Fascination with the Abomination

"Cameron’s conception of technology a hundred years from now was incredibly unimaginative, even by..."

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:48:19 -0500

“Cameron’s conception of technology a hundred years from now was incredibly unimaginative, even by Hollywood standards. For example, the munitions that were supposed to blow up the tree of life looked like they were used in World War II (maybe even World War I). Most of the technology looked primitive, even by today’s standards. The wearable exoskeleton robotic devices were supposed to be futuristic, but these already exist, and are beginning to be deployed. The one advanced technology was the avatar technology itself. But in that sense, Avatar is like the world of the movie A.I., where they had human-level cyborgs, but nothing else had changed: A.I. featured 1980’s cars and coffee makers. As for Avatar, are people still going to use computer screens in a hundred years? Are they going to drive vehicles?”

- Kurzweil on Avatar (via azspot)

"But if Mortimer’s show is fake, so is most of what now passes for society. With the party..."

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:45:10 -0500

“But if Mortimer’s show is fake, so is most of what now passes for society. With the party pages operating as little more than a promotional vehicle for fashion brands, is it really so extraordinary that the best-known member of the group would parlay her way out of being a walking coat-hanger and into something bigger and better?”

- http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-03-09/tinsley-mortimers-reality-check/2/

Volcker is wonderful

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:37:42 -0500

The former US Federal Reserve chairman told an audience that included some of the world’s most senior financiers that their industry’s “single most important” contribution in the last 25 years has been automatic telling machines, which he said had at least proved “useful”.

-
Ex-Fed chief Paul Volcker’s ‘telling’ words on derivatives industry

azspot: “Donation” and “Welfare” States When the liberal...

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 01:36:07 -0500

azspot:

“Donation” and “Welfare” States

When the liberal states go broke, this will change.

Watch the ass

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:54:00 -0500

If you work for a non-profit and you don’t give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I’ve met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but I can also report that a huge number of people—even on the fundraising side—would happily cross the street and risk a beating in order to avoid giving $100 to a cause that’s not their own. And the shame of it is that this inaction on their part keeps them from experiencing the very emotion that they try so hard to sell.

- Watch the Money by Seth Godin

Seth, what an ass you are. Everyone I’ve ever met at a nonprofit takes a very large and definable cut in salary relative to comparable work in the for-profit sector. That’s a choice and it’s a bigger donation as a percentage of net worth than the givings of many of the largest donors I could name (and since I write about the hedge fund industry, this is no small statement).

Secondly, really, what an ass you are. How do you know that the people who don’t donate money don’t donate a greater percentage of their time? Non profit work is often rigorous and redefines the concept of “I gave at the office.”

Third, the fundraising people are often the best paid people at any nonprofit and their job is typically farthest from the on-the-ground work that most financiers and other seemingly generous souls wouldn’t touch.

Don’t confuse your knowledge of one industry with a license to talk knowingly about whatever you like.

"They had no script, man. They had an outline. We would show up for big scenes every day and we..."

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:21:46 -0500

“They had no script, man. They had an outline. We would show up for big scenes every day and we wouldn’t know what we were going to say. We would have to go into our trailer and work on this scene and call up writers on the phone, ‘You got any ideas?’ Meanwhile the crew is tapping their foot on the stage waiting for us to come on.”

- Jeff Bridges Admits Iron Man Movie Had No Script - iron man - io9

Ahh the joys of a 200 million dollar improvised movie.

(via theoriginaljoefisher)

4 writers got credit and it made $572M (Worldwide), so I guess they’ll try to replicate this method, hoping for a similar result.

(via tanya77) (via mikehudack)

Probably why this turned out to be one of the best comic adaptations of all time.

"According to a widely accepted model, intimacy begins when one person expresses revealing feelings,..."

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 23:13:48 -0500

“According to a widely accepted model, intimacy begins when one person expresses revealing feelings, builds when the listener responds with support and empathy and is achieved when the discloser hears these things and feels understood, validated and cared for. This is not news. It’s not even advice.”

- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/magazine/06marriage-t.html?em

mikehudack: creativead: Fedex Guerrilla marketing

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:06:43 -0500

mikehudack:

creativead:

Fedex Guerrilla marketing

thedirtythirties: Condom ad. For those who wanted to get safely...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:42:36 -0500

thedirtythirties:

Condom ad. For those who wanted to get safely dirty in the thirties.

travors: (Via Designboom) In designing this building, Belgian...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 14:41:06 -0500

travors:

(Via Designboom)

In designing this building, Belgian architectural firm Ihaos & Ihaos have used the stark juxtaposition of clean sharp modern white lines, against the earthy warm feel of the original timber frame, to create the perfect environment for pulling chicks.

Travors’ commentary = pure editorial alpha.

jakelodwick: “Are You Unemployed?” Funny/sad video from...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:17:40 -0500

jakelodwick:

“Are You Unemployed?”

Funny/sad video from Mint.com.

Via TechCrunch.

"Our culture’s misreading of the Rosa Parks story speaks to a more general collective amnesia, where..."

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:49:25 -0500

“Our culture’s misreading of the Rosa Parks story speaks to a more general collective amnesia, where we forget the examples that might most inspire our courage, hope, and conscience. Apart from obvious times of military conflict, most of us know next to nothing of the many battles ordinary men and women fought to preserve freedom, expand the sphere of democracy, and create a more just society. Of the abolitionist and civil rights movements, we at best recall a few key leaders—and often misread their actual stories. We know even less about the turn-of-the-century populists who challenged entrenched economic interests and fought for a “cooperative commonwealth.” Who these days can describe the union movements that ended 80-hour work weeks at near-starvation wages? Who knows the origin of the social security system, now threatened by systematic attempts to privatize it? How did the women’s suffrage movement spread to hundreds of communities, and gather enough strength to prevail?”

- The Real Rosa Parks (via azspot)

Can Experience be Designed? « informationarchitects.jp

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:37:34 -0500

Can Experience be Designed? « informationarchitects.jp:

zehnuhr:

First, think about a number between one and ten. Then take a step back and look at the words “experience design” as if you had never seen them. Look at them closely until you hear them with with the voice of Christopher Walken: EXPERIENCE DESIGN. What do you think?

deleteyourself: nom nom nom nom

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 05:19:37 -0400

deleteyourself:

nom nom nom nom

zehnuhr: Freunde von Freunden We finally finished the project...

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:17:28 -0400

zehnuhr:

Freunde von Freunden
We finally finished the project we’ve been working on for the last few months. Our new interview format Freunde von Freunden is now online with the first three interviews and great home photography. The format aims to document the NoMoreSleep’s network of friends, partners and creative people around Berlin in their living or workspace. With the help of professional photographers such as Ailine Liefeld and lots of love for individual visual details, FvonF transports great living perspectives and offers an exclusive look behind the scenes.

I’m glad to know the people behind this project – for the main part Ailine and Timmi – and to see its’ development from the first idea to the now online website.

They started with these three interviews this week: Nikolaus Jagdfeld (owner of Cabinet at Quartier 206), Victoria Chirita (enterpreneur & founder of designskins.com) and Tim Dobrovolny (photographer & music manager). + Follow FvonF via twitter and facebook.

Eric Baum sets out to Beat Puff Daddy

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:26:08 -0400

baum:

Every great quest has a few large goals, and this marathon training program now has a new direction. It is now my unwavering mission to beat the New York City marathon time posted by Sean Combs, the artist known as Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Puffy and Sean John.

Just who is Diddy? For those of you who still listen to rock and classical music, Diddy is an award-winning rapper, actor and highly successful men’s fashion designer. Diddy won three Grammy awards for his singles “I’ll Be Missing You,” “No Way Out” and “Shake Ya Tailfeather” in 1998, 1999 and 2004, respectively. His performance opposite Halle Berry in “Monster’s Ball” was also quite good.

In addition to starting the highly successful Sean John clothing line in 1998, Diddy also completed the New York City marathon in 2003. His official time, 4:14.54, translates into a pace of roughly 9.45 minutes per mile. It was his first marathon, and he was 33 years old at the time. I turned 38 on Wednesday and quit smoking in January.

I believe Diddy’s record can be broken with proper discipline, training and support. Diddy may have had an entourage, dietician, personal chef, professional trainer and access to the best exercise equipment money can buy, but his time is still vulnerable. I have the full backing of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training and your support. Also, never underestimate the determination of a reformed smoker. Take a moment and think about the strength it takes to walk away from a daily dose of 20 Class-A cigarettes that sometimes enhanced the sparkle of New York City’s skyline at night, or took the edge off a frustrating day. These are probably the same delicious cigarettes that Barack Obama occasionally sneaks off to enjoy in Dick Cheney’s underground bunker.

Why bother challenging Diddy’s tizme? Every good sporting event needs a little professional trash talking to generate enthusiasm. More people following this challenge means additional pledges for LLS. When Diddy goes down LLS wins. The race starts in less than four months. Stay tuned for regular updates.

Check out some of Diddy’s music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvFMd9BQz_k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGZhuLVUkaQ

(The beat here sounds a little like “Fiddler on the Roof”)

"After some startling reflections on the relation of economic independence to civil liberty and..."

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:23:35 -0400

“After some startling reflections on the relation of economic independence to civil liberty and republican institutions, Jefferson arrived at the principle that only farmers, owning their own land, tilling it with their own hands, looking to nature and to labor for their sustenance, could possess that independence of character which is the basis of democracy. Whoever depends upon the “casualties and caprices of customers” has set upon him the mark of corruption and subservience. Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, while those who haggle in the market place and those who labor for others in factories are on the highway to that moral decay and servility which marks the end of republics of free peoples.”

- Charles A. Beard (via azspot)

"Only a small and diminishing fraction of work serves any useful purpose independent of the defense..."

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:17:46 -0400

“Only a small and diminishing fraction of work serves any useful purpose independent of the defense and reproduction of the work-system and its political and legal appendages. Twenty years ago, Paul and Percival Goodman estimated that just five per cent of the work then being done—presumably the figure, if accurate, is lower now—would satisfy our minimal needs for food, clothing and shelter. Theirs was only an educated guess but the main point is quite clear: directly or indirectly, most work serves the unproductive purposes of commerce or social control.”

- THE ABOLITION OF WORK (via azspot)

travors: (via growingup)

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:16:20 -0400

travors:

(via growingup)

deleteyourself: Remember that time in Amsterdam when gonzo was...

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:28:13 -0400

deleteyourself:

Remember that time in Amsterdam when gonzo was flying through the crab nebula and two fish told him to shut the fuck up? Man that was a CRAZY night…