Hmmm…

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Well then. Not at all what I expected. This nifty little application analyzes your writing—with a “statistical analysis tool,” no less—and tells you what famous author it most resembles.

So I had a short story scrutinized, followed by a handful of articles and feature stories, then some random long-form stuff I’ve done here at AMD. Apart from the occasional anomaly (H.P. Lovecraft, George Orwell), the overwhelming consensus seems to be that I write like Stephen King.

That’s a pretty strong case for a raise, I’m thinking.

posted by Aaron Bragg
July 14, 2010

comments(2)  |  posted in the writing life

Architectural Eye Candy

Tadao Ando’s Church of the Light, Osaka, completed in 1989.

There are some questionable choices in this list of the most important works of architecture created since 1980 – on purely aesthetic grounds, anyway. But then, 52 experts can’t be wrong, can they?

BONUS! Click on the link to see a pop-up ad featuring Angelina Jolie looking even more fetching than usual!

posted by Aaron Bragg
July 13, 2010

no comments  |  posted in random thoughts

Would a Hobo Eat a Ham Sandwich?

As someone who tried Facebook for a while, let me assure you that the answer to the question “Has Facebook fatigue set in?” is a resounding yes.

Yes, I know, I’m a bit of a misanthrope, but still. Stick a fork in it.

Now, if only Twitter would go away.

posted by Aaron Bragg
July 12, 2010

no comments  |  posted in random thoughts

Our First Sports Post!

So. LeBron James has decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. Apparently, this is a huge deal. Who knew?

There seems to be an inordinately large number of people donning sackcloth and ashes—as if James’ decision actually meant something other than an NBA superstar’s self-interest. And it’s not just fans and sportswriters. Politicians are even involved.

The best part of the whole affair is the open letter posted on the  Cavaliers’ website by majority owner Dan Gilbert. Ignore, if you can, Gilbert’s egregious abuse of quotation marks, the four-period ellipses that evidently serve as terminal punctuation, the confusion surrounding the use of hyphens. No, no—take a look instead at the font. Is it…could it be…?

Yes! It’s Comic Sans!

Now you know he’s serious.

posted by Aaron Bragg
July 9, 2010

no comments  |  posted in random thoughts

On Divas

Courtesy of Alex Ross, whose blog The Rest Is Noise should be required reading for lovers of the new classical music scene, comes this, from the Metrpolitan Opera’s head of costumes Lesley C. Weston:

“I’ve seen more divalike behavior in Starbucks over soy milk than I’ve seen backstage at the Metropolitan Opera.”

The full article is here.

posted by Aaron Bragg
July 8, 2010

no comments  |  posted in random thoughts

A Look Back

Excerpted from an article by William A. Fetter entitled “Computer Graphics at Boeing,” Print magazine, November/December 1966:

“My conviction about the possible change in some creative processes brought about by the computer is that speculation in this matter is valuable so long as it is coupled with a conscious effort to shape the technology toward meeting basic human goals—including human creativity. I feel it is not completely a question of what the computer will do to us, but a determination of what we will best have the computer do for us.”

This entire issue of Print (still a relevant design publication today) was dedicated to “The Designer and the Computer.” Here’s the opening line from the editors: “What will the effect of the new computer technology be on graphic design? On the designer himself? On the total design environment?”

posted by CK Anderson
July 6, 2010

no comments  |  posted in the design life

Quote of the Week

“The malady of our age is mediocrity.”

I found this several years ago while reading a volume of the collected spiritual writings of Kierkegaard, edited by Charles E. Moore (the line is actually Moore’s).

The thought stands on its own, of course—apart from any spiritual meaning.

posted by Aaron Bragg
July 1, 2010

no comments  |  posted in random thoughts