Tuesday morning thoughts and readings collected against the backdrop of Charlotte Gainsbourg’s fantastic new album, IRM…I’m feeling rather progressive about my choice, given the relatively mundane musical selections made in Boston¹ these days, in comparison with those in, say, Barcelona.

*****

It’s an odd thing to begin with the end of days, though I am completely enamored of the writing of Venkatesh Rao, whose treatise on the manner in which apocalyptic worldview reveals the measure of a man’s psyche is fascinating reading. Prior to fully entrenching oneself, I quite recommend two courses of action:

1. Dispense with your particular brand of religion, even if only for a few moments.
2. Open up his End of the World trail on trailmeme in a new window, as it’s a necessary companion.

Rao considers his exploration within the framework of a parlor game, in which one is asked to ponder the following questions:

1. How will the world end?
2. Why will it end?
3. Should we try to stop it from ending?
4. Who and what will survive?
5. Do you want to be among them?
   
6. How do you feel about what survives?
7. How do you feel about what is destroyed?
8. What would you save²?

Fascinating stuff, indeed.

*****

Joi Ito

In a far different vein, I loved this pull from Seth Godin’s much-circulated interview with Joi Ito of Creative Commons:

The most important thing is that we need to deprogram ourselves and learn that we don’t need an authority, we don’t need to ask permission. This doesn’t mean that you can become anti-social. It’s sort of the opposite of that.

You, I’m certain, understand the point made by Ito in the last sentence. So do I. Why is it, then, that none of us can clearly articulate it? What, kind reader, is the opposite of ‘anti-social’ as applies to a world in which we no longer need to pursue authoritarian approval for our pursuits?

*****

Regents Place Pavillion

Sure sign of a weak dollar #2846: Two disparate stories crossed my screen this morning: the first a brilliant set of photos of Regent’s Place Pavillion, designed by the wonderful Carmody Groarke (best known, perhaps, for their design of the July 7 Memorial in London), the second a photo essay of New York’s abandoned architecture. The photos of the Brooklyn Navy Yard Hospital are particularly haunting, which might explain the role of this space as a backdrop for Vanilla Sky.

Contrast these with an equally-compelling set of photos of Sydney by Mark Pollard, taken with his iPhone and processed with the Polarize app. The photo of Luna Park is particularly lovely.

*****

Finally, proof that the obscenely wealthy are, indeed, assholes³, courtesy of⁴ Harvard Business School. In a paper by Roy Y.J. Chua, it is argued that there exists a correlation between the decision to purchase luxury goods and the willingness to make decisions without regard to the consequences for others. Says Chua in this interview:

One commonly proffered explanation is that these executives lack a moral compass, leading them to care only about themselves to the extent of hurting others. Our findings offer another perspective—the fact that these executives are surrounded by luxury did not help their decision-making to be more “other-oriented.” Yet their seemingly “immoral” decisions stem not so much from a real desire to hurt others but more from over self-indulgence.

Amen. More later.

*****

1. Seriously, the Beatles?? [↩]
2. probably not these satellites [↩]
3. just not malevolent assholes [↩]
4. ironically [↩]