July 2008
June 2008
Wall·E: Simply Lovely →
There are love stories, and then there’s Wall·E. Wall·E is clearly the best film I have seen in 2008, and perhaps not surprisingly, it is also one of the greatest love stories I have ever witnessed on screen.
Why is the love story between EVE and Wall·E so effective?
Because in the end, with all the technical prowess and intricate animation that is evident in the film, the most important thing...
“At every turn, Pixar messed up the marketing of their new movie. It has a hard...”
– Seth Godin
“Football is one of the few things that can compete with sex.”
– FICEB director Juli Simon
“The din of obnoxious children, tap-tap-tapping businessmen, coughing and...”
– Richard Dunlop-Waters
Tonight’s party is hosted by your local... →
When I was studying at Georgetown University, our euphemism for going to the library to study was to go “out to party at Club Lauinger.” Sure, we were being facetious at the time, but in light of the changing role of the library and the librarian, I think that statement may not be far from the truth.
I only have one core message today, so I’ll keep today’s post short.
The library needs to go...
LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook
Mitch Joel just wrote an excellent post entitled “Facebook Is The Past, MySpace Is The Present And LinkedIn Is The Future.”
Despite what you think of the title, Mitch is not bemoaning the slow death of Zuckerberg’s giant, or praising LinkedIn for their recent financial valuation. Instead, he’s making an excellent point on how we use different social networks for different...
How could you inspire someone to ride a bike?
This question really interests me, because I don’t know how to ride a bike.
Yes, it’s true. I’m 26-years-old and can’t ride a bike.
I want to learn how to ride a bike, but the barriers seem to be a bit high once you’ve hit this age. You need to not only buy a bike that’s probably going to get stolen in a few weeks in downtown Toronto, but also a helmet, lock, and all the accessories. On top of...
Facebook Becomes FriendFeed →
It looks like Facebook is going to be launching commenting on the mini-feed items, similar to what Friendfeed does. I’m not sure if it’s going to be popular with the Facebook audience, but if it is, it will prove that Friendfeed’s got the right idea.
(Thanks for the tip, David!)
So much for being Mr. Nice Guy
Science has proven what us nice guys have known for generations: bad guys really do get the most girls.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those nice guys that is always bending over backwards and getting stepped on, or one of those nice guys that has serious self-esteem problems, or one of those nice guys that is constantly predictable.
On the contrary, I’m relatively...
“If you look in our archives, which we famously refer to as our compendium of...”
– Sam Sifton, Culture Editor (via)
Toronto's Literary Events: June 24-30, 2008 →
In this week’s roundup of Toronto’s literary events: The unseen side of Gandhi, falling in love with Lake Erie, celebrating Banff, and winning a lot of money in competitive spoken word.
The librarian is dead. Long live the librarian. →
Some of my most vivid memories from my childhood involve spending summer mornings in the library, discovering new books and great VHS tapes along with Brenda, my neighborhood librarian. Brenda would recommend new titles and would help me explore the world of information that was on the shelves in front of me.
These days, that same information is on my screen, available at the click of a mouse...
“John McCain is aware of the Internet.”
– Unnamed McCain Staffer
NFB Summer Lineup Brings You Festival Favorites →
If you’re like me and missed Hot Docs this year, there’s no need to spend the year moping away. The National Film Board Cinema is bringing the best of the fest to theaters over the next two months so that you can enjoy award-winning films over the summer.
The series kicked off this weekend with a screening of Tracey Deer’s Club Native, and continues over the next few weeks with...
“One of the great challenges facing civilization in the twenty-first century is...”
– Sam Harris
Powerpoint is not (always) the enemy →
These days, hating on PowerPoint is just like making fun of Paris Hilton: they’re both popular tools that everyone uses but nobody really likes.
Okay, so maybe that was uncalled for. (But true.)
Being a Keynote user for years, I’ve been known to throw a snide remark to PowerPoint users from time to time. After all, if Edward Tufte (read: genius) doesn’t like the tool, then why would anyone...
“To say that the movie is not funny is merely to affirm the obvious. The word...”
– A.O. Scott on The Love Guru
On pregnancy pacts
It seems to be a bit of old news now, but I was thinking about the pregnancy pact story in Gloucester, MA, and something hit me when I read the statement that the principal “found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy.”
This story isn’t about pregnancy. It’s not about contraceptives or sex education or Catholic sensibilities. It’s about self-worth.
...
“What happens to reading habits when you can buy all the books you want for $40 a...”
– Seth Godin
Are you flexing your empathy muscles?
I would be, but I think they’re already strained, if not sprained. Heck, there are some days when I’m sure I’ve pulled my empathy muscles.
It’s a fault of mine many people have pointed out: sometimes I get too involved in the trials and tribulations of others. Sometimes I try too hard to fix all their problems, sometimes I try too hard to make them happy, sometimes I internalize their pain and...
I’m too tired to go out tonight →
It’s 6:30 in the morning, and I’m staring at a computer screen.
Now, some of you may be thinking that this behavior is unhealthy. Those of you that are thinking that, of course, are night owls. See, it’s 6:30am and I’ve already showered, shaved, made and eaten breakfast, and chatted on the phone with a friend of mine across the ocean in London.
I’m an early riser.
“I was totally charmed. Andrew is a great lover of sci-fi, but this was so...”
– Legendary sound designer Ben Burtt on Wall-E. (via)
“Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It’s...”
– Christopher Beam
“If millions of Americans were killed by some tree-originated pathogen that could...”
– Christopher Orr
Toronto's Literary Events: June 17-23, 2008 →
In this week’s roundup of Toronto’s literary events: Party in Parkdale, Slamming for Spoken Word Supremacy, Scintillating Sex Stories, and other alliterations.
Download Firefox, Set World Record →
Today is Firefox Download Day, where hundreds of thousands of people around the world will download the newly released Firefox 3. If you download the browser today, you’ll be part of a Guinness World Record attempt for the most browser downloads in one day.
If being part of a world record doesn’t inspire you to download Firefox, the browser improvements definitely will.
Scenes From a Commute
I’ve been a big fan of Meg Pickard’s writing for a long time. Today’s post, Scenes From a Commute, is a perfect example of Meg’s mastery with the language.
In the post, she writes short descriptions of things she was able to see the top of the bus on her morning commute. One example:
A couple wearing suits, canoodling hungrily within the dark cave of a speeding cab on...
