January 2011
10 posts
3 tags
“Scientific philologists will often argue that phonetic decay is a natural...”
– Robert Bridges
1 tag
“There was the distinctive typeface of White House directives and memoranda, a...”
– from Secrets, by Daniel Ellsberg, describing a moment when he looks in a forbidden binder late at night in his boss’s office.
UI gripe.
Tumblr’s “messages” feature is represented by a closed envelope — does that not suggest privacy!? … I had no idea answering one creates a blog post. Or have I entered the post-Wikileaks world already without noticing?
2 tags
“Broadly put, neo-Epicureans suppose not only that you are what you eat, but that...”
– Against Health — The Chronicle Review
1 tag
“I’ve also got a mental library of stock academic phrases: “A close consideration...”
– The Shadow Scholar — The Chronicle Review
The story of a man who makes a living writing papers for students who pay for them. Old(ish), and probably was all around tumblr while I was gone, but definitely one of my favorite Instapaper reads of 2010. Much catharsis (of the disillusioned...
1 tag
“To tell a story is to say: This is the important story. It is to reduce the...”
– Susan Sontag
“Think about how powerless a mayor is,” [physicist-cum-urban-theorist Geoffrey]...”
– A Physicist Turns the City Into an Equation - NYTimes.com
Great article. Jane Jacobs is mentioned, too: West is seen as (somewhat) providing the math to support her arguments.
2010
I started the year thinking that I would be one thing, and finished most certain that I will be something else.
I started and finished living in the same place. (First time in 6 years, probably.)
I started maybe around 50 books and finished maybe 10. (I’m making this up; I didn’t actually keep track.) Best were (top of the head) Anathem, Savage Detectives, and Elements of...