(a)musings

Publish2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:39:00 +0000

Email is down, so I'm going to post this so I don't lose it.

http://publishing2.com/

I've been reading a lot from this site recently, and I think they bring up a lot of good points. Points very much in line with our ideas about interoperability and the power of aggregations. For instance:

http://publishing2.com/2008/09/17/explaining-the-financial-crisis-continuously-updated-news-aggregation-in-action/

"...when stories unfold as jarringly fast as the Wall Street meltdown, continuously updated aggregation could be a huge help for readers who are grasping for understanding. And if you do this for a couple of major stories, the next time a big one breaks they’ll know where to turn for answers first."

This brings to mind the recent announcement of Lance's return. We should have been all over the story. How much effort would it have been to run a main story - if not on the home page, then on the cycling page - with a short article with links to annoucements and commentary, links to our past coverage of Lance, blog posts from Bruce, create and link to a message board thread to invite discussion... maybe even something as silly as a new poll question. Certainly we have some pieces, and in all fairness I may have missed others. But this was/is right in our wheelhouse and we could have made a big stink with it. If nothing else, think of the SEO keywords. ;-)

I've also done a "proof of concept" aggregation which should be linked here: cycling.html

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They also have alot of posts about the power of aggregation and in being the site that links out to others... moving up the value chain; being the authority on a subject; etc. Worth reading.

Thanks!
J

Brennan's Restaurant, revered Midtown landmark, destroyed by fire

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:15:00 +0000

Three people were severely injured and a Houston culinary landmark was left in ashes early Saturday by a fire that erupted as Hurricane Ike began to barrel into town.

Brennan's Restaurant, a Midtown institution famous for its turtle soup and bananas foster and a time-honored eatery among local society, was ruined by the blaze. A 45-year-old man and his 4-year-old daughter, along with a third man who was not related to them, were taking refuge from the storm inside the brick structure.

The father and daughter were taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center with burn injuries, Assistant Fire Chief Omero Longoria said. Both were listed in critical condition early today, a hospital spokesperson said. The other man was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital, where he is listed in fair condition.

The cause of the fire and whether it is connected to the storm was not yet known.

Good for the Jews

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 04:36:00 +0000

Rashida Jones

Jones was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest daughter of media mogul Quincy Jones and his former wife, actress Peggy Lipton. Her father is an African-American and her mother is Jewish, descended from immigrants from Ireland and Russia. Jones attended Hebrew school and made the National Honor Society...

Though raised Jewish, Jones began practicing Hinduism in her early teens after her mother took her to an Ashram in India.[4] Today, however, she practices Judaism and told a reporter, "In this day and age, you can choose how you practice and what is your relationship with God. I feel pretty strongly about my connection, definitely through the Jewish traditions and the things that I learned dating the guy that I dated. My boyfriends tend to be Jewish and also be practicing."

Goal to Go

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:52:00 +0000

To strain this metaphor even further (and apologies to all non-sports fans), say the Green Bay Packers were playing the Chicago Bears and scored the first two touchdowns. If our political reporters were sportscasters, David Broder would insist that the Packers should let the Bears score, Sean Hannity would loudly proclaim that the Bears did score, and Cokie Roberts would misreport the score and then proceed to ignore the game.

I used to love Cokie Roberts. I would listen to NPR in the mornings via my alarm clock radio and Monday mornings I always stayed in bed a few minutes longer to listen to her commentary. But now... I just find her, like so much of the national media, out of touch with the real issues and real struggles our country faces. This isn't a game anymore. This isn't about some mythical bi-partisan past where great statesmen worked together for the common good. This is about removing the stain on our nation's good name and the ugliness and illegality of the last eight years.

The clock is ticking. The game is on the line. Let's win it.

photo courtesy Dan O'Brien

Ignorance Is Strength

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:46:00 +0000

"Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws."

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey

Very zen

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:55:00 +0000

A dragonfly rests on a branch Tuesday, July 22, 2008 in Boca Raton, Fla.

(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Open letter to McCain from the World

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:10:00 +0000

EARTH, July 25, 2008 -- The entire world drafted an open letter to Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) today, asking him to drop out of the U.S. presidential race and concede the presidency to Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois).

"Ordinarily we do not interfere in America's internal affairs," said a spokesman for the rest of the planet, "even when it has become clear, as in recent years, that American voters are about to elect ignorant, incoherent buffoons who will add immeasurably to our immiseration. But this time is different. We didn't think it was worth our while to step up for your Carter or Mondale or Dukakis or Gore or Kerry -- besides, we'd only be bombed or invaded for our trouble. But this time, I mean, come on -- you've got to be kidding me, right? Please tell me you're kidding."

Good for the Jews

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:28:00 +0000

Shunit Faragi, Miss Israel 2008

Happiness is

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 01:02:00 +0000

Happiness is when the ice in the cooler melts and you find a Stone IPA under the Miller Lite.

Be afraid

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:36:00 +0000

We all know what the deal is. When it comes to presidential politics, you either are or you aren't. And Barack Obama aren't. If you can't grasp the simple math of that statement, you don't know much about elections in this country. It's not about the war, or the economy, or the faltering Republican brand, or any of that: This is about hate and fear, and a dark instinct in our blood going all the way back to Salem, and whether or not a desperately ambitious ex-heretic named John McCain can whip up a big enough mob in time to drown the latest witch.

The boss

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 20:37:00 +0000

Many of the musicians on Obama's iPod, such as Bruce Springsteen, are supporting his White House bid.

Earlier this month, Dylan said he believed Obama was redefining politics in the US and could bring change to a nation in upheaval.

"I've got to say, having both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen say kind words about you is pretty remarkable," Obama said. "Those guys are icons."

Obama said he had not met Springsteen but that the two had talked over the phone.

"Not only do I love Bruce's music, I just love him as a person," Obama said. "He is a guy who has never lost track of his roots, who knows who he is, who has never put on a front."

He added that, when speaking to the singer, he addressed him by his moniker the Boss. "You've got to," Obama said.

If I had a boat

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:25:00 +0000

If I were an economist and owned a boat, I think I'd have to name it "Sunk Costs".

As a web developer I'm inclined to use "Float:Left;" though it might behoove me, amongst the boating set, to call it "Float:Port;".

Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:32:00 +0000

What Digby said.

Bill Clinton is in the pantheon of popular ex-presidents who continues to do important work on global initiatives. Hillary Clinton is a Senator and historic breakthrough presidential candidate who won more primary votes than any candidate in history aside from Barack Obama. Al Gore is a global leader and Nobel prize winner. On the other side of that epic battle, Newt Gingrich is a Fox News commentator, writing reviews of mystery thrillers on Amazon. Tom Delay is a private citizen facing indictment. Half of the social conservatives who unctuously criticized Clinton's behavior have been run out of town on morals charges.

Implausible, unworkable, and moreover, inefficient

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:54:00 +0000

On the Implausibility of the Death Star's Trash Compactor

I just cannot fathom how an organization as ruthless and efficiently-run as the Empire would have signed off on such a dangerous, unsanitary, and shoddy garbage-disposal system as the one depicted in the movie.

Iconography

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:50:00 +0000

Hey, I know that guy!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 28 May 2008 04:59:00 +0000

Via The Carpetbagger Report:

Jon Wolfsthal, Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, goes point by point, highlighting the overwhelming flaws in McCain’s speech, concluding:

McCain’s speech is a feeble attempt to try to tie all Republicans and Democrats into the failures of the Bush administration nuclear policies. Before 2000, the US was on the right track. The regime needed work, but was sound — more states had given up nuclear weapons and weapon programs in the 1980s and 90s than had begun them.

Now that track record lies in ashes — because of the Bush Administration approach, backed by a Republican Congress that killed the CTBT and sought to restrict funding for nuclear security efforts during 2000-2004. McCain is promising more of the same.

I know that guy! Stayed at his house this weekend. Drank his beer. Went to a soccer game with him. He's a good guy. Guess he knows his stuff too.

Update: Jon's now been referenced by The Washington Monthly. He's the darling of the liberal-blogger set. Woohoo!

Sign of the Times

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:59:00 +0000

Fantasy Face-lift

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:05:00 +0000

I've redesigned Fantasy Premier League. It's pretty sharp, if I do say so myself.

Bringing it home

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:16:00 +0000

Two-year-old Ali Hussein is pulled from the rubble of his family's home in the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad, Iraq on Tuesday, April 29, 2008. The child, who later died at the hospital, was in one of four homes destroyed by U.S. missiles. More than two dozen people were killed when Shiite militants ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district, bringing the death toll in area on Tuesday to more than 30, a U.S. military spokesman and Iraqi officials said. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)

In fact, the photo looks like a work of art. It is beautiful, on one level, capturing an intensely human moment. The photo could simply be admired as a wonderful piece of work.

Except for the shoes. The tiny sandals on Ali's feet are a child's shoes. My sons have worn those same sandals. Those are sandals that should be clomping about the living room, not a piece of collateral damage...

There’s no way to know the actual number of children who’ve been killed by this fighting _ by Americans, by Iraqi insurgents, by Al Qaida terrorists, by private security forces. And if there’s no way to know how many of the estimated 100,000 to 700,000 civilian dead were children, there’s no hope of knowing how many have died in Sadr City.

So I don't have any overwhelming statement about Iraq to make based on this moment. I don't really have any statement to make, at all. Beyond this: I can't stop myself from crying for Ali, and the children of Iraq.

Pretty Vacant

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:01:00 +0000

“President Bush is well aware that the banner should have been much more specific, and said, Mission Accomplished For These Sailors Who Are On This Ship On Their Mission. And we have certainly paid a price for not being more specific on that banner. And I recognize that the media is going to play this up again tomorrow, as they do every single year.”

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, responding to a question from Helen Thomas

Classy

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:00:00 +0000

STEPHANOPOULOS: One of the points Mrs. Edwards made in the Wall Street Journal, she said that your whole life, you had government health care. You were the son of a Naval officer, a Naval officer, now a member of Congress. And her point is, why shouldn’t every American be able to get the kind of health care that members of Congress get or members of the military get?
MCCAIN: It’s a cheap shot, but I did have a period of time where I didn’t have very good government health care. I had it from another government.

McCain, in August, 2004:

"I'm sick and tired of re-fighting the Vietnam War. And most importantly, I'm sick and tired of opening the wounds of the Vietnam War, which I've spent the last 30 years trying to heal," the Arizona Republican said at a lunch with USA TODAY and Gannett News Service. "It's offensive to me, and it's angering to me that we're doing this. It's time to move on."

And evidently it was, until recently, "an intentional decision not to highlight his five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam."

Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:16:00 +0000

In response to 9/11, the hawks launched a war that's killed more Americans than Osama bin Laden ever could, at the cost of over 1 trillion dollars; they've done nothing to impede nuclear proliferation, nothing to build democracies in the Middle East, failed to kill or capture al-Qaeda's top leadership, made Hamas and Iran more powerful than ever before, and brought American prestige and influence to a new low ebb.

Update: And for what?

Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle. As of fall 2007, this conflict has cost the United States over 3,800 dead and over 28,000 wounded. Allied casualties accounted for another 300 dead. Iraqi civilian deaths--mostly at the hands of other Iraqis--may number as high as 82,000. Over 7,500 Iraqi soldiers and police officers have also been killed. Fifteen percent of the Iraqi population has become refugees or displaced persons. The Congressional Research Service estimates that the United States now spends over $10 billion per month on the war, and that the total, direct U.S. costs from March 2003 to July 2007 have exceeded $450 billion, all of which has been covered by deficit spending. No one as yet has calculated the costs of long-term veterans' benefits or the total impact on Service personnel and materiel.

Mine eyes have seen the glory

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:25:00 +0000

Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd as President Bush applauds, Wednesday, April 16, 2008, during a South Lawn arrival ceremony at the White House in Washington.
(AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

It's pretty disgusting, in this day and age, to have the Confederate flag as a legitimate national (or at least regional) symbol. What would our reaction be if the Pope was visiting Germany and the Bavarian land flag contained a swastika?

Compositions for the Young and Old

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:19:00 +0000

Laura and I saw Bob Mould last night at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. Great show, even if we're old and have a hard time staying out so late. But Bob looked and sounded great. At 47, he puts us to shame! He was full of energy, and probably for the first time of all his live shows that I've seen genuinely seemed happy playing some old Husker Du tunes as well -- I Apologize, Celebrated Summer, and Divide and Conquer to close the set.

The best sounding songs were from the new album, including The Silence Between Us and Stupid Now, which I guess shouldn't be a surprise. But he also rocked a lot of Sugar and few tracks from Body of Song. He even broke out See a Little a Light early in the show.

So many of these songs bring back a particular period in my life, much like Poi Dog Pondering.. . hearing Workbook for the first time in Israel; Warehouse: Songs and Stories shaping my senior year; seeing him solo acoustic at Georgetown University soon after moving to DC; listening to Body of Song non-stop around the time my grandfather died... and I taken back to each of those moments last night.

I would be remiss if I didn't include a video clip here. I should choose If I Can't Change Your Mind as it is one of Laura's favorite songs. But I have to go with Gee Angel if only because the video is much more memorable, and less gloomy.

Religion is teh awesome

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Spitzberg) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:42:00 +0000

One-and-a-half-year old Chihuahua dog 'Conan' prays with his owner and chief priest Joei Yoshikuni during a morning pray at the Shuri-Kannondo temple in Okinawa islands, southwestern Japan, Monday, March 24, 2008.
(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

I love that the dog's name is in quotation marks, but "prays" isn't.

Competitors await their turn onstage during San Francisco's annual Hunky Jesus competition in Dolores Park on Easter Sunday March 23, 2008. The tradition is officiated by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of social activist drag queen nuns.
REUTERS/ Erin Siegal (UNITED STATES)