Paul Williams
@defiantsloth.bsky.social
pairing fine dining with dive bars and ripping through pull tabs wherever
✱ defiantsloth.com
work: svp, solutions & growth strategy for publicis groupe
✱ defiantsloth.com
work: svp, solutions & growth strategy for publicis groupe
Speaking of the Mad Men debacle on HBO Max, special effects wizard Todd Vaziri has an analytical post up about this.
"It appears as though this represents the original photography, unaltered before digital visual effects got involved"
"It appears as though this represents the original photography, unaltered before digital visual effects got involved"
December 3, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Speaking of the Mad Men debacle on HBO Max, special effects wizard Todd Vaziri has an analytical post up about this.
"It appears as though this represents the original photography, unaltered before digital visual effects got involved"
"It appears as though this represents the original photography, unaltered before digital visual effects got involved"
The Verge on HBO’s poor execution of the “remastering” of Mad Men in 4k for streaming. It exemplifies bad stewardship of assets and ill-advised processes (missed cropping-out of production crew from scenes we’ve already seen properly sized for TV?). All the more reason to own a Blu-ray version.
December 2, 2025 at 10:01 PM
The Verge on HBO’s poor execution of the “remastering” of Mad Men in 4k for streaming. It exemplifies bad stewardship of assets and ill-advised processes (missed cropping-out of production crew from scenes we’ve already seen properly sized for TV?). All the more reason to own a Blu-ray version.
Waking up to the first snowfall of the season up here. It’s been tardy for the last several years in a row now, for whatever that’s worth.
November 26, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Waking up to the first snowfall of the season up here. It’s been tardy for the last several years in a row now, for whatever that’s worth.
Author Robin Sloan’s suggested gift guide is a reprieve from the usual banality and homogenous offerings found elsewhere. Focused on uniquely consumable, durable, and cosmic gifts (including, of course, books), this is probably one of the few relevant lists to pay attention to.
November 24, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Author Robin Sloan’s suggested gift guide is a reprieve from the usual banality and homogenous offerings found elsewhere. Focused on uniquely consumable, durable, and cosmic gifts (including, of course, books), this is probably one of the few relevant lists to pay attention to.
✱ Regional Film Reviews & the Beauty of Human Connection Through Art: https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/17/regional-film-reviews-the-beauty.html
November 17, 2025 at 5:29 PM
✱ Regional Film Reviews & the Beauty of Human Connection Through Art: https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/17/regional-film-reviews-the-beauty.html
Valve’s Steam Machine and controller are legitimately one of the more exciting hardware announcements in a long time. Beautiful baseline models, customizable aesthetics, obvious integrations into a well-established Steam media library, and SteamOS ecosystem operability make this compelling.
November 14, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Valve’s Steam Machine and controller are legitimately one of the more exciting hardware announcements in a long time. Beautiful baseline models, customizable aesthetics, obvious integrations into a well-established Steam media library, and SteamOS ecosystem operability make this compelling.
Always funny to see emails from software products seep back into the inbox after years, and I mean years, of silence. Been getting a steady drip from Maintain the last few months, who have had a Mac OS maintenance app out since 2004 called Cocktail. Used to have it to customize the dock, I think?
November 5, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Always funny to see emails from software products seep back into the inbox after years, and I mean years, of silence. Been getting a steady drip from Maintain the last few months, who have had a Mac OS maintenance app out since 2004 called Cocktail. Used to have it to customize the dock, I think?
Fascinating interview with Helen DeWitt on the highly improbable methods and circumstances leading to her latest, 25-years-in-the-making novel, Your Name Here. Looking forward to cracking this open after The Rose Fie... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/05/fascinating-interview-with-helen-dewitt.html
November 5, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Fascinating interview with Helen DeWitt on the highly improbable methods and circumstances leading to her latest, 25-years-in-the-making novel, Your Name Here. Looking forward to cracking this open after The Rose Fie... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/05/fascinating-interview-with-helen-dewitt.html
Though Dan Brooks’s take down of the “new, lonely vices” reads as more of an opinion piece, it certainly feels like a practical way to assess:
"I hope some readers will agree that although the old vices had net negative effect... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/04/though-dan-brookss-take-down.html
"I hope some readers will agree that although the old vices had net negative effect... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/04/though-dan-brookss-take-down.html
November 5, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Though Dan Brooks’s take down of the “new, lonely vices” reads as more of an opinion piece, it certainly feels like a practical way to assess:
"I hope some readers will agree that although the old vices had net negative effect... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/04/though-dan-brookss-take-down.html
"I hope some readers will agree that although the old vices had net negative effect... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/11/04/though-dan-brookss-take-down.html
As the autumn winds churn through the outside world, I’m increasingly excited to settle into warm evenings by a fire, voraciously reading through my stack of recently published books:
Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field
Helen DeWitt’s Your Name Here
Adam Johnson’s The Wayfinder
Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field
Helen DeWitt’s Your Name Here
Adam Johnson’s The Wayfinder
October 29, 2025 at 9:26 PM
As the autumn winds churn through the outside world, I’m increasingly excited to settle into warm evenings by a fire, voraciously reading through my stack of recently published books:
Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field
Helen DeWitt’s Your Name Here
Adam Johnson’s The Wayfinder
Philip Pullman’s The Rose Field
Helen DeWitt’s Your Name Here
Adam Johnson’s The Wayfinder
And herein lays the true goal of OpenAI with ChatGPT Atlas:
"…by acting as ChatGPT’s agent, you can hold open the door so that the AI can now see and access all kinds of data it could never get to on its own. As publishers and con... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/23/and-herein-lays-the-true.html
"…by acting as ChatGPT’s agent, you can hold open the door so that the AI can now see and access all kinds of data it could never get to on its own. As publishers and con... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/23/and-herein-lays-the-true.html
October 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM
And herein lays the true goal of OpenAI with ChatGPT Atlas:
"…by acting as ChatGPT’s agent, you can hold open the door so that the AI can now see and access all kinds of data it could never get to on its own. As publishers and con... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/23/and-herein-lays-the-true.html
"…by acting as ChatGPT’s agent, you can hold open the door so that the AI can now see and access all kinds of data it could never get to on its own. As publishers and con... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/23/and-herein-lays-the-true.html
More lamenting of the malaise of the Internet, but a thoughtful one from Kyle Chayka:
"Remember having fun online? It meant stumbling onto a Web site you’d never imagined existed, receiving a meme you hadn’t already seen regu... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/20/more-lamenting-of-the-malaise.html
"Remember having fun online? It meant stumbling onto a Web site you’d never imagined existed, receiving a meme you hadn’t already seen regu... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/20/more-lamenting-of-the-malaise.html
October 20, 2025 at 8:02 PM
More lamenting of the malaise of the Internet, but a thoughtful one from Kyle Chayka:
"Remember having fun online? It meant stumbling onto a Web site you’d never imagined existed, receiving a meme you hadn’t already seen regu... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/20/more-lamenting-of-the-malaise.html
"Remember having fun online? It meant stumbling onto a Web site you’d never imagined existed, receiving a meme you hadn’t already seen regu... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/20/more-lamenting-of-the-malaise.html
What a time to release something so terrifyingly dystopian: decor to dress up your surveillance cameras.
October 10, 2025 at 3:14 PM
What a time to release something so terrifyingly dystopian: decor to dress up your surveillance cameras.
Unexpectedly found Kirstie Kimball’s Beyond Beurre Blanc blog, and it’s tremendous. Exactly the kind of thing I’d love to write if I ever pivot out of the marketing industry… Her piece on New Scenic Cafe is perfec... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/09/unexpectedly-found-kirstie-kimballs-beyond.html
October 9, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Unexpectedly found Kirstie Kimball’s Beyond Beurre Blanc blog, and it’s tremendous. Exactly the kind of thing I’d love to write if I ever pivot out of the marketing industry… Her piece on New Scenic Cafe is perfec... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/10/09/unexpectedly-found-kirstie-kimballs-beyond.html
"I live on the planet Earth in 2025. I see the storms are getting worse. I see the natural world is becoming really uncontrollable and that we’re leaping before we look in terms of AI and technology creation, and how that impacts socie... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/30/i-live-on-the-planet.html
October 1, 2025 at 2:54 AM
"I live on the planet Earth in 2025. I see the storms are getting worse. I see the natural world is becoming really uncontrollable and that we’re leaping before we look in terms of AI and technology creation, and how that impacts socie... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/30/i-live-on-the-planet.html
I do appreciate Tonx’s forthright reckoning with himself/the industry on how to operate an independent, honest DTC business without pre-established celebrity clout (I mean, outside of the coffee space, I suppose, but he is still roasting and seeking coffee).
September 26, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I do appreciate Tonx’s forthright reckoning with himself/the industry on how to operate an independent, honest DTC business without pre-established celebrity clout (I mean, outside of the coffee space, I suppose, but he is still roasting and seeking coffee).
Halfway through Ray Nayler’s Where the Axe is Buried. If you want near-future existential dread, this is the book for you. Masterclass in pulling in a reader through approachable but slightly foreign world building with an intriguing, politically relevant story.
September 22, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Halfway through Ray Nayler’s Where the Axe is Buried. If you want near-future existential dread, this is the book for you. Masterclass in pulling in a reader through approachable but slightly foreign world building with an intriguing, politically relevant story.
Depressing.
What’s happening to news media and free speech right now in the US is going to echo across generations.
What’s happening to news media and free speech right now in the US is going to echo across generations.
September 19, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Depressing.
What’s happening to news media and free speech right now in the US is going to echo across generations.
What’s happening to news media and free speech right now in the US is going to echo across generations.
While I haven’t read it since it was released (back in 2013?), Brian K. Vaughan’s The Private Eye was particularly prescient. We’ve been heading towards its worldview for years and… have arrived, I’d say — even if every private detail about our lives hasn’t leaked, anonymity is impossible.
September 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
While I haven’t read it since it was released (back in 2013?), Brian K. Vaughan’s The Private Eye was particularly prescient. We’ve been heading towards its worldview for years and… have arrived, I’d say — even if every private detail about our lives hasn’t leaked, anonymity is impossible.
Beautiful night at the Arboretum on Saturday. They hosted a walking event under the full Harvest Moon, and just a week into our newfound discovery of this place, we’ve been twice. We’re anticpating several more visits as the temps cool and leaves change.
September 8, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Beautiful night at the Arboretum on Saturday. They hosted a walking event under the full Harvest Moon, and just a week into our newfound discovery of this place, we’ve been twice. We’re anticpating several more visits as the temps cool and leaves change.
An astute equivalency of loneliness amidst other addictive vices, but with the thesis that it’s actually more dire, and to mitigate, an indulgence in a little old fashioned vice in the spirit of sociability is, maybe, ju... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/05/an-astute-equivalency-of-loneliness.html
September 5, 2025 at 9:48 PM
An astute equivalency of loneliness amidst other addictive vices, but with the thesis that it’s actually more dire, and to mitigate, an indulgence in a little old fashioned vice in the spirit of sociability is, maybe, ju... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/05/an-astute-equivalency-of-loneliness.html
Combo articles that spell out the major problem all generations are running into: the decline of critical thinking.
The Atlantic: I’m a High Schooler, AI is Demolishing My Education
The Economist: Is the Decline of Reading M... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/05/combo-articles-that-spell-out.html
The Atlantic: I’m a High Schooler, AI is Demolishing My Education
The Economist: Is the Decline of Reading M... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/05/combo-articles-that-spell-out.html
September 5, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Combo articles that spell out the major problem all generations are running into: the decline of critical thinking.
The Atlantic: I’m a High Schooler, AI is Demolishing My Education
The Economist: Is the Decline of Reading M... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/05/combo-articles-that-spell-out.html
The Atlantic: I’m a High Schooler, AI is Demolishing My Education
The Economist: Is the Decline of Reading M... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/09/05/combo-articles-that-spell-out.html
In Monocle’s Briefing newsletter today, they highlighted the modernist/brutalist architecture of Japan’s Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium from 1964 and its risk of being torn down. At a glance, it shares a design philosophy with Death Stranding’s entrances for its Knot Cities. Love the overlap.
September 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
In Monocle’s Briefing newsletter today, they highlighted the modernist/brutalist architecture of Japan’s Kagawa Prefectural Gymnasium from 1964 and its risk of being torn down. At a glance, it shares a design philosophy with Death Stranding’s entrances for its Knot Cities. Love the overlap.
We may never get another season of Scavengers Reign, but the showrunner did get a chance to release Common Side Effects (Adult Swim/streaming on HBO Max), and it’s very good. Conspiracies, miraculous fungi, detectives, on the run, big political/economic philosophies – it’s all here in fine form.
September 2, 2025 at 5:08 PM
We may never get another season of Scavengers Reign, but the showrunner did get a chance to release Common Side Effects (Adult Swim/streaming on HBO Max), and it’s very good. Conspiracies, miraculous fungi, detectives, on the run, big political/economic philosophies – it’s all here in fine form.
No idea how Kottke found this essay, but great companion to my previous link:
"And I’m glad they’re lies. Because the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals. They want to build a genie to grant... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/08/28/no-idea-how-kottke-found.html
"And I’m glad they’re lies. Because the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals. They want to build a genie to grant... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/08/28/no-idea-how-kottke-found.html
August 29, 2025 at 1:41 AM
No idea how Kottke found this essay, but great companion to my previous link:
"And I’m glad they’re lies. Because the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals. They want to build a genie to grant... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/08/28/no-idea-how-kottke-found.html
"And I’m glad they’re lies. Because the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals. They want to build a genie to grant... https://defiantsloth.com/2025/08/28/no-idea-how-kottke-found.html