A Year of Living Creatively

It is only a matter of time before AI might rival humans in the creation of “art.” One “neural learning” AI project sought to teach a computer write a Christmas carol. After studying patterns of a poem and some associated holiday photos, the an atonal machine voice (above) might just be the thing of nightmares, surely, but it is also a glimpse of the world to come. 

Biased and Phony Media Descend on Cleveland to Cover Very Very Tremendous Convention. Enjoy! — The Atavist Magazine

The Atavist, and Justin Peters, seems to be channeling HST (Hunter S. Thompson) by reporting from the edges of political sanity outside the RNC this week. Worth a read. For the colour (and the confusion) of it all. https://read.atavist.com/rnc#chapter-1269143

Failed Objectives: The Press vs (?) Donald J. Trump

This is my exam week (with all the chaos that ensues). But, during a much needed break, I settled in to an important (increasingly more important) conversation by Bob Garfield, host of On the Media (on WNYC) on the press, Trump, demogagery, and —perhaps most important of all— what journalists ought to consider (in approach and philosophy) as November creeps nearer. For some, Garfield’s call for a…

Shifting Sands of Academia: Has international relations abandoned the search for novel ideas?

The demands of the academy can, at times, appear futile. This malaise is most acute when one’s ostensible “requirements” for continued professional development take them further away from the most inspiring avenues of their field. Reviewing literature for an upcoming essay, I came across a succinct (and edifying) critique leveled by international relations scholars, John Mearsheimer and Stephen…

A life’s work is not a series of stepping- stones, onto which we calmly place our feet, but more like an ocean crossing where there is no path, only a heading, a direction, in conversation with the elements. Looking back we see the wake we have left as only a brief glimmering trace on the waters. David Whyte on “Ambition” in Consolations  

History under your feet: Cambodia's unseen danger. #Cambodia #Landmines

In a few hours, I’ll be boarding a flight from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The last few days have offered some incredible vistas —ancient wats, crumbling temples and the visual proof of the tireless between preservation and natural decay. One of our last expeditions was to the temple of Beng Mealea, or “lotus pond”, dated (experts believe) to the 12 century. Marking the…

In service of intellectual discovery: Venkatesh Rao (@vgr) chats with the @Longform podcast.

Interesting conversation with writer/thinker/consultant, Venkatesh Rao —drifting from Silicon Valley as its own (well-developed) epistemic-sociological space to the responsibility of “bloggers” [def: writers without the mediating force of editors who know more about the audience] to keep the Internet a lively and productive intellectual space. Venkatesh Rao is the founder of Ribbonfarm and the…