The Trash Heap Speaks Again!
Gen Xers and the like, this is not a drill! Let’s see what the Recylcotron has in store this time.
Various and Sundry
Various and Sundry
A Cold War that’ll Give You an Ice Cream Headache
Running contrary to the New Year’s notion of doing better for several years running is the McDonald’s Ice Cream machine, a notoriously finicky piece of equipment that has its own online dashboard of failure. And if the efficiency experts in your life don’t gnash their teeth at that, they likely will when they read Andy Greenberg’s article in Wired. It’s really infuriating to see miserable experiences be standardized, but to see the lengths to which…
Various and Sundry
Nudge Your Way to a Happier New Year
You can pretty much bet I’ll be thinking about planning and goals for the new year all this month. I was particularly struck by a friend who had a very productive 2021, but decided an overall goal for 2022 was to be happier. With that in mind, I liked this very British list from The Guardian overall, though –besides the very British parts needing some translation to one’s own country– there are some that I…
Various and Sundry
TCM Remembers, 2021
Once again, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) does an artful job of honoring the film artists lost in the past year. When you’re ready to be wistful, or perhaps outright verklempt, give it a watch. For those interested, here are the editions for 2020, 2019, and 2018.
Voiceover
Apollyon, Episode 4 “Unfamiliar”
I’ve mentioned previously I have a couple roles in Apollyon, a drama about dealing with a pandemic in a world 150 years from now. I can be heard in the first episode and, now, this one. If you’re a fan of thoughtful sci-fi, you may well enjoy this. I’m very happy to have been a part of it. This role was rewarding in a special way because, when I mention I’ve had to deal with…
Writing
A Writer’s Journey from Idea to Novel
It’s always interesting to figure out how various writers work and this long article by George Saunders, which explains the genesis and creation (and recreation) of one of his novels, is a great window into a process that had me going “aha,” and nodding in equal measure.
Various and Sundry
WTF NFT?
Non-fungible tokens or NFTs have been a bit a media rage this past year, as a trend, a new investment opportunity, and possibly a silver bullet that contains your daily recommended dose of antioxidants. I keep thinking, they can’t be as stupid as they sound, can they? You can find out the answer to this and many other questions about NFTs in this excellent article by Vicky Osterweil which, spoiler alert, is called “Money for…
Various and Sundry
Where’s Alien Waldo?
Some days, do you ever wonder, what with all the exoplanets being discovered and concerted studying of the skies, where all the aliens are? And why haven’t we found any evidence of them? And do they make their spacecraft entirely out of the black box? Well, Jill Tarter is here to clear some of that up. And by “clear up,” I mean “tell you how much we don’t know.” Mind you, it might be good…
Various and Sundry
Circle Back on Jargon and Put a Pin in It
Last Wednesday, I was in more meetings than not, so when it came to figuring out a good “wonky Wednesday post,” this article by Olga Khazan in The Atlantic resonated with me. Basically, the article points out how much of the jargon is not only used in business and office settings a form of the office culture, but that it’s also, shall we say, an act. Both from my background in theater and anthropology, I…
Acting Voiceover
Desolate Dreams
Those of you who know I grew up listening to vintage radio will understand that I jumped at the chance to provide a radio announcer voice for that era… and I’m very happy that it’s part of the short film Desolate Dreams, being developed now by filmmaker Kiyoka Rhodes and a fantastic team. Besides the video, be sure to check out their website to learn more about the people working to bring this film to…