randomwalks/dj

I've become a daily visitor of Meg Tilly's blog.  It's too soon to tell if her website will go the way of many other author websites, which lay stagnant between recent releases, but so far she's been blogging almost daily for the last six months.  She writes with great candor and generosity on a range of topics, from memories of childhood to the stock market to her favorite home recipes.  And, of course, she also writes a great deal about the writing life, and some of my favorite posts in this category recount her experiences on reading tours.  The feedback and compliments she received on a recent tour for the novel Gemma inspired her to record audio versions of her books.  I've never listened to an audiobook before, but for Tilly I made an exception and downloaded Gemma. 

See, before she wrote novels, Meg Tilly was one of my favorite actresses.  She starred in films like The Big Chill, Psycho II, The Two Jakes, and Valmont--and even had a small part in Fame!  But the one I continue to watch, the film that remains just as good now as it was when I first saw it in 1985, is Agnes of God.  In this film, Tilly plays a novitiate who is accused of murdering her newborn child.  For much of the film she is silent, but when she does speak, her voice hovers just above a whisper.  Tilly had--and still has--a distinct, beautiful voice, and it makes listening to Gemma such a satisfying experience, though the story itself is pretty harrowing. 

The novel tells the story of a pedophile and the young woman he's abducted and switches back and forth between their perspectives.  Tilly gives each protagonist a different voice, and though initially I worried that this would shape my experience of the book too much, in the end it helped me to focus and sustain my attention. Though I used to read a lot to my siblings, I never had much patience for being read to.  I was always a fast reader and wanted to rush through stories, to get the end as quickly as possible so I could move to the next book on my nightstand.  This has changed; I've slowed down, in large part because now I study and write about literature, which requires a lot more careful reading.  But I still struggle with being a good listener and staying focused when someone is reading out loud, whether its an academic lecture, a poem, or, in this case, an audiobook.  An engaging delivery style helps.  This is what Tilly brings to her recording (and to her public readings) and it's the secret to most successful readings.  To "engage" can be as simple as giving a word a slight emphasis or looking up momentarily at your audience.  These moments ease the distance between the audience and the podium.  They are signs of presence, and they are crucial to creating a sense of shared participation.  I'm more conscious of this now that I've started to read some of my own work in public. 

Tilly pursued acting after an accident cut short her ballet career.  After several successful films, her focus turned increasingly to her family and to writing.  A lot of her early work was based on her childhood experiences, both good and bad.  These stories became the collection Singing Songs, which was published in 1994.  In a recent, stunning post on the recurrence of "dancing dreams,"  Tilly writes:

Beautiful lines.  A knowledge and wonder that my body, not only remembered how to do these things but there was a stableness and a sure and simple ease.  My extensions went on forever.  There was none of that shakiness or fear that I would screw up or fall off my pointe and land on my butt.  Everything felt absolutely right.  Female, yet not in a showy way.  It was so beautiful.  And I wondered in the dream why I had never been able to dance like this before.  And I realized that it must be all those centering, balancing exercises that I’ve been doing in life.  And I didn’t realize that they would effect my dancing so much.  And I was filled with gratitude.  I woke up feeling blessed.   

A couple of years ago, when I came across an interview with Tilly on Bookslut, I was surprised to learn that she had become a writer.  Now I can't imagine her otherwise.

MORE GOOD LINKS:

*An interview with Tilly on The Debutante Ball
*Some unpublished "bits and pieces" on Tilly's blog
*Live blogging her sister's participation in the LA Poker Classic

Originally posted by Adriana from Stingy Kids, on March 1, 2008 4:57 PM

Examiner column for March 3.

    George and Laura Bush helped inaugurate an arts initiative in schools at an event in the East Room of the White House last week. “Picturing America,” sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities, has the goal of bringing history to life for thousands of students by giving them access to high quality reproductions of iconic American paintings and photographs.

    In addition to the White House Press Corps, a small number of education and arts writers from other newspapers and magazines were invited to cover the event. For some of us, it was our first trip to the White House. Throughout the afternoon, I was part reporter covering an event, and part dumbstruck tourist taking in the scene.

    After passing the normal hurdles of gaining entry into the White House, reporters and photographers were escorted through a side door into the crowded area at the back of the East Room, separated by a rope from the invited guests.

    The author Tom Wolfe (“The Right Stuff” and “Bonfire of the Vanities”) was in the audience, wearing his signature white suit, as were Supreme Court Justice Scalia and the Keno twins of Antiques Roadshow fame. Additionally, there were prominent supporters of the arts as well as teachers and students from local schools who have already received the forty reproductions.

    President and Mrs. Bush, right on time as always, entered the room and the President took the podium. He has learned the appeal of self-deprecating humor. He began: “Most of you are renowned scholars, intellectuals, and writers. You've earned reputations for expressing man's noblest deeds and thoughts in pristine, eloquent English. Just like me. “

    The art works are wonderful vehicles through which students will be able to examine, think, and talk about moments in American history. Each large poster is laminated so students can touch them as they share impressions and observations. Where else can school children touch works of art? Learning is often most effective through tactile and visual means and may spark a lifelong interest in the arts.

    As a first time visitor to the White House, my impressions included surprise that the East Room is not bigger. I’ve seen it in press conferences on television for decades, and I pictured it as cold and cavernous--not welcoming and decorated in warm colors.

    The biggest surprises, however, were Laura Bush’s considerable poise (she spoke at length, without notes) and warmth. She was clearly delighted to support “Picturing America” and pointed out, with pride, that one of the forty featured works of art is Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington hanging right next to the podium. She gave out the website address where schools can access the application to receive the reproductions (www.picturingamerica.gov). The deadline is April 15.

    I took pictures with my very unprofessional camera, and loved the image of the chandeliers multiplied infinitely in huge mirrors. I even photographed the rug. But after 30 minutes the event was over, and we were escorted swiftly from the roped area to a basement door.

    Exit White House. But I now have my own pictures of an American icon to remember it by.

Originally posted by Erica Jacobs from TeacherTalk, on March 1, 2008 12:16 PM

Snoop Dogg: One Chance (Make It Good)
Upcoming from Ego Trippin'








Producer Frequency - who impressed a lot of heads with his beat for Snoop's "Think About It" is back working with the Doggfather again. He hit us off with this new collaboration, a song from Snoop's upcoming Ego Trippin' album. More soulful goodness - enjoy.

Originally posted by O.W. from soul sides, on March 1, 2008 9:51 AM

Two weeks ago, I posted the faumaxion slippy map, an interactive interpretation of Buckminster Fuller's Dymaxion World Map. I was curious to see whether the continuous re-orientation of the map would be jarring or confusing to users. Based on some helpful feedback, I've updated the map so that the dragging and rotation behaviors are separate. Instead of continuously re-orienting itself to face North for whatever point happens to be in the center of the map during a click-and-drag, a tiny compass rose shows which way the map will rotate itself once the mouse is released. This version feels calmer, and makes for a more predictable (and therefore better?) interaction:

Comments (1)

Originally posted by (author unknown) from tecznotes, on March 1, 2008 9:13 AM

1% of U.S. adults are in prison. “For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety.... [O]ver the same 20-year period... spending on corrections rose 127 percent while higher education expenditures rose just 21 percent.” From the full report: “While one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, for black males in that age group the figure is one in nine.... The United States incarcerates more people than any country in the world, including the far more populous nation of China.”

Originally posted by (author unknown) from Social Design Notes, on March 1, 2008 8:30 AM

Johnny Lee just gave a two-ovation demo at TED2008 of his amazing Wii Remote hacks -- turning the Wii Remote into a whiteboard tool, a tracking device and even a multi-touch screen.

Here's a link to his site, where you can download the tools >>

Originally posted by (author unknown) from TED | TEDBlog, on March 1, 2008 7:40 AM

The top 10 most delicious posts on Serious Eats this week were:

1. I Am Tired of Spreading Cream Cheese on a Bagel for Myself [Required Eating]
2. In Videos: 'I Drink Your Milkshake' on 'Saturday Night Live' [Required Eating]
3. For an Edible Container, Try Bacon Bowls [Required Eating]
4. Kale: The Leafy Green Monster [Recipes]
5. Eating for Two: What to Eat While Pregnant [Required Eating]
6. Sack Lunch: Black Beans and Rice [Recipes]
7. I finally got it....the Cook's Illustrated Recipe to test! [Talk]
8. Can We Save the Honeybees with Ice Cream? [Required Eating]
9. Red Carpet–Worthy Popcorn [Recipes]
10. Depression and Eating [Talk]

Originally posted by Adam Kuban from Serious Eats: Main, on March 1, 2008 4:00 AM

In the “Around the Majors” segment of his latest article for SI.com, Jon Heyman has the following tidbit on Pedro Martinez.

“Pedro Martinez has been throwing without pain pills or ice. And one longtime Pedro watcher predicts, ‘He’s going to win the Cy Young.’

Meanwhile, Martinez, 36, is telling friends he’d like to play a couple more years but probably not into his 40s. He understand the ball is in the Mets’ court and that he can’t approach them until he proves he’s healthy”

…come on, you can’t predict that and remain anonymous…was it a relative, a coach, just some fan that’s watched pedro over the years…anyway, only pedro’s health is of real concern to me as i’m confident in his ability to be a second ace for the Mets as long as his body lets him…

Originally posted by Chris Mazzone from MetsBlog.com, on February 29, 2008 10:29 PM

Hillary to appear on The Daily Show on primary eve, March 3rd.

Originally posted by Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo, on February 29, 2008 6:50 PM

On one hand, we have Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton, one the one-time lawyer for the President of the United States and the other the former White House Chief of Staff. Both of them were allegedly involved in the White House's firing of U.S. Attorneys who weren't willing to follow along with efforts to discredit or damage Democratic politicians in their districts, and both ignored Congressional subpoenas to provide documents and testify about the dismissals.

On the other hand, we have Roger Clemens, the baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and New York Yankees. He was allegedly a user of performance-enhancing drugs during much of his baseball career, and gave testimony before a Congressional inquiry into the use of drugs in sports which was directly contradicted by his former trainer.

In what can be said to be one of the most poignant statements about what's wrong with politics and justice in America, the Department of Justice has agreed to investigate whether Roger Clemens lied to Congress, but has refused to investigate Harriet Miers and Josh Bolton for not complying with Congressional subpoenas. The fact that our Executive Branch isn't wiling to hold its own people responsible for abiding by the law is abhorrent; the fact that this is all taking place alongside the same Executive Branch spending its time on the private behavior of athletes competing in games is just the icing on the proverbial cake.

Originally posted by Jason from Q Daily News, on February 29, 2008 3:39 PM

Stephen Colbert handled the three-hour caffeine crisis with great aplomb. Video after the jump.

Colbert Report: Threatdown - Starbucks

Related

Starbucks Barista Reprogramming Successful
In Videos: Colbert Report: People Destroying America - Happy Meal

Originally posted by Raphael from Serious Eats: Main, on February 29, 2008 1:45 PM

Ed Levine says the best gelato in NYC is being served in a tanning salon. My favorite banh mi (and perhaps the best baguette in town) can be found in the back of a jewelry store. Any other odd places to find good food?

(link) (Comment on this)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on February 29, 2008 12:01 PM

 DJ Bubbles reports on the state of the slice below 14th St in Manhattan and takes a commenter to school (beware, pizza nerdery ahead!):

NYC Food Dude, I checked out your NY Pizza Tour alright - endorsing Bella Napoli and Dean's in the same blog is gross negligence - did you actually eat at these places or just judge them on the picture you took? I sense the force is weak in you. You actually think Bleecker Street is the best pie in West Village? Although, considering that you give props to John's, your tastes might just be out of sorts. We got a term for that where I come from - you're having a WACK ATTACK. Like my man Fred Levine says, you don't know delicious....Class is dismissed -- DJ Bubbles

Originally posted by Alaina Browne from A Full Belly, on February 29, 2008 11:32 AM

Here’s some information on a new project of mine. “Google Alert Loop” uses Google’s free “Blogger” software and “Google Alerts” to create a webblog that auto-publishes itself based on mentions of specific alert topics sent to the email address specified. The idea is to create a self-perpetuating blog that will publish repeatedly until it begins to publish its own mentions into a continuous cycle. The project attempts to question the utility of these automated systems such as “Google Alerts” and how they are being used to aggregate and polarize opinions across the Internet.

More info on the project here.

Originally posted by jonah from coin-operated, on February 29, 2008 11:31 AM

If you’re wondering how a deceased Al Hirschfeld created this No Country for Old Men tribute, and why his trademark signature suddenly seems to be set in a brush script font, that’s because this Hirschfeld piece was created by one Matt Hirschfeld, an artist with no relation other than a similar last name to caricature’s undisputed king. This younger Hirschfeld tries his darndest to mimic the original lines and stylistic choices of his older counterpart, but it takes more than the same last name to match Al Hirschfeld’s nuanced masterpieces.

I’m fine with paying tribute to Hirschfeld, but I’m baffled that an illustrator would base his entire professional output on aping someone else’s unmistakable style. Am I missing something?

Previously on Drawn!: Al Hirschfeld on YouTube

(Thanks, Joshua)

ShareThis

Originally posted by Johnny from Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog, on February 29, 2008 11:08 AM

Did you know that there's a teensy museum on the moon?

Now I find out there was already an entire Moon Museum, with drawings by six leading contemporary artists of the day: Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Novros, Forrest "Frosty" Myers, Claes Oldenburg, and John Chamberlain. The Moon Museum was supposedly installed on the moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo 12 mission.

I say supposedly, because NASA has no official record of it; according to Frosty Myers, the artist who initiated the project, the Moon Museum was secretly installed on a hatch on a leg of the Intrepid landing module with the help of an unnamed engineer at the Grumman Corporation after attempts to move the project forward through NASA's official channels were unsuccessful.

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on February 29, 2008 11:08 AM

Yogurt World in San Diego needs a little more love in this description.
Here are some reasons why Yogurt World is the BEST BEST place to go for yogurt:
1. They have a sign congratulating themselves - "CONGRATULATIONS TO YOGURT WORLD" - that they kept it up since their opening 2 years ago.
2. Their cows are happier than those other so called wannabe-yogurt places, and the use scientific research along with ancient Chinese secrets to create the best yogurt in the world. And if you don't believe me, they've put it in writing on their wall.
3. They are experts at explaining the nutritional health benefits of daily yogurt intake. It improves your digestion, prevents acne and increases metabolism. Again, if you don't believe me, they hung it up in writing on their wall.
4. They have provided instructions for best practices in Yogurt Nirvana, institutionalizing the practices behind this nebulous art form that has crossed into popular culture. As a result, Yogurt World has democratized access to Yogurt, leading the world in social change one yogurt at a time.
5. The San Diego Convoy location is special becase after you eat the yogurt, you can walk down to the Wow! Photo Sticker Studio and engage in some PuriKura love.
6. One of the their 16 flavors is Taro Cookie - the best!
7. They offer lactose-free boysenberry - so they are ethnically sensitive to those who don't have enzyme to digest milk. You can bring your vegan friends and lactose-intolerant friends along!
8. The owner Michael is unpretentious, warm, and caring business owner. He cares about his client, and has sat down with numerous of times, open to suggestions in architectural design of the next Yogurt World that will open at UCSD!

Originally posted by triciawang from Serious Eats: Posts and Comments by triciawang, on February 29, 2008 10:38 AM

The useful, thoughtful, and funny discussions in Talk keep us clicking, reading, and grinning. Looking back at the week past, here's just a handful of our favorite threads and comments.

• Something I've never cooked before is a...
  "I don't tell people, or myself, 'I'm making puff pastry.' I say, 'This is a project to learn how to make puff pastry.' It seems to remove the pressure of expectations and frees me up to not be perfect." – lemons
• Amish Friendship Bread?
  "If you compliment the baker after sampling this stuff, s/he is obliged to gift you with a bagful of starter that requires 10 days of labor-intensive cultivation, along with stern instructions to pass along three portions of starter after you've baked your bread. For me, that would put the end back in friendship... but maybe that's just me. Have any of you encountered this wacky ritual?" – baboo

• Favorite naughty snack
  "Peanut butter off a fork – I've tried it with a spoon, but that seems a bit too desperate. I'm sure this is my OCD coming out full force, but I don't 'double-dip' the fork. If I want another forkful, I get another clean fork." – Bakerloo Line
• Who partakes in a little fast food action?
  "Many of you preface your confessions by saying, 'Once in a great while...' or, 'I haven't eaten fast food for years, but...' I loved reading these, it's like being a priest and getting to hear people's sins!" – PumpkinBear
• NorthernBBQer found himself up against his wife in Food Network competition, srhcb's "Meatloaf #400" was picked for the Cooking Mama video game... have you ever participated in a cooking/baking contest?
• Athletes and anyone who is physically active: check out Serious Eaters' energy-boosting food suggestions.
• Recommendations for knife sharpeners
  "Don't do it yourself, you'll end up doing more harm than good. Take them to a professional." – cmballa
• What's the worst meal you politely ate as a guest? (Looks like everyone has a mother-in-law story to share...)
• What to do with pesto, substitutes for mayo as a sandwich spread, sage, and baked beans.
• Do you buy foods that you aren't familiar with?

Originally posted by Emily Koh from Serious Eats: Main, on February 29, 2008 10:30 AM

ZiPhone 2.5, a new release of the tool that can jailbreak and unlock iPhones through a graphical interface under both Mac OS X and Windows, has been released in an iPhone 1.1.4-compatible edition. This means that any iPhones with any firmware version — including those that shipped with 1.1.4 out-of-the-box (OTB) can be jailbroken and unlocked. Users who have older firmware versions and wish to use the utility should perform a “restore and update” process in iTunes to bring their iPhones to version 1.1.4, then use one of the ZiPhone routines, including:

• Just jailbreak, don’t touch activation tokens or unlock. You still still need to connect the phone to iTunes to activate (for iPhones used with AT&T or another authorized network)
• Jailbreak, activate, and unlock any version
• Jailbreak and activate, but don’t unlock

After you’ve performed any of the aforementioned processes, Installer.app (a repository and install tool for third-party applications) will be placed on your phone. You should immediately use it to install BSD Subsystem and other tools as mentioned in our guide.

Several iPhone Atlas readers have reported success using this utility. The entire process, including unlocking, takes 5 minutes or less. In the words of one user:

“I can’t believe how easy that was.”

Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.

Originally posted by benwilson from iPhone Atlas, on February 29, 2008 9:49 AM

It was quite a week: John McCain forgetting which party he's in, Pat Buchanan and Tucker Carlson saying they're not going to take anti-White Man prejudice any longer, Tim Russert channels angry Iraqi nationalists and so much more ...

Watch this episode on YouTube.

Originally posted by Josh Marshall from Talking Points Memo, on February 29, 2008 9:31 AM

Hey readers, after a long winter break that included crashed hard-drives (i back up thankfully -so back yours up now too!), I am beginning to feel the blogging spirit again. I will still cover technology and youth orientated stories, but a lot of the posts will reflect my interests around the 2008 Summer Olympics. Happy readings! -tricia

Technorati Tags: 2008 , beijing, chinese , fuwa, internet, olympics, website

Originally posted by (author unknown) from YouMeiTI 有媒体, on February 29, 2008 8:39 AM

I've had friends ask why I have advertising on my site; After all, it's not like I'm gonna pay the rent with the kind of traffic that a Snoop Dogg fansite drives. Usually, I explain that I just like to understand how that stuff works, to keep up to date with the customers I deal with at work, or just because of curiosity.

But today, I have a much better answer. It's because sometimes that little bit of Google code can make something magical happen.

Originally posted by Anil from Anil Dash, on February 29, 2008 8:17 AM

I thought you’d never ask, and frankly I was beginning to feel a little hurt that you weren’t. I’m glad we’re BFF again. Let’s liveblog a typical day, shall we? And, yeah, I’m totally aware that this might be the lamest idea ever, but it’s a leap year, so why not?

6:00 AM Wake up. Make Coffee. (Yeah, I capitalize Coffee. I have THAT much respect for it.) Take a shower. Drink Coffee. Check nytimes.com to see if Castro’s dead. Not yet. Was excited that he might die on a leap year. How would you celebrate that? There’s a lt of time left in the day though.

6:30 Wake up the boy. Carry him to the sink. Put toothbrush in his mouth. Splash cold water on his face. Make his lunch.

7:00 Out of house and headed for school. Boy asks me 73 questions during a ten minute cab ride.

8:00 Drop boy off and catch bus across town to the office. Two women across from me are having an animated conversation about Brad, presumably a co-worker, and how much weight he’s lost recently. Really large teenager sits down next to one of them and proceeds to pull a bag our Sour Cream and Onion chips from her lunch bag, eats the chips, then rips the bag completely open and licks it clean. Heavenly.

9:00 First one in the office. Make more Coffee. Check nytimes.com again. Castro still not dead. Check Flickr. Still down. Check Twitter. Still weird. Decide internet wants me to liveblog my day. Of course it does.

9:30 Asking Dave if this is a stupid idea. Dave says it’s funny, which makes me think I don’t really trust Dave as much as I thought I did.

9:35 Wondering how feasible it is to grab the names from the Mitchell Report and make a “<$player name> IS ON STEROIDS.” single-serving site. Wonder if that amounts to libel? Calling Gabe the Lawyer.

9:38 Raisin Bran is like magic.

Originally posted by Mike Monteiro from Mule Design : Off the Hoof, on February 29, 2008 7:06 AM

story link: Ransom.

Originally posted by hello@rocketboom.com (Rocketboom) from Rocketboom, yea!, on February 29, 2008 7:00 AM

Apperceptive, the little engine that runs a large chunk of the professional blogosphere, gets a nice shout-out from Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall.

One other point I should note: because of our size and resources, we've never been able to field close to the hardware resources behind the site as would be called for with the scale of traffic we get (to give you a sense, we now regularly get traffic equal to what we got on election night 2006, and almost four times what we got on election night 2004). That's required some custom tinkering to keep our blog train from going off the server rails. Now, we've gotten some nice praise recently for the stuff our team has published at TPM. But literally none of it would be possible without the engine the folks at Apperceptive have built for us that keeps the words streaming off our keyboards on to your computer screens.

(link)

Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on February 29, 2008 6:52 AM

In a report by SI.com earlier this week, Nationals OF Lastings Milledge made a few comments directed at the Mets.

According to Newsday, the Mets not happy about Milledge’s comments, such as David Wright, who said…

“Enough is enough. You’re a Washington National now. Don’t worry about what happened last year or the year before that. Just go out there and try to help the Nationals win. It makes no sense to bash your former team. He just needs to turn the page and worry about helping the Washington Nationals. Forget about what we’re doing over here. Forget about the New York Mets.”

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

Originally posted by Matthew Cerrone from MetsBlog.com, on February 29, 2008 6:08 AM

February 29th is a day that plays hard-to-get, but that’s what makes it special. The next one won’t be until 2012, so make the most of it and do something memorable!

(Oh, and Happy Birthday to all the Leaplings out there.)

Photo from Today is a good day.

Originally posted by Fiona Miller from Flickr Blog, on February 29, 2008 4:07 AM

Can John McCain, born outside the 50 United States in the Panama Canal Zone, hold the office of President?

Mr. McCain is not the first person to find himself in these circumstances. The last Arizona Republican to be a presidential nominee, Barry Goldwater, faced the issue. He was born in the Arizona territory in 1909, three years before it became a state. But Goldwater did not win, and the view at the time was that since he was born in a continental territory that later became a state, he probably met the standard.

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Originally posted by jason@kottke.org from kottke.org, on February 29, 2008 3:42 AM

According to Ken Rosenthal from FOXSports.com, “Mets officials remain divided on free-agent right-hander Kyle Lohse.”

Rosenthal adds, “The buzz among scouts on the East Coast of Florida is that the Cardinals are pursuing Lohse, but sources indicate that the team is not interested.”

…the buzz among scouts on the East Coast…i love it…

…if Orlando Hernandez will be on this team, than i just don’t see how the Mets can tie themselves up with a guaranteed contract for lohse…if, however, el duque is not on the team – and i have no idea how that would happen, short of him disintegrating, which does seem more and more possible every day – only then does a one-year deal for lohse start to make a whole lot of sense…

Speaking of Hernandez, according to the New York Post, he told reporters yesterday that a toe ligament and painful bunion on his right foot are keeping him from pitching batting practice or in a game.

…seriously, i am losing count of what ails this guy…first it’s a bunion, then it’s a dislocated toe, back to the bunion, plus a ligament, plus a root canal…i mean, how does he even get out of bed in the morning…i’m in pain just reading about it…

Originally posted by Matthew Cerrone from MetsBlog.com, on February 29, 2008 3:18 AM

Carmen sent a link to the lamp above -- made of measuring tapes! So cool.

Cel sent this link to "Make It Yourself": Home Sewing, Gender, and Culture, 1890–1930 by Sarah A. Gordon -- really worth looking at.

Jay at CLMP let me know about Sonya Naumann's great art project: Thousand Dollar Dress. Sonya is taking pictures of a thousand different people wearing her thousand-dollar wedding dress! Genius.

If you want to make the world a better place for women, I can't imagine a more satisfying place to put your money: Goods4Girls gives reusable "sanitary supplies" (that is, menstrual pads) to girls in Africa, because if they don't have them, they can't go to school. (And regular paper products, when they can get them, can't be disposed of safely.) I suggest donating a week's worth of pads, if you can; they don't take direct cash donations but offer a list of suppliers who will make them and send them to Goods4Girls for you (they also offer instructions to make your own).

"The untidiness men find repugnant ... the carelessness men can't stand ...". Thanks to Deborah for the link (and check out her magnificent coat on the cover of Vogue Knitting)!

Nikkie, the curator the Fort Morgan Museum in Fort Morgan, Colorado, is looking for help; they are having an exhibit this fall on the WPA (Works Progress Administration, later the Works Projects Administration) and its impact on Morgan County. One of the local WPA works in Morgan County was a Sewing Project, where simple, serviceable apparel was made and then distributed as part of the relief efforts. If you have any of the standard patterns used for the WPA program, or any finished clothing items, and would be willing to lend them to the museum, would you contact her through the link above?

Jezebella sent in this skirt. Please click that link to see the best and most hilarious pocket ever.

Julie sends in these very nice paper dolls ...

Rita made a vintage-patterns video!

Hilarious 1950s Atlantic piece on the sameness of women's magazines ... [via Faking Good Breeding]

Elisa (aka The Mad Fashionista) was in the NYT! Congratulations!

Nora sends a link to Etsy seller Jane Bon Bon who makes GORGEOUS skirts and dresses, including plus-size. Marvelous appliqué. She makes stuff to order, with no extra charge for plus-size and her prices are very reasonable for custom work!


Remember, if you want to send me a link for Linktastic Fridays (no promises!): 1) email me links to pictures, not the pictures themselves, if at all possible; 2) if it's your auction/site/whatever, please disclose; 3) tell me if you want your name (and how much of it) attached to the link and linked to your site, if applicable. Thank you!

Originally posted by Erin from A Dress A Day, on February 29, 2008 2:27 AM

Ian Baird recently released Changes which is an application to show differences between two folders and merge these intelligently.

I know this is not an uncommon task among many TextMate users, as I have received quite a lot of requests for building such functionality — Changes of course has TextMate integration, so this application will hopefully satisfy a lot of you.

Version 1.0 of Changes is available for $39.95 (free trial) but if you use TEXTMATE0308 as coupon code you can get it for $29.95 (offer lasts throughout March 2008).

Originally posted by Allan Odgaard from TextMate Blog, on February 28, 2008 8:31 PM

Oh boy, new toys! pQuery (See also pQuery ). I'm not a big fan of jQuery, but pQuery should keep me busy this weekend 8^))

Read more of this story at use Perl.

Originally posted by renodino (posted by brian_d_foy) from use Perl, on February 28, 2008 7:31 PM

Interesting post from Vladimir Vukićević on the private-to-Apple system APIs that Safari uses, along with a two-line plist change Vukićević used to dramatically improve scrolling performance in Firefox 3 on Mac OS X. Don’t miss Dave Hyatt’s response in the comments. (Thanks to Nick Matsakis.)

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Originally posted by John Gruber from Daring Fireball, on February 28, 2008 6:58 PM

The TED Prize has a brand-new homepage, where you can read all about our 2008 winners, and find out ways to start helping their wishes come true.

Look here for wishes from Dave Eggers, Neil Turok, and Karen Armstrong.

Take a look and start granting these wishes big enough to change the world >>

Originally posted by (author unknown) from TED | TEDBlog, on February 28, 2008 6:00 PM

America's fat problem: "I say unto you: Fat is good! Fat is necessary. Ask any chef. Fat does not make you fat, eating too much makes you fat! We aren’t filling our bodies with sodium because of the box of kosher salt we use to season our food, we’re doing it with all the processed food that’s loaded with hidden salt. And American cooks and American diners need to understand the differences."

Originally posted by Adam Kuban from Serious Eats: Main, on February 28, 2008 4:00 PM

Do you want more Lindsay Lohan photos? Do we even have to ask? Here are some of the outtakes (shot by Jeremy Scott) from Lindz's PAPER cover shoot.

Originally posted by (author unknown) from PAPERMAG: WORD UP!, on February 28, 2008 1:29 PM

Most current polls show Barack Obama taking the lead in Texas, but one pollster argues that Hillary Clinton has in fact regained the momentum in the race. Here are the latest InsiderAdvantage numbers, compared to their previous poll from Monday:

Clinton 47% (+1)
Obama 43% (-4)

The internals show Hillary expanding her lead among Latinos, holding steady among whites, dropping slightly with women but making gains among men.

"If these trends continue over the coming days, then it might be fair to say the race is slowly drifting Clinton's way," said pollster Matt Towery, a former close aide to Newt Gingrich. "For now, I think it's at least fair to say that has turned momentum, to some degree, back in her direction."

Originally posted by Eric Kleefeld from TPM Election Central, on February 28, 2008 1:26 PM

I get a LOT of press releases, all clamoring for me to push something on this blog. Somehow last year I made it to some list of the Top Fifty Fashion Blogs (number 37! represent!) and now everyone and her intern has my email address.

Now, I don't mind a GOOD pitch, but I don't get very many of those. (Most of the good pitches are for books, which is probably because book publicists actually READ.)

I do mind a BAD pitch. What makes a pitch bad? Lots of things. The worst are pitches that make it embarrassingly apparent that the pitch-er has never read my blog before. Do I feature jewelry consistently? No. What makes you think I will start doing so for your product? Do I breathlessly report the doings and wearings of starlets? No again. So why would I be interested in your report of a C-list personage involved with your product in some way? And, more importantly, why would the people who read this blog be interested?

Sending out hundreds of badly-worded, badly-targeted pitches is spamming, no more, no less. What really gets me is that these poor designers are brainwashed into thinking they need to PAY these clueless "PR reps" to piss off bloggers and editors for them. It's shameful. (If the goal was to piss off editors and bloggers it'd be cheaper and more fun for the designer to just go around and egg everyone's houses.)

A little while back I got this pitch. (Client name blocked out to avoid giving them any publicity, even the bad kind.)

Check out our exclusive photo of Rumor Willis wearing a $32,000 ring, designed by ------ -----, the hottest jewelry designer out there.

[note: I have never heard of this designer.]

The ring is almost 4CT in diamonds! Rumor drooled over the ring when she recently stopped by ----- show room.

We would love to see this photo on your awesome blog! You guys do a great job!
Call/email me with any questions..

Kate Long
PeakPR Group

Yep, that was the whole release, word-for-word, and exactly as sent to me (minus client name and rep's contact info). First of all, there was no link to the photo to "check out." If I WERE interested, I'd have to write back for it. Dumb. (Of course, that's much better than the PR reps who insist on cluttering my inbox with eight .jpgs all named things like JPG001.jpg!)

My blog is called A DRESS A DAY. I write about sewing and vintage: not exactly an upscale lifestyle. Why are you sending me press releases for hugely expensive diamond rings? My last CAR didn't cost $32K.

Also -- "Rumor" Willis? If even I, disassociated as I am from tabloid culture, know that her name is spelled "Rumer," how dumb do YOU look?

And Rumer is famous solely because Ashton Kutcher is her step-dad. This does not mean she is a style arbiter. Again: why should I (or anyone) care?

One more thing: It's pretty apparent that I write this whole blog all by my lonesome. Why use "you guys"?

For some dumb reason (I blame low blood sugar) I replied to this PR missive, pointing out the above errors, explaining that their releases did not inspire confidence in their services or their clients' products, and asking to be taken off their list.

Then, I got this gem back:

My intern sent that, thanks for pointing it out.

[Worst. Excuse. Ever. So you're charging your clients ... for work done by interns? That you evidently didn't check? And you're advertising this fact? It's not the intern's fault, if she is an intern. It's yours.]

By the way your English have been "are not applicable."

[I wrote "I'm the only person writing [my blog], so "you guys" is not applicable." Which is less correct than the sentence above, apparently.]

Also, we rep 160 retail stores, so we are very inspired..

[Quantity equals quality! We all know that.]

They happen include major leading fashion designers.

[That sentence no verb.]

Clearly you should be more polite regarding a simple spell check, it is clear your blog is amateur,

[Which is why ... you wanted me to feature your client on my amateur blog?]

you never know the help one needs on the way up. Politeness is the door to success.

Sincerely,
Christine Peake,
CEO, PEAKPR GROUP.

That last bit just kills me. I always assumed KNOWING HOW TO DO YOUR JOB was the door to success; politeness just oils the hinges of that door. I think Ms. Peake and her PEAKPR group are pushing (hard) on a door marked PULL.

This (replying to stupid pitches pointing out their stupidity and asking to not be sent any more stupid pitches) probably falls under the heading of not teaching pigs to sing (it wastes your time and annoys the pig). But, damn, rank incompetence annoys me! How hard is it to do a little RESEARCH? Spend a little time reading?

For a much better rant on this subject, check out Chris Anderson's. Be sure to read all the comments for your RDA of other-people's-cluelessness.

Originally posted by Erin from A Dress A Day, on February 28, 2008 1:20 PM

What would it be like to see life through someone else's eyes? Film provides that opportunity. Watch the powerful new Pangea Day trailer, on YouTube, and share with your family and friends.

This film is part of Pangea Day, May 10, 2008 -- a four-hour film festival happening all around the world. It grew from the TED Prize wish of 2006 winner Jehane Noujaim.

Visit PangeaDay.org to find out how to join in >>

Originally posted by (author unknown) from TED | TEDBlog, on February 28, 2008 12:30 PM