Aside

Ed: Ok, here’s my idea for the next Slate explainer. How do you start a bloodless coup? Really, do you just waltz in and say, “Ok, I’m taking over.” and all the mindless lackeys look up from their desk and say: “Yeah, ok.” AP: NOUAKCHOTT, Mauritania (AP) – A military junta overthrew Mauritania’s U.S.-allied president while he was abroad Wednesday, prompting celebrations in this oil-rich Islamic nation that looked increasingly to the West amid alleged threats from al-Qaida linked militants.…

by Cyrus Farivar 02:00 AM Aug. 03, 2005 PT Wired News Last week, a group of Philadelphia bloggers banded together to get national media attention for a young mother who had been missing from home since the middle of July. The group was frustrated that the disappearance of Latoyia Figueroa, 24, who is five months pregnant, did not get national press, though her case is similar to other widely covered disappearances like those of Natalee Holloway and Laci Peterson. The…

Here’s my interview with “The Afternoon Show with Brian Smith” from an hour ago. “The Afternoon Show with Brian Smith” WICC 600 AM Bridgeport, CT August 2 2005 [2 MB (8:44) 32 kbps]

Here’s my interview with Adler On Line from earlier today. “Adler On Line” CJOB 68 Winnipeg August 2 2005 [1.5 MB (6:39) 32 kbps]

If you want to follow the Wikipedia nonsense that’s been following me since this the Slate piece was printed, check these entries. Otherwise, enjoy, and feel free to email me.

Cyrus, I have never responded to or written in a blog, so here goes. I think that what is happening with your Wikipedia entry is fantastic. First of all, I loved your article on Slate even before I discovered the arguments surrounding it. Those who are mad at you for exposing them are fools; if everyone who discovered a prank in progress played along, there would be no pranks. ThatÕs the point: pranks are difficult to do right. The ÒgreenlightingÓ…

I will be on “The Afternoon Show with Brian Smith” on WICC 600 AM Brigeport, CT today at 2:06 pm Pacific talking about the greenlighting hoax, my Slate piece, and the Wikipedia bruhaha.

Before I get to the fan mail, I find it even more amusing that Jimmy Wales himself has gotten involved. And if this further drives my “egomaniac” tendencies, so be it. Best article I’ve read in a while. Brilliant! The toothing hoax was so good that not only didn’t I know that it was a hoax, but CSI Miami Season 3 Episode 20 “Killer Date” was specifically about “toothing” and the consequences of it (in this case a cop loses…

Tomorrow, I’m going to be on the Adler On Line show on Winnipeg’s CJOB starting at 12:40 pm Pacific for about 10 minutes to talk about the greenlighting fiasco and my subsequent Slate article.

Yipee! Cyrus Farivar (born April 20, 1982 in Santa Monica, California) is an assistant editor at Macworld magazine and is a freelance technology journalist living in the city of Compton, CA. He has a B.A. in Political Economy from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Wired, Wired News, Slate, Mobile magazine, Playlist Magazine, Oakland City Magazine, Business 2.0, The San Mateo…