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17 Feb 2011 19:27

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Tech: Huffington Post uses word “Google” 103 times in single article

  • The article of the moment on HuffPo: Personally, we prefer to Bing Google on Bing. What an obvious grab for SEO! The article says Google 103 times (by our count)! But seriously, folks, we Lycos this article and think it’s pretty Cuil. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jan 2011 21:02

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Tech: Worst startup angle: Naming your wannabe hip startup “Hipster”

  • 10,000 wannabe hipster signups so far source
  • » A really clichéd calling card: While not giving much away, the use of UseHipster.com appears to be ironic. Some might even say … detached. All that exists is a startup page of an aerial urban image that changes based on your proximity to NYC or San Francisco (or Atlanta or Chicago … The Washington Post lied! – thanks lemonpeelclock) – the two cities where whatever idea they have is going to launch. “I think we might have perfected the viral ‘Coming Soon’ page,” said founder Doug Ludlow, who is wrong.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Nov 2010 23:54

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Music: Axel Rose’s disdain for Slash hits a new “Guitar Hero” high

  • How much does Axl Rose hate Slash? Enough that he filed a $20 million suit against the makers of “Guitar Hero III” because he felt they lied to him about Slash’s role in the game. Rose, who allowed Guns ‘N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” to be in the game, did so only on the assurance that his estranged former guitarist and his new band, Velvet Revolver, would have no role in the game. Instead, Slash is featured prominently during “Welcome to the Jungle,” and Velvet Revolver songs are in the game. Dude, is your beef with him really worth this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Oct 2010 18:45

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Tech: Dumbest phone we’ve ever seen? Company takes minimalism too far


That sound you hear is the sound of some clever company attempting to sell an overpriced phone with a pen and a pad of paper as something innovative. Move along. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2010 11:21

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Culture: Steven Tyler as “Idol” judge: This oughta be a huge failure

It’s official (according to Aerosmith’s bassist); Tyler will replace Simon Cowell in the judge’s chair. Could you imagine him being a good judge? Seriously? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

03 Jul 2010 19:31

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Culture: Is the novel dead? Literary critic/jerk Lee Siegel says so

  • CRAP! We were going to write our novel starting next week! The New York Observer critic says that the novel, as an artform, has completely bypassed the American reading public, and novelists are better curators than writers. “For better or for worse, the greatest storytellers of our time are the non-fiction writers,” he writes, as numerous writers cry in their Earl Grey tea. Siegel thinks the overanalysis of the artform has turned into something readers can’t simply appreciate. Siegel’s critics argue that literary critics in general avoid more modern forms of literature, such as blogs and genre fiction. We argue that whether or not the novel is dead, idiotic posturing by people on ivory towers that has no effect on everyday life is alive and well. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jun 2010 20:47

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Politics: Andrew Breitbart is making politicians look like idiots again

  • I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction and I apologize to all involved. Throughout my many years of service to the people of North Carolina, I have always tried to treat people from all viewpoints with respect. No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become, this does not justify a poor response.
  • Rep. Bob Etheridge • Regarding the altercation he had with a couple of “college students” recently. After being asked if he supported the Obama agenda, he got angry, said “who are you?” repeatedly and started hitting the kids. While dude’s reaction wasn’t exactly called for, we argue this statement on BigGovernment.com is just as bad: “Expect more of this. It is going to be a long, hot summer.” Yeah, sure guys. Make more of these stupid fake controversies to draw attention to your crappy site. Play to the worst tendencies of politics. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 31 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Jun 2010 18:07

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Politics: NAACP takes the PETA route to irrelevancy, apparently

  • A talking greeting card that is clearly labeled as being about space used the phrase “black holes.” The NAACP for some reason thought it sounded like something else. Now they want a formal apology. Dudes, do you remember why people laugh at PETA? It’s because of stuff like this. You guys have a stellar reputation. Why waste it on stuff like this? To its credit, Hallmark pulled the card, despite the fact that they had a pretty sound case for ignoring the claim. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

11 Jun 2010 21:09

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Tech: Dear Phil Corbett: Shut up and let us tweet in peace. OK?

  • Some social-media fans may disagree, but outside of ornithological contexts, ‘tweet’ has not yet achieved the status of standard English. And standard English is what we should use in news articles.
  • New York Times standards editor Phil Corbett • For some reason fighting the flow of the English language, which has already decided to call Twitter posts “tweets” (lowercase). Corbett calls the word “inherently silly” and says it’s possible people may not even be using the site in a year. OK, this would be fine if he had any good recommendations. But what does he come up with? “But let’s look for deft, English alternatives: use Twitter, post to or on Twitter, write on Twitter, a Twitter message, a Twitter update. Or, once you’ve established that Twitter is the medium, simply use ‘say’ or ‘write.’ ” In other words, he has no good ideas for what to call this thing that he’s railing against. How about we call it “tweet,” Phil? Seems like a reasonable name. It also seems dumb for a guy who uses “ornithological” to complain about the clarity of language.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

09 Jun 2010 00:28

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Tech: Limp Pulse: New York Times Company screws with awesome iPad app

  • The Pulse app is better than the NYT app. There, we said it. The New York Times didn’t put all of this money and time into an iPad app to see their hard work upstaged by a couple of upstarts. Which is why the Times’ lawyers sent Apple an angry letter asking them to pull the Pulse app – which Steve Jobs had big-upped just yesterday – because of the way it uses their RSS feeds. Apple took it down, and now it’s back up. But these guys have had a pretty miraculous ride. Some quick tidbits on that ride:
  • four number of weeks the app was developed by two Stanford students
  • #1 the app’s peak on the “paid apps” chart since its fairly recent release
  • yes the app has gotten a big wet kiss of a profile in the Times already source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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