This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the "Amen Break," a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music -- a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison's 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip.

YouTube - Video explains the world's most important 6-sec drum loop

The temptation is to dismiss it as a joke. Unfortunately, the tower is too loaded with meaning to dismiss. For better or worse, it will be seen by the world as a chilling expression of how we are reshaping our identity in a post-Sept. 11 context.

Let's just forget about a tower; I could really go for another Botanical Garden.

NYT on the freedom tower

The scattered rubbish and tang of urine made me think of structures closer to home in England - run-down tower blocks and motorway exit ramps, pedestrian underpasses sprung from the drawing boards of enlightened planners who would never have to live in or near them, and who were careful never to stray too far from their Georgian squares in the heart of heritage London.

Or Atlanta. (I really want to know what genius thought up the pedestrian underpass. Have you ever seen a "nice" one?)

Hitler and Stalin were intrigued by modernism, which seemed part of a new world of aviation, radio, public health and mass consciousness.

"This web site needs more AJAX!", they shouted in unison.

Fearing ourselves, we need our illusions to protect us, even if the protection takes the form of finials and cartouches, corinthian columns and acanthus leaves.

Feed me, Agent! Tell me what to read next!

As in the cases of the pyramids and the Taj Mahal, the Siegfried line and the Atlantic wall, death always calls on the very best architects.

JG Ballard on modernists and death

One of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world, Hong Kong has an overall density of nearly 6,700 people per square kilometer. The majority of its citizens live in flats in high-rise buildings. In Architecture of Density, Wolf investigates these vibrant city blocks, finding a mesmerizing abstraction in the buildings' facades.

These are amazing photographs. I wish I could go to the exhibition.

MICHAEL WOLF

Asked what carrots the Europeans had offered as incentives, a European negotiator replied, "There were no carrots."

Hmm ... none? Surely there's at least one, I think.

Flaming Carrot is a very calculatedly surreal character. I'm kind of curious when you got into surrealism and some of its many offshoots.

Flaming Carrot

Fat people hate music.

The average amount of time that Americans spend listening to recorded music annually has dropped significantly over the past 7 years.

... not to mention the appalling decline in the quality of said popular music. I wish I could see the breakdown by artist, across the population. To think of the cumulative lifetimes spent listening to Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Ashlee Simpson, and the rest ...

However, I disagree with the assertion that the quality of "recorded music" has decreased in any meaningful way. The fact that lots of crap is being generated is distinct from the ongoing (but proportionally much smaller) production of excellent music. The disparity should not require explanation; it should be obvious even to the casual observer that it is far easier to churn out crap than to produce great art, regardless of the medium.

Honestly I am surprised by the average figure of 13 hours for "box office." If you go to the PDF source file from the Census Bureau -- which I highly recommend, by the way -- it's quite clear that this refers to "movies in theaters." So this means that the "average American" (NOT to be confused with the "ordinary American") goes to the movie theater only six times a year. How does Hollywood generate the numbers they do? With 55 billion in revenues for 2001, there must be a really long tail on that distribution ...

You'd think that, in addition to all of the gloriously lazy prolonged sitting that's involved, the fat people would be drawn to the super-sized jug of soda and barrel of low-grade popcorn with the "movie theater butter." But the available data seem to show them dining at McDonald's far more often than at the movie theater.

Of course, in a few years, McDonald's will buy Sony, and all will be well again in this world. Just wait for the synergy! The value propositions are outstanding! Why hasn't this happened already? It's crazy!

Recall that total revenues for the entire motion picture industry were at 55 billion. Compare that to these figures, courtesy of supersizeme.com:

* Americans spend more than 110 billion a year on fast food.
* McDonald's represents 43% of the total US fast food market.

So McDonald's alone has annual revenues that rival those of the entire motion picture industry.

Americans tuning out recorded music

A quick, entertaining piece. What M.C. Escher would do with flash.

The Zoom Quilt: A collaborative art project