Archive for December, 2009
Design: Considering Logos
Posted by admin in art, commerce, media industries on December 17, 2009
Before today, I’ll be honest and admit I had never read the critical analysis of Philip Bump. But after reading his brief consideration of the past decade in logos, I will be sure to read him increasingly more going forward. One of Bump’s valid points in evaluating logos of the past is:
“The web, in essence, is the photo album brought out to show what a logo looked like in its awkward phase – and for that, it should be praised.”
I also greatly appreciate this post by Bump, because it introduced me to Logo RIP, a virtual graveyard for discarded commercial logos.
Venky Harinarayan on Kosmix
Posted by admin in commerce, Search tool on December 15, 2009
Venky Harinarayan
In the past few months, while researching for this site’s various interviews, I’ve found Kosmix to be quite effective in providing me with a great deal of background for questions. Curious to learn more about the helpful web presence, I contacted its staff for an email interview. They were quite open to the idea and put me in contact with Kosmix Co-Founder Venky Harinarayan. Here’s the official bio for Harinarayan from Kosmix: “Venky Harinarayan and his business partner Anand Rajaraman co-founded Kosmix in 2005 with the vision to connect people to the information that makes a difference in their lives. Together with Anand, Venky developed the first ecommerce search engine, Junglee, which was acquired by Amazon.com in 1998 for $250 million. At Amazon, Venky and Anand created the company’s search and marketplace business. In addition to Kosmix, Venky is a principal at Cambrian Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the Indian Institute of Technology.” Regular readers know I typically run my interviews on late Wednesday evenings, but I so enjoyed the amount of ground we covered with this particular exchange, I opted to post it a day early. My thanks to Harinarayan for his time.
Tim O’Shea: Recently at the Kosmix blog, there was a mention of Sean Parker’s October speech, where one of his points about the future of the Internet was “Parker argues that the next phase is about building connections between people and things.” Is Kosmix’s acquisition of Cruxlux an effort to do just that–build stronger connections between people and things?
Venky Harinarayan: Absolutely. At Kosmix, our mission is to connect people to the information that makes a difference in their lives. Our acquisition of Cruxlux fits perfectly with that vision.
In the early days, the Internet was about finding information, not about connecting people. Now with the advent of sites like Facebook and Twitter, the Web has an amazing capacity to illuminate social networks. Interacting with other people has moved to the forefront our online activities. The next step will be to connect people with information that matters to them—without you having to search for it.
We’ve made progress in this area with www.Meehive.com, our personalized news site. You tell MeeHive your interests, and then the system scours millions of news outlets and blogs to bring you fresh stories about the people and things you want to follow. For example, if you’re passionate about Broadway theatre, MeeHive will let you know every time there’s a review of a new musical, or breaking news about your favorite playwright’s latest work. Facebook is about what you’re up to, and Kosmix and MeeHive are about what you’re into.
What Rock Am I Hiding Under: Vevo
Posted by admin in Music, streaming video on December 14, 2009
So earlier today, I was perusing the LA Times music blog, Pop & Hiss. In particular, I enjoyed learning about Vevo in this piece written by Todd Martens. Much to my surprise, this was the first I had heard of Vevo.
Vevo, which launched last week, hopes to become the Hulu for online music videos. I’m of the era that grew up on MTV when it’s bread and butter was playing music videos, not wall-to-wall coverage of spring break vomit sessions or more recently, alleged reality shows structured to glorify year-round vomit sessions. So I welcome a chance to watch online music videos.
Clearly and understandably, this online platform is targeting consumers far younger than myself (Honestly I have no idea who Kid Cudi is…). But it is also offering videos that I would enjoy, for example, check out this Lyle Lovett 1987 classic, If I Had a Boat. I’ve never seen this video, which intersperses interviews of elderly men with stories that have tangential connections to the lyrics.
U.S. History: The Hollywood Blacklist
Dalton Trumbo testifying before HUAC in 1947 (Library of Congress/World-Telegram photo)
Growing up in the 1970s, I knew nothing about the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities (to get a glimpse of this government committee’s impact, be sure to examine Google’s timeline on this organization from 1938 to 1975)–or more specifically I knew nothing about the Hollywood Blacklist. Fortunately, as I grew older, I learned a great deal about this recent dark portion of U.S. history. Sometimes when I hear some talk radio and much of the cable news channels (either side of the political spectrum), I wonder if we’re on the cusp of another age of blacklisting. I hope not.
Thanks to researcher and author Jeff Kisseloff, there is now a website that provides documents related to the days of blacklisting. I first became aware of Kisseloff’s blog, thanks to Mark Evanier who knew about it because of Aaron Barnhart. Kisseloff does not just provide links to blacklisting-related documentation, he covers a range of topics, as varied as the topics he addresses in the books he writes (a list of which can be found here).
What’s great about Kisseloff’s approach to blogging is, as an established non-fiction author, rather than rehashing old ground covered in his books with the blog, he gives a glimpse of life while he was researching and writing a certain book. (That’s not how he approaches every blog post, he covers a range of topics in unique ways) In the case of this post, Kisseloff juxtaposes the lives of a CBS TV executive, Frank Stanton, and Allan Sloane, a writer negatively impacted by the blacklist. Plus Kisseloff tosses in a link to the CBS loyalty oath.
Once I update the blogroll, likely over the holidays, I’ll be adding The Kisseloff Collection to it.
Kathy Orton on Outside the Limelight
Outside the Limelight
Several weeks back, while listening to a podcast of Tony Kornheiser‘s radio show on ESPN 980 , I heard Kornheiser talk to Washington Post sports reporter Kathy Orton discussing her new book, Outside the Limelight: Basketball in the Ivy League. Two topics like academics and sports intersecting caught my attention immediately. I was fortunate enough to get in contact with Orton and email interview her about the book. Before jumping into the interview, here’s the basic info on the book: “The Ivy League is a place where basketball is neither a pastime nor a profession. Instead, it inspires true passion among players, coaches, and fans who share in its every success and setback. Outside the Limelight is the first book to look inside Ivy League basketball at what makes it unique.”
Tim O’Shea: How different is the recruiting process for players in the Ivy League–do the coaches find themselves needing to focus more upon the academics of their students in terms of finding good recruits?
Kathy Orton: While it is a challenge for Ivy League coaches to find good students with equally good jump shots, I believe the more difficult hurdle for the coaches is finding players with those attributes who also can afford an Ivy League school. It can cost upward of $50,000 a year to attend one of these schools. Because of the costs associated with these schools – remember there is no athletic scholarships in the Ivy League – many middle class kids (and their parents) just can’t justify paying that much money to play basketball when they can go for free to another school. The economic aspects limit the recruiting pool far more than the academic standards.
O’Shea: Given that these Ivy League athletes feel the need to excel as much in the classroom as well much as on the court, what kind of stress level are they under during the season?
Orton: I didn’t fully appreciate the demands on an Ivy League basketball player until I started reporting the book. To begin with, Ivy League schools are extremely competitive, pressure-filled environments for all students. Throw in a Division I sport such as basketball, where you spend close to five hours a day in a gym practicing, watch game film and lifting weights, not to mention the travel to away games (on busses, not charter airplanes), and there’s not a lot of time left over for sleep. I find these kids amazing, and studies have shown because of how they have to excel at time management during college they tend to do better than their peers once they leave school.
Interviews Worth Reading: Pete Hamill
Posted by admin in commerce, Literature, politics, Reality programs on December 7, 2009
This Wednesday, legendary journalist and novelist Pete Hamill will speak as part of the The Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series in Syracuse, New York. As noted at its Facebook page, the series is “the largest library-related lecture series in the country”. That’s one heck of a claim.
In preparation for the upcoming speech, Mark Bialczak of The Post-Standard interviewed Hamill. It covers a great deal of ground and is well worth your time reading. (Hat tip to Poynter’s Romenesko for the link)
I am hard pressed to find one quote that stands out, but here’s a snippet of one great exchange in the interview:
What can news organizations, media organizations, do to help keep consumer interest in words and images survive, not just videos and links?
I think they have to begin in high school. They have to somehow find ways to convince teachers that they have to turn their students onto real news sites, not TMZ, where you find celebrity stuff, not the endless life and times of Jon Gosselin, whoever the hell he is.
Hamill has an insightful perspective on the newspaper industry.
Sneak Peek: Better Off Ted
Posted by admin in comedy, episodic TV, streaming video on December 7, 2009
The ABC sitcom Better Off Ted returns to the airwaves with new episodes this Tuesday, December 8. While I think this show would be better off Wed (as in, better off being shown on Wednesday night’s as lead in to The Middle), I’m just darn happy to have the show return. Here’s a sneak peek.
YouTube: The Muppets’ Bohemian Rhapsody
Posted by admin in comedy, Music, streaming video on December 6, 2009
I may be the last person on the planet to see and link to this gem, but what the heck. Hat tip to my sister, Theresa, who made me aware of it–and aptly hyped it as: “It’s even better than Beaker’s Ode to Joy.” Ladies and germs, the Muppets’ rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Dreaming about Reality TV
Posted by admin in episodic TV, Film on December 3, 2009
Clearly James Wolcott‘s essay was still on my mind the other night when I went to sleep. That, or I am watching too much reality TV. Why? Because I had an actual dream last night that he was hanging out at one of Dr. Drew‘s sober living houses–and one of the housemates had let her dog eat the pizza meant for the housemates. Dr. Drew and I were looking for leftovers in the fridge and I opined–that dog is probably eating better than Jeff Conway is these days. Then I turned to the camera in my dream and said: “No offense if that’s not true, Jeff. (Turning to Dr. Drew) Should we edit that out?” Clearly I must stop watching so much reality TV.
I’ve always wanted to be that witty or acerbic or tacky or snarky (whatever you want to call it) in my dreams. OK, not always–but definitely since the day, years ago, my then co-worker and pal, Doug, told me about a dream he had. Doug told me he dreamed that he was in the 1984 movie, Red Dawn. And in the midst of the dream/movie, he turned to the actors in the dream and said: “I’ve always hated this movie.” I love that Doug had the presence of mind to be that witty while in a REM state. That’s just the height of absurdist comedy to me.
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