Aside

I’m a fan of redesigns, particularly on the web of sites that I love. If you haven’t seen it yet, NYTimes.com has now been redone. I like the new layout, the new font, and the buttons at the top. What’s missing? For starters, the “blogged” button is the right idea, but only comes halfway. I want to know which blogs are talking about the NYT articles. Just telling me that some article is the most blogged is sort of meaningless.…

Here’s the answers. Becky wins, with 24 points. Rebekah came in at a strong second, and had the best answer to the music bonus: “Tarkan opening for the Spice Girls.” HA!

Sam Freedman, CBS News; March 31, 2006: Instead of providing the ultimate marketplace of ideas, however, cable TV and the Internet have become the ultimate amen corner, where nobody ever need encounter an opinion, much less a fact, that runs counter to what he or she already believes. To treat an amateur as equally credible as a professional, to congratulate the wannabe with the title “journalist,” is only to further erode the line between raw material and finished product. For…

Big ups to The Arab Rabbi for pointing this out to me: Rain WonderTrip, a new videogame for the PSP featuring your favorite Korean pop star, Rain. Rain Wonder Trip is a variety game featuring Korean R&B singer Rain. In the game, players go on a virtual trip with the pop star and peruse various minigames and features focused on him, including original movies, fortune-telling, quizzes, and backstage material from his live performances and other events. The game will be…

My good friend and fellow (although he cringes when I say it) journalist Paul Boutin has this Web 2.0 shakedown today in Slate. And if you don’t know what Web 2.0 is, or think that it’s yet-another-meaningless-buzzword, read on: Beyond that, publicists and self-promoters invoke Web 2.0 whenever they want to tag something as new, cool, and undiscovered—”This could be a big story for you, Paul!” That kind of hucksterism is what sends editors reaching for their blue pencils. Prior…

Inspired by Kathy, I’ve written a Cyrus Quiz. I’ll buy you a pint of your favorite beer/drink to the person that gets the most points. Leave your answers in comments. Each correct answer is worth two points, and the bonus are worth three. There is no guessing penalty. Answers and the winner, will be posted on Friday! Enter, for those who dare. Current standings: Becky (24 points), Rebekah (14 points +1 for her amusing bonus answer, even if it is…

So, after Paul posted about how to easily FOIA yourself, I went ahead and did it. Here was my result: Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, D.C. 20535 March 22, 2006 Dear Mr. Farivar, This is in response to your Freedom of Information-Privacy Acts (FOIPA) request above. A search of the automated indices to our central records system files at FBI headquarters located no records responsive to your FOIPA request. Although no records responsive to your FOIPA request were located in…

Dallas: We’re looking for an experienced and versatile journalist for a National Correspondent position in Dallas that will focus on the religious right and its increasingly powerful role in U.S. politics, while also providing spot news coverage in a territory that includes part of Texas and three contiguous states. This reporter will explain to an often mystified world the whys and hows of a group whose vote has become critical in national elections and as a result, with friends in…

When I blogged about this last summer, the figure, according to Computerworld, was this: About 8 million passports are renewed annually out of some 57 million passports in circulation. Now I read in Slate, from 2001: The United States issues three types of passports. There are currently about 44 million holders of the familiar, blue tourist passport (a few thousand people have green passports issued during the bicentennial of the U.S. Consular Service). About 400,000 have a maroon-covered “official” passport.…

Griffin Radio Shark – $40 Fujifilm 2600Z Camera (damaged?) + 128 MB SmartMedia card + 64, 16 MB – $40