Random Dispatches

Weekend Reading. Play Along At Home

Apr 24

lindsayrgwattRandom Comments Off

It’s a long weekend here in Canada, so I’ve got three days to catch up with everything I’ve been meaning to read (and watch).

Here’s a rundown so you can play along at home:

1. Kathryn Schulz on being wrong (@TED)

Great insight: feeling wrong feels a lot light feeling right. It’s only realizing that you’re wrong that feels bad.

2. Cormac McCarthy, Lawrence Krauss & Werner Herzog on science & art

Science. Art. History. What it means to be human. Where we might go. These guys do not see the world in the same way as you and I.

3. Salman Rushdie – Writer’s Block (The Moth)

How he finished one of his books. In a most unanticipated fashion.

4. State of Play

The curious, intriguing and awkward world of KidZania, where kids play at being adults.

5. Welcome to the Far Eastern Conference

The Stephon Marbury story: kind of like a basketball version of a Greek tragedy but set in China and actually a comedy.

6. The Straight Dope

The Wire is the best show on television in my lifetime and I’ve recently been re-watching it. So imagine my joy at finding this interview between David Simon (the creator) and Bill Moyers. Topics include the drug war, the importance of a free press and the future of America.

7. City Views

Jane Jacobs talks (in 2001) to the folks at Reason on cities. As a Canadian I couldn’t help but notice the line: It’s really surprising how few creative, important cities Canada has for its size, its population, and its great human potential and attributes.

8. Same Old New World Cities

Some interesting thoughts on how cities in Australia are going to have to change to address the 21st century. I like the approach of framing it in terms of “what does our country stand for?” and “what are the inexorable trends of the next 50 years?”

9. How Skateboard King Mark “Gator” Anthony Was Born Again As A Rapist And Murderer

A fascinating if, ultimately, unhappy tale. The last section of the story puts the rest of the well-written reporting into context.

10. The Coming Storm

Bangladesh as a preview for what climate change could mean: lots of change and a need to be incredibly adaptive. I’d also never heard of the fascinating char dwellers before reading this article.

11. The Missing Mahatma

A long essay exploring why there has not been a Gandhi- or MLK-like figure in the Palestinian conflict.

12. Heroin.com: Selling Junk Online

The Village Voice explores the business of selling drugs on Craigslist. As you read, be sure to look up some of their search terms and see if you can find some online drug ads (you will).

13. The Lost Canadians

If you ever look at a map of America you’ll notice the smooth border that is the 49th parallel and then the little hiccup that is the Northwest Angle. The Walrus investigates who these people are that live in this tiny sliver of America north of the 49th.

14. The Grand Tour

Last year when travelling, Wen and I couldn’t help but notice the arrival of Chinese tourists. For this article, Evan Osnos of The New Yorker goes on a European tour with a contingent of the Chinese middle class. The story is about much more than 5 European countries in 10 days.

15. Heartbreak Hotel

The story of the Stevens Hotel (now the Hilton) in Chicago. That’s the same Stevens as the recently retired supreme court judge.

16. Of Mines And Men

More on the Chinese. This time how they’re rebuilding Angola.

Crushing on LED Art

Apr 18

lindsayrgwattTechnology Art, jim campbell, led Comments Off

A weekend visit to the Vancouver Art Gallery has got me crushing on Jim Campbell and his LED art.

All of his works are a trompe l’oeil of sorts; he uses blinking LEDs to create the illusion of motion. If you stare at one LED it appears to blink chaotically; it’s only in the context of all the other LEDs that a pattern – and the art – emerges.

Take for instance, this piece:

You sit at the end of a long room and watch what appears to be a grainy, black and white movie projected on the wall.

Except that there’s no projector. You can stand right in front of the moving image and you won’t block it because it’s created by a mesh of LEDs hanging in front of the screen wall.

Moreover, in the first image it looks like there’s a grid hanging in front of the wall, but you’re only noticing that because this is a static photo. When seen as a video, the effect of motion created by the lights makes you ignore the grid.

It’s mesmerizing.

Here’s a video of another piece.

These are people walking through Grand Central Station. The glass contains one over-exposed image of people walking; an LED screen behind the glass projects the outlines of people. Occasionally the pictures and shadows line up, making you see the piece from a new perspective.

Beautiful stuff.

48 Hours in Seattle

Apr 13

lindsayrgwattTravel seattle Comments Off

Inspired by the New York Times’ 36 Hours In… series, Wen and I recently ducked down to Seattle.

I love visiting Seattle because it’s a city that is absolutely unlike Vancouver despite the proximity; going there truly feels like a different world.

It was a great weekend: lots of walking, eating, taking photos, exploring and drinking coffee.

Here are some photo highlights.

Spring was in bloom

Public Art Abounds

A few Richard Serra’s at the sculpture park…

The most dynamic art is graffiti on building scaffolding

Lots of Modern Architecture

City Hall

The Hyatt

The library

You Have To Visit The Market

And a couple of random closing shots:

This is an acoustic sculpture at the conservatory. A speak is suspended against taught wires; inaudible music plays and vibrates the string – which in turn trigger instruments. A unique symphony ensues.

Elliott Bay Books is a must-visit for any reader. One of the best book stores I’ve ever been to.

A view of the city from the sculpture park.

And one more interesting thing. We drove back along the coast rather than the interstate. This takes you from Edison on up to Bellingham. This route is highly recommended (and most Vancouverites don’t know about it).

Edison is a really pretty town with a harbour walk around it; the road between in and Bellingham hugs the coast with mountains on one side, cliffs on the other and forests everywhere. There are also lots of restaurants perched on those cliffs where you can grab a quick meal.