“Aesthetics has become too important to be left to the aesthetes. To succeed, hard-nosed engineers, real estate developers, and MBAs must take aesthetic communication, and aesthetic pleasure, seriously” (Virginia Postrel, The Substance of Style, pp. 4-5).
Speaking of Hatchet Jobs
A correspondent informs me that somewhere out there on the web, one of our local critics is chastising us for a bunch of stuff. All to be expected, and part of the cost of doing business. This is not worthy of comment, but one point Nick Gier made in this criticism was too good to …
Both Pockets Full of Cash
So here’s some quick punditry standing on horseback at a full gallop. Watch me go. The results out of Iowa are interesting. Living in a democracy is interesting. Living in a rowdy democracy is interesting. First, take both parties together. The results appear to be largely connected to that intangible thing called likeability. Huckabee comes …
Serious Play
“Once established, this resilience is not just good for meeting threats. It extends to everyday habits. Play nurtures a supple mind, a willingness to think in new categories, and an ability to make unexpected associations” (Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies, p. 188).
Random Political Musing II
In the thread on my random political musing of a few days ago, someone asked who I was supporting in the race for president. It would be easier to say in the first place which candidates I couldn’t support, and then, second, what scenario could reasonably be expected to make me happy. In the interests …
Random Political Musing
Mike Huckabee makes me nervous. He gives me the willies — to wit, the fantods. Other than all the potential fun games we might have with his name — Huckaboom, Huckabust, and after the first great scandal of his administration, Huckagate — the whole thing gives me cold duck bumps all over. The first round …
What Are the Rules For?
“While reactionaries seek rules that would ban change and technocrats want rules that will control outcomes, dynamists look for rules that let people forge new bonds, invent new institutions, and find better ways of doing things” (Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies, p. 112).
A Little Cyber-Anarchy
“The Net not only managed to become big and important before any would-be regulator noticed, it evolved both software rules and social norms without official direction” (Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies, p. 36).
Entirely the Stuff of Legend
The Archbishop of Canterbury has informed us, just in time for Christmas, that the story of the three wise men was nothing more than a “legend.” HT: Frank Turk. Yes, I can see how the concept of “wise men” would seem to a churchman in Bishop Rowan’s environment to be entirely the stuff of legend. …
Stodgies and Planners
“Our new awareness of how dynamic the world really is has united two types of stasists who would have once been bitter enemies: reactionaries, whose central value is stability, and technocrats, who central value is control” (Virginia Postrel, The Future and Its Enemies, p. 7).