I must have missed the memo
. To my great pleasure, I discovered today that the New York Times has recently made access to their archives free of charge. In addition they’ve abolished their irritating Times Select experiment, where certain columnists and content was offered for a fee. I hope that this change proves to be a profitable one for them. I think it will. I think that institutions like the Times must learn to deliver their service free of tiered corrals of “premium” content. My intuition is that the more obscure that information becomes, the less commercial value it will retain over time. Of course not all information is like this. But particularly for art and opinion, the value comes in sharing the experience.A perfect example is the guest blog by Maira Kalman called The Principles of Uncertainty, which was previously only available to Times Select subscribers. Enjoy it now for free online. Or wait a few weeks and buy the book.
Archive for the ‘general’ Category
The Principles of Uncertainty (now free of charge)
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007The Stuff of Thought
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007“THE STUFF OF THOUGHT: Language as a Window Into Human Nature” is a new book by Steven Pinker reviewed by William Saletan in today’s New York Times.
The medium isn’t just reason; it’s language — and language isn’t the manifestation of one mind; it’s the joint manifestation of millions. The reason language works is that it reflects the world as we jointly experience it.
Watch out for that diamond sign
Tuesday, June 12th, 2007
Donald E. Knuth, Professor Emeritus of The Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University, maintains one of the homelier homepages on the web. But he has a refined eye for design. I’m fascinated by his photographic collection of diamond road signs. Knuth is known for attention to minutia. He invented TeX a system for typesetting and Metafont a format for creating and encoding typefaces on computers. Perhaps it’s his eye for typographical detail that drew his eye to the distinctiveness to be found in common road signs.
Secularly Faith-Based
Sunday, September 4th, 2005For long term redevelopment after Hurricane Katrina and the recent earthquakes in Kashmir, I entrust my disaster relief dontations to Oxfam.
Cultivating Diffidence
Wednesday, August 31st, 2005Mick LaSalle doesn’t always seem to care what he writes these days in his movie reviews for the Chronicle. But today’s piece on “The Constant Gardender” goes far beyond anything that makes it into the New York Times or the New Yorker. His description of Ralph Fiennes’ performance deserves a place in the OED for the meaning of “diffidence:”
Fiennes can be an austere actor, but this role calls for different notes, a softness, almost a sweetness. He plays Justin, a diplomat sent to Africa in the British foreign service, with a specific and rather interesting form of diffidence — as interesting here as when one finds it in real life: It’s the diffidence of someone who is meek by disposition, but whose self-image is, at bottom, healthy and confident. Such people are interesting because they’re rare, in that most people, if anything, tend to be the reverse, blustering on the outside and unsure on the inside.”
“The marketing is the message”
Thursday, April 28th, 2005It may be that you’ve arrived here hoping for a snazzy self-marketing site. You won’t ever find that here. I am working on some examples of the work I do in design. But I’m hoping to avoid the pitfalls of overmarketing.
Looking for a photo stylist?
Wednesday, March 30th, 2005Last night I finished a new website design for my friend Justine Baum, a freelance stylist for commercial photography. Anyone looking for an experienced photo stylist should check out her work. She’s especially good with kids.
Don’t you know that you can count me out…(in)
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005Stands to reason our Military would finally adopt the latest techniques in guerrilla marketing…
March 22, 2005 · Matterform Media, makers of spam filtering and tracking software, has identified spam messages apparently being sent by the United States Department of Defense to advertise a Web site used to market military careers to young Americans.The spam messages were collected as part of Matterform’s spam collecting and analysis services.The spam messages hawk scholarships, tax-exempt pay and training and invite young people to “See it for what it really is.” The spams advertise a Web site at todaysmilitary.com.
The Indian Ocean Tragedy
Thursday, December 30th, 2004- Médecins Sans Frontières Tsunami Emergency Appeal
- Oxfam Asian Earthquake & Tsunami Fund
- Sarvodaya Relief Fund for Tsunami Tragedy
- Red Cross International Response Fund
- AmeriCares South Asia Earthquake Relief Fund
- Direct Relief International International Assistance Fund