Mini r�ve

Absolument adorable. M�me si j’aime les grandes pi�ces, il y a quelque chose d’irr�sistible dans ces petites maisons que l’on voit de plus en plus souvent dans les magazines consacr�s � la d�coration o� � l’environnement. Je r�ve de me trouver un petit coin de terre pr�s d’un lac, (achet� ou lou�) et d’y b�tir un minuscule chalet qui me servirait aussi d’atelier d’�criture. Entretien minimum, peu de d�pense d’�nergie et de ressources, intimit� et tr�s, tr�s peu de m�nage � faire.

Ou si je deviens plus ambitieuse, je fais comme les riches newyorkais et je me b�tis un petit studio comme �a sur le to�t de mon condo du centre-ville.

Et les prix font de tout cela un r�ve quand m�me accessible, non?

via Inhabitat

Why do you write?

« Why I write? I never ask myself the question. I just do it. It must be the same for painters and composers. If you want me to get deep about it – to the extent that I can – I think humans create art because art is useless, and this uselessness reflects the uselessness of the human conscience. Our intelligence, our capacity for introspection, our extraordinary verbal ability – all are utterly unnecessary to our survival. Animals do without them. The absurdity of our ability needs an echo, a reflection, a companion. Ergo art.

Why I spend four years of my life writing a novel, putting everything into it, mortgaging my future, I don’t know. The sense of it being right and deeply pleasurable is so powerful that I don’t feel the need to search further. »

Yann Martel in The Notebooks, interviews and new fiction from contemporary writers, edited by Michelle Berry and Natalee Caple.

Mac anxiety

You Mac heads tell me something: Last July, I got an iPod Photo, 20GB, a few weeks after it showed up on the market.

If I had waited 3 more months, I could have gotten an iPod video with 30GB of space. That’s 10 GB more for the same price.

Why on earth did they release the iPod Photo then, if they knew that 4 months later, they’d get a new and improved model out? Am I missing something?

I’ve been considering the purchase of my first Powerbook but this kind of commercial practice does not encourage me to make the big switch (yeah, I’m still on a PC). When is the right time to buy their precious technology?