I had another dream, I had another life
Post have been a little light recently. There are a variety of reasons for this, but one of them is that I’m dissatisfied with the current layout and functionality of the site. I’m working on some major changes, and I hope to have them up within a month. Maybe even sooner.
In the meantime, expect more posts and maybe also some previews of the changes I have planned.
This morning’s piece for Times And Seasons was a tough one to write. I wrestled with it for about 3 of 4 hours before getting it into shape that I thought was good enough for public consumption, but just barely. I think there are too many different themes poking out in odd directions, giving the piece a sort of misshapen, rough texture. I’ll revisit it one day.
In the meantime, however, I think there’s still some interesting points about the difference between being exactly obedient and being maliciously compliant.
As I’ve mentioned recently, I review a lot of books.
That wasn’t my intention initially. I started my Goodreads account primarily for my own sake. I know that I’ve read hundreds–maybe even thousands–of books that I’ve since forgotten. Most of these are pretty silly, escapist sci fi novels that I read as a young adult. Although I say they are silly and escapist, they are still incredibly nostalgic for me, and not remembering what I’ve read feels like losing a part of myself.
I quickly realized that trying to go back and record all the books I’d read in the past was a monumental undertaking, so I’m not even trying, but I did start keeping track of (most of) the books I’ve read since I joined. And, because writing is what I do, I found that I was writing fairly long reviews. And then I found that other Goodreads members were liking and sometimes even commenting on my reviews.
So I figured if I’m going to do this, I may as well do it all the way.
Jake Evill has a pretty good point: the standard plaster cast is not exactly 21st century technology. As he puts it:
After many centuries of splints and cumbersome plaster casts that have been the itchy and smelly bane of millions of children, adults and the aged alike, the world over, we at last bring fracture support into the 21st century. The Cortex exoskeletal cast provides a highly technical and trauma zone localized support system that is fully ventilated, super light, shower friendly, hygienic, recyclable and stylish.
The concept is simple and fantastic: get a 3d scan of your arm (leg, whatever) and then print out a custom-fitted exoskeletal “cast” that gives support and protection without being smelly and gross and uncomfortable. Mashable has a video with more info, but I can’t figure out how to embed it so you’ll have to go there to watch it.
All I have to say is that this idea is so cool it almost makes me want to break my arm. Also: “Evill” is about the coolest last name possible.
There’s been a lot of talk about the growing income inequality in the United States, and I’ve become convinced by the research that (all else being equal) more income inequality is usually a bad thing. Along with this narrative, however, there’s an assumption that as the rich get richer and richer the rest of us get poorer and poorer. But that assumes a zero-sum game, and the economy is not a zero-sum game. It also spends too much time focusing on dollars instead of on people. As the chart above shows–lifted from this piece at the conservative American Enterprise Institute–if we just pick a fixed dollar amount (like $75,000) and then ask how many households are above or below it, the result is that more and more families are moving upwards, not downwards. (And keep in mind, inflation has nothing to do with this because the chart is using inflation-adjusted dollars.)
Just thought I’d mention that I added some social links to the site: Facebook (which has a Page that basically mirrors the blog), Twitter (which I don’t use that much) and Goodreads.
Goodreads I actually use quite a lot. I just finished updating the books I’ve read over the last few months with long reviews on each one. I think I’ll add like a “top 5 fiction” and “top 5 non-fiction” Page to my blog here at Difficult Run, but in the meantime you can check out my reviews by clicking the link in the sidebar to the right. From now on, I think I’ll also post a short note whenever a new review goes up, but I had several to do at once so I just pumped them out over the last couple of days as fast as I could. You can also just become a friend on Goodreads (or whatever they call it) if you already use it.
(The Goodreads link goes to my read books, sorted by date. So does this link, if you’re curious to check them out.)
Got the news from Film School Rejects. Here’s the trailer:
Oh, yeah. I need to see this. I’ve always been caught between respect for Mr. Watterson as an artist and a very private person, and this wish as a fan that we could have more. The more private he is, the more I want some kind of explanation, discussion, or something. But you know, the fact that you can’t buy any licensed goods might just be part of what makes the comics so special to so many people. And, in the end, Mr. Watterson created one of the most important cultural touchstones of the 20th century. Do we have a right to expect more? Probably not, so let’s be content with a documentary like this one.
Friend and DR commenter WalkerW posted a great article on the management lessons of one James Tiberius Kirk, Captain. Now, personally I’m a greater fan of Jean Luc than James T., but since WalkerW says it is “the first of (hopefully) many leadership tips from the sci-fi/fantasy world,” I have hope for the future. This first installment was largely based on a Forbes article, but the additional commentary and videos from WalkerW are a definite improvement.
I’ve got WalkerW started on the Dresden Files now, so maybe after Picard and Gandalf we’ll get Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Except, of course, that I just don’t think there’s any way to write an article about management lessons from that particular wizard without turning the premise around and writing from a “What Not To Do” perspective!
The Daily Mail has an article about U.S. Air Force aerial gunner Ed Drew’s tintype photography from Afghanistan. Tintype is a historical relic; a kind of photography dating to the middle of the 19th century that was invented just in time to document the Civil War. Drew is using this finicky, difficult technique to take stunning photos (like the one above) of his fellow servicemen and women in Afghanistan. He says that the painstaking process helps him handle the stress of deployment, and I hope that’s true. In any case, the results are arresting. See more of the photos here.
I’ve read about Tokien’s idea of “sub-creation” before, which is basically the idea that when we as artists create worlds for our art (the way Tolkien did with Middle Earth) we are in a sense imitating the creative act of God in creating our world. I’m fascinated by this idea that artistic world-building is a kind of godly act, and this idea of imitation or replication also has ramifications for mythology: where the same archetypes and stories surface time and time again in different cultures and contexts.
If these ideas interest you, too, then check out playwright Mahonri Stewart’s piece at Dawning of a Brighter Day.