Receiving physical mail and packages—whether at home or at work—always gives me a little thrill, and my monthly issue of Wired is no exception.
I was particularly enthralled when I caught a glimpse of the cover story, which detailed writer Evan Ratliff’s amazing adventure/game/experiment of how to disappear and start a new identity in the digital age. He wrote a fantastic feature in the September issue on how and why others have made the attempt, also announcing that he would attempt to do just that—vanish. And to up the stakes, offered US$5,000 to the person who could track him down.
I can’t begin to describe how fascinating this story is, both from a reader’s and fellow journalist’s perspective—and an e-mail that Ratliff received from someone who’d been following his pursuit asked the perfect questions: “I want to know firsthand from you, what is it like disappearing? How does it feel? Are you lonely? Do you miss life? Is it liberating to be free from everything?”
Right down to the dedication of some hardcore hunters to Ratliff coping with his constant paranoia right until the final moment, this story is a must-read.
1 day ago - read more
“There are two kinds of information,” stated prolific Canadian journalist Ian Brown at a panel earlier this month on food writing. “The information you know you need to know to live, and the information you didn’t know you wanted to know.”
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3 days ago - read more...
“I didn’t know candy canes were chewy.”
My cousin Patrick after raiding the candy jar of unfathomably old sweets in my parents’ basement at Christmas one year, knowing full well that no one can remember how long they’ve been decaying in said jar.
2 weeks ago
cavaz:
Somebody Rescue Me!!!
If this was on Cute Overload—which it may very well be and I’ve somehow missed it—it would definitely fall under the Cute or Sad? category.
2 weeks ago
Though not quite to this extent, it would not be unreasonable to say the comic above is sometimes an accurate representation of me and Matt, interchangeably. That’s my fault for getting him The Orange Box and my fault for finding an excuse to own a Wii, DS, 360, PS2 and loaner PS3. It’s just too bad that we can’t play nicely together, the way a good couple should. (via thedailywhat)
3 weeks ago
On the night of November 2, 2005, Richard Adjei hopped on a subway train in downtown Toronto. Slung over his shoulder was his faded black canvas bag on a thick black drawstring. No one ever really knew what was in it, but everyone was sure of one thing: his trumpet was almost always there.
After his college classes finished, Richard was on his way to music practice with the Royal Regiment Band of Canada. He had been a member for a handful of years, and had his high school music teacher, Nathan Haynes, to thank for the recommendation to the military band.
Richard was last seen on a platform at Osgoode subway station by two strangers: one on the subway platform and the driver of the subway train pulling into the station the way he would on any other night.
But there was no way the driver would have known what Richard was thinking or what Richard was going to do.
As the train sped through the tunnel, 22-year-old Richard Adjei consciously set down his bag and jumped in the train’s path.
On the platform, on a nearby bench, lay his canvas bag, his trumpet inside.
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3 weeks ago - read more...
Halloween calls for a true ghost story. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, there’s no denying that some strange occurrences are void of logical explanation. Here is the tale of my close encounter with the ghoulish kind.
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3 weeks ago - read more...
I’d gladly stand in the rain to wait for Catbus with Totoro, wouldn’t you? (via cavaz)
4 weeks ago
