Category Archives: Best Of

Justus Rosenberg on rescuing victims of the Nazis

By Doug | Published: January 19, 10

Justus Rosenberg was the youngest member of the team led by Varian Fry that rescued some of Europe's most famous artists, writers, and intellectuals who had taken refuge in France prior to the Nazi occupation.
I studied linguistics under Dr. Rosenberg at The New School in the Fall of 2008. This video tell his story from the 1940's, and in the post I tell a little story shared between us that fall.

Also posted in Institutional Conformity | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

myMFA – A two year writer’s development program

By Doug | Published: January 11, 10

A few months ago a writing pal passed along a link to Dennis Cass’ post discussing his version of an idealized MFA program, an alternative MFA. Cass’ point of view was that traditional MFA curriculums were filed with blanks, specifically outside of craft development, as done through workshops, and outside (perhaps) literary criticism, as done through massive reading work.

This struck a cord with me, it sounded about right, so I went off and built one of my own, what I call myMFA, it’s outlined in detail, along with the schedule of how I implemented it in 2009 and 2010, after the jump…

Also posted in Productivity, Writing | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

File System Infobase Manager

By Doug | Published: August 31, 09

I've posted a complete outline of my File System Based Info Manager. It's the tool I use to manage all my writing, notes, reference material, bibliographies, and records. It's based on Alex Payne's architecture ideas, Noguchi Yukio's organizational systems, and input from my pals over on the Scrivener Forums.

So far it is one of the most popular posts on dougist.com.

Also posted in Productivity, Web 2.0, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Sharon Mesmer for Brooklyn Poet Laureate

By Doug | Published: June 26, 09

Sharon Mesmer is on the short list for the next Brooklyn Poet Laureate to succeed Ken Siegelman.

It really isn’t a contest is it? She has to get the nod.

In a story Gene Kuntzman did for the The Brooklyn Paper he wrote: Sharon Mesmer

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blockquote>"Mesmer will get the vote of anyone who likes a randy dame who’s not afraid to write poems with titles like “Annoying Diabetic Bitch” and “Holy Mother of Monkey Poo.”

“If anyone is suggesting me [as poet laureate], it must be because I slept around so much,” she said. But she’s being modest: Mesmer, who studied under Allen Ginsberg, teaches at the New School and, this fall, at Brooklyn College.

Also posted in Around Town, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Email as ToDo List

By Doug | Published: June 21, 09

David Pogue, the Technology Editor at the New York Times, has caused a stir with his last email update. In it he described a short list of his productivity secrets and to the gasps of GTD/David Allen proselytes the world over he declared that he uses his email inbox as his todo list.

I thought I heard the followers of Merlin Mann and his 43 Folders InboxZero program clutch their collective chests.

I joined in by posting...

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blockquote>I love todo list so much I had dozens - Omnifocus, iGTD, iCal, Things, legal pads, 3x5 cards, all of it. Then I relized the wonder of the one inbox, and I have made my email that box. Like Pogue, anything that comes in is filed, replied to, or tossed a la basic GTD principles. What is left over are todo/project emails.

The problem with using the inbox...

Also posted in Productivity, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Drag Over Violence on 24th Street

By Doug | Published: March 25, 09

West 24th Street. It’s not even a street, or at least it wasn’t till recently. Around 1970, it was an old alleyway, off 11th Avenue, left over from the better violence of 23rd or 14th street. Even 27th had more action, with at least a bar or two for the Irish toughs to bust each other’s heads. But on 24th, nothing. At best it was the place for a drag away crime. In other words the assault occurred on 23rd and the victim was dragged over to a building on 24th for the slow completion of man’s love against man.

Today, that is oh, so different. Now in gallery after gallery, 24th street can, in a proud moment, claim to be a center of the modern art world, such as it is in the depression of 2009. After a few - how many, too many - Martinis this afternoon, I decided that no, a nap was not appropriate, but a slip out the back door of my apartment to the street that girdles my block was better. Just one block, just one stretch, that even with the Gagosian closed for rehanging (of the fabulous, shamed that you missed it, Piero Manzoni, exhibit) still has more, and better, art than all the halls of the Whitney, shame on them. This was how I would spend my afternoon...

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