In Defense Of . . .

Twitter. Best one I've read yet. Money quote:

Kafka would have had a Twitter feed! And so would have Hemingway, and so would have Virgil, and so would have Sappho. It's a tool for writing. Heraclitus would have had a f***ing Twitter feed.

Tip o' the mug to Alexis Madrigal, who tweeted a link that took me to this, but I ended up there instead. (If that makes sense.) (Makes sense in the e-world, right?) (Which is another way of saying that Twitter is also good to read.)

Portland, Oregon: Where "Hip" and "Unemployed" Collide

I'm fascinated by cities --- how they work; why they work; why people prefer some over others. (My work in graduate school focused on the physical city.) A

nyway, one of my favorite cities is Portland, Oregon. It offers a delightful climate, an abundance of art, great food, Powells. Excellent grocery stores (my favorite tourist activity is prowling the aisles of grocery stores. Weird but true.)

No surprise, the city has long been a "magnet" for the young, the ambitious, the hip (YAH). One of my cousins hightailed it out of Iowa in 1970 for the greener pastures of Portland, along with, I realized later, thousands of other kids in search of the Ultimate Hip Home. (Back then, we were "hippies" rather than "hip."

Anyway, Portland's current generation of YAH is colliding with the city's nearly 12% unemployment rate. Good article about all of this in today's Wall Street Journal.

This brings to mind the work of Richard Florida and his colleagues. If you've not read any of his books, they're worth a look. As near as I can tell, the website doesn't have a specific link for "further reading" link, but there's tons of information there from other sites/writers.

"Comment of the Week" Winner Is Jeff Alworth

I just had to pull this out of the comments I received this week. It's from the always engaging, lively, witty, and just plain groovy Jeff Alworth. He was commenting on my post titled Alcohol As Stimulus to Creativity, which referenced an article about the delicate balance between alcohol and creativity.

Jeff wrote:

Any bar pool player knows this ratio all too well. There’s a moment when the beer lubricates your limbs and vanquishes shot anxiety. It’s the moment just before your innate sense of physics gives way to your lizard brain’s desire to HIT THE BALL REALLY HARD. Ah, but in that moment!

That, folks, is the Comment of the Week. And hey, now, there's an idea. Every Friday (assuming my tired brain can remember), I post for your delight the best comment of the week. Or, hmmm, maybe not such a great idea, given that I don't get many comments. But, well, maybe. Maybe.

"What's It Wednesday" At Scholars & Rogues

It's Wednesday, which means that Dawn Farmer, one of the contributors to Scholars & Rogues, has posted one of her amazing images at S&R, and the floor is open for visitors to figure out what it is. It's a great way to start the day. The image is always fascinating and the comments are worth the price of admission. (Not, of course, that there IS a price of admission, but you get my drift.)

"Beer Wars" In Austin, Texas

If you live in the Austin area, you're in for a treat: An encore screening of "Beer Wars," followed by another live discussion, this time with producer-director Anat Baron and film "star" Greg Koch of Stone Brewing. Check it out.

Alcohol As Stimulus to Creativity?

Okay, this is interesting. The "money quote" is this:

The creative effect of alcohol, then, seems to involve a delicate counterpoint between stimulation and relaxation.

Now, if only we could all figure out where and how to achieve that "delicate counterpoint." Tip o' the snifter to Drew Weinstein, a "friend" at Facebook. (Truth be told, I have no idea who he is, although I think he may be a "friend" of my son-in-law's and that's how he ended up "friending" me at Facebook. (It is called "friending," isn't it?) (If so, awful word!)