Category Archives: Style

The Element of Surprise

A really insightful email from Teller, of Penn & Teller fame, where he responds to a struggling magician’s request for advice on how to develop his stage presence and style.  A couple things to note: first, Teller is a celebrity, … Continue reading

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The Joy of Swearing

It’s not necessary.  As if that should stop one from doing it.  It’s not necessary to have colored socks.  Things not being necessary is what makes life interesting.  Little extras in life. Stephen Fry Great thoughts from Stephen Fry on … Continue reading

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How To Tell A Story People Can’t Turn Away From

Great video from Ira Glass about how to turn even the most mundane story into something compelling:

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The Problem With Beginning

The problem with starting any new creative endeavor is that you’re going to suck at it.  Even when you become a professional, depending on your field, most of your work is still going to suck. There’s a terrible irony at … Continue reading

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Reclaim Your Mornings With An Automated Wardrobe

It can take my girlfriend 20 minutes to decide what she’s going to wear on a given morning.  That’s 20 minutes not spent enjoying breakfast, or the news, or sportcenter, or working out, or extra working time, or whatever it … Continue reading

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Real Art Doesn’t Use Crutches

The other day I talked about how Christopher Nolan masterfully used the “mystique” trigger to propel The Dark Knight to rake in over $1 Billion at the box office, worldwide.  In that post, I asked: So, since the archetype of … Continue reading

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How To Make $1 Billion In One Summer And Get Whatever You Want

The lights dim, just a little bit, in that cavernous, air-conditioned hall.  This is my favorite part.  There’s so much promise and intrigue.  It’s impossible to feel let down.  That familiar lime-green image flickers to life, letting the audience know … Continue reading

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Design Is Just Asking “How Do I Maximize Pleasure?”

For a long time, the electronics and computer industry asked “How do I make this work?”  This is understandable.  In any nascent industry, getting something that works out the door is priority number one.  But, even after the functionality hurdle … Continue reading

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Transparency

Polished Sausage “Transparency” has been one of the hottest buzzwords in business for a few years now. Pundits and actual businessmen alike tout the advantages of full disclosure, and maybe more importantly, the ramifications of not being forthright. But, as … Continue reading

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Art Is Just A Story

People make a big fucking deal about art.  They talk about provenance and historical relevance and cultural significance.  Those things can certainly make a piece of art more interesting, but why does that make someone want to own something?  There’s … Continue reading

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Deadlines Force Creativity

Inspiration and work ethic, they ride right next to each other. When I was an upholsterer, sometimes you’re not inspired to reupholster and old chair. Sometimes it’s just work and you just do it because you’re supposed to. And maybe … Continue reading

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Start at the Bottom

I’ve always said that talent is overrated.  Most people can become really good at most things given enough deliberate practice.  These photos by Stanley Kubrick, just a lowly photojournalist for Look magazine in 1949, began to show the sort of … Continue reading

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Clarity

I just read this article this New York Times opinion piece that really struck a chord with me.  It’s not particularly interesting or insightful.  In fact, it’s really not that good.  But the author sure does use some fancy words, … Continue reading

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Why I Hate HDR

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range.  Dynamic Range, for our purposes, is the amount of information a sensor can record between the points where the sensor renders input as white and where the sensor renders input as black in any … Continue reading

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Changing Your Spots

This is a pretty insightful little piece by landscape photographer Alain Briot that addresses a situation that nearly exactly mirrors my own. I too was drawn to the panoramic format, though my love for it actually started before I ever … Continue reading

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