[ m i s t e r s t a r f i s h ]

Aint it the truth? on Flickr

Aint it the truth? on Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "

hearted by tikilights

tags: ads streets city

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(Via We Heart It.)

Model T got 25 miles a gallon, Average car today: 20 miles a gallon

Henry Ford's first mass produced American car in 1912 got 25 miles per gallon. A century later, the average American car gets 20 miles per gallon.

[ listen to streamcast WNYC's Leonard Lopate Show: The History of Cars in America ]

More Press Photography from the Primaries that Doesn’t Lack

Some great photographic finds of present and past of the business of politics. Great posting Michael!

[from 2point8 below ] More Press Photography from the Primaries that Doesn’t Lack: "

Thanks for the pings about ‘Why Press Photography of the Presidential Primaries Lacks, as a List‘. In Columbia, JL tipped me off to Chris Anderson’s unbelievable take on Huckabee (below), and Cary pushed me to check out all of Anderson’s New Hampshire work.

© Chris Anderson, Magnum Photos

Ian sent me a link to Bill Pearce talking about Arthur Grace’s ‘Choose Me‘, from the ‘88 campaign trail. I like Grace’s squares a lot. Copies of the book can be found for a few bucks on alibris, or via the author.

© Arthur Grace, from ‘Choose Me’

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(Via 2point8.)

Mistakes Were Made (but not by me)

I heard about this intriguing book about the psychology of justifying mistakes. From car accidents to invasions of other countries, humans seem to have an amazing talent to "protect" one self from feeling drowned in guilt. I'd be lying if I haven't done my share of this in my life. A description about this book written by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson, Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why we justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts:

[CBC radio Quirks and Quarks feature description ] The human mind has a built-in mechanism for helping us escape the painful psychological penalty of bad decisions - mistakes, in essence. The benefit of this is that we can make decisions without paralysis. The cost, on the other hand, is what psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson explore in their new book, Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why we justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions and Hurtful Acts. They look at why human decision-making predisposes us to sometimes make mistakes even worse by mechanisms of self-justification and confirmation bias - which causes us to reinforce our decisions and beliefs (even mistaken ones) ever more strongly. The implications of this for our personal lives, as well as for social structure and politics, they say, are important to understand. We spoke with Dr. Tavris, an independent social psychologist and writer.

Link to interview with Carol Tavris.

Book at Amazon

new Dove spot

The newest incarnation of the thought provoking Dove spot last year. Worth checking out.

Babel

Saw a film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Quite an affecting film. The messages he seem to convey are somewhat heavy handed at times but all the characters were very sympathetic and kept the story alive and interesting. Especially an accomplishment considering that there were so many main characters in the film. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Mohamed Akhzam, Gael García Bernal, Rinko Kikuchi, Kôji Yakusho and they were all commanding performances. Check out this NYT review as well (link)

Dove: Real Beauty Film

Take a look at this thought provoking film about our perceptions of beauty. Being in the business of manipulating images myself, it's definitely a sobering reminder how much we influence people's self esteem. I think it's a smart effort and I hope it gets a lot of buzz. Check out Dove's site (link) with e-cards and mission statements.

Public Seating

This is what I wish New York had everywhere. How nice would it be if you could wander around the city and had a place to sit once in a while. Parks have benches everywhere, why not streets? Sure beats having to duck into Starbucks and pay $2 for an obligatory ice coffee, just so you can rest for 10 minutes. Then again, the pessimist in me wonders if there'd be strong neighborhood oppositions in fear of the homeless staking out their favorite seats.

Public Sign Seating: "

[quoted from Gothamist]Yesterday, reader Dave sent us these photos of some street seating options in Williamsburg. He wondered if it was courtesy the MTA, since the plastic seemed a lot like MTA plastic. Luckily, other people (well, blogs - Williamsburg Walkers, Curbed) were wondering the same thing and it turns out that the seats were from a Conflux Festival installation called 'Have a Seat. '

Artist Caroline Woolard's statements says, 'Although my 'Have a Seat' project may seem like three-dimensional graffiti, it is removable with the right chuck for the bolt that slides in the holes of the u-channel. People will see the seats and either sit on them or not, but I hope all people will enjoy resting while waiting for buses or friends.' Her blog also has the locations of the seats.

Comment

(Via Gothamist.)

Brooklyn around the world

An intriguing exhibit that I saw at Sonnabend Gallery, 536 West 22nd Street, photos of buildings around the world that recreates the look of the original headquarters of Chabad- Lubavitch. At first, I thought the ethos of corporate franchising was influencing this uniformity (McDonalds, Starbucks, AppleStore) but as it turns out, religious denominations have been using this kind of branding for centuries. Obviously, there are distinct differences between a Buddhist Temple and a Muslim Mosque, but it's also pretty easy to spot the difference between an Episcopal Church and a Greek Orthodox Church. Never the less, these sets of prints are interesting, perhaps because of the wonderfully awkward but sincere architectural references...

The Original, Brooklyn  Andrea Robbins & Max Becher 2005

Kfar Chabad, near Tel Aviv, Israel, Andrea Robbins & Max Becher 2005

São Paulo, Brazil, Andrea Robbins & Max Becher 2005

[from TimeOutNY] New York over there Is there a less likely icon than 770 Eastern Parkway, the drab Tudor-style headquarters of the Chabad- Lubavitch in Crown Heights? Yet thanks to Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, leader of the Hasidic sect until his death in 1994, 770 has become a global presence, proliferating in replica form from São Paulo to Melbourne. The building started out as a women’s clinic, but was purchased in 1940 by Schneerson’s father when he brought the Lubavitchers from Poland; Schneerson made it the focus of an international messianic movement. That worldwide reach is the subject of “Brooklyn Abroad,” an exhibit at Sonnabend Gallery by the conceptual-photography duo Andrea Robbins and Max Becher, who’ve documented 770’s many clones. The images offer a deadpan testament to religion as a kind of branding. See also Art listings, Chelsea.—Howard Halle

Dalai Lama's Letter to President Bush: The day after September 11, 2001

Here's a heart felt letter from the Dalai Lama to President Bush on the day after September 11, 2001. I remembered this being passed around 5 years ago and decided to dig it up from my e-mail archives. It's especially poignant knowing what actions President Bush and his administration has taken since then.

** MESSAGE FROM THE DALAI LAMA***

September 12, 2001

His Excellency Mr. George W. Bush
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
USA

Your Excellency, I am deeply shocked by the terrorist attacks that took place involving four apparently hijacked aircrafts and the immense devastation these caused.

It is a terrible tragedy that so many innocent lives have been lost and it seems unbelievable that anyone would choose to target the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. We are deeply saddened. On behalf of the Tibetan people I would like to convey our deepest condolence and solidarity with the American people during this painful time. Our prayers go out to the many who have lost their lives, those who have been injured and the many more who have been traumatized by this senseless act of violence. I am attending a special prayer for the United States and its people at our main temple today.

I am confident that the United States as a great and powerful nation will be able to overcome this present tragedy. The American people have shown their resilience, courage anddetermination when faced with such difficult and sad situations.

It may seem presumptous on my part, but I personally believe we need to think seriously whether a violent reaction is the right thing to do and in the greater interest of the nation and the people in the long run. I believe violence will only increase the cycle of violence. But how do we deal with hatred and anger which are often the root causes of such senseless violence? This is a very difficult question, especially when it concerns a nation and we have certain fixed conceptions of how to deal with such attacks. I am sure you will make the right decision.

With my prayers and good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

The Dalai Lama