continuing the theme of density

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33,000 families and businesses + more than 300 interconnected high-rise buildings – any contributions from a single architect = Kowloon Walled City | photo: Greg Girard and Ian Lamboth

See the article on the Daily Mail.

the definition of swagger

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Six-year-old b-girl Terra was the youngest competitor in the recent Chelles Battle Pro, and handily took on her opponents to win the “best dancer in the Baby Battle” title.

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that this girl is not going to have self-confidence problems later in life.

Via the very funny Pardis Parker.

“let me see what I can do”

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There are two things I love about this video.

The first is the idea of Rejection Therapy — I don’t know much about the actual game itself, but I like the intent of helping people become more comfortable with failure, and more confident in the face of rejection.

The second thing I love is the fact that this guy makes what he thinks is a ridiculous, doomed-to-fail request… and he has his wish granted. It’s an even more valuable lesson in going after what you want, even in the face of probable rejection. Even if the odds aren’t on your side — you never know when you’re going to catch a break.

Via Pardis Parker.

peeking into the lives of others

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From this day forward, I will always mentally shave off the front walls of apartment buildings, so I can imagine the lives that each little box holds inside.

Firefighters evaluate the scene of an apartment building where the front wall collapsed because of Hurricane Sandy on Monday in New York City.
Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.

Via Slate.

attention public radio nerds

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Ira Glass is everywhere in the last few days. Yesterday he was on CBC’s The Current. A quote:

“As a storyteller in my civilian life, I am at an utterly civilian level… Like, only somebody who is just at the normal level of being able to tell a story… would go to the trouble to think through what is the completely optimal way to make a story work.”

A few days ago, Ira did an “Ask A Grown Man” for Rookie. (Bonus: crash course in balloon animals.)

Via the This American Life blog.

He was also profiled in The Star last week.

And, finally, Toronto friends: Ira Glass is in your city this weekend to talk about making radio.

(If you want more Ira — who doesn’t? — this series isn’t new, but I re-visit it at least once a year and always seem to learn something new… especially from Part 3, which I think applies to life far beyond storytelling.)