smays.com

Google AdSense.

We received our first Google AdSense check today. For $121.00 and change. Our company generates millions in ad revenue (and a bunch of that online) but this tiny check made me smile. The AdSense program is so easy and so well done.

Where do I hand in my trivia badge?

Name a movie in which the following actors appear: Spencer Tracy; Burt Lancaster; Richard Widmark; Marlene Dietrich; Judy Garland; Montgomery Clift; and...William Shatner.

Seinfeld Dictionary flawed

It took Scott and Jenny about 10 seconds to invalidate The Seinfeld Dictionary of Terms. How could you omitt "Master of Your Domain?" Or "Sponge-worthy?" I gotta start paying closer attention.

Hugh Macleod "draws cartoons

Hugh Macleod "draws cartoons on the back of business cards" and writes about about advertising and marketing. The cartoon above spoke to me until I broke it down:

A 28-year-old wasn't born when 3 Days of the Condor was released; I'd eventually comment on her stupidity; I could not "do the time"; and I'd never give up my Casio. But the naked part sounded okay.

A-Z.

The Seinfeld Dictionary of Terms and Phrases. This is why I blog. So I'll have a place to write shit like this down. You'll also find a link on the right side of the page.

True Romance script

I've always been a Quentin Tarantino fan (you love his work or hate it). He tells a great story and his characters talk the way real people talk. I've posted on this several times. I'm more convinced than ever that it's the dialogue after coming across the script (PDF) for True Romance (there's more at Screentalk). I started reading it and found it difficult to stop. Perhaps this is because I've seen the movie so many time. All the pictures and sounds are there in my head.

Why we're really in Iraq

I think the best answer can be found at the end of Sydney Pollack's 1975 spy flick, Three Days of the Condor. Robert Redford's character (Joe Turner) is talking to CIA agent Higgins (played by Cliff Robertson) about the no-longer-secret plan to invade the Middle East for oil.

Higgins: The fact is, it wasn't a bad plan. It could've worked.

Turner: Jesus -- What is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same as telling the truth.

Higgins: It's simple economics, Turner... There's no argument. Oil now, 10 or 15 years it'll be food, or plutonium. Maybe sooner than that. What do you think the people will want us to do then?

Turner: Ask them!

Higgins: Now? (shakes head) Huh-uh. Ask them when they're running out. When it's cold at home and the engines stop and people who aren't used to hunger... go hungry! They won't want us to ask... (quiet savagery:) They'll want us to GET it for them.

End of one-way news.

Jeff Jarvis on the death of the Dan Rathers of news... what should rise in their place.

The idea that we should just sit there and watch as someone reads the news to us is -- now that we see the alternatives -- quaint at best, condescending at worst. Why the hell should we ever have let Dan Rather decide what's important to us and how we should should look at it? How did we ever tolerate listening to the news from him without taking the opportunity to talk back?

It's the top-down, one-way, one-size-fits-all news-extruding machine that's ready for the mothballs. It's the old view of delivering the news that's antiquated. We no longer wait for the news to come to us; now the news waits for us to go get it. We are in control.

Podcasting.

I gave some serious thought to purchasing an iPod or similar digital audio device. But the buggers cost $300-400 and I didn't want to pay that much. And I don't have 10,000 mp3 files, anyway. But I have started downloading and listening to interviews from IT Conversations.

Listening to these on my laptop was somewhat limiting so I sprung for a SanDisk Digital Music Player. This little gem has 512 meg of (flash) storage and will play for 15 hours on a single AAA battery. It was on sale at Best Buy for about $120 and I can take it back if I don't like it.

So when would you use a device like this? Today I went to see National Treasure and got there about 15 minutes before the movie began. Popped in my ear-buds and listened to the first part of a talk by Richard Florida (The Rise of the Creative Class).

It got me thinking again about this whole podcasting thing. The stuff I'm interested in will never be broadcast on a traditional radio station. Or, if it is, I'm unlikely to know about it or pick up that station. But the IT Conversations website has hundreds of hours of content that I'm very interested in. And I can go and get it whenever I want. And listen to it whenever and where ever I want.

Radio programmers have always been about trying to find the right combination of music, news, talk, whatever... that would appeal to the greatest number of people within their coverage area. Lowest common denominator. That doesn't work for me anymore. I want to listen to what I'm interested in. When I want to listen to it. Where ever I might be. The web makes this possible.

Trio.

Last night I discovered Trio (pop, culture, tv). I'm prone to endless channel surfing so I don't know how I've missed this but I happend upon "Parking Lot."

Spawned by the classic 1980s underground film "Heavy Metal Parking Lot," Trio travels to the parking lots and convention grounds of America's favorite pop culture events to hear fans express their devotion. And they never show any of the performances. Just fans in the parking lot, before and after. Very wierd.

I'm going to try to catch some of Trio's "Dysfunctional Family Thanksgiving" marathon, including:

Almost Elvis takes you into the world of Elvis impersonators. Their daily trials and tribulations and a pilgrimage to Memphis for the "Elvis Impersonator World Championships."

The Devil's Playground follows a group of Amish teens in their Rumspringa period as they venture into the world of their 'English' peers.

Unconfirmed siting

My friend John reports Sheyrl Crow and Lance Armstrong were sited in the Kennett, Missouri, Wal-Mart yesterday (Wednesday). Those two could be anywhere on the planet for the holiday. I love that Ms. Crow goes back to our little town and that Mr. Armstrong goes with her.

Giving Thanks.

* Barb
* Family (Barb's & mine)
* Lucy & Ripley

* University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine
* Good health
* Interesting, creative work
* The Net

St. Louis Airport, TG Eve.

My official "Things for Which I'm Thankful" list will be posted tomorrow but let the record show I'm thankful not to be traveling. Barb is safely in sunny Dallas and I'm at home with Lucy and Ripley. Would it be unmanley to weep from joy?

Stalking Sheryl Crow

On Monday Sheryl Crow gave testimony in a case against Ambrose Kappos, 38, a one-time Navy diver charged with stalking the singer during a 16-month period. At one point in Kappos' nearly two-hour testimony, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Hill asked him if he is a "fan" of the singer. "I don't think that's a very good term," Kappos replied. "Maybe ... spiritual twin. ... Maybe I'm crazy and delusional. Maybe they need to lock me up." Uh, yeah. Maybe.

When I grow up, I want to be in Advertising

I'm not sure if the the truth of this video makes it funnier or sadder.

A more balanced, decentralized lifestyle.

I no longer believe in politicians, large institutions, and organized religion...just to name a few. One thing (?) in which I believe strongly is the Internet and it's potential for improving (saving?) mankind. I can't make an intelligent case for that belief but Jakob Nielsen makes a good running start at it.

The Internet will reestablish a more balanced, decentralized lifestyle. In the physical world, you win by being big, with economies of scale in manufacturing, worldwide distribution, and branding. In the virtual world, you win by being good: Automation reduces the benefits of scale, the Internet equalizes distribution, and reputation follows from quality rather than incessantly repeated slogans. The switch from centralization to decentralization goes to the heart of the human experience. And because the switch will drive up quality, it will tend to be a force for good. [Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox, November 22, 2004]

Haunting

I recently posted a link to Kendall Anderson's wonderful photos of an abandoned psychiatric facility in Whitby, Ontario. They're even more interesting with a soundtrack (from Blade Runner, by Vangelis). 90 sec video (wmv)

Tattoovertising.

TatAd will pay consumers to wear a tattoo and become walking billboard for products. The company matches people based on where they live and their lifestyle with marketers who have expressed an interest in the medium. Those selected will then be tattooed with the logo of the advertiser. The company reports 800 sign ups.

One more example of why this is such a great time to be alive. If you are even a little interested in advertising, you should check out AdRants.com

No such thing.

While preparing to be filmed at London's Shepperton Studios, along with Beyonce Knowles and David Beckham, for a new Pepsi commercial, Jennifer Lopez brought the shoot to a halt because "... her bum was just too curvy for the outfit and we had to make sure the costume fit her before we could start filming." [AdRants]

Gulp.

This little nugget came by way of William Gibson's blog:

"I call on every man and woman of good will all over America today ...to take a stand on this issue. Tomorrow may be too late. The book may close. Don't let anyone make you think that God chose America as his divine messianic force, to be a sort of policeman of the whole world. God has a way of standing before the nations with judgment, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America 'You are too arrogant! If you don't change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power! And I will place it in the hands of a nation that doesn't even know my name. Be still and know that I am God.'"

-- Martin Luther King, 4 April 1967 (one year before his assassination)

Watching ads while you're skipping ads.

Coming soon to the standalone TiVo OS: when you hit fast forward to skip past commercials, small banner ads will show up on your screen.

Anthropoid in the woodpile.

William Gibson sums up Creationism in one short paragraph.

Step away from the Santa

One of the local supermarkets installed a mechanical Santa a week or so back. Push the little button between his feet and he sings and dances. He overlooks the check-out lanes and the employees were ready blow their brains out after the first few hours. As I repeatedly pressed the button and watched Santa sing, time after time... I tried to think of ways this could have been more fun. Maybe a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, grinding and moaning. Or just a mean Santa:

"Hey, you little ass monkey! Get away from that candy or I'll come down from here and put my shiny black boot up your fat ass!"

Your money or your life

My friend Sunny insists this is a true story: A man committed a series of armed robberies in Liberty (Missouri) this weekend. However one of his attempts was aborted. He went into a CiCi's Pizza and crowded in front of a bunch of kids to tell the guy behind the counter that it was a robbery and to turn over all the money or he would be killed. The counter guy said that surely the robber wouldn't do that in front of a bunch of kids. The would-be-robber restated that he was serious, it was a robbery and that he would kill the counter guy unless he turned over all the money. The counter guy then said, "Dude, I'm thiry-one years old and working in a pizza joint. My life can't get any worse, so do what you have to do." The robber left emty handed.

Overhaulin' Lance Armstrong.

Let me make sure I got this right... your beautiful, rock-star girl friend buys you a vintage, 1970 GTO and then gets it all tricked out on TLC's Overhaulin'. Tuesday, November 30, 9 p.m. During the filming, an anxious Sheryl said, "This is really going to blow him away  he's going to have a cow!" Be sure to check out the preview video.

Purge.

William Gibson on Bush purge of CIA: "Elsewhere on the undefended border between fiction and reality, the White House hands John LeCarre the plot-device he's wanted since the day the Berlin Wall fell."

Inspirational video

With new free video clips everyday, you can get the motivation and inspiration you need to put you on the road to a happy, healthy and successful life. But you'll need a good haircut.

Where's your ball?

Ripley leads a very simple life. Aside from the basic necessities of food and shelter, all she needs is someone to throw the ball. That's as good as life gets or needs to be.

http://www.blahblahblah.com

Just saw a Land's End TV commercial that conlcuded with, "Call or click for more information." It seems like a long time since I heard a spot that felt the need to include "www" in reference to their website. Advertisers at the national level get this but many of the advertisers we deal with at the state and regional level are still clueless in this regard.

Interview with Hal Holbrook.

If you're a fan of Hal Holbrook, Mark Twain (or Bob Priddy, for that matter)... you'll enjoy Bob's interview with Holbrook. Runs just shy of an hour.

The franchise is the content.

"...the Internet has become our entire business environment, not just another medium for distribution ... the franchise is not the newspaper, the broadcast station, or even the website. The franchise is the content itself. ... Get ready for everything to be Googled, deep-linked, or Tivo-ized." -- Tom Curley, President and CEO, The Associated Press, in keynote address (full text) to Online News Association Conference, Nov. 12, 2004

Street by street.

From Kevin Sites' blog: "Then insurgent snipers begin firing in front of the Marines as well. One round pierces the Kevlar helmet a twenty-year old Mark 19 gunner -- in my vehicle. He is badly wounded. He's put in a canvas stretcher and six Marines run through the streets carrying him to a waiting military ambulance."

This sort of looks like journalism to me. Be sure to check out the photos.

Click. Click. Done.

Just did 90% of my holiday shopping. Took about 2 minutes at Amazon. Don't tell me the Net hasn't improved the quality of my life.

Pump me up.

From USAToday story: Starting at age 50, people begin to lose 12% of their muscle strength and 6% of their muscle mass every decade. But weight training can reverse these effects in a big way. Two to three months of weight training three times a week can increase muscle strength and mass by one-third, making up for three decades of loss of muscle strength and muscle mass.

Not Google.

I took Microsoft's new search engine for a spin tonight and can't say I was impressed. Looked a lot like Google but it's hard to knock them for that. And it probably does some things that Google doesn't but I didn't take the time to try find out what they might be. I did an image search for "Steve Mays" and came up with two photos that truly capture the real me. But I'm a Google Boy to the very end.

10x10.

A very interesting way of looking at the news.

Carl Rove to John Ashcroft:

"John...you know how you're always talking about that gospel CD you've been wanting to record but just can't find the time...?

Everything.

I don't know Halley Suitt but I've been reading her blog for a few years and, well, I feel like I know her. Last week she wrote about a cancer scare. Today she reported that it was just that, a scare. And added: "Gives you a whole new appreciation for...everything."

This small, common incident seems so...out of balance. On the front end is this awful, hellish possibility. At the other end is a nice, normal mammogram. Everything's okay. Normal life resumes. Does the good news really balance the bad? I hope so, for Halley.

Rinse

A beautiful day for a drive to Cape Girardeau for lunch and check-up by long-time friend and dentist Bob Fox and his lovely wife Connie. As always, my XM made the 8 hours of road time seem like no time at all. It was such a nice day, I decided not to spoil it by checking my work email... even though I'm but a mouse-click away.

On the bedside table.

Regular readers know I'm a big fan of George Carlin (and letting other people doing my thinking) so I would have bought his new book, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, even if Wal-Mart hadn't banned it. And I couldn't get past the acknowledgments without finding something worth writing down:

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."

--Hermann Goring at the Nuremberg Trials

I think I'm gonna need a fresh highlighter.

Can you hear me now?

Just noticed I had not posted since Thursday. I don't recall going that long. I'm presently responsible for at least a dozen websites and now spend every waking moment trying to keep them fresh. Hard to find time for recreational surfing and thinking. Ten hours in the car tomorrow with no mouse...no keyboard. Just my XM Radio. A little mini-vacation.

Station identification.

Thomas L. Friedman, writing in the NY Times, perfectly expresses what bothers me about the election (and our country in general):

"...this election was tipped because of an outpouring of support for George Bush by people who don't just favor different policies than I do - they favor a whole different kind of America. We don't just disagree on what America should be doing; we disagree on what America is. It seemed as if they were voting for what team they were on. This was not an election. This was station identification."

The full article is worth a read. [Thanks to John for the link]

This Internet thing.

NYU economics professor Nicholas Economides describes the Internet (35 years old in September) in terms of the industries it's displacing. The U. S. Postal Service is becoming obsolete. In the last five years, more than one out of every 10 radio listeners between the ages of 25 and 34 have stopped listening (Clear Channel, Citadel and Cumulus Media have seen share prices drop 23%, 40% and 26% respectively in the last year). Newspapers have watched revenue from help-wanted ads plummet by more than $3.7 billion in the last five years. And telephone service is almost certain to see some big heavy changes.

What camera?

A sheriff's deputy (in Florida) tackled, punched and arrested a jurnalist for taking pictures of people waiting in line to cast early ballots in West Palm Beach. [Thanks, Jeff]

Voter #1.

Our polls don't open until 6:00 a.m. but I was there at 5:00 a.m. No other voters. No poll workers. Just me. By the time they opened the door to let us in, there was probably 150 people lined up. By the time I cast my ballot at 6:02 a.m., there were easily 200 people in line (photo above). Never again will I say it doesn't matter who wins.

Long Day.

Okay, here's the plan for tomorrow. I plan to be at the polls no later than 5:30 a.m. Polls open at 6:00 and I expect there to be a line when I get there. Not sure how much work I'll get done during the day because the temptation to follow The Story will be strong. Our four state news networks will be reporting throughout the evening and I'll be helping get as much of that online as possible. I'll be pleased and surprised if it doesn't turn into an all-nighter. Might be a bit before I get back here.

Haunting images

Photos from various urban explorations. Typically these are abandoned buildings, industrial sites, derelict structures and other places we've forgotten or ignored over time [Daily Photography Galleries]