The Verge published a great interview with Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg. So quotable! Here are a few hotspots. I try to make as few decisions as possible and really say, “How do we push that out to the teams, the divisions, the edges of the branches of the tree versus the trunk?” The assumption is …
Category Archives: culture
Opinion | Swiss Army knife or AR-15? The judge is right that there’s no difference! – The Washington Post
Opinion | Swiss Army knife or AR-15? The judge is right that there’s no difference! – The Washington Post: What two items could be more directly and obviously comparable than an AR-15 and a Swiss Army knife? I can’t think of how many times I’ve used an AR-15 to open a bottle of wine. Whenever …
More News Isn’t Good News
Several weeks ago I signed up for journalist Dan Rather's free mailing list (there is a paid version too). As a recovering journalist, something he wrote recently touched on a topic I often consider; the endless and ever-expanding explosion of news content. For all the outlets, all the niches, all the competition, what does this …
Poe
Tonight I reread some Edgar Allen Poe, one of my favorite writers since I was a child. I remember being heartbroken while riding home from vacation with my parents. The blood drained from my face as I screamed. I left a volume of Poe behind in a drawer, to be read never more. Now, I …
What Happened to Being Kind?
During a communications conference I attended years ago, two comedians leading a session about improv introduced the concept of “Yes, and….” They explained it was always easier to take someone else’s idea and build on it in a positive way. Choosing “No, but…” is a negative path, they said, and can quickly suck the joy …
Consider the Ouroboros
Scanning the audience who attend Trump's rallies, less-educated white voters seem to comprise his base. Could this lead to a political ouroboros of voters? An electorate that doesn't appear to understand their unrequited affinity for the president leads them on a doomed downward spiral as his economic policies swallow them whole to benefit the rich? …
Photos of Roadside Americana
Download 11,710 Free-to-Use Photos of Roadside Americana: The Library of Congress has published over 11,000 high-resolution shots of U.S. roadside attractions, and released the images (to which it had purchased the rights) into the public domain. The photos were taken by architectural critic and photographer John Margolies, who spent forty years documenting his travels along …
COVID-19 and the American Idiot
Watching the row of men toting long guns, marching shoulder-to-shoulder toward the capitol, sent a bead of cold sweat rolling down my back to meet the shivers crawling up my spine. This isn’t the opening of a new novella about the Civil War. It’s my recollection of watching spoiled middle-aged men threaten the government of …
Fragile, yet Resilient
Humans are fragile. Flesh and blood. Walking bags of bones and meat brought to life by a smattering of thoughts—some good, some bad. When we’re hurt, we bleed, and it’s not that hard to hurt us. If you prick us, do we not bleed? if you tickle us, do we not laugh? if you poison …
David Byrne Ladies and Gentlemen
At the time of this recording on Saturday Night Live (hosted by John Mulaney), David Byrne is 67 years old. I hope to be doing so well at that age.