links I like (today)
Links To Read LATER Tonight: Google’s Scramble to Pwn Social Networking Apps
Google Seeks Bigger Role
In Social Networking – wall street journal
and
Google’s Response to Facebook: “Maka-Maka”-techcrunch
Google will announce a new set of APIs on November 5 that will allow developers to leverage Google’s social graph data. They’ll start with Orkut and iGoogle (Google’s personalized home page), and expand from there to include Gmail, Google Talk and other Google services over time.
On November 5 we’ll likely see third party iGoogle gadgets that leverage Orkut’s social graph information – the most basic implementation of what Google is planning. . . . Google is also considering allowing third parties to join the party at the other end of the platform – meaning other social networks (think Bebo, Friendster, Twitter, Digg and thousands of others) to give access to their user data to developers through those same APIs.
…I’m to tired to read these completely write now and write a response, but figured I would share. Happy Halloween, peeps. (Thanks, Matt)
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )Post-Birthday Llamas
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Last Saturday was my birthday, and feeling a tad city weary and overwhelmed with typical 20-something angst, decided that some fresh air might do me some good.
I took a bus from Port Authority and headed upstate to meet my friend Thea. She had arranged for us to stay with her Aunt and Uncle who live in a town that I have now forgotten the name of, but it’s within forty minutes of Monticello. I distinctly remember signs that said “Catskills” but I could have been imagining that. You can probably tell I have never been very far upstate.
I am so glad I was able to get away.
Although I consider myself a city girl, I can freely admit that rural areas are not without their charms. I swung in a hammock and looked up at millions of stars. I ate a tiny cucumber straight from the vine. I saw lots of of run over woodland creatures splattered all over the road – that reminded me of California the most. Sometimes the city can feel so stifling. When things get rough I find myself longing for a simpler existence, where my main priorities are less complex and all tangible – with clear solutions.
They say the grass is greener, and so for a few days I basked in my own interpretation of my new “simpler” surroundings, relishing the illusion that I didn’t have anything to worry about – at least until I was done exploring the corn maze.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )The Learnin’: It Ain’t Easy. (And Linkage)
I started french lessons this month and was *shocked* to discover how freaking hard it is to juggle intensive instruction, a full time job, and my 8 trillion personal endeavors.
There’s nothing like putting in a full day’s work and then going home to study.
Yes, this entry is almost entirely me complaining, and it has been tagged as such.
Links I Liked Today
– Why Your Web Marketing Strategy Needs A Widget – Fast Company*
*There’s a surprise in there ^_^
– NBC Universal yesterday announced the launch of myNBC, a social networking site created for fans of NBC programming. – Beet TV
– Don’t Let NYC Destroy Local Filmmaking: Filmmaker Jem Cohen (“Chain”) sent an email around this morning, alerting friends to the fact that the New York Mayor’s Office of Theater, Film, and Broadcasting wants to severely restrict the ability of amateur photographers and filmmakers to operate in New York City. – Anthony Kaufman’s Blog
– According to ComScore, In May 132 million Americans — seventy-five percent of the U.S. internet users — viewed streaming video online – NewTeeVee
– Second Life running on Nokia n800: Check out the mobile wizardry of Second Life resident Wrestling Hulka, who has a limited version of the virtual world running on the Nokia n800. – 3pointd
~ Bonne nuit!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )4th of July = Français!
– image via malinky’s flickr stream home
It’s a day off from work and I am on the couch about to start… my homework? …Am I nerd? Yes. A nerd obsessed with becoming fluent in French. I will leave the house eventually because I have to see Transformers, but no movies for me until I finish my assignments (sigh). I have become so responsible lately, it’s quite frightening.
Inspired by my first trip to Paris, this summer I decided to take a French 101 Intensive course. My instructor is Celine Brossillon through L’Atelier Français.
She is a native speaker who has been teaching French in the United States since 2001. I chose a private instructor because my work/life schedule doesn’t allow me to attend classes, plus I like to work at my own pace (fast).
I will meet with Celine twice a week, and work on daily written assignments and oral excercises. My final grade (ack) for the semester course will be determined on the basis of the following point system:
* 4 written assignments
* 4 oral assignments
* 1 mid-term exam
* 1 final exam
* homework
I had my first lesson of the semester with her this past Monday, and although I was fearful that it would all be very overwhelming, she was really supportive and has made the process of managing my coursework, exercises, and study time seem achievable. We will be covering a lot of material.
My goal is to be as fluent (writing and speaking) as I possibly can be by the end of the summer, and then continue my studies on a not-so-quite intensive scale through the end of the year. By the end of 2008 I want to speak and write in French on such an advanced level that I will be able to seriously consider moving there for a temporary time to do the same work I do here – only in France. Yay!
After the jump are links and information on the 6 French podcasts I will be using to supplement my intensive course.
Exclaimer: There are not Celine approved. She doesn’t know I found them yet, and they were not part of her syllabus. She did encourage me to find other ways to enjoy French language and culture so this resulted in a podcast search.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 3 so far )Wednesday Linkage: Giving Me The Creeps
* Israel’s latest anti-drug commercial
features suicide bomber-style message from a teen to his parents
– via Spare Change
* According to a study at the University of Oregon, paying taxes activates reward centers – the same areas of the brain that fire in response to food and social interaction.
– via neuromarketing
* Four Eyed Monster filmmakers partnership with Spout to pay off their film debt (that’s not creepy, it’s just creepy to me that they’ve already raised over 30 grand! Is it really that easy?)
– via rooftop films blog
Thursday Linkage & Seriously, Universe. Give me a break.
Can one thing go right this week without ten other things getting eff’d?
K thanks bye.
Thursday Linkage: Collaborations makes the World Go ‘Round
* Steven Spielberg endorses Hilary Clinton – via deadline hollywood daily
* New Haven, Connecticut became the first city to offer municipal IDs to both citizens and undocumented immigrants – via Mun2
* How To Paint The Mona Lisa in Ms Paint – via Dabble
In closing: Universe, you need to take me out for a margarita tomorrow.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Hot & Cheap NYC Summer Fun Ideas: Pt 1
I’m not going to lie — For a while I was hating this city.
You would think after three years of experiencing east coast winters, this Cali girl would be used to it. I’m not. This year, winter did not seem to end until this past weekend. The sun was burning bright and there were parades and more parades. I love a parade but I didn’t go to any of them because I am lazy. I should have, because although it’s practically the middle of June, today it is (as I type this) stormy and practically snowing outside.
After work this past Monday I took a nice long walk from disgusting midtown, all the way down 7th Avenue and through the Village until I stopped in Washington Square Park for five (free) games of chess. That’s about a four mile walk, and in those four miles I was able to find sufficient evidence that A) NYC should not be destroyed by martians and B) It’s possible to have fun in NYC without any money:
* Exploring fruit & vegetable stands (squeezing and smelling fruit is both fun and free, although vendors aren’t crazy about that)
* People Watching in the following categories:
– Dog Walkers who Look Like Their Dogs
– People Walking Way Too Many Dogs At Once (funny!)
– Ultra tiny/Against Nature & God toy breeds (I want to squish them)
I generally hate everything, but must admit in the face of abundant evidence that there is a lot of cool/free ‘ish going down this summer.
What am I doing tonight?
Professor Thoms’ Bar – Horror Flick Tuesdays: Saw/9pm
*free shots of bloody kamikazee anytime that creepy little puppet makes an appearance*
If all else fails, I like to see how many people I can get free games of chess out of in several parks around the city, but if you aren’t into chess or don’t have an imagination, you can also check out this site: FREENYC.
Updated on a daily basis, FREENYC helps those with tiny budgets and the inability to Google to find fun & free things to do.
Example from their site: Tonight is the Museum Mile Festival.
It’s the one time of year that nine of the country’s finest museums, all ones that call Fifth Avenue home, collectively open their doors for free to New Yorkers and visitors for a mile-long block party and visual art celebration. This traffic-free, music and art-filled celebration fills the street and sidewalks of Fifth Avenue from 82nd to 105th street. Over 50,000 visitors attend the festival annually. Click here for map and schedule.
_______________
Some FREE/LOW-COST IN NYC Links
WIFI SPOTS – ’nuff said.
The Broke City Dweller – get answers to your “I’m broke and need/looking for _____” questions
Bumble and Bumble – free good haircuts
NYC Open Bar Search – Where’s all the free booze???!!! Oh, here.
I will be randomly blogging about my experiments in cheap/no cost NYC summer fun. TAG: Summer 2007
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Monday Linkage: Reconciling “Me” with Me
My Dear “Me” Generation,
What’s it all about? You want to make the content, create the ads that promote the content, then send the content to your friends and make money off of them, relying on us to serve as audience and distributor. What’s wrong with this paradigm? In theory, nothing. …Yet. However the more our personal, niche interests are exploited for our own pleasure and economic gain, the more privacy we lose. Is privacy less important to the “Me” generation? Time will tell. But until then, by all means, continue to post the minutiae of your life for everyone to see.
But don’t complain when prospective employers choose not to interview you because of narcissistic video confessions. Peeps – Do you honestly think HR isn’t Googling you?
How do you protect your freedom of self expression online and still present yourself as an attractive candidate to employers?
Let’s continue observing the way life is being altered (for better or for worse) by all this connectivity.
And you’ll have to excuse the toxic levels of cynicism in today’s posting. I saw Spiderman 3 last night and had to gouge my eyes out with my straw, so I’m not in the best mood.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( 1 so far )I’m All Mashed Up Today & MTV News Staff blogging it up
There’s a lot of neat mashup tools available that are making it that much easier to ingegrate all your various interests that you can read/watch/publish/share, etc.
Programmable Web keeps you updated on all the latest mashups, if you are like me and much too lazy to search for them.
But wouldn’t it be nice if you could somehow seemlessly blend all the different aspects of your life? Where’s that mashup? Can someone build a widget for that like…today?
Cute Mash!ed!Up Linkage
1. Get Mapped Up! – Do you subscribe to blog feeds from all over the world? Are you a visual person? Then this handy tool was made just for you.
You can add your feed to their directory, track a large number of RSS news sources and display their latest items on a world map, geographically and in real-time, download MappedUp as a screensaver, widget or active desktop. If you are crazy cakes about it, make it your website’s header!(Good lookin’ out, Justin!)
2. Flickrscape – I hate uploading/creating photos. No time! I’d rather credit someone else. Here, you can enter a word and watch the flickr photo stream. Click to interrupt stream and try another word.
3. LabPixies TV – Watch your favorite TV stations right on your homepage! Browse stations by country or genre and select your favorite stations. You can also add your own feeds to the list.
MTV News Staff Blogging it Up
So if you haven’t caught on to it yet, peeps from the MTV News team blog from time to time about their experiences during shoots, the crazy folks they bump into, and other fun stuff. We utilize the existing MySpace blog feed (right now) to share experiences and give our friends a more personalized behind the scenes look at what goes on, employee style, in the vast empire called MTV.
Check out Tera’s entry in the MTV News MySpace blog about her experience at a set visit for Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” remake…. Lucky duck!
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Beet TV to become ever Cooler? & Tuesday Tasty Linkage
Is Cool
I spent this morning speaking with Andy Plesser about the future of Beet TV. I can’t give away any secrets but I will say definitely keep an eye on their vlog…
Tuesday Tasty Linkage
1. Redman Live Freestyle – Jayson was listening to this at his desk this morning and I was loving it!
2. 
Greatest Hip-Hop Groups: The Postgame – Watch Run-DMC’s Run and Public Enemy’s Chuck D chop it up about the greatest hip-hop groups.
3. The 50 Most Important People on the Web – Do you agree with their list? (And why are powerful people often not cute?)
4. Pixelodeon is happening in Los Angeles June 9th & 10th!
“You won’t even have to be in LA to check it out, as all the programming will be available online. So why screen it in a theater at all? “So [vloggers] can mingle with producers, people who have the resources to take your work to the next level,” Steve suggested. Both of them were adamant that this is not about breaking into ‘the industry,’ but a showcase of how online video has emerged as a viable medium in its own right.” via newteevee
5. Coming Soon’s interview with The Host’s Bong Joon-ho
…I predict that The Host is going to be the best horror film of the year. t’s also notable that it’s a Korean film, and their film industry is only now getting major international attention. I think that what Crouching Tiger did to bring Chinese cinema to the mainstream, The Host will do for Korean cinema.
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The Official Lair of Daniela 