June 2009
Franken Finally Wins →
Minnesotans, you finally have a senator.
I wonder how many plagiarism charges were actually perpetrated by ghost writers who can’t be revealed.
Text From Last Night →
Since we’re tracking this meme at Fimoc HQ, Texts From Last Night got a book deal.
Your Favorite List for the Next Five Minutes →
12 Greatest Key Changes In Pop Music.
Why Things Become Unpopular →
“A recent study has investigated this sentiment in order to understand why some cultural products and styles die out faster than others. According to the results, the quicker a cultural item rockets to popularity, the quicker it dies.”
Good Girls Go Bad →
There’s a new video of Leighton Meister on the internet. No, not that video! This one, a video from Cobra Starship [snicker]. The plot is pretty much an episode of Gossip Girl, and except for that breakdown bridge at the end, it’s pretty good, right?
The Blind Leading the Blind →
There’s a new YouTube channel, Reporter’s Center, where people like Dana Milbank, Michael Isikoff, Bob Woodward, and Arianna Huffington explain how video journalism works.
The Death of Writing, The Rebirth of Words →
I’ve been thinking a lot about a comment that Rick Webb made in my post last week about unpaid writing gigs. “Just accept it’s like photography, and that you’ll never make a living off of it.” I have a instinctual desire to say, “No, writing is different.” But I’m unable to come up with any intelligible way in which it is. Will writing just...
Keeping Things Secret →
Keeping News of Kidnapping Off Wikipedia: “For seven months, The New York Times managed to keep out of the news the fact that one of its reporters, David Rohde, had been kidnapped by the Taliban. But that was pretty straightforward compared with keeping it off Wikipedia.” Wales contributed to the “sanitizing effort,” which I’m frankly surprised ever worked....
“Being an SEO expert is like being a sandwich expert.”
– Ryan Brown in a comment on my blog.
Everything Is Free →
Who thinks Chris Anderson is wrong about the future of free? None other than that other guy whose books you buy at the airport, Malcolm Gladwell!
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-6-28) →
Clifford Lidell (19)
The Smiths (16)
Santigold (15)
Lily Allen (13)
The-Dream (12)
Gonna Be Startin Something →
The One Michael Jackson Article You Have To Read. You know what? Yeah, maybe. See also: What Is Your Favorite Michael Jackson Song? “Billie Jean” is winning in the NYT poll.
Visualizing Crime →
Visualizing Crime.
The Social Network →
Still playing catchup… this news broke last week: David Fincher is possibly directing something called The Social Network, an Aaron Sorkin-written film about the creation of Facebook.
Kindle Sticks →
Fast Company’s 4,400-word story on The Kindle is actually worth it, because it wanders into scenarios about how publishing might play out.
The Hills Is Kinda Great, Here's Why →
I agree with Bret Easton Ellis a lot, and I have a whole essay (being published this winter! in a book!) about why The Hills is amazing, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s “the greatest show that I have ever seen in my life.”
Local HuffPo →
The second local version of HuffPo, NYC, launched last week. Will anyone read it?
Bad Strategies →
Mashable story about SEO Tips for using Twitter. Sigh. Do people really think like this?
Tweetacademia →
My master’s alma mater, the University of Washington Digital Media program, is offering a class dedicated to Twitter. They have a blog and a twitter account.
When Online Video Overtakes Television →
Online video ads are now, in some cases, getting higher CPMs than television. [via]
Gmail Tips →
Gmail Ninja Tips. I didn’t know some of these, such as that you can sign out remotely or that you can add “+anything” to your address (rexsorgatz+awesome@gmail.com) and it works like your normal address.
$1 Million →
The Netflix Prize has finally been conquered. The two top teams combined their efforts to accomplish it.
Grumpy Wikipedians →
Psychologist finds Wikipedians grumpy and closed-minded. [via]
The End of Breaking News Alerts →
I’m still signed up for at least a dozen residual “breaking news” email alert lists, which triggers a bukake festival in my inbox when things like Michael Jackson dying happens. With Twitter, RSS readers, and everything else, it’s time to finally ask is email an anachronistic delivery method?
Dumbness of the Crowds →
Kottke’s right about Twitter litter, which is why I want an app that will just give me friend recommendations.
I drunk-texted myself last night.
Early Blogging →
Quick review of the new blogging history book, Say Everything, which comes out in early July.
Twitter Tells All →
Did Shaq really find out he was traded to the Cavs on Twitter?
A Week In The Life of Navel-Gazing →
NYC puked all over itself this week over this question: Should you write for free? (My answer, which is meaningless without a wordy explanation, but nonetheless: No, except for limited circumstances.) For anyone who cares, I’ll fulfill my duty as link rounder upper: Simon Dumeno in Ad Age probably got the ball rolling, but Foster Kamer at Gawker picked it up and pissed off everyone, most of...
Look At This Fucking Book Deal →
Least surprising news of the week: Look At This Fucking Hipster got a book deal.
Theory: Lady GaGa is a Sacha Baron Cohen creation. Discuss.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2009-6-21) →
Santigold (22)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs (18)
Nina Simone (16)
Santogold (15)
Neil Young (14)
Sacred Trickster →
New Sonic Youth vid: “Sacred Trickster.” What’s it like to be a girl in a band?
Wreckage of My Past →
The trailer to the Ozzy Osbourne biopic Wreckage of My Past makes his life sorta look like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler.
Game Boards →
Everything’s a game: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid dashboard. [via]
Ze Frank: That Makes Me Think of... →
Ze is doing videos for Time now?
Radio and TV Correspondents Dinner →
John Hodgman quizzes Barack Obama on his geek cred.
And Then There's This →
I was expecting Bill Wasik’s And Then There’s This to be the most-discussed book of the summer, but so far there’s only this Vulture Reading Room, with your favorite viralogists like Anil Dash, David Rees, and Virginia Heffernan.
Purple Rain Created Hip-Hop →
“Purple Rain really started hip-hop culture, whether the historians want to view it that way or not. You have Prince himself, a very unusual-looking figure, five feet tall — pretty much anybody considered a musical genius in hip-hop has some sort of odd physical feature, i.e., Biggie’s lazy eye. And then the whole idea of beefs — Prince and Morris. Morris’ whole pimp...
“I resolve to never again find myself in a circular, incestuous, flaming,...”
– YM
I’m sure this resolution was broken by January 2.
“NYC, where the most successful things are the most hated.”
I can’t say I’m proud of how quickly I just searched for “Leighton Meester torrent”
Gossip GURL →
brianvan:
fimoculous:
The end is nigh: the nyc tech scene has their own Gossip Girl.
Also: I don’t think this is bvan OR cajunboy. Mind-blowing.
Iran make Twitter Hulk angry?
