One of the more pleasing discoveries made during the period when I was most heavily promoting Buying In was the KERA-Dallas radio show, Think. I enjoyed that interview so much, I ended up subscribing to the Podcast. Which brings me to my point:
On the February 26 episode of the show — archive here — Krys Boyd interviewed George Friedman president and CEO of something called STRATFOR. He has a book out called The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century. And that’s what he talked about: His hundred-year view.
I usually have very little patience for futurist types, but I thought this guy was fascinating. Apart from hearing him make the case for why Turkey and Poland are both likely to be rising powers in the century ahead — not something I’ve ever heard before, to say the least — I was interested in his attitude toward the current economic situation. Bottom line is it was refreshing to hear someone talk about that with a longer-term view, as opposed to the nonstop panic on every news site I look at. Oh, he had some interesting stuff to say about solar power via satellite.
Again the audi0-archive link is here. They refresh it as new shows are done and this episode will disappear in a few days. So if you’re interested, grab the MP3 now.
On Sunday March 15, I’m scheduled to be on a panel related to Gary Hustwit’s documentary Objectified, at SXSW in Austin. My understanding is that the panel is titled: “We Have Been Objectified: Identity, Consumerism, and the Future of Designed Objects.” Details are here.
Afterwards I’ll be signing Buying In at the “South By Bookstore.” Please stop by and say hello — and tell your SXSW-going friends who haven’t bought the book that now is the time. Details:
The South by Bookstore is located on the Trade Show Floor (#s 534, 535, 900), labeled South by Bookstore on the Trade Show map. Enter the Austin Convention Center (on 4th Street across from the Hilton), take the escalators up to the fourth floor, take a right when you get off the escalator and walk down the hall. The main entrance to the trade show is on your left. Walk to the back, right side of the room. The bookstore is along the back wall. There will be signs identifying it.
Rob Walker/Buying In: 5 – 5:30 pm, Sunday March 15
Posted Under:
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This post was written by Rob Walker on March 1, 2009
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HAPPY MEDIUM:
How an alt-crafts venture is making its way to the mainstream.
This week in Consumed, Kathy Cano-Murillo, better known to fans as Crafty Chica, as an example of the evolution of the do-it-yourself busines.
Anecdotal reports have suggested that the business of crafting may not be suffering quite so much as the rest of the retail landscape in the current recession. But whatever the state of the economy, the Craft and Hobby Association is largely focused on expanding the sales of its mass-oriented member companies. (Alt-craft aside, the show also included a preview of craft products from, of all people, Paris Hilton.) And it’s fair to say that some indie crafters are skeptical about the attention. CraftyPod, an influential blog and podcast, noted with exasperation that the material at the show described new-wave crafters in the context of “the hippie generation.”
Cano-Murillo is perhaps uniquely situated to bridge this craft gap. She’s widely known in the indie world and has built her own contact list of a few hundred indie stores. But last year she quit her newspaper job to work for Duncan Enterprises, maker of well-known craft products like Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue, and that move made it possible to approach big chains like Michaels and Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft. …
Read the column in the March 1, 2009, issue of The New York Times Magazine, or here.
Consumed archive is here, and FAQ is here. The Times’ Consumed RSS feed is here. Consumed Facebook page is here.
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