Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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What I learned from 46 days of no Facebook
In keeping with the Catholic tradition of sacrificing something for Lent, I chose to give up Facebook. In the past, I’ve given up chocolate, sweets, dessert, beer, alcohol, caffeine, soda, (listening to) music. Forsaking a technological medium that seeks to connect people, and purposefully disconnecting from it, goes against the instant gratification of modern life. […]
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Cranking
Merlin Mann tells a moving and personal story about creativity, priorities and life. Sometimes the cranking made something special that will be really useful to people who badly need the comfort and help. But, a staggering amount of the time, my cranking has produced joyless and unemotional bullshit that couldn’t comfort, help, or please anyone. […]
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Review: R.E.M. – Collapse Into Now
Every Day Is Yours To Win could fit into New Adventures in Hi-Fi, while That Someone Is You bounces around like Radio Free Europe from 1983. … Discoverer’s lead riff sounds like Finest Worksong Oh My Heart has a bit of Drive Every Day Is Yours To Win, a shimmery uplifting ballad with simple melody That someone is you sounds like early REM or even The Ramones Standouts: Uberlin, It Happened Today
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This post is full of awesome
The word awesome seems to have become the go to word to describe anything as remotely delightfully cool. In fact, there’s even an Awesome Foundation. In naming the Awesome Foundation, Hwang said the word captured the organization’s aims perfectly. “Awesome conveys surprise and delight, and that’s at the core of what we’re trying to do. […]
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The story of Z. Vex effects pedals
Z. Vex creates handmade and painted guitar effects pedals, a business that started as a hobby. Vex: “My first Z.Vex pedal was an improvement on an Apollo Fuzz-Wah fuzz, which was the Octane. I showed it to Nate at Willie’s American Guitars in St. Paul and he immediately ordered three. I hadn’t planned on going […]
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To cull or to surrender
In an insightful piece of enjoying and consuming art (of all kinds), Linda Holmes discusses the sad, beautiful fact that we’re all going to miss almost everything. Culling is easy; it implies a huge amount of control and mastery. Surrender, on the other hand, is a little sad. That’s the moment you realize you’re separated […]
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Fuel/Friends Springtime 2011 mix
Heather at Fuel/Friends has posted a mix of spring songs, Used Hearts/Fresh Starts. Most of the songs are on the alternative, indie, folk, pop side of the music spectrum, with the occasional deviation, and she has them ready for you to load up into your portable music device.
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Arcade Fire close out Coachella set with bouncing balls of light
Arcade Fire closed their Coachella set with the anthemic “Wake Up,” adding some crowd interaction with a couple hundred glow in the dark, multi-colored beach balls.
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Designing a challenge coin
Belly up to the bar with a number of active service members, you could easily issue a challenge, and most should be able to place a brass, bronze or silver-like coin on the table. The person who can’t show their coin buys the round of drinks. Wikipedia tells a storied origin of a downed WWI […]
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Fade
Fade is an addicting Flash game, where you guide a llama, hurdling over cliffs and shrubbery as it picks up speed to see the world in perfect color. See, the game starts in black and white, and as the llama picks up speed, somewhere around 35mph, the world begins to turn to color. You earn […]
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