Diversify!

Unter dem Titel The Cloud is Falling hat Vincent Laforet einen klugen Artikel über die Zukunft des Fotojournalismus und des Fotogeschäfts insgesamt verfasst. Eine klare Leseempfehlung auch für Nicht-Fotografen, da seine Empfehlungen durchaus auch auf andere Arbeitsbereiche anzuwenden sind: die Zeiten von Festanstellung und sicherer Rente sind vorbei - unsere Lösung: Diversifizierung und lebenslanges Lernen, selber Denken statt althergebrachten Modellen folgen!

One could legitimately ask: is the sky falling? Short answer: I don't think so - but I do think the cloud is falling. What do I mean by the "cloud?" I'm talking about that cushy comfort zone and business model we have all become accustomed to: the idea of a staff job with benefits and company gear, the idea that if we follow the traditional career paths of our predecessors we too will find long term financial security, the idea that if we do things the same way that we've always done them, or are being taught to do them at schools/universities - we'll be "OK."

Die Ursprungsmythen der Kággaba der Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Kolumbien (Kurzversion)

Winston Churchills Tagesablauf

Ach Winston, alte Rinde. Du warst ja schon immer mein Held. Kein Wunder, bei diesem Tagesablauf:

Despite all this activity Churchill’s daily routine changed little during these years. He awoke about 7:30 a.m. and remained in bed for a substantial breakfast and reading of mail and all the national newspapers. For the next couple of hours, still in bed, he worked, dictating to his secretaries.

At 11:00 a.m., he arose, bathed, and perhaps took a walk around the garden, and took a weak whisky and soda to his study.

At 1:00 p.m. he joined guests and family for a three-course lunch. Clementine drank claret, Winston champagne, preferable Pol Roger served at a specific temperature, port brandy and cigars. When lunch ended, about 3:30 p.m. he returned to his study to work, or supervised work on his estate, or played cards or backgammon with Clementine.

At 5:00 p.m., after another weak whisky and soda, he went to be for an hour and a half. He said this siesta, a habit gained in Cuba, allowed him to work 1 1/2 days in every 24 hours. At 6:30 p.m. he awoke, bathed again, and dressed for dinner at 8:00 p.m.

Dinner was the focal-point and highlight of Churchill’s day. Table talk, dominated by Churchill, was as important as the meal. Sometimes, depending on the company, drinks and cigars extended the event well past midnight. The guests retired, Churchill returned to his study for another hour or so of work.

Quelle: The Churchill Centre via Daily Routines: Winston Churchill
Daily Routines kann man übrigens ruhig mal abonnieren, sofern noch nicht geschehen. Immer wieder lesenswert!

Cory Doctorow: Writing in the Age of Distraction

Locus Online Features: Cory Doctorow: Writing in the Age of Distraction

Attention vs. distraction

Stoooopid .... why the Google generation isn’t as smart as it thinks - Times Online

David Meyer is professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. In 1995 his son was killed by a distracted driver who ran a red light. Meyer’s speciality was attention: how we focus on one thing rather than another. Attention is the golden key to the mystery of human consciousness; it might one day tell us how we make the world in our heads. Attention comes naturally to us; attending to what matters is how we survive and define ourselves.

The opposite of attention is distraction, an unnatural condition and one that, as Meyer discovered in 1995, kills. Now he is convinced that chronic, long-term distraction is as dangerous as cigarette smoking.

The four hundred hour work week

Ein ganz großartiges Gedicht von Robert Bruces indischen, chinesischen und schimpansischen Kollegen:
Robert Bruce | Knife Gun Pen | The Four Hundred-Hour Workweek

Around six months ago
I began outsourcing
the writing of poems
to an Indian call center

My account executive there
placed me with a fine young
gentleman working the phone
from his home in a
suburb of Calcutta

It took some time
and several false starts
but he’s finally
coming around
figuring out my style
understanding the
complicated culture
that is
American
Poetry

Fortsetzung hier.
Zum bessere Verständnis: 4HWW.

Richard Sennett über den kapitalistischen Kampf im Arbeitsleben

Arbeit, sonst nichts: Ein Gespräch mit dem Philosophen Richard Sennett | Nachrichten auf ZEIT online

Der Master of Business Administration, kurz: MBA, war einmal eine Eintrittskarte für einen guten Job, aber mittlerweile gibt es so viele davon, dass der Abschluss viel weniger wert ist. Wer studiert, hat die Hoffnung, dass er zu den lucky few gehört, zu den wenigen, die es trotzdem schaffen. Der Kampf beginnt deshalb schon viel früher, der Kampf um Arbeitsplätze ist schon ein Kampf unter Studenten.

The Economics of Happiness

The Economics of Happiness | Adbusters Culturejammer Headquarters

“Some of the very basic things we assumed in economics are not consistent with the evidence. This idea that income is so important to happiness is not correct. All the evidence seems to be pointing in the direction that we are working too much. In fact, we’re happy if we work less. We are spending too much time on work and too little time with friends and family. So there’s a mistake in the economic models that suggest happiness will come from more income.”