Author: Chad
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Toddler view askew
We really try to keep our smartphones away from Mr. 13 Months. He’s elated when he does get his hands on one—usually just for photos or FaceTime—but then turns into Ring Withdrawal Bilbo when we take it away from him. And when he seizes the reins during FaceTime, he generates footage shakier than a Bourne…
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Recent Views
More photography here and on my Instagram. From our go-to park last fall: Little man enjoying the ball pit at his cousin’s birthday party: The inside view of Madison’s capitol dome: Turns out kids love swings: A few shots from probably the last snowfall of an extremely mild winter:
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Behold the Oeuvre-view
Since becoming a patron of Filmspotting on Patreon, I’ve really enjoyed getting ad-free episodes and participating in the production-related chatter. Recently they were looking for a clever title for a new segment that would be a chronological retrospective of a filmmaker’s work, in anticipation of revisiting Christopher Nolan’s work before Tenet debuts in July. (Assuming,…
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Homeworking, day one
Thanks to COVID-19, today was my first day working from home. (That’s my new makeshift workspace above, squished into the space between the closet and extra bed in our guest room. I’ve since added a second work laptop.) My library is closed to the public indefinitely, along with most everything else, but as my work…
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We’re in this together
Via Kottke, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom’s opening remarks at today’s media briefing on COVID-19 officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Despite the alarm that word may raise raises, Adhanom concluded his remarks with some wise words: Let me give you some other words that matter much more, and that are much more actionable. Prevention. Preparedness. Public…
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Ideology and ‘Information Hunters’
When I first heard of the new book Information Hunters: When Librarians, Soldiers, and Spies Banded Together in World War II Europe by Kathy Peiss, I thought it was so far up my alley it should have just moved in. The book tells two primary, interweaving stories: how the information-collecting missions of the Library of…
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On the magical realism of Mister Rogers
My now one-year-old and I have slowly been going through the episodes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood available on Amazon Prime. He’s generally not interested in extended screen time at this point, but Mister Rogers is one of the few figures he recognizes and enjoys. (Along with Alex Trebek. #proudpapa) There’s not much I can say…
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Inch by inch
My son walked for the first time today, the day before his first birthday. I was in front of him, bouncing on our exercise ball along to some music (Kira Willey’s “Everybody’s Got A Heartbeat” to be exact). He wanted in on the bouncing action. He was already standing—he’s been standing strongly in place for…
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Meaningful markers of time
Derek Sivers: A new year begins when there’s a memorable change in my life. Not January 1st. Nothing changes on January 1st. … Your year really begins when you move to a new home, start school, quit a job, have a big breakup, have a baby, quit a bad habit, start a new project, or…
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The rules are there ain’t no rules
There’s a scene in Grease where Leo, the head of the rival Scorpions gang, says to Travolta’s Danny Zuko before they drag race: “The rules are there ain’t no rules.” It’s one of the many random lines that has stuck in my head from a lifetime of movie watching. I think about it a lot…
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Survey says: Library visits rule
Gallup: In U.S., Library Visits Outpaced Trips to Movies in 2019 Some takeaways from this survey:
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City roads turned into line drawings
Andrei Kashcha’s City Roads tool beautifully renders every road of any city in the world into a simple line drawing using OpenStreetMap. I did my hometown of Madison (above), knowing its isthmus gives it a distinct look. I then did the city where I work and discovered that for some reason it includes a large…