(Photo by Valeriia Miller on Unsplash)
168 hours, 10,080 minutes and 604,800 seconds have gone by in what seems like a blur! We the acolytes to two seemingly innocuous yet omniscient hands of a clock go about our chores and ply our wares unheeding of the consequences birthed by the clock. But we still have had our moments. So, here’s encapsulating the sights, sounds, and sensations of a week gone by:
Book of the Week
They were a crack team, the visionary, and the artist. While one conceived what seemed like ideas straight up the alley of magical realism, the other brought such aspirations to fruition with a combination of exceptional intuition and delectable artisanship. The designer, the Ying to the diviner’s yang. Together, Steve Jobs and Jony Ive transformed Apple from yet another occupant in the technology ecosystem into a monolith that captured the imagination of the world. And in the process, the sorcerer and his apprentice also made their brand the most valuable in the world of unforgiving capitalism.
However, as Tripp Mickle, a tech reporter based in San Francisco, demonstrates in his compelling and meticulously researched work, After Steve: How Apple Became a Trillion Dollar Company and Lost Its Soul, the untimely demise of arguably one the most imaginative and innovative personalities ever to have graced the domain of Information Technology, also brought in its unfortunate wake changes to an organisation whose uncompromising Mantra was ingenuity. The Sorcerer was now replaced by a successor whose functioning was based on the dependable yet staid crucible of logic.
The entire review may be accessed at:
Article/Longform Article/Blogpost of the Week:
How Bookshop.org Survives—and Thrives—in Amazon’s World by Kate Knibbs writing for the Wired Magazine
(Image Credit: http://www.wired.com)
Over a Dogfish Head IPA in an Airbnb, Andy Hunter ruminated about the existential threat faced by small, independent bookstores as a result of the rampaging growth of Amazon. Was there a way of redemption for these endangered book stores? The result of such an introspection – Bookshop.org, a website that partners with the wholesale Ingram to fulfill orders of the independent book stores. All that the stores need to do is set up a digital storefront on Bookshop.org.
The complete article may be accessed at: How Bookshop.org Survives—and Thrives—in Amazon’s World | WIRED
Song of the Week
Walk Around The Moon by The Dave Matthews Band
(Image Credit: music.youtube.com)
Meditating on concepts such as mortality – a probable offshoot of the COVID-19 pandemic – The Dave Matthews Band sacrifices flamboyance and flair for profundity and sobriety. The title track (named after the title of the album) is a mesmerising conglomeration of trumpet, saxophones and Hammond organs.
Podcast/Talk of the Week:
Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world’s coldest places? – A TED Talk featuring Normand Voyer, a molecular prospector
(Image Credit: http://www.gardennerdy.com)
Normand Yoyer plumbs the cold, isolated and breathtaking frigid landscapes of the Canadian North seeking out mysterious molecular treasures found in plants that call this frigid environ, home. For all we know, the next miracle drug for defeating cancer may be contained within the molecular structures embedded within the humble Stereocaulon Paschale!
The entire talk may be accessed at: Normand Voyer: Are life-saving medicines hiding in the world’s coldest places? | TED Talk
Movie/Show/Series of the Week
(Image Credit: http://www.youtube.com)
The magician Christopher Nolan is at it again and by Jove, how! “Oppenheimer’ chronicles the achievements, fragilities and foibles of the pioneer of the Manhattan Project and the brainchild behind the atomic bomb, Robert J. Oppenheimer. The successful fission that led to the decimation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is tempered by the fissure that emanates in the father of the atom bomb as he realises the wanton destrcution that could be wreaked upon an unsuspecting world by an indiscreet use of the most powerful weapon of its time.
Cillian Murphy as the tortured genius Oppenheimer, puts in the performance of his life. Robert Downey Jr as the wily and vengeful Lewis Strauss is the epitome of effortlessness while Matt Damon as Lieutenant General Leslie Groves punches beyond his weight. Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer is the perfect foil for Murphy. Undoubtedly, the movie of the year – thus far!
Quote of the Week
(Image Credit: http://www.manhattanprojectvoices.org)
“It is a profound and necessary truth that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they are found because it was possible to find them.” – Robert J. Oppenheimer
