Kodachrome Quixote

End of an Era: Kodachrome Comes to a Close

2010-07-23T12:53:00.002-05:00

Kodak has ended production of it's iconic Kodachrome film (this Kodachrome). Follow the journey of the last manufactured roll from shooting to processing, via the title link.

Video | Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck

2009-11-20T10:57:00.001-05:00

Video | Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck – Heaven Can Wait

Posted using ShareThis

Jazz Evolution

2009-11-17T10:52:00.000-05:00

JAZZ IS NOT DEAD | More Intelligent Life: "Hypnotic Brass Ensemble"

Fascinating Old Film Footage

2009-11-10T13:42:00.000-05:00

London, 1927 — Crooked Timber

Portugal

2009-11-05T17:57:00.000-05:00

Next Stop - Alto Alentejo in Portugal, Unsung but Not for Long - NYTimes.com

I was so close... but still felt the same spirit infusing the borderlands of the Algarve.

Of Barrow Downs and Tom Bombadil

2009-11-03T12:12:00.001-05:00

Definitely need to hike this sometime....

Hiking Into History - England’s Ancient Ridgeway Trail - NYTimes.com

Good Vacation

2009-10-29T09:47:00.005-05:00

My Trip

Brief Highlights:
-"Homage to Catalonia" proved a good reading companion, even if I was in the wrong part of the peninsula...
-Jabugo, the home of the best jamon iberico. I swear, the Andalucians treat jamon like a spice.
-The Alhambra. Thank you Washington Irving for helping to promote awareness and allow us this grand legacy.
-Ronda and the birth of bull fighting
-Gibraltar and Mumtazz takeout
-Cadiz's winding, narrow streets, Casa Caracol, and the camera obscura
-Jerez, Tio Pepe, and some very nice manzanilla
-Wandering the lands of Tartessos, an Iberian Atlantis and lost, metal-rich culture
-Fresh grilled piles of fish in Faro
-Sintra's palace, twin of Neuschwanstein in terms of crazed royal romantic beauty
-Lisbon's Erasmus corner.

ROUTE: Google Maps

Scoot Scoot

2009-10-08T10:19:00.000-05:00

Money Quote: BMW Brings Back the C1, and This Time It’s Electric: "Like Arrested Development, the Apple Newton and Tom Waits, the original C1 was an oddball that didn’t quite fit in to an established category but still received critical praise."

hahahaha

Patents as financial assets: Trolls demanding tolls | The Economist

2009-09-17T10:14:00.001-05:00

Patents as financial assets: Trolls demanding tolls | The Economist

Inner Majesty

2009-09-16T18:16:00.000-05:00

Magazine Preview - Carl Jung and the Holy Grail of the Unconscious - NYTimes.com

I can't wait to get my hands on this and read it.

David Byrne’s Perfect City

2009-09-15T16:35:00.000-05:00

David Byrne’s Perfect City - WSJ.com

Lyrical and beautiful, like most things that come from the mind of David Byrne.

Broadband Africa

2009-09-15T14:45:00.000-05:00

BBC NEWS | Special Reports | Connected Africa

Very interesting compilation of recent stories and progress about finally bringing broadband and more undersea cables to Africa.

Where's Your Head At?

2009-09-10T23:36:00.000-05:00

BASEMENT JAXX: POST-MODERN PIRATES | More Intelligent Life

I love these guys....

Genius

2009-09-10T13:29:00.000-05:00

How we use and abuse the word genius. - By Ron Rosenbaum - Slate Magazine

Interesting and provoking, as well as a refreshing tour through the last 200 years of (mostly western) culture.

Snooth

2009-09-10T12:42:00.000-05:00

Snooth | Deciphering German wine labels

It's a shame they focus so much on the sweeter varieties, but this is a handy tool for anyone interested in diving into the wonderful world of German (and Austrian) wines.

Simple. Stunning. Relevant.

2009-08-14T13:33:00.000-05:00

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Stuart McMillen

A great, illustrated synopsis that summarizes Orwell & Huxley via Postman. All dear to my brain.

Record Club

2009-08-13T13:27:00.000-05:00

Beck / Record Club

Not a huge fan of most of these remakes, but Record Club's recordings of "All Tomorrow's Parties," "Run, Run, Run," and "Femme Fatale" have an interesting, raw, and haunting quality to them. Nothing will ever match the original... but a fun Beck side project nonetheless.

Maize Mazes!

2009-07-15T11:09:00.002-05:00

Never thought I'd see this in the Economist....

The agritainment business: Hedge-fun managers | The Economist

CrunchPad

2009-07-09T11:32:00.002-05:00

Love it.

CrunchPad: The Launch Prototype

A Great Critique of the Man Who Would Be in Yellow

2009-07-08T10:24:00.001-05:00

Lance Armstrong: Sarah Palin in spandex? - By Bill Gifford - Slate Magazine

A Watershed Moment

2009-07-06T14:16:00.002-05:00

This speaks for itself.

Clean Energy Funding Trumps Fossil Fuels - Green Inc. Blog

Bolivian Wealth

2009-06-29T12:35:00.003-05:00

Knowledge@Wharton

Knowledge@Wharton recently published this short, interesting piece about Bolivia's tremendous natural wealth. First, the Spanish dug deep into the Andes for the country's rich silver veins; later, in the early days of independence, tin, copper, and guano came to the fore. Now, we hear much chatter about natural gas, the rain forest, and..... lithium.

Straight out of the latest James Bond in some ways... Let's hope that Morales manages this a bit more sensibly--it would be admirable to demand factories and training for lithium battery production on Bolivian soil now that we stand on the doorstep of the electric car era.

RIP Kodachrome

2009-06-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

Kodak has retired half this blog's namesake.

Shoptalk: Kodachrome Celebrated, Terminated - Lens Blog

Supercalifragilisticexpialadocious

2009-06-09T08:34:00.000-05:00

Monday Afternoon Diversion: The Trippiest Mary Poppins Mash-Up Ever - Chicagoist

Of Bolivian-Croatian Conspiracy Theories

2009-04-28T08:59:00.003-05:00

Assassination Plot Foiled? In Bolivia, It’s Not So Clear-Cut - NYTimes.com

A Beautiful Revolution

2009-04-27T16:46:00.001-05:00

Dr. Mark Taylor neatly sums up problems with graduate education across America's universities and poses a revolutionary--but necessary--solution:

Op-Ed Contributor - End the University as We Know It - NYTimes.com

On a related note, check out an article from this week's Economist about European universities: Bolognese Sauce

Tit for Tat Trade Wars

2009-04-23T08:36:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite business blogs, the Procurement-centric Spend Matters has a short piece on retaliatory tariffs today that they originally picked up from The Chicago Tribute. Seems like the Obama camp is jumping on board with some of Bush's final actions in office and expanding the retaliatory tariffs aimed at Europe over bans on US beef imports.

As background, the US is taking a stab at Europe for banning our hormone-laden beef by tripling import duties on such delicacies as much-loved Roquefort cheese. And now, the news comes through that Italian mineral waters, like my beloved San Pellegrino, are also targeted. While hardly a national tragedy, this is a serious punch in the gut for gourmands across the country and smacks of small-minded, catty politics. Let's hope we are able to move past this silliness and resume a normal flow of free trade quickly.

SpendMatters: Lose Lose -- Italian Mineral Water vs. U.S. Beef?

Black Carbon & Global Warming

2009-04-16T16:08:00.002-05:00

By Degrees - Third-World Stove Soot Is Target in Climate Fight-NYTimes.com

Wes Anderson & His Influences

2009-04-15T17:02:00.001-05:00

Great five part article about Wes Anderson's work and the diverse set of artists who have informed and inspired his own creations. Check it out below.

The Substance of Style-Wes Anderson: "Detractors say Anderson’s dense production design (courtesy of regular collaborator David Wasco) overwhelms his stories and characters. This complaint presumes that in real life our grooming and style choices aren’t a kind of uniform—visual shorthand for who we are or who we want others to think we are. This is a key strength of both Anderson and Salinger’s work. Both artists have a knack for what might be called “material synecdoche”—showcasing objects, locations, or articles of clothing that define whole personalities, relationships, or conflicts."

All About BYD & Batteries

2009-04-14T14:58:00.002-05:00

Why Warren Buffett is investing in electric car company BYD - Apr. 13, 2009

Evo Si! - The Atlantic Podcasts

2009-04-13T17:53:00.002-05:00

Evo Si! - The Atlantic Podcasts

A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Andrew Sullivan

2009-04-13T17:35:00.001-05:00

ANDREW SULLIVAN: THINKING. OUT. LOUD. | More Intelligent Life

A great introduction/interview with influential and controversial blogger Andrew Sullivan. Two passages that particularly jumped out at me:

It was at this time that Sullivan discovered the philosopher who was to provide the timber of his conservatism—and the road map to many of his apparent contradictions. Michael Oakeshott was then a relatively obscure English philosopher in his 80s. Sullivan characterises his thought as “an anti-ideology, a nonprogramme, a way of looking at the world whose most perfect expression might be called inactivism”.

At the core of Oakeshott’s thought is the belief that human beings are extremely limited in what we can know. As Sullivan puts it: “While not denying that the truth exists, the [Oakeshottian] conservative is content to say merely that his grasp on it is always provisional. He begins with the assumption that the human mind is fallible, that it can delude itself, make mistakes, or see only so far ahead.” In light of this extreme fallibility, human beings should err on the side of inaction. Claims to certainty—in religion, or political ideology—are invariably hubristic. We have to build our politics on “the radical acceptance of what we cannot know for sure”.

"He believes his greatest future conflicts will centre on religion—the topic of his next book. He learned his Catholicism as an altar boy in East Grinstead. For him it is a sacramental religion, all about smell and sight and touch. Ritual is at its core, because “ritual has no point beyond itself. Only ritual can approximate the ineffability of the divine, enact its truth while not purporting to explain or capture it.”

Sullivan feels that this model of religion—filled with a sense of the mysterious, and the unknowability of God—has been replaced in both America and the Vatican by outright fundamentalism... “I remember feeling that without the structure of my faith, without my knowledge of its infallible truth, I might have been completely overwhelmed,” he says. Fundamentalism “was a way of sealing myself off from the world”. He sees American Christians turning to fundamentalism as a panicked response to change and doubt too. They have ended up pining for a theocracy that is contrary to his beloved US constitution and basic liberties for gay people.

He says his next battle is to “turn Christianity against the fundamentalists”. For him, “their certainty is the real blasphemy; their desire to control the lives of others the real heresy; their simple depiction of the Godhead proof positive they do not really understand him.” In the Gospels, the men who set themselves up as arbiters of moral correctness are often the furthest from God, he says, while Jesus urges people to see beyond fetishising rules and commandments to their own conscience. This is the flag Sullivan will carry into battle as a paladin against the Palins.

Jaw Dropping

2009-04-13T14:49:00.001-05:00

Dali + Cervantes in one beautiful, classic tome? I *must* find this volume! The Illustrated Modern Library Don Quixote De La Mancha

The Dark Side of Dubai

2009-04-10T12:36:00.001-05:00

An ominous but excellent piece about the Gulf's fairy tale state, from the Independent.

The dark side of Dubai - Johann Hari - The Independent

American Exceptionalism

2009-04-10T10:08:00.001-05:00

Since the puritans, America has often envisioned itself as a "city upon a hill," above the riff raff and muck of the rest of the world. At times, this has been true, at others, we are down there in the mire as deep as just about any other country across the globe.

Obama's nominee for legal adviser to the US Department of State brings a refreshing point of view to this perception--Koh appears to be a strong advocate of transnationalism, or the notion that American courts should honor and apply the laws of other nations in our own courts. Now, I readily admit fully applying this theory could have disastrous results, but at least including bodies of foreign law as meaningful precedent should be a more commonly used tactic that we have seen yet in this day and age. As Dean of Yale Law School, Koh seems to be quite competent and up to the job--I hope the difficult confirmation hearings ahead go in his favor.

The Fight Over Harold Koh: News Desk: Online Only: The New Yorker

THE AGE OF COMMODIFIED INTELLIGENCE | More Intelligent Life

2009-03-19T21:52:00.000-05:00

THE AGE OF COMMODIFIED INTELLIGENCE | More Intelligent Life

Read and discuss....and don't miss the classic David Brooks article from a 2001 edition of The Atlantic linked toward the end.

Fantastic NYC Vignettes

2009-02-13T12:44:00.001-05:00

Charming little snippets of the characters that populate our everyday lives as we bustle past each other, head down about our own business.

One in 8 Million - New York Characters in Sound and Images - The New York Times

Get Your Inner and Auto Motor Started....

2009-02-05T13:50:00.001-05:00

...with the same delicious fuel. This is awesome news--but what of us French press coffee drinkers? I think that brewing method leaches out more of the natural oils from the beans (which explains a large part of the improved flavor). Can this process only be used for large scale percolator and drip style brewing remains?

Fuel from coffee grounds | Oil in your coffee | The Economist

In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism - NYTimes.com

2009-02-03T15:01:00.003-05:00

In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism - NYTimes.com

Jump London

2009-01-27T11:15:00.001-05:00

Jump London

Excellent short doc about parkour and free running in Britain. Fascinating, beautiful, austere sport...

(via Kotke.org)

Tis the Season

2008-12-16T11:17:00.001-05:00

the Big Give - Helping Your Donations Go Further

What an incredible website! Read more about it over at More Intelligent Life, then jump right in!

Occult Wines

2008-12-02T12:59:00.002-05:00

Voodoo on the Vine

I'm sorry, but this biodynamic business is just a bit over the top. No thank you please.

Debating the Bailout

2008-11-24T17:40:00.003-05:00

Paul Krugman's Bailout Dissent - Media Column - Howell Raines - Portfolio.com

An interesting piece from Portfolio that looks at Krugman's prescience in arguing for real nationalization through the treasury's acquisition of equity stakes in struggling institutions. Makes a LOT more sense to me than much of the activity in the last 2 months. It worked in Sweden once before, as well as elsewhere.

Epic Saga

2008-11-24T17:38:00.001-05:00

FT.com / Weekend / Reportage - Letter from Iceland

An informative, heart-wrenching article about the fallout from the global financial crisis in Iceland. In small economies around the globe, this is what all these headlines really translate to.

A New Beginning?

2008-11-18T18:47:00.002-05:00

YouTube - A New Chapter on Climate Change

Let's hope we see some real action on this front.

Miro!

2008-11-17T11:39:00.002-05:00

Miro at the Modern

Great slide show from NYT about MoMA's new show. I hope to take a trek to see it in the coming weeks.

The Global Fish Crisis

2008-11-17T10:45:00.003-05:00

On the Farm - A Seafood Snob Ponders the Future of Fish - NYTimes.com

Frightening, behavioral changing news... Rear in your tuna gulping habits now!

Morales Update

2008-11-12T12:49:00.002-05:00

Bolivia and the United States | Non grata | The Economist

O Evo! What are you doing?! Chavez is no true friend to your people!

Post-Analysis

2008-11-12T11:45:00.002-05:00

John McCain's election | The unhappy warrior | The Economist

A fine assessment and summary of Arizona's senator after his failed bid.

The Uses of Adversity

2008-11-11T16:13:00.001-05:00

Annals of Business: The Uses of Adversity: Reporting & Essays: The New Yorker

Fascinating story about the earlier days of Goldman and the man that defined the company for much of the 20th century.

A Simple Game

2008-11-09T20:29:00.002-05:00

A game has been making its round around the Internet recently to the delight of film geeks everywhere. It's rather simple--list your favorite films, one (and only one) for each letter of the alphabet. If you need to twist the rules a bit (e.g. going back and forth between English and original language titles, do what you need to do).

Taking a mental break from a complex few days, here goes with my list... there are a few letters (B, C, etc) for which I really struggled and had to call out the titles that just barely missed out..

Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (Linklater, 1995 & 2004)
honorary mention: Being There (Ashby, 1979), Brazil (Gilliam, 1985)
Casablanca (Curtiz, 1942)
honorary mentions: Cidade de Deus ("City of God", Meirrelles 03), Chinatown (Polanski 1974)
Doctor Zhivago (David Lean, 1965)
Easy Rider (Hopper, 1969)
Fa Yeung Nin Wa ("In the Mood for Love", Wong Kar Wai, 2001)
The Great Escape (Sturges, 1963)
High Fidelity (Frears 2000)
Igby Goes Down (Steers, 2002)
Jules et Jim ("Jules and Jim", Truffaut, 1961)
Kill Bill (Tarantino, 2004)
Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
honorary mention: El Laberinto Del Fauno ("Pan's Labyrinth", del Toro, 2006)
Manhattan (Allen, 1979)
Nuovo Cinema Paradiso ("Cinema Paradiso", Tornatore, 1988)
Ostre sledované vlaky ("Closely Watched Trains", Menzel, 1966)
Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)
Quentin Tarantino presents Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994) [I know, it's a stretch...]
Rushmore (anderson, 1998)
Spanish Apartment (L'Auberge Espagnole)
honorary mention: A Shot in the Dark (Edwards, 1964)
Trainspotting (Boyle, 1996)
Un Chien Andalao ("An Andalusian Dog", Buñuel/Dali, 1929)
The Vertical Ray of the Sun (Tran Anh Hung, 2005)
Waking Life (Linklater, 2001)
Xiao cheng zhi chun ("Spring in a Small Town", Fei, 1948) [my one cheat: I haven't seen it yet…but I couldn't bring myself to write X-Men or XXX]
Young Frankenstein (Brooks, 1974)
Zelig (Allen, 1983)

What do you think? Throw your lists in the comments!

Bliss it was to be alive, but to be young was very heaven

2008-11-07T18:45:00.000-05:00

Tears to Remember - Judith Warner Blog - NYTimes.com

Books Online

2008-11-06T12:25:00.001-05:00

Google's book deal | A new chapter | The Economist

An interesting new development in online information availability...with some significant repercussions for key players in this segment.

Presidential Reading Materials

2008-11-03T16:40:00.001-05:00

Essay - How to Read Like a President - NYTimes.com

Absolutely *LOVE* all the Hemingway/For Whom the Bell Tolls chatter.

It looks like I ID a bit more with McCain's taste than Obama's when it comes to literature.

Federal Writer's Project Retrospective on NYT

2008-10-20T12:11:00.000-05:00

Here is an old draft I'm finally publishing about a fascinating Depression-era government-backed project for writers and artists.

Going Down the Road - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

A watery palimpsest

2008-09-18T16:22:00.001-05:00

British canals | A watery palimpsest | The Economist

Wonderfully rich musings on those winding thoroughfares of quiet meditative solitude.

Ian Hibell | Economist.com

2008-09-11T16:00:00.001-05:00

Dwelling on the life of an interesting man indeed, now laid to rest.

Ian Hibell | Economist.com

Talkin' 'bout the Young Style

2008-08-05T15:03:00.001-05:00

Young Loves: The Current Cinema: The New Yorker: "What happens in this world when you have more promise than you can fulfill is made evident, with tragicomic results, by the figure of Juan Antonio’s former wife, Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz), who is highly intelligent and talented but so tempestuous that she creates havoc wherever she goes."

I can't wait until 15 August--Woody's done it again!

The Life of Linguists

2008-08-03T21:59:00.001-05:00

Sunday morning lifeblogging: adventures in European subtitling | afoe | A Fistful of Euros | European Opinion

Great post from one of the AFOE authors documenting his day job as a subtitler. Some interesting careers out there, to be sure... read all the way to the end, it gets rather amusing!

Diplo

2008-07-23T22:40:00.002-05:00

Mad Genius :: Features Music :: Articles :: Paste

How am I only just now learning about this man? He's been in my peripheral vision for at least a year, and with a shared Philly connection, well, I really have no excuse...

This has definitely shaped the sounds of summer 2008.

New Interest in Vertical Farms for Urban Areas - NYTimes.com

2008-07-15T11:30:00.002-05:00

New Interest in Vertical Farms for Urban Areas - NYTimes.com

Reminds me of SimCity arcologies...

The Life Cycle of Filmmakers

2008-07-14T16:12:00.001-05:00

The Life Cycle of Filmmakers - Economics Blog - Zubin Jelveh - Odd Numbers - Portfolio.com

Fascinating...

Banksy!

2008-07-14T15:45:00.002-05:00

See BYT: BrightestYoungThings: Slightly Overexposed

BYT: Afrobeat!

2008-07-09T21:19:00.004-05:00

BrightestYoungThings: Slightly Overexposed

What an incredible concert... Seun controlled the (less numerous than it should have been) crowd like a deft magician, working everyone up into a funky tizzy of great music and powerful messages.

Hrvatska

2008-07-09T15:42:00.001-05:00

Next Stop - Zadar, Croatia

Hurray for my 2nd favorite coastal city in Croatia (after Sibenik).

Root Beer Tasting

2008-06-25T15:41:00.001-05:00

Sodas of The Times - Root Beer - A Drink in Search of a Frosty Mug

It almost feels like this article was written just for me. Craft sodas are the way to go...

Diaspora

2008-06-25T15:02:00.001-05:00

FT.com - The world must adapt to diasporas

Rather fascinating commentary that serves to summarize a recently published paper by the author about the increasing fluidity of national identity and the increasingly overlap among multiple national identities around the world. Absolutely fascinating human geography material.

Zara

2008-06-24T22:56:00.002-05:00

Zaragoza

Beautiful photo essay of a blossoming Spanish city close to my heart. A decade has passed since I visited, but o! so beautiful and vibrant.

Architectural Ambition

2008-05-28T14:01:00.001-05:00

Out of the Blocks: The Sky Line: The New Yorker

Great, relatively brief article on the relationship between architecture, urban planning, and the Olympics, devoted mainly to Beijing (2008) but with interesting commentary about Barcelona (1992) and London (2012) as well. I am a sucker for trophy buildings and unabashedly adore Gehry and Calatrava, but the New Yorker does make an interesting point about the trade offs between single-purpose monuments and multi-use redevelopment opportunities. Sometimes (like Barcelona), a city achieves both.

Face/Off

2008-05-15T15:43:00.001-05:00

With writing like this, Kamiya could go head to head with O'Reilly's foamy, rabid rants... this stuff is just delicious, starting right off with the title:

Poetry vs. fear | Salon: "Call it the Dumbshit Factor, the Nobody Home Problem, the Absentee Ballots from Mars Issue. Whatever you call it, it's the Republicans' built-in advantage this fall. If you're not in the 'reality-based community' infamously derided by a senior Bush official, then you won't care if Iraq is a quagmire and the Middle East is a powder keg and the country is falling apart and the economy is on the verge of a depression and gas is $4.30 a gallon. You won't care because you won't know, or if you know you'll blame it all on liberals, feminazis, evil bureaucrats and gays. As you watch Fox News from your Barcalounger orbiting somewhere beyond the confines of space, time and logic, you will vote for the old white guy with the Anglo-Saxon name, not a Muslim terrorist sympathizer who helped his cousin attack America."

A bit harsh, but perhaps not so undeserved...

A Literary Examination of the Conscience

2008-05-13T23:44:00.005-05:00

I just finished reading Down and Out in Paris and London, George Orwell's first published novel, based not in small part on the author's own experiences. Orwell's prose was riveting, and (disturbingly) felt very fresh--I can easily see some young upstart writer publishing this today as investigative journalism, with companion clips on YouTube. If you can stomach this sort of writing (think borderline The Jungle by Upton Sinclair), then I highly recommend you track this brief novel down and devour it.

For lack of energy, I'd just like to share a few passages that particularly spoke to me (the pages are now nice and dog-eared):

I think one should start by saying that a plongeur is one of the slaves of the modern world. Not that there is any need to whine over him, for he is better off than many manual workers, but still, he is no freer than if he were bought and sold. His work is servile and without art; he is paid just enough to keep him alive; his only holiday is the sack. He is cut off from marriage, or, if he marries, his wife must work too. Except by a lucky chance, he has no escape from his life, save into prison. At this moment there are men with university degrees scrubbing dishes in Paris for ten or fifteen hours a day. One cannot say that is is mere idleness on their part, for an idle man cannot be a plongeur; they have simply been trapped by a routine which makes thought impossible. If plongeurs thought at all, they would long ago have formed a union and gone on strike for better treatment. But they do not think, because they have no leisure for it; their life has made slaves of them.

He goes on, of course, in the wonderful essay form of debate in which Orwell excelled, arguing about how so much of this modern slavery is devoted to inefficient, wasteful work that merely serves to perpetuate the distribution of power. Orwell was, of course, quite the left leaning socialism during much of his time as a writer. These views in turn were shaped and altered by experiences in the Spanish Civil War (I'll be tackling Homage to Catalonia soon), but, at least at the time of this work, he was solidly on the left. So as his argument in this section moves on, he presents readers with an unsettling (but truthful) accusation:

Fear of the mob is a superstitious fear. It is based on the idea that there is some mysterious, fundamental difference between rich and poor... But in reality, there is no such difference. The mass of the rich and poor are differentiated by their incomes and nothing else, the average millionaire is only the average dishwasher, dressed in a new suit. Change places, and handy dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief? Everyone who has mixed on equal terms with the poor knows this quite well. But the trouble is that intelligent, cultivated people, the very people who might be expected to have liberal opinions, never do mix with the poor. For what do the majority of educated people know about poverty? ...From this ignorance, a superstitious fear of the mob results quite naturally. the educated man pictures a horde of submen, wanting only a day's liberty to loot his house, burn his books, and set him to work minding a machine or sweeping out a lavatory. 'Anything,' he thinks, 'any injustice, sooner than let that mob loose.' He does not see that there is no difference between the mass of rich and poor, there is no question of setting the mob loose. The mob is in fact, loose now, and -- in the shape of rich men -- is using its power to set up enormous treadmills of boredom, such as 'smart' hotels.

[The plogeurs, or menial dishwashers and cleaners, work in these smart hotels behind the scenes.]

Moving, powerful, thought provoking stuff--much more so if you place these passages within the full context of the book. I'll be the first to admit that, despite my best efforts, I know I still create a barrier between myself and most of the less privileged and down on their luck as I rush along with my life. People aren't necessarily seeking charity--a bit of genuine compassion and empathy goes a long way. Reading through this text was like listening to the stories of many of my friends who are able to bridge that divide better and more frequently than I, and at times I would be washed over by own experiences and moments of connection.

Check it out. Read it with an open mind and heart.

George Orwell: Wikipedia

Momofuku

2008-05-13T12:55:00.001-05:00

Listen to the entire (amazing) new Elvis Costello album here:

Lost Highway Records: Elvis Costello

Wikipedia Labors

2008-05-13T10:57:00.000-05:00

FT.com | The Undercover Economist | Is that a big number? - Wikipedia edition: "Clay Shirky reports on a conversation with a TV producer, after describing a flurry of activity on the Pluto page:

She heard this story and she shook her head and said, “Where do people find the time?” That was her question. And I just kind of snapped. And I said, “No one who works in TV gets to ask that question. You know where the time comes from. It comes from the cognitive surplus you’ve been masking for 50 years.”

So how big is that surplus? So if you take Wikipedia as a kind of unit, all of Wikipedia, the whole project–every page, every edit, every talk page, every line of code, in every language that Wikipedia exists in–that represents something like the cumulation of 100 million hours of human thought. I worked this out with Martin Wattenberg at IBM; it’s a back-of-the-envelope calculation, but it’s the right order of magnitude, about 100 million hours of thought.

100 million hours sounds like a big number, but as Clay goes on to describe, it’s tiny. 100 million hours is about 20 minutes per US citizen - roughly the amount of time collectively spent watching advertisements in a typical weekend. (That’s Clay’s number: I’d have guess it only took"

Sounds of the Sahara

2008-05-12T17:17:00.001-05:00

Rockin’ the Casbah - New York Times: "But it was a sojourn by Jimi Hendrix, the guitar idol who vacationed in Essaouira in 1969, a year before his death, that inspired visits by Mr. Ehrlich and countless other musicians and fans, many of whom believe that Hendrix’s song “Castles Made of Sand” was inspired by Borj El Baroud, the ghostly, turreted remains of a Portuguese fort decomposing off the beach south of the city."

Such a lovely song... adds another compelling argument to the mystique and magnetic draw that's building up around Morocco for me.

An Uncertain Future

2008-05-12T16:45:00.001-05:00

Green.view | Double or nothing | Economist.com

A matter of deep personal interest. As usual, The Economist does a nice job laying out the uncertainty, weaknesses, and contradictions within the system.

News to Watch

2008-05-08T22:16:00.000-05:00

FT.com / Asia-Pacific / China - China eyes overseas land in food push: "China has about 40 per cent of the world’s farmers but just 9 per cent of the world’s arable land. Some Chinese scholars argue that domestic agricultural companies must expand overseas if China is to guarantee its food security and reduce its exposure to global market fluctuations.

“China must ‘go out’ because our land resources are limited,” said Jiang Wenlai, of the China Agricultural Science Institute. “It will be a win-win solution that will benefit both parties by making the maximum use of the advantages of both sides.”"

Economics

2008-05-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

Why Don't Married Women in New York Work? - Economics Blog - Zubin Jelveh - Odd Numbers - Portfolio.com

Brilliant Mister MacManus

2008-05-08T12:06:00.001-05:00

ALBUM REVIEW: “Momofuku,” Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel: "Lyrically, Elvis is as poignant and explosive as ever. Kind of like Oscar Wilde and Rimbaud versus Dolly Parton and Rosie O’Donnell in a heated debate on angst. The Imposters hold up their end of the bargain nicley. Even when addressing numbers that bear more than a passing influence from Elvis’s “country” phase. Listen and you will soon be convinced that not only do the “Angels wanna WEAR our red shoes” they want to kick them off and shuffle madly across the dance floor. Not only is Mr. MacManus’s aim true, but it’s heartfelt as well. Salubrious."

Blowing at sea | Economist.com

2008-05-07T12:19:00.001-05:00

Blowing at sea | Economist.com

Exciting area to watch...

WKW

2008-05-02T16:29:00.001-05:00

Wow....I got ahold of this film before it screened in the US? Quite excellent, just like the rest of WKW's canon. I mean... just roll that title around in your mouth. Visual & aural poetry!

As Tears Go By - Movie - Review - The New York Times

Of Personal Import

2008-04-30T12:42:00.001-05:00

The agony of the food snob - Slate Magazine

Populists!

2008-04-24T08:32:00.001-05:00

SpendMatters: Warren Buffet's Views on Trade

Crazy Fat Cats

2008-04-24T01:10:00.001-05:00

Oddly Enough | Reuters.com: "'It's not pleasant to boast about your wealth when you have inherited it but when you have made it yourself, well it is still not very nice, but it is justified,' Shmarov said."

What an amazing idea for a periodical....

Lexington | A bitter pill

2008-04-23T01:03:00.001-05:00

Lexington | A bitter pill | Economist.com: "The war between “ordinary people” and “condescending elites” is one of the great themes of American politics. “Ordinary people” are real Americans: they worship God, revere America and love their families. “Condescending elites” are crypto-Europeans—the sort of people who eat arugula, do sissified jobs in offices and universities, and scheme to ban guns and legalise gay marriage. Mr Obama not only put himself firmly on the “wrong” side of this great cultural divide; he implied that “ordinary Americans” are the victims of “false consciousness” for not falling in love with him."

On one hand, I love this column, particularly because it so clearly illuminates an anti-intellectual streak that runs thick through modern American society. However, politics has been for time immemorial a bit of a race to the bottom in the rush to make comforting promises and rail against the "other." The cold logical benefits of free trade don't sell well to the struggling masses on the campaign trail. Still, as a self-identified crypto-European (or at least wannabe), much unnerves me about these seemingly all too common attacks against the intelligent and self-made man, particularly when so many others in the race are overlooked, despite their often more sheltered, inherited privilege status.

At the same time, my stomach turns when man does forget his roots, whether those roots are Small Town, USA or the dust of the Rift Valley. Considering the high regard Americans so often place on their heritage, we often face our more immediate past with no small measure of discomfort and awkward shuffling. So perhaps Barack has been forgetful about some of the roads upon which this life has led him, and so too the author of this column is quick to reprimand the Winesburg, Ohios which sprawl across the American landscape as derelict relics of a bygone age, surviving merely on pork barrel politics and subsidies. This is a rash and crude generalization, albeit with grains of truth.

Who then is more in the wrong? I do not know--I only know that a bit more respect and empathy flowing in both directions would work a world of good upon America's interior monologue. We then need not be so bitter and spiteful.

Memoirs

2008-04-14T20:07:00.001-05:00

The Smart Set: The Golf Courses of Berlin - April 9, 2008

Beautiful, poetic travel writing, keen observation, and introspective musing, bundled up in brown paper and tied with string. Wunderbar!

Alternative Career?

2008-04-14T17:01:00.001-05:00

Weekend in New York: Martinis - Places That Put the Proper Prefix on the -tini - Travel - NYTimes: "Every drink is made with almost appalling care by bartenders who would rather shake up drinks than chat up customers."

Yep, I definitely need to get into this business. Exactly my mentality when I host something... but seriously, excellent article about a return to precision and craftsmanship. Finally!

The semantic web

2008-04-09T18:36:00.001-05:00

The semantic web | Start making sense | Economist.com

I really love this stuff... can't wait to see what evolves in this space.

Please Lord, a little mercy

2008-04-06T21:34:00.001-05:00

:: The Playlist ::: Madonna To Remake 'Casablanca'; Set The Film In Iraq?

Madonna really makes me cringe sometimes? Why can't she stick to pop stardom? Did she really have to remake "American Pie?" At least the world forgot that one... but Casablanca? Please don't touch that!

And Scarlett Johansson wants to record an album of Tom Waits covers? Sigh.. sighs of the apocalypse?

Sisters in Idiosyncrasy

2008-04-03T17:00:00.001-05:00

Sisters in Idiosyncrasy - New York Times

Number 1 Reason Why I Should not Get an iPhone

2008-04-03T16:33:00.002-05:00

The risk for Apple iPhone users: They know too much - LA Times

Astute Observations

2008-04-03T14:12:00.003-05:00

The Smart Set: Bag Ladies - April 3, 2008

Keen examination of modern consumer whimsy...

What is Bear worth?

2008-03-17T17:39:00.002-05:00

Hands down best quote of the day, in follow up to: "Just goes to show that the best thing to be during a crash is a buyer."

What is Bear worth? | Free exchange | Economist.com: "'Potter isn't selling; Potter's buying.'"

Regulation

2008-03-17T17:36:00.001-05:00

Interesting... we may have witnessed quite a turning point in the policy environment with the somber events of this past weekend.

Bear Stearns | Bear’s pits | Economist.com: "The Fed’s decision to introduce loans to brokers as well as regulated banks marks a significant shift in policy, and raises the question of whether the former should now be subject to more stringent regulation in return. But the Fed’s widening role is a sign of its fears that other pins might fall. Merrill Lynch looks decidedly wobbly. Lehman has lots of toxic mortgage securities on its books. Lehman's shares plunged on Monday morning but it is not the only one facing trouble. All the other big investment banks will be under intense funding pressure in the coming days. And when trading partners start to pull away, a rapid chain reaction can begin. In effect, with Bear Stearns being sold for such a low price, including its valuable office property, the price of the securities portfolio is zero."

Down and Out...

2008-03-13T16:45:00.001-05:00

...in Paris and London.

Great article comparing the two great cities.

London and Paris | The rivals | Economist.com

Luddite or Clairvoyant?

2008-03-13T11:11:00.001-05:00

Discuss. On a side note, PayPal is apparently *the* Web 2.0 company--everyone that's anyone leading the charge on the modern web seems to connect back to that firm.

With friends like these ... Tom Hodgkinson on the politics of the people behind Facebook | Technology | The Guardian

PayPal on Wikipedia

Ouch!

2008-03-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

Great post which hits a little too close to home for comfort at times:

A CLIMATOLOGIST WALKS INTO A BAR... | More Intelligent Life: "There are half-a-dozen reasons why this could be the case. The first is, climate change is too serious for humour. But “Man Walks into a Bar” has jokes about death, lepers and suicide. The second is, climate change is simply too boring. But there are jokes about accountancy. The third is, climate change is too preachy and earnest. That probably comes closest. The comedian Marcus Brigstocke travelled on a boat to the Arctic, with the novelist Vikram Seth and others, to see for himself what was happening (Intelligent Life, Autumn 2007). In an article in the Sunday Times, Brigstocke admitted: “The environment is frankly dull, boring and worthy—not always a great source of comedy.”"

Serial Entrepreneur

2008-03-11T14:13:00.001-05:00

Business.view | Seed capitalism | Economist.com

Interesting...I have definitely seen these infomercials and am increasingly keen on purchasing one of these units. An indoor herb garden really brings kitchen cuisine to the next level.

Late Night Thoughts

2008-03-10T01:57:00.002-05:00

"Acrobat" from Maxïmo Park is a phenomenol song. Simply addicting. Off the "A Certain Thrill" album.

On another note, Blogger really needs to figure out a way to add tagging abilities to their "BlogIt!" javascript applet.

"Insanely Great" Article

2008-03-05T20:14:00.001-05:00

The trouble with Steve - Mar. 4, 2008

Now he was a go-to-hell aesthete who cared about making beautiful objects that made money.

Fortune is actually gaining my respect today with several excellent profiles in the edition on newsstands now.

Reality

2008-03-05T11:36:00.001-05:00

SpendMatters: America: Raising Those Free Trade Walls

Thank you, Jason Burch, for your usual clarity of thought.