The penultimate link dump. This selection comes from the first half of 2007, a year when I didn’t really blog at all. I regret that. Anyway, enjoy:

Crappy Sound Forever! / David Byrne on how recording technology changed the way music was/is written and performed.

Freedom is slavery / Links and commentary on free will and determinism. I wrote an essay about free will in one of my end-of-year philosophy exams years ago; I think I concluded it by contradicting everything I’d asserted before the last paragraph.

English Sentences Without Overt Grammatical Subjects / Or, the grammar of swearing (via Kottke).

The stuff of dreams / Ferrofluids, dilatants and other freaky sciency things.

Powers of 10 / “Two leading structural engineers pick their favorite feats of man-made wonder.” They wouldn’t all be my pick, but nice all the same.

The ecstasy of influence / An essay by Jonathan Lethem on plagiarism in the arts.

The Morning News Guide to Urban Etiquette: New York City / Yet another urban behaviour guide! Most of this is common sense, but maybe not so common if it needs to be explained to people.

Japanese Cardboard Box Design / I love the little characters they have for everthing, like the orange juice guy, the staple-free box dude and the smiling aubergine. See also: Speedy! Animal Characters As Japanese Shipping Logos.

TV Solidarity / A story of dissidence in communist Poland.

The AV Club interviews Baron Von Raschke

Densho / “Densho’s mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished.”

Freaks and Geeks: High School Hell (1999-2000) / Judd Apatow and Paul Feig comment on the cult favourite that launched more careers than it’s given credit for. Still need to get the box set.

How an Obscure Collection of Japanese Action Figures Changed the Way We Play

50 memorable pages from the Guardian archive / A special to mark their 50,000 edition in mid 2007.

A 150-mile walk through the Big Apple / Via RandomWalks; one of the walkers has since walked across America.

Sun 28 Aug 2011 at 16:22   ·