http://www.delgrosso.com Personal site of Tony Delgrosso, NY-based freelance writer. Wed, 10 Feb 2010 19:01:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Beinecke Library has an interesting web exhibition about the American history of the Utopian dream, from the establishment of New Haven in 1638 to modern sustainable communes like Twin Oaks. The exhibit has a comprehensive list of the most important "utopian" communities in the US[1. The most well-known being, arguably, ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2010/02/utopia/ I've been thinking a lot about the concept of play lately. Nothing linear or even cohesive; just ponderings and lots of what-ifery. Yet I took a couple of my thoughts and sent them off to a developer friend of mine, suggesting that we even consider building an augmented reality game ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/11/augmented-reality-and-the-%e2%80%9cbarely-game%e2%80%9d/ What would you shoot if I asked you to take a photograph of "summer"? That's a question I posed last June, when I solicited 12 random Twitter followers to participate in a photography assignment called "Project Diana"[1. I originally planned to use a Diana F+ camera for the project, but at ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/11/project-diana/ Really, Amazon? Really? http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/11/recommendation/ DMV COMMISSIONER UNVEILS NEW EMPIRE GOLD LICENSE PLATES New York State Commissioner of Motor Vehicles and Chair of the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee David J. Swarts today unveiled the "Empire Gold" license plate which will be issued to most vehicles registered in the state beginning in April, 2010. Our committee spent eight ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/11/pr-to-english-translation-of-the-announcement-of-new-nys-license-plates/ This morning someone asked what novel I’d read most recently. I told them. “Wow, I never imagined you’d read something like that,” they said almost in horror, as though I’d just admitted to a world-class sommelier that I drink Lambrusco straight from the bottle. I love really good literature, obviously. But I ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/11/on-reading-for-pleasure/ I can tell straightaway when a fiction author has little interest in or passion for their subject material, and crafted a story for the sole purpose of hitting a "market segment". I have real contempt for such writers. No matter what kind of writing you do—short stories, books, children's lit, screenplays, ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/09/an-audience-of-one/ I've migrated all of my little story bits, short works, and microfiction over to a new sub-site: the half empty moleskine. That way, if you get tired of my drivel here, you can just skip it and go directly to the fiction. Enjoy. http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/09/microfiction/ Your first novel is fueled by passion for your craft, belief in your talent as a storyteller, a fire that burns in your belly, a head full of imaginary people speaking to you, millions of collapsing waveforms of narrative possibility, and entire days that pass like mere minutes. Not to ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/09/sophomore-effort/ After an unplanned scientific experiment I conducted this morning while cleaning out a pantry cupboard, I recorded the following observations: -Cheeze-Its™ brand snack crackers decay in a non-exponential fashion, with a half-life of roughly 18 months from time of initial unsealing. -When smashing one's head forcefully into an open cabinet door to ... http://www.delgrosso.com/2009/08/science_hurts/