Netflix, Songza

Well hot damn! Happy Friday everyone! I was just forwarded not one but two links that make me incredibly happy, so I'm sharing that love.

The first link... by a matter of minutes... comes from Kris. It's an article in Variety that details one more reason that I freakin' love Netflix and everything it stands for. The short version: NBC has inked a deal where you can get episodes of Heroes the next day through the 'Flix.

And secondly, but not less awesomely, comes a link from Russell, that tricky minx: "the music search engine & internet jukebox" Songza. Check this sucker out! Search any song... stream it seemlessly... no need to register... rate the song quality with the greatest of ease... it took me all of thirty seconds to fall in love with this site.

Delicious, no?!

Digg Swarm & Stack

This morning, Ashley points us toward Digg Swarm... some of you familiar with Digg.com might already be familiar with their labs, but if not, this'll be a nice little "sensory overload" for your Friday. Check out Ashley's Swarm, then hit up labs.digg.com to see their other viz lab projects (Stack, BigSpy and the new Arc).

If you aren't familiar with the concept of virtual labs, you can count on Wikipedia...

Sesame Street: Not for Children

As I've mentioned before, Sesame Street was my thing when I was growing up. This nytimes.com article was floated my way by Michael, who must have known how interested I'd be in the fact that the early episodes of 'Street have been labeled "intended for grown-ups"...

Rock Band

This one's courtesy of Kris... a hilarious review of the much-anticipated Rock Band. My favorite parts:

It turns out that the more you know about music, the less qualified you are to sell Rock Band. I get that now. Rock Band isn't about music or about being in a band, it's about pretending.

It's interesting, isn't it? It's so much more a video game than a legit rock experience. Real-life guitarist Brownstein nails it here... it's about pretending. I don't have the drive to learn a real instrument, but my gaming skills translate and these games fulfill whatever slight musical inclination I have.

I quickly discovered, as other real guitarists have, that knowing how to play guitar in no way qualifies you to play Rock Band (or Guitar Hero). It's the same way that being a doctor doesn't make you good at the game Operation.

I've heard this from a ton of guitar-playing friends. Most of them want little to do with Guitar Hero or the like.

And, really, if you are going to play the game with a group of friends for more than a night, shouldn't you just form a real band? There is something sad about the thought of four teenagers getting Rock Band for Christmas and spending all of their after-school time pretending to know how to play.

Eek. I feel chastened.

Censorship on School Stages

This link-- which I'm choosing not to comment on just yet-- comes from Kevin:

From the Cincinnati Enquirer: "Is play cancellation censorship? "

What do you think?

Get Munked

Thanks for the link, Matt.

November 26: Speechless Without Writers

Lesson learned: if you want a blog post every day, you probably shouldn't send me on a business trip and follow it up with trichinosis. Sorry sorry sorry.

I have a ton of great stuff to share with you, which accumulated over my relaxing little sabbatical. Unfortunately I'm still a little under the gun, but enjoy this for now:

November 17: Teachers & Social Networking

Today's post topic comes from Erica B, who points us toward this great Wired.com blog entry about teachers-- here's the issue:

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the state's teacher's unions recommend that teachers not post profiles on social networking or online dating sites because it could lead to the appearance of improper relationships with students.

Check out the full entry, which raises some great points like this one:

Social networking, online dating and even uploading a pornographic video of oneself to an adults-only online performance space has nothing to do with one's students and everything to do with one's personal life and sexuality. Holding teachers up to a "higher standard" -- symbols of an "ideal purity" that the rest of us are relieved we don't have to attain -- is not only impossible, it works against our goal of helping young people mature into responsible adults.

What do you think? You would expect your children's teachers to be engaged in social networking? I think that I would, in this day and age...

November 16: Joe Nuxhall

I'm going to interrupt the flow of this linkblog to take a little moment for the memory of Joe Nuxhall, who passed away last night.

Even being the non-sportswoman that I am, I was taken aback by the news this morning. My family is comprised of Cincinnati Reds fans, and it's pretty difficult to know the Reds and not know Joe. I was more familiar with him behind a microphone than actually on the ballfield... and honestly, even his old Kroger commercials with Marty Brennaman are pretty clear in my mind ("Let's go Krogering...").

Anyway, it's pretty unrelated, but read some articles about Nuxhall today. There will be no small amount of coverage today... you could start at The Enquirer or Wikipedia.

November 15: Nintendo Jam Sessions

Beware the ides of November!! Halfway point!

Okay... soooooo... Rick finds the coolest links sometimes. Today's are ads running in Australia and New Zealand... clearly not an American sentimentality. There are two of 'em, both for Nintendo's DS game "Jam Sessions."

This one's safe-ish for work, but kinda raunchy... this one, on the other hand, should probably not be watched at work unless your office is like WonderGroup (in which case, turn up the volume and then email it around).

So great and offensive and memorable. I totally want the video game now. Maybe it can ease the suffering I'm experiencing as a direct result of my not owning Guitar Hero III.

November 14: Where do you live?

Huzzah! A link from Lisa!


Check out AT&T's interactive application, Where Do You Live.

There are two issues I have with the site: first off, do people really live in multiple places like that? I stared at the entry fields for so long... I pretty much live in one place at one time. I suppose they're targeting more high-flyin' business exec types, or at least the kind of people who travel/move for work often.

Second issue: how huge do they think people's monitors are? Anyone else have scrolling issues?

But, other than those little hiccups, I thought the presentation and the functionality were pretty slick. I can't really imagine paying for a tote bag that points out that I heart "Cinderio," but that's not really the point, now is it.

November 13: WGA Strike

Alright, time for a cop-out day when I just post a video and call it a blog entry. This video of The Office writers on strike was sent my way by Kris (thanks!).



I was tempted to make a joke about going on strike myself... but, uh, I need this job.

Comments have been a little dead lately... any opinions on the writers' strike?

November 12: Love, Stargirl

I was hoping to make it at least half the month before running out of fodder, but here we are. Luckily I keep my feathers numbered for just such an emergency.

Today, briefly, I'd like to talk about Love, Stargirl. It's a sequel to the enormously popular Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli-- so if you haven't read that one yet, go do so now. I'll wait.

Love, Stargirl takes a different vantage point than the first book does-- where Stargirl is written from Leo's point of view, the sequel is written from Stargirl's own POV. On the surface, this seems like a compelling idea, because Stargirl is such a unique and inspirational character. However, when you delve right into the book, seeing through Stargirl's eyes comes up a little short. Why? To me, it makes her seem too human.

I know, that's an odd statement to make, but you have to consider the first book. (You read it, right? Up there when I told you to?) Stargirl has a pure heart, she's true to herself, nearly impossible to embarrass... she absolutely dances to the beat of her own drum. Some of that unique feeling comes through the protagonist Leo's eyes-- Leo is the shy everyboy who slowly falls head over heels for the plucky Stargirl. Because Stargirl shakes Leo's world, we hear his astounded descriptions of her wacky clothing, her impromptu ukulele recitals, her pet rat, etc.

But then to turn it around and speak in Stargirl's own words, everything loses a little bit of its magic. (Just a little bit.) She justifies things for the reader... puts them into context that we never had before. It isn't crazy for crazy's sake.

The book is still worth a read, and you can count on it inspiring young girls all over the world... the kind of girl who were left wanting so much more when Stargirl ended.

November 11: Make My Logo Bigger Cream

Sundays are probably the hardest day for me to remember to blog... so since it's 12:03am and I'm thinking about it, I think I'll go ahead and get it done for today.

There are a number of great things about today's link... first off, Kevin B sent it. Check out Make My Logo Bigger Cream, and definitely watch the video (which I would embed here, if that were an option).

But my favorite part about MakeMyLogoBiggerCream.com is that it's actually an advertisement for Agency Fusion. You have to stumble upon that information, but that's faith right there. You won't find any link to AF on the initial page at all-- when you click "Click to Buy" on the right-hand side of the screen before that information pops up. It's only slightly more gutsy than linking to another agency in your agency's blog. *wince*

November 10: Guys & Their Games

Yesterday we talked about girls and gaming... but what about teh b0yz?

Kris sent me this article about what a guy's gaming system says about him. Instead of doing my traditional "here's a link, here's a snarky comment" routine, I thought I'd ask WonderGroup what a gaming system said to them... while they mostly agreed with the article, here are a few other responses:

MICHAEL: My fianceé won't let me buy a gaming system.

JENNY: My 24-year-old son has a group of buddies that are married. Since they can never leave the house because their wives won't let them, they get the headphones on, call each other and play games together on the Wii. I think that's classic.

JOHN: A guy to his Xbox 360 is the moral equivalent of a car buff to a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

RIED: A guy over 30 shouldn't have any of these systems.

EMILY: PS3 = a bachelor with no social skills and lots of money to burn.

Go read the article to see how WG stacked up with the experts' opinions... then check out this other article about how video gaming is no longer an "old boys club." (Thanks again, Kris!)

November 9: Uh...

Alright, so today's link is courtesy of Ried, who sent it to me sans explanation.

Click here, and then give it a few seconds... no need to click on anything else.

I absolutely love this site, but I have no idea what it's for. I'm guessing by the .nl that it's a Netherlands site? Maybe? What do they speak there... Dutch?

Anyone with insight into this can score some points with me.

November 8: Human Flipbook

Alison sent this to me a million years ago. My bad. It happens to be one of the most amazing commercials in the history of the world, and you might not have even seen it.

Seriously, the kind of spot that makes me feel like a hack:



But almost as good as the spot itself is the behind-the-scenes footage that this sub shop put together, Pop Up Video-style... with all the hilarious details, right down to what subs the crew ate on their break. Visit the site to see the Making Of video, or to buy a shirt... because these people deserve your 18 bucks.

P.S. There are no Erbert & Gerbert sub shops in Ohio... I checked.

November 7: Girl's Guide to Gaming

Yea, Kris! Fantastic link action!

Okay, so far this is an England thing (*scoff*), but I have to get my hands on a Girl's Guide to Gaming.

The article says little about the Guide itself, but throws in some pro-Nintendo propaganda for your reading pleasure. Basically, there wasn't really even a market for a book like this before Nintendo pointed out that there are other demographics than Sony's hardcore gamer boy (families, 30-somethings, women...).

And, speaking as a Nintendo nut (and a female one at that), I say about dang time.

Here's the Guide's amazon.com page... keep an eye on it!

P.S. Yesterday, Russell pointed out that there's a Rose Petal Cottage commercial for moms, too!

November 6: Zune Journey

We're cranking right along, now aren't we? Keep sending me links!


Today's comes from my brother Bradley, who is in love with the oft-ignored Microsoft Zune media player. The first thing you need to do is check out their commercial, which is imaginative and fantastic and beautiful.

Then, promptly head over to ZuneJourney.net, which gives you a visually delicious tour of the Zune (although if I were being honest, I'd have to admit that it's a lot prettier than it is informative). I'm a sucker for pretty pretty things-- what do you think of the new Zune initiatives?

In case that doesn't do it for ya, here's an unrelated piece of internet majesty: West Side Story recut (with just a few effects added) to look like a zombie movie.

Bonus Post: Green is Universal

"But Erica! You could just wait and post this tomorrow, and be that much farther ahead!" Yeah yeah yeah, you're absolutely right, but this is kind of pressing news and I already have something planned for tomorrow.

I originally saw this during My Name is Earl last week, but today Ryan and Jenny pointed out that I should post about it. The big news: Green is Universal!



There isn't a lot to say that isn't on that site, or one of its subsites (like NBC). This, apparently, is NBC Universal's Green Week (and since it's already Monday I didn't want to hold off on posting it). Explore the site to see what all that means. There's more content than I could possibly talk about, but it's all really exciting stuff.

One of the things that is (potentially) appealing to me, is that eco-friendliness and greendom is being worked into actual plotlines of shows. What do you think about this? It's going beyond reducing a station's carbon footprint... it's raising awareness (in case anyone is still waiting to hop on the zero-emissions bandwagon).

On the other hand, it might be really annoying... I suppose I won't be able to form an opinion until Thursday, when I plop myself in front of NBC for two hours.

November 5: I'll Believe You

*toooooot!*

Oh, pardon me... that was our own horn.

Today's showcase is a WonderGroup project, mastered by sir Evan... the site for the Stand Up Films movie I'll Believe You. Check it out riiiiight here.

Watch the trailer-- you'll know most of the characters, including Mo Rocca and Chris Elliot. Also, you'll hear The Fray and The Hold Steady on the soundtrack that plays throughout the site.

Go! Explore! Revel in the Flash-y goodness!

November 4: Luxury Jetliner

I've noticed that the times and dates are all screwed up and now I'm all worried that it isn't showing up as a different day. But I promise, it's 1am on Sunday, so I'm totally in line with NaBloPoMo. And off we go!

Today's comes from Meredith, who wants to fly on the world's largest luxury jetliner. And who wouldn't?

Let's pull some exorbitant quotes, shall we?

Flight attendants handed out champagne and certificates to passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars in an online auction for seats.

Each suite, enclosed by sliding doors, is fitted with a leather upholstered seat, a table, a 23-inch flat screen TV, laptop connections and a range of office software.

The highest bidder was Briton Julian Hayward who bought two suite seats for $100,380.

Of course, I conveniently skipped the quote that's supposed to let us sleep easier:

SIA auctioned most of the seats on the inaugural flight on eBay, raising $1.26 million for charity.

November 3: Trent Reznor

I love this article (which Evan sent me)! Read it and weep: Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails fame) readily admits that he downloads illegal music.

But that's not the most awesome part of the article, although it takes guts to say yeah, sure, I've stolen music. The best part to me is right here:

"...At the end of the day, what made OiNK a great place was that it was like the world’s greatest record store. Pretty much anything you could ever imagine, it was there, and it was there in the format you wanted.”

He goes on to say that he would have paid for the service, had that been an option... because there is nowhere in the current marketplace that's offering what music fans are hungrily searching for. Sites like iTunes and other legal services don't have the selection and the feel that suits a real audiophile.

I remember the same hassles about sites like Napster 6-8 years ago... it's curious to me that there still isn't a real solution to the problem, or a real option for the people who are honestly just trying to get their hands on good music.

November 2: Rose Petal Cottage

Holy moly. Today's thought-provoking little link comes from Michael:



...Really?

I'm trying not to call the kettle black here, as I work in youth advertising, but this commercial really surprised me. I don't play the Super Feminist role by any stretch, but this is one of the most saccharine spots I've seen in some time... as Michael points out, "Taking care of my home is a dream, dream, dream"?

"For little girls with big dreams"... dreams, apparently, of doing laundry, baking muffins and raising children.

To play the devil's advocate, I'll bet this commercial works. I mean, the product is cute, and playing house probably dates back to cavetweens. (Really, Blogger? "Cavetween" isn't a word?) I just wish we could tell young girls that their muffins don't have the be the best, best, best.

P.S. As an unrelated bonus that couldn't wait until tomorrow: Facebook might be acquiring music, in a similar fashion to MySpace. How do we feel about this?

November 1: Real Live Moms

View my profile on NaBloPoMo

It occurs to me that I should have announced the NaNoBloPo thing today, thus saving me an entire entry. *shakes fist*

Today's link comes from Vicki: Real Live Moms (from Windows Live). While the site doesn't seem earth-shattering, it satisfies a major mom need: a simple, user-friendly way to share all those baby pictures, videos, little moments, etc. That seems to be the main difference between Real Live Moms and many other mom-oriented communities.

Chances are, mom is hitting up a BabyCenter or iVillage for her real networking needs, but I may be wrong. When she thinks parenting... does she think Windows?