I Read DUNE While Traveling In Europe.
If you’re around my age, when you think of Dune, an image like this comes to mind:
And you just know of it as David Lynch’s film that failed massively, was supposedly incomprehensible, and features Sting in leather. Which means you can’t really take it seriously.
Well, I hadn’t given Dune much thought until two recent occurrences:
- [...]
Rick and Ilsa Can Keep Paris
On our trip, we visited three cities — Amsterdam, Paris, and Barcelona.
Of the three, Paris is the best known, the most lauded as a “world-class” city.
Visiting there, I couldn’t help but have the impression that people “love” Paris because it’s “Paris”. Of the cities we went to, it resonated least with me. It’s the [...]
This Napoleon Doesn’t Have Much Of A Complex
Last night, had to choose between waiting in a long line for Fahrenheit 9/11 or walking right into and sitting down for Napoleon Dynamite. I chose the latter.
Describing the film’s plot pretty much misses the point, but the setting is important — barren Western town, and a lot of action taking place at the [...]
Amsterdam
I know this isn’t a very original sentiment, but I adore Amsterdam.
I had the opportunity to turn work-related events (a plenary at SIGCHI.NL and Adaptive Path’s 2-day workshop) into a delightful European adventure, with more time spent in Amsterdam than any other city.
I last visited Amsterdam in 1994, and was surprised at how [...]
“Ah, Shit.” Or, “Hell, Yeah!”
I don’t quite know what to feel.
I just got back from my trip to Europe, and in my pile of mail is an announcement of the Nielsen/Norman Group User Experience World Tour.
And I see listed, on the main event, that Don Norman is giving a talk called “Expectation Design“. And I think, “Huh, is [...]
The Plight of Masculinity
So, there I was, in Europe for the last three weeks.
And pretty much from the moment we got there, the Euro 2004 football tournament was underway.
Now, in the states, I can’t be bothered with soccer. It goes too slow, and I don’t know anything about the teams, the players, the rivalries, the matchups.
But, [...]
Cultural Hegemony
.
Peter Merholz, drinking Starbucks, in from of Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain.
Jeff Veen in Amsterdam
So, my three week European sojourn is nearly over (I’m at the airport in Amsterdam), and I’ll write about it in due time.
Until then there’s this photo:
That’s Jeff Veen, on the back of some Dutchman’s bike. Jeff went racing after him (and I went racing after Jeff to snap this photo) as we were heading [...]
Off to Europe…
So posts will be *even sparser* than normal. Apologies ahead of time if I let comment spam sit too long.
Thinking About Audience Segmentation
While this is not an explicit Explicit Design volley, it’s definitely related.
A holy grail in Web site information architecture is the ability to cleanly segment content by audience type. Much of the content on a website is not applicable to every single person, but without good segmenting methods, we have to expose all that content [...]
Linkblog
- And the angel said unto him, stop hitting yourself!
March 4, 2010 | 8:34 amFunny.
- A new global visual language for the BBC’s digital services
February 22, 2010 | 2:24 pmTruly impressive work, and an impressive post detailing it!
- Talking Heads in Rome 1980
February 21, 2010 | 8:26 pmA series of 11 videos on YouTube of a 1980 concert. Sweet.
- Hot Pockets Ingredients
February 21, 2010 | 8:22 pmUm. An elegant poster of a disgustingly over-ingrediented “food”.
- The Birth of Cheap Communication (and Junk Mail)
February 21, 2010 | 12:07 pmFun, breezy take on the original “Victorian internet” – the British Postal System.
- Roger Ebert: The Essential Man
February 16, 2010 | 8:06 amHe might have no jaw, but Ebert has been as eloquent as ever of late (and quite the liberal activist!)
- Bing Maps Explore is pretty sweet
February 11, 2010 | 6:21 pmSadly, it requires Silverlight, but the functionality is fly. Check out the “Map Apps” (bottom of the screen). The Streetside Photos app draws geotagged photos from Flickr and applies them into the Street View. Pretty awesome.
- Ravens Coach Brian Billick Tackles Super Bowl XLIV : NPR
February 6, 2010 | 10:03 amAs we approach the Super Bowl, I found this interview about what a coach really does surprisingly informative.
- Henrietta Lacks: A Donor’s Immortal Legacy
February 6, 2010 | 10:02 amThis is utterly fascinating. Henrietta Lacks’ cervical cells are the world’s first immortal cells. I had never heard of HeLa cells before this interview with author Rebecca Skloot. Now I want to read the book.
- The Incredible San Fancisco Artists’ Soapbox Derby, 1975
February 4, 2010 | 8:00 am24 minute film about a truly delightful community endeavor. I don’t think SF has this kind of artist mojo any longer, but I’d love to see something like this Oakland, careening down Joaquin Miller Road.
- Paywalls, Blogs, Comments, Editing and Magazines: A Conversation with Paul Ford, Web Editor of Harper’s Magazine | The Awl
February 4, 2010 | 7:37 amIf you’ve followed ftrain for the past 10+ years, you already know that Paul Ford is among the smartest people on the internet. This conversation with The Awl about pay models for publishing and his experience at Harpers is a little precious at times, but worth a read.
- Interview with Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed
February 2, 2010 | 8:12 amBloom County was among those key influences informing my sense of humor, including Monty Python, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Edward Gorey. This interview looks back to its creation.
- Axe Cop
January 31, 2010 | 9:52 pmSo awesome. And funny. The best comic ever written by a 5-year-old and drawn by his 29-year-old brother. I wanna Avocado Soldier t-shirt.
- Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 3 and 4
January 31, 2010 | 7:28 pmRick Prelinger collects archival, industrial, and found footage of San Francisco, and presents them as clips in front of live audiences. Delightful look at the city’s past.
- Roger Ebert’s best films of the decade
January 31, 2010 | 7:23 pmI’m a little late on linking to this. Historically, I’ve found Ebert to be far too forgiving a critic (he just loves movies too much and gives poor ones a pass), so I was surprised at how close his list is to mine (if I bothered to make one). Synecdoche, Me And You and Everyone We Know, even Juno.
- Taking Directions from Slime Mold
January 25, 2010 | 7:54 pmIf my colleague Kate Rutter were to have a spirit organism, it would be slime mold. Slime mold are bizarre, neither plant nor animal nor fungi, and they’ve become the poster species for self-organizing systems. Anyway, they can also design subway systems. Scroll down to listen to the piece about them.
- Where has all the popcorn gone?
January 24, 2010 | 4:20 pmThe folks on Chowhound have the same question I did the last time I went to the supermarket. Popcorn could become the next artisanal fetish.
- S.F.s Market Street changes as city evolves
January 23, 2010 | 8:07 amCarl Nolte does it again with an exploration of Market Street’s multiple personalities. The stretch between 6th and 9th is among the most depressing urban blights in the US.
- Online Dating: The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures
January 21, 2010 | 8:13 pmOKCupid.com is a dating site. OkTrends is where the people behind the site reveal insights discovered through statistical analysis of site behavior. It’s awesome.
- How to be a superstar bartender
January 18, 2010 | 8:39 pmExcellent set of explicit instructions for the basics of mixing drinks (measuring, shaking, stirring, twists, etc.)
-
Archive for Linkblog »
