Yes, it’s time again for an original-content free collection of pointers to things that amuse, interest, or frighten me.
- I believe I have to mention the opening of Knol, Google’s attempt to take on Wikipedia with “authoritative articles” that have specific owners, rather than the anonymous wisdom of crowds. I admit, I have no idea how this is going to play out. I suspect, though, that the way Knol is setup to allow authors to reap advertising dollars from the articles will have unintended consequences of both a spammy and litigious nature.
- Yes, I would love to win an Asus EEE (so loved by Stephen Fry) custom painted by Donato Giancola, such as the one offered by Tor.com in this contest. Sadly, it is only open to people inside the 50 States of Bushland (and the District of Columbia). Still, allow me to mention it for the benefit of any Yankee friends who might not have seen the contest.
- If you thought that the Ritalin Calvin & Hobbes ending was depressing, you probably don’t want to see the ending of Peanuts.
- Today’s HGPA lunch conversation included some discussion of the sad, sad case of a Kiwi girl formerly named “Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii“. As Miller said, people in New Zealand are just crazy.
- OK, let me get this straight: this guy had a blood alcohol level more than eleven times the legal limit in Canada, and around twice the level generally considered lethal… and he’s fine? Damn. I wonder if they’re sure he’s Bulgarian, because that sounds almost Lithuanian.
- If I hadn’t watched the whole McFarlane-Gaiman wars, then this wouldn’t be nearly as amusing as it actually is.
- Not the most convincing argument, but it did make me laugh. As did these. Again.
- Well, now that we can see what’s happening the contest to replace the Hockey Night In Canada theme, I’m torn between my desire to support the classic theme, and my desire to see what would happen if Hockey Scores wins the contest. What if 30 seconds of cats meowing and babies crying did win the Hockey Night in Canada song contest?
- So, is it true that “rising cost of gas + credit crisis”==”less disposable income and discretionary spending”==”the end of niche markets”? I hope not, since I am deeply embedded in a couple of those niche markets, but on the other hand, there are certainly some I wouldn’t mind seeing the end of. Still, all in all, I’m much more Long Tail than I am blockbuster, so if this thesis holds the world will become much less interesting to me. (Of course, I think that even if the main thrust of the thesis is true, it misses a whole axis of Internet driven low-cost entertainment/retail. Things like web comics, Jonathan Coulton, Shadow Unit, or Spreadshirt, to chose some random examples, would all flourish even in the “dying” niche market the author proposes.)
- So who are the people who can look at the raw numbers and still think voting for Bush was a good idea? And more to the point what’s their logic system?
- Why is everyone writing about the fish pedicure like it’s shocking? The whole body fish spa is a lot more squicky, and that hasn’t been news for a year.
