September 2010
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Things Organized Neatly →
I think I just found my new favorite Tumblr (via Kottke).
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Today in cyclical bullshit
The New York Times reports:
BP is warning Congress that if lawmakers pass legislation that bars the company from getting new offshore drilling permits, it may not have the money to pay for all the damages caused by its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The bill they’re talking about would prevent companies with recorded fatal accidents and environmental fines from receiving drilling permits,...
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“The End,” by Best Coast (Crazy for You)
August 2010
11 posts
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“Facebook Places is a really fun and interesting product. The main thing we are...”
– Mark Zuckerberg blowing hot air and “reassuring users” about the privacy implications of his latest product announcement, location-based check-ins Places. I don’t like writing about Facebook, but I will say: today, the company is like a giant cruise ship helmed by an overzealous computer nerd...
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“We try hard to shed our old image as stodgy and out of it. Perhaps too hard,...”
– New York Times standards editor Phil Corbett, delivering a slap on the wrist to his staff today. This time, it’s for overuse of the word “hipster” (a mere 250 times in the past year—the Village Voice has geographic breakdowns and charts). Those crazy kids.
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The New York Times is for real
(In which I write a few too many uptight paragraphs about journalistic style on the internet, in the form of a “Letter to the Editor”—which I will ironically post on my blog, but never send.)
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Dear Breaking News Alert editors at the New York Times,
When did you start being so colloquial? Over the past several days, I’ve noticed quite a bit of inconsistency in your tone—far more...
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“Design is work done today to enact a desired future.”
– “The Long Now of Technology Infrastructure: Articulating Tensions in Development,” David Ribes & Thomas A. Finholt, 377.
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Foursquare's next challenge
A friend of mine checked in at JFK on Foursquare a bit ago and I noticed something interesting: forty-six others were already there with him! (Which is just four people away from the once-elusive Swarm badge.)
I think there’s something here: in fact, I think that Foursquare is reaching a turning point. Meaning, if certain large venues are granting Swarm badges to new users on a regular...
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What the f*ck is my social media strategy? →
Single-serving site? Internet & social media? Meme, jargon, satire?
Check, check, check, check, check.
July 2010
11 posts
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“We don’t know that the government can compel you to post a sign that expresses...”
– Robert Bookman, counsel for the New York State Restaurant Association, in response to the city’s plans to introduce an A/B/C grading scale of restaurant inspection results and a new website collecting and displaying up-to-date information.
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Watch35mm, by Sarah Biermann, Torsten Strer, Felix Meyer, Pascal Monaco
This 2-minute video includes subtle minimalist references to thirty-five classic films (keep an eye peeled for Fight Club).
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"The Velluvial Matrix": Atul Gawande to the 2010... →
Gawande has been writing on the state of American health care in the New Yorker for the past few years, and all of his essays are fascinating. Some are also disheartening. This was the first time I was upbeat about the future of medicine despite the facts—exactly what a commencement address to a school of medicine should accomplish. Well worth the read.
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R.I.P. Tobias Wong (1974–2010)
Tobias Wong, one of my favorite artists, hanged himself last month. Apparently, he was sleepwalking. The New York Times has a nice tribute and the backstory. Also, Julie Lasky has a short piece over at Design Observer.
Wong was known for his cheeky and subversive works of art and design, each impeccably conceived and flawlessly executed [e.g., Tiffany & Co. pearls dipped in black rubber,...
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One month later
Happy to say that I’m finally back in the U.S. of A., since spending the last four weeks traveling through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand via Hong Kong. Now, I’m broke and scrambling to find an apartment, but the post-graduation trip was wonderfully refreshing and incredibly eye-opening. I’m aware that too many superlatives won’t be justified without stories and pictures,...
June 2010
1 post
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On hiatus
In a few hours, I’m leaving on a trip to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Cambodia; I’ll be back again in about a month. In the meantime, I’ll be away from email, Twitter, phone, and everything else as much as I can possibly be. I might post some snapshots here if I have the chance, but mostly I’m looking forward to being disconnected for once.
May 2010
12 posts
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Some tidying up
After coming to the realization that trevormstr* is just too hard to pronounce, and even harder to remember how to spell (thanks, Jana; thanks, Dad), I’ve done a bit of spring cleaning in and around my internet homes:
From here forward, you can find this blog at trevor.is
For professional things, visit trevorfilter.com
I also got rid of the Hollywood sign–esque ramp-up on my name in...
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Newsweek.com redesigns →
The new Newsweek.com is built for people who seek context and clarity in an information landscape cluttered with headlines and knee-jerk reactions.
Sounds good to me.
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“House Republicans, meet the World Wide Web.”
– Dana Milbank for the Washington Post on America Speaking Out, the GOP-funded website that is not really turning out the way they planned. It’s the internet, stupid.
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A quick foursquare rant
Foursquare is not Facebook. As such, you don’t add friends on foursquare like you do on Facebook (e.g., “everyone you know”). You just don’t.
I understand. You just joined foursquare, and you’re without any friends… so you connected your Facebook and now you might have five. Including me. Well, I’m sorry to break it to you: if we don’t hang out in...
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Post-LOST Links
Or, Things to do on the internet after you finish watching LOST
This list of LOST-related ephemera is a work in progress. Bookmark and return later.
As embarrassing as it is, I haven’t actually seen an episode of LOST since the end of Season 3 (which would explain why I still write the whole show title in uppercase). It’s not that I haven’t wanted to, just that I...
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“Psychic City (Voodoo City),” by YACHT
Come on...
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An appreciation of Fred Rogers →
It’s no big secret that I am a tremendous fan of Fred Rogers—and not just of his television show but of the work he did to promote strong mental health and happiness to youth in the later half of the twentieth century. Thus, this retrospective in the most recent issue of GOOD Magazine is well worth the quick read, if only to remind you of the power of make-believe.
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Apple extending Facebook integration to iPhone OS? →
From Silicon Alley Insider, via Mac Rumors:
Our source tells us that Apple is at least going to build Facebook contact syncing directly into the iPhone software, so you can pull Facebook contacts into your iPhone’s phonebook. This is a no-brainer, and is already a feature that some of Apple’s competition offers, so it makes sense to include on the iPhone.
But: Apple’s...
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The best thing
The best thing (on a scale of one to EVER) is when you order chinese takeout with a friend and they leave their leftovers at your place and you’ve already eaten all your sesame chicken so you think that all that’s left at two a.m. is fried rice but then you open up your friend’s styrofoam takeout tray and THERE’S THEIR SESAME CHICKEN INSIDE.
And then you EAT IT.
April 2010
13 posts
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WatchSteve Jobs’ Thoughts on Flash, in Flash
topherchris says Flash crashed two times while he made this. So funny.
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John Mayer on Tumblr over Twitter →
And call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s the healthiest thing in the world to read scads of mentions/@replies and effectively open the floodgate of other people’s approval/disapproval. This is where Tumblr comes in. It’s the future of social networking if your image of the future features intelligent discourse.
I feel like John Mayer is one of the more thoughtful celebrities of today—which,...
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“It’s still sodium chloride.”
– Mehmood Khan, PepsiCo’s Chief Scientific Officer, on their newly restructured salt that dissolves faster on your tongue (i.e., where your tastebuds are), and which allows them to reduce sodium content of products by 25% without compromising taste. Apparently this stuff has been going on in the...
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These two things are the same
I think it’s pretty obvious where Jonny Ive found his inspiration for the upcoming iPhone:
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iPhone multitasking for websites?
It might be kind of cool if websites had state persistence, so that when you returned to a site you used often (e.g., Facebook, Tumblr), you were dumped right back in on the page you last visited. On the other hand, it might be kind of frustrating (if you visit a high-content stream infrequently enough and just want to “dip into the flow,” for example), but if such a feature could be...
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“So what brands do New Affluents find meaningful, authentic and relevant? Apple,...”
– Stuff White People Like AdAge