“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives,” Annie Dillard wrote in her timeless reflection on presence over productivity — a timely antidote to the central anxiety of our productivity-obsessed age.
If to enjoy even an enjoyable present we must have the assurance of a happy future, we are “crying for the moon.” We have no such assurance. The best predictions are still matters of probability rather than certainty, and to the best of our knowledge every one of us is going to suffer and die. If, then, we cannot live happily without an assured future, we are certainly not adapted to living in a finite world where, despite the best plans, accidents will happen, and where death comes at the end.
Best of Maria in 2014 and Why headlines matter
“Driven by the forces of love, the fragments of the world seek each other so that the world may come into being.”~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man
Will Canada and Australia turn out to have been bubbles of a kind, due to falling resource prices? Will the global economy enter a new forty year period where Julian Simon is right once again about resource prices? I say the word “bubble” is misleading here, but they will see a further growth slowdown in 2015 in those two nations
Hard-working artisan, solitary genius, credentialed professional—the image of the artist has changed radically over the centuries. What if the latest model to emerge means the end of art as we have known it?
The Death of the Artist—And the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur
The Meaning of “Culture” The New Yorker
Enthusiasts and Skeptics Debate Artificial Intelligence
Veterans of the Conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan Have Turned Combat into Literature
Americans love public transportation. So why don’t they use it? Buses Are for Other People
Read Kara Swisher’s profile of controversial Uber C.E.O. Travis Kalanick. Man and Uber Man
The NSW government has confirmed it raided the offices of Uber, the organisation behind the increasingly popular ride-sharing service UberX. The search of Uber's offices occurred in April, about the same time the company launched the UberX ride-sharing service. Uber
Be afraid. Be very afraid. Wall Street Rises Again
Studio m architecture recently built this minimal dwelling that rests upon the leafy terrain in Thuin, Belgium. Its design is simple, flexible and economical, and its warm wooden interiors are filled with natural light that comes in from all angles. Built from interconnected wooden boxes, this unique geometric home has a total of 14 different facades Belgium barns
Lucerna.musicbar.cz
By no means a
newcomer to Prague’s music scene, Lucerna Music Bar has hosted scores
of acts international and local, novel and historical, since its
opening around the turn of the last century. This 800-capacity concert
club located inside the Lucerna passage was designed by the grandfather
of Václav Havel. http://www.musicbar.cz/
The Interview Makes $15M Working From the Computer With One Weird Trick Gawker
Smart Pipe Adult Swim (YouTube)
The Interview Makes $15M Working From the Computer With One Weird Trick Gawker
Smart Pipe Adult Swim (YouTube)