Weekend reader - links I loved
Another week closer to summer, and today, I can almost tell. Sunshine is on my shoulders, I’m almost warm, and I’m definitely ready for the weekend. Are you?
Links I loved this week:
Yes, I’m just another Mad Men tragic, but it’s with good reason: The Mad Men guide to changing the world with words is one of them - Copyblogger
Transparency is something I am hyper-aware of in my communications-adviser/NGO world, so my ears pricked up when I read Paul Wallbank’s thoughts on the illusion of transparency:
Transparency is one of the great excuses of our era; the belief that something is correct as long as it is disclosed has been used to justify unethical or downright deceptive behaviour by groups ranging from financial advisors to gadget bloggers - Paul Wallbank
I also surprisingly enjoyed this look at the arguments behind providing Afghanistan with more reliable electricity, mobile phones and other technologies as a way to ‘win the war.’
In my quest to learn more about where good ideas come from, I found Alain de Botton’s words interesting about workplaces (or better yet, work spaces):
Objectively good places to work rarely end up being so; in their faultlessness, quiet and well-equipped studies have a habit of rendering the fear of failure overwhelming. Original thoughts are like shy animals. We sometimes have to look the other way – towards a busy street or terminal – before they run out of their burrows. - Alain de Botton
What’s this? Another reason for me to dislike Tony Abbott? - Grogs Gamut
Thank you, Meanjin, for bringing together two of the things in my (and possibly your) life this week: Mad Men and Freedom - On liking the unlikeable: the case of Betty Draper
Are you a womanist? (Alice Walker, PDF file, via my ever-insightful friend Jo)
7 talks to help you change (the world) in one place - handy! My personal favourite is The Secret Powers of Time.
Radiohead front man Thom Yorke (one half of the voice in This Mess We’re In, perhaps my favourite song of the decade) has a new project, predictably odd: 2 minutes silence. I am not convinced enough to hand over my hard earned, but maybe you will be?
And finally, did you know 1000 people from America’s underlclass live underground in Las Vegas?
