WHAT DID TRICIA JUST READ ON THE INTERNETS?

Beijing Gulou area transformed to "time museum"?

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 06:12:06 GMT

Shared by Graham
ugh

The Beijinger blog writes:

Disturbing news in the Chinese press has bar owners around Gulou (aka the Drum Tower) feeling nervous. Plans have been announced to “restore” the area around the tower to the style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties and build an underground “Beijing Time Cultural City,” comprising restaurants, parking spaces, and a museum about timekeeping...

Internet Survival Guide for Traveling Where Privacy Isn't Respected - Google - Lifehacker

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:32:05 GMT

lifehacker.com

Ed. note: On Tuesday, Google responded to cyber attacks aimed at Chinese human-rights activists by ending search-result censorship in China. An anonymous reader with experience living where privacy isn't respected writes in with tips for keeping your data safe in these situations.

5 Cool About:Config Hacks To Make Firefox Browsing Smoother

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:31:49 GMT

www.makeuseof.com

There's no doubt in anybody's mind that Mozilla Firefox is one of the best browsers out there. It also has the honor of being the biggest rival to Microsoft's

Wood Porn#2

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:00:17 GMT

Gnat Gnat

Found on a random Facebook page. Looking everything in this scene.

Wood Porn#1

Out-of-Work Architects Turn to Other Skills - NYTimes.com

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:44:53 GMT

www.nytimes.com

A troubled economy and the implosion of the real estate market have thrown thousands of architects and designers out of work, forcing them to find or create jobs.

Photographer Accused of Shooting Wolf in Captivity

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:53:47 GMT

ANIMAL

Shared by djacobs
I don't understand how this is faking.

A Spanish artist has been accused of faking this extremely awesome photo of a wolf, not with any Photoshop phoniness, but with a zoo animal. José Luis Rodríguez won a $16k prize from the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition for his shot of a supposedly wild wolf jumping a gate, but is said to have broken the ...

Muji and Lego

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:51:41 GMT

Lost At E Minor: For creative people

Shared by triciawang
this is soooooo cooool!

Muji & Lego recently released a joint product that consists of a box of Lego pieces that also comes with sheets of paper — with a particular hole-punch (not included), the paper and Legos can be combined into some cute creations.

BBC News - China shopping centre builds 'car park for women'

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:00:57 GMT

news.bbc.co.uk

Shared by kristen
Deathly stupid.

A shopping centre in China's Hebei province designs a women-only car park with wider spaces and bright colours.

Wood Porn#1

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:43:04 GMT

Gnat Gnat

Shared by triciawang
looks like a coffin!

It’s so pretty.

Well done you

Desperately Seeking China VPN

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:15:11 GMT

Thomas Crampton

In the wake of Google’s clash with Beijing, it is interesting to note that more and more people are searching for VPNs in China. (Actually, people started searching even before Google’s clash, so there may have been a tightening of the Internet even before Google went public.)

How do I know? Due to a poll I did a few months ago about The Best VPN for China, my blog is one of the top results...

How to Access Twitter and Facebook in China

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:29:12 GMT

Wangjianshuo's blog

I setup my connection to Twitter and Facebook via SSH tunnel again. When the original tools to access Twitter, and Facebook failed, I just lost interest to setup proxy. Now, I am back and just accepted the 109 Facebook friend request. (My rule: Accept everyone in jianshuo@Facebook, but be very selective on Kaixin001.com. Here is how I did it.

The process is pretty straight forward, but it is...

London's Olympic stadium to be made out of recycled guns and knives

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:29:03 GMT

Coudal Partners Blended Feed

London's Olympic stadium to be made out of recycled guns and knives

FT on cultural differences in Chinese internet use

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:49:00 GMT

Putting people first

Western companies are struggling to bridge the growing gap created by the evolution of a cyberspace with Chinese characteristics. Kathrin Hille explains some of the cultural (and political) differences in today’s Financial Times.

“[Chinese people] tend to roam the web like a huge playground, whereas Europeans and Americans are more likely to use it as a gigantic library. Recent research by the...

Research team 'virtualizes' supercomputer

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:12:47 GMT

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories

A collaboration between researchers at Northwestern University, Sandia National Labs and the University of New Mexico has resulted in the largest-scale study ever done on what many consider an important part of the future of computing -- the virtualization of parallel supercomputing systems.

Mendeley on a Digital Mission to Texas

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:08:49 GMT

Mendeley Blog

Great news! We’ve been picked by Chinwag and the UKTI to don our cowboy boots and Stetson hat before jetting off to the great Lone Star State on a Digital Mission.

“39 of the UK’s leading digital companies have been selected for the second annual Digital Mission to South by South West interactive (SXSWi), taking place in Austin, Texas from 11-17th March 2010. [...] The successful companies were...

Nokia’s design and user experience library

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:22:56 GMT

Putting people first

In recognition of the importance that good design and user experience plays in creating successful products and services, Forum Nokia has renewed and extended it support available for those looking to improve the quality of their mobile applications. Central to this effort has been the launch of a new User Experience program and resources for designers.

Most useful of all is the launch of the

Don't worry, you can still sext in China

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 08:00:00 GMT

Shanghaiist

Hey sexy texters, feel free to whip out your phones and tell your respective others how much you like bedtime moves. What? Worried that it'll somehow get your SMS service turned off by the folks at China Mobile and the Public Security Bureau? Thankfully, it turns out that news of those proposed regulations against sexting aren't quite true... at least for now.

Over the weekend, a short...

Google + US government = Love?

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 21:34:07 GMT

Net Effect

More thoughts on the main tech story of the day:

1. Even if Google pulls out of China, this is not going to stop cyber-attacks; there would still be plenty of other Google targets to attack. Similarly, even if they stop offering Gmail services to new Chinese users, they will still have a lot of existing Chinese users to take care of. Security breaches will continue, especially among human...

Nostalgia for vintage ads

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:03:08 GMT

Feministing

Photo from Flickr user Moose Greebles

This ad was sent by a reader a while back, and I understood their nostalgia for it. It's a Lego ad from 1981.

The text reads: Have you ever seen anything like it? Not just what she's made, but how proud it's made her. It's a look you'll see whenever children build something all by themselves. No matter what they've created.

In comparison, check out the

Global Voices Online » Graffiti and Urban Art: Voices from Latin American Streets I

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 08:23:17 GMT

globalvoicesonline.org

A cold, sick winter in New York City

Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:02:12 GMT

Ephemeral New York

Think it’s been especially frigid this December and January? Well, 2010 has nothing on the winter of 1881, Gotham’s coldest on record, according to this Daily News article.

That year, the mercury averaged about 27 degrees, with several subzero and single-digit days until spring arrived.

At right, horses cart away the snow from a Manhattan Street after men shovel. (No plows back in the Gilded...

Muji and Lego

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:03:19 GMT

Lost At E Minor: For creative people

book spotlight: the cultural capital of asian american studies by mark chiang

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:13:27 GMT

orgtheory.net

I. Mark Chiang’s book, The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies: Autonomy and Representation in the University, is an addition to the growing literature on ethnic studies and multiculturalism in the academy. It discusses an issue that, suprisingly, has not recieved much attention in the literature: what’s the deal with Asian American Studies? Is it a discipline? Is there really an “Asian...

confusing german titles: three things about the protestant ethic

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:49:28 GMT

orgtheory.net

In teaching Weber’s Protestant Ethic in my theory course the last two semesters, I’ve come to the conclusion that the title of the book (essay? long article? chapter in larger anthology?) is misleading. I’ve posted about German titles half jokingly before. The basic idea is that Germans tend to title their books using the template: “blah, blah, blah und blah, blah, blah” (or whatever the...

Chart Wars: The Political Power of Data Visualization

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 02:32:42 GMT

information aesthetics

A great, short talk by TargetPoint's VP and Director of Research, Alex Lundry, at DC Ignite. He addresses the issues of subjective messaging through visualization, the emergence of open data, some ideal data visualization tools, a set of quick lessons in graphic literacy, and a short list of recommended visualization books, all within the time span of 5 minutes.

Watch the movie below.

Current Crop of Smartphones: A Cost and Feature Comparison

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 23:52:21 GMT

Smarterware

BillShrink hits it out of the park with a handy infographic which compares the cost and features of the current generation of smartphones: the Nexus One, the Palm Pre, the Motorola Droid, and the iPhone 3GS.

Looking at this you realize 1.) there's no clear winner in the bunch feature-wise and 2.) we all spend a ridiculous amount of money on mobile phones and service. My only nitpick with this ...

Race and Social Network Sites: Putting Facebook's Data in Context

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:25:33 GMT

apophenia

A few weeks ago, Facebook's data team released a set of data addressing a simple but complex question: How Diverse is Facebook? Given my own work over the last two years concerning the intersection of race/ethnicity/class and social network sites, I feel the need to respond. And, with pleasure, I'm going to respond by sharing a draft of a new paper.

But first, I want to begin by thanking the F...

MIIT considers a white-list of approved websites

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 05:31:57 GMT

Danwei

The Beijing News
December 22, 2009

Last week, CNNIC announced that private individuals would no longer be allowed to register domain names. A business license is now required to obtain a domain name under China's ".cn" top-level domain.

Today, The Beijing News reports on the full notice released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), which is framed as a campaign against...

Jimi Hendrix painting by the amazing David Choe

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:57:17 GMT

ZADI DIAZ

Jimi Hendrix painting by the amazing David Choe

Violet Blue and Oprah discuss pornography and women. I’ve...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:37:00 GMT

ZADI DIAZ

Violet Blue and Oprah discuss pornography and women.

I’ve been following Violet’s work for years now (I was honored to be on her top sexy geeks of 2008 list), and it’s great to see her discussing female sexuality in such an open and matter-of-fact way to a mass audience. I know being so open about sex can be uncomfortable to some, but the more girls can feel okay talking about their sexuality...

Movable Type Monday: Updates on MT5

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:15:13 GMT

randomwalks/dj

Shared by Eve
"The ability to login via Yahoo OpenID was removed." I know SOMEBODY who must be MIGHTY PISSED about that!

Happy Monday, folks! This week, Six Apart posted a couple of blog entries updating us on the status of Movable Type 5. First thing to note is that the North American and European release will not be tomorrow. Instead, MT5 will be released on December 16. The reason given...

Brilliant frequent flyer miles scheme

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:15:10 GMT

randomwalks/dj

At least with the cheese and pudding, you were actually buying perishable non-returnable products. But hundreds of travelers recently discovered the mother of all frequent flyer schemes: buying legal-tender $1 coins from the US Mint with free shipping and paying for them with miles-offering credit cards. Take the coins to the bank, use them to pay off the credit card, and keep the miles...

Dinner Tonight: Lemony Chicken with Cilantro Sauce

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:41:10 GMT

Serious Eats

From Recipes

[Photograph: Blake Royer]

I became infatuated with this recipe once I read the ingredients list, which called for almost half a pound of cilantro leaves. Half a pound? Think about it—cilantro leaves aren't very heavy, and the recipe specifically calls for weighing it without any roots or lower stems. To fulfill this requirement I had to buy four large bunches of the stuff. I...

YEAH MAN, WE’RE GONNA GET THE BAND BACK TOGETHER. RIGHT...

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:02:42 GMT

FUCK YEAH CILANTRO

YEAH MAN, WE’RE GONNA GET THE BAND BACK TOGETHER. RIGHT AFTER I OPEN MY RESTAURANT. A RESTAURANT WITH 3-TIERED WATER FOUNTAINS AT EVERY TABLE, MAN! I’M GONNA BE SO RICH YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW. AND THE MENU WILL CHANGE EVERY WEEK TO A NEW ISLAND CULTURE, BRO! AND…AND THE HOT WAITRESSES WILL SWIM TO YOUR TABLE, BRO. LIKE THERE WILL BE CANALS EVERYWHERE AND THAT’S WHAT THE WAITERS SWIM IN. FUCK...

Google: “Faces are objects that can be recognized”

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:15:06 GMT

randomwalks/dj

Now that you can point your cameraphone at an object and get Google search results back about that image, what about photographing a stranger and getting Google results back for his or her name? With facial recognition in Picasa and Picasa Web Albums, that doesn’t seem far-fetched. Today Google confirmed that the search engine could recognize faces based on photos, but they decided not to...

And All The Blacks Are Men, Pt. 301283

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:00:14 GMT

Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

by Guest Contributor Shani-O, originally published at PostBourgie

Much is being made of Michael Luo’s piece in yesterday’s New York Times which explains how simply being black often hurts job seekers:

Johnny R. Williams, 30, would appear to be an unlikely person to have to fret about the impact of race on his job search, with companies like JPMorgan Chase and an M.B.A. from the University of...

Kittens Rule

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:30:15 GMT

Gnat Gnat

Cats don’t.

Where I found this.

The Washington Post - Correction

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:15:09 GMT

randomwalks/dj

Thursday, December 3, 2009

A Nov. 26 article in the District edition of Local Living incorrectly said a Public Enemy song declared 9/11 a joke. The song refers to 911, the emergency phone number.

Originally posted by jwz@jwz.org from jwz

Kottke on Google Public DNS

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:15:04 GMT

randomwalks/dj

Surely there’s some good reason why Google is providing free DNS servers. Why? I say Jason Kottke nailed it: it’s about speed speed speed. Every tenth of a second matters. Faster DNS makes for a faster web experience. The faster your web experience, the more you use Google web services. The more you use Google web services, the more money Google generates from ads.

I totally understand why...

Gaga

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 20:15:07 GMT

randomwalks/dj

I'm glad for the costumery (as pop-star uniform goes, it beats bellybutton rings), and I like some of the choruses, but I am still unsmitten with the whole cloth of Lady Gaga's songs.

via www.saidthegramophone.com

That's Said the Gramophone about Lady Gaga (in the context of the inclusion of Kid Cudi's "Make Her Say" on their best songs of 2009 list). I'm in the same camp: I like Lady Gaga as an...