Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #217

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

• The bizarre history and fiery end of Berlin’s iconic abandoned amusement park – Quartz. "I loved the movie Hanna. But when the action moved to a weird, overgrown theme park, I decided it couldn’t be a set; it had to be a location scout’s wildest dream. Well, here’s the backstory. The stuff that nightmares are made of." (Alistair for Hugh).
• Introducing EFF’s Stupid Patent of the Month – Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Patents are out of control. Everyone knows it, nobody knows what to do about it. But this series by the Electronic Frontier Foundation is a good start. The first one’s a doozy; I’ll be watching the rest of them." (Alistair for Mitch).
• America Is Not For Black People – The Concourse. "Ferguson, Missouri has erupted into extraordinary violence, with (white) paramilitary police force in combat gear, toting assault rifles built for war-zones, occupying parts of the city where the (black) population has been protesting the shooting of an unarmed black teen. There is an awful lot to be concerned about in this story: the militarization of the police, the collapse of the ability of the US economy to support the lower-income classes and neighborhoods, the interest of the media in one kind of a story over another, and, of course, the still-raw, still pervasive conflict between white and black. This article touches on all of it. Missouri, Goddam." (Hugh for Alistair).  
• Russell Brand: Robin Williams’ divine madness will no longer disrupt the sadness of the world – The Guardian. "Confession: I have not read this article yet. Guarantee: it will be great. British former bad-boy comedian, Russell Brand, has become the world’s greatest obituary writer, with a particular brilliance for meditating on suicide, drugs and mental illness. PS, next week: only happy links." (Hugh for Mitch).  
• Good Will Hunting: An Oral History – Boston Magazine. "I consider myself a writer. In fact, whatever creativity I have beyond that – be it marketing, interviewing, presenting or whatever- I consider the root of it in writing. So, when I consume content, I’m always trying to deconstruct and think about the words, structure and sentences behind it. Everything from a movie and radio segment to stand-up comedy and a billboard. It’s always the writing and the words that affect me. Back when I was committed to magazine publishing and music journalism, I was introduced to the indie genius of Kevin Smith. While most people think of Clerks, I really loved Mallrats. When I think of Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. I think back to Mallrats and the industry news of them working on the movie, Good Will Hunting. I love that movie, and – to this day – it’s the combination of the writing and the acting that touches my soul. Brene Brown would probably agree that Good Will Hunting was a massive exercise in writing from a place of true vulnerability. Each actor left it all on the screen. So many people are, rightfully, paying tribute to Robin Williams. For me, his interpretation of their words in Good Will Hunting is one that will be remembered for generations. Sadly, I wish that character he played could have help the real Robin Williams. I still watch Good Will Hunting on an annual basis, plus if it happens to be on TV, I won’t skip through that channel. This is a great piece about a perfectly written piece of cinema." (Mitch for Alistair).
• An hour with artists Jeff Koons – Charlie Rose. "I went to a high school where creativity was never acknowledged or really encouraged. Drama was an elective. There was no music program. Art was an elective (and considered a course for those who wanted a break from "real" school). There was no dance. English and writing were much more about the mechanicals of style than nurturing a love for literature. In grade 10, my art teacher asked me what I wanted to peruse after high school. I told her that I had no idea. She said to me – and I will never forget this – ‘you are very creative… Has anyone ever told you that? You should do something creative’ Not only had no one ever told me that, I had no idea what that meant or what to do with that information. So, while I do have an appreciation for art, I don’t really know specific artists or the genres all that well. Still, I have a massive appreciation for the process, and I can’t stop watching documentaries with famed artists. I’m not going to pretend that I know much about Jeff Koons. I don’t. And, some might argue, that he is one of the most famous artists of our times. When I started watching this full hour interview with him by Charlie Rose, it clicked that he was the guy who created the massive and shiny balloon dog. If you’re into creativity and looking for ways to be more inspired, this is probably one of the more inspiring conversations about the creative process that I have seen in a long while. More importantly, it will make you smile and feel warm." (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.