Jonathan Simcoe
@jdsimcoe
Jonathan Simcoe
The movie producer and all-around mensch Stuart Cornfeld once told me that in a good screenplay, every structural unit needs to do two things: (1) be entertaining in its own right and (2) advance the story in a non-trivial way. We will henceforth refer to this as “the Cornfeld Principle.”
George Saunders • A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life
And because it has been so effective — stoking desire, after all, is a million times more easily done than satisfying it — virtually every design practice in the digital landscape has taken cues from it. The result is a crowded landscape through which we voluntarily speed, faster and faster, and one in which almost every piece of information is
... See morechrbutler.com • What Eyes Want - Christopher Butler
We gradually became more and more attuned to our neighborhood cohabitants, and for years we have looked to the pair of cardinals in our yard as sacramental reminders of fidelity. Their flash of red in the dull grey of winter is like the Creator splashing color on a dreary canvas.
mailchi.mp • Sin Eaters in a Sacramental Cosmos
what intrigued me in Ross’s conversation with the Chronicle are his thoughts about a sort of writing between scholarship and journalism, a writing vocation that builds bridges from the university to wider audiences.
mailchi.mp • Sin Eaters in a Sacramental Cosmos
As dawn washed the darkness from the sky, the shattered glacier was revealed to be a three-dimensional landscape of phantasmal beauty.
Jon Krakauer • Into Thin Air
If being a disciple is being a learner and follower of Jesus, then a lot hinges on what you think “learning” is. And what you think learning is hinges on what you think human beings are. In other words, your understanding of discipleship will reflect a set of working assumptions about the very nature of human beings, even if you’ve never asked
... See moreJames K. A. Smith • You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit
In the three decades that have passed since Snow Crash was published, many of the underpinnings of Stephenson’s virtual world, such as social networks and artificial intelligence, have materialized. And the metaverse, like other ideas foreshadowed in the cyberpunk tradition, has persistently found its way into broader conversation. It has featured
... See moreGenevieve Bell • The Metaverse Is a New Word for an Old Idea
This was probably the only thing that could have roused the dying embers of Frodo’s heart and will: an attack, an attempt to wrest his treasure from him by force.