Professional Auteurism / 01.04.2006

resume \'rĭ-zōōm'\ v. tr. 1 : To begin or take up again after interruption: resumed our dinner. 2 : To assume, take, or occupy again: The dog resumed its post by the door. 3 : To take on or take back again: resumed my original name. résumé \'rĕ-zōō-mā'\ n. 1 : A brief account of one's professional or work experience and qualifications, often submitted with an employment application. 2 : A summary: a résumé of the facts of the case. There aren't too many things that drive me up a wall. Yes, there is the occasional fingernail on the blackboard or the...

Fairly Odd Parents-Present / 21.03.2006

My daughter's teeth: before and after braces. "Do my teeth look whiter?" my wife asks, looking at me with a Cheshire grin. Lately, this has become an ongoing question in our relationship. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere she will stop me and bare her teeth. Not a room in the house is safe. This morning it's at the breakfast table just as I'm sitting down to eat. Her smile is bright as she pours my cup of strong dark coffee. The contrast is striking. I laugh. This sounds all too familiar. Last year I was the one asking these probing...

News Outta My Control / 19.03.2006

Walking down the street can be hazardous to your health. I do a lot of urban walking. Decent public transportation lets me keep my car at home during the week. This LA kid is proud to say his five year old car only has 15,000 miles on it. I walk about 10 miles a week just getting to and from the subway. It's good for my health and the environment. My California friends who traverse the freeways (or drive to the grocery down the block) shrug in disbelief. I enjoy relying on my feet to get me where I want to...

Artistic Tendencies / 15.03.2006

One Challenge to the arts in America is the need to make the arts, especially, the classic masterpieces, accessible and relevant to today's audience. William Safire Despite the cessation of open hostilities in the Culture Wars of the 1990s, we are still at war. The value of art is still hotly contested. Giving way, or rather pushing away traditional lines of demarcation --the leftist ideal of confrontation verses the conservative notion that art should be beautiful and pay for itself-- art advocates have turned to a dichotomous battle between art as "intrinsic" verses art as "instrumental." Intrinsic art is "pleasurable, valuable, or...

Fairly Odd Parents-Present, News Outta My Control / 12.03.2006

I walked into the subway elevator pushing my youngest daughter in her stroller. It was empty except for on older Asian woman who stared at us as we entered. The ride down was a slow one. Very slow. I always thought the elevator's crawl was to discourage riders, funneling them towards the escalators instead. With only one elevator rush hour journeys down could get pretty packed. Better to save the space for those who really needed it. That morning's ride was roomy and quiet. The old woman continued to stare. Finally, she asked "Where's she from?" in a matter-of-fact tone. Not...

Fairly Odd Parents-Present / 05.03.2006

Meet the typical American family. It has about $3,800 in the bank. No one has a retirement account, and the neighbors who do only have about $35,000 in theirs. Mutual funds? Stocks? Bonds? Nope. The house is worth $160,000, but the family owes $95,000 on it to the bank. The breadwinners make more than $43,000 a year but can't manage to pay off a $2,200 credit card balance. The Washington Post Last week, as I lay on the couch hacking and coughing, I was so weak I could only press the Tivo play button. Yes, that's my excuse for watching Oprah as she...

Barely Socially Acceptable, Commuting with Nature / 24.02.2006

You can't hear me? I CAN HEAR YOU!Yes I can. Brenda, I am on the subway. I can't be doing that! When people make public spectacles of themselves I get embarrassed. Why me? Watching a scorned lover let her philanderer have it on the Jerry Springer Show immediately causes my hands to cover my eyes. I must protect myself and this is my instinctive automatic response. Hands to ears would be better but my body doesn't always listen to me. I could turn off the TV, but of course I don't. There is something visceral about open displays like this. Schadenfraude. ...

Fairly Odd Parents-Present / 19.02.2006

The Tao of Spongebob After a hard day at the office my back aches and my shoulders are so tight you could bounce coinage off of them. It's the price I pay for a desk job. Staring at the computer day in and day out has its drawbacks. In fact, the more involved I am in a project, the more I forget my body altogether. Hours go by and suddenly I realize I've zoned out. It's the new millennium's equivalent of an out-of-body experience. When I "come to" I realize my head and neck are cocked way out of alignment. As...

Professional Auteurism / 12.02.2006

We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur. Former Vice President Dan Quayle Boing Boing links to Jeff's Sprint Mashup Last week, as I was talking to Cultural Tourism DC, a group of small Washington cultural organizations about the genesis of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's blog Eye Level, I was asked "How do you measure success? What do you hope to get out of this project?" An appropriate question. Blogging is a new way of disseminating information for organizations; traditional benchmarks of success don't always apply, especially if you're interested in more than just a revenue stream....

Idiosyncratic Celebrations, News Outta My Control / 11.02.2006

NBC's Brian Williams waxes political at the Turino Olympic Opening Ceremonies (Quicktime, 2.1 MB). Click image to begin video. Last night I sat down with my family to watch the opening ceremonies of the XX Olympic Winter Games. A glass of Chianti and a nice fire. Perfect. Perfect until Brian Williams, NBC's Nightly News anchor and co-host of the program began editorializing during the presentation of the Italian flag. Watch the video. We'll talk in a minute...