Blog Archive

A Great Day for Canada:

Canada legalizes gay marriage. Alright! (via A Whole Lotta Nothing).

iTunes + Podcasts = ?

Hey has anyone played around with the new version of iTunes yet? Big deal with it is that it supports podcast downloads and adds them right to iTunes. I'm more than happy with PlayPod but since they are a piece of software and not a database of audio, they are at the mercy of however the podcast provider chhoses to label their podcasts. So you can spend several frustratng searching around for that episode of On The Media you just downloaded because, this week, they elected to tag the show "New York Public Radio" or "OTM Rocks!" or "Bob Garfield has big ears" instead of "On The Media."

My guess is Apple would clean all this labelling chaos up but I couldn't say for sure. Anyone tried it out?

Blogs I'm Following for the Research on my Second Book:

Yes, there will be a second book. Or at least a proposal for one that I'm working on now. Some blogs I'm following for my research:

The Artful Manager: On the business of arts and culture. Written by Andrew Taylor who teaches in an MBA program in Arts Administration.

Butts in the Seats: A little more casual by a theatre manager. All about how to get audiences in the theater in a competitive cultural time.

Adaptistration: Another Arts Journal weblog, this one on the future of orchestra management.

There's even a title. But I can't tell ya quite yet. Stay tuned...

A Little More Book Talk:

My brother called me early this morning to let me know that Bookmark Now was featured (reg. rqd) on the back page of the LA Times Book Review. And they liked it. Really liked it.

"Huzzah, Kevin Smokler! You have articulated in your introduction to this illuminating essay collection what many of us have long suspected: that we are not a nation of slack-jawed TV fiends and joystick illiterates, nor are we in danger of becoming one anytime soon.

If you're a writer, Bookmark is pure inspirational power juice. If you're a reader (we know you're out there), it provides lots of heartening evidence that literature isn't dead, and that novelists can be just as entertaining as Dave Chappelle. "

Wow.

Two Quotes:

I was cleaning out my office today and found these on a scrap of paper. I have no idea why I wrote them down.

"The soul takes flight to a world that is invisible; but there arriving, she is sure of bliss and forever dwells in paradise." -Plato

"Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words And never stops at all." --Emily Dickenson

The Candy Cometh!

When I lived in Austin, I listened to KOOP religiously, a dedication born because of Ear Candy, a radio show of "indie pop and cute music." The hosts, whom I have never seen photographed, sounded hot.

In toying with Radio Time last night, I found out that Ear Candy still exists. I had Audio Hijack record it for me and am listening right now. Good times.

Recovering from a 'Crash':

Wherein we talk about the movie 'Crash', being home from tour and howling.


MP3 File

Technorati Tags:

Do you add Technorati tags to your blog posts? If so, have you found pain-free method I could steal?

One Sentence Movie Reviews: "Batman Begins"

Batmanbegins_1

Batman Begins (2005): "Is it foolish to expect more than comic book depth from a film based the world's best known comic book?"

Where da book at?

Reminder: I'm posting most of the book related news over at bookmarknow.net.

We did crack a Bestseller list list last week. Neat eh?

One Sentence Movie Reviews: "Mask"

Mask

Mask (1985): "The best way to make a movie about a character with a disability is to make a great movie inspite of the disability not because of it."

One of those days:

It has been one of those days. One of those weeks. You may see me at the Technorati party tonight. Otherwise, I'll be hiding. At least for today.

Sunday Morning Shards #28:

On my mind and in the reading queue this week. The "one's own bed" edition. Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

*I Want Media offers an assload of well-curated media-related news stories everyday. A great resource if impossible to keep on top.

*Urban Bush Women is celebrating their 20th anniverary.

*Bruce Sterling asks "Can Technology Save the Planet?" (via World Changing)

*I'm eager to read Business Week's cover story "The Power of Us" about how Internet-style mass collaberation is changing the world of business.

*Ron Kovic's Vietnam War memoir Born on the Fourth of July is being rereleased. AlterNet has an excerpt of his new introduction.

*The solution to cold delivered pizza? Make it in the van (via The Artful Manager).

*The art of sign painting is coming back to Coney Island.

*Playpod is my new best friend. Whips iPodder cold. Listening to podcasts no longer resembles hunting for a missing sock.

*Radiotime continues to suck, in case you were still interested. It's recording right now on my iMac which means it's about 1 for 56.

*Question: How do these guys do a radio show when they live in different cities? Can you record a Skype conversation and, if so, with what?

*Book #2 has begun. I'm playing around with DEVONthink (as recommended by Steven Johnson) and it's got me all excited about the research. It's a study of the effect 21st century technology will have on the high arts. Wish me luck.

Hometown Hoorays:

My hometown paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, ran a super nice review of my book today. Now that feels good.

Home to the Hood:

Just a reminder that I'm at the Booksmith tonight for my book in less than 2 hours. Better late than never...

Non-Book-Related Meanderings (NBRMs):

Because you're probably sick of hearing about the bee oh oh kay (stolen outright from Wendy) and because I have a summer's worth of talking about it ahead of me, I'm gonna scatter some web crumbs that have been keeping me distracted from larger, eh, bookish matters at hand.

*The 92nd St. Y, the most lavish Y in the known universe, now has a blog.

*While on the road, Suzan has grown sick of the 20 newspaper pile-up on our doorstep. Since we both work at home and live in a 3rd floor walk-up, by the time you get downstairs to grab the Times and the Chronicle, you're kinda out of that pleasant morning paper haze. And the pile of newsprint I toss into the recycling bin every week seems a waste. So I think we're going to stop home delivery for a while and try getting the news we need via both paper's RSS feeds. Suzan's a fan of the LA Times, which has one lame RSS feed created by a contractor. Huh? Welcome to 2005 you sagasses.

*On that note, Salon isn't much better with one massive dump of an everything they print feed. Who reads every section of salon? Or any periodical? I expect better from a publication that's been so forward-looking in other ways.

*Last RSS bit: Thanks to BEA and too much time in strange beds, I've been adding an assload of feeds to my reader. To wit...

*Feeds from Litblog Co-op members Ed Champion, Bookdwarf and publication The Book Standard.

*The blog from the film adaptation of RENT.

*The Kweskin Report, a new blog about the future of arts management.

*Did you know Kriss Kross was still around?

*Kamikaze Hearts made beautiful soulful, folky heartland music that I first heard on Daily Sonic. They've got a ton of mp3s on their site too.

Writers Conferences Drawn and Quartered:

A hilarious takedown of writer's conferences. All true. I've spoken at plenty of them (via my friend Bella).

A SE Wind in Palm Springs

Wherein we discuss leg #2 of the tour, the trailer from "RENT" and old folks carrying golf bags.


MP3 File

A SE Wind in Palm Springs:

Bookmark tour update


MP3 File

Morning with No Water

Wherein we update you on the Bookmark Now Tour and long for the fog of home.


MP3 File

The Tour Begins...

Wherein we talk about Das Book and the swelter of Manhattan.


MP3 File

Powered by TypePad
Site design by Hot Pepper