Last week, we offered you Woody Allen’s stand-up rouÂtine in black & white; this week we’re doing it in aniÂmatÂed colÂor. (You can get more aniÂmatÂed bits here and here, and note that we creÂatÂed a ComÂeÂdy catÂeÂgoÂry here.)
Give Books Away; Get Books You Want
This is a great conÂcept & serÂvice for our readÂers. BookÂMooch is an online book swapÂping web site that has 45,000 memÂbers and 750,000 books in its invenÂtoÂry. What goes on here is fairÂly straightÂforÂward. Users can give away books they’ve read in exchange for books they want to read — all for no monÂey, othÂer than the shipÂping costs. That makes it easy to supÂport your readÂing habit, and it saves a few trees. The inner-workÂings of the book swapÂping are explained here and here. Have a look.
Check out our colÂlecÂtion of free podÂcasts of free audioÂbooks
A New Model for Investigative Journalism
As we’ve disÂcussed before on this blog, one of the major casuÂalÂties in the shiftÂing new media landÂscape is the traÂdiÂtionÂal invesÂtigaÂtive journalist–someone with the time and resources to research in-depth stoÂries. In response to this probÂlem a new group called Pro PubÂliÂca is proposÂing a novÂel ecoÂnomÂic modÂel: hire the jourÂnalÂists into a founÂdaÂtion and give their work away to the pubÂliÂcaÂtions where it will make the biggest impact.
The new iniÂtiaÂtive, headÂed up by Paul Steiger, head ediÂtor at the Wall Street JourÂnal for 16 years, will spend $10 milÂlion annuÂalÂly to supÂport a newsÂroom of 24 jourÂnalÂists and 12 othÂer staff in New York City. The monÂey comes from HerÂbert and MarÂiÂon SanÂdler, forÂmer heads of GoldÂen West FinanÂcial CorÂpoÂraÂtion, a big playÂer in mortÂgages and savÂings.
It seems likeÂly to me that Pro PubÂliÂca will sucÂceed in attractÂing some high-levÂel talÂent, both because of Steiger and because many jourÂnalÂists have come to fear for their jobs in the shrinkÂing newsÂrooms of traÂdiÂtionÂal papers. The real quesÂtion is how well this sysÂtem will work in digÂging up and delivÂerÂing qualÂiÂty reportÂing. What do you lose, and what do you gain, when your employÂer is no longer a “paper of record” but a priÂvate founÂdaÂtion fundÂed by peoÂple with their own politÂiÂcal agenÂdas? On the othÂer hand, it’s easy to argue that every newsÂpaÂper already has some kind of politÂiÂcal posiÂtion, so maybe Pro PubÂliÂca will be no difÂferÂent.
Religion: 5000 Years in 90 Seconds
How has the geogÂraÂphy of reliÂgion evolved over the cenÂturies, and where has it sparked wars? This interÂacÂtive map sumÂmaÂrizes in a brief 90 secÂonds the hisÂtoÂry of ChrisÂtianÂiÂty, Islam, HinÂduism, BudÂdhism, and Judaism. It shows where & when each reliÂgion origÂiÂnatÂed, how the reliÂgions someÂtimes came into conÂflict, and how they spread across the globe. This short hisÂtoÂry lesÂson is proÂduced by a site called Maps of War, which feaÂtures othÂer interÂacÂtive lessons, includÂing The ImpeÂrÂiÂal HisÂtoÂry of the MidÂdle East and AmerÂiÂcan LeadÂerÂship & War. Enjoy.
Via Boing Boing
Stephen Colbert For President
In yesÂterÂday’s New York Times, Stephen ColÂbert took over MauÂreen Dowd’s regÂuÂlar opinÂion colÂumn and made a funÂny case for why he could be the next US presÂiÂdent. Read it here. Also lisÂten to his interÂview last week on NPR’s Fresh Air (iTunes — Feed — Web Site). These appearÂances all figÂure into a media blitz designed to boost sales of ColÂbert’s newÂly-released book I Am AmerÂiÂca (And So Can You!), which is already #4 on AmaÂzon’s bestÂseller list. Not bad.
Al Gore’s “Earth in the Balance”: A Free, Environment Friendly Copy (Almost)
Since the release of An InconÂveÂnient Truth, Al Gore has had quite a run. He first won himÂself an Emmy, then an Oscar, and now the Nobel Peace Prize. Although the film repÂreÂsents Gore’s most well known work on the enviÂronÂment, it’s hardÂly where his enviÂronÂmenÂtal efforts began. His camÂpaign goes back to the late 1970s, when he held conÂgresÂsionÂal hearÂings on cliÂmate change and greenÂhouse gasÂes. And it moves through the 1980s and then the 1990s, when he occuÂpied the Vice PresÂiÂdenÂcy. In 1992, while othÂer politÂiÂcal leadÂers quibÂbled over the pros and cons of NAFTA, Gore put the enviÂronÂment on the nationÂal agenÂda, realÂly for the first time, when he pubÂlished Earth in the BalÂance: EcolÂoÂgy and the Human SpirÂit. (The Bush adminÂisÂtraÂtion then took it off the agenÂda, regretÂtably.) Gore’s book became a nationÂal bestÂseller, and it has since gone through sevÂerÂal new ediÂtions, the latÂest havÂing been issued just last year. You could buy the book, but the good news is that Google serves up large porÂtions of the book online for free. It’s at a price you can’t beat, and it goes easy on the pulp. Have a good look. And also see below Gore’s comÂments upon learnÂing about the Nobel Prize.
The Future of Collaborative Culture?
I just heard JimÂmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, speakÂing at StanÂford Law School today. Wales is workÂing on some new projects that he hopes will harÂness the comÂmuÂniÂty-driÂven colÂlabÂoÂraÂtion of Wikipedia. He’s already had some sucÂcess in branchÂing out from the encyÂcloÂpeÂdia idea with Wikia, which is a “wiki farm” comÂpilÂing inforÂmaÂtion on a variÂety of difÂferÂent subÂjects (some of the most sucÂcessÂful so far relate to video games).
What Wales spoke about today, howÂevÂer, is a new colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive search project. The conÂcept is still in its earÂly stages, it seems, but the idea would be to harÂness the intelÂliÂgence and dedÂiÂcaÂtion of human beings to proÂduce search results sigÂnifÂiÂcantÂly betÂter than Google’s. This raisÂes a few quesÂtions:
Is Google broÂken? It’s amazÂing what Google pulls up, but maybe we’ve all gotÂten so good at workÂing with an imperÂfect sysÂtem that we just tune out the spam and misÂinÂterÂpreÂtaÂtions that still crop up.
Is a colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive social modÂel the approÂpriÂate soluÂtion to this probÂlem? PeoÂple are good at comÂpilÂing encyÂcloÂpeÂdias, but they may not be good at emuÂlatÂing search rank algoÂrithms. Also, Google is powÂered by milÂlions of servers in dozens of data cenÂters over the world manÂagÂing petabytes of inforÂmaÂtion. In othÂer words, this may be a technology+money busiÂness, not a people+transparency busiÂness.
These issues aside, Wikipedia is one of the most amazÂing things to come out of the whole InterÂnet experÂiÂment, so I’m excitÂed to see what Wales comes up with. Has search become a basic serÂvice? Would it work betÂter as an open-source sysÂtem?
Philosophers and Theorists on YouTube
When we announced last week that UC BerkeÂley had launched a new chanÂnel on YouTube, we were curtÂly informed by a EuroÂpean readÂer that BerkeÂley wasÂn’t the first to get into this game. ApparÂentÂly, the EuroÂpean GradÂuÂate School (or EGS) has been at it for a while. The school’s YouTube colÂlecÂtion feaÂtures talks by imporÂtant conÂtemÂpoÂrary theÂoÂrists and philosoÂphers includÂing Jacques DerÂriÂda, Jean BauÂdrillard, and Judith ButÂler. (There are also some filmÂmakÂers mixed in — take for examÂple, Peter GreenÂaway and John Waters.) To be frank, much of the conÂtent runs counter to what we’re lookÂing to do here — to make thinkÂing less insuÂlar and emphaÂsize ideas that speak to a thinkÂing pubÂlic. This is not to disÂmiss the calÂiber of the thinkÂing preÂsentÂed here. It’s simÂply to comÂment on where it fits (or doesÂn’t fit) into the kind of project that we’re underÂtakÂing. HowÂevÂer, if the ESG YouTube chanÂnel speaks to you, dig in. It’s yours to enjoy.
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