Elegant Distractions

Wasn't enough to fall in with the Moleskine crowd. I admit to having two notebooks, a pocket notebook, a set of cahiers, and recently added a memo pocket to hold my task cards. No, the slippery slope just starts there.

The notebooks get you hooked then comes the pens. Pretty soon your roller ball seems outclassed by the paper and binding. But please take my advice and no matter what do not go down the path of pen pathos by indulging in a fountain pen. Never mind that the feel of pen on fine paper cannot be matched by any ball pen. Never mind that your writing will improve (once you get the hang of a fountain). Much better to resist, to stay out of the opium den that is pen obsession.

Stay on a keyboard, stick to digital. Analog is far too seductive.

Posted by director at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Productivity

Check out this quote from Woody Norris in Make vol. 5 (subscription only):

[N]obody really understands gravity. What we do know is that it has something to do with mass and it is the result of something going on in the nucleus of the atom. I think I know what that "something" is. I might be the only person in the world who know what that "something" is. I know that sounds brazen, but I believe it's true. I have been working on a variety of experiments, over the course of years, to test my theory in a way that yields clear, unambiguous results so that it can be independently reproduced....

Based on the current rate of progress, I am confident that within ten years we will understand the mechanism of gravity and be able to influence it in specific ways.

My kind of guy. He's putting his own money into this research, not going around begging for grants.

Posted by director at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Technology

Roger Simon shows that he just doesn't get it when it comes to longevity.

Too many people think that living a long time means being old for a longer period. The reality will be more like being younger longer instead. What's the point of retiring when you feel great and have good health?

Posted by director at 03:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Technology

The Perfesser mentions the HBO show about polygamy in Utah. When Cathy Seipp argues that "legalized polygamy is legalized slavery" it might sound over-the-top. It is not.

A friend of mine lost five years of her life to a polygamist cult, not to mention a great deal of her sanity and self-worth. It took a brave and daring escape from an isolated Mexican community to get the remnants of her life back. That HBO finds this entertaining is just awful. What's next? A show about the joys of 18th century plantations?

Posted by director at 06:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

Just in case the concept of Religion of Peace has taken hold in your brain, a not-so-gentle reminder of the historical nature of The Enemy of All Civilization.

From Roger Simon

Posted by director at 01:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Politics

... or do others, when they see the word intifada, hear the word infantile in their heads?

Posted by director at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (2) | Categories: Politics

We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.

Via Matt Furey.

Posted by director at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: General

Two things that were didactic about Sunday's Oscars: the self-congratulations for the openly political (read: leftist) nature of films in 2005 and the begging for people to head back to the theaters.

Only people in such a self-contained, self-referential echo-chamber of an industry could fail to make the connection between the two trends.

My prediction is that Hollywood as we know it will continue to fail in this regard but the demand for simply entertaining films is so huge that a separate industry, probably geographically diverse, will emerge to meet that demand.

Posted by director at 09:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Film

It's been apparent for a while that Hollywood was out of step with mainstream America. The Oscars reflect what Hollywood thinks are the best movies of the year. You would think that those movies making a lot of money would be at least represented in the awards. Alas, you would be wrong. This is the first year in a long time when I don't think I've seen or even wanted to see any of the movies in the best picture category. Usually there are some I've seen and some I haven't. More often than not, what I consider the best film of the year is at least nominated. This year, all 5 films were small-budget niche films. I don't think I'm alone in this assessment. The ratings this year were terrible. They are the worst they have been since 1987. They dropped off something like 10% from last year. I wonder when they'll resume making movies for the rest of us.

-Godshatter

Posted by Godshatter at 07:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) | Categories: Film