Winston Churchill on “painting as a pastime”
I’m just back from a trip to England, where I was doing interviews and archival work for Rest. While most of my time was spent in the British
You must pay attention to these gigantic eyes: The Art of Attentiveness project
Swiss International Air Lines, the Swiss airline that is the successor to Swissair, has started the Art of Attentiveness campaign, which aims to use art (the art of
Speaking Notes 4: Travel
Travel for professional speaking is different than for academic talks. For one thing, I've almost never been invited to give an academic talk by someone who wasn't a
Reading my book in Argentina
A picture of someone reading the Spanish edition of The Distraction Addiction in (I believe) the Buenos Aires subway system, from a Tumblr of people reading on subways: This
Talking about contemplative computing in Princeton and New Haven
Last week I spent several days on the road, on a whirlwind trip to the East Coast to talk about contemplative computing and The Distraction Addiction. It was
“we could end up abolishing the sense of the Away:” enabling vs. distracting technology in the wild
Earth Island Journal editor Jason Mark has a piece in The Atlantic about proposals to make wifi available in national parks and other remote areas, and whether a
Road trip and “new” car
Earlier this summer my son and I flew out to Colorado, spent a day with my dad and stepmother, then drove across the West. The main “purpose” of the trip was was bring out a car that my dad was selling us, to replace my ancient Mazda sedan; but it was also a chance to spend some time with Pop and my son, and for them to spend some time with each other.
It’s also a drive that I really love and haven’t done in some time.
Back in Virginia
I’m back in Virginia this weekend, for a memorial for one of my professors, and to see Mom and family. I spent part of my childhood west of
“Technology supports the mind’s natural need to experience life through its own narrated version”
Psychotherapist and minister Nancy Colier asks "Are our devices training us to escape the moment?" The everyday mind, she argues, "wants to narrate our life, to tell the story
Taking contemplative computing to Buddhist monastics
Last week I was in New York for the launch of J. Walter Thompson's new report on consumer trends, and while I was on the East Coast I