From: Gleanings
To: committee
Subject: Gleanings: perversely optimistic
OPENING THANG
Well, after Mike telling me, “read this read this read this” I finally nabbed it from work, took it home and read it. wow. wow. wow. Tibor is changing the way I think about design. “Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist”
is beautiful, playful and revolutionary. In his life, he took his weaknesses (lack of formal design training) and turned them into strengths (the undesign movement). From his work with Talking Heads to his magazine “colors” his designs were insightful and relentlessly original… but never merely for the sake of originality, the bugaboo of many lesser designers. I believe his originality sprang from a deep understanding of the work he was doing and a dissatisfaction with a lot of the design work that had come before, as well as the way the world was working in general. But decided for yourself.
“Fuck committees. I believe in lunatics.”
“Tibor Kalman: Perverse Optimist”
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1568982585/eleganthack
Another of his books, thinner and cheaper for those seeking a “lite” survey of his work.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0823011461/eleganthack
Salon Article on his life
http://www.salon.com/people/obit/1999/05/19/kalman/index.html
SFMOMA Exhibit
http://www.sfmoma.org/exhibitions/exhib_detail/99_exhib_tibor_kalman.html
IA MATTERS
At La Jolla, Jesse and I had a pretty amazing talk about the ethics of information architecture. Could we build unethical structures? How can we try to be cautious? He told the fascinating story of why everyone gets lost in malls. Not for the obvious reason of showing you more merchandise, but for the more subtle reason that a state of disorientation –of being lost– cause most humans to want to buy things. Not exactly ethical architecture. (Jesse’s site is always worth a visit, btw, www.jjg.net)
Seems Peter Morville was a fly on the wall– or maybe it’s convergent evolution– because he just came out with this insightful column in Strange Connections
Strange Connections: The Ethics of Information Architecture.
http://argus-acia.com/strange_connections/strange008.html
NEWS
Salon: Unchaining the Net.
Call it “the free-network movement” — a bubbled-up-from-the-underground
effort to spread high-bandwidth wireless connectivity everywhere. In their
attempt to create a user-generated alternative to a top-down industry — in
this case, telecom — initiatives…
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/12/01/wireless_ethernet/index.html
.SUCKS?
SF Chronicle: Freedom To Criticize Belongs on The Web.
Esther Dyson. There is, of course, the danger that all critical comment would
be relegated to .sucks. Instead, I would hope that .sucks would end up being a
“place” where companies, people and even officials could go to find criticisms
— and to answer them.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/12/03/BU113071.DTL
MICROPAYMENTS AT LAST?
Boston Globe: What’s a penny worth on the Web? Maybe a lot.
Christine Adamow, the president and CEO of eCent, a Boston-based start-up, has
spent the last 18 months actively pushing the idea that micropayments will
soon start adding up for a wide variety of businesses that have a stake in the
Web.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/338/business/What_s_a_penny_worth_on_the_Web_Maybe_a_lot_%2b.shtml
Slate: From February 13, 1997; A Penny for Your Thoughts? Nathan Myhrvold.
http://slate.msn.com//CriticalMass/97-02-13/CriticalMass.asp
APROPOS OF NOTHING
“My grandma voted in Palm Beach and all I got was this lousy
president!”
http://www.modernhumoriststore.com
And if you made it this far… where the sam hill do you people come from? what started as a list for my friends who liked the links I send out, this list is now creeping up on a subscription of 200. if you don’t mind, can you drop me a note tellgin me how you heard of me? This isn’t a marketing survey, I’m just deadly curious. Write thestorkbroughtme@eleganthack.com