Ponderings

TV networks are turning to product placements to fight back against ad-skipping technologies like TiVo, but now some writers are putting up a fight, demanding more pay in exchange for scripting product plugs into their shows. Wired news had the story. “The complaints may seem like crocodile tears coming from […]

After just 19 issues, Cambridge’s newest newspaper broke some hard news — about itself. Colleen Walsh of the Boston Globe wrote about it today. The avowed goal of Cambridge Day, an eight-page daily broadsheet, was to offer a mix of local news, comprehensive listings of goings-on about town, and a […]

Bryan Curtis writes cleverly in Slate today. “A few weeks ago, I went to see Times columnist Frank Rich among the faithful, giving a talk at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. Each year, the 92nd Street Y brings in a roster of eminences, from Alan Alda to Barbara Boxer, […]

Few New Yorkers openly admit it, but everyone I know has taken the Fung Wah Bus. It’s the Queen Bee of the deep discount bus lines now operating out of Chinatown. And yes, it’s the real deal. But like any bargain, it comes with its own set of unique challenges. […]

More than 80 editorial cartoonists created about 125 drawings criticizing the shrinking state of their profession for today’s “Black Ink Monday” protest. Editor and Publisher has the story. Exactly 100 of those cartoons are currently posted at EditorialCartoonists.com, according to Association of American Editorial Cartoonists President-Elect Rob Rogers of the […]

Today I am giddy for a whole bunch of reasons. Our new GoNOMAD Cafe was featured in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, spilling the beans on our grand scheme for our internet cafe and wireless little town. I had tried to keep the reporter from putting as many details in about […]

Hung off Fido’s collar, the PetCell is a bone-shaped cell phone that will let dog owners talk to their best friend over a two-way speaker. Wired News had the story today, as snow fell over the Patriots/Bills game on TV. “The PetCell will ship in early 2006 and will sell […]

Tony Gabriele of the Daily Press in Hampton Roads VA provides some excellent reasons why newspapers are still superior to other media. “Newspapers are handy things to grab for soaking up spilled coffee, or grease splatters in the kitchen. I think “Soaks up grease better than Bill O’Reilly!” should be […]

On the plane to Belfast I was handed a Wall Street Journal and found this story about how the lack of health insurance in China causes deaths and heartache to millions. China’s health system is strictly pay as you go. Cash upfront or you don’t get treated. Fewer than one […]

We drove up to County Antrim today on Northern Ireland’s rocky coast. Here we felt the stiff winds and driving rain that the country is known for, and found a remarkable geological wonder called the Giant’s causeway. Along the cliffs of the shore, astonishing hexagonal shaped rocks about one-foot wide […]