Knitted hair

This is an absolute must have for any playa experience. I need to learn how to knit...anyone want to teach me how to make this?

[via JWZ]

Man skydives with turbine engines strapped to his feet.

This guy is crazy...and awesome! I have only jumped out of a plane once, though I want to do it many more times, and it was a blast. It went way to fast....I would want the fall to last forever! I can also see many purposes for jet turbines strapped to my legs. Well, maybe not many purposes. Well, maybe none. But give me a little bit. I will think of a bunch.

Portable, instant podcasting

Wow...if you could both record AND script the output, this could be a great portable, instant podcasting tool.  Very, very cool...

VoIP Lowdown: Microsoft's iPod will Include A VoIP Phone

Microsoft is going to make inroads into iPod market by including VoIP to its new Zunes iPod. The addition of VoIP will make it a Wi-Fi phone. According to Microsoft sources, the device will include built-in Wi-Fi. Microsoft is also planning a project called FonePlus that combines a phone with basic computer functions.

Let's hope that the rumors about features don't spin out of control and have us disappointed in the end!

Classic

Two things | A Whole Lotta Nothing

- Don't order a plain cake donut at the donut shop. It's like going all the way to Vegas to play some chess.

Dick Fiction

Pretty damn funny parody of the Dick Cheney gun episode [via Mary Hodder]:

Oh...NBC and WSJ conducted a poll about President Bush and some of his policies. There are some shocking numbers:

NBC/WSJ poll: U.S. pessimism on rise - Politics - MSNBC.com

...the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that candidates will be facing a public that has grown increasingly pessimistic, as nearly two-thirds don't believe life for their children's generation will be better than it has been for them, and nearly 60 percent are doubtful the Iraq war will come to a successful conclusion.

I think the midterm elections are going to be a bit tough on the Republicans.

On the playa

Looking for me at Burning Man?  I am camping with the Deep End again and will be at 9:00 and Eager.  We have over 2 acres of space allocated to us!  They moved us back a bit...looks like we are getting bigger and louder and barely holding onto our non esplanade/10:00/2:00 placement.

Themecamp Placement 2006

Oh...looking for my friend Komal?  He is in the middle of no where behind Center Camp.  I'm sure it will be nice for him.

This is great

I love that First Round Capital is pushing their investment with a cheeky little audio clip...

powered by ODEO

Don't call him the Butter Guy

So I met this guy Andy way back when Butter was my home away from home.  He's a BIG dood.  BIG.  And bald.  Really bald.

Anyways...I connect with Andy maybe once a year at this point.  It used to be around 5 times a week, but our lives have shifted and we only seem to meet up on random occassions like Bay to Breakers this year. I discovered his blog a little while ago a really enjoy it. First off, he is a great writer and documents/opinions his life incredibly well. More over, he lives life at its fullest. He always seems to be going for it just a little more every day...

The Burning Missive

In the last 72 hours: 20 skydives (including 8 tandems and 6 competition jumps) in 116 degree weather. 24 page PowerPoint Mid-Year business review, presented to my peers first , and then to my CEO, VP, boss & former bosses. 200 miles driven. 4 times crossing the bay. 6 gallons of water consumed (no joke!) 1 Tattoo. 7 Tom Waits and Iron Maiden songs played during the tattoo. 14 people hosted in a luxury suite for the A's - Boston game. 2 cases of beer bought in the suite at $100 per case. Pretty average few days, I guess.

One hint: don't call him the door guy at Butter. Doesn't go over so well...

Manifesto

This explains so much of what I do...

A Mindful Life / Kathryn Petro-Harper » Blog Archive » I Like Number Six the Best

A Craft Manifesto

1. People get satisfaction for being able to create/craft things because they can see themselves in the objects they make. This is not possible in purchased products.
2. The things that people have made themselves have magic powers. They have hidden meanings that other people can’t see.
3. The things people make they usually want to keep and update. Crafting is not against consumption. It is against throwing things away.
4.  People seek recognition for the things they have made. Primarily it comes from their friends and family. This manifests as an economy of gifts.
5. People who believe they are producing genuinely cool things seek broader exposure for their products. This creates opportunities for alternative publishing channels.
6. Work inspires work. Seeing what other people have made generates new ideas and designs.
7. Essential for crafting are tools, which are accessible, portable, and easy to learn.
8. Materials become important. Knowledge of what they are made of and where to get them becomes essential.
9. Recipes become important. The ability to create and distribute interesting recipes becomes valuable.
10. Learning techniques brings people together. This creates online and offline communities of practice.
11. Craft-oriented people seek opportunities to discover interesting things and meet their makers. This creates marketplaces.
12. At the bottom, crafting is a form of play.

SF Bay Guardian Best of the Bay

Have to love it when your friends clean up the awards...



San Francisco Bay Guardian : Best of the Bay 2006 : Readers' Poll

BEST COMIC BOOK STORE If you were a comic book store, wouldn't you want to be a comic book store with class and heart? A comic book store that revels in a love for all things Fantagraphic and buffed-out mainstream mutants in PVC dreamwear? Of course you would, and that's why our readers have chosen Isotope Comics as their favorite. 326 Fell, SF. (415) 621-6543, www.isotopecomics.com

San Francisco Bay Guardian : Best of the Bay 2006 : Readers' Poll

BEST NEW RESTAURANT; BEST APPETIZER Squaring culinary taste with a down-home desire to dig into comfort food, our readers honored Sauce as Best New Restaurant. Sauce's menu combines Californian essentials like seared ahi and spinach brûlée with old favorites like mac ’n' cheese and pork ’n’ beans. Plus there’s an excellent wine list and cute dessert offerings to top it all off. And spinach dip and mozzarella sticks be damned — our readers also voted Sauce's "Social Plates" starters (including the delicious portobello mushroom fries) as Best Appetizer. 131 Gough, SF. (415) 252-1369, www.saucesf.com

San Francisco Bay Guardian : Best of the Bay 2006 : Readers' Poll

BEST DJ Not your typical coked-out, pretentious, MP3-hugging beat junkie, DJ Aaron Pope caters to his devoted crowd with positive energy and multiple genres. He's the DJ our readers love best, and an international phenomenon as well, having spun at some of the best venues in the world. www.aaronpope.com

San Francisco Bay Guardian : Best of the Bay 2006 : Readers' Poll

BEST ELECTRONIC MUSIC ACT So electronic they're featured on video game soundtracks, Kepi and Kat gave our readers the hot bleeps this year. Vigorously mapping the meeting ground of technology and music, taking their show on the road to Burning Man and Ibiza, and combining Kepi's studio engineering and Kat's sensual voice, these two have Bay scenesters all a-twiddle. www.kepiandkat.com

San Francisco Bay Guardian : Best of the Bay 2006 : Readers' Poll

BEST PERSONAL TRAINER Our readers love HoopGirl. She has big baby-doll eyes, wears tight-fitting, midriff-bearing skirts, and teaches an erotic exercise program using a modified children's toy (the hula hoop) as her sole piece of equipment. What's not to love? www.hoopgirl.com

Now this is a podcast I want to hear

Yeah, baby. Yeah! This is an episode that I definitely want to catch...

Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Blackball 2.0

So there we were in the middle of the show, burrowing down the usual rat holes, when TechCrunch's Mike Arrington, whom I've never met or even spoken with, suddenly announced that he would resign from the Gang if Nick Carr was allowed to be a regular member.

Kayaking the Channel Islands

Kayaking the Channel Islands
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

A group of us headed to the Channel Islands this weekend for some camping and kayaking. The weather was perfect, sunset was beautiful, and friends were fantastic. Thanks to Christian for organizing it!

Where the hell is Matt?

When I watch this, I wonder why I go to work each day. Or perhaps that is what I am working for. Either way...I can do nothing but smile and appreciate. I will have a movie like this soon.

Weekend of Kayaking

Heading down with a group of 16 to go kayaking around the Channel Islands this weekend.  It will be great to get out and enjoy this magnificent weather...
Paddle Sports of SB Camping Itinerary

Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara Camping Itinerary

MySpace has a new revenue stream?

Could MySpace have a new revenue stream?

TechCrunch » Blog Archive » MySpace security measure disables viral spread of widgets

This means that the “get this widget” function so key to the viral spread of a growing industry of MySpace widgets will soon be unavailable. It also appears to mean that MySpace remains vulnerable to the worm the site sought to stop.

What if they started charging a certification fee for services that want to provide widgets? Users may just leave to find other sites...but if the cost of moving (i.e. setting up friends, uploading content, etc) is too high for users, they may just demand that of the widget providers.

A little wink for a link

Looks like a little social experiment to track how links spread and who is talking about it.  Noticed a crawler on my RSS feed and decided to check it out...
Linkie Winkie

Let's see what traffic it drives...

Vimeo?

So, in testing out some of the video services, I went to try Vimeo. First, my browser couldn't find the server:

So I thought perhaps it was just the way I spelled it. I checked with Google, and the first entry says

Vimeo is hiccuping. Please check back in a minute.

Not sure how that would rank on the SEO charts...

Old BM Videos

I have been looking at a bunch of different video players and sites and have been testing them with quick video clips from Burning Man in 2001.  Thought I would share them on the blog as well...

Clark, well...ummm...watch

Link here

Breakfast of Champions

Link here

Good Morning Krissy
Link here

Deep End Time Lapse

The Deep End Time Lapse

Christoph and I made time lapse cameras in 2003 for the Deep End and had them running all week. Well, they died late in the week and we missed the absolute mayhem, but we were able to grab the images and build a partial time lapse of the week. With our bigger infrastructure, it may be time to reinstall this. Would be much easier with the truck and large generator!

Website thumbnails

Reading Cameron Reilly's blog and found a link to ThumbPress.net.  This is a pretty quick, down and dirty thumbnail generator for webpages.  It doesn't generate the page correctly, but damn is it easy!

ThumbPress: Website Thumbnail Capture

Nice domain

I'm digging your url: www.ihopeyouhaveapenandpaperhandycausethisisacrazylongdomainnameman.com
. Would love to see the business card.

Self Promotion

I'm Published!
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

Well...one of my pictures was published in Newsweek today! The original is here. Yeah, baby. Yeah!

Friday Night in Stinson

Molly and I went to visit Chris and Marney Solle on Friday night at a vacation home in Stinson.  The weather was warm, the fog was unseen, and the company was grand.  The house was quite spectacular, with two separate buildings for bedrooms and a grand main room surrounded with windows and capped with a gorgeous widow's peak.  The front was shielded from the water by a large dune, protecting from wind, fog, and eyes.  We had a GREAT meal, dancing conversations, and bottles (upon bottles) of fabulous wine from Chris' cellar.  Just a great way to start the weekend.

Their daughter Skylar is way older than her two years; her goodbye to me was articulate and thoughtful. While I was sleeping in on Saturday, she turned to Molly, "You're missing someone. Yes. You're missing someone." Damn...I don't communicate that well in my thirties!

Microsoft's mp3 player: Zune

Some thoughts on the speculation of a Microsoft mp3 player.  I would assume that some features are overstated and others are not disclosed, but going on what they say, it could be a fun Christmas!

But wait, there's more... Zune deets - Engadget

Microsoft is aiming for a November release in the US, to be followed by a global launch next year. We would promise you more info as the release looms nearer, but we're not sure what else we could say.

Obviously, the first big splash is WiFi; there is a ton of speculation about with the offering would be:

• Ability to download directly from the player.  If MS is releasing this piece of hardware, they are following Apple's success of tying it directly to a music service that they control.  Afterall, the consumer really doesn't differentiate the experience between software/service/hardware.  It needs to be one; it needs to be seamless.  If MS can offer a strong subscription services, this will be a great differentiator.
• Ability to broadcast over WiFi.  While I don't immediately see this as a feature I would use, I could see it catching on.  The ability to share a song that has been downloaded through URGE on subscription and allow I, as a WiFi listener to capture information to download/subscribe/buy the song as well would be pretty cool.  I am sure there are major issues with licensing, but if they can overcome, it would definitely stand out.
• Podcatcher built in would be a great boon, especially for those of us in the medicasting industry.  I would love 2 things for this: built in RSS and an API to build upon.  If Niall Kennedy's work with the Windows Live Feeds Platform comes to fruition, it would be great to have a single platform for managing feeds.  Now,  the product would be interesting, because I would want to control where downloads occur.  I may want the download to occur on the player, desktop or both.  The API to build upon would provide a great platform for the likes of PodShow, Odeo, Loomia, etc.  One issue that every portal is dealing with is the domination of iTunes as a client and this may provide a workaround.

I also have some concerns about the formats...

• Obviously, it will have to support mp3 for audio.  But what else?  WMA is assumed as well!  OGG?  AAC?  Will I be able to move my existing library over and have it sync immediately?  Please...
• Video is a bigger concern.  If it only plays WMV, we are going to have an unneeded war for video codecs.  I would hate for all of my favorite vloggers be strapped with creating feeds in both QT and WMV.  Would be great to support both.
• Wanna kick ass?  Wanna make all of the video partners really happy?  Be able to play FLV.  Imagine being able to setup feeds directly from YouTube, Google Video or more directly to your player.  And over WiFi.  Now that would be quite the differentiator!  There may be some complaints about the quality, but the market will decide.

As for marketing it, I hope that they play up the "Differences:"

• Look Different.  Highlight the fact that we aren't shadows with white cords and the same looking players.  I want to look different than the person next to me.
• Sound Different.  Highlight my ability to play music from a subscription service.  Show that I am not tied to just iTunes.  I can play YouTube videos right on my player.
• Connect Different.  You don't need a computer to get new content or connect with others.  It's connected.

From a Mac perspective, we are thinking differently.  From a music player, we all think the same.  Shake 'em up.

A vlogger network

So, Jason Calcanis posted about pulling together Amanda Cogdon and Ze Frank and creating a vlogger network.  In addition to those, you need to find new talent to bring on and start filling in the gaps.  Amanda does a great job with the "news" and Frank does a great job with "commentary."  Who else?  What/Who else?

I would probably nominate Lisa Nova: young, cute, self produced, and aggressive in getting out there.  I would probably have her focus on interacting with people: on the street, in homes, at events.  She seems to get it! I would expect to hear more about her in the future...

Interesting side note...in Google'ing her, I found this in an Amazon Review:

Amazon.com: Brand New Cherry Flavour: Books: Todd Grimson

Amazon.com "She wanted to seduce and subvert, jab a needle so irresistibly that they didn't even realize their illusions were being pricked, inflatable dolls collapsing into sad rubber husks." Lisa Nova, a sensual Nastassja Kinski lookalike, once played a naked victim in a splatter movie, but at 26 she's a hungry iconoclastic filmmaker who gets screwed out of an important directing job. She turns to a witch doctor for revenge, and soon bizarre tattoos appear on her body. The magic she impulsively invokes turns out to be more than a specific spell against her nemesis: it's a cascading rearrangement in the forces active around Lisa herself. Todd Grimson's achievement in this unpredictable horror novel is that Lisa's world is not just California flashy, but is believably complex, with all the entanglements of a rich life. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Perhaps a pretty cool little explanation of the name...

Shots on SFist

Gavin Newsom
Originally uploaded by thepartycow.

I actually didn't know this, but a while back, SFist linked to my Flickr

Welcome Baby Jax

On July 12, 2006, the world got just a bit better: Baby Jax was born. Damn he is cute. All 10 fingers; all 10 toes. Even dad's funky chin. We love him already!!

More pictures coming, just need to edit them and upload!

Hot or Not Captcha

This is absolutely -- ABSOOOOOLUTELY -- fantastic!  In a contest for Mashery, Jeff Marshall mashed up Hot or Not into a captcha system.  AWESOME!

http://www.hotcaptcha.com/

That is creativity and skills in action....

Senator Stevens

This mashup is great...love it! And I think this is the first time I have syndicated a player from Odeo!

powered by ODEO

Now, at the same time, I do have to admit that I kinda agree with Andrew Grumet...

Best Brands Poll

Was just scanning through the ol' aggregator, when I cam across this posting from Techdirt regarding the annual 'Best Brands' poll.  Joe from Techdirt took some issue with Sony & Dell hanging in the #1 & 2 spots while they were whipping poles of the blogosphere over the past year.

Techdirt: Velveeta Fanboys Beat Out Apple Fanboys?

So does this mean that people just don't care about this stuff, and that those of us who track these things are just totally out of touch with the way most people think? The likely answer is that the poll is flawed and meaningless.

However, product lifetime and short term memory  play into effect when speaking of brand loyalty.  And I can speak for both of those brands.  I have not ordered a Dell machine, or -- knock wood -- had an issue with a Dell machine that I haven owned, in a very long time.  While I have read that the customer service and quality has slipped, I have not experienced it.  Therefore, my image of their brand is still fairly strong.  If approached on the street, I would not speak negatively, I recognize their products, and reference them in conversations about technology.  That's fairly strong brand recognition and respect.  But again, this is because I have never been tortured with the reported customer service experiences!

As for Sony, they were beat over the head for the rookit DRM fiasco that drew the ire of States Attorney Generals.  Well, obviously much broader base of distrust and like.  Yet, I don't by CDs anymore.  So I never experienced it.  Additionally, I forgot about the root kit!  Gasp!  C'mon...I would have remembered it after a bit, but I forgot about it.  I have a Sony receiver, DVD player, TV, and noise cancelling headphones sitting on my desk.  And I am happy with them.  And I still have an old Vaio laptop that I use as a kick around box.  So...I would have answered well about that brand for two reasons: I didn't remember the fiasco AND I never deal with that division of Sony!

Congratulations!

Congratulations are in order for Eddie Codel and Irina Slutsky for selling GETV to PodTech!  Saw Eddie last night at the Creative Commons Salon and he was obviously a proud and happy camper!!  Very happy for both of you and I look forward to entertaining content under the PodTech umbrella soon.

Frank Chu Documentary

Eddie Codel found a documentary on the legendary Frank Chu.  I have to say, I felt a bit uneasy hearing just how mentally distrubed he is.  I am not sure why I am so surprised, as a man who walks downtown San Francisco everyday protesting Bill Clinton and the 12 Galaxies.  Still...

Techdirt calls it out!

Brilliant commentary from Techdirt regarding Wikipedia and Reuters.  I love it...

Techdirt: Irony: Reuters Article Slamming Wikipedia For Corrections... Needs Correcting

Like any breaking story, some of the details may get confused at the beginning, but as the details become clearer the story gets crafted. Plenty of mainstream news stories have experienced the same exact thing. In fact... it happened in this very Reuters article. Slashdot points to someone who noticed the irony over the fact that Reuters needed to issue its very own correction on the story after it got its sources confused.

Ummm...the Onion is satire

Well...looks like a really, REALLY pro-lifer hasn't heard of the Onion and doesn't get satire.  I laughed soooo damn hard while reading this!

March Together For Life: Murder without conscience

Here are some quotes from a pro-abortion person, Miss Caroline Weber, who wrote an article at The Onion online magazine. The Onion Article When referring to the killing of her child she said...

After recovering from my laughing fit, I proceeded to read more of the blog, where it became apparent that many, MANY people had been roasting the author. There are a couple of different posts referencing readers feedback. My favorite highlights are:

Monthly Call For Life: Satire?

Needless to say, a few people wanted to let me know that I was a dolt for thinking that her article was real. As a matter of fact, call me a dolt, because in the beginning I really did think it was real.

After stating this, he goes on to justify his anger about what was satirically written! Ummm...yes. It is SATIRE! Perhaps a Modest Proposal of sort, eh?

Monthly Call For Life: College Ejumacated

The last person said "I don't know any college educated folks who don't know the site", which proves my point that our children are brainwashed in the public school system.

Ahhhhhh! ROFL! I do believe I may add this to my humor folder on Bloglines. You know, when I need a pick me up and some laughter. Thank you, Peter, for lightening my day!

MyTimes Debut

So...many people have been discussing the release of MyTimes from the New York Times.

TechCrunch » Blog Archive » NYTimes launches MyTimes, a weak RSS play

NYTimes.com has launched a limited beta of a personalized news site called MyTimes.com (screenshots via PaidContent), an RSS play that looks more like MyYahoo than it does the recent Newsgator partnerships with MyUSAToday and MyNewsweek. Unlike in those services, it does not appear that users can add sources from outside the recommended feeds to their MyTimes page.

Most criticism around MyTimes has cricled around the apparent lacking of being able to add any RSS feed, not just suggested news sources. In the TechCrunch posting, they left out what I would consider to be key functionality:

NYTimes’s Personalized Service “My Times” Debuts In Limited Beta | paidContent.org

But the NYT is also playing its ace card: beyond-the-headlines expertise from its own journalists. A small number of staffers (26 at last count) have set up their own pages and are sharing their “sources” with other MyTimes users, who can bookmark and keep track of “My Journalists’ Pages.” This is in keeping with the over-the-top tagline: “My Times: Where the best minds in journalism help you edit the Web.” Users also can add the staffer sources to their own page. This doesn’t seem to work both ways. I’m told these are just a sample of the personalized staff pages; more will be added.

I believe requiring use registration does not work, and is strife with bad data, unless you provide valuable reasons for it. I have been a longtime user of BugMeNot for the NYTimes because I have no value add for relenquishing personal information to the NYTimes. This is the first bit of functionality that I can see value for setting up an account with the NYTimes. If they take the simple step of opening up to any RSS feed, which I believe they will when the users speak, this could be a great move for the NYTimes. In addition to making it a homepage to read my feeds, it adds the editorial edge of their reporters, like Netscape is attempting to do, and provides a treasure trove of data to mine for advertising purchases.

What a face!

Focus. Focus.Hosted on Zooomr

World Cup Finals in Dolores Park

Wow! I was stunned by the number of people that showed up in Dolores Park for the World Cup Finals. I live 1 1/2 blocks away, so made the trip back and forth so that I could watch the game in the comfort of my own home and still go back for the atmosphere. It definitely did not feel like we were in the US. Except for maybe Mancub spinning between halves and at the end!

This is by far my favorite fan...he was just as fun to watch as the game!

Photos hosted on Zooomr

Amazing footage of Iraqi Sandstorm

I have been in quite a few sandstorms on the playa, but holy damn. This is absolutely insane. What is so sick about me that I really want to experience a sandstorm like this at least once in my life? (via The Burning Missive)

Revver and Metrics

So...I just syndicated a Ze Frank epsiode in a previous post by placing the embed links into my blog post.  It is quicktime rather than flash, as many of the video sites use.  The quality is noticeably better.  Very cool...

But how does Revver count impressions? Whenever the page loads, it automatically loads the QT.  It doesn't play it, as autoplay is sent to "no".  Perhaps it doesn't matter, as the ads are CPC and not CPM.  However, isn't that a horrible waste of bandwidth and an even worse measurement of which video is interesting or most played?  Perhaps I am missing a peroperty within the QT player that reports back plays? Interesting...

Here is the code for the embed:
<embed src="http://media.revver.com/broadcast/34812/video.mov/14854" pluginspage="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/" scale="tofit" kioskmode="False" qtsrc="http://media.revver.com/broadcast/34812/video.mov/14854" cache="False" controller="True" type="video/quicktime" autoplay="False" height="272" width="320">

Sony and Patents

So...a new Sony patent is for technology that can lock a game into a specific console.  So, we lose even more control on what is actually ours.  In this case, the Sony patent will limit our license for the media to a single machine!  So...a gamer wouldn't be able to take the game to their friends house and play!

Sony Patent Will Limit PlayStation Abilities - Los Angeles Times

Sony Corp. has patented technology that would prevent its PlayStation consoles from playing used, rented or borrowed video games -- raising questions about whether the electronics and entertainment giant may attempt to redefine what it means to own something in the digital age.

Now, I don't think Sony would be dumb enough to implement this, but then again, I didn't think that they would put spyware onto systems, either. So, here is hoping that they secured the patent just to hold the patent.

"A used-car market creates currency to buy new cars. Same with games. Everybody acknowledges that," Pachter said. "The problem is if the used game is available a week after the new game is out for a $5 discount."

I love that last quote. The only reason the game is back on the street is because it sucks or is too easy! Why would anyone be selling a legitimate copy if the game absolutely rocked?

Ze Frank, rising star

It won't be too long until Ze Frank is realized by the main stream crowd for his fantastic material.  Each episode is funny, topical, fresh, and edgy.  In a previous post, I highlighted a clip from Whose Line is it Anyways?, where the hilarious nature was highlighted by the fact that it had occurred on network TV, including the ABC Family logo.  However, with content from Ze Frank, or what Toni would refer to as People Media, this is what I expect and love.  I expect the content to push me, to challenge me, to make me laugh.  I'll take it!  Keep it coming!

the show with zefrank

I love fartparty!

Ok...fartparty has become one of my favorite comics on the net, and her blog is just as funny.  So snarky:

The Fart Party: The Fart Party Review: Useless Inventions

"How to Teach Your Baby Math” Deluxe Kit:
HOLY FUCK. What fucking BABY needs to learn MATH?! At this rate of premature education, babies will start going to school fresh out of the womb and getting high powered jobs while they’re teething. We’ll have baby CEO’s, baby lawyers and baby gynecologists. Yeah, baby gynecologists. Wrap your mind around that.

Whose Line is it?

I have long found Whose Line is It Anyways? to be a damn funny television show.  Though, as with all of my television experiences, if it is not on HBO, I probably won't catch it because I don't have Tivo.  I know, I should get it.  But I digress...the show is consistenly funny and always has moments that jolt laughter from me.  Love it...

Well, this clip, from You Tube, is fantastic.  Beyond guest starring Richard Simmons, my next favorite portion is the ABC Family logo ghosted in on the corner of the screen.  Careful...this one is pretty damn funny...

The brilliance of Hugh Macleod

Now this is just damn, damn funny...

New Mac Commercials

Wow...someone has leaked the new Mac v. PC commercials already.  These versions are much edgier...

;)

Too much transparency?

When I was in elementary school, and I don't have a frame of reference of whether it was between 2nd and 5th grade, I remember a conversation my older brother and father were having. I should frame this by relaying that they have always been, and continue to be, two of my heroes and role models in life. The conversation centered around a magazine or newspaper article in which a test was given regarding honesty. As my brother quized my father and tallied the score, the journalists measurement was that my father was too honest. A debate ensued for which my father shut it down, as only fathers can, by stating, "You can never be too honest." Not much to come back from.

As the blog-o-sphere as established itself as a transparent and self-correcting medium, a hallmark has been that there should be open-ness; issues are better to be addressed and corrected in the open. More to be learned. Less to be questioned. More to build upon. You know, our geek hippies finally getting their chance! ;)

However, the very public battle between Andrew Baron and Amanda Cogdon about the future of RocketBoom has me feeling a bit ... um ... icky.  It has flown around the blog-o-sphere, been ruminated on, commented on, and alluded to.  It is hard to imagine that this is not a story out of Page Six or half way through the episode of CSI.  Two public characters. A headlining new media vehicle.  Stories of $80k+ a week for advertising. One public, one behind the camera. And on and on and on.

But my distaste comes from this story being too public.  Too much interest.  Too many stories.  Too many guesses.  I am distraught that as a leader of new media, in this case videocasting, they didn't take a higher road in both their discourse and their resolve.  The public statement and retort has popped the bubble of love for RocketBoom, regardless of the outcome.

RocketBoom, for media, was the equivalent of the garage in Silicon Valley.  While MSM produced content that cost millions, needed distribution channels, executives, equipment, and ad sales forces, RB was simple two people in an apartment iwth a cheap camera, some lights, a map and a desk.  Simple.  Beautiful.  Opportunity.  Level playing field. I have a chance.  I can do it too. American dream.

The honeymoon is over!

Now, is this "too much honesty?"  Was my father wrong?  No, I don't think so.  I just think there is a forum for transparency and conversation.  And I don't believe that it should always be public.  Great things happen through public discourse, but this is not a conversation that should be held on Digg, Memeorandum, or throughout the blog-o-sphere.  Perhaps honesty and transparency are different.

technorati tags:RocketBoom, Amanda Cogdon, Andrew Baron, icky, transparency

Blogged with Flock