on the shore of the ultimate sea

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Sit Down, Stand Up on Vimeo – the contents of a browser cache, one at a time, from smallest in size to largest, to a Radiohead song. Great stuff.

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Abu Nidal, notorious Palestinian mercenary, ‘was a US spy’ – Middle East, World – The Independent – Gangster: “His biographer Patrick Seale, who suggests that for some time Abu Nidal even worked for Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, has written of how, when he feared treachery in his own ranks, a suspected spy would be buried alive, fed through a tube for days and then – if Abu Nidal’s “court” deemed death appropriate – a bullet would be fired down the tube.”

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Colombian 'Biblioburro' has 4,800 books and 10 legs – International Herald Tribune – Literacy leads the way, by burro or by byte.
• GM taps N.C. firm for key Volt part | The Detroit News | detnews.com – Big up Papa Parish! Dad's company's venture with GM to get the USA it's own electric car gets some local ink as well as love on the Reuters wire. That "office in Detroit"? My parents' study.

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Lead singer of seminal Canadian punk band Teenage Head dies | MetaFilter – ain't got no sense.
• MediaStorm: Gear Kits – dear Santa…I just spent about 20 minutes drooling over MediaStorm's gear list.

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Op-Ed Contributor – The Rise of the Machines – NYTimes.com – “The Wall Street geeks, the quantitative analysts (“quants”) and masters of “algo trading” probably felt the same irresistible lure of “illimitable power” when they discovered “evolutionary algorithms” that allowed them to create vast empires of wealth by deriving the dependence structures of portfolio credit derivatives.”
• States’ Film Production Incentives Cause Jitters – NYTimes.com – Forget about expanding into digital production and fostering a rash of small businesses, Hollywood maxing out tax credits and inflating budgets is threatening Michigan’s production incentives plan…”Michigan, its own budget sagging, is in the middle of a hot political fight over a generous 40 percent rebate on expenditures to filmmakers that was carried out, with little opposition, only last April. Producers of films for studios like Warner Brothers and the Weinstein Company rushed to cash in, just as homegrown businesses were squeezed by a new business tax and surcharge. Rebellious legislators from both parties are now looking to put a cap on the state’s annual film spending, which some have estimated could quickly hit $200 million a year.”
• You Fell Asleep Watching a DVD – goddamn, it’s two in the morning!

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Michel Houellebecq and Bernard-Henri Lévy express outrage at being ridiculed and victimised by their nation – “France has vomited on us for too long”–two outspoken Frenchmen form a common bond.

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• "Politics at the Five-and-Dime: Where Pennies Matter, Change Is a Powerful Idea" By Anne Hull – From the Flamingo Trailer Curt, just down the road from my gentle suburban bedstead, comes a great look at how the election's shaping up in Michigan.
• Foreclosure Alley – SoCal Connected – This video pretty much sums up the sorry state of affairs in the broken mortgage market's fallout, at the epicenter, California's Inland Empire.

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Flickr: Panda – Reason number 1,000,001 why flickr is so great.
• Pushing the Limit – For Rock-Climbing Guru, the Sky Is His Roof – Will our new America make any more Chongos?
• WADV RADIO » Session: Facebook Spark Series – “The Big Idea” – Here's audio of the panel I moderated during Advertising Week, on the big idea and social media, two entirely nebulous topics I'd say we drilled down a bit.

Recent web meanderings, from me to you:

• Diesel: SFW XXX | Creativity Online – If you haven’t seen this master stroke, please, watch immediately.
• Putting a Price on Digital Production – AdAge picked up a piece I did for Creativity’s September issue, exploring what it costs to get digital things made and how those budgets shake out. A huge topic; i chipped a chunk off the iceberg and melted it down to see what was inside.
• The Price Is Right (Isn’t It?) | Creativity Online