May 2008
22 posts
“Until now, we’ve resisted the temptation to post on former White House...”
– If you only read one blog post or story about former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan’s new memoir, What Happened — in which he accuses the Bush administration of not merely using propaganda to sell the war in Iraq, but also of deception and incompetence in handling the GWOT...
QUIZ TAXI →
WTF of the day: Usability.gov →
This site — by the Web Communications Division in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — is freakin’ AMAZING. They also published a 150+ page book of research-based web design and usability guidelines. I’m not sure if I’m more amazed that the site is so damn useful for issues I’ve been running into at work (and for my school project), or that...
fresh styles for web designers →
Examples include: SuperTiny SimCity School:
source inspiration: Sim City, Commodore 64 computer games, Japanese candy wrappers
What the 1942 Quarter I Got Today Is Worth →
I got a 1942 quarter in change today. According to the link, a US quarter from 1932-1964 is 90% silver and 10% copper. At today’s silver and copper prices, it would be worth $3.24 if I illegally melted it down for its metals.
This just went ahead and made my day somewhat... →
Or it could have been the lunch I finally ate. Misanthropy can really tire a fellow out. Sweet, sweet curmudgeonly joy that it is.
How will Barack Obama get to 270? →
270 of 538 electoral college votes are needed to win the presidential election. Regardless of the hype and punditry and positions and our current mess, it’s going to be a close race. Freakishly, frighteningly, frustratingly close.
“Misanthropes, unite!”
– Me, just now.
The Critical Browser: Anti-Obama Chain E-Mails →
Welcome, to, like, the Dark Ages, dude. Hope you brought your attitude of happy lowly peasanthood and a caravan-full of ready-to-hand superstitions.
Rasmussen: Dem Narrowly Ahead In Alaska Senate... →
This is perhaps one of the better pieces of news recently. If Stevens finally gets ousted it won’t be a minute too soon. Mark Begich is a decent politician, and heir to Alaska’s territory-to-statehood political tradition. I worked for his (black-sheep) brother Nick at the ASD warehouse for a couple summers. I think they’re good people. I hope he wins.
The ORIGINAL Illustrated Catalog Of ACME Products →
Soon to be right up there with Amazon and Ebay. Shipping on some of this stuff is a bitch, though — particularly the ACME railroad track & ties.
Tests for Husbands and Wives - a set on Flickr →
An interesting read. Click “all sizes” to see the pics at a readable size.
WatchThe Day There Was No News.
It’s like sunlight breaking through the clouds after a crazy days-long storm just let up.
Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon:... →
A review of Sheila Weller’s new book, “Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — and the Journey of a Generation.” An interesting take on Mitchell, particularly, and how the romantic passion of their music — and their generation — has withered into cynicism.
FiveThirtyEight.com: Electoral Projections Done... →
My new favorite election website seems to be predicting that McCain will win by a nose over Obama in (gulp) 180 days. Yes, that’s right, today it’s exactly 180 days until the actual, real, who-is-going-to-get-the-chance-to-screw-things-up-next election.
“At some point it occurred to me that the White House’s depiction of...”
– Oh, defective yeti, you are so right! Can I roll my d20 to save against an orwellian future yet? Or do we first have to continue our struggle against the bugbear of idiocy for another, say, four years?
The Absurdist roots of the "Milkshake!" →
I’ve been mulling over There Will Be Blood lately, and this article gets at a lot of what I found incredibly appealing about the movie. The “Milkshake!” scene was one of my favorites.
“All politics stink. Even democracy stinks. Imagine if our clothes were selected...”
– “Fairness, idealism and other atrocities” - by PJ O’Rourke. Can say as I agree with him, exactly, but it’s an interesting read.
WatchVia nielsenhayden.com, Clay Shirky talking about where the free time people put into projects like Wikipedia comes from, and the significance of this “cognitive surplus.” This is right up the alley of my Trends in Tech Comm class. Sometimes I ♥ the Internets.