Archive for April, 2005
Oh woe is me
Posted by: | CommentsI just had two wisdom teeth pulled. Ouch. I had an infection in one of them, so I’m not really in the mood to blog today. Aprt from this sympathy-seeking post. More later…
Authentic Voice
Posted by: | CommentsSome extremely inciteful thoughts on the PR industry’s success at feeding the mainstream media in this article by essayist and programmer Paul Graham:
Reporters like definitive statements. For example, many of the stories about Jeremy Jaynes’s conviction say that he was one of the 10 worst spammers. This “fact” originated in Spamhaus’s ROKSO list, which I think even Spamhaus would admit is a rough guess at the top spammers. The first stories about Jaynes cited this source, but now it’s simply repeated as if it were part of the indictment. [4]
All you can say with certainty about Jaynes is that he was a fairly big spammer. But reporters don’t want to print vague stuff like “fairly big.” They want statements with punch, like “top ten.” And PR firms give them what they want.
If I wasn’t staring a drop dead deadline in the face, I would take more time to weigh in on this subject. But I think it is worth noting now that Paul’s views echo the opinions of a number of people I have interviewed lately for the latest book project I am contributing to about weblogs. It is summed up best by Paul here:
I think the main reason is that the writing online is more honest. Imagine how incongruous the New York Times article about suits:
“The urge to look corporate– sleek, commanding, prudent, yet with just a touch of hubris on your well-cut sleeve– is an unexpected development in a time of business disgrace.”
or the Business Week article about tagging:
“Joshua Schachter used to be a lot like the rest of us online. When he surfed the Web, he’d zip through interesting articles only to find that days later he couldn’t remember where he had seen the stories or sites that had caught his interest.”
would sound if you read it in a blog. The problem with these articles is not just that they originated in PR firms. The whole tone is bogus. This is the tone of someone writing down to their audience.
Whatever its flaws, the writing you find online is authentic. It’s not mystery meat cooked up out of scraps of pitch letters and press releases, and pressed into molds of zippy journalese. It’s people writing what they think.
(Hat Tip: Doc Searls)
Sita Sings the Blues
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Check out this animation by cartoonist (and neighbor) Nina Paley. But first, here’s an introduction from my friendly neighbourhood blog dailyheights:
Cartoonist and PH resident Nina Paley is slowly turning the narrative of Ramayana (a Hindu Sanskrit epic) into a series of remarkable animations set to a soundtrack of scratchy old 78s. The result is Sita Sings the Blues, a “self-animated, unfunded, destined-to- drive-me-to- the-poorhouse feature-in-progress.”
Nina describes the latest chapter, Hanuman Finds Sita: “Gags, gimmicks, AND narrative – hundreds of pages of text crammed into 3 minutes. Plus it contains all 4 main characters: Sita, Rama, Hanuman and Ravana, with extra added bonus demons … People already familiar with the Ramayana will probably enjoy these musical bits more, but I’m trying to make the story understandable to anyone.”
This animation really is one of the most beautiful things I have seen for some time. It may take a while to load but it is worth the wait. Link is here.
NB (April21, 6pm) The link is down, probably because it has just been linked on BoingBoing. Here’s another link which should work.
Maybe it’s just me, but…
Posted by: | CommentsSomething tells me that this is not the safest way to clean the outside of a building! (Spotted on Delancey, New York, NY.)
A fantastic portrait of “Gorgeous” George Galloway by AA Gill in The Sunday Times
In a contest that is already spittle-flecked with accusations of racism, anti-semitism, sexism and vile socialism, it might seem de trop to add a pinch of verticalism, but we all know the lengths small men will go to in their lust for power. There is more than an inch of Napoleon in George  just.
(Hat tip: Complete Tosh)
Guitar Lesson
Posted by: | CommentsI loved this story by Laura Longhine in the New York Times.
Cutting Edge
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About one month ago I was sitting on the stoop when this van, it’s bell merrily ringing, pulled up outside the apartment. A mobile knife grinder! The perfect story. Only Mr Del Re wasn’t having any of it. Which is a shame really because he would have made a great City section piece for the New York Times. I let it pass. After all, you can’t force the poor, noble, knife grinder to do an interview. 
But a couple of days ago, there I was, sitting at my computer, when I heard that familiar bell again. This time, I grabbed my camera, pulled down the window, gave him some lead, and took a couple of shots.
Google-searching D Del Re didn’t bring much in the way of results, but a few sneaky searches later and I found out that Mr Del Re was profiled in the New York Times on June 29, 1997! He was born in Mola, Italy, is about 49 years old (41 in 1997), and is one of the last mobile knife grinders in New York.
Mr Del Re used to work as a commodities trader but his firm went bust in the 1987 Wall Street Crash. He did not regret losing his job (apparently he used to fall asleep on the subway on his way home) so when his father-in-law, also a knife grinder, suggested that he buy that 15-foot truck from an “uncle Frank in Montreal” he leapt at the chance.
Mr Del Re runs his business out of the back of the truck, the workings of which, according to the Times, are fairly simple:
Inside are four wheels mounted into the truck’s side and connected to an eight-horsepower engine. First he rubs the blade carefully back and forth across the rough grinding stone. When he judges the blade sharp, he buffs it. Then he uses an oilstone to remove metal scraps. Often he will banter with the customer. “You know how to keep a knife sharp?” he sometimes asks. “Don’t use it.”
The Times article was accompanied by a chart and photos with other “Voices from behind the grinding wheel”. My favorite is Giacomo Iammatteo, 68, of Staten Island.
TIME IN BUSINESS: 49 years.
NATURE OF BUSINESS: Has a truck (semi-retired).“The business is not like it used to be. The new generation doesn’t bother with it. In the old days people needed many things sharpened. The people brought out axes, scissors, knives. Before you had shears and rotary lawn mowers to cut grass. Now you have weed whackers. People just don’t need as much sharpening as they used to.”
Lew on League
Posted by: | CommentsPreview of Wigan v Leeds RL
(An occasional rugby league blog by my dad)
The game is tonight, Friday evening, eight o clock GMT which makes it an afternoon game for those unfortunates who will not be able to see it in the U.S.ofA. It should be a cracking game. Read More→
