Roundup
Feeling a little lazy (and drunk) so I'll just cut and paste these articles...
1.
A MacGyver for the Third WorldAn engineer who is uninterested in advancing technologies is, to put it mildly, a rarity. So rare, in fact, that the MacArthur Foundation awarded one such engineer $500,000.
Mechanical engineer Amy Smith, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology instructor, joined the MacArthur fellowship fold last week, receiving the so-called "genius award" and a colossal cash prize. Her award-winning feat? Using old technology in fresh ways to improve the lives of entire communities.
She takes known technology, finds a way to use it in a developing country and, y'know, saves lives and stuff.
2.
Oral History on the GoAcross from the shoe buffers at the Cobbler and Shine, tucked away from the bustle of Grand Central Station, American history is being preserved, one 40-minute interview at a time, in a softly glowing cube about the size of an office cubicle.
The cube is a raised, soundproof booth set in the middle of the terminal next to Track 14. Inside, locals and visitors take seats and interview each other, relating stories about such experiences as living life on the streets, being a stay-at-home mom or coping with the untimely death of a loved one.
The recordings are part of StoryCorps, one of the largest oral history projects ever undertaken. The project started last October and hopes to compile 300,000 interviews over 10 years.
Something JC and I are thinking about doing, y'know, to get into the Library of Congress and stuff. We once had a 14-hour phone call. I wonder if they'd let us talk for 14 hours.
3.
South Korean Downloaders Push Music Stores to BrinkAbout 95 percent of music retail businesses in the country have failed in the last five years.
While South Korea is not alone in seeing a downturn, the drop has been greatly accentuated and particularly deep because of the country's high-speed Internet access and a youth culture that uses some of the most sophisticated gadgets available.
The future, coming to a country near you.
4.
Puppet RegimeMuschamp writes up Rockwell. Well, I guess the more interesting thing here is that Rockwell just finished the set design for
Team America. There are little pieces of furniture all over the office, including a 12" Womb Chair that I think Hoover would want very badly.
Rockwell is to restaurants what Renzo Piano is to museums.
Yikes.
A few years ago, Rockwell designed the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, the permanent home of the Academy Awards. Who knows? Next year, he may get to go onstage and accept a statuette.
What I'm really waiting for, though, is a Defense Department contract. Operation Theme Warfare, complete with commercial tie-ins. A new line of camouflage cosmetics. Middle East Happy Meals. Embedded Bed, Bath and the Afterlife. Death imitates art.
Is that a jab? Is it? I can't tell. All I know is, people at the office are stoked, and Herb's taking too many pills.