The Aesthetic

Looks like American Airlines is launching a new wi-fi service for transcontinental flights. Finally!

I was all set to share a Big Thought about creativity in this space. It had to do with this thing I’ve learned over the years where sometimes I have what I think is a really good idea and despite having this really good idea I find myself agonizing over a sentence or a paragraph or a chapter and I realize that the problem isn’t that I’m failing to build the perfect foundation for my great idea. Rather, the problem is the great idea itself, and the solution is to get rid of it, set it aside for another day (because nothing is ever really wasted).

It was at this point that I shared my Big Thought with my wife, who politely shared with me that Hemingway had famously suggested that we kill our darlings.

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OK, watching some Olympics now. Finally, it’s not just volleyball and synchronized diving every night. Track and field is much better.

Number of total seconds watching the Olympic games so far: 0

I hear a lot of people talk about how the popularity of bottled water has been driven by our perpetual pursuit of convenience. But I have always thought that bottled water is the perfect consumer manifestation of our complete distrust in government. After all, government agencies are the ones primarily responsible for overseeing the quality of the water that is delivered to our homes and businesses, and these agencies have been telling us for years that this water is perfectly safe to drink. It is no surprise that in recent years, our trust in goverment has been falling fast. Why not correllate this with the popularity of bottled water? Somebody should do a study.

The New York Times gets to the bottom of this timeless question.

The last thing you ever want to do when you’re in a hurry while driving is get behind a truck carrying any kind of gardening or landscaping equipment.

People in the news business use the word “temblor.” For someone who has lived in Earthquake Country his whole life, this word smacks of affectation. And what the hell does it mean, anyway? Wouldn’t it be better to just say earthquake?

Let’s just get this out of the way right up front – I don’t buy it. I think you found those signs in a trash can, borrowed them from a friend, or maybe you just took them from someone else’s yard, someone else who may or may not actually have an home security system. I don’t think you have security at all. If you do, it’s probably nothing more sophisticated than an eight-pound yapper that wears sweaters and answers to the name “Fluffy.”

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Great essay on the AIGA website on how poor design creates the need for improvised solutions, thus explaining all the extra signs and warning lights in our society. Terrific food for thought.