Dan Phiffer builds websites, makes art, and teaches in NYC
Dutch soldiers on bicycle patrol in Afghanistanwww.ft.com
This story from Financial Times in November seems to have swapped in a new photo, so it’s fortunate that I saved a copy of this one to my hard drive. I was reminded of it after hearing this morning that the Dutch coalition government has collapsed over its Afghanistan withdrawal.
The Dutch have gone to considerable lengths to gain the confidence of locals with carefully calibrated patrolling of the province. “We recently started doing patrols on bicycles in Tarin Kowt,” said a senior Dutch official. “The population was surprised but they reacted positively. It is much easier to come into contact with people on a bicycle than sitting on a Bushmaster [protected mobility vehicle].”
Trade School workshops this week
Ellie is co-teaching a class at Trade School tomorrow night called Drawing for Pleasure and Relaxation. My (non-keyboard) hand coordination is kind of pathetic and I’d like some practice. It is full, unfortunately, but if you’re really into the idea it’d probably be fine to just show up.
Another one I’ll be going to on Thursday is Art Work: A Discussion about Art, Labor, and Economics, which has a companion newspaper edition and website. There are 3 seats left as of right now.
Also, in case you missed it, there’s a free lecture tonight by CLUI‘s Matthew Coolidge out at Pratt (although, not on the main campus).
MoMA interview with Yugo Nakamuramoma.org
I was happily surprised to see this interview by Shannon Darrough, who I work with on MoMA.org.
Nakamura’s MONO*crafts 2.0 was also a big inspiration for me when I was first getting into web design. It feels dated now, of course, but I remember feeling thrilled to see this bold assertion in the navigation: interfaces can be impractical, users can be invited to explore and play.
danah boyd on ChatRoulettewww.zephoria.org
It’s about finding joy in randomness.
For most users of all ages – but especially teens – the Internet today is about socializing with people you already know. But I used to love the randomness of the Internet. I can’t tell you how formative it was for me to grow up talking to all sorts of random people online. So I feel pretty depressed every time I watch people flip out about the dangers of talking to strangers. Strangers helped me become who I was. Strangers taught me about a different world than what I knew in my small town. Strangers allowed me to see from a different perspective. Strangers introduced me to academia, gender theory, Ivy League colleges, the politics of war, etc.
I completely agree, ChatRoulette feels like my first experiences meeting random people in AOL chat rooms. But I can also understand why many people would find it too creepy to try out.
There’s an iPhone app called PhotoSwap that operates on a similar principle. It’s also fun, but it’s too bogged down by those who tag their suggestive, but PG-rated, images “NR” for no reporting to the system administrators.
