December 2010
11 posts
Wake Up, Geek Culture. Time to Die →
Keen observations by my favourite, Patton Oswalt.
“Science isn’t afraid to be wrong. Science wants to be wrong, because when...”
Thoughts on Black Swan
I recently saw Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, and feel like I won’t be able to fully appreciate the film until I articulate my thoughts in a post.
So, here are a few reasons I enjoyed the film (tied in also with Aronofsky’s previous film, The Wrestler):
First: the characters. There is a sense of formidable purpose and ambition that inhibit the protagonists in Black Swan and The...
My Favourite Movies of 2010
The Social Network
Udaan
Catfish
Toy Story 3
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Mother
Black Swan
The Ghost Writer
Ishqiya
Peepli Live
(Note: I have not yet seen Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, which I predict would have taken up a top 5 slot on this list.)
See 2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012.
Is long-term solitary confinement torture? : The... →
Indulged in a gripping (albeit, sad and alarming) 10,000 word New Yorker piece after a long time. If you have the time, do give it a read.
TL;DR version: Long-term solitary confinement is deadly, inhumane, and evil. The U.S. is one of the only countries which makes such profuse use of it. England does the opposite (give trouble-making prisoners more rights and opportunities) and has found much...
“You won’t burn in hell. But be nice anyway.”
– Ricky Gervais: Why I’m An Atheist
The 30 steps to mastery →
bobulate:
Ben Casnocha extends a two-step process for “How to Draw an Owl” with a few more to proclaim how to achieve mastery:
See also: How to Write a Book in Three Easy Steps
1. Start 2. Keep going. 3. You think you’re starting to get the hang of it. 4. You see someone else’s work and feel undeniable misery. 5. Keep going. 6. Keep going. 7. You feel like maybe, possibly, you kinda got...
Wikileaks
I’ve been following WikiLeaks for some time — ever since I saw the talk Julian Assange gave at Berkeley earlier in the year. Today, he was arrested on his Swedish arrest warrant, a case many claim doesn’t have any substantial grounds.
I like that a 39 year-old Australian, who was pretty much a nobody just a few years ago, has shaken up the world in such little time, and with so...
“WikiLeaks has also posted a massive, closely encrypted file, identified as...”
– Assange arrested in London on Swedish warrant - CNN.com
How gangster is this? Assange FTW.
“Creative capitalism isn’t some big new economic theory. And it isn’t...”
– Making Capitalism More Creative - TIME
“If I don’t like someone, I’m the nicest to them. So they’re confused. While...”
– Shah Rukh Khan - Interview 