SilverJacket

Summer Dating

Well I'm in Time Out New York this week. After working hard on Figment a couple weeks ago (my main contribution was organizing the lecture series) several of us went to The Delancey to chillax, and Lux Alptraum approached a few of us for the summer TONY singles issue. Here's the text of my profile:

Matt H., 31, science journalist, East Village
“There are a lot of options in New York, which is great, but it makes it hard to settle on one. I’d like a woman who is warm, intellectually challenging, dry-witted, petite, and as fond of dancing as I am. Bonus points if she’s Burning-Man-tolerant.”
Want to date Matt H.? E-mail matth@tonypersonals.com.

If you are Googling me, do not confuse me with Matt H. the science fiction writer. When succeeding at my job, I am Matt H. the science nonfiction writer.

Beware of the Unicorn

This is the actual cover of the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies (a publication I have read recreationally, albeit sporadically, since college.)

Big Bopper

Susan recorded my back as I danced at Bioluminescence (yes, on a boat). So sneaky!

Matt Plays with Fire.

Last month at the first Vitamin B party I did a fair amount of fire spinning on the roof. A couple of people recorded me and one video made it online: (Shizaru lights me up around 0:30)

I haven't been spinning with fire very long, but I've been doing poi about a year, and this is the first time I've actually seen what I look like. I'm quite relieved to see that the practice has been worthwhile and I do not look completely goofy.

What's in Playa Dust and Pixie Dust?

Books for Poors

Recently a friend asked me what I thought the tanking economy was going to do to the book industry. I said those Chicken Soup for the Soul books would probably get a sales boost, but everyone else is fucked. Well, except for me, because I'm publishing a new line of books modeled on the X for Dummies series. It's called X for Poors. Here's my first one: Wine for Poors.

Now taking suggestions. (Feng Shui for Poors? Like, which way should the entrance of your carboard box face?)

A series of tubes, such as.

 

[Photo morph courtesy John Gartner.]
The Internets: I read all of them.

Another Alumni Vanity Mag

 Inspirations:
02138
Hamilton Nolan

Be All That You Can Be, And Then Some

 I first took Ritalin in first grade. I went off it soon after but tried it again in high school and have been reliant upon it and other psychoactive medications for the last 14 years--nearly half my life. Do i feel artificial? Do I feel like I'm cheating? Do I feel like I'm not being the real me? Those aren't even questions I ask myself anymore. After much experimentation with various molecules and dosages and life situations, I've made peace with my drug dependence, and now when pondering a prescription refill or an individual pill in my hand, instead of asking which me is the real me--chemically modified or au natural--I ask which me I prefer.

Despite the popularity of caffeine and alcohol, not everyone feels the same, and new research (that I covered in the August issue of Psychology Today) maps out our fears regarding artificial cognitive enhancement.

Continue reading this post at Brainstorm.

Welcome Home to Burning Man

[Above: most of Kamp Kaos*, as photographed by Beaker.]

When you arrive at Burning Man, the greeters welcome you with big hugs and the salutation "Welcome home." They say it even if it's your first visit.

Last year, my virgin burn, I found the phrase both cheesy (I'm more East-Coast than West) and touching. When I mentioned the tradition to a non-burner friend, she placed it somewhere between cheesy and revolting. For me, this year, the cheese factor was even lower than before. Even if you don't know what's going to happen or whom you're going to meet within the gates, if you're in the right state of mind, the discoveries and experiences should all seem somehow fitting. You are in the right place for being you. You are home.