NONfinis

Stop Taking Orwell's Name in Vain

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:39:57 -0700

An interesting reflection on the use of buzzwords and phrases and what it means to be ‘Orwellian.’

I applied to a job today at Seattle Children’s Hospital that involves working with children...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:20:31 -0700

I applied to a job today at Seattle Children’s Hospital that involves working with children with craniofacial conditions. I think this is the first time, in a long time, that I’ve applied to something that I really, REALLY want to do.

I’ve enjoyed other jobs that I’ve done in the past, and I’ve been grateful for those jobs and what they’ve taught me. And any job that I DO get in the future will have something positive about it.

But this particular position is in a field that I’ve wanted to be involved with since my early days as an undergrad, and I can’t help but be a little excited about that.

That’s kinda cool. Cool, cool, cool.

"The placebo effect of most-popular lists suggests that better-reviewed meals might actually taste..."

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:58:46 -0700

“The placebo effect of most-popular lists suggests that better-reviewed meals might actually taste better; more-downloaded songs might actually sound better; articles with more Facebook likes might actually feel more delightful to read. When we outsource our navigation of the world to other peoples’ opinions, we lose, in a small way, our ability to individually evaluate the quality of our experience.”

- The Tyranny of Most-Popular Lists - Derek Thompson - The Atlantic

Just something I thought was interesting. Who doesn’t love a little sociology/psychology?

There's No Such Thing as Good Writing: Craig Nova's Radical Revising Process - Joe Fassler - The Atlantic

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:44:31 -0700

There's No Such Thing as Good Writing: Craig Nova's Radical Revising Process - Joe Fassler - The Atlantic:

I wish that I had taken more lit and writing courses in undergraduate, but I was too shy/nervous about being judged on the quality of writing, when writing was never something I thought I excelled at.

It’s something I would do over, and something I consider doing now if I get the time to do it.

kellysue: chiloconcarne: shadowise: A Lonely God - a series...

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:57:20 -0700

kellysue:

chiloconcarne:

shadowise:

A Lonely God - a series of slightly sad superhero posters.

Source

I’m in love with this

I was just talking to an artist yesterday about the tendency to crop things really close and tight in order to enhance drama. If it’s overdone — which happens frequently with artists—you start to feel like you’re watching a movie through a hole in a sheet.

Pull the camera out. Be brave enough to let the reader orient.

Occasionally, in the right moment, pull the camera way, way out even. How does that effect the emotional beat?

I do enjoy these, especially the Batman one (gives you a real sense of his isolation) and the Spider-Man one (one, because I’m a huge Spidey-nerd, and two, because being flung in the air like a rubber band just sounds like crazy-fun, and is captured well by this drawing).

"The night was unexpectedly warm, though the sky was its usual heavy overcast. A moist breeze was..."

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:57:36 -0700

““The night was unexpectedly warm, though the sky was its usual heavy overcast. A moist breeze was blowing in slow and easy from the south. Same as it used to. A sea scent mingled with a hint of rain. Insects calling from the clumps of grass along the river. Everything brimming with a languid nostalgia. It seemed that it would rain any minute. When it did, it came in so fine a drizzle that you couldn’t tell if it was raining or not, but I got completely drenched anyway.””

- [Excerpt From: Murakami, Haruki. “A Wild Sheep Chase.” Vintage, 1982-01-01T05:00:00+00:00. iBooks. This material may be protected by copyright.]

Reading that reminded me of Hawaii and Pacific Beach. I want to gather my creative friends and find a quiet bar to gather at and make something brilliant.

(It’s also probably that I often spend my waking thoughts steeped in nostalgia.)

engadget: Xbox chief: we have a product for people who can’t...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 22:26:33 -0700

engadget:

Xbox chief: we have a product for people who can’t get online, it’s called Xbox 360

Yeah, this did seem like a rather short-sighted, consumer-unfriendly thing to say.

"OS X Mavericks will be compatible with all Macs that are capable of running OS X Mountain Lion."

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:29:34 -0700

“OS X Mavericks will be compatible with all Macs that are capable of running OS X Mountain Lion.”

- OS X Mavericks compatible with all Macs capable of running Mountain Lion

Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Looks like I’ll get a little more life out of my mid-2009 MacBook Pro after all.

"He also added that the PS4 would not require any sort of always-on internet connection. He..."

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 22:07:10 -0700

“He also added that the PS4 would not require any sort of always-on internet connection. He elaborated further by saying that it would also not feature a system such as the one employed by the Xbox One, which requires the console to check-in with the home servers once every 24 hours.”

- PlayStation 4 undercuts Xbox One by $100, won’t require online connection to play

This plus the fact that the PS4 will be a hundred dollars cheaper than the XBox One and only 100 more than the cheapest Wii U (at the moment) makes me think that as far as game consoles go, the next few years will be the PS4 generation.

"Here in New York City, the ultimate behavioral ideal is to be unavailable—apology and accessibility..."

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:55:22 -0700

“Here in New York City, the ultimate behavioral ideal is to be unavailable—apology and accessibility alike are culturally unattractive things.”

- Domino’s, the Pizza That Never Sleeps - Leigh Alexander - The Atlantic

If true, it would be the reason why I would visit but never live in New York City.

Watching Nicolas Cage clips and realizing that he has quite a...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 20:31:04 -0700

Watching Nicolas Cage clips and realizing that he has quite a record of punching women (mostly in Wicker Man).

gillianjacobs: community easter eggs: #6 Streets...

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:56:09 -0700

gillianjacobs:

community easter eggs: #6 Streets Ahed

Back on 2010, Hulu made a “Best Of TV” poll, in which Community beat many popular shows and placed on the final four. Upset, @amyfairycakes tweeted to Dan Harmon: “both Modern Family and Glee are streets ahead of your meta bullshit”. After seeing the tweet, Harmon retweeted it and added “~ this tweet’s theme song: http://bit.ly/c3XUSh”, and kept on mocking @amyfairycakes for using that term., with witty puns, animated videos and ultimately, putting the term in one of his scripts. Trying to get back at Harmon, “Amy” noted that streets ahead is a term that’s “in common parlance in ireland & UK” and “not a wacky phrase I just conjured up.” Dan replied: “You’re telling me the only two words you put together that moved me aren’t yours? But aren’t you a writer? You said ‘meta.’”

I love this story.

iheartgeek: As promised, Photoset of Tardis motorcycle....

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:03:15 -0700

iheartgeek:

As promised, Photoset of Tardis motorcycle. Pictures courtesy of LejonAJohnson and Photo Knight on Flickr.

I do love TARDIS-blue.

Hahaha. Good ol’ Tony Stark.

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 09:47:48 -0700

Hahaha. Good ol’ Tony Stark.

Miniature Pop Culture Icons in Vastly Different Settings

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 13:03:56 -0700

I really thought this guy’s tabletop photography scenes were awesome. His photostream is here.

IMG_7976 by Rakib Reza on Flickr. Soon the zombies will be upon...

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:39:00 -0700

IMG_7976 by Rakib Reza on Flickr.

Soon the zombies will be upon us…

George R. R. Martin Watches "Red Wedding" Reaction Videos @ TeamCoco.com

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:14:12 -0700

George R. R. Martin Watches "Red Wedding" Reaction Videos @ TeamCoco.com:

Hehe, that has gotta be kinda fun, to watch people react with that level of intensity to something that you’ve created.

Super Cafe: Trailer Of Steel (by HISHEdotcom) I know I’m...

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 20:58:44 -0700

Super Cafe: Trailer Of Steel (by HISHEdotcom)

I know I’m more inclined to see it because of ‘Nooolan!’

I just got the weirdest desire to watch Scott Pilgrim again… Damn you George Michael!

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 21:49:33 -0700

I just got the weirdest desire to watch Scott Pilgrim again… Damn you George Michael!

Nothing says Day Off like time spent at the DMV. Now , if I could get a root canal while I’m...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:58:45 -0700

Nothing says Day Off like time spent at the DMV. Now , if I could get a root canal while I’m here, I’d be all set.

(I suspect that will be offered by the TSA one day.)