What Comes Next_
Thoughts on AI, predictive text, technological metaphors, and the string of thought.
🌐Babel bubbles
An exploration of linguistic expressions for incomprehensibility across different cultures, inspired by a question about the varying equivalents of "it's Greek to me."
🐣Applied semiotics
This amusing reflection on "American-style Easter" highlights the quirky blend of commercialism and tradition.
🌐Poking Facebook
The ease of social networking creates challenges for self-reinvention.
🤠These are a few of my favorite German country-western song titles
A humorous exploration of German Country music and its quirky celebration of Americana culture.
🎸All tomorrow’s parties
Quoting ... somebody famous.
🎶Bring the noise
Stanford music professor Jonathan Berger discusses how MP3s resonate with modern listeners.
🍽️Tastes great, but is it art?
Exploring the debate on whether cooking can be classified as an art form raises intriguing questions about aesthetic experiences and cultural significance.
🐎Fujimori Festival
Calligraphy on horseback showcases an impressive skill, as highlighted in the traditional Fujimori Festival held at the Fujinomori Shrine.
🌍Making things that we can touch
An exploration of the intersection between technology, human interaction, and the essence of physical experience.
🎶A dirge revival
A reflection on the cultural decline and potential revival of traditional funeral dirges in the Volta region of northern Ghana.
📺Less is more
A reflection on how limiting technology can boost creativity, with a nod to the simplicity of a no-button remote.
🧪The Plastics Inventor
How perceptions of plastic have shifted over time, particularly through the lens of Disney's animation in the 1940s.
🎶Talent is overrated, practice what you love
An exploration of the role of practice and passion in developing talent, as illustrated by young musicians and insights from Anders Ericsson's research.
✈️Descending like a dove
A visual representation of air traffic over Atlanta resembles the Holy Spirit's descent.
✝️It comes from sacrifice
This piece explores the profound connection between forgiveness and the strength of Western values.
🥈They also ran
Canadian photographer Sandy Nicholson documents the competitors who are forgotten about and under-celebrated — the second-place finishers.
✝️Copyright or smiley face?
Exploring the divine in the artistry of creation and the faith we see reflected in our surroundings.
👃Community you can smell
Exploring the essence of true community beyond virtual connections.
🏘️Slums are the answer
Insights into community resilience found in the world's squatter cities.
🍣Cirque du sushi
Captured moments from a kaiten sushi experience in Tomakomai, emphasizing culture and enjoyment.
🎭The trouble with interesting
Reflecting on Walker Percy's exploration of modern emotions, particularly the shift from genuine feelings to mere interest and boredom.
🗺️Beehives, cones, hips, and domes
Exploring diverse architectural styles across Africa through historical cartography reveals intriguing patterns and cultural nuances.
🕊️Some dim dazzling trick of grace
Reflecting on the poignant moments in Walker Percy’s _The Moviegoer_, particularly regarding faith and presence.
🎗️Steeling their courage
Ironworkers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center honor young cancer patients with a heartfelt tradition of painting their names on structural girders.
📜The Lucca Choirbook
An astonishing tale of cultural recycling and musical rediscovery, all thanks to musicologists like Reinhard Strohm.
🤡Holy fools
A whimsical celebration of vocation unfolds in a church sanctuary, where clowns honor the laughter and legacy of their craft.
🌍Just foreign enough
Exploring the vital role of translation amidst cultural exchange and linguistic nuances.
🎶“The Boy in the Bubble,” live from Zimbabwe, by Paul Simon
An exploration of Paul Simon's "The Boy in the Bubble" and its reflections on technology and politics.
🎨Giorgio de Chirico exhibit, Paris
This photograph beautifully captures the interplay between viewers and art, showcasing the conversation sparked by de Chirico's "La Comedie et la Tragedie."
🎨Your failures are essential
A reflection on the essential lessons learned from artistic failures and the journey towards creating impactful art.
🛒If I Made a Commercial for Trader Joe’s, by Carl Willat
A whimsical tribute to a beloved supermarket, blending nostalgia and humor through music and creativity.
✍️Speechless and renewed
A reflection on the dual nature of poetry's impact, highlighting both its limitations and its profound significance.
🪞Choosing interesting enemies
Bono reflects on the idea of enemies and internal struggles in the context of U2's music and philosophy.
🌌To be united with the beauty that we see
In reflecting on the essence of beauty and our connection to it, C. S. Lewis beautifully articulates a profound longing within the human spirit.
🧑Tony Hairdressing for Men
Here's a glimpse into a stylish establishment in Westminster
🌌Largely a matter of distance
A reflection on the dark journeys we undertake, as illustrated through history and myth.
📼Nuovo cinema Paradiso
A tale of culture preservation as an Italian town intervenes to save a beloved New York video rental store from closure.
📚On the Map, by Stefanie Posavec
Stefanie Posavec beautifully translates Jack Kerouac's _On the Road_ into a visual journey of patterns and themes.
🤔Peopling Pixar
Exploring Pixar's hiring philosophy, where curiosity trumps charisma.
⛪Cathedral, by David LaChapelle
Reflecting on LaChapelle's art, where churches become ships with complex narratives.
🎭Containing multitudes
Zadie Smith reflects on the contrasting expectations for artists and politicians in her essay "Speaking in Tongues."
🍿The pause that refreshes
A study reveals that commercial interruptions can enhance enjoyment of TV shows by providing refreshing breaks from the narrative flow.
🎈The Red Balloon
A reflection on the iconic short film "The Red Balloon," its themes, and cultural impact.
😂Tolstoy on world-changing
I've been enjoying a quite funny article about Tolstoy in the latest Harper's.
📚Accomplices in creation
Virginia Woolf explores the intricate relationship between readers and texts, urging us to engage as co-creators rather than mere critics.
🎨Obey
An exploration of cultural irony through Shepard Fairey's work and a celebration of Nigerian music from Ebenezer Obey.
🕌Untitled, by Manuel Guerzoni
An exploration of beauty in architecture, contrasting the elegance of the Taj Mahal with the simplicity of utilitarian design.
🗽Hallelujah for the Walt Whitman Rest Stop, by Maria Kalman
A glimpse into the cultural reflections captured by Maira Kalman during an inauguration-day trip down to Washington, inspired by Whitman's spirit.
📺No more than an hour
A reflective observation from 1939 about the limitations of television and its impact on family life.
🏞️The noisy, crowded past
Reflecting on the contrasts of solitude and noise throughout human history, Alan Jacobs looks into the complexities of personal space.