Manso

Seven months old! ♥

Sat, 19 May 2012 16:23:03 -0700

Seven months old! ♥

Flannery O'Connor's Yearbook

Sat, 19 May 2012 10:40:19 -0700

My husband’s grandmother, Mama Anne, attended Georgia State College for Women at Milledgeville with Flannery O’Connor. This is their Freshman yearbook.

♥

Translation: “HEY GUYS!” As much as I admire...

Sat, 19 May 2012 09:30:00 -0700

Translation: “HEY GUYS!”

As much as I admire Facebook’s success at connecting the world, I much prefer Tumblr’s style – or voice. Facebook doesn’t have much of a voice at all.

"…I would argue that the quality of governance in the US tends to be low precisely because of a..."

Fri, 18 May 2012 09:07:39 -0700

“…I would argue that the quality of governance in the US tends to be low precisely because of a continuing tradition of Jacksonian populism. Americans with their democratic roots generally do not trust elite bureaucrats to the extent that the French, Germans, British, or Japanese have in years past. This distrust leads to micromanagement by Congress through proliferating rules and complex, self-contradictory legislative mandates which make poor quality governance a self-fulfilling prophecy. The US is thus caught in a low-level equilibrium trap, in which a hobbled bureaucracy validates everyone’s view that the government can’t do anything competently.”

- Francis Fukuyama – What is Governance?

❧

I read this piece when it came out earlier this year, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

It’s very easy to find people who are cynical about bureaucracy/bureaucrats – in fact, I’d wager that it’s hard to find people who aren’t cynical about bureaucracy. Bureaucrat has no positive connotation, hence the euphemism “public servant” (which is slightly insulting to those of us who aren’t technically bureaucrats but are driven by public service).

Once you start looking for it, it’s very easy to spot examples of this cycle of distrust, micromanagement, poor performance, and continued mistrust. An under-acknowledged challenge for those of us participating in the civic startup movement will be to be charitable toward bureaucrats. After all, the poor performance we’re trying to improve may have its roots in our collective failure to do so.

"Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the..."

Thu, 17 May 2012 17:42:09 -0700

“Don’t ever forget that you’re a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day. Civility, respect, kindness, character. You’re too good for schadenfreude, you’re too good for gossip and snark, you’re too good for intolerance—and since you’re walking into the middle of a presidential election, it’s worth mentioning that you’re too good to think people who disagree with you are your enemy.”

- Remarks by Aaron Sorkin ‘83 at Syracuse University’s 158th Commencement (via pevz)

topherchris: May is Mental Health Month This post from the USA.gov Tumblr reminded me that I...

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:13:11 -0700

topherchris:

May is Mental Health Month

This post from the USA.gov Tumblr reminded me that I wanted to say something quick about mental health.

I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety disorder for most of my life. During most of that time, I basically had no hope of my life ever improving. But it did. Things absolutely do get better. I’ll never be “cured” per se, but I’m at a place where it’s all manageable and it doesn’t control my life. Feels great, man.

If you’re going through some stuff, try to remember that you’re not alone.

(Everyone: I encourage you to share your own experiences. It could help somebody.)

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 2010 report on mental health in America, about 30% of Americans between 18 and 25 have suffered from mental illness. I sought help for some compulsive perfectionist tendencies around that age. I still have some of those tendencies, but they’re no longer the nuisance they were.

Chris is right: if you suffer from mental illness, you’re not alone. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, and you can get help.

What’s embarrassing is how hard it is for me to publish this post. We’d all be better off if we could speak more honestly about mental illness.

😍 🍦 This baby is crazy.

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:03:00 -0700

😍 🍦

This baby is crazy.

dbreunig: Ignore the IPO noise for a moment: the criticisms, the estimates of earnings, and other...

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:05:10 -0700

dbreunig:

Ignore the IPO noise for a moment: the criticisms, the estimates of earnings, and other buzz. These pale in comparison to Facebook’s largest achievement, which is worth putting into context.

Facebook has organized roughly 1 in 7 people on earth, or 900 million people.

They’ve built a design and interaction system used across the world by a massive amount of cultures. Mandarin, with its 1.1 billion speakers, is the only language or medium with more native participants than Facebook. Other companies certainly fill out this club: Ikea, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, and Apple come to mind. But none of these live so closely to their participants, acting and reacting with them.

You may be over Facebook, but Facebook’s cultural impact has yet to peak. Facebook itself is a tremendous feat of design and engineering, no matter what network is on top in 5 years.

The comparison to Mandarin here is astute.

I came up with this idea of pre-abandoned space. (via The Allure...

Thu, 17 May 2012 12:12:38 -0700

I came up with this idea of pre-abandoned space.

(via The Allure and Abhorrence of San Diego’s Master-Planned Communities)

"One day in Berlin … Eno came running in and said, “I have heard the sound of the..."

Thu, 17 May 2012 09:41:12 -0700

“One day in Berlin … Eno came running in and said, “I have heard the sound of the future.” … he puts on “I Feel Love”, by Donna Summer … He said, “This is it, look no further. This single is going to change the sound of club music for the next fifteen years.” Which was more or less right.”

- David Bowie, talking about Brian Eno’s reaction to “I Feel Love” in 1977.

"The best work is that grunt work because what I do day to day at Instagram is that stuff."

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:13:20 -0700

“The best work is that grunt work because what I do day to day at Instagram is that stuff.”

- Kevin Systrom, CEO of Instagram, on his internship at Odeo.

"I just suddenly saw it. I suddenly made the connection between my needs as a reader and what I was..."

Wed, 16 May 2012 06:34:00 -0700

“I just suddenly saw it. I suddenly made the connection between my needs as a reader and what I was doing as a writer, which I had never made before. That in fact I was not interested in punishing the reader, because I didn’t enjoy being punished myself. If I wanted the book to be read, it needed to move, and so I had to make the cuts to make it move.”

- Franzen

❧

This is called empathy.

Mercy Lounge website, designed by Yewknee

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:54:56 -0700

Mercy Lounge website, designed by Yewknee:

From Yewknee’s blog:

If I were to pick a piece of work that served as my crown jewel - this would definitely be it.

It’s really great. Fun to play with. Beautiful to look at. And – above all else – useful. I’m proud to know this Yewknee guy.

I will go to this someday.

Mon, 14 May 2012 09:05:26 -0700

I will go to this someday.

The happiest mother’s day. ♥ ♥

Sun, 13 May 2012 10:01:03 -0700

The happiest mother’s day. ♥ ♥

dusdin: PRINT SALE I’ve got the following four prints of some...

Sat, 12 May 2012 22:35:52 -0700

dusdin:

PRINT SALE

I’ve got the following four prints of some of my older work for sale at my website.

I’d love to hear from you if you’re interested - and if you feel like re-blogging to get this out to a wider audience, that would definitely not be inappropriate!

990000: At the TEDxAmsterdam conference General Peter van Uhm,...

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:41:22 -0700

990000:

At the TEDxAmsterdam conference General Peter van Uhm, Chief of the Netherlands Defense Staff, who in 2008, lost his son First Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm, in Afghanistan.

Brilliant usage of cognitive (emotional?) dissonance to make a powerful point. I appreciate challenges like this to my pacifism.

"The local-food movement’s ideological parochialism would be dangerous if it were somehow enacted..."

Thu, 10 May 2012 21:22:45 -0700

“The local-food movement’s ideological parochialism would be dangerous if it were somehow enacted into law. But as persuasion, it tends to focus on the positive: the delights of local peaches and fresh cider, not the imagined evils of Chilean blueberries and prepeeled baby carrots. In this regard, it resembles the English Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century. William Morris, who is remembered today more for his wallpaper and book designs than for his social theories, didn’t manage to overturn the industrial revolution. But he and his allies left a legacy of beautiful things. Pleasure is persuasive.”

- Virginia Postrel on Locavores and Michael Pollan - WSJ.com (via Instapaper)

braiker: Check out the cover of this week’s TIME...

Thu, 10 May 2012 08:05:38 -0700

braiker:

Check out the cover of this week’s TIME magazine

UPDATING to add: I am vigorously pro breast feeding. My two daughters were breastfed till they were 1, and it only stopped there for logistical/career reasons and because they sort of weaned themselves. That said, this photo is clearly scandal bait. The boy is 3 and in many societies kids breastfeed till they’re at least 4 — it’s the way the human body was designed. We’re a nation of squeamish Puritans. Not sure how much useful dialogue will be generated with this.

Here’s some useful dialog to add to Brian’s: watching my daughter breastfeed makes me really happy. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever experienced and I think people should be less squeamish about breastfeeding. I also think people shouldn’t worry about other people’s choices regarding breastfeeding.

Great scandal bait, Time!

You might start seeing this picture of me around the Internet....

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:34:46 -0700

You might start seeing this picture of me around the Internet. San Diegans, I beseech thee: become a member of Voice of San Diego. It’s a great way to meet other kind, thoughtful, interesting San Diegans who make things happen. It’s also cheap. Also, they’re cool.