FlickVision is the new Life

There is a new interface to Flickrvision: flickrvision (beta)

It is a 3D map of the world that spins around and shows photos people are posting on Flickr. You really have to see it. I find it profound to see all these images, from the sublime to the goofy, being posted. I even saw one of a trail around my neighborhood.

It reminded me of Life magazine, except it continual, and the photographs come from everyone.

I also had a thought watching this, imagine flying around the world, dropping down from time to time, and watching what everyone is doing. It is an approximation of omniscience. 🙂

The Buddha Project

If you have this Buddha on your mantle or your bookshelf that you think is special, why not share it with the rest of the world? Just snap a photo of it and hop on over to the buddha project.

As they say:

Images of Buddha can remind us to take a breath, to look around, to
feel calm and compassionate, to be here now. You can notice Buddha almost
anywhere — laundromats, store windows, barbershops, farmers’ markets,
souvenir stands, tucked away on someone’s night table.

It makes me hope this is success for alot of reasons.

Such Great Heights or The Genius of the Postal Service

I have been impressed by this song and the video that goes with it (there is a yearning in the woman’s eyes, and a symbolic Victorian suppressed sexuality to it, I think): YouTube – the postal service – such great height

How great is the video? Well, Apple, who has known to make pretty good commercials, thought it was good enough to steal. The proof is here:

YouTube – Apple – Intel vs. Postal Service

While the video is great, the song is superb too. Here are too very different versions, showing the potential of the song:

Iron and Wine’s Version

Ben Fold’s Version

The hilariously brilliant Ken Robinson on Education

What I find remarkable about this talk by Ken Robinson is how it manages to be insightful and very funny. You can watch it just for the humour and have a good laugh. But like any TED talk, you will also gain alot by the ideas presented. Goto YouTube and see:

Do schools today kill creativity? (Ken Robinson, TEDTalks)

It’s also a Master class in how to present.

Bill Clinton was here

The washingtonpost.com has a cool map showing all the places in the world Bill Clinton has spoken. It’s impressive.
(Clinton’s Golden Voice | Bill Clinton’s Paid Speeches | washingtonpost.com)

If you read this article, Bill Clinton Made $10 Million From Speeches – washingtonpost.com you’ll see some impressive numbers, including:

For example, Clinton earned $750,000 from three speeches over three days in February in Australia and New Zealand and $1.74 million from six speeches over four days in September in England, Ireland, South Africa, Germany and Denmark. The latter total included $450,000 for a single speech in London on Sept. 26 at a gala dinner of the Fortune Forum, a nonprofit group that aids international charities.Clinton made 352 speeches last year, but only 57 of them were reported on today’s form as having generated personal income. The others were given for no fee or for donations to the William J. Clinton Foundation, a charity he founded to promote causes such as fighting HIV/AIDS and global warming.

Clinton has earned more than $40 million in speaking fees in the past six years, records show. After leaving office, he made more than $9 million a year in 2001 and 2002. His income from speeches dropped to $4.4 million in 2003, when he was writing his memoirs, and less than $1 million in 2004, when he had heart surgery, before picking up in 2005, when he pulled in $7.5 million.

352 speeches last year?! That’s almost one a day!

Get running!

The Zen habits blog is full of great advice. For those of you who might want to start running, or used to run but haven’t run in awhile, I strongly recommend you look at this: Beginner’s Guide to Running | zen habits

There’s lots of great tips there.

One site they didn’t mention is Hal Higdon‘s web site. It is PACKED with good advice. You can buy lots of magazines and books on running. Or you can save your money for better shoes and use these sites instead.

Philip Johnson’s Glass House is officially opening to the public on June 21, ’07…

..my question is: why? What’s closed about it now? 🙂

For those of you who think about such things as I do, check out Memories of Life and Death in an Architectural Masterwork – New York Times

For such a slight building, it’s also very influential. I think the key to living there is good pajamas. And not scratching your butt. Or scratching your butt but not caring anyone might notice. 🙂

If you like to write, try Helium

Not the gas, the web site! What is Helium about?

Whether you care about pop culture or politics, Helium is for you. Helium is the best place on the web to post your perspective and read what others have to say. When you write at Helium, you receive instant recognition from an audience of millions. No one will delete your articles or skew your opinions. Your contribution remains whole. Helium is a free market, where articles on the same topic compete for the top spot.

When you share, Helium shares back. You earn a share of the advertising money earned here at Helium. If you write well, and write often, you earn more recognition and reward. It is that simple. Unleash the writer inside of you. Be passionate. Be opinionated.

Join the quest to build the best user-created reference there is. Say your piece and find peace. Find quality insight and stop wasting time searching for it. Help build a place where knowledge rules.

Poppleton (and Stella too)

I read alot of kids books. I enjoy them even when I am not reading them to little ones. Poppleton is my favourite series, with the possible exception of Stella and Sam. the Poppleton stories are wonderfully illustrated in watercolour, with plenty of small details to point out. The language is straightforward but not “Dick and Jane”, and the stories are fun to read aloud and to listen to. Even the characterization is good (yes, I know, they are only short books, but trust me. 🙂

I bought as many of them as I could find at Indigo. Here’s one, the first one we had.

Poppleton and Friends by Mark Teague

And here’s one of the Stella books:

Stella Star Of The Sea by M Gay

I highly recommend them.

Jonathan Coulton

It’s a small world. I came across the Code Monkey video at the Web 2.0 expo and posted it here on my blog which was read by my friend Leta who mentioned Jonathan’s web site, www.jonathancoulton.com, which I pointed out to some people a few months ago based on an article I read in the Nytimes.com!

So….check out his site. He’s got a great story, and lots of good music as well! Leta recommends: the acoustic version of ‘Baby Got Back’ is a treat

You’ve got a face with a view

I have a tremendous personal fondness for this song in this movie. But it is a great video nonetheless. From the great Jonathan Demme / Talking Heads film, Stop Making Sense, here is
The Talking Heads with This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody) Live

Hang in there for the wonderfully dance part with David Byrne and the lamp. I have a lamp like this, and I think of him whenever I see it.