just had the coolest lecture at work (one in a series of "tech lectures" at random house). it was given by nick bolton, who works in the r&d labs at the nytimes. basically his whole job is thinking about new technologies for content, layouts and access to information. um, how do i get that job? he also worked on the website/video content for david carr's book the night of the gun. (he also just seems like a nice, cool guy.) if you want to know more about the future of flexible newspapers that can customize content based on the street corner you are standing on (and how it will cost less than the paper newspapers that you can buy now), be sure to keep an eye on this guy. (or just follow him on twitter, if you're into that sort of thing.)
check out the article for various other cool contraption ideas.
two things i must share!
a) they are making a movie of one of my all-time favorite books, the time traveler's wife. it's probably the one really romanticy, lovey-dovey thing that i like. if you have not read this book - DO IT. it's a really wonderful story. also, it's set in Chicago. what more could you want?? and while i am excited, i realize that the movie stars eric bana and rachel mcadams... could be a blerg-a-thon. i think i need to know more about how they are translating the book into a movie, or we could be getting into really creepy benjamin-button-stlye-old-man-little-girl-love scenarios.
b) here is a book that i need, and i am not sure why it has yet to be purchased for me!!!
i presume that, like me, you all really enjoyed last week's episode of lost. i loooooove daniel and was so glad to have my suspicions confirmed that his mom = eloise and his dad = widmore. now we have two sets of half-siblings (jack and claire, daniel and penny). sad that he is more-than-likely dead (although, who knows with this show) and sadder that eloise sent him back to the island even when she knew all along that she kills him. i suppose she did it "for the island" or some malarkey like that. creepy convo between mini-charlotte and dan - it's kind of weird to think that's when she met him, but he didn't meet her until he was on the frieghter. ahh... try to wrap your brain around that one.
anywho - this week's recap of the variable on tvgasm.com was quite delightful. i'd highly recommend it to get some laughs into your monday morning.
also, e's recap is out. i haven't read it yet, but i'm sure she has some great insights, as always.
did anyone else catch this wonderful article in the nytimes today? it starts off talking about kids in westchester, ny doing chores and you think "oh boo hoo, rich kids have to do chores." but they are doing chores to raise money for a program called chores mean more. they are paid money (by their parents - some pay as much as $1 per chore - ooooh!) to do chores around the house. the money is then sent to their sister schools in Kenya so kids there can have storybooks and writing supplies. also - Jewish 7th graders wrote rhymes to help african kids learn to read and write stories inspired by Jewish prayers. one student set up a laptop at her bat mitzvah last month for guests to tell their own stories, and created table centerpieces from markers, pencils, crayons, chalk and scissors that will be donated to the african schools. “stories can be written by anyone, no matter your race, religion, gender, wealth or where in the world you live,” she said.um, i love it. if you want to learn more/get involved, you can go to the LitWorld website. they're having a benefit in New York next month! sign me up!
you'd be happy too, if you had spent all of saturday under this tree...
since we've been lost-deprived this week due to the no-pisode (i.e. - clipshow), i'd like to share some delicious lost news! next week's episode the variable is the 100th episode of lost! ahhhh! in celebration of this, the folks at ace of cakes made a cake for the lost cast. it features a beach, old timey computer, dharma beer cans and mini-cake characters. check out hilarious pictures of the lost cast with their cake - i especially enjoy the picture of daniel dae kim (jin) taking a picture of his own mini-cake character on his iPhone.
and while we're on the variable... people are saying that this episode is a bookend to last season's the constant. considering that that episode was one of lost's most romantic (and freaking-awesome) episodes, doom and gloom seems possible for our favorite losties.
since my boss has been out of town all week, we've been a bit more relaxed than normal. it's not all because she's gone - we have recently finished a major project, so some relaxation is in order. i've been researching several products, including a new hair dryer, the perfect sandal and a big summery tote bag. the sandal part is quite frustrating as i really shouldn't be wearing sandals in the first place, and therefore i have to be careful. last night, l told me about a site (endless.com) that has free overnight delivery on everything. even though i was working late, i rallied my coworkers and picked out the best shoe ever. and at 11:00am the next day the mail guy at work dropped off my shoes! thank you to my new favorite website!
it makes me so happy when i find cool little articles that combine so many things that i loooove. case in point: the article i happened upon on cnn.com today about twittering and science. (basically, if you add "and science" to the end of anything, i'll like it.) they posted an article about a scientist who is trying to make a twitter client where you can post to twitter just by thinking. hello, 21st century. apparently it's used by viewing a series of letters, picking out which letters you want to "type", and then concentrating on the word "twit" at the bottom to post your message. not only is this just ridiculously awesome, they hope that it can be used by people with brain-stem injuries and locked-in syndrome. of course, locked-in syndrome is what afflicts the main character in one of my all-time favorite books, the diving bell and the butterfly. (it's also a true story. i'd highly recommend it. the movie is pretty good too - not as beautiful and heartbreaking as the book, but is one of the only movies to ever make me cry.)
this really seems to suit twitter, even for normal people. i'd love to be able to just think of something and immediately post it to twitter. usually by the time i actually sign on to twitter and type it out, i've changed it a few times, and it isn't as witty as my original thought. though if i had to go all the way to the twitter science lab to use their new-fangled machine, that could really cut into my posting time. i guess i'll just have to stick to the old fashioned way...
even though the days of me "experimenting" with twitter are long gone, this article caught my eye today in the nytimes. (yes, nerd-alert: i read the technology section regularly.) apparently someone has designed spreadtweet, which is a twitter client that looks like a boring-ol' excel spreadsheet. you can even choose between Office OSX, Windows Office 2003 and Windows Office 2007. i may just have to start tweeting again, since this is just about the best idea i've heard all day...
i received an email this morning with an announcement stating that dan brown would be releasing a new book with us in the fall. i asked my co-worker if it starred tom hanks again and, via robert langdon, yes it does.
the press release continues: “This is a great day for readers and booksellers,” said Sonny Mehta (chairman and editor-in-chief of knopf doubleday). “The Lost Symbol is a brilliant and compelling thriller. Dan Brown’s prodigious talent for storytelling, infused with history, codes and intrigue, is on full display in this new book. This is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it was well worth the wait.”
let's hope it's that good. the book is having a first printing of five million copies, the largest first printing in random house history. i really really hope the book is all it's cracked up to be, otherwise we could all be in deep doo-doo. as an nymag article (forwarded to me by e with the subject line "you're famous!") said, "if the Greatest Sequel of All Time disappoints, the greatest layoffs of all time are sure to follow.come on, dan brown...
looks like my sister is really an athlete... and undefeated! woo woo!
thanks to e for bringing this to my attention.
if you've facebook-stalked me enough, you'll know that one of my favorite activities is researching "the best" of different products. when i finally find a lotion or something like that that is perfect, i like to share so you can know also.
today's product news is about covergirl outlast lipstain! (am i ready for my commercial, mr jay? easy, breezy, beautiful!) i had seen a commercial for it the other day, and went to DR this morning to check it out. in the commercial, drew (gag) tells me that it gives you color, but no sticky, creamy nonsense (that's what she said), which is why i very, very rarely use gloss or lipstick.
basically, it's like a felt-tip marker that you use to draw on your lips. it comes out really matte and actually (i kid you not) does not rub off on anything (you are welcome to come check my mug if you don't believe me). the covergirl website tells me that i can add a clear gloss over it, but why ruin a good thing?! i will not. so - thank you, covergirl. i am a happy camper and am glad to close the book on "best lip color".
...stories. if you know me, you know i'd never so much as steal a pencil. ok, maybe i'd steal a pencil. but nothing bigger than that. anywho, two of my favorite stories are recently back in the news.
the first is scott peterson, who wins the award for "worst husband and father....everrrr." people.com tells me that because he only killed his unborn fetus, and not an actual kid (which is debatable, but i'll let that go for now), the other inmates don't treat him as terribly as they do the actual kid killers. woot. and that the only picture he has in his cell is a huge photo of him and laci. sweet. this guy is a winner for sure. the next winner is casey anthony, who is currently on trial for killing her 2 year old daughter (this is an example of an "actual kid" killer).the big news is that the prosecutuion just announced that it will now seek the death penalty against casey. whether or not i agree with the death penalty in general, i really think you shouldn't have anything nice if you kill your daughter, and then go out partying. but that's just me.
just had the coolest lecture at work (one in a series of "tech lectures" at random house). it was given by nick bolton, who works in the r&d labs at the nytimes. basically his whole job is thinking about new technologies for content, layouts and access to information. um, how do i get that job? he also worked on the website/video content for david carr's book the night of the gun. (he also just seems like a nice, cool guy.) 
