Tag Archives: reading

Blogroll

Posted by Patrick Calder on in reference

I don’t have a blogroll on this journal, and can’t foresee ever adding one. The concept does go back to “friends” pages on the earliest personal websites. But I can’t remember the last time I ever went looking for random people to go visit. I get more than enough referrals to new people directly. And if there’s someone really says or does something worthy of mention, I’ll eventually end up linking to it anyway.
Doesn’t stop me from the occasional pang of guilt for not pimping my friends and sources, though. Most of my random visitors to this site come from blogrolls and profile pages.
Here’s a list: the pages and sites I check once a day, usually to relax at the end of the day. The list is in a constant state of flux, with sites being added and removed on any whim. some people stop writing. Some people stop being interesting. There used to be more academics and professionals on the list, but they have a tendency to either abandon their blogs or switch to lighter topics (ie. Joi Ito and Lawrence Lessig).

Katie West

Boobies! No… um… sorry. Really. She’s an incredible model, with a real fire in her head.

Washington, DC Livejournal Community

Every stupid question you could ever have about Washington DC, answered over and over and over and…

The Cranky Professor

Found him while looking for bloggers in my home town. Stuck around for the occasional update on life in East Bumpafuck, and more than an occasional post that reminds me of all I learned in my Art History courses.

Merrideth Y

She’s just really cool. She’s every wild, bohemian, dramatic friend you ever had who went to the big city to live their dream life of performing and living and… and, unlike all your friends, she seems to be successful at it.

Max Barry

Author of several really good books. Seems to be one of the few authors who really maintains a blog just for the joy of occasional communication instead of promoting an agenda.

Laurenn Mccubbin

Okay… I sooooooo have a fan-crush on her. Really cool. Really smart. Really talented. And really cute — with tattoos! She always seems to be doing amazing work, with cool people, in interesting places. I’m still upset, two years later, at having missed her when she was at SPXpo.

Jason Kottke

Yes. The uber-blogger. Everybody knows kottke, and everybody reads kottke. I would say the quality has gone down in recent years, especially when he “went pro” and practically stopped posting (ironic?). He occasionally slips and falls behind everyone else for a few weeks. But he has enough remaindered links that still interest me. And he’s the only one posting about design that I regularly read.

Warren Ellis

Trying to find a definition I wrote of him a few years ago, but it’s gone *poof*. He seems to fancy himself a vocal observer of popular and sub-popular culture. But he’s more like an agent provocateur for some deviant society. Damn good writer, though, when he doesn’t try too hard.

Rain Polsky

See Merideth Y (above), with a little less adrenalin.

Rion Nakaya

Just … good photographs. Originally based in NYC, but now living in Paris.

Stuart Hughes

A BBC reporter, famous for losing his leg while reporting the Iraqi war. Has become an advocate against landmines and an impressive athlete — handicapped or no. He still jumps on a BBC plane anytime something explodes, and files reports through his blog as often as he does through the BBC.

Bruce Sterling

One of the current generation of writers, who has practically define speculative fiction. Pop culture and design guru.

DCist

Professional bloggers staying half a step ahead of the Washington Post. Not particularly exciting, but at least they’re truly local, without resorting to all-politics, all-the-time.

Gothamist

Same as DCist, but based out of NYC.

BoingBoing

The Mecca of group blogs. Consistently voted the best at everything in the world. They may not be as much fun as they once were, but they’re no less prolific. And unlike most successful blogs, they have no compulsion against wearing their heart on their sleeve, and pushing their own agendas to the illogical extreme.

Brian Wood

Graphic Designer turned Indi Comic God. Was dubious when he decided he wanted to write, and not particularly impressed with his first few efforts. But he’s really finding his stride now, and producing some great work, like DMZ and Supermarket.

Eye Level

A blog from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and* American Art Museum. Written in a very personal and low-key tone.

Brandon Scott

Pretty pictures. Great illustrator.

Jean Snow

Design junkie living in Japan and telling us all about it.

Marie Javins

Haven’t really been reading her stuff for long enough to know the whole story. But she seems to be constantly on the move, through half the world and back, and writing and selling and…

Nata Village

A blog from an AIDS clinic in a small African village. ‘Nuff said.

Ze Frank’s The Show

I was more impressed when I first started watching this, but it’s still funny. Used to be more topical and insightful, but who’s to complain about free TV. If it gets too meta and self-congratulatory, I can just stop watching.

yamasakiko-ji.com

1 photo at a time. Dramatic. Dark. Abstract. Japanese.

Guy Kawasaki

Professional rainmaker and speaker, and Apple guru. Just started reading this one, because he seems to be linking to some useful business and organizational resources.

*Jeff Gates–the “Managing Editor” of Eye Level–sent me an email pointing out that although they share a building, the blog only covers the American Art Museum.

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!

Summer Daze

1 Reply | Posted by Patrick Calder on in intangibles

I went on my first bike ride of the year, today. This of course means I’ll be walking bowlegged tomorrow. But in the meantime, it felt good. Afterwards. When I’d had a chance to drink something. And breathe. Though the ride did actually go better than the last one I remember. May have had something to do with finally breaking out the WD-40. But I’m going to pretend its all about this tower of masculine fitness that i call my body.
I’m trying to decide something, though. Every time I ride down on the mall, the ride west always seems at least twice as hard as the ride east. And the change is so sudden that I can’t believe it’s always from taking the east route first. I think the southern path has more loose gravel and stone. It’s terrible for traction.
So I sat down by the tidal basin and read for a while. No more cherry blossoms. And hence, no more tourists. Really was nice out there though. Watched a storm pass over Fairfax and head south. This heavy cloud ringed in orange, with stretched, cottony strands connecting it to the ground.
storm cloud over fairfax VA
Likewise, I didn’t feel like cooking last night, so I picked up a sub at Potbelly and ate it in Lafayette Park behind the White House. This park is, as they say, spitting distance from the actual building of the White House. It’s kind of nice. They generally keep the homeless people out of it. And there’s enough tree cover to block out the street noise. Of course, any time you hear about someone jumping the fence, or stabbing someone outside the white house, or pulling a gun, this is where they do it. But, you know, psychos can have taste, too.
But I’m sitting there eating and reading and looking around. And I have a thought that still frequently comes to me. It’s really hard to believe that I’m sitting and eating, a stone’s throw from, depending on how you look at it, the single most potent seat of power in the entire world. It’s hard to believe you can get so close. It’s hard to believe that it’s me who’s sitting there, so far away from the little redneck town in eastern nowhere, where I never had friends much less hope. It’s hard to believe that simple building over there can raise up men to another planet, or kill so many people right here at home.
Then some birds started squawking and having birdy sex on the grass in front of me.
Thought:
A couple weeks back now, it was a minor news story because, depending on how you write your numbers, the time and the date were about to spell out 01:02:03 04/05/06. I’ve been lazy about writing this down, so I’m sure no one cares any more. But I have two responses to all the things I read about this phenomenon:
1. People said “this will never happen again”. More optimistic people pointed out, “this will happen in another 1,000 years”. I think you should all go and demand your money back from your school teachers. Unless I’m totally off my rocker, this set of numbers will happen in just another 100 years. And every consecutive 100 years, until we change the way we tell time.
2. Everyone and their mother’s poodle was saying that at the precise moment, they would stop and hold their breath, or look up in the sky, or cheer, or… . Why? Yeah… this is a cute novelty. But why does a coincidental label cause you to declare this a special day, worthy of effort and commemoration? What kind of sad life do you have when you don’t aim for that kind of special-ness every day?
Another thought:
Why has patriotism become a thing of war and conflict? Why is the word only brought up in connection with fighting soldiers and those in context with them?
Final thought:
About 3 weeks ago, I walked down my street thinking, that although it was bright and sunny, it was still undeniably winter. The sun was still harsh, and the air still smelled of… nothing. A week and a half later, and spring was here. The air is fresh, and the light is a bit more hazy. The tree in front of my windows has started to bud. When the leaves scorch under the sun to a dark, forest green, summer will be here again.

Please keep in mind that this post is more than 6 years old. Who the hell knows what I was thinking back then?! Damn kids... get off my lawn!