drupagliassotti @ February 12, 2012 # No Comment Yet
For some time I’ve been editing old status updates and other people’s comments off my Facebook wall, on the theory that most of them are meaningless after a few days or weeks … and because I’m uneasy about the fact that all that data is being preserved and mined by marketers to refine their consumer [...]
drupagliassotti @ August 31, 2011 # One Comment
This is an extended quote from Sherry Turkle, found in part two of the three-part interview Henry Jenkins conducted with her on his blog: Evocative objects are objects that cause us to reflect on ourselves or on other things. Put otherwise, they give us materials that help us to do this in new and richer [...]
drupagliassotti @ February 16, 2011 # No Comment Yet
Is our economy stagnant because there are no easily obtained resources to exploit anymore or because an affluent population has turned from primarily materialistic to primarily ephemeral pursuits? NYT Op-Ed columnist David Brooks asks this question in response to Tyler Cowen’s book The Great Stagnation. It could be that in an industrial economy people develop [...]
drupagliassotti @ August 17, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Commodification is a form of sympathetic magic. That is, telling someone that if they buy designer clothes they will be considered as desirable as the celebrities who normally sport the stuff is akin to telling someone that if they put on a wolfskin belt by the light of the moon they’ll turn into a werewolf. [...]
drupagliassotti @ August 7, 2010 # One Comment
I’m 43; I’ve been practicing voluntary simplicity for over a decade and currently practice non-extreme minimalism. But I’m also a professor, which means everything is subject to critical analysis and questioning … including the things I believe in. Which leads to this post…. Is U.S.-style minimalism well-adapted to the Great Recession? It sounds like a [...]
drupagliassotti @ July 23, 2010 # No Comment Yet
My university department is about to move to a new building, which, as you can see from the photo, means that I need to pack everything up. That’s all right; I enjoy moving. It gives me a chance to scrutinize my possessions and think about what’s still working for me and what isn’t. And that’s [...]
drupagliassotti @ February 24, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Minimalism is not necessarily…. 1. Cheap. People often equate minimalism with the “college dorm room” look; particleboard and plastic. But you could be a minimalist who buys only objects of the very highest quality that reflect your exquisitely refined taste. 2. Frugal. Minimalism is often cited as a great way to save money. However, you [...]
drupagliassotti @ February 23, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Three or four years ago I spent a lot of time and money creating a series of scrapbooks that combined photos, art, and artefacts to describe my life. Last weekend I ripped them all into pieces. Most of the pages and photos were thrown away. The rest will be scanned and then thrown away. Minimizing [...]
drupagliassotti @ February 22, 2010 # No Comment Yet
Yesterday I blogged about why I’m wary of 100-thing minimalism. Despite my skepticism about the “100-thing” practice, however, I still believe it’s beneficial to avoid clutter and overconsumption. I agree with the voluntary simplicity guideline that you should strive to own only those items you (a) love, (b) use on a regular basis, or (c) [...]
drupagliassotti @ February 21, 2010 # 8 Comments
I’m 43; I’ve been practicing voluntary simplicity since 2000, with varying levels of successes and setbacks. This isn’t a minimalist blog, and I’m not claiming to be a minimalism expert. (4/26/10: Welcome, readers from Far Beyond the Stars; if you want my response to the post that sent you here, it’s over here. But please [...]