My high school classmate's sister is in this video (the lipstick & whiskey girl). We're so proud of her! :) Not my usual kind of musical fare, but I dig it. Awesome video. Check it out!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
A Happy Beginning
Looking back through some of my older posts, I came across "Injustice Personified," a diatribe from mid-2010 about the trials and tribulations of my friends who were trying to adopt a little boy from Kazakhstan. I realized I never updated that story, so here's the outcome:
Noah came home! After months - more than a year, actually - of agonizing, expensive, heart-wrenching drama in the Kazakh court system, my friends were finally granted custody of their son, and were able to bring him home shortly after Thanksgiving (of 2010). Ultimately, after having gone to the point of having to decide whether to petition the Kazakh Supreme Court, they were advised to re-file with the original court, citing some new/additional documentation of Kazakh families that had visited and rejected Noah as a potential adoptee. With little more than their hope, they did so, and for reasons no one will probably ever be able to ascertain, the same judge who originally denied the adoption finally granted its passage. Subsequently, most of the other families in the same situation at that Baby House (the Kazakh term for "orphanage") have also been approved for adoption.
Noah is now back in the States, thriving with his parents and finally having met his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousin. I like to think that it was the mounting pressure from all the friends, family, and occasionally, US government officials that finally persuaded the judge to get with the program, but we will probably never know. Nonetheless, I thank everyone who supported the cause, whether by writing letters or just saying a prayer. Thank you for helping to bring Noah home!
Noah came home! After months - more than a year, actually - of agonizing, expensive, heart-wrenching drama in the Kazakh court system, my friends were finally granted custody of their son, and were able to bring him home shortly after Thanksgiving (of 2010). Ultimately, after having gone to the point of having to decide whether to petition the Kazakh Supreme Court, they were advised to re-file with the original court, citing some new/additional documentation of Kazakh families that had visited and rejected Noah as a potential adoptee. With little more than their hope, they did so, and for reasons no one will probably ever be able to ascertain, the same judge who originally denied the adoption finally granted its passage. Subsequently, most of the other families in the same situation at that Baby House (the Kazakh term for "orphanage") have also been approved for adoption.
Noah is now back in the States, thriving with his parents and finally having met his grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousin. I like to think that it was the mounting pressure from all the friends, family, and occasionally, US government officials that finally persuaded the judge to get with the program, but we will probably never know. Nonetheless, I thank everyone who supported the cause, whether by writing letters or just saying a prayer. Thank you for helping to bring Noah home!
Redemption
I'm a little behind on my TV viewing this week, so I only just watched Tuesday night's episode of Glee last night (Wed). Giving credit where credit is due, I'd like to thank the producers (et al) of the show for recognizing and fixing the aforementioned problems all on their own. Last night's episode was vintage Glee, from the perfect blend of the moving and the hilarious to the sweet sounds of a Lea Michele power solo. Nothing was over-the-top, the tunes were pitch-perfect selections for both the storylines and the singers, and for the first time in a long time, Chris Colfer felt like more than a token. Best episode of the season so far, I think. Thank you, Glee!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
I admit that sometimes, some things are better said by other people. This is one of them.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-eskow/christina-aguilera-and-th_b_819979.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-eskow/christina-aguilera-and-th_b_819979.html
On the subject of Glee: did anyone else raise an eyebrow during this week's episode at the Dina and Sparky Lohan disses? I'm not saying I shed any tears, but it didn't escape my attention either.
For those not in the know: much ado circulated in Hollywood Gossipland recently when several Glee cast members bumped into Lindsay Lohan and apologized for a derogatory line about her that aired in the Gwyneth Paltrow episode (uttered by Gwyneth herself). In light of that moment having made major buzz, it seemed a little extra icky when Glee turned around this week and included in Katie Couric's list of people that Sue Sylvester beat to win The Biggest Loser Award both Linday's mother Dina and her little dog Sparky.
Now, mind you, I never did understand what the cast apologized for in the first place. Sure, I can see wanting to smooth things over when you find yourself in the awkward position of being in same room with someone you zapped in front of millions of TV viewers, but the cast was hardly responsible for the line; that's the purview of the writers. Plus, it was delivered by Gwyneth and not a regular cast member, so again, nothing for the cast members to own. But even if you give them credit for wanting to distance themselves from the behavior of the writers and director who let the line go, I personally think the line itself was a fair shot. Ms. Lohan has made a public spectacle of herself, and she can hardly expect to be safe from the jabs and zingers that come with the circus she's created. Is she someone to be pitied, a victim of success that came too fast at too young an age, from which no adult in her life had the good sense to protect rather than exploit her? Perhaps. But she was the one who doodled colorful epithets on her own fingers for all the court cameras to see, so a little public ridicule is hardly unjust.
Even so, one has to wonder what the writers were thinking when they threw in potshots #2 and 3 (and after all, what did the poor dog ever do to anyone?). Was it a slap at the cast for having effectively publicly chastised the writers by apologizing to Lindsay? Was it merely an oversight, or perhaps filmed before The Big Apology even took place? Hard to say. But just in case the folks at Glee were wondering: we noticed.
For those not in the know: much ado circulated in Hollywood Gossipland recently when several Glee cast members bumped into Lindsay Lohan and apologized for a derogatory line about her that aired in the Gwyneth Paltrow episode (uttered by Gwyneth herself). In light of that moment having made major buzz, it seemed a little extra icky when Glee turned around this week and included in Katie Couric's list of people that Sue Sylvester beat to win The Biggest Loser Award both Linday's mother Dina and her little dog Sparky.
Now, mind you, I never did understand what the cast apologized for in the first place. Sure, I can see wanting to smooth things over when you find yourself in the awkward position of being in same room with someone you zapped in front of millions of TV viewers, but the cast was hardly responsible for the line; that's the purview of the writers. Plus, it was delivered by Gwyneth and not a regular cast member, so again, nothing for the cast members to own. But even if you give them credit for wanting to distance themselves from the behavior of the writers and director who let the line go, I personally think the line itself was a fair shot. Ms. Lohan has made a public spectacle of herself, and she can hardly expect to be safe from the jabs and zingers that come with the circus she's created. Is she someone to be pitied, a victim of success that came too fast at too young an age, from which no adult in her life had the good sense to protect rather than exploit her? Perhaps. But she was the one who doodled colorful epithets on her own fingers for all the court cameras to see, so a little public ridicule is hardly unjust.
Even so, one has to wonder what the writers were thinking when they threw in potshots #2 and 3 (and after all, what did the poor dog ever do to anyone?). Was it a slap at the cast for having effectively publicly chastised the writers by apologizing to Lindsay? Was it merely an oversight, or perhaps filmed before The Big Apology even took place? Hard to say. But just in case the folks at Glee were wondering: we noticed.
Monday, February 07, 2011
It worked!
It worked! It really, actually worked! Okay, it didn't entirely work. Honestly, I don't know that it really worked at all. But, it's possible that it worked, and that's exciting enough, isn't it?
My pothole patch got fixed today! Sort of. Remember a couple posts ago when I touted this new site, SeeClickFix? You go to this site, give it your zip code or other neighborhood information, and it sort of patches you into a network of local folks - including community officials - so that you can post pictures, videos, and messages about potholes, broken curbs, fallen signs, etc. with some hope that somebody might do something about it. I figured it couldn't hurt, so a few days ago, I went up to a particularly bad patch of potholes a mile or so up the road, took a picture with my iPhone, uploaded it to the site along with a description/complaint about how long the potholes have been there, put a pin on the virtual map, and crossed my fingers.
Imagine my amazement when, traveling up that same road this morning, I saw a big orange sign: "Pothole fixing, next 2 miles" ! Sure enough, there was a crew and a couple trucks, and they were working their way up the road. (There were other potholes, but I figured if I could lure them to the area with the biggest patch, they'd likely find and fix the others along the way.) Now, I'll grant you that the "fixing" consisted largely of just dumping in some gravel, but the point is that an actual crew of live humans came out within a week of my having posted the issue on SeeClickFix. Was it my posting there that did the trick? I'll probably never know, but considering how long those potholes have been there, I like to think it would be an incredible coincidence if this just happened to be hole-patching week, unbeknownst to me.
SeeClickFix. New favorite site, yessir.
http://www.seeclickfix.com/citizens
My pothole patch got fixed today! Sort of. Remember a couple posts ago when I touted this new site, SeeClickFix? You go to this site, give it your zip code or other neighborhood information, and it sort of patches you into a network of local folks - including community officials - so that you can post pictures, videos, and messages about potholes, broken curbs, fallen signs, etc. with some hope that somebody might do something about it. I figured it couldn't hurt, so a few days ago, I went up to a particularly bad patch of potholes a mile or so up the road, took a picture with my iPhone, uploaded it to the site along with a description/complaint about how long the potholes have been there, put a pin on the virtual map, and crossed my fingers.
Imagine my amazement when, traveling up that same road this morning, I saw a big orange sign: "Pothole fixing, next 2 miles" ! Sure enough, there was a crew and a couple trucks, and they were working their way up the road. (There were other potholes, but I figured if I could lure them to the area with the biggest patch, they'd likely find and fix the others along the way.) Now, I'll grant you that the "fixing" consisted largely of just dumping in some gravel, but the point is that an actual crew of live humans came out within a week of my having posted the issue on SeeClickFix. Was it my posting there that did the trick? I'll probably never know, but considering how long those potholes have been there, I like to think it would be an incredible coincidence if this just happened to be hole-patching week, unbeknownst to me.
SeeClickFix. New favorite site, yessir.
http://www.seeclickfix.com/citizens
A Gleeful Rant
I am a fan of the show Glee. I am not ashamed of this. I am in fact thrilled that there is finally a show about people like me, the high school weirdos who sang in choir and performed in the annual musicals (we didn't have "show choirs" back then), who were marginal outcasts but thoroughly enjoyed the company of other like-talented weirdos and the production of major performances. It doesn't hurt that they've used a significant amount of music from my own high school years to secure my attention.
It's really a well-done show - most of the time. The first season got off to a rocky start in the sense that it felt like they were trying to find a groove; they knew they had a good thing on their hands, but they were a little too hyperactive and needed to focus. In one early episode, I counted something like 12 separate storylines, which is just too many for viewers to follow and too hard to sustain, even with a solid ensemble cast. They settled down soon enough, and the rest of Season 1 quickly became Can't Miss TV.
Season 2 has been a little rockier. Having outperformed expectations so spectacularly, they really found themselves in a battle to top The Last Episode every week, which quickly became exhausting for everyone, and more than a little disingenuous. It's one thing to have some over-the-top characters and situations that, were they to occur in real life, would result in lawsuits, firings, and criminal charges rather than just a wacky, slapstick few hours (think Season 1's distribution of pseudephedrine to the entire Glee Club - less the pregnant Quinn). It's quite another though to be so outlandish, so ridiculous that believability goes out the window, with watchability right on its heels. Still, their biggest challenge this season - in my humble opinion - hasn't been the carried away-ness (although it is one factor). It's their inability to figure out what to do with the supremely talented and ever-growing cast, both regular and guest, and it's starting to get painful to watch.
Let's start with new characters. I understand the need to add new characters, especially in a setting like high school where clearly, eventually somebody's going to have to graduate, and you need some kind of succession plan. And with an ensemble this big, it's not quite as sore thumb-ish as on, say, Friends. That said, new characters still need to have both a context and a purpose, one that goes beyond just making sure you don't exhaust your core cast or that keeps them in check by reminding them how easy it is to replace them. I applaud Glee for adding early and often, rather than waiting until the cousin Oliver stage of the show, but I'm starting to get a little dizzy at the revolving door, and I'm starting to wonder about some of the choices. I was so excited to see Charice - but then she turned out to just be a guest start. They added Chord Overstreet, presumably to give Cory Monteith a hand with the lead male vocals, but they've barely explored his character beyond being someone else to whom to pass Quinn. They brought in the Wrestler Girl, but other than a few on-the-border moments of comic relief, she seems to just be a moving piece of scenery. Darren Criss, by far the most exciting new addition, is given plenty of singing time, but he's been stuck over in this Dalton Academy sideshow and is basically just trotted out for a little musical beefcake effect once in awhile. Which leads me to my next two complaints:
What to do with the primary cast. True, the show needed to move past the early iteration of the Lea Michele & Matthew Morrison show it was becoming. Two fantastic Broadway stars, both eminently watchable, but it was clear that even they were becoming tired of carrying the whole load, even with Cory Monteith (adorable but not nearly as strong) chipping in as a romantic interest/co-vocal for Lea. So, great, let's open the show up to some other characters and voices - turns out Kevin McHale (Archie), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Mark Salling (Puck), and Naya Rivera (Santana) are all pretty talented singers, and their characters each got a turn at developing a little depth, as did Jenna Ushkowitz's Tina, and Heather Morris' sleeper hit Brittany. But this season...um...nobody seems to be getting any storylines. Oh, I'm sorry, there is one storyline so far this season: Kurt and the Korofsky monster. And a gem of a storyline that has been too, except...
(Point 3): IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. I was so proud of how they were handling the Korofsky plot. Here's an extreme homophobe who is literally terrorizing Kurt, one of the few openly gay teenage characters in TV history, and there is a real chance here, in the context of all the bullying and suicides that have been going on nationwide, to make a big impact. They took a great turn at the "did NOT see that one coming!" moment where Korofsky kisses Kurt, clearly demonstrating that his hate comes from his own fear and confusion, and opening a huge Pandora's box of possibility. So what did the show do? SENT KURT AWAY TO PRIVATE SCHOOL. ??? Um... what?? Don't get me wrong: this is a perfectly valid alternative for someone actually in the situation who is, in fact, fearing for his safety and well-being under the circumstances. But let's face it: MOST kids facing this problem cannot just up and go to private school. Their parents can't afford it, they'd have to abandon everything in their current world to do it, and frankly, they might not find a better situation there either. Worse though, as a plot turn on the show, it's a total chicken-out, where they could have used the opportunity to illustrate just how bad it can be for kids, and then demonstrate what they might do to handle it. Running off to private school isn't feasible for kids, so what other options might there be? And how could New Directions have banded together to help? They had just begun to touch on that when Dalton Academy reared its pretty little head, and off Kurt went. In terms of pure talent, the crime lies not only in the missed opportunity to help gay (and other "outcast") kids everywhere, but in the placing of Kurt squarely in a corner, trotted out for a token appearance each episode, but now behind not only Lea, Amber, and Cory in the solo queue, but now also Darren Criss. What a total waste of the Golden Globe-nominated talent that is Chris Colfer.
Just felt the need to rant today. I'll save my "what in the world are they doing to Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester?" for another day. The post Super Bowl episode was so "meh" that I just couldn't stand it anymore though, so I had to say something. Let's hope they straighten out the rest of Season 2 the way they did Season 1. It's fixable, but only if the show gets over itself, settles back down, and gets back to what it was supposed to be: the STORY of a Glee Club. Find the story, Glee.
It's really a well-done show - most of the time. The first season got off to a rocky start in the sense that it felt like they were trying to find a groove; they knew they had a good thing on their hands, but they were a little too hyperactive and needed to focus. In one early episode, I counted something like 12 separate storylines, which is just too many for viewers to follow and too hard to sustain, even with a solid ensemble cast. They settled down soon enough, and the rest of Season 1 quickly became Can't Miss TV.
Season 2 has been a little rockier. Having outperformed expectations so spectacularly, they really found themselves in a battle to top The Last Episode every week, which quickly became exhausting for everyone, and more than a little disingenuous. It's one thing to have some over-the-top characters and situations that, were they to occur in real life, would result in lawsuits, firings, and criminal charges rather than just a wacky, slapstick few hours (think Season 1's distribution of pseudephedrine to the entire Glee Club - less the pregnant Quinn). It's quite another though to be so outlandish, so ridiculous that believability goes out the window, with watchability right on its heels. Still, their biggest challenge this season - in my humble opinion - hasn't been the carried away-ness (although it is one factor). It's their inability to figure out what to do with the supremely talented and ever-growing cast, both regular and guest, and it's starting to get painful to watch.
Let's start with new characters. I understand the need to add new characters, especially in a setting like high school where clearly, eventually somebody's going to have to graduate, and you need some kind of succession plan. And with an ensemble this big, it's not quite as sore thumb-ish as on, say, Friends. That said, new characters still need to have both a context and a purpose, one that goes beyond just making sure you don't exhaust your core cast or that keeps them in check by reminding them how easy it is to replace them. I applaud Glee for adding early and often, rather than waiting until the cousin Oliver stage of the show, but I'm starting to get a little dizzy at the revolving door, and I'm starting to wonder about some of the choices. I was so excited to see Charice - but then she turned out to just be a guest start. They added Chord Overstreet, presumably to give Cory Monteith a hand with the lead male vocals, but they've barely explored his character beyond being someone else to whom to pass Quinn. They brought in the Wrestler Girl, but other than a few on-the-border moments of comic relief, she seems to just be a moving piece of scenery. Darren Criss, by far the most exciting new addition, is given plenty of singing time, but he's been stuck over in this Dalton Academy sideshow and is basically just trotted out for a little musical beefcake effect once in awhile. Which leads me to my next two complaints:
What to do with the primary cast. True, the show needed to move past the early iteration of the Lea Michele & Matthew Morrison show it was becoming. Two fantastic Broadway stars, both eminently watchable, but it was clear that even they were becoming tired of carrying the whole load, even with Cory Monteith (adorable but not nearly as strong) chipping in as a romantic interest/co-vocal for Lea. So, great, let's open the show up to some other characters and voices - turns out Kevin McHale (Archie), Dianna Agron (Quinn), Amber Riley (Mercedes), Chris Colfer (Kurt), Mark Salling (Puck), and Naya Rivera (Santana) are all pretty talented singers, and their characters each got a turn at developing a little depth, as did Jenna Ushkowitz's Tina, and Heather Morris' sleeper hit Brittany. But this season...um...nobody seems to be getting any storylines. Oh, I'm sorry, there is one storyline so far this season: Kurt and the Korofsky monster. And a gem of a storyline that has been too, except...
(Point 3): IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE. I was so proud of how they were handling the Korofsky plot. Here's an extreme homophobe who is literally terrorizing Kurt, one of the few openly gay teenage characters in TV history, and there is a real chance here, in the context of all the bullying and suicides that have been going on nationwide, to make a big impact. They took a great turn at the "did NOT see that one coming!" moment where Korofsky kisses Kurt, clearly demonstrating that his hate comes from his own fear and confusion, and opening a huge Pandora's box of possibility. So what did the show do? SENT KURT AWAY TO PRIVATE SCHOOL. ??? Um... what?? Don't get me wrong: this is a perfectly valid alternative for someone actually in the situation who is, in fact, fearing for his safety and well-being under the circumstances. But let's face it: MOST kids facing this problem cannot just up and go to private school. Their parents can't afford it, they'd have to abandon everything in their current world to do it, and frankly, they might not find a better situation there either. Worse though, as a plot turn on the show, it's a total chicken-out, where they could have used the opportunity to illustrate just how bad it can be for kids, and then demonstrate what they might do to handle it. Running off to private school isn't feasible for kids, so what other options might there be? And how could New Directions have banded together to help? They had just begun to touch on that when Dalton Academy reared its pretty little head, and off Kurt went. In terms of pure talent, the crime lies not only in the missed opportunity to help gay (and other "outcast") kids everywhere, but in the placing of Kurt squarely in a corner, trotted out for a token appearance each episode, but now behind not only Lea, Amber, and Cory in the solo queue, but now also Darren Criss. What a total waste of the Golden Globe-nominated talent that is Chris Colfer.
Just felt the need to rant today. I'll save my "what in the world are they doing to Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester?" for another day. The post Super Bowl episode was so "meh" that I just couldn't stand it anymore though, so I had to say something. Let's hope they straighten out the rest of Season 2 the way they did Season 1. It's fixable, but only if the show gets over itself, settles back down, and gets back to what it was supposed to be: the STORY of a Glee Club. Find the story, Glee.
Drink Locally
I was reminded the other day, quite by happenstance, of the value of shopping locally. Parking at the local large grocery store chain on a Saturday, dreading having to go fight the madding crowd just to buy a bottle of wine for a party that evening, I happened to look across the street at the little corner store in the next shopping center. "John's* Beer & Wine," it beckoned (names have been changed to protect the innocent). Hm. Well, it could be a nice little neighborhood joint, or a totally creepy old man's haunt, but it's that or go inside Big Grocery Store with 3,000 other people and have to wait in line because I can't self-checkout alcohol (well, you can, but then you have to wait for them to come check your ID anyway, so you may as well have waited in the regular line). John's it is.
Quaint little store--and not at all creepy--with a modest but interesting selection of wines and beers. I found a respectable label I recognized and that was in my price range, and grabbed two bottles (one for the party, one for me). At the checkout, I was offered a taste of one of the samples they had available - my choice of red or white (I thought I'd heard them offer a stout beer to someone else, so I wondered why I'd been given only the wine options, but beggars can't be choosers). I opted for red, and took a sip from the plastic shot glass. Hm. Interesting. I took another sip. This is...different. Almost...bubbly. Except not. At least, not as outrightly so as, say, soda or even champagne. But still...a little bubbly. I finished it off, took my purchases, and left, pondering my taste test.
I decided to meander to video store - while I was there, I might as well see if the person sitting on the Lost, Season 6, disc 5 that I've been waiting on had returned it yet (they had not) - and the whole way there and the whole time in the store, I could not stop thinking about that wine. I was intrigued! And I was hooked. So, back to John's I went. "Um...what exactly was that stuff you gave me?" The proprietor explained that one of his smaller distributors sometimes brings in stuff he stumbles across in his travels, and this was today's featured selection. Isn't it great? Yes, actually. It's so...different. And definitely unforgettable - in a good way. I'll take a bottle! Oh, and now that I see your sign for Route 11 chips, can I have a bag of the crab-flavored ones? Awesome. No more driving 20 minutes to the other grocery store just for a bag of my favorite, awesomely-addictive chips.
I'd love to share with you what the stuff was so you could go get some for yourself, but honestly, it had a ridiculous lot of information on the bottle, and what I can only assume was the name of it was pretty long, and nothing I'd ever heard of (like a standard type of grape, for example - cabernet, shiraz, etc.). I would literally have to go get the bottle and write the whole thing down for you...and I'm just too lazy. Plus, I get the sense it might be only regionally available, which wouldn't help you. And the point of this post anyway wasn't the wine itself. It was to say, "Shop locally, at least once in awhile. You may be surprised at what you get for the extra dollar."
Quaint little store--and not at all creepy--with a modest but interesting selection of wines and beers. I found a respectable label I recognized and that was in my price range, and grabbed two bottles (one for the party, one for me). At the checkout, I was offered a taste of one of the samples they had available - my choice of red or white (I thought I'd heard them offer a stout beer to someone else, so I wondered why I'd been given only the wine options, but beggars can't be choosers). I opted for red, and took a sip from the plastic shot glass. Hm. Interesting. I took another sip. This is...different. Almost...bubbly. Except not. At least, not as outrightly so as, say, soda or even champagne. But still...a little bubbly. I finished it off, took my purchases, and left, pondering my taste test.
I decided to meander to video store - while I was there, I might as well see if the person sitting on the Lost, Season 6, disc 5 that I've been waiting on had returned it yet (they had not) - and the whole way there and the whole time in the store, I could not stop thinking about that wine. I was intrigued! And I was hooked. So, back to John's I went. "Um...what exactly was that stuff you gave me?" The proprietor explained that one of his smaller distributors sometimes brings in stuff he stumbles across in his travels, and this was today's featured selection. Isn't it great? Yes, actually. It's so...different. And definitely unforgettable - in a good way. I'll take a bottle! Oh, and now that I see your sign for Route 11 chips, can I have a bag of the crab-flavored ones? Awesome. No more driving 20 minutes to the other grocery store just for a bag of my favorite, awesomely-addictive chips.
I'd love to share with you what the stuff was so you could go get some for yourself, but honestly, it had a ridiculous lot of information on the bottle, and what I can only assume was the name of it was pretty long, and nothing I'd ever heard of (like a standard type of grape, for example - cabernet, shiraz, etc.). I would literally have to go get the bottle and write the whole thing down for you...and I'm just too lazy. Plus, I get the sense it might be only regionally available, which wouldn't help you. And the point of this post anyway wasn't the wine itself. It was to say, "Shop locally, at least once in awhile. You may be surprised at what you get for the extra dollar."
Aaaaaaaaand aNOTHER new fave...
Read about it in a magazine, thought it was interesting, checked it out. Not at all disappointed. It's sort of like what the Drudge Report used to be, in the sense that it covers a combination of serious and randomly off-the-beaten-path news, except in blog form, with pictures and video, and WAY more entertaining.
http://boingboing.net/
http://boingboing.net/
Friday, February 04, 2011
Another New Fave
New Favorite Website: SeeClickFix.
http://www.seeclickfix.com/citizens
Absolute genius. Got a pothole in your neighborhood that swallows your car every time you go to work? Snap a pic with your phone, upload it to the site with a description of the where and what, and voila, the combination of public shame and a network of contacts in communities throughout the country will work to help get it resolved. Sure, not every community participates (yet), and no, there's no guarantee that every pothole or poorly-plowed snowy road will get fixed ASAP simple because it's reported here, but at least now there's SOMEWHERE you can turn!
http://www.seeclickfix.com/citizens
Absolute genius. Got a pothole in your neighborhood that swallows your car every time you go to work? Snap a pic with your phone, upload it to the site with a description of the where and what, and voila, the combination of public shame and a network of contacts in communities throughout the country will work to help get it resolved. Sure, not every community participates (yet), and no, there's no guarantee that every pothole or poorly-plowed snowy road will get fixed ASAP simple because it's reported here, but at least now there's SOMEWHERE you can turn!
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