Valentine’s Day 1979, Revisted

Posted: February 14th, 2010 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Miconian At Large | Comments

I don’t know if they still do this, but when I was in second grade, all the kids gave little paper valentines to all of their classmates, regardless of gender. Our parents would buy them in a plastic bag of 30 or so, and we would write the name of each classmate on the valentine. Although these valentines were sometimes themed according to a popular TV show, they weren’t really cards, because they couldn’t be opened. The point of them was to get the kids familiar with the ritual. It’s Valentine’s Day, you’re a nice person, so you need to give valentines to others. The details can come later. Read the rest of this entry »


The Marshmallow Principle

Posted: February 4th, 2010 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Miconian At Large | Tags: , , | Comments

Every adult, as they watch this video, asks themselves what they would have done if they had been one of the children in this experiment. I can’t be sure, but here are my top choices:

  • I would have eaten the marshmallow.
  • I would have eaten the marshmallow while the experimenter was still in the room giving me instructions.
  • I would have thrown the marshmallow on the ground, stomped on it, and then sat there, glaring angrily at the two-way mirror.
  • I would have held off on eating the marshmallow, motivated purely by my plan to refuse the second marshmallow when it was offered.
  • I would have hidden the marshmallow, hoping to trick the experimenter into thinking that I had eaten it, and bravely foregoing the second marshmallow. Only I would know about my private marshmallow conspiracy.

Instant Messaging And Schizophrenia

Posted: December 24th, 2009 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Miconian At Large | Tags: , , , , , | Comments

Or: Why I’m Blocking You

I’m signed on to AIM, YIM, and gtalk pretty much every waking second. My friends, family, colleagues, collaborators, and business partners are all used to seeing me show up in their buddy lists every time they turn on their own computers.

So, when I block someone, they know.

I block many people, for short and long periods of time, on a regular basis, for a variety of reasons. Read the rest of this entry »


Fashion Shoot At The Holocaust Memorial

Posted: November 30th, 2009 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Miconian At Large | Tags: , , , , | Comments
holocaustfashion

An image from the controversial shoot.

Someone did a fashion shoot in the Holocaust memorial in Berlin. Of course, scandal followed, the magazine pulled it from their website, the airline distributing the magazine pulled the magazine, everybody apologized, etc.

The shoot makes a lot of sense. The memorial in Berlin is a huge tourist destination, especially for American Jews (of which I am one), who like to tell each other that they went there. American Jews are also very fond of telling each other that they went to the Holocaust memorial in any city that has one, such as Jerusalem or Washington, D.C.

Going to Holocaust memorials, and talking about going to Holocaust memorials, carries with it a cultural currency. It’s a cool thing to do. It implies sophistication, education, and a progressive attitude. This is especially true of the memorial in Berlin, the existence of which implies that the world is not the same place it was just a few decades previous. If you are an American Jew, (or even an American non-Jew with Jewish friends), then you can’t travel to Berlin and not go to the Holocaust memorial. No doubt it’s a great place to run into Jewish friends, just like Chinese restaurants and movie theaters are in the Midwest on Christmas day.
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screenwriting omg a/s/l

Posted: November 27th, 2009 | Author: miconian | Filed under: Miconian At Large | Tags: , , | Comments

Note: Some formatting has been simplified for legibility, but all text below was copied and pasted verbatim. All typos that appear here also appeared in the original context.

new york craigslist > manhattan > gigs > writing gigs
Project Screen Writers Wanted! (Midtown)
Date: 2009-11-25, 3:24PM EST
Reply to: xxxx@gmail.com

STREET LINK COMMUNICATIONS
Experienced Screen Writers Wanted!
Development of original projects for movies & video series.
Including drama, comedy, and action projects.
Email resume for more info.

Read the rest of this entry »