time regained
I'm not working this week -- my first vacation since September 2001. What will I do with myself? Probably watch movies and play with FlashComm. Maybe buy an xBox. I'm such a nerd. But that also means it's a week of link crack:
A few weeks ago, I had dinner with Nathan Shedroff, one of the big voices behind the Experience Design movement (this interview is a good introduction). I enjoyed his book, but if I were to recommend one in the field, it would be Trains of Thought, which is a mix of cognitive psychology, structural thinking, and phenomenology. The experience designers have boldly attacked the field of information architecture, and a recent spat between Shedroff and a leading IA proponent is full of frisson. My take on this dispute is that it's exhilarating to finally witness something in this industry that actually gets people excited enough to use exclamation points.
This is cool. A Dutch film called Necrocam is available in entirety online. The website gives you the tone, but the Times article gives the context.
More on The Sims, this time from NY Times Mag. Same issue has a Steve Ballmer profile.
The new Tate Magazine has an interview with Matthew Barney.
Archive Your Life, brought to you by Microsoft.
I know, this is totally old news from last week, but I gotta get in the Ellen Fleiss interview somewhere. What a cool kid.
Nerve and Film Comment both have Parker Posey features this month. Nerve is more funny (Note: The word "indie" will not be used in the following introductory paragraphs about Parker Posey. When the word's usage cannot be avoided, a small picture of Jim Jarmusch will appear instead.) but Film Comment is more poignant (She played indie film itself in You've Got Mail and Scream 3. She was the pin puncturing the sentimental or idiotic, seemingly hell-bent on teaching those complacent big stars who surrounded her a thing or two about the value of irony.)
More dot.com destruction news. The once mighty Razorfish has been purchased by some design firm in Salt Lake City called SBI.
Finally, the Bush Twins can throw away their fake IDs.
Goodie. The Right is getting back into the cultural wars! Here's the Wall Street Journal's utterly petty attack on Kurt Cobain and here's The American Prospect's showing its contempt for Michael Moore.
If you're into chess, check out The Atlantic's recent article on Bobby Fisher's Endgame.
Terminator 3 site is up.
Darwin Mag has another Jeff Bezos interview.
Lou Reed's next album will consist entirely of Edgar Allan Poe's words.
The new Sonic Youth video for "The Empty Page" debuted on 120 Minutes tonight. I'm pretty sure the club scenes were filmed at the First Avenue show I was at a few months ago.
The lineup on the Discovery Channel tonight: 9:00, "Changing Sexes: Male to Female"; 10:00, "Big as Life: Obesity in America"; 11:00, "Dwarfs: Little People, Big Steps". Discover, fer sure.
