Lolchair Is My Friend

I am fascinated by anthropomorphism and simulacra, and the mysteriously whimsical workings of the human brain that engenders them.  Lolchair is the perfect example of the way the mind "humanizes" the nonhuman.  For more "object-oriented" fun, visit the Lolchair website at http://www.lolchair.com.

I am still dipping my toes in Stewart Elliott Guthrie's deep tome, Faces In the Clouds:  A New Theory of Religion, which covers this subject as it relates to religion. This book puts forth the theory that early humans with anthropomorphic tendencies had a better chance of surviving.  Simple example of this theory:  If you see a shape and you think it looks like a bear or some other threatening creature, then your survival chances are better than if you think it is just a rock.  If it is indeed a rock and not a bear, no harm done.  However, if it is indeed a bear and you don't interpret it as a potential threat, then your chances of survival go down. 

I have also been sampling a variety of other thought-provoking books on evolving scientific perceptions of human mind and consciousness.

When They Severed Earth From Sky:  How the Human Mind Shapes Myth by Elizabeth Wayland Barber and Paul T. Barber - Dr. Barber, one of my favorite authors, who co-authored this book with her husband, also a professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles, explores the way myths preserve historical truths.

Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett - Computers, brains, and more!  Older book, with lots of geeky, mathematical goodness.

Proust and the Squid:  The Story and Science of the Reading Brain by Maryanne Wolf - Questions the notion that humans are really "born to read".

Outliers and other books by Malcolm Gladwell - Gladwell makes interesting assumptions and turns common perceptions of reality inside out in an interesting way.

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Quirky Roadtrips for Armchair Travelers

Here are a few of my favorite nonfiction travel books with a focus on the humorous and/or meditative by some great writers.

Travels With Charley:  In Search of America - John Steinbeck
The classic of this genre, which debuted in 1962, Steinbeck and Charley, Steinbecks's standard poodle, lead the way.

Blue Highways:  A Journey Into America - William Least Heat-Moon
Another classic published in 1982, chronicles the author's atmospheric travels down two-lane, back roads in an old van.

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches From the Unfinished Civil War - Tony Horwitz
Horwitz explores the physical and cultural landscape of the Civil War with lots of weirdly funny sidetrips, which include the consumption of raw bacon and an interlude with a master Scarlett O'Hara impersonator.  Horwitz, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is also the author several other literary travelogues including Blue Latitudes:  Boldly Going Where Captain Cook Has Gone Before.

Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson
Bryson, a master raconteur, recounts his humorously poignant, final tour of Britain, mostly by foot and by rail, just prior to returning Stateside after living in England for a number of years.  Bryson is a prolific writer with great comic wit whose booklist includes the wonderful A Walk in the Woods:  Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail.

Candy Freak:  A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America - Steve Almond
A slightly edgy, humorous memoir-travelogue of the author's quest for elusive sweeties.
Click to visit Steve Almond's website.

Assassination Vacation - Sarah Vowell
Vowell, an NPR This American Life contributor's, comic/noir take on pilgrimages to the sites of presidental assassinations.

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Keep on Tech Trekkin': Yammer On

In the year since I participated in Tech Trek, Web 2.0 technologies have exploded.  Barack Obama's amazing electorial success was due in part to the use of a MySpace-clone website, which helped build an extremely dynamic ground campaign.  This landmark use of technology in American politics underscores the way that web applications have become customizable conduits between individuals and/or organizations that allow for rapid communication and response. 

The latest app that I'm playing with is Yammer.  Yammer is basically a microblogging service (like Twitter) with a business app.  I heard about Yammer on NPR's tech segment, signed up, and coaxed a couple of co-workers into signing up, who coaxed some other coworkers into signing up.  It is fun and easy to use (IMHO) and useful, according to the NPR segment, because it cuts down on email by letting people in the business or organization that uses it know what other folks within the org are doing in real time (like Twitter does with friends). 

You sign onto Yammer with your work email and it connects everyone whose work emails have the same ending.  Unlike Facebook and other public social-networking web apps, only your co-workers can see your Yammer posts.  This cuts down on exposure to distracting, non-work related posts and keeps everyone focused on company business while staying connected.  Very cool.

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