Required Reading – Page 2 – Kevin Smokler

Required Reading: “Friendster, First Born Children, Work Addiction and Repo Man”

Smokler on December 16, 2009

Friendster Relaunches

And Screaming Trees plans a reunion tour…. (via Steve Rubel).

(tags: friendster web2.0 relaunch)

Step one is admitting you have a problem: 37 Signals on the problem of work addiction

(tags: business work addiction burnout productivity)

Assessment of Zadie Smith's new essay collection: The Smart Set

Really want to read this book. Its called "Changing My Mind."

(tags: zadiesmith book essays fiction writing)

Firstborn Children: Higher-Achieving, But More Dishonest

Um, I have a lot of explaining to do (via Arts Journal)

(tags: kids children achievement birthorder honesty)

Slate.com's assessment of McSweeney's "San Francisco Panorama" newspaper

(tags: business journalism sanfrancisco eggers media newspapers sanfranciscopanorama)

How Repo Man is the model for Independent Cinema Going Forward

via Culturebot

(tags: repoman movie film cinema indie business creativity alexcox)

Required Reading: “Moms, Programmed, Poe, Naughts”

Smokler on December 8, 2009

IFC.com asks you for the best films of the 'naughts'

Don't ask. I'm awful at these (via Fark)

(tags: movies films list naughts)

The LA Times on McSweeney's San Francisco Panorama Newspaper Experiment

Got mine. Looks great. (via Arts Journal)

(tags: journalism newspapers publishing mcsweeneys)

Motherhood: Why does every hate it these days?

Got me.

(tags: culture feminism parenting motherhood children)

Addictomatic: Instantly create a website based on a topic.

Also called "Inhale the Web" which sounds dangerous (via Davenetics)

(tags: web2.0 tools aggregator search searchengines)

Copy of Edgar Allen Poe's first book sells for 662K: Salon.com

Not to me. I had to buy milk that day.

(tags: edgarallenpoe poems book action literature collecting)

PROGRAMMED: An art show made from obselete electronics in New York

I see your Betamax and raise you a Commodore 64! ( via Culturebot)

(tags: art nyc ewaste recycling installation)

Required Reading: “Poverty, Ticketing, Success, Typewriters.”

Smokler on November 17, 2009

The Decade's 50 Most Important Recordings : NPR's All Song Considered

(tags: music npr lists 2000s)

Am I Still Here? Looking for validation in a wired world: Anthony Doerr in Orion Magazine

via Tigerbeat

(tags: technology productivity simplicity addiction anthonydoerr)

The de-landscaping of the American West: Granta

(tags: west america nature development)

The Book Design Review: A blog on book jacket design

(tags: books publishing design graphicdesign covers typography bookcovers bookdesign)

Neighborhood solutions to poverty. The future or wishful thinking? The American Prospect

via Book Forum

(tags: poverty planning economics neighborhoods localism)

Several companies battling for the changing ticket sales industry: NYTimes.com

Can't happen soon enough (via Arts Journal)

(tags: tickets ticketfly events shows venues web2.0)

Amazing Typewriter Sculptures by Jeremy Meyer

Stunning…

(tags: art sculpture typewriters jeremymeyer)

Positive Soundscapes.org: An Urban Planning Project to creat quiet spaces in major urban areas

via Place and Space.net

(tags: design architecture sound psychology urbanism noise noisepollution)

Alain de Botton: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success: TED.com

via Caterina.net

(tags: culture work happiness alaindebotton inspiration ted)

Required Reading: “Zach Braff, Luxury Goods, Dressing like one of your Characters”

Smokler on November 10, 2009

Bored New World: How the Zach Braff Prototype Is Slowly Killing American Music — PopMatters

Hilarious!

(tags: music culture indierock bordem zachbraff indie)

Rebecca Skloot's immortal BookTour reinvents the form – Publishers Weekly

Well done!

(tags: books publishing booktour socialnetworks howto promotion marketing)

How Luxury Will Survive after the recession: The Big Money

via Murketing.com

(tags: business consumption luxury consumerism asia)

How to Write a Great Novel: Junot Diaz, Anne Rice, Margaret Atwood and Other Authors Tell – WSJ.com

Article's been written 1000 times but still fun to read (via The Elegant Variation)

(tags: books literature writing writers authors creativity process)

Required Reading: “Office Gossip, Vivienne Westwood, Free Fonts”

Smokler on November 7, 2009

Libraries in Canada are way nicer than in the U.S. — Toronto Star

Shock of the Century (via Arts Journal)

(tags: books libraries architecture canada publicspace)

Office Gossip Is now an area of rigorous academic study.

via Arts Journal

(tags: gossip work academia ethnography)

TechCrunch has a great rundown of free font sources

A typographical orgasm…

(tags: font fonts typography design resources)

Innovation Lessons from the World Series – BusinessWeek

Interesting take on innovation, change and our national pastime…

(tags: baseball worldseries innovation change business)

Vivienne Westwood to design wallpaper – PSFK

Probably looks great

(tags: wallpaper design interiordesign viviennewestwood)

Book Reviewing in a Digital World: A conversation between Lev Grossman and Carolyn Kellogg

Two very smart people. Neat! (via Follow The Reader.com)

(tags: books bookreviewing publishing literature writing criticism)

Required Reading: “Chocolate Vaccuum Cleaners, Brian Eno and Vice Preisdents”

Smokler on November 3, 2009

Library Transformed into a 24 Hour, Open Air, Community Space – PSFK

Hot!

(tags: library germany design architecture)

Being in your twenties is overrated

I self-servingly agree.

(tags: age generations twenties)

NY TImes interview with James Dyson, inventor of the Dyson Vaccuum

via Subtraction.com

(tags: technology interview design inventor invention innovation jamesdyson)

Nestle is the world's biggest chocolate maker and isn't sorry about it. — The Economist

via Give Me Something to Read.com

(tags: chcolate nestle business nutrition food)

Consolidating Down To A Single Laptop Computer Simple. Organized. Life.

Man do I need to do this.

(tags: organization clutter computing)

Brian Eno's essay introducing The Long Now Foundation

via Steven Johnson

(tags: time urbanism clock longnow brianeno)

Rundown of Memoirs by, eh Vice Presidents? — The Awl

Thrilling.

(tags: vicepresident memoirs books politics)

When Do Rich Kids Realize They're Rich? Vanity Fair on class awareness among children

(tags: vanityfair class children money economics)

Required Reading: “Bernie Madoff’s Hookers, Dr. Pepper’s Bling, Pac-Man Jesus Freaks”

Smokler on October 21, 2009

The Alamo Drafthouse Movie Theatres will expand across Texas in 2010: Austin American Statesman

via Cinema Treasures

(tags: movies film alamocinema texas business)
The most successful soda these days is…Dr Pepper? Business Week

(tags: drpepper soda drink beverage business branding)
LA Times on Huffington Post's new Book Section

via Arts Journal

(tags: books criticism huffpost publishing)
Pac-Man Explained: A cartoon

Hilarious! (via Reddit.com)

(tags: religion pacman videogames cartoon humor)
Suit says Madoff's offices were awash in cocaine, topless parties and 'sexual revelry' – USA Today

Yeesh (via Fark.com

(tags: madoff money fraud crime)
"Animals Have Rich Social Lives" –The Chronicle of Higher Education

Who knew? (via AL Daily)

(tags: animals evolution socialization biology)

Required Reading: “Monty Python, Old Growth, and Gender Blindness”

Smokler on October 13, 2009

Secret features of Google Reader

via Micropersuasion

(tags: google googlereader text rss articles reading)

Rock climbing is the only truly gender-blind sport: Double X

(tags: sports gender rockclimbing athletics)

What will our lousy economy do to the generation just entering the workforce? Business Week

Scary. (via Give Me Something to Read)

(tags: economics recession unemployment work future generations)

Christopher Hitchens on Monty Python's 40th Anniversary: Vanity Fair

(tags: montypython anniversary comedy british uk christopherhitchens)

Pitchfork: The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 20-1

via Subtraction.com

(tags: music 2000s list lists albums pitchfork)

Stephen Johnson on Old Growth Media

A must read….

(tags: business media journalism newspapers trends onlinejournalism future)

The grim present and hopeful future of the Literary Journal: Times UK

via AL Daily

(tags: journals literaryjournal publishing writing literature future trends)

Required Reading: “Maya Lin, I-an-Out Burger, Roger Ebert and Recliners”

Smokler on October 8, 2009

Sketches of Maya Lin's original submission for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

One very special memorial (via 37Signals)

(tags: design architecture mayalin vietnam memorial washingtondc)

Pasadena, CA will soon have an all-recliner, cocktail service movie theater: Cinema Treasures

(tags: movies film cinema theaters luxury)

See all those Yahoo ads around? Is it a $100 million waste of money? — Business Week

(tags: yahoo marketing advertising business strategy)

Maybe we shouldn't have given up middlebrow culture so easily: The Chronicle of Higher Education

(tags: books middlebrow greatbooks culture literature reading arts education class humanities intellectuals learning)

A new book on the unmatched success of In-and-Out Burger: The Weekly Standard

via AL Daily

(tags: food fastfood business success inandoutburger book businessbook)

Roger Ebert on a lifetime of reading…

Beautiful…

(tags: books rogerebert reading)

Required Reading: “Penpals, Grues, Kill Bill 3”

Smokler on October 1, 2009

Walkthrough of Zork set to music.

Nerdarrific! (via Waxy.org)

(tags: games humor zork infocom videogames song music walkthrough)

Tarantino Promises Kill Bill 3 | /Film

Super. Hooray. Oy. (via Original Signal)

(tags: film quintentarantino sequel killbill movies)

What customers want is your time, not your money: Entrepreneur.com

(via AllTop)

(tags: customers business pr relationships marketing)

A new survey finds that most bullies begin life as victims

Sobering. (via Arts Journal).

(tags: bullying study kids victims violence)

Why Charles Dickens has never gone out of fashion: Guardian UK

(via AL Daily)

(tags: charlesdickens dickens books literature writing england writers victorian)

Groucho Marx and T.S. Elliott used to be pen pals.

How about that? (via Letters of Note.com)

(tags: letters writing arts grouchomarx tselliott penpals)

KCRW's Bookworm Michael Silverblatt: America's Greatest Reader (Oprah.com)

(tags: kcrw reading books literature radio publicradio michaelsilverblatt)

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