The Sunday Diigo Links Post (weekly)

• “What could have been,” by Christopher Hume (TheStar.com | Columns & Blogs)

  Hume discusses a new book about Toronto, “Unbuilt Toronto: A History of the City That Might Have Been,” by Mark Osbaldeston. What I find compelling for my interest in Victoria is Hume’s reference at the start to “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (which immediately conjures Marianne Faithful’s rendition) and his reference to Venice as a beautiful corpse preserved for tourists.

  It seems we have a lot of necrophilia in this town (Victoria), but it would be *really* interesting to do an article on our Boulevard of Broken Dreams — with an eye to showing how failure proves that this is indeed still a living/ working city, and not just some kind of Disneyville.

  tags: thestar, christopher_hume, toronto, cities

• “making the case for intelligence in leadership,” by Davin Greenwell

  Davin muses on leadership, and asks readers to comment on what they think makes for good leadership. (I left a comment.) He came up with some excellent traits or qualities, some of which *seem* almost contradictory, and therefore probably are true. Leadership is complex.

  tags: davin_greenwell, leadership, politics, comments

• “Class Politics” Richard Florida, Creative Class Blog

  Fascinating (possibly scary?) piece by Florida on how Obama’s win could still fan the flames of an ugly backlash from the right that may be more convulsive and destructive than the current economic / financial meltdown. Florida factors in some data around demographic changes due to the creative economy (linked to democratic/ Obama politics), to paint a picture of a potentially very divided country.

  tags: politics, obama, class_theory, usa, republican, democrat, class_war, richard_florida, creative_class

• MEMS Air Conditioning (MIT Technology Review)

  Technology breakthrough with big implications for energy-use in hotter climates: a new valve that cuts air conditioners’ energy use by 25%. MEMS = microelectromechanical systems.

  tags: energy, air_conditioner, mems

• DIYcity

  John Geraci’s new project, DIY city. Well worth checking out: its aim is to figure out how we might use social and mobile apps to remake (or at least help) the city.

  As Geraci puts it, “DIYcity is a place where people figure these things out by actually building and launching applications that address the problems around them.”

  Looking forward to seeing more from this.

  tags: diycity, john_geraci, local_government, local_news, cities

• Young Professionals Meet for a Power Breakfast, but They Don’t Call It Networking – NYTimes.com

  Nice article on the “new” social networking, with a special look at likemind meet-ups, the un-network.
  QUOTE:
  “Likemind gatherings have no formal structure, no fees and typically no agenda. But participants exchange ideas, job tips and useful contacts, while also batting around ideas about technology, art, business and culture.”

  tags: nyt, likemind, socialnetworks, socialtheory, piers_fawkes, psfk

• “The Brain Unveiled,” by Emily Singer (MIT Technology Review)

  Stunning imagery of the brain’s neural structures. Must-see. Also includes a couple of links to video/ time-lapse imaging.

  tags: brain, neuroscience, neurogenesis, mit_techreview, imagery, video

• “how to be creative” by gapingvoid (“cartoons drawn on the back of business cards”)

  Older entry, from 2004. Fun stuff.

  tags: creativity, howto, inspiration, design, writing, gaping_void

• Loic Le Meur Blog: 10 reasons why should a politician blog

  An older entry from Seesmic’s Loic Le Meur, 10 reasons why politicians should blog. Very timely here in Victoria given the municipal elections still to come (Nov.15).

  tags: loic_le_meur, politics, blogging

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.