Another Night in Baghdad

«In an interview with the Guardian three years ago, Merton recalled that
in his early 20s he had wished he was the kind of person who read that
paper, before realising belatedly that there was nothing stopping
him. "So much of the working-class thing is about thinking you're not
allowed to do stuff," he said then – a statement that could also be
taken as the keynote of this thoughtful, understated memoir.» -
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/25/only-when-i-laugh-paul-merton-review-autobiography-comedy

Prov. 22

In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls,
but those who would preserve their life stay far from them.

Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

« We pick and choose who we help, is that it? Some are worthy, others
not?! Who was it, Ororo, told me Wolverine was an X-Man, not because of
his "sterling" character, but his potential for good. That to deny him--
though we abhor his violent nature-- would thereby deny our true reason
for being, which is to help him achieve that potential. The same
argument holds for Rogue, does it not? Of course, there's a risk in
accepting her-- but consider the alternative. At least with us she has a
chance for a better life, Deny her and we condemn her outright... and
that I will never do-- to any mutant-- so long as breath remains within
me.» - Professor X, http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Uncanny_X-Men

graphics

Standards of excellence for information design are set by high quality maps, with diverse bountiful detail, several layers of close reading combined with an overview, and rigorous data from engineering surveys. In contrast, the usual chartjunk performances look more like posters than maps. Posters are meant for viewing from a distance, with their strong images, large type, and thin data densities. Thus poster design provides very little counsel for making diagrams that are read more intensely. Display of closely-read data surely requires the skilled craft of good graphic and poster design: typography, object representation, layout, color, production techniques, and visual principles that inform criticism and revision. Too often those skills are accompanied by the ideology of chartjunk and data posterization; excellence in presenting information requires mastering the craft and spurning the ideology. - Edward Tufte

iannis/anaïs

«If there is harmony, it is in the finishes that in their roughness and
near-brutality betray some empathy with the life of a friar.»
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte_Marie_de_La_Tourette

«As he talked, I thought of my difficulties with writing, my struggles
to articulate feelings not easily expressed.»
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana%C3%AFs_Nin

on writing

«I think the trick is that you have to use words well enough so that
these nickle-and-dimers who come around bitching about being objective
or the advertisers don't like it are rendered helpless by the fact that
it's good.» - hst

where

Where there was a 'backslash' there will now be a 'yen' symbol.

Where there was a swelling between the legs, there will now be a penis
or clitoris growing.

Where there was waste, there will now be efficiency. Where there was
tiredness and inertia, there will now be energy and enthusiasm.

Where there was skin there will now be screen.

poverty vs inequality

The definition of poverty generally used in the UK, as in the rest of
the developed world, is set at 60% of median income. But these people
aren't poor in the same way as those 1.2 billion living on less than
$1.25 a day, obviously; they are poor in relation to the person who is
in the middle of the income distribution, with half the country above
them and half below. That median UK household income at the moment is
£23,200, which means the official threshold for poverty in the UK is
£13,920.
- http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/05/poverty-uk-better-calling-it-inequality