Wired At 20 Years
A great read on the formation of Wired – arguably the most important magazine in Tech. I remember the first issues and hanging with Louis and Jane in the Wired offices. Was very cool. John Battelle’s impact on the industry has been remarkable. All goes to show that the good guys can win. They not only changed they way we talk about technology, but what gets included in the talk. And from a pure design standpoint, they tipped the old rules on their head.
13 Rooms
Last night we had the opportunity to experience 13 Rooms – an absolutley stunning exhibition.
Kaldor Public Art Project #27, entitled 13 Rooms, brings together 13 famous artists and more than 100 performers to present an innovative group exhibition of ‘living sculpture’ within 13 purpose-built rooms. It will challenge you, fry your synapses and cause you to rethink art. It was remarkable. It’s only in Sydney for 11 days. In fact, its only on Earth for another 11 days.
Get there while you can.
Kaldor Public Art Project 27: 13 Rooms, Episode 3 from Kaldor Public Art Projects on Vimeo.
disclosure: my employer, Commonwealth Bank, is a sponsor.
Distraction
I finally found the time to finish Damon Young‘s Distraction – a book I picked-up at the opening of the School of Life in Melbourne. What a brilliant read. It’s a look at the lives of a mix of philosophers, artists and thinkers through the lens of focus. In short, the opposite of a life of distraction is one of authentic freedom – and that is acheived by focus. Thought-provoking and clever.
This reviewer nicely summed it up.
For all its warmth and accessibility, Distraction, is by no means a ‘soft’ read. It is scathing about a distracted mind, ‘a clumsy, fumbling guide’ that often leads us ‘to seek asylum in false consolation, delusion or ubiquitous noise’. It has a lot to say about the world of work, dominated not by ‘information economy’ but ‘attention economy’, in which what looks like cutting-edge employment ‘turns out to be busywork’. Its sharp discussion of forms of governance and of our shared civic sphere is fuelled by Young’s profound disappointment with what it means to be political. Above all, it is insistent that we commit ourselves to shunning borrowed or half-baked lives, that, no matter how powerful the fears and the temptations, we retreat neither from ourselves nor from the world that we inhabit.
SCARF Is What We Want
Loved this idea… to which I would add purpose – without purpose employees would be unable to derive meaning.
Q. So what does the SCARF acronym stand for?
A. It stands for status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness and fairness.
Swiss Miss @ SXSW
Another great watch. So much to watch, so little time.
