The Ecstasy of Influence

Daring Fireball: Obsession Times Voice

Brian — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:07:38 +0000

Daring Fireball: Obsession Times Voice. “The verb is writing. The format and medium are new, but the craft is ancient. Obsession times voice is a pretty good stab at a simple formula for doing it right.”

Iron Chef Boyardee

Brian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:03:20 +0000

Iron Chef Boyardee. Villiage Voice reporter Robert Sietsema on the fakery that is Iron Chef America: “Iron Chef America is more bogus than even I had imagined.”

More Bad Art

Brian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 16:05:57 +0000

3quarksdaily: Yes, you read that right: I am demanding more bad art. Should a great artist ride out an artistic lull in silence or keep on producing, even if the results are sub-par?

Recordings have become advertisements for shows

Brian — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:04:35 +0000

Sasha Frere-Jones: “Recordings have become advertisements for shows.”

Albums plus apps

Brian — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:37:35 +0000

Albums plus apps. Great ideas for how iTunes can improve.

The Sizzling Sound of Music

Brian — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:03:50 +0000

The Sizzling Sound of Music. Are we beginning to prefer the hissing sound of MP3s?

A History of the Past:’Life Reeked With Joy’

Brian — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 04:39:37 +0000

A History of the Past: ‘Life Reeked With Joy’. The former teacher in me loves this — the best of the worst from one professor’s archive of student papers.

The ruins of Detroit

Brian — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:26:20 +0000

The ruins of Detroit. Sad and haunting.

A/V Geeks

Brian — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:16:28 +0000

A/V Geeks. Amazing collection of old 16mm education films

Stuffed Monster Gallery

Brian — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:51:30 +0000

The Stuffed Monster Gallery. 48 stuffed monsters based on children’s drawings. Just wonderful.

Song of the Moment: SUNRISE by Simply Red

Brian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 23:40:23 +0000

Heard this in Crate and Barrel this weekend; couldn’t believe it was Simply Red. Gotta love the Hall & Oates sample.

Growing Sentences with David Foster Wallace

Brian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:36:53 +0000

Growing Sentences with David Foster Wallace. OR: How to write life DFW in ten easy steps.

Pac-Man Cupcakes.

Brian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:31:22 +0000

<3 Pac-Man Cupcakes.

Do influential people develop more conventional opinions?

Brian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:52:06 +0000

Marginal Revolution: How do influential people develop more conventional opinions?. “3. As people become more influential, their opinion of the status quo rises, because they see it rewarding them and thus meritorious.”

Amateur Porn Start

Brian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:50:36 +0000

Hal Niedzviecki on Internet Porn Addiction. “The men talk about their photo equipment. The women talk about their kids. Drinks are served, and someone pulls out a breast. A camera flashes. The night begins.”

LET IT DIE: Rushkoff on the economy

Brian — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:48:34 +0000

LET IT DIE: Rushkoff on the economy: “With any luck, the economy will never recover.”

DFW

Brian — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 02:43:57 +0000

“I guess I’m really a shy sort of person. I hate to be the center of attention.” Nice 1987 portrait of David Foster Wallace.

At the Schoolyard

Brian — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:49:00 +0000

The rains clear and we walk through steam rising
From lawns. On unseen pulleys,
I explain. You don’t
Like when I talk this way, when I tell our daughter
Trees hold down the sky to keep it from floating away.
Or that fogs are weary clouds come to rest on the ground.
At the schoolyard, bus exhaust hangs in the damp and
She and I find the arms to a pair of sunglasses, gum
Wrappers the color of advertising, a scrap
Of math. A shoelace, a glove. Someone’s home-
Work. And in a girl’s neat script, wet and pressed clean
Against concrete, a two-columned note
Divides a list of names: Polly, Paula, Emma…
Even unexplained I know this is the side
On which to be included, there
With Charlie and Madison, Kiley and Becca
And not on the right with the Janes, the Carols,
The Margarets. I don’t know
On which side she belongs but she’s discovered
A glass bead and in a moment
She’ll ask to bring it home. It’s trash
And I should simply tell her that. But instead,
I’ll say that the bead fell
From the thin braid of a little girl,
Who tomorrow will return to find it,
Hopful it hasn’t been lost.
And of all of the lies I will tell her today,
This is the one I’ll most wish to be true.

Thanksgiving Plans

Brian — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:32:42 +0000

We’re staying home for Thanksgiving again this year. Andie’s mother (and possibly her brother and his better half from LA) will be joining us. Extra people always add to the stress, but then it wouldn’t be the holiday’s. Our tentative menu is:

Turkey, grilled and smoked.
Stuffing with sage, apples, and bacon.
Brussel sprouts in a lemon-shallot vinaigrette.
Mashed potatoes.
Rolls.
Green bean casserole.

Song of the Moment

Brian — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Tom Waits and Kronos Quarter do Waits’ “Way Down in the Hole.” Simply divine.