A few of my favorite links, photos, and videos from the week on my Tumblr blog.

Noah Brier linked to this fascinating article about how the human brain teeters on the edge of order and chaos, in a good way.

They build on the observation that when a single neuron fires, it can trigger its neighbours to fire too, causing a cascade or avalanche of activity that can propagate across small networks of brain cells. This results in alternating periods of quiescence and activity - remarkably like the build-up and collapse of a sand pile.

I finally finished watching The Sopranos, and I completely agree with this interpretation of the ending: "If you look at the final episode really carefully, it’s all there.”* These are David Chase’s words regarding the finale of the Sopranos. He is right, it is “all there”. This is the definitive explanation..." (SPOILER ALERT)


A great satirical piece on McSweeney's by Frank Ferri, "Welcome to our Branding House"

You sure look the part. Short beard, tight-fitting thrift-store shirt, slim-fit jeans and large-framed glasses that scream "I'm hip!" I should hire you on appearance alone. But legally, I can't. Besides, there's a lot more to our shop than how we look and dress.

Wonderful and strange paintings by Scott Listfield.




Trailer for a documentary about how digital technology is changing how we live.

Us Now from Banyak Films on Vimeo.

Rob Walker talks about the phenomenon of the surge in sales of Michael Jackson songs and albums.

Yesterday evening, Cult of Mac predicted a surge in sales of Michael Jackson music. Correct. Indeed as I type this 9 of the top 10 albums, and six of the top 10 singles, on the iTunes chart, are Jackson material. Not exactly. It’s not the death but the “high-profile” part of the equation (the attendant media/web coverage and chatter) that matters. This is for the simple reason that it makes such figures highly salient. Salience is certainly not the only element in a consumption decision, but it’s an essential one.