May 2010
29 posts
“West delivers a tongue-in-cheek lyrical narrative within “Gold...”
– Gold Digger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New hobby: looking up rap songs on Wikipedia and chuckling at proper English descriptions of their subtexts, while quietly thinking to self, ‘Ohh, so that’s what he refers to in that third verse lyric!’
WatchSTEPHEN FRY: WHAT I WISH I’D KNOWN WHEN I WAS 18
Watching this 30 minute video will make your life better for the next 30 years.
Everything I’ve ever believed in seems to be incapsulated articulately and magically in these few minutes. Infact, it’s so wonderful that it’s a little difficult to absorb all at once. I need to make a habit of watching it every once in a while.
“Only after grasping an immense amount of complexity can one appreciate...”
Watch48HR Magazine - a pocket documentary
An Inside Look At Facebook Questions, The Next... →
For the last month or so, I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of a secret beta for Facebook Questions. I sent TechCrunch a report of my experience, and this post is the result.
Trendsmap: Real-time local Twitter trends →
Whatever you do today, spend 10 minutes using this. It’s the most fascinating look at Twitter’s usage around the world.
“I’ve never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I’ve viewed myself as...”
– Will Smith
“By executive order of President Harry S. Truman the U.S. dropped the nuclear...”
– Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Only today did it struck me that the U.S. was the country which deployed the only Nuclear bombs ever used in war; no other country has done it since. It’s funny to think that the only country to have ever used a...
Why: A Tale Of A Post-Modern Genius - Smashing... →
“The difference between a vision and a hallucination is that other people can see...”
– Marc Andreessen
Caring for Your Introvert →
WatchSal Khan at Gel 2010. This is what the world’s smartest guy sounds like.
“More than 4 billion mobile handsets are now in use worldwide, three-quarters of...”
– The Economist (Google Internet Stats)
We Need a General Theory of Individuality - The... →
The greatest paradox of science is that while we ourselves are convinced we are different from everyone else in this world, and thrive on our individuality, all research ever conducted has focused on generalizing us in a way that is meant to make us believe that in our large groups, we are all the same.
To take it a step further, what about rats, birds, and everything else that is studied in a...
The Big Game, Zuckerberg and Overplaying your Hand →
I love epic pieces, and most of the time, Jason Calacanis’ write-ups satisfy my thirst for them. Reading this, you will be convinced Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook are the root of all evil and could lead to the downfall of the Internet.
I hesitantly concur. If only ‘everyone else wasn’t doing it’, I’d delete my profile in an instant.
Party invitation →
This is a cool site for making digitally animated movies, and this one had me laughing out loud. (via alexbain)
When I was a kid, I always thought this is how animated movies were made. Watching Toy Story and A Bugz Life, I thought you could literally buy a software like this which had different kinds of stages and actors and props, choose your camera angles, make everything move in the right...
Conan on writing →
Conan O’Brien on Twitter as a tool for writing:
What’s interesting about Twitter is that because you’re limited to 140 characters … it’s actually a great comedy-writing tool. There’s this economy of words. So I’m constantly writing things, and I run them past [Blair] and he’ll say that’s actually three words over. That forces you to look back at the sentence. It forces you to crystalize your...
The Would-Be Bomber's Wife →
Reading the title or the one-paragraph snippet of the article, one would think this is a first-time exclusive insider interview with the wife of the Times Square bomber. But instead, it turns out to be one of the most weird ‘insider pieces’ you’ve ever read.
It’s literally a blow-by-blow ‘social breakdown’ of her Orkut profile. You’ve got to read it to...
From a profile of Usain Bolt
When he was younger, he says, the only thing he wanted to do was please everybody around him, from his fans to the media. But after his disastrous showing in Athens in 2004, Bolt sussed out the heartless calculus that underpins critical and public opinion: “I figured out that as long as you’re not doing good, they’re going to criticize you, and if you’re doing good, they’re going to love you.” The...
STEPHEN HAWKING: How to build a time machine →
If you’ve ever had any kind of fascination with time travel, you will read this article. Ok, even better: it’s by Stephen Hawking.
“The creation of art is not the fulfillment of a need but the creation of a need....”
– Borrowed from Lewis Kahn, referring to the creation of the Brooklyn Bridge in Ken Burns’ “America: Brooklyn Bridge.” Arthur Miller from the same documentary, “See, the city is fundamentally a practical utilitarian invention and always was. And suddenly you see this steel poetry sticking out, and...
“The judge lambasted the police for shoddy investigation against the two and...”
– 26/11 verdict: Kasab held guilty, 2 Indians acquitted
The 26/11 terrorist, Ajmal Kasab from Pakistan, was found guilty recently. Two Indians suspected, however, weren’t. In this quote, the judge rejects their supposed involvement in preparing the maps for terror targets. I don’t know...
“That’s because doormen stay doormen for a very long time. After all, it’s a...”
– New York Doormen a Varied Group - NYTimes.com
Who’s up for a career change?
On a serious note, doormen have always fascinated me. Whenever I see one, I instantly (and naturally) can’t help but imagine what their lives must be like. Opening doors. All day. Getting good money for it....
