DefinitiveInk

links for 2009-09-12

• Chi-Town Daily News Finds No Benefit In Being Non-Profit | paidContent
  interesting post about Chi-Town Daily's struggles with the not-for-profit model they adopted. It is a great Chicago blog and I hope they figure something out.

9/11/2001

The morning of 9/11/2001, I was living in Brooklyn Heights and was having a "phone session" with my therapist when a friend called me to tell me that a plane had just flown into the World Trade Center. My doctor worked on the Upper East Side and more and more often I didn't feel like taking the train up there for what was becoming more of a lecture series than something helpful. I told my doctor what I had just learned, and he said that he wasn't surprised and that he had been expecting someone to blow up a boat in the harbor for years. I turned on the TV and after about a minute I told him I had to go, he asked "why?" I stopped seeing him shortly after. This was early before the second plane hit and before the reports of the other planes started hitting the airwaves. Watching it on television had a bit of a surreal distancing effect, there was a traffic helicopter taking the footage and in at that moment it was being reported as it was happening.  There were a lot of sirens as our local fire companies raced over the bridge to respond. Then the second plane hit.  My friend and I were on the phone and watched the news. Sometime during that hour I decided I needed to get out of the house and I went down to the Promenade to see what was happening. When I got there people were milling around, some had binoculars, we watched the smoke, there was a lot of pacing. Then the first tower collapsed. Then the second. Then there was a void in the skyline. Later I saw thousands of smoke and dirt covered people walk over the bridge. I passed out water. My girlfriend made it home from midtown via a long walk over the Williamsburg Bridge. The sky filled with smoke, burnt papers from Cantor Fitzgerald landed in my friend's backyard in the North Slope, the smell of the fire filled the air for months, I got a dry cough that lasted for a while, friends of friends died and some others had near escapes.

Cheese or Font game

via cheeseorfont.mogrify.org

Is it a cheese of a font?
via Swiss Miss

Can't all the e-readers just get along?

NBC gets a hold of a powerpoint with handwritten notes (no less) about yet another probable e-reader. My vote of sad moved it from 3% to 7%.

"Portable digital reading devices are emerging as a big publishing opportunity," a slide on the presentation reads. It mentions as opportunities Sony and Amazon's black-and-white readers, as well as full-color smartphones like the iPhone and forthcoming tablet computers -- large-screen, keyboardless touch-sensitive computing devices -- from HP and Apple.

"Whoever defines the interface wins," another slide concludes. A slide labeled "Key components to the winning model" includes a "commerce engine" -- an online store like Amazon.com; "product design" including "tools for research, design innovation and manufacturing," which suggests plans for a physical gadget; and a "consumer-facing brand" -- a name for the device and service akin to Amazon's Kindle.

The presentation concludes that Time Inc. and other partners should form a new, jointly owned company. Time Inc. might spin out its Maghound service, a service which lets consumers bundle multiple magazines together into a single monthly subscription, to form the base of the joint venture. The company is also considering acquiring other businesses to jumpstart the venture.

Handwritten notes indicate Time Inc. executives have discussed the new venture with other magazine publishers, including Conde Nast, Meredith, and Hearst.

The result, according to the presentation, will be that publishers like Time Inc. will hold "our destiny with readers, advertisers and distributors ... in our hands."

Mouse feeding time at The Prospect Park Zoo

 
Willa and I had an amazing visit to the Prospect Park Zoo today. After the usual visit to Maggie the Dexter Cow, and the Sea Lions we wandered over to the Amazing Animals exhibit where we stumbled on a lot of zookeeper activity. They were adding fresh vegetation to displays, and then feeding mice to snakes, toads, and Gila Monsters.  I had never seen the secret world behind the displays. In the case of the Gila Monster and tortoise desert there was little closet and sink and hose. Willa was pretty intrigued by this and on our way home she and I made slurping noises (when she wasn't pretending she was a frog).

 

Joe Wilson ate your homework and other misdeeds

Funny site dedicated to ridiculing Joe Wilson, the Republican Congressman from SC who heckled the President during his speech by calling him a liar. Visit and reload to find out what other misdeeds this hopefully soon-to-be former Congressman has been up to. (via Huffington Post)

Apparently Sept 13 is National Grandparents Day

One of the downsides of working in digital media is the need to sign up for services just to check them out.  I'm a lazy unsubscriber so I get CatAge, things from product selection sites, and too many newsletters. Sometimes the e-mails are interesting because it reminds you that the company is still in business. Tonight I got one from Eons.com. I was once recruited for a job there so I had to join and pretend I was over 50 so I could check it out. I didn't really get it then and still don't. Perhaps I'm too young to understand the appeal of copy like this.

Hey, grandparents, Sunday, September 13th, is National Grandparents Day, but you have the gift of being a grandparent all year long. Whether you are seeking advice, raising your grandkids, missing those little ones or just want to brag a little bit, join Eons members who are sharing their experiences in blogs and groups. And for those who simply still want to act like a kid, don’t worry—we’ve got a group for that, too!

* Grandkids: Talk with Eons members about how to get and stay close with your grandkids, even at a distance. Get perspective. Get answers. Share your wisdom.
* GRAND’S Grandparent Group: Share pictures, give and get advice, tips, articles and more.
* Growing Old is Mandatory, Growing Up is Optional: Do your grandkids love you because you are just like them? If so, join this group of folks who have decided to stay young at heart.
* Grandma, Pop Pop, Gaga, Bubbe: What do your grandkids call you? Post your answer. We want to see how many creative names there are!

Anyway, it is a nice idea for a holiday which it has been since 1978 when it was created by someone who wanted people to visit seniors in nursing homes and not the restaurant lobby pressing to get people to eat at 5.  Much more interesting is Mother's Day which I always though was actually created by the greeting card lobby. In fact it was created in 1907 by a woman named Anna Jarvis who wanted to honor her late mother. By the 1920's she had decided that the holiday was too commercial and spent her time and inheritance fighting the holiday she had created.

Alternate side-of-the-street parking is still in effect unless your are over 65 and a grandparent.

Mr. Kottke's son sings Auto-Tuned ABCs

Auto-Tuned toddler sings his ABCs. I find myself both in awe and jealous of this fine use of the T-Pain app. Now having Willa sing "open and shut them" or "hello everybody" will just seem like a pale imitation.

Preschool bento box lunches

Willa is starting preschool next week and we need to pack her lunch. Bryony pointed me to this series of photos on Flickr which document one parent's daily preparation. Daunting and impressive! We clearly need to step up our game. I'd love a daily lunch like this too. 

Jens Voigt video on VeloNews

via velonews.com

He looks pretty good for a man last seen flying down the road on his face at 40 miles an hour a little over a month ago. Seems like a delightful man.

Another word for Community Organizer is local editor :)

The future = the past. In Swart’s mind, the Huffington Post model is actually the second coming of the His Girl Friday era, with rookie reporters working the beats and experienced rewrite men curating their information.

via www.niemanlab.org

Interesting article about a possible new model for local journalism.

Baseball circa the 1860's comes to the Old Stone House

This is a case of several odds bits converging in to something a bit more.

On our way home tonight we passed a notice that Vintage Baseball will be coming to the new ball fields in the park behind The Old Stone House on Sept 13. Around town several teams, of what really need to be called sporting reenactors, play baseball as it was played back in the 1860's. They catch barehanded, dress in vintage costumes, and bring period fans. I'm calling them sporting reenactors because unlike civil-war reenactors the outcome of the games is undetermined. 

The funny thing is that just the other day I read an article, in a free local magazine called Overflow, about the Gowanus Improvement Company Headquarters, the derelict and landmarked mansion on 3rd and 3rd. The author mentioned the fact that Charles Ebbet's' National League Baseball Team (later called The Dodgers) played their games from 1898-1912 on the same fields in the park just across the street. 

Finally  to tie this whole conflux of bits together is a very funny Conan O'Brien piece from when he visited one of these teams. A favorite of mine from the highlight shows of his last week hosting Late Night. If it inspires you to come out for the games the schedule is:

• 11 am: NY Gothams vs. Brooklyn Atlantics
• 1 pm: Brooklyn Atlantics vs. Newark Eurekas
• 3 pm: Newark Eurekas vs. NY Gothams

The fields are astroturf, and the hotdogs filled with things not invented back then but it looks like a lot of fun.

The ad running on Dan Lyon's Newsweek article Cuban's Plan to Kill Aggregators: End Free Links

I thought the Artery Clearing Secret ad with Hugh Downs was very appropriate to the article. A little old.

 

Great list of 100 classic cocktails

A great list of 100 classic cocktails (and ingredients) everyone should try on Dirty Kitchen Adventures. The list was originally put out by a bar in Houston called the Anvil Bar & Refuge. The bar gives people stamp cards to keep track of their completion.

The Cookstr 10: Ten Recipes from Sheila Lukins

Sheila Lukin's, who co-wrote the Silver Palate Cookbook , died earlier this week. We probably all have old copies of The Silver Palate Cookbook in our libraries. When the book was published it was pretty revolutionary with its sidebars, illustrations, and fun style. The book was based on the recipes of the store and catering company that used to be around the corner from where I grew up, and we used to buy a lot of food there. One of the great dishes was Chicken Marbella and much to my happy surprise Bryony loves to make it too. Not only delicious it also takes me back to my childhood in a happy way. Katie Workman who is a Editor-in-Chief of Cookstr also has a special connection to the book, being the daughter of its Publisher and she writes really eloquently about it.  I don't understand why Cookstr doesn't have an archive of their newsletters on their site... but in any case...here is a an excerpt of the newsletter which can be found on their Facebook page.

Welcome to The Cookstr 10, Cookstr.com's weekly newsletter. In each newsletter we highlight ten chefs and authors, recipes, books, tips & techniques, or other selections we think you'll enjoy. The word bittersweet is the only word for this week's newsletter. This week we had to say goodbye to one of the greats in the food world, Sheila Lukins. Exploding onto the cookbook scene with The Silver Palate Cookbook in 1979, co-authored with Julee Rosso, Sheila opened our eyes and ushered us into our new kitchens. The woman had some serious culinary pipes. It would be ridiculous to not start by writing two words: "Chicken Marbella," the dish that was the centerpiece of countless dinner parties across this country for years (and still is made monthly in my house). Sheila gave us recipes for Salmon Mousse, Curried Butternut Soup, Poppy Seed Dressing, Chili for a Crowd, and wrote about artisanal cheeses, balsamic, and even blueberry vinegar (goodness, who had ever thought of such a thing?). Sheila went on to write many more cookbooks, wins tons of awards, and become the long-time food editor for Parade...but really the point is that Sheila knew what we wanted to cook and eat, and she knew it just before we realized it, which made her wonderful. What was it about Sheila that struck such a chord? I think the answer lies in the pure joy, pure pleasure in the pages of her books. From the sidebars flung about with reckless abandon, to the whimsical drawings, to the writing itself, the feeling of pure delight flowed off those pages and into our kitchens. And the recipes, the food...Phyllo Triangles with Three (Three!) Fillings! Cheese Straws! Shrimp and Grape Salad with Dill! Decadent Chocolate Cake! Carrot and Orange Soup! Tarragon Chicken Salad! Chevre! Raspberry vinegar? Oh my God, had we all been living under a rock? The happiness of this food, the throw-caution-to-the-wind spirit of these recipes. With ingredients like these to explore, and new countries to discover (Moroccan olives!) who amongst us would choose to stay stuck in our ruts, when there were all these brilliant new flavors to play with? Like millions of others, I fell in love. I fell in love with the book, with the recipes, and with the peppery woman who made Bouillabaisse not only a reasonable thought for a Saturday night dinner party, but an obvious one. Not invention for the sake of invention, but nothing dumbed down. I was a very young food nerd when the book came out--11 years old--and I essentially taught myself how to cook by poring over The Silver Palate Cookbook, and the books that followed. Page by page, I enjoying the reading as much as the cooking, that was the book that flicked on the light switch in my head. There are only a very few people who have whacked us in the back of a head with a spoon in that way, and made us the better for it Sheila was one of those people. And so this Cookstr 10 is dedicated to her. And I wish it were The Cookstr 100. Love, Katie 1. Chicken Marbella. If you haven't yet made Chicken Marbella, I envy you. It's like your first kiss--it's a one time only thing. In paper, this dish is made up of the most improbable ingredients--chicken, red wine vinegar, garlic, capers, brown sugar, olive oil, prunes--and the result is one of the crazy-best savory recipes ever to grace a dinner table. Hyperbolic? Oh, we don't think so. Make it, and see if you think that's an overstatement.

via www.facebook.com

Madsen Cycles Link Contest

via www.madsencycles.com

Wouldn't Willa look great being taken to school in one of these. Please click through so I can get an entry. Danka. Wonder how it handles versus the dutch bikes with the box in the front.

links for 2009-09-01

• Should You Build an iPhone App? The Data Speaks.
  Joe Berkowitz lays out pros and cons by sifting some interesting data
  (tags: iphone)