Aside

I’m in a featured article on MediaBistro today — that’s a journalism industry site. The piece is meant as a helpful guide for struggling freelancers (like me), as to how to get published in big, brand-name magazines. Unfortunately, MediaBistro puts their good stuff behind a paywall ($49/year), so even I can’t get access to this article. I didn’t even know the piece was running today until a Columbia classmate emailed me a copy and asked about it. Here’s the opening…

On his blog, Daniel Hernandez notes that there have been a couple really neat proposals for a proper subway system for LA. The first one, designed by Numan Parada, would put a subway stop at 26th and Wilshire, about 2 blocks from my parents’ house. It would take two transfers to get there from LAX, which would be freakin’ sweet. The second one would put a stop at 23rd and Santa Monica Blvd., about 6-7 blocks from my parents’ house,…

Oh man — what could be better than Stephen Colbert singing a mock Korean pop song (à la Rain)? Exactly. [via Metropolitician]

Most journalists take comfort in the fact that their jobs can’t be outsourced — that is, until they are. FP Passport: What do you do if you are a struggling website peddling local Pasadena, Ca., news, but can’t afford to hire more U.S. reporters? Outsource the job of covering all things Pasadena to Bangalore. That’s exactly what James Macpherson, publisher of Pasadena Now, has done, offering to pay two India-based journalists he found on Bangalore’s craigslist site a combined $20,800…

I’ve just gotten a new gig as a space blogger for Wired News‘ blog: Wired Science. My first post can be found here. Occasionally I get to do longer articles that show up in the blog, like this one: A team of astronomers has created the first map of an extrasolar planet, HD 189733b, located approximately 60 light-years from Earth. By measuring brightness and other data collected over time by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the scientists constructed a map of…

ZOMG! It’s official! My life is now complete — TJ’s is moving in to the old Albertson’s location on College Ave., opposite Zachary’s, just north of the BART station! That means that there’s a TJ’s within a 15 minute walk of my house. SWEET!

Wired News: by Cyrus Farivar 05.07.07 | 2:00 AM While large-scale quantum computers remain in the domain of science fiction, a joint team from Japan announced Thursday that it has been able to take a small but crucial step in pursuit of this advanced goal. NEC, the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, or RIKEN, and the Japan Science and Technology Agency, published a paper in the May 4 issue of the journal Science, outlining the ability to “controllably couple…

Note: I have mixed feelings about Walt Mossberg, ever since I was told by another veteran technology journalist whom I respect that Mossberg does consulting for companies that he covers, before the products actually come out. Also, I get the impression that there’s a bit of jealousy amongst almost every journalist that I know — the guy commands probably somewhere in the neighborhood of a million dollars annually. As I’ve written more, my non-techie family sometimes asks me my opinion…

So here I am, minding my own business, reading The New York Times online, when I come across this article about Bush’s upcoming dinner with the Queen of England. The article mentions that it’s a “white tie” dinner, and not knowing what that is, I go look it up. Then I continue reading the article, and come across this line: Even so, as it does for every official state visit, the White House has been consulting with the State Department…

My cousin Martin is about to embark, in about four weeks, on a solo two-month journey across Mexico. He’s just finishing his sophomore year at American University, where he’s majoring in Latin American Studies. I’m going to join him for four full days in Mexico City in late June. Technically I’ve been to Mexico once before (I went on a church trip when I was in 8th grade to help build houses outside Tijuana, but that doesn’t really count) —…