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June 2021

On the Enjoyment of Chernobyl
Madmen (2007 - 2015) succeeded as spectacle by opening a window of taboo enjoyment onto the 1950s, when gender roles were unquestionably binary…
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SP&EX
The Alphasmart Neo2: Bad UI as Good UI
One of my favourite newfound pieces of technology (on which I’m writing this essay) is the AlphaSmart Neo2. It’s a bit of a cult item. The device was…
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SP&EX
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A good live-streaming setup is a well-tailored suit.
In the 1980s and 1990s a common piece of advice for people working in the professional managerial class was to ‘dress for the job you want, not for the…
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SP&EX
On queues and contract-enforcement through hair in the Qing dynasty
The Qing Dynasty imposed a distinct hairstyle on its Han subjects—the queue (辮子). A queue is the iconic 19th century Chinese hairstyle. The front…
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SP&EX
On the contingency of ownership / Reflections on First Cow
Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow is a sustained reflection on the contingency of ownership at the unfolding edge of a colonizing ‘new world.’ The film opens…
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SP&EX
On long-tail counterfeits and zero-trust ecommerce
When I moved to China I was obsessed with Taobao. Contrary to the Western prejudgement in 2013 that China was bereft of consumer variety, it was clear…
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SP&EX
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January 2021

On American Revolution
Reflections from June 2020
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