about World Water Day 2009

Celebrating its 17th anniversary, World Water Day is officially today. In conjunction with GOOD Magazine (JESS3 is a big fan of GOOD), the American Chemistry Council, Population Services International and a host of health-focused organizations have produced a series of videos to help raise awareness about the drinking water epidemic that kills millions each year. It is hard to believe that things like cholera and typhoid still exist. But they do.

Stand up for those in need and donate up to 300 liters per person by:

• Joining the Facebook page "Safe & Healthy Water For Everyone" (= 100 liters donated per member)
• Following on Twitter to learn more about global water issues @WorldH2O (= 100 liters donated per follower)
• Spreading the word about the importance of chlorination by following @chlorine (= 100 liters donated per follower)

Cross posted at www.LeslieBradshaw.com (disclosure: ACC is a client of NMS)

about I Am Good Design

Incredible motion graphics work by I Am Progress (a project of the Center for American Progress). Their site design, blog network / content (e.g., Think Progress, Wonk Room, et al.), use of Ning to build their community and, now, this... continues to impress. They also have a robust discussion going on around this video and share:

"Starting Monday, March 16 through Sunday, March 22, we are excited to have Nina Hachigian, co-author of the The Next American Century, join us for an in-depth discussion around these challenges."

Find more videos like this on I Am Progress

h/t Alan Rosenblatt

about Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations Food Porn

As I have previously mentioned over on lesliebradshaw.com, this is a frequent must-watch show when I am over at Jesse's.

The pitch from Ingrid caught my attention when she said: "I didn't want to include the real title of the special in the subject line in fear that my email would wind up in your junk folder! Anyway..."

That said, here are a few more teasers from the show...

"Bourdain is well aware of the body's similar chemical and physical responses to food and sex." (aren't we all?)

"After traveling across the globe for years, and sampling some of the world's greatest gastronomic pleasures, he is ready to share some of his favorite examples of what he likes to call…food porn. In this special episode, Tony presents a XXX selection of all that's lip-smacking and luscious in the food world."

Hot. Must see. Monday, February 9th at 10pm EST.

about Thummit's 'last night on Earth' poll

It's your last night on earth. Where would you eat?

In the DC area, Jesse and I both would eat at Restaurant Eve.

Why do we ask? JESS3 has been working with the DC-based start-up, Thummit, and are glad to share these two opportunities:

1. A beta invite code: DCeats (enter it in here http://www.thummit.com/)
2. A chance to win a $200 gift certificate to the restaurant of your choice. This is for all beta users who vote in the "Last Night on Earth" poll from now until the end of December.

So what exactly is Thummit?

Thummit makes restaurant reviews simple, social and portable.

1. It’s simple. In the modern sea of information, Thummit is based on the belief that less is more – a quick Thumms up or down from a friend is more helpful than a long rant or rave from a faceless stranger.

2. It’s social. Thummit lets you share and save advice from friends and other trusted sources easily and quickly.

3. It’s portable. Rate restaurants from your computer, your mobile and even via Twitter (just "@Thummit"). Give and get recommendations whenever and wherever you need them!

A big thanks to friends and rockstars Nick O'Neill, Frank Gruber, Justin Thorp, Aaron Brazell, Jimmy Gardner, Adam Ostrow and Meghann Parlett and for helping spread the word. Join in, take the poll, share it with your blog readers and have a wonderful holiday season.

about choose clusta, not cluster

This advertisement is slightly amazing. Having participated in Rube Goldberg contests as a young girl (btw- this is Leslie speaking), I am in awe.

More at: http://clustarack.co.uk/video.html
h/t Bryan Roberts

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

about Reckoner Lockdown - Kanye vs Radiohead by DJ Earworm

From stereogum (h/t Brian Devine):

Radiohead's "Reckoner" got a video earlier this month. Before that, a ton of remix contestants. Courtesy of DJ Earworm, the track now gets to share space with that other frequently talked about single -- Ellen-approved, auto-tuned "Love Lockdown." We have "Reckoner Lockdown" in audio and visual form. The video mashes Kanye's monochromatic apartment and African dancers with Clemont Picon's Radiohead aniboom-winning animation, sp(l)icing up the place a bit.

about a few things cutting their losses

Format war is over. Blu-Ray Wins!

Castro officially resigns as President, Cuban Commander-in-Chief.

about claiming your Twitter account on Technorati

Ed Kohler at Technology Evangelist shares the 5 steps to getting this going (thanks Ed!):

How do you do it?

1. Click the "Claim Your Blog" link on the homepage.

2. Enter your Twitter Username's URL: http://www.twitter.com/yourusername

3. Choose Post Claim

4. Grab just the URL of the post claim URL and post that as a Twitter tweet. For example, if it said you should post Technorati Profile

Just grab http://technorati.com/claim/abcdefg

and post that as a Tweet on Twitter.

You can add additional text after the URL (give it a space) to explain to your friends what they heck you're doing.

5. Once you've posted your new Tweet, confirm that on Technorati and you'll be good to go.

Posted by: Leslie

about MyBlogLog's "New with Me"

Via Ian Kennedy, Product Manager, MyBlogLog (I am sure many of you received this email as well)...

"This feature will use the URLs on the Services tab of your MyBlogLog profile to aggregate your latest activity on sites such as Twitter, Last.fm, Digg, and YouTube. [...] Your latest Flickr photos, Last.fm tracks, and YouTube videos, will all be in one place."

So what does that mean?

"Simply put, the New with Me feature will transform your static profile into a dynamic one."

Also, so as to avoid a Beacon Level Error, Ian also tells us in the "old-fashioned email" announcement:

"MyBlogLog respects your privacy. We will aggregate and display only information that is publicly available. If you're uncomfortable with MyBlogLog aggregating and displaying publicly available information from a particular service, you can remove that service from your profile at any time."

The only problem with this is many online users aren't necessarily aware of what is publicly available and what isn't -- the "opt-out" model vs. the "opt-in" benefits the platform owner first and foremost, and secondarily, its members who want their data all over the place (believe it or not, some don't and don't readily understand that it is an "opt-out" system).

That said, I am still interested to see how this will work. I have been impressed with the way that platforms like Blogger/WP, del.iciou.us, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr -- to name a few -- have evolved to integrate and "talk" with one another -- truly great "syndication" systems. We'll see how "New with Me" fits in.

Post by: Leslie

about barack obama is your new bicycle

http://barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com/







Post by: Leslie

about Unlovable Valentine's Day Sweets

Awwww... funny, and yet sad? More at Serious Eats.


H/t to NMS colleague and SE columnist, Erin Zimmer!

Post by: Leslie

about Hillary was in a band?

Obama isn't the only one appealing to young voters... (h/t M. Bassik)

Posted by: Leslie

about Tool's Fibonacci in Lateralus... mindblowing

h/t Jon Henke

about Justin Timberlake, Pepsi Stuff, and another pre-SuperBowl Ad...

Cross-posted on Leslie's blog here.

UPDATE: Perez Hilton has it up as well!

UPDATE2: HuffPo shows love , yay!

about I've never seen a SuperBowl ad like this

Post by: Leslie

Working at a new media company (NMS, holler!) that does online promotion work and encourages its employees to watch and buy and blog and play online all day long... I see a lot of videos. I mean, A LOT. People send me these videos... some good, some funny, some not so good... most get buried in my Firefox tab farm (rows and rows and rows).

BUT THIS ONE WAS AMAZING.

SO AMAZING, that I asked if I could blog about it as far and wide as possible (i.e., here and on my own site... maybe on Facebook later, if I can find that tab). Full disclosure: this video is a NMS client's video.

I HOPE TO SEE MORE COMPANIES THINKING THIS WAY ABOUT ADVERTISING. GO PEPSI.


Making Of:


THE Ad...

about Yeasayer/MGMT Show in DC... needs your help

I have been watching the blog posts, Facebook group #s and Tweets (from Twitter, I know, I know... it is a goofy word) on this topic all morning, and things seem to be blowing up.

If there ever were an issue that combines some of the JESS3 staple interests, this would be it:

• Indie music/supporting up-and-coming artists
• DC-based things that are "happening" or about to happen ;-)
• Unique and real uses of social media

Here are the links:

• Brightest Young Things explains the situation.
• Facebook steez (join and show your support!)
  
• Patrick Wixted and Leslie Bradshaw (me) at New Media Strategies have both posted about it.
• Another DC friend and blogger, Andre Blackman, is also taking up arms.
• Brian Devine and Leslie are twittering the play-by-plays here and here.

UPDATES are rolling in, standby folks...

• UPDATE: Activists U*N*I*T*E over at "Music As I See It"
• UPDATE: DCist picks up our buzz (links to Patrick Wixted and Andre) via Brian Devine’s email to them.
• UPDATE: The Yellow Stereo music blog lists the effort as an example of how to get a sold out show. Hollerback.
• UPDATE: The hits just keep on rolling... Rogo 2000 joins arms and adds a vid from Letterman and this editorial note: I've been skeptical of MGMT, but their recent performance on Letterman may have convinced me to give them another chance.
• UPDATE: Washington City Paper has gotten hip to the buzz, and I love that they cherry picked it from DCist... means that they are listening!
  

Yeasayer’s management/contact:
http://yeasayer.net/contacts.html
jason@nowwearefree.com

post by: Leslie

about Gabe & Max's Internet Thing... is hilarious

Quite possibly one of the funniest things I have ever seen. H/t to my NMS co-worker and Twitter friend, Brian Devine.

about Alienware's amazing curved monitor

From Gawker outlets Kotaku and Gizmodo (h/t fellow NMS'r Jon Henke)... and all the krazy kidz at CES.

Kotaku:

'Holy mackerel! Look. At. That. Alienware's showing off this eye-catcher at CES. It's a 2880x900 curved monitor backlit by LEDs and boasts a .02ms response time. It'll be out in the second half of this year. Price will be somewhere between "very expensive" and "really fuckin' expensive."' Watch a Vid Here [Gizmodo]



My money says that JESS3 gets one the day it comes out (if not before).


post by: Leslie

about lol internet

Not as sharp as the video I just posted, but also capturing the essence of the web... German style.

Wait for the chorus... hilarious... (h/t Chris Olson):

internet
LOL internet
dsl and world wide web
internet
LOL internet
web 2.0 and online chat
internet
LOL internet
IRC and ICQ
internet
LOL internet



posted by: Leslie

about Here Comes Another Bubble v1.1 - The Richter Scales

I know, I know... this video has been around for at least a month now (Martin was all over it on 12/4/07)... But just had to post it while I was in wrap/rap-up mode.

Perhaps one of the best videos on the web all year long (h/t Bill Beutler, for bringing it up again).

We are living at a truly defining moment...


posted by: Leslie

about Netflix & LG Partner To Bring Netflix to the TV

H/T to HackingNetflix.com (and a tip from a customer service agent on the phone last night while trouble shooting the JESS3 PC Netflix viewing system... always with the inside scoop ;-)

Netflix & LG ("Life is Good") are teaming up to provide a set-top box that will stream movies to TV sets in the second quarter of 2008. LG has not released technical details about the box, such as ports (HDMI? Component? Both?), hard drive, resolution, or other features.

The only available image at this time is a screenshot of the user interface:

What we know so far:

The set-top box will have the same set of movies that are available through Watch Instantly, currently around 6,000 titles. Movies will be streamed to the box, not stored on the device.

LG does not have an exclusive deal with Netflix, so we can expect to see other companies to include this feature (Microsoft's Xbox? PS3?). No other partners have been announced at this time, but Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that he wants to see a wide variety of partners using the technology.

The pricing for the box has not been set, but I would expect it to cost less than $200 ($99 might be a good introductory price).

The box will be sold by LG, but the streaming service is expected to be included in the Netflix subscription price (no additional fee).

Netflix is testing unlimited Watch Instantly with a small set of users, so we don't know if the service will be capped or unlimited viewing (my guess is a limited number of movies, since Netflix has to pay the studios for each viewing).

We have very little information at this time about the technical specifications of the box, but I wonder if they will include HDMI and component interfaces (the 2 HDMI ports on my LCD TV are already full).

My bet is that the box will include a wired ethernet port and 802.11g. Very few people have 802.11n at this time, and Watch Instantly works well over "G."

Additional coverage by Reuters, the Associated Press, and The New York Times.

posted by: Leslie

about Words Can't Describe This Picture ...

Shout outs to JESS3 friends and colleagues:

David All

Patrick Ruffini

Robert Bluey*

and Erik Erickson (1 degree of separation via Jon Henke)


* JESS3 designed blog


h/t to TownHall's Matt Lewis...

The upcoming edition of Campaigns & Elections Magazine will feature Republican eCampaign guru's (from left to right), Erick Erickson, David All, Patrick Ruffini, and Robert Bluey.

UPDATE: available on eBook here (see page 36)

UPDATE 2: Leslie's NMS coworker and mutual friend, Bill Beutler shares his support and thoughts on the article here, check it!



posted by: Leslie

about "A Cause Des Garcons" [En Français]

H/T to loyal JESS3 reader and francolphile Nicola. Quote: "This is THE dance/song of the rentree in France - I close my eyes and it's like I'm back..... LOL."

According to Google Translator, "A Cause Des Garcons" = "Because of Boys."

exclu !!!YELLE "ACDG" TEPR remix Alternative Tecktonik Video
Uploaded by YELLE-TV

posted by: Leslie

about the $25,000 dessert

No, that wasn't a typo. Yes, this "Frrrozen Haute Chocolate" actually costs $25k. It is served at Serendipity 3 restaurant on East 60th Street in NYC.

Gold, Diamonds, and other amazing ingredients. Sounds great, I'll take two.

From NYT:

"Joe Calderone, a spokesman for the Midtown restaurant, said the dessert is a mix of cocoas and milk frozen to a slushylike consistency. But it does not stop there. Five grams of 24-carat gold are mixed in; then, the chocolate is topped with whipped cream and — what else? — more gold. No ordinary cherry tops this sundae; instead, it is garnished with La Madeline au Truffe.

The whole mass is served in a goblet surrounded with a crown made, of course, of gold. And diamonds. If that is not enough, the spoon is gold, too."

posted by: Leslie

about No End In Sight - opens July 27th

Sundance 2007
Winner - Special
Jury Prize: Documentary

More info here

posted by: Leslie

about CBS FIRES IMUS

IT'S OFFICIAL. Breaking news as according to FOX NEWS. He has now been fired from all of his radio spots.



posted by: Leslie

about Traffic Tricks & Drudge's Spin

Valleywag reports that while the "Drudge Report may be the most successful independent news site on the web... (more than 1.2m unique visitors from the US in February, according to Comscore)... devotees may not check the site quite as often as Matt Drudge would claim."

How'd Drudge do it? VW: " A site's 'meta refresh' setting is a web page's meta tag used to specify a time-interval after which a web browser will automatically refresh the page. Most sites leave it to readers to call for the latest version of a page; but popular news sites often assume that visitors will leave their pages open, and ensure the page is reloaded so that the latest headlines show. Nothing wrong with that -- except that the Drudge Report is automatically refreshed way more often than the frequency of new stories would justify. At 20 times an hour, Drudge is twice as aggressive in his use of this tactic as the next news site we checked."

Hmmm. Readers are taking note. It is a popular site, but, as loucabron notes: "These numbers smell."

posted by: Leslie

about a law that would ban iPods when crossing street

From AP:

Walk, jog or bicycle across a New York street with an iPod plugged in your ears and you could get slapped with a $100 ticket under a new law proposed by a legislator from Brooklyn.

State Sen. Carl Kruger's bill would also outlaw the use of cell phones, Blackberries, video games or other electronic devices when crossing the street (Kruger said the legislation would be introduced this week).

He cited the death of a 21-year-old man who was listening to music when he stepped off a curb and was hit by a bus in Brooklyn in September, and the death of a 23-year-old iPod listener last month. Charlotte Troisgros, 16, a Manhattan student talking on her cell phone in a crosswalk near City Hall on Wednesday, laughed and said the law may not be such a bad idea.

TechNewsPulse is also talking about it and sourcing Reuters.

posted by: Leslie

about Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

First off: This video gave me goosebumps.

From the video (actually excerpted thoughts, but make sense when strung like this as they did): "We are the web... when we post and then tag pictures... we are teaching the Machine... Each time we forge a link... we teach an idea... THE MACHINE IS US/ING US."

The video is actually a project from the Digital Ethnography project at Kansas State University (digg the effort, but their mark looks a little too much like another mark we all know). They are looking for feedback on this draft, so help 'em out by commenting on their youtube post here.

Such an amazing video and project. Props. The connections, the conceptions... the possibilities of understanding humanity. The Web. The Machine. Sign me up.

posted by: Leslie

about advertising in a post-9/11 zeitgeist

I can't decide whether this helps, hurts, or does nothing for their cause.

Their cause: a marketing campaign by Turner Broadcasting for their cartoon TV show “Aqua Teen Hunger Force" (left).

The situation: Boston temporarily closed parts of bridges, subway stations, an Interstate highway and even part of the Charles River on Wednesday after the authorities found what the police described as suspicious devices at nine places.

What's whack (and oh-so-post 9/11): Explosives experts removed the device at Sullivan Square. Officials from the FBA and the Homeland Security Department were called in, as well as bomb squads, and extra police officers were deployed around the city (right).

TBS's statement: “The ‘packages’ in question are magnetic lights that pose no danger... the outdoor marketing campaign... had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco and Philadelphia.”

posted by: Leslie

about magnificent snowmen in the streets of Russia

While DC is expecting cold temps and a few inches of snow - at best - Russia flexes its Northern *ahem* prowess in this magical advertising campaign for a play called "Snow Show" (the Story of Slava Polunin).

I couldn't seem to find the creative firm behind this idea, but that the images made it in the two papers I read thus far this morning (Wash Post Express and Wash Times) says something for its reach.

Anyone have more details? (I'd ask my Russian colleague today, but she's travelling on business)

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO BUILD ONE:

posted by: Leslie

about how Flickr users are mad as hell about the Yahoo ID annoucement

We all knew this was coming. In an e-mail to users, Flickr said founding members, known as "old skool" users, would have to switch to Yahoo IDs by15 March "simplify the sign in process."

Many, including Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, have left negative comments on the company's forum. "I like being Old Skool. Please reconsider!" he said.

Thomas Hawk is all over the issue on his Digital Connection blog and has also posted to digg, with "dug" votes rising fast (100+ since I started writing this):

"Flickr needs to reverse the asinine decisions made today to force people to merge their accounts with Yahoo and to place new limits on your contacts and tags.Here are some of the more interesting comments pulled over the past few hours from two flickr forums where they are taking a beating over this right now.People are pissed."

posted by: Leslie

about New York Launching an Official City Condom

New York City is known for taking branding to a whole new level and this recent condom campaign is no exception. You certainly would never see the boldness of such a campaign even get off the ground in the Bible Belt, let alone get suggested.

The details...

Associated Press reports (and I read it in the Wash Times, heheh) that there will soon be available from city hall "an official New York condom" perhaps in a "jazzy wrapper, with a colourful subway map."

The reasoning? "Brands work, and people use branded items more than they use non-branded items, whether it's a cola or a medicine, even," New York Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said.

For a city that hands out 1.5 million free condoms each month in ordinary packaging, has more than 100,000 of its citizens infected with HIV or AIDS, and has AIDS as the third leading cause of death among New Yorkers under 65... this may just be an interesting move to get say 5 to 5,000 to [hopefully] 500,000 more people to crack open the wrapper.

Behavior is hard to shift, alter, influence, CHANGE. Especially sexual behavior. But more power to them.

posted by: Leslie

about how content is not [necessarily] king

Rather, content aggregation and context are (according to Bear Sterns analyst Spencer Wang, in his report "Why Aggregation and Context and Not [Necessarily] Content are King in Entertainment" --> view presentation here).

His basic thesis, according to this article I'm reading in AlwaysOn Magazine:"The amount of online content choice continues to proliferate, and at exponential rates, the value of SMART AGGREGATION goes up." (Emphasis added)

Looking at the Latin behind aggregate: we see it is from aggregtus, past participle of aggregre, to add to : ad-, ad- + gregre, to collect (from grex, greg-, flock). We are not just CREATING CONTENT... we are intelligently collecting, flocking together...
But how do we discern between good content and bad? right and wrong? without getting too philosophical, we really let the [free] market do it's thang...

Basically, it's the Zagatization of everything... "Everybody is a critic" (so says David Carlick).

And we count on our zagatian brethren to filter, cull, judge and evaluate.

This is a modern version of an age old law of economics: ppl are rational actors and left relatively unrestrained to make decisions, their collective opinion will generally result in the best possible outcome.

posted by: Leslie

about how having movies mailed to you is so last century...

From Mercola.com:

"Broadband Internet access speeds are now the norm, rather than the exception, in America, and all kinds of digital media are available -- plenty of it for free.
As such, many people have been predicting the end of the popular Netflix movie rental company for some time, largely due to its traditional mail-based delivery model.
Not so fast, according to an interesting story from the New York Times, as Netflix has introduced an online service to deliver movies and TV programs to a user's PC as streaming video.
And, better than that, it's free to Netflix subscribers!
All it takes is downloading some special software from the Netflix Web site to your Windows PC.

Most of Netflix's subscriber base, who pay $18 every month to keep up to three movies at a time, receives 18 hours of free movie watching via the site (cheaper plans offer fewer hours).

Also, should a customer not like a movie they've sampled via the Internet, they can stop it at any time and be charged for only the time they spent watching it."

More:
New York Times January 16, 2007
The (Lakeland, FL) Ledger January 15, 2007

posted by: Leslie

about how Air America Radio finally found a buyer... I bet Rush Limbaugh is shaking in his loafers...

As reported by AP today:

"Air America Radio, a liberal talk radio network, said Monday that it had reached a tentative agreement to be sold to the founder of a New York area real estate company. The network also said that Al Franken, its longtime headline personality, would depart next month.
The agreement with Stephen Green, the founder and chairman of SL Green Realty Corp., appears to rescue the struggling network, which has been seeking a buyer since last fall when it filed for bankruptcy reorganization after reaching an impasse with one of its creditors.

Any sale would have to be approved by the bankruptcy court. The company has signed what is called a letter of intent to sell itself to Green and expects to agree on financial terms soon, Air America spokeswoman Jaime Horn said."

Nepotism at its best: "Green is the brother of Mark Green, a longtime New York politician who has also appeared frequently as a guest on Air America Radio."

More useless trivia: "Air America launched with much fanfare in 2004 as an alternative to conservative radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh. But it ran into several tough spots including a management shakeup just five weeks after going on the air that saw the departure of its chairman, Evan Cohen. Last April former music executive Danny Goldberg abruptly stepped aside as CEO. The current CEO is Scott Elberg."

posted by: Leslie

about A hard to find documentary about Tetris...

...and its creator Alexey Pajitnov. Also covers the rivalries between Nintendo and Atari and all the absurdities of buying copyrights for software from a country that doesn't believe in property, much less intellectual property. Ultimately, a great documentary about a very important game




posted by: Leslie

about Politicopia and how the revolution will be wikified

From SocialText:
Utah State Representative Steve Urquhart, Chairman of the Rules Committee that decides what legislation goes to the floor, launched Politicopia -- a Socialtext wiki for open government.
It is apparently off to a great start...He introduced the wiki last week on the Personal Democracy Forum with The Revolution Will Be Wikified:
Politicopia joins the revolution to improve people's ability to understand and control their government. Politicopia starts with three simple notions.
1. People need more control over government.2. Insiders have too much control over government.3. The Internet will disintermediate government.
In politics, intermediaries tightly control information. Those intermediaries are (1) special interest groups, (2) the media, and (3) bureaucrats.

Urquhart further explains Politicopia:

The people must wrest control from the intermediaries. How? By (1) improving access to information and (2) improving the ability to organize.

Politicopia will improve people's access to information in my state, Utah, by presenting a wiki-based forum for the compilation and presentation of information on actual bills pending before the Legislature. If a citizen wants to learn about an issue and shape the dialogue, Politicopia will provide a quick and solid handle on the process -- without the intermediaries filter. And if a legislator wants to hear unfiltered suggestions from interested citizens -- instead of mainly hearing from organized special interests -- Politicopia will give him or her a new source of input.

Using a Socialtext wiki, Politicopia will list the bills, present a brief summary of the issue and the bills status, invite pro and con arguments and comments, and provide links to relevant sources. Users will provide and control the content. Adding a forum where commentary and links can be added to the great information already provided on the Legislative website, Politicopia should become a very useful source for quick, accurate information on issues that the peoples representatives are deciding in Utah. Please check it out and help supply content or start a site for your state, city or mosquito abatement district.
Citizens link to the bill, build pro and con arguments, track status, link in external references and deliberate. The issues may matter to you, even if you don't live in Utah, such as:

Cell Phone Restrictions for Teen Drivers
Drivers License -- Revocation for Dangerous Drivers
Higher Speed Limit, Violation Amendments
Vouchers for Private School Tuition
All-day Kindergarten
Payday Lending (Sen. Mayne's Bill)
Fee Waiver Appropriation for School Districts
Illegal Immigrants -- In-State College Tuition

For more on Politicopia, see Phil Windley, Doc Searls, Brit Blaser, David Weinberger and Micah Sifry. I'm encouraged to see social software employed in politics for more than campaigns and become a new valve for the heart of the legislative process.

posted by: Leslie

about how No One Cares What You Had for Lunch

From collectingmythoughts: "No One Cares What You Had for Lunch is a book for bloggers, the premise being that bloggers run out of things to write about when all they can think of is what they ate for lunch."

This book purports to address an interesting phenomenon: the fact that there are thousands (if not millions) of bloggers posting what they ate for lunch (snack, breakfast, dinner, etc.).

However, I would argue that most of those posting on the topic of daily diet are actually apart of two key sub/microspheres within the greater Blogosphere: the Diet-o-sphere and the Recipe-o-sphere. It's not that they "ran out of things to write about," rather, their diets and recipes are just as important to their worlds as, say, politics are to those blogging in NOVA or DC.

Nice try.

posted by: Leslie

about fan-fallout from the new Jimi Hendrix energy drink, "Liquid Experience"

In show business, the saying goes something like “there’s no such thing as bad press.”

Does this same adage hold true for marketing?

If it does, then Beverage Concepts is in luck, because they have had nothing BUT bad press since yesterday’s announcement to put Hendrix-alum-inspired “Liquid Experience” on the market in April.

Quoted in almost every story is another rock legend, Michael "Flea" Balzary, of RHCP: "To see his image and the beautiful feelings it has created during my lifetime cheapened by base advertising is very disappointing to me." That can't be good for business

It gets better… dovetailing on the cause-oriented marketing, a “portion” of the profits going toward a yet-to-be-named music education foundation. Join GAP, Yoplait, et al. on the “portion of the sale goes to charity” bandwagon.

In the post-Red Bull age of energy drinks, the trademark debacle surrounding the drink "Cocaine", and the use of deceased, party-hard rockers to cash in… the launch of this product makes sense. Just not sure how successful it will ultimately be. Stay tuned.

posted by: Leslie

about how we are not the only country to have political philanderers... Katsav, join the Clinton-Foley Club

A variety of takes... from around the world:

President says rape claim is 'media witch-hunt' and vows not to quit (Scotsman, UK)

• And by "vow not to quit," I mean to say, I am going to quit...

Israel's president defends his reputation while offering to step aside (Knight-Ridder Washington Bureau )

• And by defending my reputation, I mean to say, I feel so good about who I am as a person, that I am going to step aside...

Katsav quits temporarily to fight rape claims (Irish Examiner, Ireland)

• "Quitting Temporarily" - sounds like an oxymoronic statement to me...

All the president's men weren't enough (Ha'aretz, Israel)

• To put humpty together again!

Overall, my vote for "Great coverage and photos" is on YNET NEWS

posted by: Leslie

about Kerry, not running for president in 2008... let's all cry and blog about it...

If there's nothing more a conservative blogger loves to do is find a witty way of taking an open-shot-dig at a Dem. Case and point? Drudge's front-page coverage (as of 4 pm today) of the Kerry announcement... a nice top-billing for the long-faced, Senate-floor-crying-Kerry (needless to say, this shot basically cements his soft-Northeasterner-with-questionable 'Nam creds and an obvious low-opinion for our troops in Iraq persona)

Drudge’s subhead in the article listings: “KERRY OPTS OUT OF '08 BID; ASSOCIATES CITE 'BOTCHED JOKE'...” Hilarious. Botched joke. Ha. I get it.

Another funny – but true – headline: “Demonstrably Unelectable Candidate Drops Out of Presidential Race,” from Tokatakiya.

Last but not least, from the man himself… on his very own blog! Look at him, all Candidate 2.0 and whatnot… but without being an actual candidate. Speaking of Candidates getting all 2.0 and being softie [wannabe] Northeasterners (but is actually from IL, like another ’08, 2.0 Candidate I know)… look at Ms. Rod-C., all did up, bookshelf-side… (IMHO, Barack wins hands down… on looks, demeanor, street cred, proud Chi-town roots, and intellect alone).

"The rest of the story".... as told by the DC AP.


Botched Joke Apology:



Stuck in Iraq video by JT Marlin:



posted by: Leslie