Links, November 2010

Spacelog

Read the stories of early space exploration from the original NASA transcripts.

Brilliant idea and execution. (Via Jeremy Keith.)

Nov. 30, 2010 NASA space

Animated Films for Grown-Ups

Preach it, Mr. Baldwin, preach it.

Nov. 29, 2010 animation movies

The James Franco Project

Sam Anderson:

James Franco will not stop bouncing around.

Nice profile. He was great in 127 Hours.

Nov. 23, 2010 jamesfranco movies profiles

Steve, Don’t Eat It!

I’ll never complain about cafeteria food again.

Nov. 23, 2010 food

Miami Heat Lose Again, Fall to 8-6

A bad loss at home to the Pacers. Eat it, Van Gundy.

Scott Raab’s next dispatch should be good.

Nov. 22, 2010 basketball sports

Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction

Matt Richtel, for the New York Times:

On the eve of a pivotal academic year in Vishal Singh’s life, he faces a stark choice on his bedroom desk: book or computer?

The problem: Most people don’t like being challenged in an area of non-interest, even if the struggle and new perspectives are good for them. That’s why Vishal can spend eight hours, almost entirely uninterrupted, editing videos, but can’t be bothered to write a short economics essay.

Someone has to moderate. The rule in my house on school nights was homework first. It had to be done before I could watch TV or play a computer game, and someone could kick me off the PC if he or she needed the machine. The result: my siblings and I got good grades and still had plenty of time for fun. But giving kids unlimited access to distractions—regardless of the medium—has always been a bad idea. They won’t learn self-moderation unless someone teaches them, and they’ll never see that what gratifies in the short term so often has little value in the end.

Nov. 21, 2010 education

Wrigleyville Classic

Northwestern hosts Illinois tomorrow in the first football game at Wrigley since 1970.

I’ll be there, of course. NU at my favorite ballpark in the world? No way I’d miss it.

Nov. 19, 2010 football northwestern sports

Today

Jonathan Harris:

One photo a day, beginning on my 30th birthday.

He’s been at it for more than a year now. The photos are always stunning, but the writing is even better.

Update: And, of course, he shuttered the project just a few days after this was posted. Go forth to the archive!

Nov. 8, 2010 photography storytelling