Monthly Archives: January 2019

Wrought

My friend Stephanie and I had a good conversation about Mike Nichols‘ assertion that there are only three types of scenes:  “negotiations, seductions, and fights.” She pointed out that this formulation excludes soliloquies or any sort of scene with fewer … Continue reading

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Oligarchs

Know your Russia-linked oligarchs! Roman Abramovich:  Russian-born, he exercised his rights under the Law of Return to attain Israeli citizenship, allowing him to visit Britain visa-free. Aras Agalarov:  father of Azerbaijiani pop star Emin Agalarov (who is a client of … Continue reading

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Heliotropic

This is the view from my cubicle looking over my monitors.  That bright, sideways isosceles triangle is a sliver of window.  (I think I’m the only one happy that my department is moving a few floors down during construction for … Continue reading

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Crait

I woke up to find all of the streets white.  I genuinely didn’t know what it was.  Frozen rain from the night before?  Some sort of frost? Turns out…

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Antaean

In Greek mythology, Antaeus was the son of Poseidon and Gaia.  He could never be defeated in wrestling because every time he was thrown to the ground, contact with his mother, the earth, revitalized him.  (Heracles was the one who … Continue reading

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Collapse

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, so hydrogen fusion is a cheap source of energy for (main-sequence) stars.  As hydrogen runs out in a star’s core, it resorts to slightly more expensive helium fusion. When the outward … Continue reading

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Bounty

There’s an Indian restaurant in Stamford that I’ve been frequenting, but I can’t read the name without thinking of  the Han Solo line “Well, the bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mantell changed my mind.”

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Compost

More from the State of the World 2019.  Great Bruce Sterling throwaway line: “Tomorrow composts today.”

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Philology

I have long heard people say (what I thought was) “What is your read?” when asking others for their opinion of something.  As if it were short for “What is your read of the situation?” However, I ran across it … Continue reading

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Verbing

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Autobiography

The author Jonathan Carroll posed this thought experiment:  “What would be the title of the book of your life and what would be some of the chapter names?” Delight is a Harsh Mistress “Elder Young’s Eldest” “A Children’s Catechism” “Protoculture … Continue reading

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State

Every year, the sci-fi author Bruce Sterling, web developer Jon Lebkowsky, & invited guests convene a “State of the World” discussion on The WELL. From the State of the World 2019, I was struck by this comment from James Bridle, author of the book New … Continue reading

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Steganography

This clever AI hid data from its creators to cheat at its appointed task Clever girl.

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Jonah

Between this ad and the “Bilby” short film, I feel like I may have been the one holding DreamWorks Animation back all these years.  They ought to have thrown me overboard years ago.

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Precarity

In reflecting on my 2018, I neglected to think in terms of the Blue Escape.  I should give it more thought, but my reflexive answer would be “results have been mixed.”  I reread my highlighted passages of Cal Newport‘s Deep Work … Continue reading

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