May 2012
1 post
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Spend Money Making Memories →
Memory as a Consumer Durable by Garrett Jones:
People often shrink from driving to a distant, promising restaurant, flying to a new country, trying a new sport—it’s a hassle, and the experience won’t last that long. That’s the wrong way to look at it. When you go bungee jumping, you’re not buying a brief experience: You’re buying a memory, one that might last...
April 2012
3 posts
1 tag
U.S. Treasury during the Holocaust →
From remarks by Tim Geithner:
When we think about the Holocaust, we are forced to come to terms with more than just the evil of Adolf Hitler. We must also confront the failures that allowed this genocide to occur—the moral failures, the institutional failures, the cowardice and apathy and hate.
Henry Morgenthau, John Pehle, and Joe DuBois refused to accept those failures.
They knew that when...
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Two Americas →
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Art as a weapon →
“If any official institution was in a position to celebrate the collection of Leninists, Trotskyites and heavy drinkers that made up the New York School, it was the CIA.”
December 2011
2 posts
“When that ineffable compound of depression, sadness (these two are not the...”
– Kingsley Amis
2 tags
Not Everyone is Trying to Screw You Over
Megan McArdle wrote a nice post at the Atlantic questioning the over the top criticism of Reed Hastings of Netflix and other leaders who make seemingly terrible decisions. Her post is mainly regarding business leaders, but the same logic applies to politicians and other public leaders.
It’s not a popular position to take at the moment, but the majority of elected representatives and public...
November 2011
2 posts
“It’s a kitchen. Its curtains fill
with a morning light so bright
you can’t see...”
– Ted Kooser, “A Room in the Past”
2 tags
August 2011
4 posts
“Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we...”
– W.B. Yeats, “A Drinking Song”
“The muse does not visit you. You must visit the muse.”
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July 2011
1 post
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Why is Congress broken?
Because it can’t close deals.
Deal making best succeeds behind closed doors. Whether it’s Congressional leaders negotiating a federal budget, diplomats constructing sensitive international treaties, or bankers and lawyers hammering out details on a corporate acquisition, successful deal making benefits from the ability of each party to act in a manner free from hyper-sensitive public...
March 2011
3 posts
1 tag
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NYT Magazine
The redesign of the New York Times Magazine reminds Kottke of Monocle. Ugh. No one eagerly anticipates the hours wasted on each Monocle issue more than me, but feeding Tyler Brule’s ego is not to be condoned.
I’m looking forward to this newest iteration, but mainly because Abstract City is becoming Abstract Sunday and Deborah Solomon’s loathsome interviews will be long gone.
“Ideas with out narratives are like food without spice.”
October 2010
1 post
3 tags
Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg
The biggest takeaway from the ‘The Social Network’ (despite its extreme fictionalization) is the uniqueness of Mark Zuckerberg’s reluctance to add advertisements to Facebook and cash in quickly with easy revenue. Despite all of the criticism from people concerned with privacy, it’s pretty obvious that he cares more about the impact and influence permeated by Facebook than by...
September 2010
1 post
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C.R.E.A.M. Part II →
The US Treasury continues to play a significant role in fighting terrorist networks. And with a $5 million bounty on both Hakeemullah and Waliur it might be only a matter of time before we see a real hero take some action.
2 tags
C.R.E.A.M. - Terrorism Financing →
When presented with a confounding problem, follow the money and a clear picture will emerge. Money makes the world go ‘round and that includes the world of interconnected terrorist networks.
August 2010
3 posts
4 tags
Diplomatic Doubles →
I’m glad these two are getting positive results on the court. They are certainly two individuals that deserve success and recognition for their hard work and courage.
4 tags
The Need for a Narrative
About a year ago I was attending a conference on terrorism and intelligence that featured a panel on countering the Taliban narrative in Northwest Pakistan. The conversation became a question of whether the US and its allies even needed a narrative at all. Instead of pursuing an aggressive and positive strategic narrative, should the West’s information operations focus primarily on...
July 2010
1 post
5 tags
Wikileaks' Afghan War Documents
Without sounding blasé, my first reaction to the Wikileaks story at NYT was something along the lines of, “This is news?” It seems that the big revelations contained in these classified documents are: the Pakistani intelligence service possibly works with insurgents, civilians have been killed, and the US uses drone strikes and paramilitary operations to launch ambushes and raids and order...
June 2010
3 posts
4 tags
Very Brief Thoughts on Rolling Stan
Boy, that Rolling Stone piece on General McChrystal sure caused quite the chain reaction. And rightly so, the man that is tasked with leading our military operations in Afghanistan calls Bud Light Lime (!) his favorite beer.
But seriously, the quotes that got the General fired seemed out of place with the article’s theme. The piece was clearly an attempt to denigrate COIN strategy in...
4 tags
Does the Internet Make You Smarter? →
From Clay Shirky in the WSJ:
Increased freedom to create means increased freedom to create throwaway material, as well as freedom to indulge in the experimentation that eventually makes the good new stuff possible. There is no easy way to get through a media revolution of this magnitude; the task before us now is to experiment with new ways of using a medium that is social, ubiquitous and...
3 tags
Public Messages
The 2008 campaign changed everything. The ability of Facebook and other internet-based tools that allowed communities (online and off) to organize and campaign more efficiently and effectively combined with the Obama campaign’s proficiency and foresight to use those tools changed politics forever.
From now on, whoever has the technological savvy and aptitude in manipulating “social media”...
May 2010
5 posts
3 tags
It should be Rudyard Kipling →
More proof that all other tennis tournaments are vying for second place.
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I'll Listen to Your Ad for a Free Phone
I remember having a conversation in 2006 about ads on cellphones. My idea was to play ads over the phone while someone was waiting for a pick-up. This was inspired by all of those playback music clips people played on their cellphones. I also thought carriers could attach ads to text messages. All of these would bring a reduced bill for the customer if he opted into the program.
...
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Summertime Tomatoes
The summer is my least favorite season. The humidity can make everyday activities unbearable. Just stepping outside in the sauna-like conditions will make you instantly work up a sweat and gasp for air.
Of course I enjoy mountain biking, tennis and soccer in the searing heat. And summertime activities like cookouts and lake excursions and long daylight hours are all fine.
But the one...
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McSweeney’s Style Open Letter to the Segway Rider...
Dear Segway Rider in Washington DC,
For both our sakes, please get off that ridiculous two-wheeled monstrosity. It makes you look silly and it makes me want to point and shout, “Segway!” which then prompts my friends to say mean things about you. I don’t like bullies, but you’re turning me and my polite friends into adult versions of Mike Dexter roaming the streets of DC.
I know that we just...
April 2010
3 posts
1 tag
Tennis
While I was taking a walk through Rock Creek Park one recent evening, I went past the tennis courts located near the stadium. A man and woman who I would guess to be in their low 70s were hitting a few balls around.
As I walked past their court, the woman shouted to her partner, “I forgot how to hit a lob.”
“Just hit up,” the man shouted back.
He then fed a ball over the net to her and she hit...
3 tags
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“An interesting plainness is the most difficult and precious thing to achieve.”
– Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
March 2010
1 post
2 tags
Band Names
My friends and I want to start a band. These are some names that I thought of:
Solar Therapy
The Kitson Project
Music
Run
Playtime
Tongue in Chic
Benevolent Dictator
Greener Grass
Piranhas and People
These names mean nothing, but I feel each contain a certain amount of pretentiousness and hipster credibility. I personally like Playtime or Piranhas and People.
February 2010
1 post
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Peer Production
Collective Problem Solving
In order to succeed companies need employees with skills in creative problem-solving and an ability to integrate that creativity within a team context to address the specific needs of clients. The way to create solutions for customers today is through “peer production,” what Larry Downes, author of The Laws of Disruption, defines as the right group of people coming...