tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76431293511092916012012-02-03T11:52:17.245-08:00author and journalistDavid Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.comBlogger1861100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-23826222816330527802012-02-03T11:41:00.000-08:002012-02-03T11:41:38.846-08:00

What an absolutely dizzying few weeks it has been. Working furiously on a project for the New York Times website, a feature for Nature, the ceaseless onslaught that is book launch prep, and--fingers crossed--a longer essay landing in a major publication just about when the book comes out (Feb 14). Now it's vacation time. Nicola, young Spencer, and I are outta here tomorrow, unplugging for much of

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-88358380676138572322012-02-03T11:24:00.000-08:002012-02-03T11:47:28.254-08:00

Huge news! Amazon has put The End of Money in the No.3 slot for it's list of the 10 Best Books of the Month. Huge honor. Here's the Amazon review: Say good-bye to your beloved Benjamins, because the world is going cashless. So says David Wolman, and in The End of Money, he explores the drastic implications. How is it happening? What's at stake? Why does it matter? Each chapter of this timely

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-18441827988148480272012-01-28T14:50:00.000-08:002012-02-03T11:26:26.001-08:00

From Publishers Weekly Money is a hot topic--Wired magazine contributing editor Wolman observes that it is paradoxically something we think about "always and never." Tangible cash, on the other hand, is something "we think we know." However, Wolman believes that physical cash will soon cease to be. He explores this compelling possibility by talking with a number of fascinating characters, such as

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-29631490612325338082012-01-23T20:00:00.000-08:002012-01-23T20:00:02.986-08:00

(My latest for Wired magazine is now live) From the highway, one of the biggest landfills in the US doesn’t look at all like a dump. It’s more like a misplaced mesa. Only when you drive closer to the center of operations at the 700-acre Columbia Ridge Landfill in Arlington, Oregon, does the function of this place become clear. Some 35,000 tons of mostly household trash arrive here weekly by

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-89393792138774972642012-01-22T20:15:00.000-08:002012-01-22T20:15:00.777-08:00

(My latest for Outside mag.) IN APRIL 2010, Bud Sturmak, director of the investment-and-consulting firm RLP Capital, was at his Manhattan apartment when he heard something about an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. It would be weeks before the nation grasped the full magnitude of the Deepwater Horizon spill, but as the nightmare unfolded, Sturmak quickly realized he needed to get

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-2403252940404090492012-01-04T08:56:00.000-08:002012-01-04T08:56:02.568-08:00

This image of a euro-mocking mock euro made its way to me via a Facebook Wall post from a friend in Italy. I haven't yet found the person who came up with it. If that's you (and you can prove it), send me a note!

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-32930369626347710852011-12-28T09:27:00.000-08:002011-12-28T14:23:53.814-08:00

Kirkus Reviews likes The End of Money! "Alternating between in-depth reporting and personal rumination, Wired contributing editor Wolman (Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling, 2008, etc.) tries to figure out what a cashless society would mean and whether it is an idea whose time has come.The author decided to live without spending cash

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-37349864518128731712011-12-27T21:11:00.000-08:002011-12-27T21:11:09.980-08:00

Is a universal currency ridiculous? Irresistible? Inevitable? The euro zone maelstrom refuses to end. Thanks to the debt crisis, some Greek officials are contemplating dumping the common currency for the drachma. Meanwhile, Italy and Spain teeter. A decade after the shared currency was heralded as a 21st-century tool for peace and prosperity, it turns out that currency unions aren’t such a hot

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-47440317400682752232011-12-16T07:00:00.000-08:002011-12-16T07:00:00.529-08:00

The winter issue of the Harvard Nieman Reports is just out, and features my essay about what it was like to pitch, report, write, edit, and jazz up "The Instigators" for digital publisher The Atavist.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-60451001664831525782011-12-14T20:42:00.000-08:002011-12-15T10:02:22.573-08:00

Last week Twitter announced that the most popular hashtag of 2011 was #Egypt. #Jan25, a marker for Twittersphere conversations about the revolution, was eighth on the list, just after #superbowl. Cairo and Egypt were also the most tweeted about places of the year. The report reminded me of the following anecdote, which I reported in "The Instigators," as well as the broader point I tried to

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-39539723014664876002011-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:002011-11-30T09:00:50.314-08:00

happy with this:

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-88677944322189256132011-11-13T13:29:00.000-08:002011-11-14T09:13:44.735-08:00

I like it when seemingly disparate topics unexpectedly cross paths. To a certain extent, Egypt's revolution and money have always been interconnected; deteriorating economic prospects for young Egyptians was always a core motivation among the activists I've been writing about, and it's one of those universal grievances that helped draw people into Tahrir Square (and, for that matter, Zuccotti

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-18596051596376143082011-10-25T10:58:00.000-07:002011-10-25T10:58:32.647-07:00

Mothers of the RevolutionAn emotional meeting for two Egyptian women, each of whom lost a son to Egyptian forces. (photo: Beshoy Fayez) by David Wolman for GlobalPost (October 23, 2011) CAIRO — The two mothers embraced in mourning. They both wore black veils. They are both Egyptian citizens who believe in a higher power. And they both have sons who are now dead — killed by Egypt’s

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-20033319189832853212011-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:002011-10-18T08:00:05.662-07:00

It has been an excellent time here in Flagstaff for the National Association of Science Writers meeting. My friend Emily Sohn and I hosted a panel Saturday with some top-notch journalists, discussing the pros and cons of specialization. Here is how one attendee summarized the conversation: Having a specialization pays off By Kathleen O’NeilMany freelance writers start off as generalists and,

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-67198766809745350622011-10-17T11:03:00.000-07:002011-10-17T11:03:28.346-07:00

David Wolman spent time with the April 6 Movement well before it reached critical mass.Stephanie RiceOctober 14, 2011 06:04Wired magazine contributing editor David Wolman at the Open Hands Initiative / GlobalPost 'Covering a Revolution' seminar in Cairo, October 2011. (Kim Badawi/GlobalPost)CAIRO — The revolution began as a failure. At least that’s how it seemed on a sun-scorched summer day in

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-54684366265854868042011-10-12T04:54:00.000-07:002011-10-12T04:54:54.710-07:00

I just heard from some folks at Stanford that my story "Accidental Wilderness" was awarded "special recognition" for an environmental writing prize. This article is getting some nice attention (see here also), which is great because I really liked reporting and writing it. The world is complicated, and thriving wildlife at Hanford seems to me an elegant illustration of that inescapable truth.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-91181012532521363742011-10-06T19:45:00.000-07:002011-10-06T19:45:10.478-07:00

Ran into these folks this afternoon in downtown Portland. Almost as interesting is watching the Twitter streams for #OccupyPortland, #OccupyWallStreet, and others--at night. This is when one of the secret powers of social media manifests itself. Those who aren't camped out remain connected, not just to that sense of solidarity they felt, but also to the reasons they went out there to march in the

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-20001528246266375782011-09-20T08:29:00.000-07:002011-09-20T08:29:18.313-07:00

October is looking awesome. I'm excited for the "Leaks, Tweets and Deletes" panel October 1 at the Multnomah County Library. Then it's Wordstock on the 8th, again here in Portland, where I will be giving a talk on ways to turn a subject into a story. Two days later I jet to Cairo for a fantastic journalism event, put together by the Open Hands Initiative and GlobalPost. I will only be there a

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-2536157812485672152011-08-11T16:25:00.000-07:002011-08-30T08:07:34.148-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I scrambled the jets in time to submit to Longshot magazine's issue #2. Theme: debt. It'll be fun to see what the hard copy of the magazine looks like, but the digital version is looking pretty cool, and it includes an impressive lineup of contributors. Andrew Sullivan recently served up my piece to his Daily Dish readers, which is always fun. What will be more interesting

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-50531807633528892372011-08-09T14:07:00.000-07:002011-08-09T14:07:35.672-07:00

I'm happy to report that my story about the Hanford nuclear reservation, "Accidental Wilderness," was just recognized by the Society for Environmental Journalism for outstanding in-depth reporting. Check it out here. I couldn't have done it without the help of US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Heidi Newsome (pictured).

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-63352096799496834182011-07-27T08:30:00.000-07:002011-07-27T08:30:26.536-07:00

Here's my latest for Wired.com, although I'm really just the conduit. It's about what may have caused the Air France 447 crash. Be sure to check out the comments section. One of the more engaging--and trolls-free--conversation strings I've seen in a long time. It also shows that Autopia is popular among aviation junkies.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-71986873152573312422011-07-08T13:27:00.000-07:002011-07-08T15:25:04.215-07:00

Has the name Tahrir become a kind of shorthand for people power? Or maybe freedom? My friend Waleed Rashed of the April 6 Youth thinks so, and has been tweeting almost those exact words from Tahrir Square today, which looked like this, despite scorching temperatures: One of the main Facebook pages advertising this demonstration had this brilliant profile picture.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-6085094588393587992011-06-29T11:30:00.000-07:002011-06-29T11:30:37.746-07:00

The end is in sight for The End of Money manuscript. I'm currently incorporating some of the last, and invariably smart, editing suggestions from my editor at Da Capo, Lissa Warren, as well as friends Anthony Effinger, Andy Jordan, Oakley Brooks, Frederick Reimers, Julian Smith, and the secret weapon: Dan Wolman. It's out of my hands and off to production August 1.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-38684166495403509732011-06-14T09:05:00.000-07:002011-06-26T13:33:33.123-07:00

Check out this infographic. It was created by my friend, Erik Steiner, who is the creative director at Stanford's Spatial History Project. The spread is an accompaniment to my feature story about Egypt's revolution, published last month by The Atavist.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-67728073337936539862011-05-26T10:32:00.000-07:002011-05-26T10:32:20.557-07:00

I recently found what is possibly the best explanation for why we travel that I've ever seen. The article, by New Yorker ace Burkhard Bilger, is about a neuroscientist's research into how the brain perceives time. The piece contains little, if any, discussion about travel per se. Yet when I read this passage, I immediately thought about what it means to go places. One of the seats of emotion

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-44873022765492884912011-05-17T07:02:00.000-07:002011-05-17T09:27:41.870-07:00

I got a sneak peak the other day at this report on mobile banking. It's published by the World Economic Forum. (That's right: the same people who never invite me to their shindig in Davos because they know I would embarrass them on the slopes.) It's hard not to be optimistic about how mobile phones can promote financial inclusion, help people save money, and combat poverty. This subject is

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-85669185469539787732011-05-04T13:00:00.000-07:002011-06-06T20:29:32.559-07:00

My 10,000-word mega-feature about Ahmed Maher, Egypt's April 6 Youth, the #Jan25 Revolution is finally out! Please pick it up. Read it. Review it. Share it. Tweet about it. Meanwhile, here is one small scene that I liked, but that didn't make the final edit:  That evening [March 18, 2011], as Maher and I headed down Talaat Harb Street, Maher bumped into Moaz Abdel Karim, a 29-year-old member

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-65645541664155032252011-03-30T14:09:00.000-07:002011-03-30T14:09:11.452-07:00

These stickers are designed just like Egyptian license plates, but they commemorate Day No.1 of the revolution. And they are ubiquitous! I'm finishing up the first draft of a story about one of the organizers of the revolution. The piece is for the Atavist. If you haven't heard of it, you will soon. In short: a fantastic new model for publishing long-form journalism and creative nonfiction. Do

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-25503522067924620012011-02-11T11:12:00.000-08:002011-03-10T14:25:41.066-08:00

Thanks to a Wikileaked cable dated December 30, 2008, we have further evidence that the US was supporting and encouraging young Egyptian dissidents who wanted to change their country. That isn't new. What's new is that the State Department simultaneously viewed the young activists as quixotic, and dismissed the claim that opposition groups were sketching a plan to oust the regime before the

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-35922860039267015692011-02-09T12:00:00.000-08:002011-03-10T11:59:34.879-08:00

Greetings from the Hudson Hotel in Manhattan. I just finished taping an interview with Frontline for a piece about the Egypt uprising that the producers are hurrying to put together for a segment later this month. I'm flying home in a few hours. I'm also pleased to report that all of the people mentioned in the note below have been released from police custody, according to two sources so far.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-38517936320138329042011-02-04T00:02:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:02:20.388-08:00

In addition to this Friday-morning update to my post for Wired.com's Danger Room Here is the latest arrest info I have. This list of names has been confirmed by two sources. Mohamed Adel, of the April 6 Youth Amr Ali, of the April 6 Youth Mohamed Arafat, of the El Baradei Campaign Shady Mohammed, of the April 6 Youth Mohammed Malmy, of the April 6 Youth Mostafa Zaky, of the April 6 Youth

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-73741116194995457302011-02-03T23:42:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:01:38.163-08:00

I wrote a story for Wired three years ago, which has suddenly put me in a position to report and--I hope--accurately relay some information about events on the ground in Cairo, especially as they relate to the tech-savvy dissident group called April 6 Youth. The photo on the left is from that fateful day in 2008, by the beach in Alexandria. Some recent articles I've written or helped report:

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-44093728138995367602011-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:04:02.536-08:00

Found these images in a congressional testimony from a few years ago. It's about North Korea and how super-high-quality counterfeit $100 bills known as supernotes are smuggled into the US. Don't worry: There are only several hundred million such forgeries out there in circulation, compared to nearly $1 trillion worth of Federal Reserve Notes in total. Then again, there are

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-42396619280463918232011-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:002011-03-10T12:04:33.720-08:00

Here is the banner ad I saw while reading this story about the Arizona shooting on local news site AZCentral.com. Where to begin?

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-6048459439633831922011-01-01T19:46:00.000-08:002011-01-02T08:16:02.588-08:00

Disregard the hair. Note the sign. Where are counterfeiters laundering their Benjamins these days? Dumpy ice cream shops at outlet malls in Woodburn, Oregon, apparently. DW: Why don't you take anything bigger than a $20? Server: We get a lot of counterfeits here. DW: No S**t?! Server: Really. Not that I would know if I was holding a fake or not. DW: Therein lies the rub.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-26920019517942995912010-12-15T13:06:00.001-08:002010-12-28T11:58:04.874-08:00

My new heroin is the BBC series, "A History of the World in 100 Objects" (Notice, by the way, how many of the objects are coins or other forms of money.) The segment about the Ming banknote from the fifteenth century is awesome, and right now I'm working on a few paragraphs about it, and about Marco Polo's reaction to paper money, for the beginning of my book. If you don't listen to the whole

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-81417724815211474092010-11-02T08:22:00.000-07:002010-12-29T16:16:05.615-08:00

Last month, media outlets worldwide reported that the release of the new $100 banknote would be postponed, due to a production error that caused fresh bills to come off the presses with a blank spot. The new $100 bill was supposed to enter circulation this February, but the release date has been pushed off until this screw-up can be resolved. That was pretty much the extent of the coverage.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-72592303894426704382010-10-22T13:57:00.000-07:002010-12-29T16:16:20.177-08:00

There you have it. Meanwhile, the US Mint just announced that it has made more than 3 billion coins this year. Ridiculous. PS: My sister snapped this photo for me, in a Chinese food restaurant in New Jersey. Thanks Sarah!

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-15598657597067603662010-09-29T16:58:00.001-07:002010-12-29T16:17:05.966-08:00

Who knew that an Ontario kid named Wesley pretty much single-handedly torpedoed the Canadian $100 bill? On Sunday I'm off to Honolulu to meet a hard-money maniac who took his ideas about this (image below) to the extreme, founded a private currency, ticked off the US Treasury and is now facing federal charges. Should be educational, to say the least.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-27305197956674719642010-09-16T11:08:00.000-07:002010-12-29T16:17:22.041-08:00

You were right to be suspicious of the University of Phoenix and its ilk. When I wrote about diploma mills for Wired last winter, many people encouraged me to scrutinize for-profit colleges and universities. But because of the scope of my story about physics professor George Gollin and his battle against obviously fraudulent operations, in which "students" merely pay for their "degrees," I had

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-13723615020968850162010-09-05T22:05:00.000-07:002010-12-29T16:17:41.744-08:00

What I like about the ATM inside of the pathetic wooden box on a street near my house is that it showcases the absurdity of the cash system and infrastructure we are so accustomed to that most of us don't bother thinking critically about it. Cash is like manhole covers or toenail clippers: tools that don't inspire much re-imagining because they pretty much are what they are. But money is a

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-25752203972647893202010-08-25T08:32:00.000-07:002010-08-25T16:00:57.036-07:00

I am finding this to be a real problem.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-26609050893163653852010-08-24T10:30:00.000-07:002010-08-24T10:49:26.746-07:00

Here's a picture of Sonu Kumar, the young Indian man I interviewed for this MoJo story, which just went live. I don't know about the rest of you, but it's been a while since I've learned of a phrase that sounds as boring as financial inclusion, yet matters as much. Come to think of it, maybe tax gap is another one.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-40145138934627523152010-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:002010-07-26T12:56:17.455-07:00

I don't know if it is as significant as Assange et al suggest, but I am lately in awe of the wikileaks phenomenon. The traffic is so heavy today, I can barely get on the website.What will they be saying about wikileaks 10, or even 30, years from now?

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-21756459354292677182010-06-22T14:29:00.000-07:002010-06-22T14:43:53.258-07:00

In anticipation of the June 28 TEDxOilSpill, check out some of the images from this team of photographers. Grim.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-31390869328536177292010-06-22T06:22:00.000-07:002010-06-22T06:29:36.707-07:00

"Critics of new media sometimes use science itself to press their case, citing research that shows how 'experience can change the brain.' But cognitive neuroscientists roll their eyes at such talk. Yes, every time we learn a fact or skill the wiring of the brain changes; it's not as if the information is stored in the pancreas." Read the rest of this blisteringly good op-ed here.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-62877485208695919662010-05-19T19:25:00.000-07:002010-05-19T19:29:36.600-07:00

Considering James Fallows' recent piece in The Atlantic, I guess Google isn't making us stupid after all. You may recall this piece by Nicholas Carr, also in The Atlantic, followed by my rebuttal in Wired, followed by a rebuttal to the rebuttal... You get the idea.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-33500282080535234472010-05-04T07:32:00.000-07:002010-05-04T07:34:34.447-07:00

Check out my latest story: The advantages of autism - life - 04 May 2010 - New Scientist

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-79668168755995126032010-04-06T20:06:00.001-07:002010-04-06T20:19:11.793-07:00

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-66072882276204240652010-03-18T13:04:00.000-07:002010-03-18T13:12:14.417-07:00

Hat tip to my friend Pete Rowe over at the BreweryRowe blog. And yes, this is a ridiculous photo of me with an uncomplicated beer, taken at Christmas Island a couple of years ago.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-19091607965421228892010-02-16T09:47:00.000-08:002010-02-28T12:27:20.138-08:00

Who knew Bill Johnson now lives in a trailer park in the shadow of Mt. Hood? I'm not really sure why I like this story. The tone is odd. It may be the simple fact that the writer didn't trash a childhood hero of mine. I was only nine years old when Johnson won gold, but I was already gaga for skiing. Come to think of it, the winter of '83-'84 was sort of a magical season of televised sports

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-22410202746005496482010-02-04T18:17:00.000-08:002010-02-04T21:04:53.857-08:00

Although the writing life can send the mind in 20 directions at once, causing both headache and professional heartache, most of the time it makes me feel lucky. This week is case in point, with a goulash of interesting and varied tips, leads, questions and links arriving in my inbox from readers and friends. For starters, I heard from a journalism student, somewhere out there, who wants to

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-17130154259849542922010-02-01T09:07:00.000-08:002010-02-01T09:13:38.083-08:00

A few more ripples from my story about George Gollin and his battle against bogus university credentials. CNN picked up my article (in a rather regurgitated format), as did University World News. More significantly, Congressman Tim Bishop recently proposed federal legislation to close some of the loopholes that benefit diploma mill operators, and he invited Gollin to Washington last week for a

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-19712226425582922982010-01-26T15:37:00.001-08:002010-01-26T15:51:40.562-08:00

Greetings from rainy Reykjavik. Not a lot doing at the bar in the swanky 101 Hotel. For a poignant summary of the crash that crushed Iceland's economy and spirit, take a look at the dozen or so graphic panels here, put together by a local guy and his son.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-55054302887998160782009-12-24T12:57:00.000-08:002009-12-24T13:42:09.598-08:00

Of course it was George Gollin who first noticed this:Hi David,Very amusing (and nearly impossible to prevent): some of the ads that attach to the online version of your story are from diploma mills. There's one for Almeda University (and three of the four graphics for accreditation mills displayed in the ad are for [former] Randock products: CDEA, AIEA, and IEMAA!). Another is for a Rochville

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-45980356358775059812009-12-16T22:13:00.000-08:002009-12-24T12:57:00.545-08:00

Check out my story about bogus university credentials--and the quark jockey who'd hand enough--in the January issue of Wired. I will be posting some other resources about diploma mills in the coming week or two, but for the time being I want to tip my hat to two local television reporters who have done some good sleuthing on this topic. See Sandra Chapman series here, and Wendy Halloran's series

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-3329287337483807772009-11-30T08:00:00.000-08:002009-12-31T07:29:13.812-08:00

Is reason making a comeback? Wishful thinking, I know, but I've seen a few hopeful and memorable glimmers of late. The first comes from my local supermarket. New Seasons Market here in Portland is an uppity and altogether terrific place to load up on fuel for humans. A few months ago, the stores began selling New Seasons brand milk. This development would be wholly uninteresting if not for the

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-66486574946489073752009-11-21T11:15:00.000-08:002009-11-30T06:28:30.373-08:00

It had been months since my last book reading, but I managed to dive back into the world of orthography without much difficultly last week at the Miami Book Fair. I read alongside two masters of the craft (writing, that is, not orthography), Roy Blount Jr. and Thomas Mallon. Mallon read hilariously mushy excerpts of letters from President Woodrow Wilson, written to his sweetheart while Wilson was

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-89096599352811582032009-10-30T22:58:00.000-07:002009-10-30T22:58:00.563-07:00

OK, so it's not an interview with Oprah herself (also a lefty!) But I did just learn of this article about handedness and children on Oprah.com, with a nice shout out to my book. The piece isn't much, and the assertion that lefties think differently because the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body--and v.v--is as nauseating as ever (see book or talk to any scientist for

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-60352865579115049012009-10-29T09:39:00.000-07:002009-10-29T10:53:05.790-07:00

First of all, my brother is powerful. Well, both of my brothers are powerful, really, because one is a whip-smart lawyer and the other is an administrator at a swishy private school. But the latter one is, according to GQ at least, very powerful. I suppose I already knew this his day-to-day involves a lot of people ingratiating themselves with him. Still, I had never bothered to dub this position

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-79854633066775312382009-10-09T11:13:00.000-07:002009-10-09T11:20:31.270-07:00

An engineer in the Netherlands just pointed me toward the Rising Tides competition for fresh ideas about how San Francisco might respond to rising sea level in and around the Bay. Eye candy for any of us interested in the intersection of design, engineering, climate, environment, urban planning--pretty much everything. Except maybe bowling.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-28292819852463637812009-09-28T16:12:00.000-07:002009-09-28T16:22:24.699-07:00

BASW '09 is here and I'm pleased to report that a story of mine is included in the collection. Righting the Mother Tongue, as far as I know, will not be anthologized in any forthcoming editions of Best American Spelling Writing, but at least it'll get some renewed time in the spotlight when it comes out in paperback in March. More on that when I know more.Meanwhile, I have been a dad now for

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-48321377465391027522009-08-24T08:38:00.000-07:002009-08-24T08:38:00.187-07:00

Stories exist on a continuum. In journalism, we sometimes overlook this fact, I think, because of a longing for originality coupled with rather short time horizons. Check out the recent Wall Street Journal piece about Scotts Miracle-Gro and the company's effort to develop more effective--but green--lawn care products. Compare that with my 2006 story for Wired about the company's pugnacious CEO

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-7674824971457577752009-08-21T08:03:00.000-07:002009-08-21T08:38:21.907-07:00

I wrote this op-ed for the Oregonian 3 weeks ago, arguing in support of the recall. The response to the piece has been little more than a whisper, which doesn't bode very well for the recall campaigners. Nevertheless, I want to share a snippet from a recent conversation. It was with an intelligent local professional who disagrees with me about this issue. Some of his reasons were familiar and

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-32605463811197119202009-07-25T13:48:00.000-07:002009-07-25T13:48:00.292-07:00

I need to make a quick shout out for my friend Heather's website, Science & Religion Today. Yes, she's my friend, which makes this an overt plug. But the website is elegant and filled with good content. It's especially useful for people like me, who sometimes, rather hastily, think science and religion are like oil and water--they don't mix, and that's a good thing. Yet the truth is that they do

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-38650880319480911132009-07-22T11:36:00.000-07:002009-07-22T11:36:00.524-07:00

This is from a Japanese news item that I saw last month. (And you thought internet video was impressive.)Internet users can already listen to streaming music while viewing other sites, but NTT Communications Corp. wants to entertain the sense of smell as well, using a technology it has dubbed Fragrance Communication. The company will begin field trials on a pair of Internet-based services this

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-89113271953548527992009-07-20T13:12:00.001-07:002009-07-20T16:52:39.772-07:00

Is the fate of journalism really so ominous? This mock charity ad a friend sent me sums up the feeling within the biz.For newspapers, Buy One Anyway feels just about right. But here and there for journalism as a whole, there are glimmers of hope. GlobalPost, which I wrote about earlier, is of interest, although it's not exactly new to imagine (read: wish) that people will want to pay for good

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-20244214223989908782009-06-30T17:00:00.000-07:002009-06-30T17:14:42.555-07:00

From the Materials Research Society:Sucker Rings of Squid Tentacles--The individual toothed sucker rings of squid tentacles (highlighted in red) provide additional gripping power during prey capture and handling. These rings comprise a nanoscale network of parallel tubular elements, as shown in the background image which significantly alter the macromechanical properties of the resulting

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-36259300937993876512009-06-15T12:07:00.000-07:002009-06-15T15:24:13.912-07:00

I don't Twitter (yet). But when Twitter and similar technologies help deliver vital info to the world, it makes the those who think Twitter-esque trends are trivial sound stunningly out of touch. Months ago, the example I spent a lot of time researching was Facebook in Egypt. Another prime example: updates from Mumbai during the terrorist attacks. Today it's Iran. Here's a sample, courtesy of

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-73319437247045066442009-06-05T07:00:00.000-07:002009-06-05T07:00:00.734-07:00

For those of you who know or know of my sister-in-law, Sareana, I wanted to let you know that she's doing well. She lives in Colorado now, and is getting stronger by the day. She's also involved in the Relay for Life. If you have a moment, please visit her site--and consider contributing. Thanks.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-81462732113004418202009-06-02T13:55:00.000-07:002009-06-02T14:06:38.088-07:00

Who says press releases have to be a snooze? Here's the top of a recent gem:April 23, 2009 -- Deteriorating screws in bridges, fish that listen in the dark, medical devices that use sound to treat disease, the detected comeback of a long-gone whale, the sound of hyenas, cheese, and bagpipes, and what evolution can teach us about cowardice. These are just a few of the topics that will be covered

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-63955075160061566542009-05-28T14:36:00.000-07:002009-06-02T14:18:15.938-07:00

I don't know whether these are really Saddam Hussein's guns, but a friend in Egypt just forwarded me this and other images describing them as such. The guns, and especially their constituent gold, provide a (weak) segue to an update about my recent essay in Wired, in which I discuss killing paper and coin currency. The reader response has been tremendous. Some people enjoyed the piece and found

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-37174115592802210112009-04-28T05:56:00.000-07:002009-04-28T15:32:11.014-07:00

Are GlobalPost and True/Slant the way of the journalism world? Maybe, but last time I checked, a True/Slant contributor was lifting all but a few sentences of content from the likes of Wired.com.(My blog is also populated primarily by links and little connector thoughts, but at least it's not advertised as anything more.) My initial reaction is that it's not clear just how different these

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-19851861399194705242009-04-09T15:54:00.000-07:002009-04-10T10:48:05.818-07:00

Good writing is about much more than a slick sentence or smart turn of phrase. Yet sometimes a turn can be so impressive that it knocks you out of your chair. Here are a few I ran across this week.It's the sort of place [hotel] bankers stay because they think it's where the artists stay. -- Michael Lewis writing in Vanity Fair[Freedom] means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-75727358597264842322009-03-07T10:54:00.000-08:002009-03-07T11:26:59.948-08:00

It's almost as if Iceland has become the epicenter for GFC tourism--that's Global Financial Crisis, at least among journalists at big-name pubs. It's a fascinating story, and I followed Andy Jordan's pieces (and Facebook photos), reported for the Wall Street Journal. Now the magazine heavies are weighing in, and the pileup contributes to that nagging suspicion that originality in this business is

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-18119708932361304352009-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:002009-03-07T11:14:31.800-08:00

Friend and fellow writer Brian Eule has a terrific new book out this week. Kirkus Reviews calls it "highly informative" and "compelling." Pre-order it now and tell your friends Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors Meanwhile, get the skinny on sodium in Emily Sohn's latest for the LA Times.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-40202812945443099782009-02-27T08:52:00.000-08:002009-03-01T11:30:55.783-08:00

One thing that's exciting about the application of evolutionary biology methods to linguistics is that we can sharpen our understanding of just how the language has changed through time--and will continue changing tomorrow. This recent piece from England describes how some of the Oldest English words have been identified, thanks to the use of computational analysis of ancient texts, and this

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-21797389429052150722009-02-24T08:41:00.000-08:002009-02-24T08:58:41.742-08:00

And on a completely different note, here's a note from a good friend in Iceland. If you think the US economy is in trouble... And this friend isn't even hurting as badly as many others in Iceland, Ireland and other countries of Europe that don't begin with i.We're hanging on just now thank you. S and her husband are moving to the US at the end of February. F (hubby) was born there--

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-20046094602182102572009-02-14T15:14:00.000-08:002009-02-14T16:36:17.300-08:00

By what magic does she softly say my name and in so doing restore me to myself?-- from Straight Man, by Richard Russo

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-35977105882207440292009-01-31T06:56:00.000-08:002009-01-31T07:05:16.316-08:00

I'm not even a "Battlestar Galactica" watcher, but I was cc'd on this email between two friends the other day, after a dinner conversation that involved a little BSG.I was thinking about bsg (Battlestar Galactica to the uninitiated) while driving home. It dawned on me that I have thus far missed one of the most obvious cultural/political allegories in the series: The humans hail from twelve

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-46827811350961057792009-01-25T13:38:00.001-08:002009-01-25T13:39:17.148-08:00

Fear not the double bird strike.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-86920947381516842782009-01-21T06:44:00.000-08:002009-01-21T07:00:40.383-08:00

Just as another left-hander sits down to work in the Oval Office, the laterality research community is in the midst of a veritable dustup. The controversy? Whether or not a group of British researchers found a gene that is responsible for left-handedness. If you're daring enough to dig into the debate, read this editorial commentary by McManus et al. and watch the sparks fly!What do I think? It's

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-2348117569447810392009-01-07T08:15:00.000-08:002009-01-07T08:15:00.506-08:00

2008 was an astoundingly busy year. Christmas Island. The Netherlands. Tofino, B.C. Egypt. (Tube up my nose to pump my stomach after Egypt.) Majorca. Montreal. The Dolomites. And of course, book launch and tour. But the year ended with a life-changing event much closer to home. In late-November, my sister-in-law, Sareana, was diagnosed with brain cancer. Out of the blue. Scary as hell. She has

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-79270200076563006162009-01-02T09:39:00.000-08:002009-01-05T14:16:31.738-08:00

Some places I would return to in a heartbeat. Here's one: US Airways Magazine » Dolomites of Italy

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-15222042903536708012008-12-24T10:57:00.000-08:002009-01-05T14:48:52.422-08:00

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-82814000363004346822008-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:002008-12-23T06:00:29.270-08:00

Happy Hannika!Growing up in a sporadically practicing Jewish family, I harbored a quiet animosity toward Hanukkah. I know what you're thinking: What's not to like about Hanukkah? Eight crazy nights of loot compared to Christmas' paltry one; potato pancakes and chocolate coinage to offset the seven-month aftertaste of April's gefilte fish; and no schlepping to synagogue to atone for stolen

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-4619737252114037872008-12-20T17:06:00.001-08:002009-01-05T14:49:19.824-08:00

Google’s Gatekeepers - NYTimes.com

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-62228185674814678262008-12-20T17:06:00.000-08:002009-01-05T14:50:15.501-08:00

Online Jihadists Plan for 'Invading Facebook' | Danger Room from Wired.com

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-61756163553729507342008-12-20T13:10:00.000-08:002008-12-21T15:20:07.475-08:00

The other day, President-elect Barack Obama said: "President Bush graciously invited Michelle and I to meet with him and first lady Laura Bush." Not surprisingly, grammar jockeys were quick to seize upon Mr. Obama's wording as yet another example of the degradation of correct English. I must confess that I, too, cringed at Mr. Obama's grammatical misstep. In my head, booming in surround

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-67440450003252279642008-12-20T06:38:00.000-08:002008-12-20T06:39:31.905-08:00

Left-handed people are more inhibited - being-human - 03 November 2008 - New ScientistHmm.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-91881174831997460502008-12-11T20:11:00.000-08:002008-12-11T20:16:40.903-08:00

is that the water's right there. And rising.How will Venice's underwater dam work? - By Jacob Leibenluft - Slate

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-63556626556146515272008-11-30T18:53:00.001-08:002008-12-01T16:24:15.635-08:00

(As seen In my NY Times today, as part of the DB's holiday ad blitz.)How dumb do they think you are?

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-41001936507424198332008-11-28T14:54:00.000-08:002008-11-28T15:38:18.608-08:00

Books about English are a publishing industry mainstay. Yes, that is a little scary for me, author of a little ditty about spelling. The competition is fierce. On the other hand, it's reaffirming to know that so many authors and readers are eager to embrace, explore and celebrate English words in all their idiosyncratic glory. A quick scan of new titles not called Righting the Mother Tongue that

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-63413775060247026892008-11-16T07:09:00.000-08:002008-11-16T07:09:00.311-08:00

Sometimes the best thing about the Web is that just-right occasional find, accompanied by a sharp quip, forwarded by a friend you haven't heard from in a while. Here's one from Won in San Francisco, titled "Delicious Semiology.""Sometimes, a photo captures the imagination with such concision and poetry, that words seem apologetic. If, as the cliche goes, a picture is worth a thousand words,

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-9661837822987719082008-11-15T07:00:00.000-08:002008-11-15T07:00:00.678-08:00

You may have seen that Los Angeles recently ran a massive rehearsal for the Big One. The event reminds me of this terrorist attack simulation drill I took part in last year. Eerie and surreal.Aside from the fact that this image of the fallen books reminds me of John Hersey's masterpiece, Hiroshima, I thought I'd use it to point out an impressive crowdsourcing project that some Palo Alto futurists

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-53867417400226602032008-11-14T06:35:00.000-08:002008-11-14T06:35:49.171-08:00

California voters approved a $10 billion bond measure to support a high-speed rail system connecting the state's major cities. It was, and remains, a bold move in dismal economic times. But this kind of long-view planning has the potential to slingshot the state into a brighter fiscal future. Well done CA. It's time now for the rest of the US to get on board. The latest country to push ahead with

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-70063802478023941062008-10-31T11:16:00.000-07:002008-10-31T11:21:20.712-07:00

Click here to see Cullen Murphy's write-up about Righting the Mother Tongue in the Wall Street Journal.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-25197307511273717362008-10-29T15:58:00.000-07:002008-11-14T06:17:54.935-08:00

A good photo, plus two worthy videos that recently came across my desk.YouTube - Generation WE : The Movement Begins...YouTube - Charles Meets Barack

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-57856957531843393502008-10-24T15:01:00.000-07:002008-10-24T15:05:24.351-07:00

Click here to see me, talking a little too fast, on a local talk show this morning. Tonight I will be reading at Powell's, which is of course the best bookstore in the solar system.Meanwhile, my story about Facebooking dissidents in Egypt is just out in the new issue of Wired. Read it here and let me know what you think.On the spelling front, the conversations just get better and better. Today an

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7643129351109291601.post-37764033676234420852008-10-20T07:19:00.001-07:002008-10-20T07:37:29.086-07:00

Enuf said.

David Wolmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06421148547674026110noreply@blogger.com0