Choose Your Own Adventure 2.0
It was just a matter of time before writers/publishers decided to create web-novels, or ‘wovels.’
In the same tradition as one of my generations’ all time favorite series of books - Choose Your Own Adventure - Underland Press is posting one piece of ‘The Living’ at a time and then asking its readers to decide what happens next.
Unlike the original CYOA books, wovels take into account numerous readers - creating more of a democratic/community-driven approach to storytelling.
(via BoingBoing)
What’s in season?
If you’ve ever wondered what kinds of local foods are currently in season (anywhere in the U.S.), Epicurious has an interactive Seasonal Ingredient Map to help you out.
Eating local, seasonal foods is better for the environment and makes for better eats.
(via Lifehacker)
Flight of the Conchords - Nob Hill Masonic Center - 5.27.08
Flight of the Conchords delivered a really funny and enjoyable performance this past Tuesday in SF. The talented comedy/music duo blended humorous banter with really impressive musicianship, making for a refreshing night of entertainment.
Newspaper of the future
Mediabistro.com has reported that The New York Times is planning to release an API, thereby eventually allowing other developers an opportunity to use and mash whatever info the Times will allow.
According to Aron Pilhofer, editor of interactive news, the goal is to “make the NYT programmable. Everything we produce should be organized data.”
By embracing the openness and collaborative spirit of the Net (rather than fighting it) the NY Times seems ready and willing to push the inevitable web-based evolution of old-school newspaper publishing.
(via ReadWriteWeb)
Mobile is halfway there
According to the International Telecommunications Union, 49% of the world’s population (3.3 billion people) use mobile phones as of the end of 2007. In contrast, only 20% of the globe has access to traditional landlines.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of LETDOWNS
Just got back from seeing the latest (and definitely not the greatest) Indiana Jones flick. Wow…I didn’t think it was even possible for such a storied and beloved franchise to make this wrong a turn…
Gone are the days of Indiana Jones playfully and successfully blending action and slapstick. This felt like a bad theme park ride - not the 4th chapter in what has historically been a fun and rewarding series of movies.
IJ4 is totally lacking substance, plot, and motivation. As a huge fan of the original trilogy, I was willing to accept that there was little chance for the latest chapter to be on par with the first three. However, besides Harrison Ford easily being able to resume his classic role, the entire movie was flat and disappointing.
A sad day for Indy fans everywhere…
rating: 2 | 5
Shirt of the day
Since first discovering CNN Shirt (a news headline t-shirt store) last week, I’ve developed a bad habit of enjoying some of the chosen “shirt-worthy” headlines. Enjoy?!
Right on schedule…
(via PHD Comics)
Iron Man? That’s kinda catchy.
Iron Man is a respectable addition to the ever-growing Marvel Movieverse.
Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, and The Dude all deliver believable portrayals of (obviously) unbelievable characters. The writing isn’t stellar, but generally the special effects and action sequences make up the difference.
At the end of the day, Iron Man is both entertaining and visually (and technologically) engaging.
rating: 3.75 | 5
CNN takes a page out of The Onion
Wow. Is it just me, or is CNN taking the news less serious then ever?!
Case in point: CNN has added a new feature to its otherwise run-of-the-mill news website - Headline News T-Shirts. WHAT?! Last I checked, April Fool’s was last month?!
But seriously, head on over to CNN.com and you will now find a little t-shirt icon - 
- next to select ‘Latest News’ headlines. Click on the icon and you are brought to a page like the image above where you can select the size and color shirt you would like. Um…OK.
To quote a friend - whose gonna buy a t-shirt that says, “Gallon of gas now costs actual arm and leg” - ?!
…on second thought, sell me that shirt for $1.99 and you’ve got a deal!
