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Category: culture

business, culture, entertainment Posted onAugust 24, 2011September 10, 2021

Rdio, Spotify and the Paradox of Choice

Spotify has arrived in the US! Twitter was all abuzz when the announcement came, and lots of my friends jumped on board as soon as […] Read More

business, culture, media Posted onMarch 24, 2011September 10, 2021

Bad News? The Future of NPR and the New York Times

There have been a couple of interesting developments in news media in recent weeks. The first development is the mostly symbolic vote by the House […] Read More

business, culture, government, politics, the economy Posted onFebruary 26, 2011September 10, 2021

Gawande on Healthcare’s Super-Utilizers

In my last post I attempted to list the things I found especially resonant last year in media, entertainment, art and journalism. I say “attempted” […] Read More

culture, entertainment, video Posted onJanuary 28, 2011September 10, 2021

Friday Favorite Video

activism, culture, government, politics Posted onNovember 30, 2010September 10, 2021

On Happy Meals and the Nanny State

The latest highly-publicized, hotly-ridiculed move by my adopted city of San Francisco was to ban the Happy Meal. And so once again we have lobbed […] Read More

business, culture, technology Posted onMay 16, 2010September 10, 2021

Have You Ever Killed a Person With Your Car?

The ongoing BP / Deepwater Horizon oil disaster is a sickening object lesson in the evils of oil. Of course it’s just the latest in […] Read More

culture, religion Posted onApril 13, 2010September 10, 2021

Losing My Religion

I was a good Bryn Athyn boy once. Many people reading this will have no idea what that means, but briefly, Bryn Athyn is a […] Read More

activism, culture, government, politics Posted onMarch 29, 2010September 10, 2021

Our Missed Opportunity

Things are ugly right now. After the healthcare bill passed, we all heard how a few so-called tea baggers hurled racial slurs and other insults […] Read More

culture, technology Posted onMarch 10, 2010September 10, 2021

Two Futures

I feel like the media constantly bombards us with two completely opposite visions of the future: In future #1 I can talk to my home […] Read More

culture Posted onFebruary 12, 2010September 10, 2021

Coming Soon to Google Street View: The Inside of Your House

Today I walked down to Cafe Dolci to grab a banh mi (I always order  a combo of grilled pork and paté incidentally), and there […] Read More

culture Posted onFebruary 8, 2010September 10, 2021

And They Shall Know Us by the Trail of our Marketing

When future archaeologists unearth the cities of what was once the great empire called America, and they sift through the remains of our civilization looking […] Read More

culture Posted onFebruary 5, 2010September 10, 2021

The End of Imagination

“[The writer] does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there.” – J.G. Ballard I’ve been on a kind of media fast […] Read More

culture, politics, the economy Posted onAugust 21, 2009September 10, 2021

America: The Game

Americans, it’s well known, aren’t interested in soccer. Americans prefer the other football. We don’t like hockey either, which isn’t surprising, since it’s a lot […] Read More

culture, government, politics Posted onAugust 19, 2009September 10, 2021

Dear Conservative Friend

Yes old friend, I’m talking to you. You with the high-paying office job, the fine house in the suburbs, the lovely wife and the precocious […] Read More

culture, miscellany, social media Posted onJuly 14, 2009September 10, 2021

Ships Passing, Twitter Style

I suppose I could create a bridge between them, but sometimes it’s fun to just watch.

culture, elimination dance, government, people, politics Posted onJuly 14, 2009September 10, 2021

Elimination Dance: Sarah Palin

If Sarah Palin falls in the forest and the media ignores her, does it make a sound? I shouldn’t have to wish for Sarah Palin […] Read More

business, culture, elimination dance, government, politics Posted onJuly 12, 2009September 10, 2021

Elimination Dance: Small-Government Fanatics

It’s been a while since I posted here, and I’m introducing a new category: Elimination Dance. Instructions: An elimination dance begins with a crowded dance […] Read More

culture, social media Posted onApril 20, 2009September 10, 2021

twitter for curmudgeons and noobs

After holding out for a couple of years, I’ve become a full-on twitter convert. I wasn’t avoiding twitter on principle or anything. I just couldn’t […] Read More

activism, business, culture, the economy Posted onApril 19, 2009September 10, 2021

Green shopping, the Costco way

I have a somewhat irrational affection for Costco. The selection is good, the prices are low. They have a generous return policy (my friend just […] Read More

activism, culture, people, religion, technology, Uncategorized Posted onMarch 22, 2009September 10, 2021

Why we love Mad Men

I just finished watching the second season of Mad Men, and I’m left with a familiar bittersweet feeling. The same one you get when you […] Read More

culture, data visualization, entertainment, miscellany Posted onMarch 13, 2009September 10, 2021

March Madness for data junkies

[Disclaimer: The following post is partly a reprise of one I wrote last year] March Madness is almost here, and my workplace productivity is bound […] Read More

culture, technology Posted onMarch 3, 2009September 10, 2021

Let the newspapers die

There’s no shortage of ideas for how the newspaper industry might save itself – by adopting new business models, distribution strategies, etc. The other day, […] Read More

culture, social media Posted onFebruary 24, 2009September 10, 2021

5 things Yelp should do to avoid future lawsuits

My last post, “How to win at Yelp: a guide for businesses” was inspired by the recent controversies surrounding Yelp, and the gist of the […] Read More

culture, social media Posted onFebruary 23, 2009September 10, 2021

How to win at Yelp: a guide for businesses

Last week, the East Bay Express published a lengthy story accusing Yelp of extortion. Among other things, the article charges Yelp of offering to take […] Read More

culture, the economy Posted onFebruary 9, 2009September 10, 2021

We could have saved the economy… who knew?

Here’s a remarkably simple formula for personal finance. It’s genius, and I wish someone had told us this sooner.

culture Posted onJanuary 27, 2009September 10, 2021

Schadenfreude

Well, the Eagles lost the NFC championship game… again. This is what Philadelphia teams do. Instead of outright sucking like you can always count on, […] Read More

business, culture, user experience Posted onJanuary 3, 2009September 10, 2021

Sign o’ the times

I received my weekly BayCHI job bank email today, which has always contained at least twenty or thirty postings.  Today, however, it was so thin […] Read More

culture, social media, user experience Posted onDecember 29, 2008September 10, 2021

twitter is a game

On many occasions and even in a recent post, I’ve said that I just don’t get twitter. I was certain I didn’t want to tune […] Read More

culture, politics Posted onDecember 28, 2008September 10, 2021

Maybe we need a downturn

The other day on my bus into downtown SF, a down-and-out looking guy stepped on and asked if anyone could give him the dollar he […] Read More

culture, social media Posted onDecember 22, 2008September 10, 2021

A Facebook Holiday

The somewhat agonizing ritual of sending holiday cards has been my way of keeping long-time and distant friends up-to-date on my life, and each year […] Read More

culture, entertainment, social media Posted onDecember 4, 2008September 10, 2021

Huffington vs. Stewart backstage – on blogging and web TV

For the last couple of months, I’ve been working for Kyte (more on that in a future post), and yesterday we got a nice shout […] Read More

culture, entertainment Posted onDecember 4, 2008September 10, 2021

Everything is amazing; nobody’s happy

I wish I could maintain this perspective all the time: Thanks Louis CK

culture, social media Posted onOctober 27, 2008September 10, 2021

flirting with twitter

No, I don’t mean I’ve been flirting via twitter. It took me a long time to sign up for twitter. I just didn’t get it. […] Read More

culture, miscellany, writing Posted onSeptember 19, 2008September 10, 2021

RIP DFW

It’s taken me a few days to write this post, partly because I’ve been busy (remarkable in itself, since I’m officially unemployed right now), and […] Read More

culture, miscellany Posted onSeptember 11, 2008September 10, 2021

The Republican Ticket

I’ve been off the grid for a couple weeks, backpacking with my brothers. We embarked a day or two after McCain announced his surprising (and […] Read More

business, culture, social media Posted onJuly 20, 2008September 10, 2021

If you build it, they won’t come

The Business Technology blog over at WSJ reports on a recent study of more than 100 corporate social networks. Ed Moran, a Deloitte consultant, found […] Read More

culture, data visualization Posted onJuly 19, 2008September 10, 2021

Return of the Douchebag

Perusing the online blogopolis today, I saw that Xeni over at boingboing has proposed a new greeting card that would thank the recipient for “not […] Read More

business, culture, miscellany Posted onJuly 17, 2008September 10, 2021

Yes People and No People

I’ve been stretched too thinly across a few big projects and trying for nearly three months to find a couple of qualified people to help […] Read More

culture, miscellany Posted onJuly 5, 2008September 10, 2021

Before you give up on the human race…

Lots and lots of people have passed this video around, but it puts a giant, ridiculous grin on my face everytime I watch it. This […] Read More

business, culture Posted onMay 26, 2008September 10, 2021

Resumes are obsolete

I was doing a little housekeeping the other day, and I found a packet of cream-colored, cotton fiber resume paper that I must have bought […] Read More

culture, miscellany Posted onMay 1, 2008September 10, 2021

5 Things I Love About The Library

My small town library was one of my absolute favorite places when I was a kid. I regularly borrowed to the full limit of what […] Read More

business, culture, design Posted onApril 30, 2008September 10, 2021

Stupid product of the week: American (big brand) beer

Have you ever noticed the way American beer commercials emphasize packaging gimmicks? The wide-mouth can. The label that turns blue when it’s cold. The easy-pour […] Read More

culture, entertainment, miscellany Posted onApril 13, 2008September 10, 2021

Britney Bashing Bottoms Out

I can’t believe I’m writing about Britney Spears, but bear with me. One would hope that Britney bottomed out somewhere around the head-shaving or the […] Read More

business, culture, miscellany Posted onMarch 20, 2008September 10, 2021

Stupid product of the week: Lexus 600h

‘h’ is for hypocrisy. If the premier selling point of a hybrid vehicle is fuel economy, then you have to wonder why Lexus won’t reveal […] Read More

culture, design Posted onMarch 9, 2008September 10, 2021

Design Meets Democracy

The state of Texas recently held an “e-vote” to choose a new license plate design. There were five designs in the running, and over 450,000 […] Read More

business, culture Posted onFebruary 27, 2008September 10, 2021

Starbucks 2.0

Starbucks To Begin Sinister ‘Phase Two’ Of Operation read the headline from The Onion. That was 2001, and Starbucks was heading for world domination. Seven […] Read More

business, culture, technology Posted onFebruary 13, 2008September 10, 2021

Dubai to blow another wad

The fantasy known as Dubai, home of the world’s only 7-star hotel, is planning to burn another billion or so on what will be the […] Read More

culture, entertainment, miscellany Posted onJanuary 24, 2008September 10, 2021

Guilty Pleasure

When I was a kid, my parents controlled my TV diet, and while I was hardly deprived, I was never at risk of becoming a […] Read More

business, culture, miscellany Posted onJanuary 17, 2008September 10, 2021

The war of dependence

President Bush is touring the Middle East right now, and he has made sure to bluster about Iran’s fictional nuclear ambitions at every stop, but […] Read More

culture, data visualization Posted onJanuary 4, 2008September 10, 2021

Pronouns used by the candidates in their post-caucus speeches

File this under “random.” I’m not sure what to make of this, but as I was listening to the speeches of the various candidates after […] Read More

culture, people Posted onNovember 7, 2007September 10, 2021

Quote of the day

It really bugs me… They say, ‘Oh, David Beckham – he’s not very clever.’ Yeah. They don’t say, ‘Stephen Hawking – shit at football.’ – […] Read More

culture, politics Posted onSeptember 21, 2007September 10, 2021

Era of backwards

Doesn’t it seem a bit strange that the places in this country most likely to be attacked by terrorists – New York, San Francisco, Los […] Read More

culture, miscellany Posted onFebruary 14, 2006September 10, 2021

fuck

Did that get your attention? That’s the name of the movie I saw last night, as part of the San Francisco Independent Film Festival. It’s […] Read More

culture Posted onMay 24, 2005September 9, 2021

black white gray

On Anca’s blog tonight, I came across this H.L. Mencken quote… Moral certainty is always a sign of cultural inferiority. The more uncivilized the man, […] Read More

culture Posted onMarch 10, 2005September 9, 2021

peeling back the layers

Monday was Tracy’s birthday, and we spent the morning wandering through the Yu Gardens and Market. It was in the Yu Gardens that we suddenly […] Read More

culture Posted onMarch 9, 2005September 9, 2021

schooled in shanghai

In all my experiences of international travel, I’ve been able to get by in English without too much difficulty, and where I’ve had trouble with […] Read More

culture Posted onMarch 7, 2005September 9, 2021

cold city, part 2

We saw nothing interesting about the architecture as we walked through the French Concession district of Shanghai, and our language issues persisted. There’s literally an […] Read More

culture Posted onMarch 6, 2005September 9, 2021

cold city, part 1

Shanghai has not felt warm since we arrived, in any sense of the word. It was 5° C last night, and I woke up to […] Read More

culture, miscellany Posted onNovember 20, 2004September 9, 2021

life of pi and runaway horses

“There are always those who take it upon themselves to defend God, as if Ultimate Reality, as if the sustaining frame of existence, were something […] Read More

business, culture Posted onNovember 15, 2004September 9, 2021

McDelivery for the extreme couch potato

I haven’t watched a lot of tv in Singapore, but the other night I saw the end of an episode of Singapore Idol, and it […] Read More

culture, religion Posted onNovember 7, 2004September 9, 2021

godeatgod

The other night a small group of us went to see a play called “godeatgod” by local playrwright, Haresh Sharma. On our first or second […] Read More

culture, writing Posted onNovember 4, 2004September 9, 2021

applied memetics for disillusioned dems

By way of Brett, whose friend Nathan Piazza has authored an eloquent primer for honing the rhetoric of the left… “As I contemplated the depressing […] Read More

culture, miscellany Posted onOctober 30, 2004September 9, 2021

scariest halloween costumes for 2004

Just in time for Halloween, the scariest costumes for 2004. So wrong it hurts. Thanks Rebecca! Ralph Nader Put the fear of God in John […] Read More

culture, data visualization, design, mobile Posted onOctober 12, 2004September 9, 2021

red vs. blue – wherever you are

A group calling themselves gravity monkey has gone mobile with FundRace‘s geo-coded FEC data. They’ve created a Java app called red | blue (pronounced “red […] Read More

culture, politics Posted onOctober 8, 2004September 9, 2021

one way to profit from the war in Iraq…

Someone named Taylor Donahue, vice president of production at Timely Studios, wrote this memo to his boss. It’s pretty funny, but not nearly as funny […] Read More

culture Posted onSeptember 22, 2004September 9, 2021

recent reads

I’ve been re-reading bits of Mishima’s Sea of Fertility tetralogy: book 1 – Spring Snow book 2 – Runaway Horses book 3 – The Temple […] Read More

Recent Posts

  • Why it takes as long as it takes
  • On Interviews and Evangelizing User Experience
  • The Internet Bubble
  • Rdio, Spotify and the Paradox of Choice
  • Bad News? The Future of NPR and the New York Times

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