ericellenberg

Jan 31

For reasons beyond my comprehension, my mental stereo started playing the theme to Lawrence of Arabia a few days ago.

Now, at least once a day, the strings stir and swell, they gather themselves like a tidal wave of sound, they flood the rooms of heaven, and they and everything else that can make a sound pour back down into my soul.

I love this movie.

According to this interview with Sony’s Grover Crisp at The Digital Bits, a Blu-ray release this year is probable. Makes sense, it’s the 50th anniversary of its release.

“If in doing the serious work of journalism–digging, reporting, verification, mastering a beat–you develop a view, expressing that view does not diminish your authority. It may even add to it. The View from Nowhere doesn’t know from this.” —

The View from Nowhere: Questions and Answers

Is it true, or does it sound true? I think it’s a tendency towards the latter that stifles trust in most news organizations.

Why did Path add sleeping as one of its five moment types? -

Answer from Dave Morin, CEO of Path:

First, we are now in the Post-PC, Mobile era. In the PC era we would often ask: are you online or offline? In the Mobile era this is no longer the case. You are simply sleeping or awake.

This highlights out how radical this mobile, post-PC revolution really is.

“Getting junk mail and advertisements from companies I don’t do business with is annoying enough. But getting it from the companies which I have been a long-time and deeply invested customer is quite annoying.” —

Companies who Spam Their Best Customers — Shawn Blanc

I’ve noticed this, too. I donated generously to both public radio stations I listen to in Georgia (WABE and WGPB), yet all I have received from them are letters asking for donations. There’s nothing wrong with promoting new products and services to your existing customers as long as its relevant and respectful. Don’t send me impersonal garbage because that’s exactly where it goes the moment I see it.

Jan 30

“We have a crisis of leadership in America because our overwhelming power and wealth, earned under earlier generations of leaders, made us complacent, and for too long we have been training leaders who only know how to keep the routine going. Who can answer questions, but don’t know how to ask them. Who can fulfill goals, but don’t know how to set them. Who think about how to get things done, but not whether they’re worth doing in the first place. What we have now are the greatest technocrats the world has ever seen, people who have been trained to be incredibly good at one specific thing, but who have no interest in anything beyond their area of expertise. What we don’t have are leaders. What we don’t have, in other words, are thinkers. People who can think for themselves. People who can formulate a new direction: for the country, for a corporation or a college, for the Army—a new way of doing things, a new way of looking at things. People, in other words, with vision.” —

The American Scholar: Solitude and Leadership - William Deresiewicz

The whole thing is pure gold.

“What if…” Movies reimagined for another time & place

Jan 29

“Members of Monty Python’s Flying Circus are reteaming for “Absolutely Anything,” a sci-fi farce combining CGI and live action, with Terry Jones to direct and Mike Medavoy to produce.” — Pic reunites Monty Python members - Variety