Tag Archives: art

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* People love commenting on, mostly IRL, and reading this series of blog posts. (Courtesy: Personal experience)

* Apple played a significant role in the popularization and death of floppy drives. (Courtesy: Steven Vaughan-Nichols)

* Julian Charriere has an interesting art project in Venice’s Piazza San Marco that involves the coloring of pigeons. Surprisingly, most reports I read don’t bother including a photo. Odd Stuff Magazine (NFI) has a photo with its post on the matter. (Courtesy: NYT)

* There is an annual afro-punk festival in Ft. Greene. It amazes–in good and bad ways–that I only just now learned this. (Courtesy: NYT)

* During the Great Depression, leading US economists proposed the Chicago Plan: separating monetary and credit functions in the banking system and 100 percent backing for deposits. Repeated analysis demonstrates this model would have significant positive affect on the US economy. (Courtesy: IMF)

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* Art Spiegelman was art director for Garbage Pail Kids. I’ll have to ask my parents if they regret grounding me for secretly buying the cards given it was an early foray into art collecting rather than some titillating experience. (Courtesy: Boing Boing)

* About 80 percent of construction in the United States has been built during the last 50 years. (Courtesy: The New York Times)

* Watching kids do puzzles is a great lesson in understanding alternative approaches to being methodical. (Courtesy: Personal experience)

Things I Learned this Week

Among the things I learned this week:
* In the late 19th century, women wore posy holders. There was a lot of variety, but the ornate ones are beautiful and many had ring attachments so they could dangle. (Courtesy: Smithsonian Gardens)

* The joy and amusement of watching people who have never played Pac-Man before trumps my desire to play. (Courtesy: Smithsonian American Art Museum)

* GMail searches don’t auto-stem. I’m shocked and appalled (that I just learned this). (Courtesy: Personal experience)

* 1982 Bordeaux wines are historically important for the evolution of the wine market. (Courtesy: The New York Times)

* General Ulysses S. Grant’s relationship with Jews, including General Orders No. 11, which expelled them from areas under his control during the Civil War, and his, later, assistance in eastern Europe. (Courtesy: The New Republic)

* Pyongyang’s subway system is more extensive than I expected, although it does not appear to be expanding. Plus, it has significance in the context of world subway systems (other sites with good information or photos: Unofficial Pyongyang Metro). (Courtesy: North Korean Economy Watch)