [c/o del.icio.us/gleuschk]
Like Leuschke says, another reason to despise Elsevier. Permalink ·
Is Knowing The Cultural Reference Better Than The Culture Itself?
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On Terry Pratchett’s feelings for JK Rowling
I tend to side with Pratchett on this one. Rowling misunderstands the genre, and just appropriated the imagery and iconography; Pratchett, however, is the real subverter. Permalink ·
Birnbaum v. Camille Paglia
I won’t get around to reading this till my thesis is done. It’d be great if there was a recording, too. Permalink ·
PingMag [c/o MetaFilter]
A Tokyo-based magazine about design and making things. Not bad. Permalink ·
Summer Reading Assignment
Another reading list! Though most of my reading so far this summer has been research for my thesis… not that I’m complaining. Permalink ·
What the papers say about George W. Bush’s support of ‘intelligent design’
Whatever happened to the separation of church and state? Permalink ·
Five simple steps to designing grid systems [c/o del.icio.us/merlinmann]
If you like that, Part 2 is here. Permalink ·
information aesthetics
A weblog tracking things that look really fancy. Permalink ·
Barbelith discusses political correctness
Ooh, hot button! My own view on political correctness is simple: it’s only a problem when people take things out of their intended context, and that happens pretty much constantly. Idealogical chauvinism and all that. Permalink ·
Variations of the Letter M, and Other Metro Logos of the World [c/o kottke.org]
Oh boy! I love this! I’m such a closet transport geek. Permalink ·
Shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture 2005 [c/o Culture Vulture]
Nice to see an Irish entry in the list. Shame it’s in Cork, though… Permalink ·
Why Bugs Don’t Belong on TV
I’m rarely bothered by on-screen idents. In fact, I quite like some of them (the BBC’s in particular) and am disappointed that other channels didn’t keep theirs (like Channel 4, who experimented with them for a while on late-night programming). But some are just eyesores. Like the National Geographic Channel (the yellow window should be enough!) and CNBC Europe (it takes up about 5% of the screen space, far too big). Thankfully we’re not plagued by the animated ones over here; only music stations and kids channels use them, to my knowledge. Permalink ·
Where did all the money go?
Not to the Iraqis, that’s for sure; it was their money in the first place! Permalink ·
Is Not Magazine
What a novel idea: a magazine as a fly-poster. But why can’t they provide a PDF version? Permalink ·
Popular books in the blogosphere
You’re all nerds! Permalink ·
Far Flung Magazine
Looks interesting. Permalink ·
Underground typography [c/o Megnut]
You know what else has great typography? The London bus network. From the destination scrolls to the bus stands, the standard font is just superb. It’s something so simple, and yet so effective. Dublin Bus should take note (though I’m sure they won’t). Permalink ·
On the buses
I love stories like this. And I love London buses, too. Permalink ·
The Last Days of Fulton Fish Market [c/o MetaFilter]
I love stories like this. Permalink ·
Postwar Japan’s exploding subculture
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Paper Forest: a papercraft blog [c/o Boing Boing]
Looks a little fey for my tastes right now, but the whole concept of paper craft impresses me. Permalink ·
An independent investigator for the UN says racism in Japan is deep and profound, and the government does not recognise the depth of the problem
They do have a very insular society, and nationalist activism is increasing. But such attitudes aren’t in tune with most citydwellers, from what I’ve seen and heard. Permalink ·
Daniel Clowes: A comic book hero
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Acme Novelty Archive: The Chris Ware database [c/o LinkMachineGo]
I’m reading Jimmy Corrigan at the moment; it’s as much as I can do to keep the tears from flowing. Amazing stuff. Permalink ·
NYC walking tour tips [c/o del.icio.us/gleuschk]
Filing this for future reference. Permalink ·
Aisle of Averages [c/o sippey.typepad.com]
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Design In-Flight’s final takeoff
I recently purchased every issue for the princely sum of ten dollars. Permalink ·
Who killed Richard Cullen?
A harrowing story. And the reason why I pay off my credit card bill every month, and never want to take out a loan. Permalink ·
Guide to Grammar and Writing [c/o del.icio.us/merlinmann]
A handy reference for those without a style manual. Permalink ·
Writerisms and Other Sins
I’m guilty of many of these. Permalink ·
A level-headed review of The Question of Zion
Might be worth a read, but that cover has got to go. Permalink ·
Sigla’s Feargal reads The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
I don’t agree with him — I thought it got much better after the first 100 pages, and I didn’t feel cheated at the end — but that doesn’t mean he’s wrong. Murakami’s books are strange ones. They either click or they don’t. Permalink ·
Disney to close last hand-drawn animation studio [c/o ArtsJournal]
The craft isn’t going away, it’s just shifting to a different industry; all of the trainee animators I’ve ever known wanted to be comic book artists. Permalink ·
Flipbook [c/o MetaFilter]
Be warned, it’s very addictive. There’s some excellent examples of what can be done, too. Permalink ·
Two of America’s major photographic houses have launched a joint venture to provide one of the largest freely available archives of pictures on the internet
Now that’s what I call a resource. Permalink ·
The Cartoons of Mr. Fish [c/o del.icio.us/mathowie]
They’re funny in a ‘what if Raymond Pettibon were more accessible’ sort of way. Permalink ·
Live8: All Rock, No Action
Wise words from the grass roots. Permalink ·
Interesting MetaFilter thread on The Situationist International
Like many great ideas, it’s probably better thought about than executed. Permalink ·
Preparing your images with iPhoto
I never really got into iPhoto, and it feels like it’s too late now. But I’ve got so many unprocessed pics on my drive… Permalink ·
Weasel Words Ripped My Flesh!
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Fascism is on the march!
Yes, apparently the Gestapo have already taken over our streets with their scary leather coats and such. And by the way, isn’t it cute how people are convinced we Irish don’t have a constitution? Permalink ·
The Onion A.V. Club just got a redesign
If you haven’t already noticed. I’m diggin’ the new logo, the sidebar menu and the colours. But the main page is far too busy, and the emphases are all wrong. Permalink ·
The World Is Round [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]
A sound rebuttal of Tom Friedman’s defense of globalism, in book review form. Permalink ·
Etiquette and the Singularity [c/o del.icio.us/ObserverBlog]
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Extreme tension in Kenyan village
Markham has published his own take on the situation. Permalink ·
Zimbabwe slum demolitions resume
Kofi Annan doesn’t seem in any hurry to get there. Why is Mugabe being appeased so much? Permalink ·
South Africa presses farm land reform
I see this working if training (business schooling included) comes with the package. It might even improve rural conditions by empowering the impoverished. Otherwise it’ll just be a disaster, a la Zimbabwe. Permalink ·
Police Debate if London Plotters Were Suicide Bombers, or Dupes
Or, it could be one big double-bluff. But some good points made all the same. Permalink ·
Suicide Bombs as Viral Media
He’s right, too. This makes more sense than anything I’ve read lately. Permalink ·
Is London Londonistan?
Only to someone who still gets scared by black people. You know I’m right. Permalink ·
Dialogue is the only way to end this cycle of violence
But it’s hard to have a dialogue with someone who doesn’t want to talk with you. Permalink ·
NY commuters face random searches
Random my arse. Permalink ·
New York apologises after Britons seized in security scare
So looking vaguely Muslim is enough to attract suspicion, then? That’s a new one… Permalink ·
Dozens killed in Egyptian blasts
With this, on top of the bus bombing in Turkey last week and the attacks on London, the western hemisphere’s going crazy lately. Permalink ·
Man shot dead at Tube station
Breaking news here: bomb suspect shot at close range by plain-clothes police at Stockwell station. (The BBC News site has more info.) Permalink ·
Seven arrested over Kenya attack
Let me get this straight. This was “based on disputes over access to water and pastures”? I’ll say it again: what the fuck is going on? Permalink ·
Fundamentalism is often a form of nationalism in religious disguise, writes Karen Armstrong
A thousand words that pretty much sum up everything that’s wrong about the Western perception of Middle Eastern terrorism. Permalink ·
President Mwai Kibaki has vowed to hunt down those who carried out a massacre in a north-east Kenyan village
This is just totally fucked up. What the fuck is going on? Permalink ·
“The problem’s with the dog, not the fences.”
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What does the G8 agreement mean for Africa?
General concensus? A good start. But it doesn’t correct the imbalance of trade, or solve the problem of leadership. (See also: Can G8 be considered a success?) Permalink ·
NHL and Players Reach Agreement [c/o Airbag]
I hope a clause in that agreement was ‘no more whiny bitching about money.’ Permalink ·
When Jonathan Safran Foer was eight years old, he was caught up in a cataclysm that he has found impossible to talk about for 20 years - until now
Gripping reading. Permalink ·
Arial or Helvetica? [c/o kottke.org]
I got 8 out of 10. Not bad for an amateur. (Here’s a tip: look out for the ‘a’.) Permalink ·
What must I see/do in NYC?
Some excellent suggestions here; to note down for when I eventually make the trip. Permalink ·
Mordechai Vanunu’s long walk to freedom
This is an old one, it’s been in my open tabs for ages, but it’s worth a read. Permalink ·
Discovering art in plain sight: the resurgence of street photography [c/o Gulfstream]
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Two gardaà hospitalised after Dublin stabbing
This happened just around the corner from me. The garda helicopter was hovering over the house for ages last night. Permalink ·
“Can we drop the 7/7 bullshit, please? Branding is for cars and clothes, not loss of life.”
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London bomb suspects: key facts
Busy day today for the anti-terrorism hunt. Those Brits sure do work fast. Permalink ·
Serbs turn their backs on their past
The Guardian marks the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Srebrenica. Permalink ·
“I’m proud to live in a city - to be part of a city - which has taken that directly on the chin … and then just picked itself up, dusted itself down and got back to business within about a day.”
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London hurts? Hardly [c/o Boing Boing]
That thing I said about “Today we are all Londoners”? This is exactly what I meant. Permalink ·
Roundup of Guardian Newsblog coverage of the terror attacks on London
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Design Clichés [c/o del.icio.us/magnetbox]
Recipe for the ultimate logo: a lightbulb-embedded compass on a globe set over shaking hands. Permalink ·
Subway in green
This isn’t too far from where I stayed in Toronto (on Bathurst, about a mile north of St Clair West) but I never rode the eastern side of the horseshoe beyond Bloor-Yonge so I missed this wonderful view. Another time, hopefully… Permalink ·
Dan Hill on Stephen Gill and photographing the everyday invisible
Stephen Gill’s work was a focus for the piece I wrote for my Explorations in Journalism module, which I will post here soon. (After I’ve rewritten it a bit. You know me.) Permalink ·
How Japan grew bored with love
A barely-related story: I used to IM with a Japanese girl, a high school maths teacher. She got married last year and disappeared offline shortly after. She always wished me and Benitha well, so I hope she’s doing fine too. Permalink ·
Malls of America: Vintage photos of old shopping malls of the ’60s & ’70s [c/o The Morning News]
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Abandoned buildings in Russia [c/o del.icio.us/jack]
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A compilation of summer reading lists (plus The Guardian Review’s hot reads, and The Observer’s summer essentials list)
Must… stop… adding to my book queue… must… resist! Permalink ·
Booksellers Ponder the Future of Browsing [c/o ArtsJournal]
I don’t see browsing going anywhere. But America is always different about these things… Permalink ·
Colour Palette Generator [c/o del.icio.us/magnetbox]
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“Peer review is a very flawed practice … It is slow and expensive, a lottery, and prone to abuse and bias. Much of the time it doesn’t pick up errors.”
I should note as an aside to this that it always struck me as strange how the financial model of academic journals could be allowed to become standard practice. Permalink ·
Michael Chabon has a weblog
And a very nice weblog it is, too. Permalink ·
“We are a nation of minorities. And in a nation of minorities, it is important that you don’t cherry-pick rights. A right is a right.”
Go Canada! Permalink ·
Japanese space agency papercraft [c/o Boing Boing]
If only I had the time and the patience… and a really good printer. Permalink ·
The Helvetica Meditations
This has been linked pretty much everywhere else. But I like it, so there. (On a related note, I would have used Helvetica as the sans-serif for Furnace but it wasn’t available, so Arial had to do. Not that you can tell the difference, really.) Permalink ·
The African Union has “many more serious problems to consider than Zimbabwe”
If they don’t consider the Zimbabwe situation a serious problem, it’s no wonder Africa’s so fucked up. I mean, how can you expect to build a strong continent when you constantly turn your backs on your own? Permalink ·
Kyoto, June 2005 [c/o Joi Ito]
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The Writing Process
Eight simple steps to help a story come to life. Good stuff. Permalink ·
Patriot Act Critics Laud Vote to Limit Use
It seems the Democrats have finally grown some balls. Permalink ·
Hoder is going has gone back to Iran
Here’s hoping he has a safe visit. Permalink ·
Urban camping in Times Square
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I am a Japanese School Teacher [c/o kottke.org]
An American records his experiences on the JET programme. Permalink ·
OAP ‘died after hot bath at home’
Remind me to make sure my kids, if I should have any, never put me in a nursing home. Permalink ·
A Walking Tour of Coney Island
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A historian disgraces himself [c/o kottke.org]
Well-reasoned and supported argument wins out over pseudo-scientific intellectual laziness any day. Permalink ·
How to talk to an artist [c/o del.icio.us/jack]
Some good advice here, but if I met one who was being too precious I’d be happy to insult him. Permalink ·
The Daily Show on Britain’s general election
About 90 seconds into this clip, there’s a perfect example of the huge politico-cultural gulf between the US and us lil’ islanders over here. Permalink | 1 Comments ·
The puzzle that ate the world?
I might write a proper post soon about these bloody things. Permalink ·
Graph paper PDFs in various formats [c/o Boing Boing]
Damn, if only I had a Battletech set to use these with! Permalink ·
DC Comics rebrands, messes up
I completely agree with the critics. While I can see what DC is trying to do, the new logo just comes across as so much weaker than the original; a tweaking of the original (a narrower ring around the letters, maybe) might have been a better way to go. Permalink ·
Computers Grade Students’ Writing
This story is quite misleading, but it does point to a scary future where original writing may be replaced by prepared templates; where fulfilling the necesssary technical criteria is more important than the art of communication itself. Permalink ·
Zimbabwe state media have criticised the recent election in the United Kingdom, saying it involved fraud
Do I even need to say anything? Permalink ·
Good Barbelith discussion on George Galloway’s election victory
I’ve considered asking to join Barbelith, but I don’t have the time for it. Reading it will have to do. Permalink ·
Malcolm ‘look at my crazy hair!’ Gladwell reviews Steven Johnson’s Everything Bad Is Good for You for The New Yorker
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Where I’m Likely to Find It, by Haruki Murakami [c/o The Morning News]
I’ve had this saved as a tab in Safari for weeks, and only got around to reading it this evening. Permalink ·
Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It…
There’s one big problem with this: if you don’t respect a geek for being a geek, it’s not gonna work out. Permalink ·
A Commentary on Comments [c/o Asterisk]
I’ve been keeping track of my own contributions to other sites for several weeks now. I don’t know when I’ll get around to posting them on this site, though. Permalink ·
Block by blog
“The idea was simple. For 48 hours, I would tour Manhattan using the ‘blogosphere’ as my guide.” Permalink ·
How the Guardian decided its leader line
What an insight, and from the editor himself. He’s even got an e-mail address right there on the page. I spent ages recently searching for an e-mail address for the editor of the Daily Telegraph and do you think I could find one? Not on your nelly. Permalink ·
Aids groups condemn South Africa’s ‘Dr Garlic’
Benitha’s been telling me about this quack for months. What are the odds she reaches for the antibiotics at the first sign of a cold? Permalink ·
AIGA Design Archives
Great use of Flash, and some wonderful fodder for inspiration. Though I have pretty much locked down a good design for the class magazine. It’s classy (excuse the pun). Permalink ·
icon magazine on architecture and design weblogs
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Paper Spends More Time With Its Family
A curious title; it’s almost the opposite of what the article discusses. And the author neglects to mention the growing popularity of the Moleskine (because it contradicts parts of the thesis, maybe?). Permalink ·
ColorMatch Redux: Colour scheme generator [c/o Interconnected]
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COLOURlovers
Good site. A little too heavy with the ‘love’, though. Permalink ·
Pantone colors at del.icio.us [c/o Interconnected]
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Devil’s Details [c/o Asterisk]
Early days yet, but could turn out to be a useful resource. Permalink ·
Download the Bitstream Vera font family
If you don’t already have it, that is. Permalink ·
“The space between the parting of the lips [the mouth] and the base of the nose is one-seventh of the face.”
Also: “The thickness of the head from the brow to the nape is once and 3/4 that of the neck.” I’ll try to remember that. Permalink ·
Tips for handheld photography
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GIMPshop for Mac OS X 10.3
I wish I had the time and the patience to learn how to use this properly. Permalink ·
The decline of Trivial Pursuit
(Also: listen to the NPR version) Why the decline? Well people don’t have, or won’t devote, the time for board gamees anymore. They’ll still buy them (even though they’re quite expensive) but rarely play them. If no one plays Trivial Pursuit, then it’s hardly going to be a cultural icon anymore… Permalink ·
Drawn!: a collaborative weblog for illustrators, artists, cartoonists, and anyone who likes to draw
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Factsheet 5 returns
I’ve only ever had a passing interest in (actually it’s been more like an awe of) fanzine writing. A long time ago I thought about maybe compiling some of my writing from this site into a zine or a chapbook, and distribute it through the site. But I barely felt confident about the blog as it was… Permalink ·
BlogTO’s interview with Sam Javanrouh, the man behind Daily Dose of Imagery
He says that Toronto isn’t a great place for taking photos, but I beg to differ. His own shots obviously contradict that statement. (See also: bloggers discuss professionals’ ignorance of photoblogs.) Permalink ·
The Next Big Thing in Online Type
They’re nice and all, but until they’re available for the Mac I don’t give a monkey’s. Permalink ·
Poynter Online: Fifty Writing Tools
This is going here for safe keeping. Permalink ·
Where’d Ya Get That Color Scheme?
The ‘steel structure’ one is my personal favourite. You might well be seeing it around here very soon. Permalink ·
Artful dodger Banksy takes Manhattan
Another Banksy link for you; this time with a tad more detail. Permalink ·
Mugabe gets two-thirds majority in disputed election
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The Egg Cream Racket [c/o The Morning News]
I need to print this one out. Not to mention try one of these mysterious egg creams. Permalink ·
Sokwanele: This is Zimbabwe [c/o Guardian Onlineblog]
Ahead of tomorrow’s ‘election’ I give you this, to contemplate. Permalink ·
The Guardian’s Editor briefing of this week’s general election in Zimbabwe
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Judging a city to live in: distilled to two primary elements
With regard to his second element, I fail to understand how a gated public transport system indicates a lack of trust by the government in its people: government or no, left to their own devices most people are cheating bastards. Installation of gates does not mean that anyone is ‘scared’, of lost revenue or whatever: some societies are just more honest than others. Consider, for just one example, those newspaper vending machines common to the streets of larger cities throughout North America; I can guarantee they wouldn’t last a day on the streets of Dublin. Permalink ·
Opposition fears Zimbabwe vote is already lost
Considering Mugabe and his Zanu-PF cronies, it’s amazing how people can be so unscrupulously selfish. Permalink ·
The Ko Chang Cure, an unpublished piece by Mat Honan
Mat blogs even less often than I do these days. I miss his stuff, of which this is a great example. (If I published a magazine — and I will someday! — this is the kind of thing I’d want.) Permalink ·
Eye Magazine profiles type designers Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones [c/o kottke.org]
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Ireland has apologised to a Nigerian student deported months before he was due to sit his final school exams
This story has been all over the news here. There are, of course, two sides to this, and a lot of the ‘facts’ can’t be substantiated. But what is clear is that this man had a job and was going to school, which is more than I can say of many who were born here Permalink ·
Zionism is moral, not military, says activist convicted of blocking West Bank bulldozers
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Banksy improves some of New York’s finest museums [c/o plasticbag.org]
It’s boring when it’s political, but the soup can is simply sublime. Permalink ·
Welcome to Mugabeland, where hope wilts in the sun
A longish piece from this week’s Observer on Zimbabwe’s saddening decline. Permalink ·
Five MPs from South Africa’s ruling African National Congress have received fines of up to $14,000 and suspended jail terms for corruption
Good news! Maybe now more people will see that the ANC is no longer Mandela’s party. Permalink ·
An Israeli court has charged Mordechai Vanunu with violating the terms of his release from jail last year
“Israel insists Vanunu still poses a security threat.” Is that so? And here I was thinking anything he does know is from almost 20 years ago, and therefore hopelessly outdated. Permalink ·
Why South Africa does not criticise Mugabe
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Essential Fonts for Designers [c/o del.icio.us/magnetbox]
Sshhhh, don’t tell anybody. Permalink ·
Hyperlinks in Print: David Foster Wallace in The Atlantic Monthly
If you want a copy of the PDF mentioned, send me an e-mail at the usual address. Permalink ·
Hyperlinks in Print: Examining the Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design Directory
Impressive. I like this trend towards microdetails that visualise and contextualise text. Permalink ·
Damon Galgut’s The Good Doctor is in the running for this year’s Impac award
If he wins it would be well-deserved. The Good Doctor is an excellent book, sadly overlooked in the Booker Prize shuffle of 2003. (The only shortlisted novels I ever saw on front display that year were Ali’s, Atwood’s and DBC Pierre’s.) Permalink ·
South Africa is to change the name of its capital city, Pretoria, to Tshwane, as part of a move to make place names more African
This isn’t really news, since Tshwane has been the official municipal name for a while now. And Tshwane is semantically appropriate. But making the place more ‘African’? Doesn’t that imply that African-born whites who speak English or Afrikaans can’t call themselves African? By the way, read down through the comments below; there’s some pretty disappointing racism coming from both sides. Permalink ·
Fontsmith discusses the new Channel 4 brand typeface [c/o plasticbag.org]
What a coincidence. I was only last night when I was watching Channel 4 and thought to myself, “I wonder what that font is, it’s very nice.” Permalink ·
Wiki Becomes a Way of Life
I am in their shadow. Permalink ·
Zimbabwe’s opposition criticises South Africa’s President Mbeki for saying that this month’s elections would be free and fair
Free and fair?! Ha! Permalink ·
New York Public Library: Digital Gallery [c/o MetaFilter]
I’m dumbfounded. Excuse me while I explore here for a few days. Permalink ·
Identity in South Africa: the story of Happy Sindane
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The Observer talks to six authors preparing for the launch of their debut novels
One of them is 72 years old! Goes to show that it’s never too late to start. Permalink ·
Luciferous Logolepsy: A collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. [c/o The Morning News]
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The Guardian clocks on with some of Britain’s night workers
Another Guardian link, I know, but if it’s worth reading, why not? Permalink ·
Complacency Kills, by Joe Sacco [c/o MetaFilter]
Be warned: it’s a 36MB PDF file. But it’s worth every byte. Permalink ·
A new website for The Believer
I knew this was Scott David Herman’s handiwork as soon as I saw it. Very nice. (Though I do wish they wouldn’t give so much time to that assclown Todd Solondz.) Permalink ·
Soldiers shocked by pupils’ letters
It’s heartening to know that at least some children are learning to think for themselves. Permalink ·
South African President Thabo Mbeki has said the US was wrong to describe Zimbabwe as an “outpost of tyranny”
For once the Bush Administration is right about something. And come on, Mbeki: ‘quiet diplomacy’? Refusal to rock the boat, more like. He should be ashamed of himself. Permalink ·
Typographica’s Favourite Fonts of 2004 [c/o kottke.org]
I agree with Jason: Whitney is lovely. But I’m also quite partial to Klavika. Permalink ·
Princeton Public Lectures [c/o Tesugen]
Lots of listening pleasure here, including a lecture from the incomparable Ed Witten. I’m no theoretical physicist, but Witten is the shiznit, yo. Permalink ·
Sublime Spaces, photography by Bob Stevens [c/o kottke.org]
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Sanford Berman - The Passionate Cataloguer
(Feb 24) For some reason, when I first posted this link I wrote ‘cartographer’, not ‘cataloguer’. I must have been thinking a lot about maps that day. Permalink ·
Thinking With Type [c/o languagehat]
I want this. Will someone buy me this? Please? Permalink ·
Satellite photo of Manhattan and Central Park [c/o kottke.org]
Screw The Gates! Check out the buildings instead, much more interesting. Permalink ·
Walking the Circle Line, from Barbican to Moorgate [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]
Beautiful pinhole photography. Next time I’m on London I’ve promised myself to take more photos. Permalink ·
Underground Tokyo Guidebook [c/o Boing Boing]
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The Thought Project: Life-snaps by Simon Hoegsberg
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Robert Birnbaum talks with the prolific Joyce Carol Oates
I’m linking to this because… you get the idea. Permalink ·
The Diagnosis, by Ian McEwan
I’m linking to this because I haven’t read it yet but I want to and if I don’t link to it I’ll likely forget it exists. Permalink ·
How to Read Mathematics
I have a severe distaste, and yet a healthy respect, for mathematics, so I might just read this one. Permalink ·
Eight years of darkness
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Fleeting, by Marshall Sokoloff
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The African National Congress says it will drag South African anti-corruption investigators to parliament, accusing them of smearing MPs
Here’s my take on all this: the ANC should be ashamed of themselves for squandering the world’s goodwill for their own profit. Permalink ·
The US is standing by its claim that Sudan is committing genocide in the Darfur region, despite a UN report stopping short of using the term
Say, here’s a neat idea! Why don’t we just skip the semantics, and actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Permalink ·
Bob Geldof has dubbed himself “Mr Bloody Africa” for his role as a reluctant spokesman on issues concerning the continent
Also, according to a classmate of mine, who just happened to bump into Sir Bob in the deserts of Mali last month, he thinks Timbuktu is a ‘dusty shithole’. Permalink ·
Blogger sacked for sounding off
I’ve sounded off myself about having a tosser for a boss, but I came to my senses and removed any obvious references to the job. This guy did the opposite. He might be an expert in his field, and his boss probably was a total knob, but he did call the company Bastardstone’s… Permalink ·
Mary McAleese has said she is “deeply sorry” for the offence her remarks comparing Nazi hatred with Northern Ireland have caused
Oh for fuck’s sake. It’s childishness like this that is indicative of the major problems Ireland faces in terms of reconciliation. Permalink ·
Fox News gets a well-deserved cock punch from Vanity Fair’s Judy Bachrach
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Misery was expected to peak on Monday, as 24 January has been pinpointed as the worst day of the year
Funny, that. I was up before the crack of dawn to finish my radio project in college, got lots of reading done, and had a pretty good day overall. Permalink ·
An exhibition of new work by Raymond Pettibon
I should have posted this weeks ago. The exhibition is closed now, but the walkthrough is still open. Permalink ·
Skutt Farkas: a term referring to a person with red hair pale skin who is very ugly and angry [c/o del.icio.us/merlinmann]
Or in other words, the Irish. You always have to pick on the Irish! For shame!! Permalink ·
Forty South African members of parliament, past and present, were to be charged with fraud in the biggest corruption scandal in the country’s post-apartheid history
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Inspired by his 12-year-old son’s passion for Japanese pop culture Peter Carey booked a family trip to Tokyo. Could the generation gap be bridged?
What I don’t get is, how can the kid love a film like Kikujiro, but at the same time have a pathological fear of ‘old’ Japanese culture such as Kabuki? Permalink ·
Turner Prize shock as best artist wins
See? You don’t need to be controversial to be good. Not that I like his stuff or anything, but still. Permalink ·
Some cartoon characters, and their skeletons [c/o kottke.org]
This is really fucking disturbing. Permalink ·
Israel’s new road plans condemned as ‘apartheid’
One should be careful when using the word ‘apartheid’ in this situation, because it is a loaded term, and the circumstances in the Middle East are different to those in South Africa, even if the effects are barely distinguishable. Permalink ·
Is Donald Barthelme the answer to the Dan Rather mystery?
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Japanese vacation photos [c/o Boing Boing]
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Haruki Murakami thread at Metafilter
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Why the Irish Republic is deporting its own citizens
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Camera Obscura, by Abelardo Morell
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Impressive collection of Mike Watt gig posters
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The DNA of Literature, at The Paris Review [c/o kottke.org]
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Mbeki turns Aids row into race issue
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Scottish ministers back public smoking ban
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Massimo Vignelli’s subway map of 1972
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Leftwing looters raid shops
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A schoolgirl riddled with bullets. And no one is to blame
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Ben Schott: A trivial pursuit
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This is exactly why I haven’t participated in NaNoWriMo, yet
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“If you want to understand why Democrats keep losing elections, just listen to some coastal and university town liberals talk about how conformist and intolerant people in Red America are. It makes you wonder: why is it that people who are completely closed-minded talk endlessly about how open-minded they are?” [c/o kottke.org]
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Regarding the election results, Greasy Skillet says it all
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South Africans ‘as fat as Americans’
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Nightscapes, by Martin Wolf Wagner
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Morgan Tsvangirai cleared of treason by Zimbabwe high court
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Dan Hill reviews Frank Gehry’s Stata Center at MIT
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I don’t quite know why, but there’s something about this picture that just lifts my heart
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Transportation Futuristics [c/o Cityofsound]
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MoCo Tokyo, a guide to contemporary design in Tokyo [c/o Antipixel]
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“JPG Magazine is for people who love imagemaking without attitude. It’s about the kind of photography you get when you love the moment more than the camera. It’s for photographers who, like us, have found themselves online, sharing their work, and would like to see that work in print.”
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The Sixth Borough, a story by Jonathan Safran Foer
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Bus driver in Wellington Quay accident charged with dangerous driving
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Murder rates fall in South Africa
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Man Booker Prize shortlist announced
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Creativity Techniques
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Los Angeles architectural photo gallery [c/o Metafilter]
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A truly startling Polaroid slideshow of life in Tokyo [c/o The Morning News]
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Critique Magazine: On Writing
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Lion Kimbro on wiki, notebooks, and the public web
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Great Ideas, a fantastic new budget series from Pengiun Books
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Raymond Pettibon: Works in Progress, Summer 2003
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Afrikaner apartheid critic Beyers Naudé dies at 89
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Nigerians put down new roots in Ireland
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The Words Speakers Use [c/o del.icio.us/magnetbox]
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The Non-Expert on Accents
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The proprietor of Satan’s Laundromat is arrested, along with countless other bystanders, for pretty much nothing [c/o kottke.org]
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Union Station in downtown Toronto, evacuated
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Yesterday was the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
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Armed robbers have stolen the iconic Edvard Munch painting, The Scream, from the Munch Museum in Norway
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Cal train station at 22nd Street
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The Alphabets of Europe [c/o Languagehat]
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Dungeons and Dragons Turns 30 [c/o del.icio.us/merlinmann]
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El and Skyscraper [c/o Airbag]
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How to build a 1:1000 scale city model [c/o Interconnected]
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“Two Urban Models” at Stockholm’s Museum of Architecture
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The Guardian Style Guide, in PDF format
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Wired News: It’s Just the ‘internet’ Now
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Peter Bagge vents his spleen all over contemporary art
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The Oxford English Dictionary, in limerick form [c/o Metafilter]
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‘£50 cash or £100 travel vouchers’, a poem by Julian Fox
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The government of Zimbabwe may be planning to use food scarcity as a political weapon in next year’s elections
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Guardian Work IQ Test: Are you too smart for your salary?
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“Here’s my final take on the whole thing: we all do what we can to muddle through. Not original, I know, nor particularly deep, but there it is.” Indeed. (Here’s more from Leuschke on the issue of anonymous blogging in academia)
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A great photo of a skylight in Barcelona (c/o my friend Grover)
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“Want a quick snapshot of the new SAT? Take a stab at these practice questions and see how you’d fare on the math section.” [c/o Accordion Guy]
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File: A collection of unexpected photography [c/o Airbag]
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Reading Online Text: A Comparison of Four White Space Layouts [c/o kottke.org]
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Astonishingly beautiful photography by Yann Arthus-Bertrand [c/o kottke.org]
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The point of writing
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Great image of newspaper boxes on a Toronto street
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Words: Woe and Wonder
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The Guinness ‘widget’ patent [c/o leuschke.org]
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All words are equal, but some are more equal than others
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A deeper look at the world of ‘graphic novels’ from a warmer, more open literary perspective [c/o kottke.org]
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A remarkable collection of interconnectivity diagrams [c/o leuschke.org]
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Quiz: Get your words mixed up? [c/o plasticbag.org]
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Jerusalem Journal, by Danny Gregory
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Sentences of Discontent
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Camera phones changing the definition of picture-worthy [c/o Anil Dash]
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Double-Tongued Word Wrestler
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South African white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche has been released from prison after serving three years of a five-year term for attempted murder
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Yet another reason why I won’t be visiting the United States any time soon
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Mat Honan has a story on Chinese weblogging in the latest edition of Salon
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Timeline of the History of Information
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Tokyo shop windows [c/o Boing Boing]
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Courtesy of Matt Webb: The Notebooks of Leonardo Da Vinci, Day-by-day (See also: the digitised version at the British Library)
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The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr.
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“Every minute, two people are killed in conflicts around the world.”
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Jay Allen’s got a troll
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Lynndie England, Meet Breaker Morant
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Raymond Pettibon has been awarded the 2004 Bucksbaum Award
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Walt Whitman is 90 stories tall, and his adventures are legendary
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I’m so bored by the whole protest thing that I couldn’t even be bothered to write about it properly, so here’s a link instead (and what the hey, here’s another one)
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The Passivator: A passive verb and adverb flagger
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Sugar, by Marshall Sokoloff
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Results from MIT Media Lab survey: Bloggers’ Expectations of Privacy and Accountability
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This year’s Bloggies results are in; congrats to Tom and Jeremy
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What books have influenced your life?
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George Polti’s 36 Dramatic Situations
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Summarise a Novel in 25 Words [c/o del.icio.us/msippey]
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Scientists behaving badly: Journal editors reveal researchers’ wicked ways
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“Et tu, Brute?” Not anymore. “And you too, Brutus?” is what students read in a new genre of study guides that modernize the Elizabethan English found in Julius Caesar and other plays by William Shakespeare
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Top Ten IKONOS Satellite Images for 2003 [c/o Metafilter]
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Japanese train chimes
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Sparklines: Intense, Simple, Word-Sized Graphics
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Everyday life in Iran [c/o Metafilter]
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More on the Dublin bus crash incident; findings to be published in six weeks
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Hunger intensifies taste, study shows
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Five dead, 17 injured in Dublin city centre bus crash (more on this from the BBC)
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The Red Cross calls bullshit on Israel’s security ‘fence’
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In pictures: The new South Africa
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World Press Photo contest winners for 2003 [c/o Antipixel]
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Random advice for composition
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South Africa election date announced
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A stunning sepia-toned view of downtown Toronto
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Archaeologists shed new light on African rock art
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US authorities have refused to let five Cuban Grammy Awards nominees travel to Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles [c/o A Whole Lotta Nothing]
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Too late for two states?
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The Art of Chindogu
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Gary Younge on illiberal secularism
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Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do) [c/o plasticbag.org]
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“So, Mr Government Affairs Spokesman, you’ll excuse me if I don’t get all excited about your conviction that knowing I’m ensuring the security of your people will somehow make everything better, because, actually, it won’t.” [c/o plasticbag.org]
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Margaret Cho might be one of the worst ‘comedians’ on earth, but she doesn’t deserve this [c/o A Whole Lotta Nothing]
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Links to 70s/80s punk rock show flyers from SoCal and NYC
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Cab driver Elvis makes a comeback
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The Guardian asks 16-year-olds: What policies would persuade you in the voting booth?
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I am William John Cavendish-Bentinck-Scott, the Fifth Duke of Portland!
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Oops, they did it again: US apologises after children die in bombing meant for Taliban chief
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Japanese emoticons [c/o mikemedia]
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Questions for Chomsky [c/o highindustrial.]
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The high IQ moron hunt
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Slepping: its so smiple
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“Unionists should think of those troublespots where, unlike today’s Northern Ireland, bombing, killing and maiming still happen every day - and realise what a chance they just blew.”
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John O’Farrell on literary prizes
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DJ Taylor discusses the judging process prior to last night’s award of the Booker Prize (DBC Pierre won it, by the way)
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Illustrated catalog of ACME consumer products [c/o Interconnected]
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Timeline plotting the history of the TransFormers (from a great collection of various timelines)
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Edward Said, 1935-2003 (author of Orientalism)
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JM Coetzee on being Lost in London
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The Guardian unveils the shady past of Booker Prize nominee DBC Pierre
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Michael Moore Mania! A Guardian exclusive interview with Moore, plus three extracts from his new book, Dude, Where’s My Country? (Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3)
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How To: By You [c/o Torrez]
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A three-part series on trade by George Monbiot (Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3)
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The end of Zionism: An essay by Avraham Burg
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The Brotherhood of Pranks by Jonathan Franzen
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What Does a Professor Do All Day, Anyway? [c/o leuschke.org]
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