Notes on Culture

“Queer theory and its cousins have had more influence outside the academy than anyone might have imagined.”

- Ideas and Trends - Lit Critics Who Peer Under the Covers - NYTimes.com

Who's In the Monkey Bar Mural? [Society]

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:54:24 -0400

Who's In the Monkey Bar Mural? [Society]:

Wispily pompadoured Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter’s new midtown venture Monkey Bar is a bar/restaurant for rich people. There’s even a giant mural commemorating some of between-wars…

"When each side wants to believe certain scientific conclusions for extra-scientific reasons,..."

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:06:51 -0400

“When each side wants to believe certain scientific conclusions for extra-scientific reasons, skepticism is the better part of rigor.”

- Book Review - ‘Intelligence and How to Get It,’ by Richard E. Nisbett - Review - NYTimes.com

"Wikipedia can no more be completed than can New York City, which O. Henry predicted would be “a..."

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:55:21 -0400

“Wikipedia can no more be completed than can New York City, which O. Henry predicted would be “a great place if they ever finish it.””

- Wikipedia - Exploring Fact City - NYTimes.com

"Today, others believe science now addresses the human condition in ways Snow did not anticipate. For..."

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:21:06 -0400

“Today, others believe science now addresses the human condition in ways Snow did not anticipate. For the past two decades, the editor and agent John Brockman has promoted the notion of a “third culture” to describe scientists — notably evolutionary biologists, psychologists and neuroscientists — who are “rendering visible the deeper meanings in our lives” and superseding literary artists in their ability to “shape the thoughts of their generation.””

- Essay - Our Two Cultures - NYTimes.com

The New York Times Makes Comical Statements About the Internet, 1995-2009 [Standards]

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:12:18 -0400

The New York Times Makes Comical Statements About the Internet, 1995-2009 [Standards]:

The New York Times has issued a formal set of standards for their in-house blogs, marking the first time blogs have ever had standards (No “snark”). The latest in a rich history of…

WSJ Editor: 'New Nomenclature Alone Will Not Generate News' [Without Comment]

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 14:12:17 -0400

WSJ Editor: 'New Nomenclature Alone Will Not Generate News' [Without Comment]:

Wall Street Journal editor Robert Thomson urged his charges to work faster. To underline the point, some system that feeds WSJ stories to Dow Jones Newswires will now be called…

"Celebrated as a one-man bastion of high Western culture and admired for his moral subtlety by some,..."

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 15:01:17 -0400

“Celebrated as a one-man bastion of high Western culture and admired for his moral subtlety by some, Steiner was attacked as pompous, pretentious and inaccurate in scholarly matters by others. His bracing virtue has been his ability to move from Pythagoras, through Aristotle and Dante, to Nietzsche and Tolstoy in a single paragraph. His irritating vice has been that he can move from Pythagoras, through Aristotle and Dante, to Nietzsche and Tolstoy in a single paragraph.”

- Essay - Our George Steiner Problem — and Mine - NYTimes.com

Seed Magazine tries on a little dataviz

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 12:43:18 -0400

Seed Magazine tries on a little dataviz

"At the moment, deploying a mix of cloud and noncloud apps seems to be the sensible middle way. But..."

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:28:54 -0400

“At the moment, deploying a mix of cloud and noncloud apps seems to be the sensible middle way. But there is something freeing and almost intoxicating about embracing the cloud mindset. What if I stopped lugging around 7,000 photos and just put the 200 best on Flickr? What if I just let Google figure out who my most important contacts are? Do I really need all my college papers on my hard drive? Computers can be very heavy and depressing. Send in the clouds.”

- Kill your computer and join the cloud. - By Michael Agger - Slate Magazine

"What still amazes me, in spite of my scholarly concerns here, is the nostalgic punch of early video..."

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:17:30 -0400

“What still amazes me, in spite of my scholarly concerns here, is the nostalgic punch of early video games—how transporting the blocky sounds and sights can be.”

- How the 2600 forged the home video game future. - By Michael Agger - Slate Magazine