The Week's Links (6/24/12)

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All the links posted to Twitter and Facebook this week: 

  • To celebrate 100 yrs since Alan Turing’s birth, Wired UK has curated a series of features about his contributions owl.li/bMw0N
  • If You Don’t Like Your Future, Rewrite Your Past owl.li/bH3iD
  • The University of Twitter: a short course in Political Philosophy in 7 parts by Alain de Botton owl.li/9i3TS
  • The Top of My Todo List owl.li/bGWjD
  • 5 Opportunities For Ed Tech To Amplify Children’s Curiosity, Not Destroy Itowl.li/bGVX0
  • Can music slow down the aging process?owl.li/bGUT8
  • The Atlantic’s The Ideas Report is out. 23.5 Biggest ideas of the year. owl.li/bKa61
  • Shakespeare’s ‘To Be or Not to Be,’ on the ukelele. Yes, ukelele. Brilliant. owl.li/bGUL2
  • SoundCloud: On Startup Culture, Entrepreneurial Employees & Hackdaysowl.li/bGMPu
  • Merlin Mann: Broken Meetings (And How You’ll Fix Them) owl.li/1kKyiL
  • ‘Now cross the Andes.’ In praise of the impossible stage direction owl.li/bGMIQ
  • Famous Novelists on Symbolism in Their Work and Whether It Was Intentional owl.li/bGLOc
  • Douglas Adams Brilliant Insight owl.li/9i3Rj
  • Love the TED-Ed website owl.li/bGLfK
  • The crayola-fication of the world: How we gave colors names, and it messed with our brains owl.li/bGKo4
  • The highly productive habits of Alan Turingowl.li/bHuoE
  • Thomas Pynchon’s E-Book Novels Trailerowl.li/1kIGXX
  • Paola Antonelli is expanding her role at MoMA to also include New Director of R. & D.owl.li/bDoSK
  • Creativity Top 5: June 19, 2012 owl.li/1kHrSI
  • National Endowment for the Arts Announces 2012 NEA National Heritage Fellowship Recipients owl.li/bGLSA
  • The Most Beautiful Outdoor Theaters in the World owl.li/bDoO0
  • Why Man Creates by Saul Bass, 1968owl.li/9i3Q5
  • How To Reframe the RFP & Charge For Your Creative Expertise owl.li/bDotJ
  • 10 Great TV Spots Directed by David Fincherowl.li/bDopV
  • 10 Great TV Spots Directed by Wes Andersonowl.li/bDooD
  • Pop Culture Through The Lens Of Nostalgia: The Evolution Of 8-Bit Art owl.li/1kGOQj
  • Display = Modern Graphic Design Collection and Rare Graphic Design Books owl.li/bDojo /via @Coudal
  • Study: Decisions Made in a Foreign Language Are More Rational owl.li/bCNKj
  • Disney’s Imagineers On Sound Designowl.li/9i3Oz
  • BBC Worldwide Labs: A Mentoring Scheme for UK Startups owl.li/bCN2A
  • Bugs, rain and magic — Shakespeare in the Park owl.li/bDZO2
  • 5 Traps You Have To Avoid When Pitching Bold Ideas owl.li/bxuBn
  • Cannes Predictions: The 13 Ads Bound For Glory At Adland’s Biggest Show owl.li/bDoPR
  • Moment Factory: The Making Of A Super Bowl Halftime Show owl.li/1kEVHd
  • 39 New Scientific Concepts That Everyone Should Understand owl.li/bxuh4


​Recommended this week:

  • A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future owl.li/bGe7e
  • Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience owl.li/bGe4w
  • The Elements of Typographic Style owl.li/bGe1v
  • The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition owl.li/bGdVS
  • The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything owl.li/bGdPZ 

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Merlin Mann: Broken Meetings (And How You'll Fix Them)

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BROKEN MEETINGS (and how you'll fix them) TWITTER.COM Headquarters, 21 Sep 2010 MERLIN MANN, http://43folders.com, http://merlinmann.com ========================================= 43 Folders: http://i-0.us/fix-meetings There's a big elephant in the office today that's becoming harder to ignore—meetings. Even the best meetings can eat up massive person-hours, but those really awful ones will just kill you. You know the type. Those time-wasting, rudderless, repetitious, zombie meetings where "deep dives," "drill downs," and "face time" often mean much is debated, little is accomplished, and everybody leaves feeling broken--AND, often as not, late for their next meeting. In the premiere of this all-new presentation, Merlin Mann attacks Bad Meeting Culture with the same brand of practical, funny, and thought-provoking advice that his popular Inbox Zero talks brought to the topic of email. You'll learn: - what got us into this meeting mess - why meetings have special powers to waste time at scale - how "The 'Meh' Virus" propogates - why even scrums and one-on-ones aren't immune - how your meeting needs a parent - 10 insanely practical tactics for improving your own meetings--starting today

Recently discovered this presentation by Merlin Mann at Twitter a few years ago. Simply put Mann shares a few things we can do to improve the productivity of your meetings. 

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Related:

Merlin Mann Makes You Wonder ‘Who Moved My Brain?’ 

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Thomas Pynchon's E-Book Novels Trailer

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Thomas Pynchon’s novels will finally be released as e-books - latimes.com:

For the first time, Thomas Pynchon’s back catalog will be available as e-books starting Wednesday. Pynchon was a major writer whose absence from the e-book canon was notable — particularly since his most avid readers tend to be intellectually curious, the kind of people who are often technology’s early adopters.

The Penguin Press asked Pentagram to create a trailer to promote the release of the complete collection of Thomas Pynchon’s ebooks. 

Trailer for the e-book release of Thomas Pynchon's complete backlist from the Penguin Press. Design direction by Michael Bierut/Pentagram, motion design and original music by Teddy Blanks/CHIPS.

New at Pentagram: Thomas Pynchon:

Partner Michael Bierut, a longtime Pynchon fan, worked with animator and musician Teddy Blanks of CHIPS to create a 64-second tribute to a body of work that has enthralled readers for years, and which will now reach millions more in the digital realm. The author himself, however, is unlikely to be among that number. According to the publisher, “He likes to read in print.”
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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Creativity Top 5: June 19, 2012

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The Coca Cola “security camera” spot is so good. 

(via creativity-online.com)

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.

Pop Culture Through The Lens Of Nostalgia: The Evolution Of 8-Bit Art

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Beginning with early Atari and Nintendo video games, the 8-bit aesthetic has been a part of our culture for over 30 years. As it moved through the generations, 8-bit earned its independence from its video game roots.

Is it really nostalgia if the creators of the 8-bit work didn’t originally experience what we are supposed to be feeling nostalgic about? That’s what comes to mind as I watch PBS Off Book latest episode: The Evolution of 8-Bit Art. 

Beginning with early Atari and Nintendo video games, the 8-bit aesthetic has been a part of our culture for over 30 years. As it moved through the generations, 8-bit earned its independence from its video game roots. The idea of 8-bit now stands for a refreshing level of simplicity and minimalism, is capable of sonic and visual beauty, and points to the layer of technology that suffuses our modern lives. No longer just nostalgia art, contemporary 8-bit artists and chiptunes musicians have elevated the form to new levels of creativity and cultural reflection.

For complete credits visit (and subscribe to) the PBS Off Book YouTube channel. 

Previously:

Tattoos: Pop Portraits, Japanese Traditional, American Eclectic
Art In The Era Of The Internet: The Impact Of Kickstarter, Creative Commons & Creators Project
Animated GIFs: The Birth of a Medium
Off Book Series One: The Complete Series

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Antonio Ortiz

Antonio Ortiz has always been an autodidact with an eclectic array of interests. Fascinated with technology, advertising and culture he has forged a career that combines them all. In 1991 Antonio developed one of the very first websites to market the arts. It was text based, only available to computer scientists, and increased attendance to the Rutgers Arts Center where he had truly begun his professional career. Since then Antonio has been an early adopter and innovator merging technology and marketing with his passion for art, culture and entertainment. For a more in-depth look at those passions, visit SmarterCreativity.com.