Errol Morris:
During the last week of the Bush administration, I asked the head photo editors of these news services — Vincent Amalvy (AFP), Santiago Lyon (AP) and Jim Bourg (Reuters) — to pick the photographs of the president that they believe captured the character of the man and of his administration.
I need one of these. (Thanks, Eve.)
Not as big a release as 4.0.7, but it can’t hurt to stay up-to-date.
I’ve said it before, Textpattern is a great piece of software. If you’re planning a content-heavy site, it should be one of your top contenders for CMS choice.
A beautiful blackletter font from Florian Schick.
Four executive orders regarding Gitmo and torture. This is fantastic news.
I think this 1997 piece is one of the most amazing Charlie Rose interviews I’ve ever seen.
Nicholas Lemann on what it takes to make a great presidency:
If you’re running the American government, change based on governance and politics matters a whole lot more than change based on intelligence and charisma.
A submission from AIGA’s design and public policy group to the Change.gov Citizen’s Briefing Book, the goal of which is to compile the most popular idea submissions for the new administration. “Government must invest in quality graphic design and clear language for all its public communications. We need simple forms, easy-to-use Web sites, quality telephone support, and good signs and communications at public buildings.” It’s also worth browsing through the briefing book’s list of most popular ideas.
My favorite bit from the submission:
America has an extraordinary pool of design talent that is respected worldwide. For the benefit of citizens, to support American jobs, and to invest in the information infrastructure that will improve productivity over time, government should be committed to improving the way it communicates.
This is a great idea and a good cause in general. I’d love to see more action being taken like this on behalf of clear and effective communication.
I think this might be a real documentary.
Gruber responds to Brian X. Chen’s Wired piece regarding Apple’s quarterly conference call titled “Apple Still Oblivious to Netbook Opportunity”:
Sounds to me like Apple’s about as oblivious to the netbook opportunity as they were to the smartphone opportunity around, say, 2006.
I, for one, hope (nay, suspect) Gruber’s right on this one.
WhiteHouse.gov even has a Twitter account.
In related news, Twitter activity hit a major spike during Obama’s swearing in on Tuesday.
I agree with Jason Kottke on this. The fact that Obama is maintaining open lines of communication with McCain is great news.
McCain, though it was his own fault (or that of his handlers), didn’t represent himself well during the presidential campaign and it’s nice to see that the very able Senator isn’t being sidelined because of it. Also, it’s quite savvy of Obama to seek out his support. He’s essentially buying McCain stock at a low point and will presumably leverage that purchase when that stock inevitably rises.
If you haven’t already, now might be a good time to go read David Foster Wallace’s 2000 essay on McCain.
Professor of Behavioral Science Reid Hastie:
Part of the problem at such meetings is that the leader has not set clear objectives or an agenda, and didn’t assign pre-meeting preparation tasks. Instead, the leader seems to hope that magic will occur, producing a serendipitous solution to some of the problems addressed. Of course, that doesn’t happen. As a general rule, meetings make individuals perform below their capacity and skill levels.
I agree with this to some extent, but would warn not to take Hastie’s advice to the extreme. There is such a thing as too much organization, just as there is such a thing as not enough. The trick is to find the right balance between the two so that creative sparks can fly but no one feels like they’re simply wasting their time.
Andrew Sullivan responds to George Packer.
George Packer responds to Obama’s inaugural speech.
Off to a great start:
President Obama moved swiftly on Wednesday to impose new rules on government transparency and ethics, using his first full day in office to freeze the salaries of his senior aides, mandate new limits on lobbyists and demand that the government disclose more information.
I intend to watch this presidency very closely.
Jason Kottke on WhiteHouse.gov’s newfound openness to search.
This is a great interactive transcript from the NY Times following the video of Obama’s stately speech this morning.
From the new White House Blog:
Just like your new government, WhiteHouse.gov and the rest of the Administration’s online programs will put citizens first.
H&FJ have released 46 new styles of their popular Gotham font. For those not following, Gotham was the typeface used by the Obama campaign.
The White House, in addition to having a new occupant, has a new website. With a blog. Here’s to an era of more open government.
They gave Museo and Museo Sans the “award for the year’s best marketing strategy.” Many of the weights are offered for free through the MyFonts website.
I find myself using this more and more. Funny name. Useful site. Definitely worth a link.
Pretty much the best writing on writing on the web on the web. Er, the best writing on the web about writing on the web. Oh, you know what I mean.
Wow. Or, as Rebecca puts it:
My feelings on this are best represented by punctuation: !!!!
Now you can search for stale and overused metaphors.
From the homepage:
We aim to re-start production of analog INTEGRAL FILM for vintage Polaroid cameras in 2010. We have acquired Polaroid’s old equipment, factory and seek your support.
Godspeed.
“Put on Your Sunday Clothes” by Michael Crawford. I still don’t know what I think of the movie as a whole, but I love the music and the animation.
Everyone else is doing it. I might as well too.
I love these:
Overall, what you hear not only fits (lightly) the classical genre, it can be described more accurately by the terms experimentalism and minimalism. Le Mépris comes from a Jean Luc Godard film.
Andrew Sullivan:
Eight years ago, Will Ferrell performed Bush’s future first State Of The Union. It could stand for his farewell address as well.
Uh… Thanks, Cat.
UPDATE: This is brilliant. I can’t stop watching.
Yet another new favorite music blog. I also love the design of this one.
The text is much easier to read. I’m still getting used to the border though. It definitely smacks of one of his old designs Always nice to see some continuity on the web, especially with redesigns.
The second episode of the Fawkward Podcast is up. Take a gander.
Interesting take on pixel art. Possibly NSFW.
(via Adam)
Absolutely brilliant rap comedies. Don’t miss “Wassup Holmes” or “Hamlet in a Minute.” (Thanks, Cat.)
Really sweet short film. (Thanks, Cori.)
Another new favorite music blog.
A sneak peek at the art direction for Spike Jonze’s upcoming movie based on Maurice Sendak’s children’s book. This test footage looks a little odd though. (Thanks, Gabe.)