“It’s a payment system that encourages instant gratification. Interestingly, however, research suggests that we derive greater happiness from goods we pay for immediately, but don’t use for some time, than we do from goods we use now but pay for later.”
Category: issues
Why Venice Should Charge Every Tourist Who Enters €30
Anna Somers Cocks: “The interviewer at the BBC World Service clearly thought that this was a toff’s attempt to keep out the riff-raff when it is nothing of the sort, so … here are the reasons why I think charging would be good for everyone, rich and poor, Venetians and non-Venetians, as well as the mayor himself and the preservation of the city.”
Exploring Duct Tape As Artistic Medium And Inspiration
“In recent years, … devotees craft everything from prom dresses to runway fashions to boutique items like wallets, purses and jewelry. Here in Avon, a town of almost 22,000 outside Cleveland that bills itself as ‘The Duct Tape Capital of the World,’ things go a bit further, with an annual three-day celebration of the stuff.”
Syrian Art Smuggled Out At Risk Of Death For Show In London
“The artists are worried that they could be traced if the work is stopped at a checkpoint. Some haven’t signed their work. The security police wouldn’t understand their message but they’d still see it as a danger.”
Why Didn’t Twitter Go Crazy On Paula Deen?
“My question for the Twitterhood is this: Is a hashtag the racial absolver of all statements said before it?”
What’s UNESCO’s Beef With A Bobsleigh Run (Yes, A Bobsleigh Run) In Germany?
What happens when humans keep on building things on or near human-history-affected World Heritage sites? (Hint: It’s not good.)
When English Majors Go Away, The World Is Going To Be A Lesser Place
“What is an English major good for? In a way, the best answer has always been, wait and see — an answer that satisfies no one. And yet it is a real answer, one that reflects the versatility of thought and language that comes from studying literature.”
The Backlash Against Crowdfunding Kick(start)s In
“Campaigners are free to scour their backer lists to see which uncle went cheap, which best friend ‘forgot’ to contribute and which former co-worker turned out to be surprisingly generous.” Then there’s the rise of crowdfunding consultants and the unedifying phenomenon of wealthy film and rock stars asking their fans for seed money.
NSA Or No NSA, We Are Not Living In Orwell’s 1984
“A few points of similarity, like the monitoring of huge amounts of data without sufficient congressional or legal oversight, do not establish the literary analogy. The rule here is simple: If you are invoking 1984 in a country in which 1984 is available for purchase and can be freely deployed as a rhetorical device, you likely don’t understand the point of 1984.”
Let’s Stop Taking George Orwell’s Name In Vain
“People mention Orwell … to suggest that the writer of Animal Farm and 1984 would disapprove of the activities that Edward Snowden made public. And people may well be right about that. But Orwell would likely disapprove of the use – the overuse – of his name. That’s because Orwell crusaded against clichés like few public figures have before or since.”