Remember when I posted the bit about Aptera getting approval to apply for a U.S. Department of Energy loan for advanced transportation technologies? Just today they mentioned it to their fans via a newsletter. (Either I was ahead of the game, they were behind, or both.) Also in this newsletter was an exciting update on … Continue reading Letter to Aptera followers
Author: paladin1787
Writing for interaction
Spotted a story yesterday about the rise of (and grand question about) the cupcake boutique on the New York Times site, and I had to check it out. I'm sharing it with you not just because cupcakes generate more saliva than I have fluid in my body, but because there's a really interesting paragraph that … Continue reading Writing for interaction
Cookoff: roommate
Here's the most interesting thing to happen to me in a long time: a winner of Bravo's Top Chef recommends I have potential roommates cook for me, so I can find someone who loves food as much as I do. What a rockin' idea! The Chef is Stephanie Izard (here's her blog), and via a … Continue reading Cookoff: roommate
Links
I kept writing but haven't posted in a while, so I just wanted to fling a link your way before I hopped a bus to Columbus, Ohio to see the fam. (Look for more posts to come soon, however.) The Yes Men, a group of nationally-known pranksters, did some protesting of the Fisk power plant … Continue reading Links
Jeffrey Hollender, you rock my socks
Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation (Creative Commons photo from the Flickr account of dreamymo) Note: This post is continued from Thursday's post. I suggest you start there. Hollender attended a conference by Business for Social Responsibility and blatantly asked the question, "Will this conference make business more responsible?" It's a good question to ask … Continue reading Jeffrey Hollender, you rock my socks
Link of the day
Is the familiar old HTTP on the way out? Hyper Text Transfer Protocol, the mode of communication that has propelled the "information age" to infect every sector of life in developed nations, has served us well. But leave it to Google to propose its replacement. No telling whether the company's idea will actually take hold; … Continue reading Link of the day
Pyramid schemes help to alleviate Chicago unemployment
So my second satire piece was published today on The Daily Blank. Once again, I'll repost the entire article here because their license allows it. But check 'em out some time—whether you live in Chicago or not, there's something there for you. Pyramid schemes help to alleviate Chicago unemployment Bars, movie theaters, grocery stores, … Continue reading Pyramid schemes help to alleviate Chicago unemployment
Jeffrey Hollender on Toyota
The Toyota Corolla, a highly popular car in the U.S. (Jupiter Images photo) I'm into corporate responsibility in case you haven't noticed. (I was recently approached by someone wanting me to join a pyramid scheme. It was so laughable I wrote a satire piece about it. I'll let you know when it's published.) One of … Continue reading Jeffrey Hollender on Toyota
Who are these corrupt scientists? Leachates nearly unavoidable
Gladware, the type of food storage I have at home. I've heard soft plastics are more prone to have dangerous leachates, and this stuff is as soft as you get. (Creative Commons-licensed photo from Timothy Valentine's Flickr account) Nick Kristof's column Saturday dealt with Bisphenol-A, the chemical lots of people are worried about because, hey, … Continue reading Who are these corrupt scientists? Leachates nearly unavoidable
Consumerism as conspiracy (and I believe it!)
Here's an article written by a professor in my academic department, Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin. I haven't yet had her in class; she's on sabbatical this semester. In this she's written the most complete, historically accurate magazine-format depiction of planned obsolescence I've ever read. And I've read several great ones. Planned obsolescence is, in my own words, … Continue reading Consumerism as conspiracy (and I believe it!)
Today’s link
Here's a link to a startling commentary of unvetted citizen journalism and social media in the midst of the killings at Fort Hood. The author says our constant access to publishing tools has pit our ego against our humanity, forcing our humanity to concede almost every time.
First Daily Blank piece
Today I was published at The Daily Blank, Chicago's only satire site that focuses on local issues. For your enjoyment I'll paste the entire article below, because their licensing allows it. Enjoy! ...And I have one more piece in the queue, so look out. Daley to 'pull an Obama' to fund CPS In two about-face … Continue reading First Daily Blank piece
Today’s link
Here's a link to a short article about how common houseplants can be very effective at filtering the air indoors: roughly the same quality filtration as human-built devices costing ten times as much. (Their source wasn't the University of Georgia study directly, but Science Daily.) Of the 28 species tested, Hemigraphis alternata (purple waffle plant), … Continue reading Today’s link
World’s biggest egotrip
Me standing next to a Bugatti 16:4 Veyron at Gold Coast Bentley, a few blocks from my house (Rush and Pearson, Chicago). Top speed: 253 mph. Cost: originally about a million, I heard. It's probably around $2 million now. (Photo by my mom, I think) This article is about the fastest production car in the … Continue reading World’s biggest egotrip
Whole-tree construction
Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House, built in 1904 in Springfield, Ohio (Photo by Brandon Smith) Here's an update on me: two pieces of mine are sitting in a queue to get onto a local satire site; I'm looking for a writing or researching or restaurant job; I'm waiting for my student loan to come in … Continue reading Whole-tree construction
Grilled cheese-tasting
Goat cheese, fresh basil and tomatoes grilled on sourdough (Creative Commons-licensed photo from the Flickr account of nasunto) Last night I mentioned on Facebook the recipe I usually use for grilled cheese—lots of Jarlesberg, a few dashes of cayenne pepper, multi-grain bread and a slow cooking time following an initial braise. An old friend of … Continue reading Grilled cheese-tasting
Italian torture conviction to have no effect
A demonstration of waterboarding at Coney Island. [Creative Commons-licensed photo from the Flickr account of Salim Virji] The New York Times reported this morning on the conviction of 23 Americans in a case involving the practice of rendition, "in which terrorism suspects are captured in one country and taken for questioning in another, presumably one … Continue reading Italian torture conviction to have no effect
Speaking of Aptera
Wired has reported that the Department of Energy has re-classified the company's car as, in fact, a car, allowing the company to apply for special government loans. (Whereas before, the three-wheeled vehicle was classified as a motorcycle.) This could mean great things for Aptera, whose story I've followed for several years now. (Two posts back … Continue reading Speaking of Aptera
Restaurant dreams
I owe it to you to explain why most of the past couple weeks' posts spoke only of food. I have been thinking of starting an underground restaurant.
Lutz race proves CTS-V
The 2009 Cadillac CTS-V on display at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in 2008. (Flickr creative commons photo from joeross) I sent out a Facebook update a few days ago about a cool marketing concept: Bob Lutz, a famous General Motors executive, challenged his competitors to a race. "May the best car … Continue reading Lutz race proves CTS-V
Brandon Smith 