This morning I read this article in the NY Times on a new “trend” of teenage hugging. Then I read Polly’s response here (I’m a longtime Heather fan – back to the suck.com days).
I’m thrilled to share the experience of reading these articles, in order, with you. This made my day.
0
comments
Via kottke.org
Great article in the Atlantic featured on kottke’s site way back in 2003 (I missed it the first time – glad I caught it this time):
0
comments
I don’t normally post this kind of thing, but this one is so creepy, hilarious and weird I could not resist. The following post in the sometimes equally hilarious comments sums it all up for me:
Anonymous Says:
April 21st, 2009 at 06:21 pm
What the fuck is wrong with people?
Originally via the “cool” via Recommendations feed.
Follow up: this post inspired me to create a “dumb” category.
0
comments
I’ve been coming to this web site for about ten years. Seriously. This is the second major revision of the site during this time, and I’d say the most radical. But it’s also the most poorly implemented IMHO.
This has disrupted my life. Not happy.
On what do I base this outrage? Simple really – there is only one web page I check almost every day (that I can’t get in an RSS feed), and that is the Social Studies section of globeandmail.com. It’s always been here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/socialstudies
… and, to the web team’s credit, this url still works. It now points to the life/socialstudies directory, which I guess makes sense. But look at the content on this page now:
Social Studies – The Globe and Mail
It’s broken. I would assume from the layout that we’d see an index of the n most recent stories (which would be great), but no. No. It’s just one link in a weird place to – uh – an old article. It’s broken. That sucks.
This is a big deal to me. This section is the main reason I go to this web site in the first place. I wouldn’t mind an additional click to get to the latest content (small price to pay for permalinks, which this section has never had), but now I have to get to the latest content by following this path: home page > life section > (long scroll down the page) > click on right link to SS section. I can’t stand this process.
One more thing – it’s been years – years - since they’ve managed to properly format the mkesterson email address at the end of the article (now at the beginning, I think). It’s always screwed up. I haven’t complained – but since the floodgates are open …
It’s the content I go for – not necessarily the design. But the design and ease of use really, really, really helps. If I can’t get what I want easily from a web page, I won’t go there. This is the main reason I’m out of touch with local news, as nothing would convince me to go berkshireeagle.com. Worst newspaper web site I’ve ever seen, unfortunately. Good thing people post all fun and interesting local events on facebook.
There are some really nice touches to the g&m’s new site. Commenting on articles being the main one. I like the clean, white design with discrete color-coded accents that identify sections. There’s some nice ajax-y navigation stuff. Just fixing that Social Studies section would relieve me of a lot of anxiety.
I don’t complain much, but please, please. For the love of god. Don’t screw up my favorite web page. (And it’d be great to have a feed of this content available, too. Monitize the feed, put ads in there – I don’t care.)
Follow up: oooh! that weird section does have an rss feed. Mislabled, but still. No content (except for a link to that May 23 article), but there is a feed. That is pretty encouraging, if they intend it to work properly.
1
comments
I’ve been cast as Orsino in Main Street Stage’s summer production of Twelfth Night. I’m really excited at the chance to play the role, and I’m especially excited to assist with the music for the production, which is intended to be written and recorded by members of the company. I’ve seen what the design team is up to already around this show and it’s really inspiring. The set design is complete, plotted out and ready to build, and it’s going to be fantastic. We have our first read-through tonight.
I’ll post performance dates for this production in the “Gigs” section here, along with all our other stuff …
So, this summer is turning out to be chocked full of shows. Both Lex and I are in Twelfth Night (Lex as Feste), as well as Nutshell shows and RBIT shows – of which there are several road shows this summer in Albany and a competition in Providence. Plus, we’re on vacation for 10 days on Prince Edward Island at the beginning of July. Writing this down and realizing the scope of this is making me kind of dizzy, so I’ll stop now.
1
comments
“Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.”
- Twyla Tharp
0
comments
Wow. I found this fascinating. We all know British tabloids are sleazy, but have they been evil for a least over a hundred years?
BLAME THE PRESS
“The character of Jack the Ripper was invented by journalists to sell newspapers, and his East End [London] murder spree was actually the work of several unrelated killers, according to a new book,” The Daily Telegraph’s Matthew Moore reports. “Senior police officers who investigated the 1888 prostitute killings were convinced they were not the work of a single man, research by the historian Dr. Andrew Cook has uncovered. A letter boasting about the killings signed by a ‘Jack the Ripper’ was forged by a journalist at the Star newspaper in an attempt to sustain sales that had been swollen by its salacious coverage of the crimes. This fed a panic that engulfed the Victorian capital and allowed copycat killers to get away with further murders, Dr. Cook claims in a new book, Jack the Ripper: Case Closed, the culmination of five years studying London’s most notorious ‘serial killer.’ “
0
comments
You are currently browsing the Chicky Chow Now blog archives for May, 2009.
