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I thought they were calling it Air America but the XM Radio website refers to America Left. I'll give it a listen. Al Franken insists his first priority is "...to get sued by a right-wing jerk." Maybe they'll last through the election. Of course, I didn't think Rush Limbaugh would make it either.
Maybe it's just me but seems like a lot of the Net is down. Can't get to Google or Hotmail. I'm not sure life would be worth living without Google.
If you haven't seen it, check out the online ad for the American Express card. The four-minute "webisode" stars Jerry Seinfeld and a cartoon Superman. Makes me proud to carry an American Express card. Reminds me of the BMW "movie" ads. So we got two kinds of ads: those we Tivo past...and those we search out on the Net and tell our friends about.
Halley Suitt has been thinking (and writing) "...about how we all spend so much time having a life that seems to be the kind of life other people have -- get up, get breakfast, get dressed, go to work, get there at 9:00, leave there at 5:00 or 6:00 or whatever, come home, eat dinner, watch TV -- and I suddenly found this really sad. That we come to this earth and that's all we can come up with for a life. I don't want to be the fire-eating woman in the circus or something, but I think I want more of a life than a person who lives in a box, leaves their box in the morning, gets in their box-with-wheels, drives to another office box, sits in that box for 8 hours, their butt spreading a little wider every day from just sitting there, goes home to their box, sits in front of the box, eats a frozen dinner out of a box, goes to sleep on their mattress and box spring."
Co-worker Jeff points out that I first posted the Google "define" feature in October of last year but --obviously-- forgot. He went on to --cleverly-- provide the definition of Alzheimer's Disease. Jeff is still more than a little amazed that someone older than his father has a website.
For my part, I'm more than a little amazed at how many people visit smays.com. It's that spooky feeling you get when you think you're alone in the house and hear a noise. "Hello? Who's there?" As another co-worker and I pass in the hall way he muttered, "Nice hair in the balloon pictures." He was referring to a recent post of hot air balloon photographs.
Writing about what you have been doing...or plan to do...or simply what you've been thinking about, makes casual conversation a little harder.
"I'm going to Kennett this weekend..."
"To see Slick, the white blues singer. Yeah, I know."
"You should see our new pupply, she's..."
"Lucy, right? Golden Retreiver? Eleven weeks old? The pictures are cute."
To the extent you put your life online, there's really not much to share with people. They read it last night! I shouldn't be too surprised by this since I read half a dozen blogs every day. I know a lot about what's going one with Halley Suitt, and Chris Pirillo and Doc Searls. Perhaps we believe the lives of others are more interesting than our own. Or hope they will be. When, in fact, it's the Seinfeld Concept: A show about nothing. Tomorrow I'll stop by and chat with Jeff and Keith about this and...uh, see what they...hmm. I guess not.
That's the title of a very interesting article (WSJ, March 29, 2004) about how Google is managed. One of my favorite parts: "...decisions are made in front of people. We don't like people to go off and make a decision. We try to make decisions in as large a group as possible by as few people as possible."
I spent much of the weekend organizing and filing photos. I've scanned hundreds but might actually have thousands still in boxes. Came across some shots from two hot air balloon rides in 1980. What an amazing experience. From a mile up, in a bright bag of hot air, the world looks very peaceful. Don't know why we failed to take photos from that altitude.
Dan Gillmor points out a nifty Google feature: If you type (without the quotes) "define:" and then a word, Google goes out and finds Web pages where that term is defined.
US broadband penetration Jumps to 45.2% - US Internet penetration nearly 75%.
The Wal-Mart heirs pony up a fortune for a new arena at Mizzou and name it after their dauther Paige and fans are outraged. Of course, they could have named it after thir dog (Buster Arena). While they were agonizing over the name, someone forgot to register the domain before the announcment and a student at arch rival Kanas beat 'em to it.
From the Pew Internet Project: " 22% of Americans 65 and older use the Internet. The percent of seniors who go online has jumped by 47% between 2000 and 2004. In a February 2004 survey, 22% of Americans age 65 or older reported having access to the Internet, up from 15% in 2000. That translates to about 8 million Americans age 65 or older who use the Internet. By contrast, 58% of Americans age 50-64, 75% of 30-49 year-olds, and 77% of 18-29 year-olds currently go online." That last one is interesting. Would love to know what % of 18-29 year-olds listen to the radio.
NPR's Bob Edwards is possibly the best radio announcer I've ever heard. I'll bet you a nickel the dumb ass that canned him was never on the air... just a good "manager." This is the kind of bonehead move we've come to expect from commercial radio.
I'm not ready to give up on the video from Slick Ballinger's recent Kennett appearance. In the meantime, you can download and listen to the audio. The first four songs are from the first set and (I think) the sound is better. The last five are from the second set and it sounds like the PA was little hot. This was recorded on my video camera so it basically sucks. But if you've never heard His Slickness... you might not even notice. I'd like to think they were recording this out of the sound system but have no way of knowing.
Sorry I can't provide the names of the songs but I'm hoping one of Slick's Rangers will ID them and I'll update this post. Mother Sexton insists there are not a lot of good recordings of Slick online, which is difficult to imagine, but she would know. One more thing... it was difficult to cut the End Zone sets into individual songs. Reverend Slick and the Soul Blues Boyz slid seamlessly from one tune to the next. If I guessed wrong, let me know and I'll repost.
Song# 1 [6 meg - 14 min]
Song #2 [7 meg - 17 min]
Song #3 [6 meg - 16 min]
Song #4 [5 meg - 11 min]
Song #5 [2 meg - 6 min]
Song #6 [4 meg - 10 min]
Song #7 [4 meg - 10 min]
Song #8 [4 meg - 10 min]
Song #9 [3 meg - 7 min]
Wired piece on why RSS is everywhere.
9 minutes from Slick Ballinger's opening set at The End Zone, Kennett, Missouri, March 19, 2004. It's a shame to edit any of songs Slick & Co. performed because they were all damned good. And just too long to post here. Even at 160x120, this file is 2.7 meg but well worth the download. The video looks like it was shot in a dark, smokey old bar because it was shot in a dark, smokey old bar. Give me a few more days and I'll post some more.
Updated with Google video on 4/22/07.
Bill Maher says: "If we really want to stop terrorism, we have to get Muslim men laid." Link
I could live in one of these. "The QUIK HOUSE is a prefabricated kit house designed by Adam Kalkin from recycled shipping containers. It has three bedrooms and two and one-half baths in its 2,000 square foot plan. The basic kit costs $76,000 plus shipping. The shell assembles by the end of the week, you will have a fully enclosed building. From start to finish, it should take no longer than three months to complete your house." [via Boing Boing]
In a couple of hundred words, Andy Rooney summed up my thoughts on the gay marriage thing: "No one can get a drivers license or fly an airplane without taking a test. Why should marriage be any different? If you want to make marriage more stable, make divorce illegal. If people knew they couldn't get out of it, they'd be more careful getting into it." Andy joins Carlin and Miller.
Daniel "Slick" Ballinger's story is literally the stuff of movies. Young white boy travels to the Mississippi Delta to live with --and learn from-- aging blues legend. Barb and I drove to Kennett this weekend to hear him play. He and two sidemen (Terry "Harmonica" Bean and drummer Kenny Kimbrough) did two one-hour sets at a local bar called The End Zone. I grew up in Kennett and don't ever remember paying a ten dollar cover charge but The End Zone was packed. The back story on Slick is worth a read and the best place to start is Tweed's Blues. Tweed maintains the semi-official Slick Ballinger page there. (Be sure to read the Como Chronicles.)
I won't waste a lot of words trying to capture the Slick Ballinger Experience. Like all such moments, you had to be there. If you pressed me for a word to describe Slick's performance, I'd have to go with "intense." I shot some video under what has to be the worst conditions imaginable. Check back in a couple of days. If I got anything usable, I'll post it. [Barb took most of these photos.]
I don't know how Slick learned to play a guitar like that in less than twenty years. And I can't imagine where that kind of passion comes from in one so young. Uber-fan Viretta says some of the old timers back in Mississippi think Slick is the reincarnation of Robert Johnson (doesn't the screenplay practically write itself?).
We ran into Slick, Kenney and Terry the next morning at McCormick's. They were fueling up on biscuits and gravy before hitting the road to Chicago where they're performing at a Sara Lee corporate function. Slick doesn't have a record deal and apparently doesn't want one. Sounds like all of his bookings are word of mouth. After watching him perform, it's hard not believe I'll see him again...with a Grammy in his hand. But that won't make his music any better. And those who know him say it won't make him any happier. If you'll give me one more word to describe Daniel "Slick" Ballinger, I'll go with "authentic."
[Note to Viretta and Nancy: You were right.]
I delete (without reading) any email with a blank subject line. And more times than not, I'll delete any with dumb-ass subjects such as: "Stuff," "Yo!," or "Hey." If your message isn't important enough to briefly describe in the subject line, it's not important enough for me to read.
We'll be dark for a couple of days as we load up the pups for a road trip (Lucy's first). Hope to return with rave reviews of Daniel "Slick" Ballinger.
Here's a rich, successful, influential mogul...that finds the time (and inclination) to maintain a web log. I'm sorry, but this means something. I just don't know what, yet.
And sometimes you must improvise. All puppies love to chew and shoes are a favorite. I've modified a cheap pair of canvas loafers that I wear around Lucy. Masking tape covers the leather laces so she can't get at them. More importantly, the soles are smooth. This makes it easier to hose off the dog shit. This is important because it's no longer possible to simply avoid stepping in dog shit. Our house sets on the corner of about three acres but we only use about one. But that's still a lot of yard and woods. Even with two dogs shitting twice a day, you'd think it unlikely you'd step in a pile that often. I'm running about 20%. I know the dog shit is there and I make an effort to watch for and avoid it. But I keep stepping in it. As one that looks for --and finds-- life's lessons, this one is pretty obvious. If you want to live in a world with lovable Golden Retriever puppies, you must be prepared to step in dog shit and deal with it.
From the Kennett Chamber of Commerce website: "Nine-time Grammy award winner Sheryl Crow will return home to serve as the keynote speaker at the 58th Annual Kennett Chamber of Commerce Banquet. The banquet will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 12th, at the American Legion Building in Kennett. Tickets for the event are $25 per person for Chamber members and $35 per person for non-Chamber members. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Chamber office at 573-888-5828. The deadline to purchase tickets is March 15th. The meal will be prepared by Simply Delicious Catering Service." Can that possibly be a coincidence?
We're spending so much time with this new pup that it's a little hard for me to observe that she is getting bigger. Of course, she is. Happy, playful, getting along well with Ripley. Trying not to go nuts with photos but couldn't resist posting a few new ones at Fotki. Barb and I keep our Casio Exilim "Wearable Card Camera" close at hand. I can't get over how cool these things are. This brief (40 seconds) video clip was shot with the Casio and edited in Studio 8. The camera can only shoot 30 seconds of video at a time but you'd be surprised how much fits in half a minute. If you're thinking about a digital camera, the Casio Exilim is THE camera to buy.
These days I keep two items in my pocket: a little Swiss Army knife and my SanDisk cruzer mini thumb drive. If there were just a way...
Jonathon Delacour on the movie After Life.
This is what you hear when you walk through the portal of death:
You're going to stay here for a week. Everyone gets a private room. Please feel at home. But while you're here there's one thing you must do.
Out of the __ years of your life, we'd like to ask you to choose one memory, the one you remember and cherish most.
There is a time limit. You have three days to decide. After you choose your memory, our staff will recreate it on film as exactly as possible.
On Saturday we'll show the films to everyone. The moment the memory comes back to you most vividly, you'll go on to the other side, taking only that memory
Again, via Halley's Comment
The date I started writing some of this down. Two years. Wow. It is very addictive. I get jittery when I go more than a day or two without posting. Writer and Famous Blogger Cory Doctorow calls his blog his "outboard brain" and explains just how handy a blog can be. [via Halley's Comment]
Writing a blog entry about a useful and/or interesting subject forces me to extract the salient features of the link into a two- or three-sentence elevator pitch to my readers, whose decision to follow a link is predicated on my ability to convey its interestingness to them. This exercise fixes the subjects in my head the same way that taking notes at a lecture does, putting them in reliable and easily-accessible mentalregisters.
(week ending 02/20/04).
1. Friends
2. Sex and the City
3. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
4. The Apprentice
5. American Idol
6. The West Wing
7. ER
8. 24
9. Survivor: All-Stars
10. Will & Grace
So I can find easily find this again. From Cherie Carter-Scott's "If Life is a Game, These are the Rules."
Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period of this time around.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error: Experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately "works."
4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better than "here." When your "there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to life's questions lie inside you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10. You will forget all this.
Doc Searls on TV as an information medium: "Life's too short. I'm already 56. Time gets more precious every day. Why waste time sitting still consuming thin information on TV when you can hunt the thick stuff down and eat it up at your own pace, on your own personal screen, or in a book, or on headphones while you excercize?"
I'm only a few hours from the end of my Weekend Alone with an Eight Week Old Puppy. I think it's gone very well and Lucy and Ripley have expressed no opinion on the subject. Ripley is getting more comfortable with the pup every day. They both want to play [video] but need a little more time to get there.
And for those that need one more Life Lesson: Life is like our big back yard/woods. Dog shit everywhere. You know it's there and you do you best not to step in it... but you do. And you will again. Just clean off your shoe and keep going.
The photograph above was --I believe-- taken on my fifth birtday. John bought the cake at the annual Rotary Radio Auction. I'm guessing it was created by Causbie's Bakery and intended for a wedding. But it made a hell of birthday cake. This image captures the essence of the 50's for me. Ward, June and the Beaver. Seemed fitting for tomorrow's 56th birthday. Christ, (sorry, Mel) how is it possible I have a photograph of myself that's more than half a century old?
Lesson learned during the past year? It's a good thing to count your blessings but you can't use the math you learned as a child. I have all of these wonderful birthday presents, so if I break or lose one, it's okay because I have so many more. One would think. Unfortunately, you might have one hundred items in the Blessings column and just one in the Other column...and find you are overdrawn in your Life Book. One drop of pain can be so concentrated, it needs an ocean of Good Things to dilute it. And it never goes away entirely. How did I miss this awful truth?
It's been several years since I first saw these images (in the Missouri State Archives) and I still find them powerful. Each of these men (and one woman) were executed in Missouri's gas chamber. A professional photographer could probably explain why these photos seem so much better than more recent inmate pix. Maybe it's just black and white vs. color but I doubt it.
I believe my Death Row website was the first place these photographs were published online. It might still be the only place you can find them. I find it very gratifying that this kind of personal publishing is possible.
I watched Ground Hog Day again tonight (Get it?). No question, GHD is a better Bill Murray movie and a better movie than Lost In Translation. There's just so much in that movie that I believe to be true or wish were true.
* "No matter what happens tomorrow, or the rest of my life...I'm happy now."
* We will relive our experieces until we understand (and learn from) them.
* We can be better than we are if we just work at it one day at time, every day, forever.
* You have time to do all the things you ever wanted to do. Today.
How can you watch this movie and not believe in reincarnation?
This makes me want a mobile phone. "Did you wake up late for work and you want your boss to think you're caught in traffic? Select the Traffic Jam background and give him a call from your bedroom. He will hear your voice on top of (traffic sfx). Is one of your mates a chronic talker that just doesn't know when to stop? Use the Phone Ring background and your friend will hear a phone ring 6 times, 15 seconds into the call. Tell him that your other phone is ringing and that you have to go. Pretend you're at the dentist, in the park, on the street, caught in a thunderstorm, near heavy machinery or at a circus parade."
In 1911, there was a constitutional amendment attempt to ban interracial marriage. More at Corante. [via Boing Boing]
If you love the music of BNL (and we do)...you might want to swing by their blog. [via Lockergnome]
I finally got around to listening to the new "local weather & traffic" channels on XM Radio. Twenty-one cities to start, including St. Louis. I can't speak to the accuracy of the content but it sounded like most other weather and traffic reports to me. For that matter, I have no way of knowing --without being in it every day-- the accuracy of such reports on local stations. I did like the continuous feeds. If I didn't want to wait 10 minutes for the next report on KMOX, I could punch up XM 218 and get it almost immediately.
With birthday #56 looming, I'm proud to report that I have never been in better physical condition. Ever. As a child, I wasn't this fit. And I owe it all to very nice lady named Traci Booth. Yes, I have a personal trainer. I started working out with Traci more than two years ago. It's my one great extravagance. No way I'd keep at this without our weekly sessions. If you have trouble sticking with an exercise program, here's your answer.
"CNN International is going to be streamed live on mobile phones in Austria starting in March. This is the first streaming mobile deal for CNN; other channels such as CNBC have been experimenting with streaming video clips." CyberJournalist.net has some links and sample audio. Is this sort of "radio" that I can get anywhere, anytime I want?
I never liked the "information highway" metaphor and this NY Times editorial explains why. [Password required]
What Google also reflects is our changing sense of the dynamism of the Web. Nothing captures how statically we used to see the Internet as well as "information highway," an old phrase that embodies pure linearity and the smell of asphalt. That stasis is also captured in the increasingly outmoded notion of an Internet portal like AOL, much of whose dynamism comes from offering a Google search bar. The fact is that many of us have grown comfortable within the amorphousness of the Web. We no longer need a breakwater like AOL when a good search engine promises to make the sea itself our home.
