January 2016

The Website Obesity Crisis

Everything we do to make it harder to create a website or edit a web page, and harder to learn to code by viewing source, promotes that consumerist vision of the web.

The 2015 ProPublica Year in Visual Storytelling

A nice roundup of ProPublica’s more visually and interactively rich stories from the past year.

Animated homage to The Wire

When I hear Blind Boys of Alabama’s cover of “Way Down in… See more →

The stained glass Oderus Urungus @iancorey made for me is pretty much the best thing I own.

“Does Boba Fett have a car?”

Um, hey. Just FYI, this guy is not me. chaddsfordlive.com/2016/01/28/kid…

Reminder: Errol Morris will save us all. slate.com/articles/arts/…

This is about as perfect as analogies get. twitter.com/pattonoswalt/s…

I started watching Tangerine, and then I saw the Duplass Brothers’ logo, and then the Apple TV crashed, and then I watched something else.

Just noticed the return of Peep Show, which is good news except for the invincible “Flagpole Sitta” earworm.

Finally gave @DavidEpstein’s “Devils, Deals and the DEA” a proper read, and it is wall-to-wall insanity. propublica.org/article/devils…

I know Trevor Noah’s Daily Show will take time to develop, but my patience is starting to feel like apologism. slate.com/articles/arts/…

Exhaustive and exhausting, Electric Boogaloo’s overview of Cannon Films’ raucous history covers dozens of the production company’s provocative movies with blinding speed. Given that its subject at its peak averaged nearly one film produced per week, the pace is appropriate, and the clips and talking heads all whiz by so fast that reflection yields little more than an admittedly mesmerizing blur of explosions and boobs. Enough sunk in to convince me to revisit Cannon’s… See more →

Animated films aimed at broad audiences rarely take real advantage of the medium’s expressive potential, opting instead for one or another flavor of mannered representationalism. Boy & the World is a delightful exception, channeling the magical realism of a child’s naïve perspective to create a singularly vibrant, rhythmic aesthetic. Both a polemic and an affirmation, the film is occasionally heavy-handed with its politics, but not enough to undermine its core exploration of a generational spectrum… See more →

“…heavy metal is discipline in service of the preposterous… the genre solemnizes the impulses of adolescence.” nytimes.com/2016/01/24/mag…

Lots of folks these days carrying bags with little dogs peeking out the top.

Secret Cosmic Music of the East German Olympic Program 1972–1983: Good Kraftwerkian fun. Probably fake backstory. kosmischerlaufer.bandcamp.com

How donor disparities intensify Congressional Republican dysfunction: “Sometimes self-interest can trump ideology.” propublica.org/article/campai…

This amazing woman solved her own genetic mystery that stumped doctors, and saved some lives along the way. propublica.org/article/muscul…

“[Making a Murderer directors] Ricciardi and Demos… wind up mirroring the entity that they are trying to discredit.” newyorker.com/magazine/2016/…

As successfully as any film I can recall, Carol captures the desperation that accompanies falling in love, and its fuzzy 16 mm rendering gives it the feel of a memory whose potency is undiminished by distance.

People who scoff at grievances from marginalized voices believe we have already achieved meritocracy. Show them we’re not there yet.

Pretty thrilled to see my It Follows review excerpted in @letterboxd’s 2015 Year in Review! letterboxd.com/2015/

Realized today that I got into @TRTS over 20 years ago, making it arguably my longest-running fandom of something unequivocally cool.

A Muslim woman’s rational takeaways from attending a Trump rally. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Disabling the Watch Later feature on a Vimeo embed is a dick move.

A great read from @Wordridden about her childhood and beyond as a Star Wars fan. wordridden.com/post/756

So many great hip-hop albums would be considerably greater without all the stupid interstitial/skit BS.

For better or worse, this may be the most memorable Rickman moment for me. Slumming it just made him shine brighter. youtu.be/MhfuuKiTcYQ

Looks like 69–70 is overtaking 27 as the cool age to die. I hope Alan Rickman is already plotting a skyscraper heist in the afterlife. RIP.

I’m gonna miss this dude. #SOTU

“Q: Who are some notable past Powerball winners? A: Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Michael Bloomberg, Mark Cuban.” theonion.com/graphic/how-po…

[sarcastic comment about time windows for home service visits]

The Force Awakens is the most successful film ever after < 1 month? Is that inflation-adjusted? No. No, it is not. nytimes.com/2016/01/12/ups…

Notes for reunion with dentist: “Fix what you can, and scare me into being sustainably responsible for the rest.”

This time of year, my Twitter people have conflicting opinions. @CaseyMalone @Armstrong

This time of year, I only watch bag-carryin’ movies.

A bit late on this, but my favorite film of 2015 was It Follows, and my favorite record was The Ark Work by @LITVRGY.

I never got into Bowie in a big way, but I’m eternally grateful to anyone who makes oddity meaningfully accessible. We are all weirdos. RIP.

Looking forward to seeing what comes of this collaborative approach to ending online harassment. #hackharassment recode.net/2016/01/07/let…

“What the market deems valuable is not necessarily aligned with what is ultimately good for us as a society.” medium.com/@girlziplocked…

“…sites like ProPublica and Securedrop using hidden services shows that these things aren’t just for criminals.” wired.com/2016/01/propub…

When I hear Blind Boys of Alabama’s cover of “Way Down in the Hole” (The Wire, Season 1), I see Bubbles singing it. vimeo.com/150635087

Dreamed I was writing/producing/scoring/directing a slasher film /stage play with a priest for a villain, and hoo boy it was not going well.

Designers: Here’s a chance to do great work with some mega-talented people in Philly. twitter.com/hoyboy/status/…

A nice roundup of @propublica’s more visually and interactively rich stories from the past year. propublica.org/article/2015-p…

“Everything we do to make it harder to create a website… promotes that consumerist vision of the web.” idlewords.com/talks/website_…

Is Oculus founder Palmer Lucky’s middle name Comma?

At the same time, I hope to be ever more aware of and responsive to my own ignorance.

I always aim to be kinder to people, but for 2016 I also aim to be kinder to myself.