This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on April 15, 2009). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
Sometime between April 8th and April 15th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- Roger Ebert: Parrot asks, "What’d the frozen turkey want?": "For many laymen, a joke is a heavenly gift allowing them to monopolize your attention although they lack all ability as an entertainer. You can tell this because they start off grinning and grin the whole way through. They're so pleased with themselves. Their grins are telling you they're funny and their joke is funny. The expert knows not to betray the slightest emotion. The expert is reciting a fact. There is nothing to be done about it. The fact insists on a world that is different than you thought. The fact is surprising and ironic. It is also surprising–you mustn't see it coming. That's why the teller should not grin. His face shouldn't tell you it's coming."
- Philnelson’s Diggbarred: "This is a WordPress plugin version of John Gruber's DiggBar blocking code, with some options for the user. With Diggbarred, the user can customize both the message displayed and the styling of the DIV element that contains the message."
- Jam Out With Your Clam Out: "So picture it boys. Your hands are clammy with sweat as you approach the door. Before ringing the bell (Get it? Ring the bell? Gawd, I'm funny.) you wipe those sweaty palms down the legs of your pants. Your date's dad comes to the door, shotgun in hand and asks you a million questions, none of which you hear because over dad's shoulder you see her coming down the stairs. A smile crosses your face because you know tonight's The Night: you got That Feeling as soon as you saw her in this:"
- Uncomfortable Plot Summaries: Falling at various points on the Funny-Uncomfortable scale: "ALIENS: An unplanned pregnancy leads to complications." "BATMAN: Wealthy man assaults the mentally ill." "CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: Deranged pedophile big-business industrialist tortures and mutilates young children." "DOCTOR WHO: Elderly man serially abducts young women." "HARRY POTTER: Celebrity Jock thinks rules don’t apply to him, is right." "LORD OF THE RINGS: Midget destroys stolen property." "PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: Woman with gold-digging mother nags wealthy man into marriage." "SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS: Layabout stepdaughter shacks up with seven miners." "THE GOONIES: Physically abused, retarded man finds love with overweight preteen." "TWILIGHT: Girl gives up college for stalker."
- How to Block the DiggBar: "…shortly after it was announced, I wrote code to block [the DiggBar] from Daring Fireball. If you attempt to view most pages on DF through the DiggBar, you'll be greeted with a special message just for Digg instead of the regular content of the page. Digg sends a tremendous amount of traffic to sites that make it to the top of their front page, but it's the worst kind of traffic: mindless, borderline illiterates. Good riddance, really."
- Truly Groundbreaking Marketing Research: Understanding Twitter.: "Twitter seems to be, first and foremost, an online haven where teenagers making drugs can telegraph secret code words to arrange gang fights and orgies."
- Penmachine: Yes, Master: "…it's true that these new Beatles CDs (and, with luck, eventually iTunes tracks) will be new digital re-masters, but they won't be the first ones. If you already have a complete collection of Beatles CDs from those 1987 digital re-masters, these new ones will probably sound different, maybe better. But they could sound worse."
- Now on YouTube: First Moving Image Ever Made: "In the latest effort to bridge the disconnect between the government and new media, the Library of Congress officially launched its YouTube channel Tuesday. The debut includes 70 historical videos from its vast collection, such as the first ever moving image (a man sneezing), 100-year-old films from the Thomas Edison studio and industrial films from Westinghouse factories."