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Golden Ratios and Golden Rules

Swinging jazz dances from Abbey's Pub and floats up into Jersey City's cobalt blue sky. Two men stand near a white rental van.

"Other than Charlie [Hansen]," says one to the other, "you're the only guy in the industry to see me topless."

True story. It happened yesterday at about 8pm, I suppose, just after dinner. Yes, just after dinner. The two men were Stephen Mejias, assistant editor of Stereophile magazine, and Steve Silberman, sales manager for high-end electronics manufacturer, Ayre Acoustics.

The writer colors the scene for you here in an attempt to disclose…

Scientists Determine That Sex Sells

Who'd a thunk?

Switching Off Self Awareness

Now this is cognitive research that is interesting! When we concentrate on tasks, we switch off our awareness of self—one of those tricky areas that defines us as human in the first place.Maybe the real Turing test is what computers do when we're not working 'em so hard.

Leslie Savan Interview

Savan wrote Slam Dunks and No Brainers: Language in Your Life, the Media, Business, Politics, and, Like, Whatever. Looks like a book I'll have to read.Via Blog of a Book Slut.

Created Sounds

SynthMania's list of synthesizer sounds created by (and frequently overused by) people through the years. You'll recognize almost all of these. And SM's looking for suggestions.

Jersey City Love Songs

On the corner of Monmouth and Third, in the parking lot of the Genesis Educational Center, where the blood lines erase the color lines, a drummer needs practice. I wasn't expecting this. It might interfere with our listening session. The bad beats are hopping into my third floor window and making themselves comfortable, crowding the sweet spot. The singer, it seems, needs practice, too. And is that a preacher hollering the gospel, or a drunk abusing his wife? Around here, one can never be certain. Perhaps it's both...

You know what's funny is that I really did worry about this…

Bike Lock Shoot-Out

Of course, I don't care how good the lock is, I ain't parking My Trek 5900 on the street.

Would I Lie To You?

Huckleberry insists that he has no idea how those paper towels met such an unfortunate end. Oh who, oh who would do such a thing?

Welcome to visitors from The Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats.

Bagheera Ponders the Big Questions

Such as, "When's dinner?"

Welcome to visitors from The Friday Ark and Carnival of the Cats.

Stuff That Makes Me Go Hmmmm

Economist Richard Florida's 2002 article, called "The Rise of the Creative Class: Why cities without gays and rock bands are losing the economic development race." Basically, Florida argues that "lifestyle amenities" like a cultural scene and diversity makes some cities more attractive to creative people who build economically successful enterprises than other cities that lack these features. Fine, I accept this, especially since Florida bolsters his arguments with impressive charts and metrics. I should also add that the "lifestyle amenities" argument is taken very seriously by cities like…