Clarity Solutions

jtotheizzoe: feezix: Pages from Albert Einstein’s notebook I...

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:34:13 -0600

feezix:

Pages from Albert Einstein’s notebook

I want to wad them up and eat them, and absorb every genius nutrient into my own self.

Cool!

Lessig Blog, v2: Prosecutor as bully

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 09:56:01 -0600

Lessig Blog, v2: Prosecutor as bully:

lessig:

(Some will say this is not the time. I disagree. This is the time when every mixed emotion needs to find voice.)

Since his arrest in January, 2011, I have known more about the events that began this spiral than I have wanted to know. Aaron consulted me as a friend and lawyer. He…

How Big Data Sees Wikipedia

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:25:00 -0500

How Big Data Sees Wikipedia:

infoneer-pulse:

You can learn a lot about the world from Wikipedia, sometimes without reading the articles.

Kalev Leetaru, a researcher at the University of Illinois, has been looking at the capacious volunteer-written encyclopedia as a Big Data resource, concentrating on the connections between cities around the globe over time. To understand these connections, he focuses on the type of language used to talk about a particular place, to see whether the writers have a generally positive or negative sentiment toward the place at that time.

The result is an interesting historical atlas of the rise of globalization and warfare. His technical sponsor in data mining, Silicon Graphics International, hopes the work is also an advertisement for S.G.I.’s decidedly noncloud style of technical computing for some kinds of number crunching.

» via The New York Times (Subscription may be required for some content)

Photo

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:20:00 -0500

atavus: Glass Cathedrals by Lisa Swerling

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 07:19:28 -0500

atavus:

Glass Cathedrals by Lisa Swerling

explore-blog: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 09:12:19 -0500

explore-blog:

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” ~ Albert Einstein

Lovely poster for NASA’s One Hundred Year Starship Program, in the vein of Einstein’s famous thoughts on rationality vs. intuition.

(ᔥ curiosity counts)

"Salt Creek Anthology" Virtual Book Tour!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:47:00 -0600

CCLaP’s Book Tour for Jason Fisk’s “Salt Creek Anthology” is in process, and I’m honored to be included!

In case you are new to this exciting new work, here is an introduction:

A couple meet in a mental institution, have six kids, and devolve into violent alcoholism. An elderly Polish woman with Alzheimer’s goes insane in front of our eyes. A frazzled empty-nester has her bruiser son move back in, along with a scheming girlfriend planning a surprise pregnancy to get them both back out. And an abusive, overweight, racist monster of a man psychologically lords over them all, a total of twenty-odd characters all living on the same cul-de-sac in the far rural suburbs of Chicago. Welcome to the dark, poetic world of author Jason Fisk, a “micro-story” collection that breaks these families’ adventures down into a series of 75 linguistic nuggets; these are then experimentally hooked together in a non-linear fashion through literal hyperlinks within each story, letting you read them in whichever order you wish. With “Salt Creek Anthology,” tumble down that brooding, enticing rabbithole that Fisk has created on this unassuming street for yourself, and see just how far the nightmare will take you.

What follows is a conversation with Jason Fisk, the author, about his work in general, this book in particular, and various other topics of interest.

ClaritySol: You are a husband and father, you teach, you write. You have a blog and other social media outlets to feed. How do you manage to be enthusiastic about all of it? Do you have any words of advice for those to seek to gain traction on a path similar to yours?

Jason Fisk: Well, with the exception of the upkeep of the blog, and other media outlets, I honestly feel like my enthusiasm is directly connected to the fact that I’m truly passionate about my family, my teaching, and my writing, which makes the balancing of it all a lot of fun for me. That’s not to say that I don’t have bad teaching days, days that I feel like a failure as a parent, and days that it would be so much easier not to write, but I’m always back at it the next day, even when I don’t feel like it. Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration; there have been weeklong stretches where I have quit writing all together, due to various reasons, but it usually weasels its way back into my life and routine.

The whole social media thing is relatively new to me too, and by relatively new, I mean less than two years on facebook. Initially, I was resistant to it, but have found it to be a wonderful and necessary resource for the promotion of my writing, which, in the world of the small presses, is sometimes exhausting in and of itsel

ClaritySol: It looks like your paths have been intertwining with CCLaP, Jason Pettus and the other writers there: Ben Tanzer, Mark Brand, Sally Wiegert and the others. How important is that to your process, to share your work with writers and to hear what they’re doing and to work with your publisher in the way that you and Jason do?

Jason Fisk: That’s a tough one to answer. My involvement with other authors has changed over the years. Writing started out as a very solitary thing for me. I’d sit at my desk, write, and send my stuff out into cyberspace and wait for a response. I would not necessarily consider myself much of an extrovert, and there is part of me that struggles with the act of social networking, especially when it feels disingenuous. I have to give credit to Ben Tanzer for opening a lot of doors to the local literary world. He actually put me in touch with Jason Pettus and CCLaP, and introduced me to different authors in the area, Mark and Sally being two of them. The actual act of writing and sharing my writing with other authors is something I’ve just started doing recently.

ClaritySol: I know one of Jason Pettus’ goals is to be responsive to the CCLaP audience – to provide what they want to read, and/or provide what they want to be challenged with.

How do you and your work fit in to those goals? What is your approach to the audience – are they part of your writing, or is your writing more a personal process?

Jason Fisk: When I write, I don’t think about audience. Personally, I believe thinking about an audience while writing sucks the integrity from what I’m writing. It begins to feel watered down. I would always be second guessing myself and wondering how a certain group would react to this or that.

I let Jason Pettus worry about the audience. If you send him something, writing or an idea, that he’s not so into, he’ll let you know, and he’ll gently push you in the direction he’d like to see you go, which is probably where catering to his audience comes into play. I also think he does a nice job of creating, or attracting, an audience that has similar tastes as him. Publishers like Jason not only have to sell their product, they also have to create and generate an interest where there may not initially have been one. Having said all of that, Jason Pettus also has this great philosophy of being hands off while the author writes their first draft. I think this is very respectful of the creative process and of the writer.

ClaritySol: You have an impressive publication history already, which I found here:

http://jasonfisk.com/publicationpage.html

It is clear that poetry also has a big place in your writing. Which do you prefer? Do you find certain content is best explored in one format or the other? Are the struggles inherent in each very different, or mostly similar?

Jason Fisk: I started writing poetry in an elective in graduate school, and I absolutely loved finding that little piece of truth (or at least what I thought was truth) and writing about it. Most of my poems have a narrative quality to them, which probably has something to do with my early love of the short story. My relationship with poetry is somewhat contentious though; I really like accessible poetry, and hate pretentious, dense poetry. My real love is the short story, which I find more challenging to write, especially after working so hard to pare a story to its bare essentials for a poem. It’s hard to get into the short story mind set.

ClaritySol: From your blog, here is a description of a book meeting from one of the attendees:

‘What began as a discussion about fictional others quickly turned to ourselves and our own little bits of crazy. We praised Fisk for his ability to hand-pick what is absolutely essential about a story, entertain us with it, and then make us look twice for a glimpse we thought we caught of ourselves - all in two to four paragraphs.’

It sounds to me like you are one of those writers who applies to discipline and the strength of poetry to any other form you engage in as well, would you agree? That you are always a poet, and sometimes you write poetry and sometimes you write in other forms?

Jason Fisk: To me, it’s all about the transaction between the writer and the reader, and I believe the transaction part is very important. My goal is to create an outline of place, time, and movement, and have the reader fill the rest in with their imagination. The reader has then invested part of himself or herself in the story by painting the walls the colors they see, or imagining that particular space is similar to one in his or her house. I believe poetry has been a wonderful tool to roughly sketch out those bits and pieces of a story, and allow the readers to fill in the blanks, which, hopefully, creates a unique reading experience. I think you’re right; I will always be a poet, or at least retain those elements of poetry.

ClaritySol: From your blog, I borrowed this passage of yours:

William Carlos Williams wrote, “No ideas but in things.” While I know that my poetry is nowhere near Williams’ level, it is something I strive to emulate. I love the thought of “No ideas but in things,” and only want to paint what I see (whether it is in my imagination, or in real life). What the reader takes from it is their business.

Is that an accurate capture of your attitude towards this piece as well?

Jason Fisk: Oh, absolutely!

ClaritySol: What’s next? Do you have many additional things that you’re working on right now? Do you have additional pieces percolating that are not even in the writing stage yet? What can we look forward to?

Jason Fisk: I just finished up a small collection of more flash fiction, and am currently in the process of polishing that up. Jason Pettus has also suggested that I take the next year and try my hand at writing a novel, which is what I’m planning on doing, so that’s what’s currently fermenting in my head. We’ll see…

ClaritySol: Anything else you’d like us to know about your work, your plans, your art?

Jason Fisk: No, I feel like we’ve covered quite a bit here. I do want to thank you for taking the time to research and craft such insightful and thoughtful questions. Your time and involvement is very much appreciated.

on Pinterest... and Tumblr?

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:29:00 -0600

Pinterest – located at pinterest.com – is a social photo-sharing website. Users can establish accounts, and then set up collections of images that reflect their interest.

Other users can browse their collections, ‘like’ various items, collect images from each other, and establish mutual interest relationships and so on.

Launching as a closed beta in March 2010, the site has in stages opened up to the public, and has generated a lot of enthusiasm in the process.

On August 16, 2011, Time magazine published Pinterest in its “50 Best Websites of 2011” column.(Wikipedia)

Just in the last few months – December, January – the site has been skyrocketing with users. It crossed the 10 million user mark last month, being one of the fastest sites to do so.

Users love it’s visuality, ease of use, and it’s ability to facilitate relationships with others of similar interests. It links in with Facebook, Twitter, has an RSS feed feature, comes with WordPress widgets and there’s an iPhone app for it too!

But recently, awareness has been growing of downsides for users of the site. In particular related to the very use of images that is such a big part of its appeal.

I literally only heard of this site about a week ago.

A few days ago, I retweeted this tweet about it:

56 Ways to Market Your Business on #Pinterestj.mp/yt2cO8 via @copyblogger RT @brasonja #in

And that tweet of mine was RT’d about 4 times, more than almost any other of my tweets. Clearly it is a topic of interest right now! So as I began to read today more concerns about the site, I thought I’d pull together this blog post about it all.

Here is a clearer link to that article on CopyBlogger.

It talks about a wide spectrum of ways to use Pinterest for marketing your business, everything from social media immersion techniques to branding to traffic analysis techniques to webinar support. Seems all very exciting and wonderful, but read on, please!

Another Pinterest-excitement tweet I saw recently:

How the medical industry is using (and could use): Pinterest bit.ly/zaonKE RT @MelissaOnline

This MedCityNews article showcases how the medical industry already uses and could even more use Pinterest to boost patient morale, improve patient education and, of course, engage in cutting-edge marketing activities.

This page also mentions the revenue stream aspect of Pinterest, which involves affiliate marketing via Skimlinks and changing the codes linked to images to replace the original marketer with Pinterest . That practice, described further in this MarketingLand article is generating interest and concern as more people become aware of it.

But copyright theft is a much more serious concern, since it involves legal ramifications that are completely beyond what users have in mind when they sign up to use Pinterest. This BusinessInsider describes those concerns.

In a question and answer format, the piece explores the idea that Pinterest may be more illegal than Napster was, due to its use of images not owned by the user, thereby violating the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act). Pinterest actually ‘requires’ that each user ‘own’ rights to the images they post, but they in no way reinforce that requirement.

This article explores the fair use argument and how it applies to Pinterest (and Tumblr, for that matter), and also mentions that Pinterest grabs whole sites when people ‘pin’ an image from that site, making it all even more serious.

Pinterest makes users even more uncomfortable in its statement that it reserves the right to sell any image posted by a user. This article by RWW mentions that several businesses, after initially signing up to use Pinterest, almost immediately closed their accounts as they more fully explored the implications. What it boils down to is that, if a user posts a photo which they don’t own the license to (a license given them free, world-wide, very broad and open rights to), they could be sued for posting it (and thereby granting Pinterest the right to sell it).

All in all, seems like a lot going on that hasn’t fully been worked through yet.. both for Pinterest, and even perhaps for Tumblr!

Exciting Literary Tour Stop here - Coming Soon!

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:15:35 -0600

On November 29, the Jason Fisk literary tour will stop at my site, with an exclusive interview on his book release: Salt Creek Anthology, a hyperfiction masterpiece!

For further information: Jason Pettus’ CCLaP Center

Digital tools 'to save languages'

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 19:07:48 -0600

Digital tools 'to save languages':

infoneer-pulse:

“Small languages are using social media, YouTube, text messaging and various technologies to expand their voice and expand their presence,” said K David Harrison, an associate professor of linguistics at Swarthmore College and a National Geographic Fellow.

“It’s what I like to call the flipside of globalisation. We hear a lot about how globalisation exerts negative pressures on small cultures to assimilate. But a positive effect of globalisation is that you can have a language that is spoken by only five or 50 people in one remote location, and now through digital technology that language can achieve a global voice and a global audience.”

» via BBC

Very Exciting!

aaknopf: Ten tales by Ray Bradbury to get you in the Halloween...

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:23:03 -0500

aaknopf:

Ten tales by Ray Bradbury to get you in the Halloween spirit. (via Wired)

The Four Technologies You Need to Be Working With

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:27:38 -0500

The Four Technologies You Need to Be Working With :

tacanderson:

This is interesting and makes me wonder what you could do with these from a communications (as in marketing/PR) perspective.

What do Netflix, Zipcar, Mint.com, Nike+, Amazon, the Nintendo Wii, and the Apple iPhone all have in common? They all take advantage of four technologies that once were scarce and expensive but are now plentiful and cheap. These technologies can be combined in numerous ways, and we are just starting to see companies really taking advantage of the possibilities. These four technologies will have a disruptive impact on your business, almost regardless of which industry you’re in. The question is whether you will choose to adopt them before a competitor does. What are they?

Microprocessors

Sensors

Wireless connectivity

Databases

Fighting Hunger & Poverty: Vertical Bottle Gardens!

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:35:44 -0500

Fighting Hunger & Poverty: Vertical Bottle Gardens!:

This post contains step-by-step instructions on constructing a bottle garden with used plastic bottles and simple tools - fits in any small space. Exciting!

Site-Member Profile: KJE Design LLC[ design that works ]™

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:34:11 -0500

Year established: 1987

Business name:KJE Design LLC[ design that works ]™

Owner/Executive Director name:Karen Engelbretson

Service:Graphic design. I help small businesses succeed with identity and brand design, direct marketing, advertising, promotions, website design and development. For large companies, I create engaging employee communications that help workers understand the value and complexities of their compensation and benefits. For local and state governments, I design and illustrate communications that encourage water quality protection and wildlife habitat restoration.

Unique features, competitive advantage:KJE Design is a collaboration of talented professionals working in design, content development, illustration, animation, photography, web development and printing. I match my clients and their projects with extraordinary talent and services. Together we consistently exceed expectations.

Contact information:Karen Engelbretson

KJE Design LLC

651-602-9440

karen@kje.comwww.kje.com

Notes:

Recent comment about a compensation brochure…”I thought this communication was extremely well done. You took a complex issue with a lot of moving parts and presented it in a very straight-forward manner. The design was very aesthetically pleasing… the charts, tables and graphs very helpful. We often underestimate the impact of a well designed document. Personally I know I am much more likely to read material that looks good.”

A local small business responds to their website…”Your design is crisp, very unique and fun. It well represents our company’s slogan and service. Ease of navigation, clear and readable - almost lyrical - text. You’ve captured our essence. You really know us, to be able to boil us down to the bare bones, and distill our flavor.”

During her conference, a client takes time to email…”Thank you so much for your hard work. We love you! Can’t tell you how much everyone thinks the booklet, banners, postcards are amazing. Yes, they are being hoarded.”

Following a branding and web development project, music to my ears…”What a classy job you did for us, Karen. Thank you!”

Gowalla Moves From Check-ins to Stories

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:28:51 -0500

Gowalla Moves From Check-ins to Stories:

tacanderson:

The approach sounds good but it also sound a lot like what Whhrl started off doing. I like the idea, but not sure how much I’ll use it.

When you load up Gowalla, the first thing you see is still a main activity feed. Here you’ll find the activity from your friends. Because Gowalla isn’t completely pivoting away from their core location functionality, much of the data and social connections remain intact. But instead of a stream of check-ins, you’ll notice people hanging out together. They’re checking-in, but they’re also taking pictures and talking to one another in clusters that are known as “Stories”.

The main middle tab is now “Guides”. Here you’ll find curated travel guides for various places around the world. For example, if you load up the app in San Francisco, you’ll see the San Francisco guide, as well as the East Bay guide and the Stanford guide. You can quickly scroll through other guides not near you as well. And Gowalla has the ability to make special guides on the fly. For example, they made a TC Disrupt guide for event-goers.

Clicking on these guides loads up a bit of information about the city as well as all of the must-see spots. Again, because Gowalla has years worth of location data, they’re able to easily populate robust guides. Some of the locations are curated, some are based on check-in data and people favoriting places. The Gowalla “Highlights” feature also plays a role here.

The final tab is your personal profile area. Here you’ll find all of your pictures and all of your Stories.

bitchville: Tribute of Light for 9/11 A team of 30 electricians...

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:37:00 -0500

bitchville:

Tribute of Light for 9/11

A team of 30 electricians worked through the night yesterday to prepare for the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks which takes place on Sunday. The ‘Tribute in Light’ is made up of 88 bulbs which project two blue beacons of light up into the heavens that is visible from a 60 mile radius. The tribute will be powered on for the entire day and night on Sunday to remember the 2,753 people who died on September 11, 2001. The National September 11 Memorial and Museum is also scheduled to open on Sunday at the WTC site.

warningdontreadthis: Ten Years Later: A Tribute 9/11 My...

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:36:06 -0500

warningdontreadthis:

Ten Years Later: A Tribute 9/11

My favorite 9/11 tribute in New York City can be found in Bryant Park. 2,819 empty chairs are set up on the lawn facing the site where the World Trade Center once stood, one chair for every life lost. The number of empty chairs captures the enormity of the lives lost and the stark emptiness of it just drives home the point that I hope is never forgotten. 2,819 people were here one moment and gone the next. 2,819 went to work or boarded a plane one morning ten years ago thinking it would be another ordinary day and they never came home.

(via jetgirl78)

At Colleges, the Marketers Are Everywhere

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 07:28:02 -0500

At Colleges, the Marketers Are Everywhere:

infoneer-pulse:

This fall, an estimated 10,000 American college students will be working on hundreds of campuses — for cash, swag, job experience or all three — marketing everything from Red Bull to Hewlett-Packard PCs. For the companies hiring them, the motivation is clear: college students spent about $36 billion on things like clothing, computers and cellphones during the 2010-11 school year alone, according to projections from Re:Fuel, a media and promotions firm specializing in the youth market. And who knows the students at, say, U.N.C., better than the students at U.N.C.?

Corporations have been pitching college students for decades on products from cars to credit cards. But what is happening on campuses today is without rival, in terms of commercializing everyday college life.

» via The New York Times (Subscription may be required for some content)

BLOGGING via TYPEWRITER.: A message from the President as we mark ten years since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:27:23 -0500

BLOGGING via TYPEWRITER.: A message from the President as we mark ten years since the attacks of September 11, 2001.:

inothernews:

Tomorrow, on the tenth anniversary of the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, we will mourn the innocent lives lost, honor the heroic first responders who rushed to the scene, and pay tribute to our troops and military families who have served over the past ten years to keep us safe and…

brooklynmutt: “The Michigan State student section holds up...

Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:24:16 -0500

brooklynmutt:

“The Michigan State student section holds up American flags during the National Anthem prior to the football game today against Florida Atlantic in East Lansing. The event was in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (via Instagram)