T-shirtism

Check out this post on the construction of tee shirts...

Reading the Baby Photo

Dean Rader, one of the authors of The World Is A Text, recently had a baby boy, at least his wife did. Suddenly obsessed with photographing his son, he also became aware of the rarely discussed genre of the "New Baby Photo."

Typically, the new baby photo tries to represent the new baby (and often the parents), in the most sympathetic, flattering light possible.

In an attempt to avoid the new baby photo cliches, Professor Rader is afraid he stumbled right into them.

What are your thoughts? Does this photo make an argument? If so, what?

And what about that kid's crazy mad scientist hair?

Category: Movies

Tired of Neftlix giving you bad recommendations? Check out Clive Thompson's article about the competition to improve those recs...

2008 Wiat

Welcome to the 2008 version of The World is a Text blog. We're going to begin posting regularly about the various articles of interest we see. Stay tuned!

Category: Gender

This piece in The New York Times examines the pressures high school girls face.

Category: Public Space

Witold Rybczynski returns to Seaside, Florida, one of the first New Urbanism communities, 25 years after its founding.

Category: Media

Check out Good magazine's list of the 51 best American magazines of all time.

Category: Visual Arts

Check out this article about photographer Jeff Wall from The New York Times.

Category: Technology/Material culture (coming in Wiat3)

Here is a link to many subway systems throughout the world.

Category: Misc.

The editors of The Morning News chronicled a day in New York.

Categories: Media, visual arts

Here's an article and photo gallery in the San Francisco Chronicle that details how some residents are using soldiers' boots as a form of memorial.

Categories: Media, technology

Mark Glaser hosts a blog at PBS on new media matters.

Category: Technology

Edward Tuftle writes about Powerpoint and the Shuttle Disaster here.

Category: Media

Malcolm Gladwell in this disclosure statement gives his take on journalistic objectivity and fairness.

Momus describes why he calls cell phones "hell phones" in this Wired column.

Category: Movies

I know, I know (you're thinking--can a textbook talk?)--but here's another Slate article. This one is about how Netflix preferences reveal perhaps too much about a person.

Category: Visual arts.

Slate writer David Plotz analyzes a 9/11 photo.

Update: The people in the photograph responds.

The photographer responds.

Categories: Technology, media

Wired goes Wiki: check out this exercise in wiki-journalism.

Category: Poetry

Several readers have written to find out who are the poets in the poetry exercise in chapter one. Here's the list:

1: Beck, "Beercan" (song)
2. Emily Dickinson, [Her breast is fit for pearls] (poem)
3: Glen Campbell, “Let Me Be A Little Kinder” (song)
4: James Wright, “A Blessing” (poem)
5: greeting card rhyme [anonymous]
6: William Carlos Williams, “To A Poor Old Woman” (poem)

Category: Technology

Michael Agger discusses the Google Earth phenomenon here.

Category: Relationships

Sebastian Mallaby writes about the decline of friendships.

Category: Media

This column by Jay Rosen examines the way the Internet has changed journalism.

Category: Race and Ethnicity

This column by George Will takes on the notion that Indian mascots are offensive (see comments after the article
that respond to him).

Category: Music

Here's an article about Rick Rubin, who has produced everyone from the Beastie Boys to Johnny Cash.

Category: Technology

Take a look at the Wayback Machine. It keeps a record of web pages from previous years.

Category: Music

Here's the first entry, a good article from Slate on the neglected albums of 2005.