The Occasional

In Memoriam

Andrew Hazlett — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:16:14 +0000

This sculpture by Walter Hancock memorializes railroad workers killed in the Second World War. It soars above the milling crowds in Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station. This is my grainy cellphone snapshot from this morning…

Now I’m missing cable TV: Natalie Wood on TCM this month

Andrew Hazlett — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 12:29:26 +0000

I’ve had few regrets since we cut the cord and looked to the internet and old-fashioned broadcasts for all our family’s TV-watching.

The one cable channel I really miss is Turner Classic Movies. The other day, watching a TV with no sound at the gym, I was captivated by the clips and photos in this TCM tribute to their “Star of the Month” Natalie Wood. Here’s the video (with audio) of Robert Redford reminiscing about his high school classmate and frequent co-star.

By the way, TCM has a great website… ample background information on the movies and stars, a lot of community elements, and many ways to dive deeper into the films they feature. They are doing far more than pumping out a feed of all the films they own. They’re curating a vast library of cultural treasures and presenting them in fresh and compelling ways.

I wish I could tell Comcast to give me just TCM (and maybe a couple other channels too).

A blog devoted to Jim Flora design and illustration? I can dig it!

Andrew Hazlett — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:30:33 +0000

via jimflora.blogspot.com

Even if you don’t know his name, you’ll definitely get a kick out of Jim Flora’s playful mid-century modern style.

John Ford’s combat footage from the Battle of Midway – June 4, 1942

Andrew Hazlett — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 04:32:37 +0000

via vanishedamericana.com

Amazed to see this short color film via Vanished Americana… we forget how bleak and uncertain things looked for the allies in 1942.

My Interview with Anya Kamenetz about her new book DIY U

Andrew Hazlett — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:47:02 +0000

via youtube.com

Student loans, college costs, and the price of middle class credentialing… Why higher education may be the next debt bubble to burst (and other interesting ideas and insights).

Blogging on the iPad?

Andrew Hazlett — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 12:18:48 +0000

The iPad talk has been all about browsing, reading, watching, listening, and gaming, but how about blogging? The biggest limitation so far is not the keyboard (which really is wonderful, though not exactly “a dream to type on”), but the lack of iPad-based apps. This may change in a matter of hours, but the WordPress app is just an inflatable iPhone app. I haven’t tried it yet (I’m not a client), but I bet the Squarespace app is a little more fluid.

Given the ability of the iPad to store and display photos, videos, quotable ePub format books, and Safari bookmarks, it should be simpler to share these things via blogging. The best solution I’ve found so far is to use Posterous, which let’s you post to blogs (and Twitter, Facebook, etc.) via email. For this post, I’m trying to include a photo in a blog post by selecting an image from the iPad photo library and the “share by email” option. If this works, it could be an adequate work-around until the developers get robust blogging apps up and running.

RIP Peter Graves… “Joey, Have You Ever…”

Andrew Hazlett — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:39:22 +0000

via youtube.com

Recent Whit Stillman talk about his 1990 film Metropolitan

Andrew Hazlett — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:49:37 +0000

via whitstillman.org

“Metropolitan” is a personal favorite. This “slightly squashed” video was posted at the wonderful unofficial Whit Stillman website.

Happy Holi!

Andrew Hazlett — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 21:26:11 +0000

My first Holi (with relatives in New Delhi in 2005) was a lot of fun, even without bhang.

Demand Question Time

Andrew Hazlett — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:26:26 +0000

Public figures, bloggers, and journalists from the left and right unite behind an idea I think is long overdue…

An Open Letter to Our Fellow Americans

February 3, 2010

We live in a world that increasingly demands more dialogue than monologue. President Obama’s January 29th question-and-answer session with Republican leaders gave the public a remarkable window into the state of our union and governing process. It was riveting and educational. The exchanges were substantive, civil and candid. And in a rare break from our modern politics, sharp differences between elected leaders were on full public display without rancor or ridicule.

This was one of the best national political debates in many years. Citizens who watched the event were impressed, by many accounts. Journalists and commentators immediately responded by continuing the conversation of the ideas put forward by the president and his opponents — even the cable news cycle was disrupted for a day.

America could use more of this — an unfettered and public airing of political differences by our elected representatives. So we call on President Barack Obama and House Minority Leader John Boehner to hold these sessions regularly — and allow them to be broadcast and webcast live and without commercial interruption, sponsorship or intermediaries. We also urge the President and the Republican Senate caucus to follow suit. And we ask the President and the House and Senate caucuses of his own party to consider mounting similar direct question-and-answer sessions. We will ask future Presidents and Congresses to do the same.

It is time to make Question Time a regular feature of our democracy.

Please join us by signing the Demand Question Time petition.

via demandquestiontime.com