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Lewis’s “Next” and First

Liar’s PokerJust back from California. On the flight out, I devoured Michael Lewis’s “Next: The Future Just Happened,” the follow-up to his wildly popular “The New New Thing.” Though not as epic as its predecessor, “Next” was terrific, a keen survey of social change in the post-Net age. Lewis convinced me that he is a truly gifted chronicler of eras, and while in San Francisco, I eagerly hunted down a copy of his first book, “Liar’s Poker,” a less polished yet thoroughly engaging recreation of the bond trading business during the heady Eighties.

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Go West

I’m off to the Golden State today to visit some family and friends. It’s my first post-September 11th flight, and though the threat of terrorism doesn’t worry me so much, the thought of long and complicated security procedures —lots of ground time—makes me not really anxious to fly at all.

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Vooz Iz

VoozThere’s some beautiful and clever work at Vooz, a Korean “character system“ of Sanrio-like adorability. Not only are the illustrations gorgeously rendered, but the movies evidence that rare quality: traditional, cell-based animation craftsmanship executed with Flash.

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Jung

Jung“Jung (War): In the Land of the Mujaheddin” is a harrowing documentary about the civil war in Afghanistan, shot by three Italian filmmakers who are nearly as heroic as their subjects. It follows the efforts of a team of international doctors and nurses who set up an emergency hospital for war victims, but takes great care to give voice to the ravaged Afghani population. The movie spares nothing in depicting the brutal reality of its subject matter, and it left me physically distraught. Please go see it.

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“Reading the Look and Feel”

“This paper attempts to place current principles and debates in computer interface design within the broader context of media and culture using the tools of critical theories.” It’s a nice attempt. Nothing groundbreaking, but it can’t be a bad thing to think of the somewhat arbitrary (and often arbitrarily defined) concept of ‘look and feel’ in a more critical light.

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You’ve Seen the TV Show, Now Surf the Web Sites

FrontlinePBS’s “Frontline” regularly turns out incisive and fascinating documentaries, each of which is accompanied by an impressively deep microsite. These are more than just brochureware; they feature extended interviews, articles, charts, essays and reference materials. You could spend hours in any one of them, whether you’re interested in Hollywood, the Clinton years or global warming. They’re well-designed and content-rich, and great examples of how old media can get the most out of new media.

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