Joe Stracci's blog. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: writing, art, technology, Apple, food, fatherhood, parenting, and music. And photography. And design. And sports. Oh, and probably some politics too.
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Kendrick Lamar's new single "The Blacker the Berry" came out last night. Today, Pulitzer-winning author Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Wonder Boys) has deciphered a portion of the song's lyrics for the annotation site Genius, as Complex points out.
Love Kendrick. Love Chabon. Love Genius. It’s all love. Linking to this makes me so fucking happy.
Pitch-perfect. Follow @DystopianYA right now.
/via io9
Will Leitch, BloombergPolitics:
Stewart’s genius turned the mix of comedy and politics into a sort of rationalist warfare. He took the audience’s frustrations and fury with the whole process and gave it a voice. Colbert pointed out how ridiculous this all was, but that wasn’t Stewart’s bag; he wanted you to know how much of an asshole everyone was. He was far more moral, far more outraged. He took himself more seriously than most comedians, which was often his Achilles’ heel. (His first show after 9/11, unlike Letterman’s, is difficult to sit through now; you want him to take some deep breaths, remember he’s on TV and just chill for a second.) But that self-righteousness gave his show an undeniable momentum—and power.
When I first heard the news about Stewart leaving, I wondered how he could want to leave before the 2016 election. But this piece helped me to understand it better. Politics, right now, is satirical all on its own. A “fake news” show can’t lampoon something that already lampoons itself.
The typeface design process has many counterintuitive moments. One of the earliest pertains to vertical position and size, which we expect to be consistent among letters. We could simply pick a measure and apply it everywhere. But this straightforward and logical plan would fail, thanks to our eyes and brains.
Super interesting post, the first in what appears will be an equally as interesting series of posts, from one of the biggest names in the business.
Ben Thompson is one of the best tech writers around right now—his blog, as well as his podcast, Exponent, covers the tech world in a fascinatingly unique way. It’s tech and the current trends of tech, but from a business/marketing standpoint, all passed through a layman’s filter that is just slightly—and perfectly—beyond the understanding of someone who isn’t familiar with that arena. This isn’t just another Apple Blogger praising the iPad Air 2. I read Stratechery, and listen to Exponent, because at points, I feel like I only understand every third word or so—there are so many business/marketing terms that I don’t understand/am not familiar with.
But, like giving my daughter newer, harder books when it’s clear she understands her current books, that’s precisely why I listen.
On the most recent episode of Exponent, the episode I’ve linked to here, Ben lays out how and why he started his site. On the surface, sure, it’s a useful story for anyone looking to start a blog. But I feel like there are some really important lessons to be learned for any writer/artist out there, especially an artist trying to create and feel fulfilled while maintaining a family and some semblance of a professional life (read as: me). Keep a careful ear out for Ben’s breakdown of what content creators worry about when starting a project (spoiler: product), and for a real gem of wisdom that Ben’s cohost, James Allworth, throws in at one point about the best time to do something and the second best time to do something.
Extra Credit: Ben linked to this piece on recently, writing:
I think @exponentfm listeners will recognize many of Sheryl Sandberg's principles about life and career. Good stuff
For the non-MBA crowd, it’s a bit jargon-y; not nearly as accessible as Ben, but it’s worth the read for the same reasons I mentioned above.
Allison McCann, FiveThirtyEight:
You probably don’t know the name Grace Hopper, but you should.
As a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy, Hopper worked on the first computer, the Harvard Mark 1. And she headed the team that created the first compiler, which led to the creation of COBOL, a programming language that by the year 2000 accounted for 70 percent of all actively used code. Passing away in 1992, she left behind an inimitable legacy as a brilliant programmer and pioneering woman in male-dominated fields.
Hopper’s story is told in “The Queen of Code,” directed by Gillian Jacobs (of “Community” fame). It’s the latest film in FiveThirtyEight’s “Signals” series.
A must-see 15-minute documentary. Watch it now.
2001 is one of those rare pictures where almost every shot is suitable for framing, and I've even gotten onto the VFX shots yet. The interiors or space stations and shuttle craft are simply exquisite in both set design and cinematography. The shots aren't flashy like most of today's over indulgent hyperactive camerawork. The shots are beautifully framed and often held on screen for a long period of time without a cut, or uneccessary camera movement. Perhaps it's my age catching up with me but I really enjoy a 'slow' and deliberate exercise in film making where time isn't of the essence. In fact, I could go another 20 minutes of the film (which I believe Kubrick chopped after the initial premier). As this is a special effects blog I want to naturally concentrate on that facet of the production. I've included many fine BluRay frames below from most every effects sequence and a few, hard to find behind the scenes photos that I've managed to come across from various sources, though I dearly wish I could find more!
Every time I watch 2001, I’m blown away by how current the film looks. Now I know why.
/via Daring Fireball
German Lopez & Dan Olmsted, Vox:
Dan Olmsted is the editor of the website Age of Autism and author of multiple books that purport a link between vaccines and autism — a link that researchers have debunked again and again. In 2006, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) cited Olmsted's research in introducing legislation to direct the federal government to further study concerns about vaccines.
Olmsted has written in particular detail about his concerns over thimerosal, a mercury compound that used to be — but is no longer included — in routinely recommended childhood vaccines, with the exception of the flu shot. He argues parents should be wary of vaccines because of a supposed risk of autism, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary.
I spoke to Olmsted on Monday about his work, why he thinks vaccines cause autism, and how he views the current Disneyland measles outbreak. Something to notice in our conversation is that the fear of vaccines isn't evidence-free: Olmsted cited a slew of specific studies to support his stance. The problem is the evidence doesn't hold up.
Make sure you read through all the way to the end to see how each “point” Olmsted makes, on top of his overall assumption, is false. My god, it must be so simultaneously terrifying and wonderfully masturbatory to live in a world where you get to pick and choose what facts are true.
And, no, really—vaccinate your fucking kids.
Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air:
The concern with a collection like this one is that it's going to be continually genuflecting before these women, turning those who were only historical footnotes into minor female deities and sacrificing complexity for reverence. It turns out, though, that author Megan Mayhew Bergman is not just a worshipper.
As a Fresh Air listener, and as a writer, I pay particularly close attention to Corrigan’s book reviews. I couldn’t help but be downright giddy to hear that my friend’s new book a. got a review and b. got such a terrific review. You should read Megan’s stuff because she’s a great writer, sure, but also because she’s one of the nicest people I’ve met in the writing world. After you listen to the review, why not buy the book?
In 1946, Stanley Kubrick, then aged only 18, took these photographs of the New York Subway and had them published by LOOK magazine. He photographed for the magazine from 1945 to 1950.
According to Helen O'Brian, head of LOOK's photographic department, Kubrick generated the highest number of published articles of any photographer she had worked with. At the time, Kubrick was the youngest photographer LOOK had had on its books.
What’s most amazing about these images—besides the novelty factor of who they’re by and from when—is that in a few, you can clearly see Kubrick’s composition style already taking shape. It’s most obvious in the image above and in the final image of the woman standing alone on the platform.
/via ManMade and Alex Zic