Microlog
242 Microlog entries tagged with ‘culture’
Would the last postmodernist please turn out the lights?
“In the end, consumer and celebrity culture defeated postmodernism by embracing it. When everything is ironic, nothing is ironic. If the movement was born on March 15th, 1972, it surely died on November 11th, 2011, when our very own Nama sold Andy Warhol’s silkscreen painting Dollar Sign in New York, having taken it from the property developer Derek Quinlan in lieu of unpaid debts. The Dollar Sign paintings were classic postmodern statements of the irony of a consumer aesthetic in which what we see in a work of art is the money it’s worth. Where’s the room for irony when the possession of such an image is embraced by one of the Celtic Tiger’s poster boys as a sign of his arrival?” Fintan O’Toole passing judgement. Arts & Culture ·
Phoney politeness and muddled messages: a guide to euphemisms
“A culture without euphemism would be more honest, but rougher.” Indeed; directness has its place, but euphemisms make life, shall we say, colourful. Interesting ·
You Say You Want a Devolution?
“Since 1992, as the technological miracles and wonders have propagated and the political economy has transformed, the world has become radically and profoundly new. (And then there’s the miraculous drop in violent crime in the United States, by half.) Here is what’s odd: during these same 20 years, the appearance of the world (computers, TVs, telephones, and music players aside) has changed hardly at all, less than it did during any 20-year period for at least a century. The past is a foreign country, but the recent past—the 00s, the 90s, even a lot of the 80s—looks almost identical to the present. This is the First Great Paradox of Contemporary Cultural History.” I’ve been saying this for years! Finally the world is catching on [c/o Fimoculous]. Arts & Culture ·
The Complicated Ethics of the Unborn
“Human cloning… has proven especially troubling, ethically. The bans are fascinating, because they are effectively saying ‘we don’t know how to unravel the ethics of human cloning, so please don’t confront us with the problem.’” Arts & Culture ·
One thousand diners: Britain’s biggest restaurant opens
Say what you want about gluttony, poor quality, etc: what the farmers’ market/street foodie crowd doesn’t get is that it’s about bang for your buck. I love the richer textures and flavours of superior produce, but it doesn’t half cost a bomb. Give me a cheap all-you-can-eat buffet with a gazillion choices any day. Food & Drink ·
20 predictions for the next 25 years
Some of these are just bullshit pie-in-the-sky futurism, but many others are just pragmatic abstractions of things already happening today (look how much has already happened this year, for instance). Arts & Culture ·
Enthusiasms: Things That I Believe
These are mostly things that I believe, too. Interesting ·
How the Potato Changed the World
Added to the ‘Things I didn’t know’ file: tomatoes can be affected by potato blight [c/o The Morning News]. Interesting ·
Phil Gyford on asymmetry
The notion of seeing - and judging - others differently to ourselves. In other words: “I am infinitely subtle, complex and never quite what I seem; you are predictable and straightforward, an open book.” It’s particularly evident in US politics and culture at the moment. Interesting ·
Don’t Call Me Limey, Yank! Limey, Don’t Call Me Yank!
MeFi’s linguistics nerds have a field day. Interesting ·
HiLobrow on Objectography
‘We demand a great deal from our objects: that they be functional, that they be meaningful. And yet they also stand apart from us; like creatures at the edge of a clearing, they peer off elsewhere in feral disregard.’ I think the Japanese have a better understanding of objects in this regard (cf Matt Webb muses on tsukumogami). Interesting ·
Eating Your Cultural Vegetables
My view? There’s nothing wrong with being a dilettante if you engage faithfully with the things you pick and choose. Also, the distinction must be made between things that people like because they’re good, albeit an acquired taste, and things that everyone says they like but are really rubbish. But yeah, that thing about missing the last episode of Treme? I dropped off The Wire before the end of season 4, and I’ve just kept missing that train ever since. Arts & Culture ·
The Net Generation, 1974-83
This is where I fit in, I guess. I think I got caught between two stools as I didn’t even have a computer till the very late ’90s. Arts & Culture ·
Timeline of the History of Information
Only goes up to 1998. I think quite a bit has happened since then. Interesting ·
A brief history of Japan’s vintage railways
“Historically, the shape of rail’s introduction to Japan and its development into a tourism industry mirrors that of the West. Unlike the West, steam trains have taken on a symbolic strength that permeates the culture… Melancholy, wistful, an image of the voyage and sadness of life itself.” Interesting ·
The Grand Tour: Europe on fifteen hundred yuan a day
Always interesting to see things from an outsider’s perspective, so to speak. 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. Arts & Culture ·
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] Arts & Culture ·
Matt Webb muses on tsukumogami
From Wikipedia: “Tsukumogami originate from items or artifacts that have reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and aware.” So pretty much like the opposite of animals, then: we live our lives then turn inanimate; they remain frozen for a lifetime or more, and used by us, before they’re finally born. Interesting ·
Wikipedia entry on desire lines
I just love that there’s a term for this phenomenon. Interesting ·
This Gaming Life free to read online
Jim Rossignol’s book on gaming culture available in full online. Shame it’s not downloadable as an e-book. Sports & Games ·
David Byrne on the protests in Egypt and Tunisia
“Who would have expected all this to grow from a single street vendor who refused to pay bribes?” See also: follow rolling updates on the revolt in Egypt at Storyful. Current Affairs ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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! Arts & Culture ·
ANC’s Julius Malema lashes out at ‘misbehaving’ BBC journalist
South Africa can’t and won’t improve until dangerously misleading relics and liars like Malema are out of the picture. Media & Journalism ·
The Editor and the Curator (Or the Context Analyst and the Media Synesthete)
In short, the concept of curation is being corrupted by the use of the term as a fancy synonym for ‘editing’ or ‘selecting’. After all, the act of curating is about preserving things, not cutting them away. [c/o Fimoculous] Interesting ·
Trailblazing
Courtesy of the Royal Society, a pretty neat timeline of cultural and scientific achievements from 1650 to the present (and beyond…) Arts & Culture ·
Israeli troops describe shooting Gaza civilians
Why am I not surprised? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
What Really Causes Civil War?
In the end, it all comes down to greed, power and money. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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]. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Former hostage Brian Keenan gives his perspective on the current Middle East crisis
Wise words from someone who knows what he’s talking about. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Lebanon: the world dithers
Three days on, and we’re still dithering. This appeasement of Israel’s strong-arm tactics isn’t helping anyone. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Haruki Murakami hits out at Japanese nationalism
Just a pity he’s preaching to the choir. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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]. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Links on the ‘broken windows’ theory
See also: Wikipedia entry for Fixing Broken Windows. Arts & Culture ·
Malcolm Gladwell has a blog
And quite a good one it is too. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Forty-one percent of Israel’s Jews favour segregation
I hate to bring up the ‘A’ word, but… Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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.’” Arts & Culture ·
Introverts of the World, Unite!
An interview with Jonathan Rauch, champion of the introverts’ cause. I, for one, salute him [c/o kottke.org]. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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]. Arts & Culture ·
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]. Arts & Culture ·
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). Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
What is your dangerous idea?
I don’t have one. Yet. Lots of thought-fodder here, though [c/o anti-mega & Mind Hacks]. Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
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]. Arts & Culture ·
SA divisions on reconciliation day
A late link from a few weeks ago, but still relevant. Some good food for thought. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
“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. Arts & Culture ·
Stop the war (the other one)
Ben Edwards runs the numbers. Sigh. If only politics was really about serving the people… Arts & Culture ·
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] Arts & Culture ·
The Rock Star’s Burden
Paul Theroux in the New York Times, on Africa as a “theater of empty talk and public gestures”. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
“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… Arts & Culture ·
“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.) Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Little things that we do
A quirky feature about “the tics and rituals that punctuate our lives”. I’ve got a few. Arts & Culture ·
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! Arts & Culture ·
Fuck Christmas
A sentiment for the day that’s in it. Arts & Culture ·
Japanese battle pencils
Need I say more? Arts & Culture ·
MetaFilter’s guide to Go
The board game, that is. I’ve always wanted to learn. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
This circus of grief has nothing to do with Best
Damn straight [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]. Arts & Culture ·
Jews and the Christian right: Is the honeymoon over?
It was only a marriage of convenience to begin with. Arts & Culture ·
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… Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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]. Arts & Culture ·
Why do we disagree?
Arts & Culture ·
MetaFilter tackles that old chestnut, the corruption of Christian values
Sit back with a bucket of popcorn and enjoy the show… Arts & Culture ·
The Nine Most-Wanted Time Capsules
Makes me wonder how badly future humans will understand us as we are today. Arts & Culture ·
Hobo Signs & Symbols
Oh, what romantic notions… Arts & Culture ·
“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. Arts & Culture ·
Goodbye, 38 Routemasters
I never did get a chance to ride on one. Sure, times change and things evolve, but London’s losing a big part of its character. Interesting ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Angry SA passengers burn trains
Again?? And twice in one week?? It’s no wonder the trains are late — they keep bloody burning them!! Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Burning down the house
More perspective on the unrest in France. I need say no more; these opinions reflect my own. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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.) Arts & Culture ·
Hospital shock for SA’s minister
Yeah, ‘cause hospitals never have queues. I wonder if she handed out garlic and beetroot. Arts & Culture ·
Crime in South Africa Grows More Vicious
And just when I’ve gone and booked my flights and all! Arts & Culture ·
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! Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
South Africa is trying to avoid Zimbabwe becoming a “failed state”, its deputy foreign minister has said
Too late: it already is. Arts & Culture ·
“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.”
Arts & Culture ·
Got Game?: Images and history of board and card games from 3000 BC to the present [c/o Interconnected]
Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
The Fall of the House of Saud
Note to self: Print this out. Arts & Culture ·
We Are the Web
Wired’s special edition celebrating 10 years of the world wide web. Arts & Culture ·
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! Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
South Africans’ long wait for land
See also: Land reform or revolution?: Africans and others give their views. Arts & Culture ·
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’. Arts & Culture ·
SA minister cleared in Aids row
In all seriousness, what the fuck? Arts & Culture ·
The making of internet terrorists…
Arts & Culture ·
“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. Arts & Culture ·
Nick Sweeney on Scientology
Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
What if they had a protest and everyone came? [c/o Interconnected]
On Live8 and the logic of protest. Arts & Culture ·
An open letter to Jan Hommen, chairman of Reed Elsevier [c/o del.icio.us/gleuschk]
Like Leuschke says, another reason to despise Elsevier. Arts & Culture ·
Is Knowing The Cultural Reference Better Than The Culture Itself?
Arts & Culture ·
What the papers say about George W. Bush’s support of ‘intelligent design’
Whatever happened to the separation of church and state? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
On the buses
I love stories like this. And I love London buses, too. Arts & Culture ·
The Last Days of Fulton Fish Market [c/o MetaFilter]
I love stories like this. Arts & Culture ·
Postwar Japan’s exploding subculture
Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Live8: All Rock, No Action
Wise words from the grass roots. Arts & Culture ·
Interesting MetaFilter thread on The Situationist International
Like many great ideas, it’s probably better thought about than executed. Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
The World Is Round [c/o del.icio.us/cityofsound]
A sound rebuttal of Tom Friedman’s defense of globalism, in book review form. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Zimbabwe slum demolitions resume
Kofi Annan doesn’t seem in any hurry to get there. Why is Mugabe being appeased so much? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Suicide Bombs as Viral Media
He’s right, too. This makes more sense than anything I’ve read lately. Arts & Culture ·
Is London Londonistan?
Only to someone who still gets scared by black people. You know I’m right. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
NY commuters face random searches
Random my arse. Arts & Culture ·
New York apologises after Britons seized in security scare
So looking vaguely Muslim is enough to attract suspicion, then? That’s a new one… Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
“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?) Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
“Can we drop the 7/7 bullshit, please? Branding is for cars and clothes, not loss of life.”
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Serbs turn their backs on their past
The Guardian marks the 10th anniversary of the massacre at Srebrenica. Arts & Culture ·
“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. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
“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! Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
Hoder is going has gone back to Iran
Here’s hoping he has a safe visit. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
A historian disgraces himself [c/o kottke.org]
Well-reasoned and supported argument wins out over pseudo-scientific intellectual laziness any day. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture | 1 Comments ·
The puzzle that ate the world?
I might write a proper post soon about these bloody things. Arts & Culture ·
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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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. Arts & Culture ·
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… Arts & Culture ·
Sokwanele: This is Zimbabwe [c/o Guardian Onlineblog]
Ahead of tomorrow’s ‘election’ I give you this, to contemplate. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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.) Arts & Culture ·
Zionism is moral, not military, says activist convicted of blocking West Bank bulldozers
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Welcome to Mugabeland, where hope wilts in the sun
A longish piece from this week’s Observer on Zimbabwe’s saddening decline. Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Wiki Becomes a Way of Life
I am in their shadow. Arts & Culture ·
Identity in South Africa: the story of Happy Sindane
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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? Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
Underground Tokyo Guidebook [c/o Boing Boing]
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Eight years of darkness
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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’. Arts & Culture ·
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… Arts & Culture ·
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. Arts & Culture ·
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!! Arts & Culture ·
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? Arts & Culture ·
The DNA of Literature, at The Paris Review [c/o kottke.org]
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A schoolgirl riddled with bullets. And no one is to blame
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Ireland tries to end its love affair with drink
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Ben Schott: A trivial pursuit
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South Africans ‘as fat as Americans’
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Nigerians put down new roots in Ireland
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The Non-Expert on Accents
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Yesterday was the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
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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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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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“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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