Thursday, September 29, 2011
Being Elmo trailer
Being Elmo is a documentary about the puppeteer who performs Sesame Street's Elmo. It looks fantastic.
(via unlikely words)
Tags: Being Elmo movies Sesame Street trailers
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Malcolm Gladwell on Bruce Ratner and the Barclays Center - Grantland
"Bruce Ratner's original plan for the Atlantic Yards site called for 16 separate commercial and residential towers and a basketball arena, all designed by the superstar architect Frank Gehry. The development would be home to roughly 15,000 people, cost in excess of $4 billion, total more than eight million square feet, and make his company — by some calculations — as much as $1 billion in profit. To put that in perspective, the original Rockefeller Center — one of the grandest urban developments in American history — was seven million square feet. Ratner wanted to out-Rockefeller the Rockefellers.Ratner knew this would not be easy. The 14 acres he wanted to raze was a perfectly functional neighborhood, inhabited by taxpaying businesses and homeowners. He needed a political halo, and Ratner's genius was in understanding how beautifully the Nets could serve that purpose. The minute basketball was involved, Brooklyn's favorite son — Jay-Z — signed up as a part-owner and full-time booster. Brooklyn's borough president began publicly fantasizing about what a professional sports team would mean for his community. The Mayor's office, then actively pursuing an Olympic bid, loved the idea of a new arena in Brooklyn."
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Painted Turtle 2011 Benefit at Bimbo's
Monday, September 26, 2011
Update on Ben's Friends
- If you "Like" our Ben's Friends Facebook Page - you can enter into a promotion to win a beautiful Sugar Paper Print. Also, anyone you invite and who Likes our page gives you another entry into the sweepstakes. We're publicizing our Facebook presence much more because about 25% of the new patient members find us there now, and that % is increasing very quickly.
- We started a Hepatitis C support group recently. One of our ace Moderators, Michael "Bones" Jones is running the group. Bones recovered from the condition and really wants to help others.
- Another new network is the United with Disabilities Support Group - this is a more general group than we have started before, but JC, another ace moderator, felt strongly there was a need.
- Our new ADHD Support Group has been growing nicely with Eric & Larry Becker's help.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday Brunch - September 25, 2011
- On the Meaning of Moneyball - click through Alex's link.
- Amount Purchased vs Amount Wasted
- Real Artists Ship...Construction Paper
- Gold, Technology and the Death of Currencies
- Old SF
- Musical Spectrum Analysis
- The Great Prosperity vs. the Great Regression
- Talker's Block
- Facebook's Huge Trove of Photos
- Smells Like Teen Disintegration
- Republican's Letter to Bernanke
- Dinosaur Feathers Found
- Humans Reached Asia in Two Waves
- Big Sky (photo)
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Boycotting...
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Scott Orn shared an Instagram photo with you
Scott Orn just shared an Instagram photo with you:
Thanks,The Instagram Team
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Giants Season
This says it all about the Giant's Season:
–
KERSHAW VS. LINCECUM
March 31 @ LA (opening day): Dodgers 2, Giants 1
July 20 @ SF: Dodgers 1, Giants 0
Sept. 9 @SF: Dodgers 2, Giants 1
Sept. 20 @LA: Dodgers 2, Giants 1
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
A Dozen Things I Learned From Watching Two And A Half Men - Hollywood Reporter
"Since there was bound to be a curiosity factor in play as Ashton Kutcher took over from Charlie Sheen as the star of Two and A Half Men, and since CBS's promotions for the "new" show have been ubiquitous, then fine, you win. Here are the 12 things I learned while watching the newly revamped Two and A Half Men:
I’ll never make that mistake again.
It was as predictable and unfunny as ever.
It’s not true that we get the television we deserve. We get the television we choose -- and this series is a fantastic reminder to vote with your remote."
Monday, September 19, 2011
Netflix: Is this a Johnson & Johnson Tylenol Moment?
"James Burke, the company's chairman, was widely admired for his leadership in the decision to pull Tylenol capsules off the market, and for his forthrightness in dealing with the media. In a news conference only a month and a half after the tragedy, he gave a full chronology of what the company had done. "He looked in complete control," said Tortorella.
The moves were costly. Johnson & Johnson spent more than $100 million for the 1982 recall and relaunch of Tylenol. A much smaller recall in 1986, and a second relaunch also ran into millions of dollars.
But Johnson & Johnson's shareholders were hurt only briefly. In 1982, the stock, which had been trading near a 52-week high just before the tragedy, see-sawed in panic selling but recovered to its highs only two months later."
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday Brunch - September 18, 2011
- Efficiency by Seth Levine
- Book: Treasury Secretary ignored Obama directive
- NFL Strategy: Beating the Blitz
- Engineering Human Cells to Attack Cancer
- Djokovic & Nadal: Even Better Than You Think: A Story about Spin
- Jennifer Aniston and Chaz Bono in High School Together
- How to avoid a nightmare if Greece Defaults
- Solar Eclipse by Saturn
- Google Will Link to "View All" Pages in Search Results
- Using a pricing decoy
- On IPO's, If You're going to File, Make Sure You Price
- Netflix Investors Overreact to New Forecast
- Pruney Fingers Better for Gripping
- Job Misunderstandings
- Greene in Black & White
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Article: The 2 Billion UBS Incident: 'Rogue Trader' My Ass | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
The 2 Billion UBS Incident: 'Rogue Trader' My Ass | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/the-2-billion-ubs-incident-rogue-trader-my-ass-20110915?print=true
But the reality is, the brains of investment bankers by nature are not wired for "client-based" thinking. This is the reason why the Glass-Steagall Act, which kept investment banks and commercial banks separate, was originally passed back in 1933: it just defies common sense to have professional gamblers in charge of stewarding commercial bank accounts.
Article: Bloomberg to Congress: U.S. Riots Ahead
Provocative but probably true...
Bloomberg to Congress: U.S. Riots Ahead
http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2011/09/bloomberg-to-congress-u-s-riots-ahead.html
Bloomberg to Congress: U.S. Riots Ahead
I have forecast that we'll see economically-driven U.S. riots by 2013. It seems I've been joined in that belief by Michael Bloomberg:
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned Congress Friday, saying members should expect riots if the nation's rate of unemployment remains above 9 percent.
"We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs," Mr. Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. "That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here."
via Michael Bloomberg to Congress: Time to expect riots | The State Column.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Prohibition by Ken Burns
Documentary film by Ken Burns about Prohibition? As Aaron Cohen said, "twist my arm".
PROHIBITION is a three-part, five-and-a-half-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick that tells the story of the rise, rule, and fall of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the entire era it encompassed. Prohibition was intended to improve, even to ennoble, the lives of all Americans, to protect individuals, families, and society at large from the devastating effects of alcohol abuse. But the enshrining of a faith-driven moral code in the Constitution paradoxically caused millions of Americans to rethink their definition of morality.
First part premieres October 2 on PBS.
Tags: Ken BurnsFriday Chill Music - September 16, 2011
Blood - PJ's hardest rocking song. This is old school.
Betterman - at Madison Square Garden, with the "Runaway...Save it for Later" ending that is my absolute favorite to this song.
Leash - another one of my old favorites and a rocker. This is from PJ's VS. album. I remember listening to this song before high school basketball games to get pumped up! Eddie does some serious damage in this clip.
Thumbing My Way - chill song to take you out on.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Grantland Network Podcast: Reality Czar David Jacoby, Bill Simmons, and The Challenge's Johnny Bananas - Hollywood Prospectus Blog
Grantland Network Podcast: Reality Czar David Jacoby, Bill Simmons, and The Challenge's Johnny Bananas - Hollywood Prospectus Blog
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Easton's CAL Baseball Video
<iframe width="500" height="311" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/I2EvhR7TaJU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
AddToTrip Hackathon
Sunday Brunch - September 11, 2011
- Brad's Pitch - Why Pitt was Willing to Go to Bat for Moneyball
- TechCrunch's Mascara Tears
- Jay's Best Trait via Alex Bain
- Waving to Myself
- Being a Moderator is Rewarding to Me via Ben's Friends Blog
- Revenge
- World's First BitTorrent Certified TV Launches
- Freemium - What is it? via Healy Jones at Startable
- Europe's Banking System - The Transatlantic Cash Flow
- Project Points Spread - my buddy Steve Tuck's new site
- In California, Amazon Pushes Hard to Kill a Tax
- Evolution of the Web via Flowing Data
- What is Going On via avc
- 6 Must Have's for a Hipster Apartment (thanks to Ziser)
- Groupon Cartoon via Alex Bain
- Startups, VC's in the Age of the Personal Brand
- How to Write IOS Apps
- The Real Reason Dieting is So Hard
- Point Reyes
- Pearl Jam's Betterman at Madison Square Garden
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
PJ20 “Daughter” Teaser – The Uncool - The Official Site for Everything Cameron Crowe
As part of the 20 Days of Pearl Jam Countdown, we are pleased to present an exclusive clip from Pearl Jam Twenty. I’ll let Cameron set it up for you:
“A hint of promise – Stone and Eddie on the tour bus, working out a rough version of what would become “Daughter” (then “Brother”), the germ of which began the night before in the band’s Holiday Inn hotel room. Thankfully George A. Webb III was there to capture this work-in-progress, a band milestone in the making.”
Colby Buzzell's New Book: Lost in America
For those that don't know, Colby wrote a terrific piece for Esquire on Banksy before Banksy was world famous. I also really loved his story in the SF Chronicle called Return to Sender.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Better, Faster, Stronger - Tim Ferriss, Silicon Valley's Self Help Guru
"Ferriss’s books appeal to those for whom cheese, per se, has ceased to have any allure. “This book is not about finding your ‘dream job,’ ” Ferriss writes in “The 4-Hour Workweek.” “I will take it as a given that, for most people, somewhere between six and seven billion of them, the perfect job is the one that takes the least time.” But Ferriss doesn’t recommend idleness. Rather, he prescribes a kind of hyperkinetic entrepreneurialism of the body and soul, with every man his own life coach, angel investor, Web master, personal trainer, and pharmaceutical test subject. One’s body can become one’s own laboratory: with “a few tweaks,” Ferriss suggests, its performance can be maximally enhanced—just as in the movie “Limitless,” but without the nasty withdrawal symptoms. His books seem to have a particular resonance for Wired-reading, Clif Bar-eating men—those whose desire to improve their abdominal definition may not be so great that they will subscribe to Men’s Health but who find in Ferriss the promise of heightened braininess complemented by an enviable degree of brawniness."
Monday, September 5, 2011
Kurt Vonnegut explains the shapes of stories
Incredible little speech. He's one of my favorite authors but this is the first time I've ever seen him speak.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sunday Brunch - September 4, 2011
- My n=1 Quest to Live Headache-Free
- Sugar Paper Holiday Preview
- A Wilco birthday.
- The Apple Logo
- Misadventures in VC Funding: The $24 Million Moz Almost Raised « Rand's Blog
- Why you’re a lunatic if you shop at Tiffany’s right now
- Turn An Email Into Snail Mail For Free
- Are tablets the small business computing platform of the future?
- "Fridays TV Show" (1981) (Larry David) - YouTube
- Sleep on a Rock : Mystical Photography by Frederic Larson
- Trails and Trees
- HBO Programming Venn
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Wilco's New Album "The Whole Love" is Streaming...
The Patent Pledge
"I've never been 100% sure whether patents help or hinder technological progress. When I was a kid I thought they helped. I thought they protected inventors from having their ideas stolen by big companies. Maybe that was truer in the past, when more things were physical. But regardless of whether patents are in general a good thing, there do seem to be bad ways of using them. And since bad uses of patents seem to be increasing, there is an increasing call for patent reform.
The problem with patent reform is that it has to go through the government. That tends to be slow. But recently I realized we can also attack the problem downstream. As well as pinching off the stream of patents at the point where they're issued, we may in some cases be able to pinch it off at the point where they're used."
Friday, September 2, 2011
Friday Chill Music - September 2, 2011
Wilcognizance has collected a bunch of songs from YouTube and Sound Cloud so you have to click through to listen. Can't wait for the album to come out next month.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
HP’s Valuable Lesson « Building Strong Brands
HP CEO Leo Apotheker recently demonstrated why selling the plan is so important. On August 18, HP announced that it was embarking on a bold new strategy, exiting the PC business and acquiring a major UK software company.
One can debate the merits of the plan, but HP clearly did a terrible job of selling it. Business analysts quickly attacked the moves and investors fled."