Razzoo

There are many things I like about Kristen, but that she is the...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:30:07 -0600

There are many things I like about Kristen, but that she is the sort of person who *has* a favorite theorist is one of the tops. Also, food.

kthread:

Zizek is my favorite theorist for many reasons—mostly, whenever I miss grad school, I watch video of him expounding and am hugely entertained.

Highly recommend his Twitter account, @zizekspeaks (if only for the bio). Great moment (0:41 in) that culturite points to about consumption—

via culturite:

Slavoj Zizek: The Monstrosity of Christ

Killin it as usual. Watch/listen to the whole thing, but especially at 0:41:13 when he slays organic food, Starbucks, Ethos water & consumption as relief of social responsibility.

tedr: mikehudack: hiten: Spreadable Media: A Cure for Viral...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:43:14 -0600

tedr:

mikehudack:

hiten:

Spreadable Media: A Cure for Viral Marketing | Conversation Convergence | Fast Company

Post TribeCon beers in the park with Ted, Molly, Blake, Andrew. ...

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:43:43 -0500

Post TribeCon beers in the park with Ted, Molly, Blake, Andrew. I love my pals. (via taylordavidson)

"She kept a textfile on her desktop. At first glance it looked like a lot of mishmash, but upon..."

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:02:40 -0500

“

She kept a textfile on her desktop. At first glance it looked like a lot of mishmash, but upon closer inspection you’d find someone’s name and then under it a giant list of seemingly unrelated words. Red, cats, 6/19, Sirius, Lyle Lovett, Aaron Sorkin.

If she knew you, you had an entry in that textfile. And if you mentioned something you liked, something you wanted, your birthday, your anniversary, your favorite color, what size you wore, she’d make a note of it under your name.

That’s how she was able to surprise people. And she loved doing that.

”

- [shauna wright] Regarding Leslie Harpold

Clearly, this manchild is destined to grow up to tell you how to...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:27:35 -0500

Clearly, this manchild is destined to grow up to tell you how to spend your day.

mikemonteiro:

merlin:

mugshot, 1988

The Classic. Cold sore, tie-dye, and chicken grease. In Florida.

"I have lunch there every week or two, and while it would be cheaper to have a can of American Coke,..."

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 07:57:34 -0500

“I have lunch there every week or two, and while it would be cheaper to have a can of American Coke, I always pay extra for the 12-ounce bottle that says it’s “Hecho en Mexico.” I do this because I believe it tastes better, and I really don’t care why. Spend a few years writing a column about consumer culture, and what you learn is that we all think everyone else’s shopping quirks are weird and irrational — but that our own make perfect sense.”

- Consumed - The Cult of Mexican Coca-Cola - NYTimes.com

Jack & Sloane

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:24:42 -0500

Jack & Sloane

Pretty sure I’m going to love Merlin’s book. (via...

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:09:03 -0500

Pretty sure I’m going to love Merlin’s book.

(via inboxzero)

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:24:52 -0500

(via inboxzero)

"Much more important than working hard is knowing how to find the right thing to work on. Paying..."

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:46:23 -0500

“Much more important than working hard is knowing how to find the right thing to work on. Paying attention to what is going on in the world. Seeing patterns. Seeing things as they are rather than how you want them to be. Being able to read what people want. Putting yourself in the right place where information is flowing freely and interesting new juxtapositions can be seen.”

- Caterina.net: Working hard is overrated

"...that kind of a machine..."

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:42:41 -0500

As it happened (as it was supposed to happen), I ran across this _Breakfast of Champions_ audio MM posted. I remember once reading this little cherry bomb of a book in one fell swoop, then needing to get up and look outside to see if the world was still there. If I didn’t feel so raw just now, I might take the book down & reread it now, but I don’t think I can do it. So maybe you should. You’ll end up wiser. Promise.

merlin:

92Y Podcast: Kurt Vonnegut Reads Breakfast of Champions - 92Y Blog - 92nd Street Y - New York, NY

I can’t believe I’ve made it this long without ever hearing this audio, described as Vonnegut’s “first public reading of the classic Breakfast of Champions, three years before it was published, on May 4, 1970 at the 92nd Street Y.”

Sounds just terrific in the air:

This is a world premiere of a book called, Breakfast of Champions. Not even my wife has seen it — I’ve simply passed the rumor around that it exists. So, here we go. It…uh…it’s a novel.

My name is Dwayne Hoover and I am an experiment by the creator of the universe. I am the only creature in the entire universe who has free will. I am the only creature who has to figure out what to do next and why. Everybody else is a robot.

I am pooped. I wish I were a robot too. It is perfectly exhausting having to reason all the time in a universe I never made.

When you hear Kurt Vonnegut reading this aloud you appreciate the necessity of science fiction; it’s a way we crazy people have of talking about the world without talking about the world. I didn’t always get that, but now I really think I do.

Listen to the whole thing. It’s poetry.

nolatonyc: coolest groom’s cake ever. thanks wifey.

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 08:26:49 -0500

nolatonyc:

coolest groom’s cake ever. thanks wifey.

In which I launch diabolical plans with JR & Remington...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:46:27 -0500

In which I launch diabolical plans with JR & Remington Steele. (via Tony Haile)

SASHIMI / TEETH

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:02:37 -0500

SASHIMI / TEETH

"The guy that I stayed with got five days with the “dirty bag” for waving a Palestinian flag out a..."

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:11:10 -0500

“The guy that I stayed with got five days with the “dirty bag” for waving a Palestinian flag out a window. The dirty bag is when Israeli security services get a sack, wipe their shit on it, and put the bag over your head while your hands are tied behind your back. I spat out my falafel as he was explaining that to me, but he just goes, “That’s nothing. My cousin got it for two weeks without a break.” It’s difficult to come home and hear people complaining about reruns on TV after that.”

- BANKSY - SWINDLE Magazine

Once this girl got me to like her by pretending to know the...

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:35:00 -0500

Once this girl got me to like her by pretending to know the words to this song.

Rush - Limelight (Live) (via subdivisiones)

This is what my 14 yr old brain sounded like. Rush - Xanadu (...

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:29:57 -0500

This is what my 14 yr old brain sounded like.

Rush - Xanadu ( Exit Stage Left ) (via ExitStageLeftDVD)

(via Mike Monteiro)

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:16:28 -0500

(via Mike Monteiro)

Love Me Till My Heart Stops (via Thomas Hawk)

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:44:38 -0500

Love Me Till My Heart Stops (via Thomas Hawk)

The Merchant of Page Views

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:10:23 -0500

mikemonteiro:

On Wednesday morning I got a panicked IM from a friend of mine. “Did you hear about the Twitter hack?” No, I hadn’t. He then sent me a link to TechCrunch. “I’m not clicking that.” I said. “No, please.” Fine.

He continued typing in the IM window as I read Michael Arrington’s post, and as I jumped between windows reading about Arrington’s “moral dilemma” my friend was telling me that he’d applied for a job at Twitter a while back. For reasons that are none of anyone’s business but his, he ended up staying at his job. He was now justifiably worried his boss would find out he’d been testing the waters elsewhere.

My friend has a family to support. He’s incredibly talented, great work ethic, and at the end of the day, goes home, has a beer and enjoys his family’s company. He’s not a public figure. And I assume he’s one of many such stories that were delivered into Arrington’s hands on Tuesday evening.

“He says he’s not publishing that type of stuff.”

“That’s a relief.”

That afternoon Arrington threatened to publish everything.

I’ve talked to enough people who’ve convinced me TechCrunch is within the law to publish this stuff. So fine. But having the right to do something doesn’t necessarily make it the right thing to do. Others have compared it to publishing a product leak. We love those, right? Pictures of a new iPhone model? Gimme. So, what’s the problem here? Are we just predisposed to hate Arrington because he behaves like an immoral petulant fratboy? Sure, that’s possible.

But I don’t think that’s all. Let’s go back to the product leak for a second. Usually the act of a rival company or a disgruntled employee, a product leak is business problem.

What Arrington stated he received in his mailbox was a hodge podge of data. Some personal. Some business. Some of it about a very high-profile startup, some of it about the high-profile officers about that startup and some of it about regular working people looking for better jobs, asking about insurance issues, having personal conversations, possibly even revealing medical information to trusted parties.

And Michael Arrington sifted through every one of those bits of data.

He made two piles, one to publish and one to keep in his back pocket and use as a threat.

I’d venture to say that a more ethical human being, even a journalist (look it up Michael), who realizes he’s come across personal data on non-public figures seals it shut and informs the victim of the theft about what’s transpired.

So, did he have a right to publish the business stuff? Sure, probably. (I’m not a lawyer.) That was his pound of flesh to play with. But he couldn’t get his pound of flesh without spilling a lot of blood, and a real journalist doesn’t get this bloody.