Now, Even Toyota Should Feel Threatened
Yin Mingshan spent 22 years in a Chinese communist workcamp and prison as punishment for his political dissent. The NY Times reports today that Yin is now the enormously wealthy president of Lifan, an up and coming Chinese car maker with its sites firmly set on the U.S. market. “Chairman […]
A Father’s Approval Makes All the Difference
On the plane to San Francisco, we watched ‘Walk the Line,’ the Johnny Cash biopic. The movie was poignant, especially in the portrayal of Johnny’s father and the tortured relationship between father and son. One scene was set at the height of the star’s drug and booze addiction, when Cash […]
Brrreeeport. It’s What’s for Dinner
Remember that word, brrreeeport. It’s not a city in Connecticut, nor a new flavor of frozen yogurt. It’s the word that a famous blogger made up to try to string all of the ‘Z list’ bloggers into a more powerful collection. You may have remembered another post that talked about […]
Photos that Make You Say ‘ Wow!’
This is from an incredible collection of photographs by a Chinese photographer named Li Wei.The image is called “Dream Like Love.”
Mocked for Watching American Idol
American Idol crushed the Olympics in last night’s TV ratings. And deservedly so. I mean why would we wanna watch distant skiiers cruising down slopes or figure skaters falling when we can see the reaction from twenty kids who’ve just gotten rejected by Simon, Randy and Paula? My employees mocked […]
A Famous Palestinian Actor
Kevin Sites interviewed an actor in his high ranked Yahoo column, The Hot Zone: “Ali Suliman is a Palestinian actor who played the part of Khaled in the recent film, “Paradise Now,” the only Palestinian film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award. AS: It’s the first time someone […]
Rent Seekers are Shakedown Artists
Cory Doctorow wrote a long defense of Google Print today. If adding value to someone else’s creation entitled him to a chance to say no, then anyone who makes an iPod case, an automobile cup-holder phone-cradle, or a lens-wipe for a camera should have gotten permission from the creators of […]
Israeli Cartoonists Make Fun of Jews
From Boingboing.net, a great idea for a world sorely lacking a sense of humor.Israeli Anti-Semitic Cartoon Contest: The story so far: Danish paper publishes cartoons that mock Muslims. An Iranian paper responds with a Holocaust cartoons contest. Now, a group of Israelis announce their own anti-Semitic cartoons contest. Amitai Sandy, […]
Using Bugs to Make Ethanol for Fuel
Wired News ran a story about an innovative company in Canada.Ottawa-based Iogen is already producing ethanol by exploiting the destructive nature of the fungus Trichoderma reesei, which caused the “jungle rot” of tents and uniforms in the Pacific theater during World War II. Through a genetic modification known as directed […]
Why More People Don’t Read My Blog
Blogging is a world of have and have-nots, according to a story in New York Magazine, titled Blogs to Riches. “Economists and network scientists have a name for Shirky’s curve: a “power-law distribution.” Power laws are not limited to the Web; in fact, they’re common to many social systems. If […]
Teeny Tiny Thai and Massive Depot
Tonight’s travels took me to a teeny tiny Thai restaurant in downtown Greenfield. The diminutive eatery, staffed by one smiling women, is called Hetterkorn. They had seating for two. The restaurant was a sliver of a space, and her wok sizzled by the cash register. We ordered our pad thai […]
The New Yorker Interviews Twice to be Sure
David Remnick says that the trademark attribute of The New Yorker is the insistence on accuracy. The legendary editor of the world’s most desirable publishing market was interviewed in Haartez, an Israeli News outlet. “When I go to interview, for example, Sheikh Naif Rajoub, one of the leaders of Hamas, […]
The Spider Can Hear You from Her Hole
Last night as we snuggled up by the fire we turned on the telly to watch PBS. There was a man on a show who chases spiders around, and he talked with much zeal about tarantulas. The female of this hairy spider can hear the sound of the male coming […]
The Most Expensive Animals in the Zoo
Pandas were in the news today, as the snow fell outside and we hunkered down with a fire and piles of newspapers. It seems that the Chinese government fleeces Zoo Atlanta and others with $80 million a year in rental fees for the priviledge of keeping the animals in their […]
Oh Sly, We Hardly Knew Ye
We tuned into the Grammys last week, and among the spectacles, the most bizarre had to be Sly Stone’s two minutes on stage. I have been intrigued with this iconic ’60s figure ever since I first heard that classic tune “Family Affair,” and when I saw him emerge on stage, […]
A Speaker is Born
Friday was a big day; I made my presentation to a standing room only crowd who filled a hall at the Washington Convention Center. The title was How to Make your Website Google Friendly and Make More Money with your Website. It went beautifully. Thanks to Joe I was well […]
Picking up the Loot in Brinks Trucks
A man was sitting at a table in Au Bon Pain, in Washington’s Union Station, and I sat down next to him. He was friendly, a black man with books and a backpack spread out before him. I knew he wanted to talk, he had that eagerness that strangers sometimes […]
Shiver Me Timbers, The Office Pirate is Coming!
Time Inc has a new idea for a website that they hope will reach male office workers, and they’ve hired Mark Golin, the editor behind beer-and-babes heavy Maxim Magazine for the job. the WSJ reports. “The site, www.officepirates.com, for now consists of a red-and-black page with a diamond-shaped sign depicting […]