Websites: Blog This

Common get-to-know-you questions used to include, "What kind of music do you like?" or "What are your favorite movies?" They still show up time to time, but everyone knows by now it's a cliche conversation starter.

When I was a teenager and someone asked me what kind of music I liked, I remember knowing that how I answered that question inadvertently let people know who I am. They didn't really want music recommendations, they just wanted to make sure I liked the right music.

One day, mid teen-angst, I realized the trick to that question was, "Oh, I don't know, I really like everything." And then a quick, "Except country, of course." But that answer seemed kind of false in the 80's, because "everything" was hard to come by. We listened to what WPLJ and Z100 told us to listen to. Or whatever we found in our parent's music collection (Jim Morrison and Carly Simon and The Roaches). But it was a bit hard to expand beyond that.

Nowadays though, we really can say everything. In fact, nowadays, I find it really hard to say anything but everything. In the past week I've listened to a bazillion 30-second song clips by unsigned/unlabeled bands whose t-shirts I'm more familiar with than their guitar player's name. That's just the way things are now with music. We really do listen to "everything".

Now a new question I get asked is, "So what blogs do you read?" And wouldn't you know it, the answer to that also implies some sort of personality assessment. It's an interesting question, and rarely do I find two people who say the same thing. People get nervous answering it, too. I can tell by their face that they want to say something that sounds smart or hip.

So, I decided to write a little post about the blogs I frequent, for better or worse.


The Animated Life - Jeff Scher
http://scher.blogs.nytimes.com/
This is one of the NYT's bloggers. He's an animator and does marvelous work. I like how his blog isn't only a place to post the wonderful projects he creates, but that he writes about why he makes them. It gives his work context. He writes well, and briefly, and as an artist I always walk away (or, surf away) from his blog feeling like I got something out of it.


College Humor Videos
http://www.collegehumor.com/
I know, I know. I'm way too old to be reading this. OR, am I? I have a thing for short-attention span, really funny, creative, ridiculous, (emphasis on the creative), internet videos. I just think there's an art to it. I don't actually read this whole website, most of it I find stoopid. But I did set up my igoogle account to subscribe to their College Humor videos. Most of which, I am not ashamed to admit, I really get a kick out of.
Recent Examples:
The Yoga Class (funny!)
Wall Animation (stunning and beautiful)


Kimberlee's Video Blogs
http://www.crucialminutiae.com/?author=10
I like this girl. She does good blog. I've read her book, too. Her blog is called, "Therapy Thursdays" and every Thursday she posts a little video blog for her readers. They are usually therapy-centric musings, outlooks on life, things she thinks about. She has this delicate way of speaking that I can relate to, and I always listen to what she says thoughtfully.

Davey Dance Blog
http://fishel.tumblr.com/
I've already written about this guy, but I'm going to add it to the list in case you didn't hear me the first time. He's great! He dances around the world to appropriately chosen music that subtly matches the history of the place he's in. He said in an interview recently that there are many components to this project. The main, obvious experience is that the videos posted on the Internet are available for anyone to see. But the other experience happening is with the people who walk by him while he's dancing. He has headphones on, so no one hears the music. They just see him dancing. He said NYC people are the most oblivious to it. But if you watch his most recent video blog, it's really fun to watch the people watching him.


Diary of a Disillusioned Dater
http://diaryofadisillusioneddater.blogspot.com/
This is one of the funniest blog writers I have found in a while. Most "dating blogs" are written by women. Lots of them Jewish. Lots of them in NYC. I've been waiting to find a guy online who can dish it out just as well. Better even. It's not just that his stories about his dating life are honest, sincere, and slightly vulnerable. But they are written SO well. And they are SO funny. I've been reading them out loud to a woman I work with. She and I were laughing so hard I could barely get through it.

Skip to his best ones:
Going Halfsies
The Height of Stupidity
The Drive By

Jake and Amir
http://www.jakeandamir.com/
I already told you about them. They make me laugh, laugh, laugh. I think that's what I look for most in a blog. Funny is the new smart.

Online: Music

Remember how Napster totally changed our lives once upon a time ago? Even my mom got into it. She and my sister were stealing music long before I stopped waxing poetic about online ethics. Then I lost my steam, and got on the bandwagon.

Then I stopped. Because after a while, it started to make me feel icky. I admit, I don't really do the mp3player thing. Not into itunes at all, don't have time during the day to walk around with earplugs. But I still really, really like finding new music. And now the music industry has changed so much that it seems musicians are into sharing their music for free a little bit more than they were before. You've heard about the whole Radiohead thing, haven't you? Where they released their new album and told their fans, "pay what you think it's worth to you." Really! It was quite revolutionary. Or, even if it wasn't, it at least garnered tons of press.

But all that means is that there is a lot more free stuff out there, and I don't have to feel guilty about downloading anymore. I get a lot of new music from blogs. But recently I discovered this awesome website that will do all the searching for you, so you don't have to sort through a billion blogs yourself.

Here it is: http://elbo.ws/posts/
Type the song you want into the search box, and it will deliver results containing all blogs that have the mp3 posted, all blogs that talk about the music, and more relevant info. It's really cool and such a great resource. And they've led me to some really obscure stuff!

Also, another revolution to hit the net is this: http://muxtape.com/
The premise is that you can build your own mix tape (like we used to do with cassettes). Only 10 songs allowed I believe. And it's a FAST upload, I can tell you that. Awsomeness. Share your muxtape with your friends, or whomever, and enjoy. Keep it open in another window, and the whole playlist will just stream for you. On the homepage of muxtape.com are all the playlists you should check out today. I think the list changes. Here's my playlist: http://ihavetotellyou.muxtape.com/

Listen and enjoy.
I'll leave the link up on the right sidebar of this blog.

Funnyness: Jake and Amir

I cannot emphasize enough how enthusiastic I am about Jake and Amir. I've been wanting to write about this comedic discovery, but I guess I was too busy laughing and forwarding their videos to my sister.

J + A are two guys who work for CollegeHumor.com and are, in a plural word, comedians. They write, act, direct, edit, produce, and so on.

They started putting these little videos together called, "Jake and Amir" in which they play characters with the same names, and with everything or nothing to do at all with their own personalities. I think that's the whole point. You want to believe they are playing themselves, but it's pretty safe to say these characters are more of a conglomerate of many personality types. Particularly the insecure ones.

But I am so over analyzing this. Forgive me, it's just hard to explain their shtick to you. It speaks better for itself, on it's own terms. So I shall give you a tour.

First, you'll want to check out the Jake and Amir homepage, and watch "the best of the best". The top videos. This will give you a great sense of what we're dealing with here.
http://www.jakeandamir.com/post/2336490

If you're a vimeo fan, then subscribe to their channels, so you'll always be alerted to new stuff.
Amir: http://www.vimeo.com/Amir
Jake: http://www.vimeo.com/jakeh

Past that, just keep your eyes and ears open, because these boys are going to do very well for themselves. What makes me so happy, is this stuff just keeps coming out of them. I really liked Clark and Michael, a LOT, and it was too bad that it ended. But this new duo just keeps on producing. It's like their brains can't stop. I like people whose brains can't stop.

I showed it to a friend of mine, and he said he thought Jake had it harder than Amir, as an actor. Because Amir gets to be a lunatic and bust out with whatever comes to mind, but the Jake character has to stay composed. And, he has to stay on his toes to catch anything that Amir throws at him. Actually, I've always thought the Amir character reminds me of a girl version of Trudy Weigel on Reno 911.

What I'd really like to say is, at the end of a long day, to come home and see my little igoogle app alerting me to a newly posted Jake + Amir video, is one of the highlights of my virtual day. I freaking love their shit. They're hysterical, adorable, they make me laugh, and plus I feel inspired to do more of my own stuff.

So, if you boys google yourselves, and find this, THANKS for the laughs.

Website: Davey Dance

now this. THIS. is brilliant.


Davey Dance-BLOG. A project started while traveling Europe during Spring 2007. Armed only with an ipod and a Canon PowerShot, Davey picks a location and a pop song. Then Davey records an improvised dance.

Keep in mind, he's listening to the music on his ipod as he dances. So everyone walking around him doesn't hear a thing. Lucky he's a good dancer!!

The best ones are here:

Germany
New York City @ Christmas (my favorite)
The subway
Brooklyn Bridge
Florence
Pisa

And this was his first one (using Tom Waits at the Vatican)

News: RIP = Rodent In Peace

Check it:
http://mysesame.blogspot.com/

Websites: More to play with

Amazing new sites (with amazing new names) that I came across today, thanks to the collection of resources I got going over on my igoogle.

FAUNT:
http://fawnt.com/
It's a GREAT resource. So many free fonts to download for your mac or pc. It even has search functionality and categories (like handwriting, pixel-fonts, dingbats, etc.). Who cares about shoes, it's FONTS this girl can't have enough of.

TILT VIEWER:
http://www.airtightinteractive.com/projects/tiltviewer/app/
Airttight Interactive, a web development company, is responsible for this amazingness. It's a "titlt viewer" that works with flickr. Click on it and see what happens. First, notice the cascading way the images fall onto the page. Then, literally, start tilting. Press the little arrow on the bottom of a photo to see who posted the image on flickr. It makes the web seem so much less "click here" and so much more "float here."

Wondering what the point of this is and how it makes the world a better place? Well, the artists themselves said this:
"Does a 3D UI give more functionality than the equivalent 2D interface? No, but its certainly a lot cooler! Part of the motivation to build this was to explore ways to make 3D interfaces simple and intuitive."

And finally: FREE RICE
http://www.freerice.com/
Click on the answer that best defines the word. If you get it right, you get a harder word. If wrong, you get an easier word. For each word you get right, 10 grains of rice is donated to the United Nations World Food Program.

Website: Endless.com

Here is an introduction to a website that does not need my promotion, and probably isn't something I'll go back to use. However, it made a GREAT first impression on me, and while we don't seem to have the chemistry for a long lasting relationship, I'm happy to set it up with friends who may feel more of a connection.

The site is called Endless.com -- and it's all about shoes.

Here are the stand-out moments which it (the site) and I shared:

1. It's got the friendliest interface I've encountered in a while. Like a firm handshake, you can tell right away that this site means business and plans on giving you it's full attention.

2. The prices it offers are terrific. Shoes that would normally cost you at least $100, will only cost you at least $80 on this site. And shipping is free. And returning is free.

3. You can select and sort and itemize your preferences. For example, if I only want to see pink knee-high boots in a size 10 with a medium width made by any brand that starts with the letter S for under $63 --- well, my wish is this web site's command. Like its name suggests, the opportunities for selectivity are Endless.

4. You can see possibly every angle of a shoe you are interested in. Some art major who likely spent thousands of dollars getting their BFA at a famous art school is now using their expertise to photograph each shoe's heel, insole, texture and toe width. And when you're done shifting through the angles, then place your cursor over the shoe, and look deep into it's seams with the suave zoom tool. Really people, this is interface at it's finest.

6. Don't like the shoe you just spent an hour dissecting simply because it's fun to do so? Then the site offers you alternative suggestions right away. "Not quite the right shade of pink? Why, here's another one you might like."

7. Don't spend hours looking at shoes that don't come in your size. Tell Endless to display only the 7's. Or the 7.5's. Don't get your hopes up for a shoe that isn't even available. But if you believe there is a chance you two are destined to meet, then save it in your "save it for later" bin, and sign up for an alert when that pretty little shoe is on the market again.

8. Can't afford it? Forward the shoe to your mom and say, "buy me."

9. Talk about the shoe! Yes, talk about the shoe with other people. Contribute to each shoe's discussion board.

10. Here's the kicker. The site lets you know that if you order the shoe by a particular hour that day, you are guaranteed to receive the shoe by the next day.

OK, that was 10 accolades for Endless.com
I'm sick of talking about it now.

Websites: Maps

I am directionally challenged.

Unless. Unless I really, really love where I am.

For example. I like Brooklyn, but I don't love it. Therefore. Therefore, I get lost every time I am there.

I love Florence. I figured out those tiny, narrow streets in no time. I don't love the Village, so I usually don't know where I am. I love the lower east side, but that love is new, so I'm just starting to get a handle on it. At one point I loved the upper west side, so I know where things are. But. I'm starting to loose my affection for that area, so I'm starting to forget where things are.

I like using "mapquest" as a verb, even though it's not usually what I mean. Mapquest was the first onling mapping website to hit the big time, to grab your eye and steal your heart, but eventually we all realized it didn't really know what it was talking about. Like an old Italian man speaking to you in his native tongue even though you couldn't understand a thing, Mapquest took you on twists and turns that were unnecessary and purely suggestions based on its need for bragging rights.

But. I'll still say to people, "Mapquest it and you'll find it."

& like I said, that's not what I mean.

My dream was to find a mapping system that let ME choose the glorious bridge I should drive over, or the dark tunnel I should drive through. LET ME TELL YOU HOW TO HELP ME, I wanted to shout from the roof tops to mapping systems everywhere.

Googlemaps heard me.

Today I learned, by accident, that after you type in an address in Googlemaps, and the map image is displayed, you can CLICK ON THE HIGHLIGHTED ROADS AND DRAG THEM AROUND THE MAP AND GOOGLEMAPS WILL READJUST ITSELF TO FIT YOUR PREROGATIVE.

This is a beautiful moment. Let's savor it.

http://maps.google.com

Websites: The Big Ones

These websites absolutely do not need my endorsement, so therefore I won't even include the href's. However, they continue to impress me, wow me, and encourage me to use their services. And I can't shut up about them.

Threadless.com
I've talked about them before. And since then, I finally bought one of their t-shirts. I love it! Maybe it's a little cheesy and not really appropriate for work. But guess who wore it anyway. And guess whose students said, "Hey, that's from the song 99 red balloons!"

Netflix.com
I always thought Netflix would be so much cooler if they started releasing movies online. So if I forgot to return my red envelopes before Thursday, I'd still have something to watch when I got home Saturday night and wasn't tired yet. Clearly, the company has telepathic connections to my brain, because I just found out, they took my idea! They have a big banner in corporate headquarters now that says my name with THANK YOU all around it in bubble letters. You're welcome NF. You're welcome.

Blogger.com
Wow, when I first started using blogger, things were so simple. You basically wrote, and posted. That was it. Since then they've added so much cool stuff. They just don't give up! Now they have this label thing to help you organize your posts, they provide separate links so you can see one page at a time, and they have this whole new archival system. It's great fun. I'm proud of them. I am.

Blurb.com
Oh my goodness, Blurb. Oh my goodness. This is my new addiction. Download their software and have fun making a book of your recent travels, or a wedding, or your cat. Make a little art portfolio for yourself. Import your flickr photos and put your photoblog in book form. Heck, turn your written blog into a book with one little button! Really, this thing is astonishing. And the final products are well worth the time it takes to put your project together. Though it's kind of expensive when you actually want to buy your book, it certainly is a timeless investment.

Sidestep.com
My sister introduced me to this website. She's a connoisseur of travel planning how-to's. Within minutes, I was so blown away by the user-interface of this domain. If you're a techy, an appreciator of web design, a smartie with a brain that values interactive organization, you are going to drool over this site. You'll probably buy a plane ticket just because you'll want to see what the shopping cart system is like. I love the way these pages are laid out, the way the content is organized and reveals itself to you in sections. I love it's simplicity and it's respect for the end user. I love the way it lets you refine your searches. I love the way it actually finds you great deals. Forget expedia. Use this one.


So in summary, all these websites lead me to one conclusion:
Ladies and Gentleman, we are officially living in the future.

Website: Threadless

Oh, Threadless, how did I miss you?

I admit, I knew you existed. Like the nerdy kid in the back of the classroom, I gave you a once-over but rashly assumed we would not be friends. I should have sat at your lunch table and offered you an Oreo cookie in exchange for your carrot, because you are oh so much more than meets the eye.

Threadless.com is a "design it yourself" t-shirt company, online. It differs from cafepress in that not just *anybody* can submit and print a design. There are no "i heart my mom" t-shirts on threadless. And there are no aprons either.

Instead it's just real people, with real ideas, about real design. Some of the work is gorgeous; not just to wear, but to be inspired by. Once a design is submitted, it goes before a panel of internal judges, who decide whether the design is worthy enough to go before the public. And then once in front of the public, it goes through another voting process - scores of 1 to 5 are entered, and people post comments for improvements and critiques. At the end of the month (or so), the panel selects the top-voted designs, and turns those into buy-able t-shirts. The designer gets 2 grand. You get to look good.

Over the past few nights I've submitted around 10 designs. With each one I get better at it. I find out in 4-8 days if any of my designs get past the judges and land safely into the hands of the public. You better vote for me if I do.

Sometimes I get hooked on a new artistic endeavor and I just cannot quit until I've exhausted all my ideas. I have to tell you, this is one of those times. A sort of manic production house has opened in my mind, and I'm churning these visions out like Monday morning coffee.

(This particular rainbow design is my favorite. It was designed by Rinzen. It's available for sale here.)