Hamlet’s Blackberry
A few weeks ago I read William Powers' book Hamlet's Blackberry, but with the move and everything couldn't really write much about it. Still, it's worth noting. Powers'
Wading into The Shallows
Yesterday I read Nicholas Carr's The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read, and Remember. Frankly, I was prepared to severely dislike it– his
Nicholas Carr, The Shallows
Spent the day (and most of the evening) reading Nicholas Carr's new book, The Shallows. The money graf: "[I]f, knowing what we know today about the brain's plasticity,
On pipes
For me, one of the most memorable parts of Terry Gilliam's dystopian classic Brazil was the pipes. If you haven't seen the film, go watch it; if you have, you'll remember the way that pipes are everywhere in the built environment. I always thought that was vivid and strange; now, though, I realize that it was one of those pieces of dystopian culture that is an absurd magnification of real life.
Another skilled vision data-point
According to James Gleick, the Chinese character for "look" is a compound of the characters for "hand" and "eye." An interesting suggestion that vision has a physical, manual
Sunday at the American Cemetery, Madingley
This morning, after getting Heather's bike fixed up so it was a little more rideable, we took a short trip to the American Cemetery in Madingley, a cemetery devoted largely to airmen from the Eighth Air Force and sailors who served in the Battle of the Atlantic. I'd read a little about the cemetery, and one of my grandparents had served in the Eighth Air Force, and it seemed like an appropriate destination for a Sunday.
bicycling, via flickr
Being grownups
Today we spent a little time getting Heather settled in-- a friend brought over a bike that she can use while she's here, and we got her signed up at the local gym-- then despite my knowledge of Saturday insanity in town, we bought some lights for the bike and did a little food shopping.
As a result, I cooked my first real meal since I got here: a kind of Asian fusion stir fry tikka masala, with rice. (We had had dinner at an Indian restaurant the night before, so I was kind of thinking about Indian food.)
dinner ingredients, via flickr
Back to Heathrow 2
Thursday Heather flew into Heathrow, so I took the bus from Cambridge to the airport, and picked her up.
christ's pieces, via flickr
Most of the buses in Cambridge leave from the central station on Christ's Pieces, but the airport buses originate and terminate a couple blocks to the south, at Parker's Pieces. Fortunately, everything's reasonably well marked, and it's not too difficult to find the bus you need. (The Cambridge-to-Heathrow bus seems to be the 797, which also helps.)