http://backspace.com/notes/ en 2010-08-26T16:02:02-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/08/space-agents.php Wow, it’s been a while since my last post. If and when I do retire this space, I dream of converting it into more of a database of ideas than a reverse-chronological history of my random walks. For instance, I... john 2010-08-26T16:02:02-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/07/capitalism-and-its-crises.php The folks at cognitivemedia took 10 minutes of David Harvey’s marxist analysis of the financial crisis and created this entertaining information visualization. Harvey’s full lecture is worth watching, too.... john 2010-07-13T23:21:19-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/07/peace-posters.php Peace Posters. Breakdown Press has just published The Peace Posters, a 32-page broadsheet newspaper which unfolds to 30 posters — and is available for free. To obtain copies for bedroom walls, workplaces, street poles, community notice boards, shopfronts and schools, email distro@breakdownpress.org with your postal address and how many copies you wish to receive. The collection also includes one of my posters.]]> john 2010-07-04T21:11:03-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/06/politisches-plakat.php Politisches Plakat. This poster blog boasts images of over 1,900 political posters from the radical left in Germany. They have a Flickr account, too! (thanks sandy)
]]> john 2010-06-28T12:30:56-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/06/updates.php Recent happenings on old blog posts: More Public Schools: In March 2009, I wrote about The Public School a website where people propose, discuss, and coordinate free, offline classes taught by volunteers. The project has since expanded from Los Angeles... john 2010-06-28T09:01:54-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/06/girl-power.php Girl Power. In advance of the 20th Human Development Index release, a new paper finds that a country’s economic development does not necessarily lead to human development factors like longer life expectancy, community health, or even a decent standard of living: “Although correlated, we do not find evidence to suggest that human development trends can be explained by factors associated with economic growth.… Social factors seem to be driving the aggregate human development story.… We believe the underlying drivers of these changes are linked to individual and household-level decisions concerning fertility and female schooling.… Changes in gender roles (literacy, fertility and labor participation) are a robust driver of human development achievements over time.” (via) ]]> john 2010-06-25T14:51:47-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/06/oil-poster.php There are plenty of structural issues around the crisis in the Gulf, but this one was on my mind tonight. PDF version here.... john 2010-06-17T23:18:22-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/06/north-and-south.php Just this week: Belgian Frontrunner Wants to Break up Nation: “Carving up Belgium has been a cherished dream for the far-right in Flanders, Belgium’s economically dominant north, and a nightmare scenario for poorer French-speaking [south.]” Sudan Must Prepare for Oil-Rich... john 2010-06-13T09:23:11-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/06/conflict-kitchen.php Conflict Kitchen. “A take-out restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with. The food is served out of a take-out style storefront, which will rotate identities every 4 months to highlight another country.” The current iteration, Kubideh Kitchen, serves Iranian kubideh from a stylish pop-up facade. “The sandwich is packaged in a custom-designed wrapper that includes interviews with Iranians both in Pittsburgh and Iran on subjects ranging from Iranian food and poetry to the current political turmoil.”]]> john 2010-06-01T13:29:42-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/05/memorial-day.php Source: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2010/04/military_veterans_suicide_042210w/ While there may not be so many “unknown soldiers” any more, it seems like there are more and more forgotten ones in our midst.... john 2010-05-31T20:25:00-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/05/immigrants-rights-are-civil-rights.php A friend in DC sent this photo of great poster popping up there. The English language poster is always accompanied by a Spanish language version.... john 2010-05-30T11:51:54-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/05/choose-a-different-ending.php “Take the knife” or “don’t take the knife?” One of the more interesting uses of YouTube I’ve seen, this video is the first in a narrative that unfolds as you decide what the main character will do. Each decision affects... john 2010-05-26T12:48:28-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2010/05/i-park-art.php I Park Art. The PARK(ing) Day meme lands in Paris and Italy to promote the guerilla re-appropriation of public (parking) space through art and intervention.]]> john 2010-05-22T10:50:10-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/05/invisible-city.php Why is New York City’s census count always so low? In addition some concern about a history of census abuse targeting minorities, there’s a whole host of ways people bend the rules to live here. Folks may not want to... john 2010-05-22T10:12:52-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2010/05/have-you-seen-this-child.php Despite Apple’s high-profile use of figures like Martin Luther King, Jr and Ghandi in their Think Different ad campaign, I find Apple’s profiles of pro users fairly conventional. The profile of Seamus Conlan, however, is a bit more socially... john 2010-05-14T08:29:13-05:00