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Seth's Blog
Stopping a runaway train It feels urgent because it is. But by the time the train is running away, it might be too late. The...
a year ago
68
a year ago
It feels urgent because it is. But by the time the train is running away, it might be too late. The better strategy is to not sign up for trains that are likely to run away. The first principle of risk reduction is to figure out if you can stop it later. If you can’t, […]
Blog - Mac Pierce
The Opt-Out Cap, detailed assembly with photos. How to assemble the Opt-Out Cap, a tool for facial recognition obfuscation.
over a year ago
Handprinted - Blog
Screen Printing with Permaset Puff Paste Puff Paste is a great way to add a little something extra to your fabric prints! It adds depth and...
over a year ago
92
over a year ago
Puff Paste is a great way to add a little something extra to your fabric prints! It adds depth and texture and is so much fun to use. In this project, we have exposed a screen and used it to print with Puff Paste onto a tote bag: Half-fill the coating trough with photo emulsion....
Handprinted - Blog
Block Printing Registration Using Measure Pattern Tape and Madder, Cutch and Co Inks Measure Pattern Tape is a really useful bit of kit for your printmaking projects. This adhesive...
6 months ago
54
6 months ago
Measure Pattern Tape is a really useful bit of kit for your printmaking projects. This adhesive ruler tape can be stuck onto your printing surface or board to help lay out your designs accurately. It's self-adhesive and we've even found it can be lifted up and re-used a couple of...
Seth's Blog
Our homunculus is showing The little person at the control panel, the one who sees what the retina produces, the one who...
over a year ago
93
over a year ago
The little person at the control panel, the one who sees what the retina produces, the one who decides, the one who speaks up… (This is the dualist solution to the free will problem–yes, I have a physical body, they say, but I also have a little human inside of me that gets to...
Open Culture
The World’s Oldest Cookbook: Discover 4,000-Year-Old Recipes from Ancient Babylon If asked about your favorite dish, you’d do well to name something exotic. Gone are the days when a...
a month ago
193
a month ago
If asked about your favorite dish, you’d do well to name something exotic. Gone are the days when a taste for the likes of Italian, Mexican, or Chinese cuisine could qualify you as an adventurous eater. Even expeditions to the very edges of the menus at Peruvian, Ethiopian, or...
Open Culture
The Radical Artistic & Philosophical World of William Blake: A Short Introduction Over the years, we’ve featured the work of William Blake fairly often here on Open Culture: his own...
a year ago
67
a year ago
Over the years, we’ve featured the work of William Blake fairly often here on Open Culture: his own illuminated books; his illustrations for everything from the Divine Comedy to Mary Wollstonecraft’s Original Stories from Real Life to the Book of Job; pairs of Doc Martens made...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: 2023 Round Up! What a fantastic array of makers we've had featured on our Meet the Maker blog this year. We've put...
a year ago
101
a year ago
What a fantastic array of makers we've had featured on our Meet the Maker blog this year. We've put together a round up for you with all of the wonderful advice our makers have given for creatives at any stage of their creative practice. Pop your feet up, grab yourself a nice...
Seth's Blog
Peak infrastructure Community resources are easy to take for granted. Unevenly distributed, they’re the sort of thing we...
a year ago
102
a year ago
Community resources are easy to take for granted. Unevenly distributed, they’re the sort of thing we miss only when they’re gone. Invisible things are easy to ignore. I was stunned to see a sign in Connecticut that listed the names of dozens of highway workers who had been killed...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Fiona Rimmer Hi, my name is Fiona Rimmer and I'm a printmaker/etcher from Hampshire, UK where I live with my...
a month ago
21
a month ago
Hi, my name is Fiona Rimmer and I'm a printmaker/etcher from Hampshire, UK where I live with my husband, 3 sons and a beautiful dog called Skyla (the humans are beautiful too).  I have a degree in Fine Art from Lancaster University and an MA in Illustration from Falmouth...
Marian's Blog
No Man’s Starfield This is a shader I made that renders a flight through a starfield. It’s meant to look like the...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
This is a shader I made that renders a flight through a starfield. It’s meant to look like the galactic map that you can see in No Man’s Sky. Here is a link to the project on shadertoy: No Man’s Starfield The cool thing about this is that it runs inside a shader. A shader is a...
Open Culture
The Origins of Satan: The Evolution of the Devil in Religion The Devil, the Beast, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Satan: whichever name we happen to call him, we know full...
a week ago
12
a week ago
The Devil, the Beast, Beelzebub, Lucifer, Satan: whichever name we happen to call him, we know full well who the guy is — or at least, we think we do. In fact, the images and evocations of that embodiment of (or perhaps metaphor for) sin, deceit, and temptation that many of us...
Open Culture
Harvard Lets You Take 133 Free Online Courses: Explore Courses on Justice, American Government,... Image by Rizka, via Wikimedia Commons In South Korea, where I live, there may be no brand as...
3 months ago
36
3 months ago
Image by Rizka, via Wikimedia Commons In South Korea, where I live, there may be no brand as respected as Habodeu. Children dream of it; adults seemingly do anything to play up their own connections to it, however tenuous those connections may be. But what is Habodeu? An...
Seth's Blog
The amateur presenter Not “amateur” as in the unprepared professional. Amateur as in the passionate individual, untrained...
a year ago
25
a year ago
Not “amateur” as in the unprepared professional. Amateur as in the passionate individual, untrained but with something to say. If you’re called on to give a talk or presentation, the biggest trap to avoid is the most common: Decide that you need to be just like a professional...
Seth's Blog
Seriously One way to deal with a changing world and new problems is to take yourself very seriously, others...
4 months ago
23
4 months ago
One way to deal with a changing world and new problems is to take yourself very seriously, others not so much. The other way is to take the situation quite seriously, but perhaps not focus so much on taking ourselves seriously. As Ani DiFranco points out, rock musicians take...
Open Culture
The Story of Lee Miller: From the Cover of Vogue to Hitler’s Bathtub In late-twenties Manhattan, a nineteen-year-old woman named Elizabeth “Lee” Miller stepped off the...
a year ago
54
a year ago
In late-twenties Manhattan, a nineteen-year-old woman named Elizabeth “Lee” Miller stepped off the curb and into the path of a car. She was pulled back to safety by none other than the magnate Condé Nast, founder of the eponymous publishing company. Not long thereafter, Miller,...
Seth's Blog
The natural size No matter how many people come over for dinner, you’re only going to be able to engage with a few....
over a year ago
66
over a year ago
No matter how many people come over for dinner, you’re only going to be able to engage with a few. And no matter how big the crowd in the arena, the musicians can only see the faces of a few hundred. An investor can only be engaged and smart about a very small number of […]
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Fabiola Knowles Originally from Sicily, I grew up in Australia; however, having settled in the UK in 1996, it has...
a year ago
105
a year ago
Originally from Sicily, I grew up in Australia; however, having settled in the UK in 1996, it has been my home for the largest part of my life. I love the outdoors and I am drawn to open landscapes with big skies. I am an artist working mainly with various forms of printmaking. I...
Open Culture
Empire Without Limit: Watch Mary Beard’s TV Series on Ancient Rome As the founding myth has it, the city of Rome was established by a man named Romulus, one of two...
6 days ago
7
6 days ago
As the founding myth has it, the city of Rome was established by a man named Romulus, one of two orphaned twin brothers raised by a she-wolf on the banks of the Tiber river. The legend of Romulus and Remus, which involves the former’s fratricidal slaying of the latter, lends...
Seth's Blog
“Not your best ever” In order to have a best ever, hearing this is part of the deal. Each thing is not going to top...
a year ago
93
a year ago
In order to have a best ever, hearing this is part of the deal. Each thing is not going to top everything that came before it. Progress is rarely smooth.
Open Culture
The Night Frank Zappa Jammed With Pink Floyd … and Captain Beefheart Too (Belgium, 1969) Recently an older musician acquaintance told me he never “got into ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ and all...
a year ago
43
a year ago
Recently an older musician acquaintance told me he never “got into ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ and all that,” referring to the “first major space jam” of Pink Floyd’s career and the subsequent explosion of space rock bands. I found myself a little taken aback. Though I was born too...
Seth's Blog
The worst person on our team A common shortcut to cultural divisiveness is to find the single worst person in a different group...
a year ago
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a year ago
A common shortcut to cultural divisiveness is to find the single worst person in a different group and highlight and attack their behavior. By making it clear and obvious that this is what THEY (the plural) want and who THEY are, it’s easy to walk away from a larger we. Their...
Prolost
Magic Bullet Suite 14 and Trapcode Suite 16 It’s a big day at Maxon/Red Giant! We’re releasing huge updates to Magic Bullet and Trapcode...
over a year ago
36
over a year ago
It’s a big day at Maxon/Red Giant! We’re releasing huge updates to Magic Bullet and Trapcode Suites. Trapcode Particular continues to embody our ethos of power and ease-of-use, with a completely modernized simulation engine that allows particles to behave more naturally, with...
Seth's Blog
Digital editions on big sale As many of my readers get ready for a long weekend, here are two of my books now on discount at...
2 months ago
23
2 months ago
As many of my readers get ready for a long weekend, here are two of my books now on discount at Amazon–for another few days. This is Strategy is 90% off on the Kindle. $3! And This is Marketing is discounted as well. If you’ve read or listened to either one, here’s a new AI […]
Seth's Blog
Podcasts, international covers and more I just received copies of the new reprints of four of my books in the UK: I’m really pleased at how...
a year ago
51
a year ago
I just received copies of the new reprints of four of my books in the UK: I’m really pleased at how the books have stayed relevant and also delighted at what a good job the publisher did with the reissues. Also, the Italian version of This is Marketing just went back for its 14th...
escape the algorithm
Befriending neighbors and beneighboring friends The Casement Window Theory of community building
a year ago
Seth's Blog
The MVP and fear The minimum viable product is a powerful way to find out if your solution is going to find a market....
a year ago
27
a year ago
The minimum viable product is a powerful way to find out if your solution is going to find a market. Bean-to-bar chocolate in the US didn’t happen because someone raised millions of dollars, built a factory and got shelf space at the A&P. It happened because John Scharffenberger...
Not Boring by Packy...
Chaos is a Ladder Vertical Integrators: Part V
4 months ago
Open Culture
A Man Read 3,599 Books Over 60 Years, and Now His Family Has Shared the Entire List Online Dan Pelzer died earlier this year at the age of 92, leaving behind a handwritten list of all the...
a month ago
17
a month ago
Dan Pelzer died earlier this year at the age of 92, leaving behind a handwritten list of all the books he’d read since 1962. His family had it digitized, put it online, and now it’s gone viral, somewhat to the surprise of those of us who’d never heard of him before. But that, it...
Seth's Blog
Out to get you It’s easy to believe that in some moments, the world is out to get you. This is unlikely. The world...
a year ago
40
a year ago
It’s easy to believe that in some moments, the world is out to get you. This is unlikely. The world hardly knows you exist. There is injustice and trauma and systems of caste. There are tiny pockets of humanity that hold a grudge. But most of the time, in most situations, what...
Open Culture
How the First Rock Concert Ended in Mayhem (Cleveland, 1952) “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is...
3 months ago
30
3 months ago
“America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everywhere else is Cleveland.” That observation tends to be attributed to Tennessee Williams, though it’s become somewhat detached from its source, so deeply does it resonate with a certain experience of...
Seth's Blog
How much extra is the gift wrap? One way to turn a product or service into a story is to gift wrap it. Yes, you did my taxes, but did...
a month ago
22
a month ago
One way to turn a product or service into a story is to gift wrap it. Yes, you did my taxes, but did you include a two-page summary and a useful folder to keep it in? Whether you’re providing a service to a casual customer or a product to a regular patron, what you’re really […]
Open Culture
The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse: Rick Beato Explains Earlier this month, a North Carolina man was charged with generating songs using an...
11 months ago
52
11 months ago
Earlier this month, a North Carolina man was charged with generating songs using an artificial-intelligence system and configuring bots to stream them automatically, thus racking up some $10 million in illegal royalties. Though that amount no doubt startles many of us, in this...
Seth's Blog
Good businesses solve real problems But not all real problems lead to good businesses. There are problems all around us. People need...
over a year ago
22
over a year ago
But not all real problems lead to good businesses. There are problems all around us. People need housing, health care and food. They want delight, belonging and status. When a company shows up in the marketplace with a product or service that people eagerly choose to buy, it’s...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet the Maker: Ieuan Edwards I’m a linocut printmaker and illustrator based in Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, which...
over a year ago
94
over a year ago
I’m a linocut printmaker and illustrator based in Broadstairs on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, which is home to a good few other lino folks and a thriving and supportive art scene in general. Describe your printmaking process. I tend to print fairly small runs of reduction linocut...
Seth's Blog
Embracing the Rotten Tomato gap The site gives movies two scores on a scale from 1 to 100: One is from critics, and the other is...
3 months ago
38
3 months ago
The site gives movies two scores on a scale from 1 to 100: One is from critics, and the other is from typical viewers who are taking the time to chime in. Many movies have virtually the same score in each category. But some films have a 40 or 50 point gap. How could the […]
Neocha – Culture &...
Natural Selection
over a year ago
Seth's Blog
What does reality look like? Not what we see when we’re present, but what do we see when we imagine we’re present? In the early...
a year ago
70
a year ago
Not what we see when we’re present, but what do we see when we imagine we’re present? In the early days of photography, the world was black and white, and sort of flat. It’s worth noting that no one who saw these pictures complained about the fact that they didn’t exactly match...
Seth's Blog
On choosing a college For some fortunate 17 year olds, the end of the year is the day for a momentous decision, one that’s...
a year ago
41
a year ago
For some fortunate 17 year olds, the end of the year is the day for a momentous decision, one that’s largely out of the comfort zone of a 17 year old. A four-year college education in the US can cost nearly half a million dollars once we count the expenses and foregone...
Marian's Blog
Work in progress: Location based online game This is a game prototype I’m currently working on. The game is played online, on a real world map...
over a year ago
26
over a year ago
This is a game prototype I’m currently working on. The game is played online, on a real world map and the location of the player is also the location ingame, just like in Ingress. I know that making an online game like this is an ambitious goal and it will probably never be...
Handprinted - Blog
Tetra Pak Drypoint and Collagraph Printing When we first heard the news that Tetra Pak cartons could be used for printmaking, we were excited...
a month ago
9
a month ago
When we first heard the news that Tetra Pak cartons could be used for printmaking, we were excited to try it out. We started to collect all the cartons we had at home and got ready to put them to a new use in the studio. Here’s a little project to get started using Tetra Pak...
Prolost
Visual Effects Compositing in Adobe After Effects: My IBC 2019 Talk Adobe graciously invited me to speak at their IBC 2019 booth about visual effects compositing in...
over a year ago
33
over a year ago
Adobe graciously invited me to speak at their IBC 2019 booth about visual effects compositing in After Effects — something I’ve been doing against all advice for many (many!) years. You can watch the entire talk here:
Open Culture
How Magician David Copperfield Made the Statue of Liberty Disappear (1983) In April, 1983, 50 million television viewers watched the illusionist David Copperfield make the...
9 months ago
84
9 months ago
In April, 1983, 50 million television viewers watched the illusionist David Copperfield make the Statue of Liberty disappear, straight into thin air. If you’re north of 50, you perhaps remember the spectacle. How did he do it? 40 years later, the YouTube channel Mind Blown Magic...
Handprinted - Blog
Meet The Maker: Lorna Rose Hello, I’m Lorna, a self-taught artist working with printmaking and collage based in Devon,...
4 days ago
9
4 days ago
Hello, I’m Lorna, a self-taught artist working with printmaking and collage based in Devon, Southwest England. Themes of movement, how we inhabit and speak into public and domestic spaces are threads which regularly run through my work. My wider practice uses creativity as a...
Open Culture
How Choose Your Own Adventure Books Became Beloved Among Generations of Readers We’ve all read plenty of literature written in the first person, and plenty of literature written in...
a year ago
69
a year ago
We’ve all read plenty of literature written in the first person, and plenty of literature written in the third person. The second person, with its main subject of neither “I” nor “he” or “she” but “you,” is considerably harder to come by, and the writers who take it up tend to be...
Seth's Blog
Consequences Frederick Lewis Donaldson created a list of seven social sins that was soon popularized by Gandhi....
a year ago
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a year ago
Frederick Lewis Donaldson created a list of seven social sins that was soon popularized by Gandhi. One hundred years later, it’s more relevant and more urgent than ever. Wealth without work.Pleasure without conscience.Knowledge without character.Commerce without morality.Science...
Seth's Blog
Learning in August What better time? An hour a day for a month and you can learn a skill you’ll have forever. Beach...
a year ago
69
a year ago
What better time? An hour a day for a month and you can learn a skill you’ll have forever. Beach reads are a fine way to chill out, but a month spent to learn a skill is a fine way to take advantage of a quiet time. My brand new course on Strategy is now […]
Open Culture
Medieval Cats Behaving Badly: Kitties That Left Paw Prints … and Peed … on 15th Century Manuscripts “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” –Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1808–90) When...
a year ago
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a year ago
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” –Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1808–90) When Emir O. Filipovic, a medievalist at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, visited the State Archives of Dubrovnik, he stumbled upon something that will hardly surprise...
Seth's Blog
Commonplace technology Not all tech is new tech. The ballpoint pen was a revelation, and a bit controversial. Now, it’s...
a year ago
27
a year ago
Not all tech is new tech. The ballpoint pen was a revelation, and a bit controversial. Now, it’s disposable and obvious. Different industries go through tech spurts. My desk is covered with items I use every day (a mouse, headphones, a solid-state drive, transparent tape, and...
Seth's Blog
Create value If your job feels like a dead end, it might be because you’ve traded agency and responsibility for...
over a year ago
35
over a year ago
If your job feels like a dead end, it might be because you’ve traded agency and responsibility for the feeling of security. But real security lies in creating value. Creating value isn’t easy, but it’s resilient and generous and often profitable. “How do I create more value?” is...