Apologies for the lack of posts this week. It’s a bit hard to write blog posts when your home computer stops working. But no excuses. Enjoy this edition of The Weekender, and I’ll have more original content coming next week, promise.

Photos for the weekend.

Amber Ellis’s Be Mine set has always been one of my favorite sets on Flickr, full of beauty and love in all sorts of small and forgotten places. And lots of red and pink, which always makes me smile. The photo of the bike bell I’ve used above is one of my favorite photos of all time.

This set of photos of the wedding between Katie Kirkpatrick and Nick Godwin is heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. A good reminder of living life to the fullest, but also remembering that no matter how fleeting life may be, love will always prevail.

Links for the weekend.

Why Apple doesn’t do “Concept Products”
This article isn’t just about Apple: it’s about the whole concept of creating things to be used, to be valued, to be shipped, instead of just creating for the sake of creating. There’s value in both, but I like the way this article frames its argument.

Picking Letters, 10 a Day, That Reach Obama
Mike Kelleher picks the letters that President Obama gets to read. While I think he has an fantastic and really remarkable job, I think there’s some value in letting Obama see some of the letters that don’t make it past Kelleher’s filter from time to time.

Is The iPhone The New Newspaper?
I do almost all my reading on my iPhone now (well, did: I just lost my iPhone this week) and applications like Instapaper make that process even easier. Future of the publishing industry? Quite possibly.

What Are Friends For? A Longer Life
It’s always nice when science validates your life ethos. I’ve always told myself that the only reason I am alive and thriving is because of the friends around me. Science agrees.

How the Other Half Writes: In Defense of Twitter
Easily and by far the best defense of Twitter ever written. That’s all I have to say about that.

Videos for the weekend.

If you thought the video for the new iPhone app Birdhouse (above) was hilarious — and who didn’t? — this video documentary (below), Skyward, about the impact of Birdhouse is a positively brilliant follow-up.

That’s it for this weekend. If you want to keep on top of what else I’m reading or enjoying on the web during the week, check out my tumblelog Squandrous, my Google Reader shared items, or my Times People profile.