Art Makes Society Kinder #

We tested the hypothesis that engagement in the arts may act as a catalyst that promotes prosocial cooperation. Using “Understanding Society” data (a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 30,476 people in the UK), we find that beyond major personality traits, demographic variables, wealth, education, and engagement in other social activity (sports), people’s greater engagement with the arts predicts greater prosociality (volunteering and charitable giving) over a period of 2 years. …continue

West 14th Street and 6th Avenue, New York City, October 2015

Published 2017 October 22

Hijo de Carlos Demonstrates Ninjitsu, Rome, Italy, June 2015

Published 2017 October 21

Green Ferns, New York City, May 2016

Published 2017 October 19

Ferns in Inwood Hill Park in New York, taken in the spring of 2016 with a Leica M9 camera and Elmarit 28mm f/2.8 lens. This is a subtle photograph that one does not tire from. It is available for purchase as a 24 by 36 inch poster or iPhone case.

Dascia Maneuver, Erangel, Plunkbat, August 2017

Published 2017 October 17

A Plunkbat postcard printed on a tee for your pleasure.

Metropolitan Museum at Night, New York City, October 2017

Published 2017 October 16

This photograph, alternatively titled “Night Nude”, is available as a beautiful canvas print, poster and iPhone case at Teespring.

Fish School Near Isola del Giglio, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy, July 2010

Published 2017 October 14

A version of this photograph is available for sale as a poster and on shirts, socks and iPhone cases on Teespring

Digital Photography Workflow

Here is one possible digital photography workflow written quickly in response to a query: Download and install Lightroom or your preferred software on your computer. Create a Lightroom catalogue on an external drive (or array of drives) that you will hopefully make regular, tested backup copies of. Here is one possible folder structure that along with the file naming below has the benefit of being automatically sorted by date in your native computer file system so you don’t go nuts should Adobe/Lightroom go out of business:

Amber in Café Grand’Italia, Bracciano, Italy, November 2009

Published 2017 October 11

Self-Portrait With Fuji, iPhone and Elite, New York City, March 2017

Published 2017 October 11

See you in the Milky Way.

Video Games Can Satisfy Some Basic Human Needs #

Comment by “AmIFirstToThink” in the Hacker News discussion of the article: It gives you a chance to put yourself on the shrink couch in the privacy of your room. You get to know yourself little bit more. You know how flimsy the safeguards are for you to not do the wrong thing. Laws, religious ethics are flimsy to stop you from doing the wrong thing. You realize that at the end of the day, it is up to you as the individual, to do the right thing in a situation. …continue

Near Poet’s Walk, Central Park, New York City, October 2017

Published 2017 October 9

Life Drawing at Columbia, New York City, October 2017

Published 2017 October 7

Marat and Olivia, Rome, Italy, November 2014

Published 2017 October 5

Broadway Near Strand Books, New York City, September 2017

Published 2017 October 4

Girl In Pink, Rome, Italy

Published 2017 October 2

This photograph is available for sale as a poster and on t-shirts, tote bags and mugs at Teespring and in a variety of print formats at Threadless.