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The Mediaburn Radio Weblog
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Saturday, June 30, 2007 |
Matt writes in Rule the Web
Mark Rules the Web (and I Helped).
By now, everybody reading this blog has probably heard about Mark Frauenfelder's new book, Rule the Web, but what you may not know (unless you've already read the book), is that I'm in it. Mark graciously asked me a while back to make a contribution to the Favorite Bloggers section, and I was happy to help out. The topic I chose to elaborate on? One of my biggest peeves...hotlinking. So if you want to learn how to keep those little creeps at MySpace from displaying your images on their crappy webpages, buy the book and look me up!
[Link: Rule the Web Weblog] [Eye of the Goof]
4:18:07 PM 
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Thursday, June 28, 2007 |
Porl Thompson and Friends
The Cure Still Lives, Announces Tour. 
You've got to give it up to The Cure for having some serious stamina. Just when we thought that Robert Smith might be ready to put the Aquanet down and enter retirement, they announce a new record label deal, a new album and s summer tour. While details are light, we do know that they are going to be releasing their thirteenth studio album on Suretone Records. As for the tour, the revised lineup of Robert Smith, longtime bassist Simon Gallup, drummer Jason Cooper and old school guitarist Porl Thompson will be back in the US in September and October.
The Cure North American Tour
09.13.07 - Tampa, FL (St. Pete Times Forum)
09.15.07 - Atlanta, GA (Gwinnett Center)
09.17.07 - Charlotte, NC (Charlotte Bobcats Arena)
09.19.07 - Washington, DC (Patriot Center)
09.21.07 - Philadelphia, PA (Wachovia Spectrum)
09.23.07 - New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
09.25.07 - Boston, MA (Agganis Arena)
09.26.07 - Montreal, QC (Bell Centre)
09.27.07 - Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre)
09.29.07 - Chicago, IL (Allstate Arena)
10.02.07 - Denver, CO (Red Rocks Amphitheatre)
10.04.07 - Salt Lake City, UT (E Center)
10.06.07 - San Francisco, CA (E Center)
10.08.07 - Seattle, WA (Key Arena)
10.09.07 - Vancouver, BC (General Motors Place)
10.11.07 - Santa Barbara, CA (Santa Barbara Bowl)
10.13.07 - San Diego, CA (Cox Arena)
10.14.07 - Los Angeles, CA (Hollywood Bowl)
10.16.07 - Houston, TX (Toyota Center)
10.17.07 - Dallas, TX (American Airlines Center)
The Cure
MySpace [The Tripwire]
7:07:29 PM
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007 |
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Tuesday, June 26, 2007 |
More Recordings
Smashing Pumpkins Release 999 Versions Of Same Album. 
Smashing Pumpkins' newest effort, Zeitgeist, is finally coming out on July 10. (OK, so it's not technically the old school lineup of the band, but whatever.) To make things even more confusing, but awesome to hardcore fans, there will be four different versions of the album released.
The various track listings will be dependant on if you are a big chain supporter or prefer to hit up the indie stores. The standard version has twelve tracks, but albums purchased at Target and Best Buy will include different bonus tracks. Additionally, iTunes records will have another song as well. Peep the different listings below.
Standard:
01. "Doomsday Clock"
02. "7 Shades of Black"
03. "Bleeding the Orchid"
04. "That's The Way (My Love Is)"
05. "Tarantula"
06. "Starz"
07. "United States"
08. "Neverlost"
09. "Bring The Light"
10. "(Come On) Let's Go!"
11. "For God And Country"
12. "Pomp And Circumstances"
Best Buy:
01. "Doomsday Clock"
02. "7 Shades of Black"
03. "Bleeding the Orchid"
04. "That's The Way (My Love Is)"
05. "Tarantula"
06. "Starz"
07. "United States"
08. "Neverlost"
09. "Death From Above (Bonus Track)"
10. "Bring The Light"
11. "(Come On) Let's Go!"
12. "For God And Country"
13. "Pomp And Circumstances"
Target:
01. "Doomsday Clock"
02. "7 Shades of Black"
03. "Bleeding the Orchid"
04. "That's The Way (My Love Is)"
05. "Tarantula"
06. "Starz"
07. "United States"
08. "Neverlost"
09. "Bring The Light"
10. "(Come On) Let's Go!"
11. "For God And Country"
12. "Pomp And Circumstances"
13. "Zeitgeist (Bonus Track)"
iTunes:
01. "Doomsday Clock"
02. "7 Shades of Black"
03. "Bleeding the Orchid"
04. "That's The Way (My Love Is)"
05. "Tarantula"
06. "Starz"
07. "United States"
08. "Neverlost"
09. "Bring The Light"
10. "(Come On) Let's Go!"
11. "For God And Country"
12. "Pomp And Circumstances"
13. "Stellar"
Smashing Pumpkins
MySpace
[The Tripwire]
9:01:13 PM
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Regal Recordings Singles Club
Graham Coxon Teams Up With Paul Weller For New Single. 
Two UK legends in their own right, Paul Weller and Graham Coxon have teamed up together to release a single for the Regal Recordings Singles Club. Available digitally July 2, and on 7" July 30, the release will be limited to 5,000 copies.
The single includes three songs, "This Old Town" (the Coxon/Weller collaboration), "Each New Morning" (Coxon composition) and "Black River" (written by Weller). Graham commented on the piece stating, "As a long time admirer of Paul I never dared imagine getting a chance to work with him so I was bricking it when we first met...but he is an absolute gent and a shockingly great singer and musician. It's been a total pleasure." Paul Weller added, "I've always been a big fan of Graham's and love his work so it was exciting for me to work on something new with him."
The singles club was originally launched as a result of the Regal indie (under Parlophone) reaching a number one status last summer with Lily Allen's "Smile." Since then, the label has released a new single each month and will continue to do so for a total of one year. In essence, twelve singles from twelve acts.
Regal Recordings
[The Tripwire]
7:56:13 AM
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Sunday, June 24, 2007 |
business.com
Business.com On Sale; NYT and DJ Possible Suitors: Report. Business.com, the Santa Monica-based business info, directory and search site, is on the block, and this WSJ story sure helps get the word out. It even helps that they listed the desired valuation: between $300 million and $400 million. The story says suitors like Dow Jones and New York Times might be interested. Its 2007 EBITDA is about $15 million, it says.
Business.com was a laughing stock of the industry at one point, when Jake Winebaum and Sky Dayton plunked down $7.5 million on a single Internet domain name back in 1999, making it one of the biggest ever. The company went almost bust after the dotcom bubble, and then came back, focused on its directory business, as well as the launch of its B2B PPC ads service. It raised a $10 million round in 2004.
Related
By (Rafat Ali). [paidContent.org]
7:50:50 PM
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From allanaffeldt.com
Allan Affeldt, Democratic Candidate for Arizona Congressional District 1
Allan
Affeldt is a dedicated, strong progressive committed to bringing back
government that serves the people... and ending the Republican
corruption, cronyism, and incompetence that has plagued our great
country for the last 7 years. He has spent much of his life uniting
people for common goals. As Mayor of Winslow, he revitalized the
community in only 2 years - without raising taxes. Together with his
wife artist Tina Mion, he restored Winslow's historic La Posada Hotel.
However,
Allan's work as a leader and a visionary began long ago. His efforts in
the 1980s with International Peace Walk helped end the Cold War. His
work as president of the Great Peace March, an organization dedicated
to curtailing the nuclear arms race, became a Life magazine "Story of
the Year."
Allan Affeldt grew up in Orange County,
California, the son of middle-class Eisenhower Republicans who believed
in limited government, education, hard work, and community
responsibility. He combines these values with those espoused by
traditional Democrats.
Learn more about why Allan Affeldt should become our next District 1 Representative. via allanaffeldt.com
6:01:22 PM
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The Format Embarking on Fifty-City Tour
The Format Announces Tour, Gives Away Album For Free. 
The Phoenix group The Format will be embarking on a fifty-city tour. This will be the band's third tour in support of their latest album, Dog Problems. While that is awesome, what is really interesting is their decision to give away Dog Problems for free starting on June 26. The album will be available for free digitally over a two-week period.
About the decision to give away their LP, singer Nate Ruess said: "Owning our own publishing and master has allowed us the freedom to experiment. We'd be doomed if we sat around and waited for things like radio play to come around. We're just not that band."
If you're new to The Format, why not snag the album for free? The band is also embracing technology in another way, offering up their own branded mobile plan this summer through Sonopia. We're quite interested to see how their departure from traditional marketing works out for them. Good luck fellas!
07.13.07 - Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
07.14.07 - Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
07.16.07 - Dallas, TX (House Of Blues)
07.17.07 - Austin, TX (Antone's)
07.18.07 - Houston, TX (Meridian)
07.20.07 - Orlando, FL (The Club At Firestone)
07.21.07 - Jacksonville, FL (Fuel Coffeehouse)
07.22.07 - St. Petersburg, FL (Jannus Landing)
07.24.07 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Culture Room)
07.25.07 - Atlanta, GA (The Masquerade)
07.26.07 - New Orleans, LA (House Of Blues)
07.27.07 - Memphis, TN (New Daisy Theatre)
07.28.07 - Tulsa, OK (D-Fest)
07.29.07 - Albuquerque, NM (Sunshine Theatre)
07.31.07 - San Diego, CA (Soma)
08.01.07 - Hollywood, CA (Avalon)
08.02.07 - Anaheim, CA (House Of Blues)
08.03.07 - San Francisco, CA (Great American Music Hall)
08.04.07 - Portland, OR (Hawthorne Theatre)
08.05.07 - Seattle, WA (Neumo's)
08.07.07 - Vancouver, BC (Croatian Culture Center)
08.09.07 - Calgary, AB (The Warehouse)
08.10.07 - Edmonton, AB (Dinwoodie Lounge)
08.11.07 - Saskatoon, SK (Louis Pub)
08.12.07 - Winnipeg, MB (Ramada Theatre)
08.16.07 - Toronto, ON (The Opera House)
08.18.07 - South Burlington, VT (Higher Ground)
08.19.07 - Boston, MA (Avalon Ballroom)
08.21.07 - New York, NY (Webster Hall)
08.22.07 - Sayreville, NJ (Starland Ballroom)
08.23.07 - Philadelphia, PA (Trocadero Theatre)
08.24.07 - Norfolk, VA (The Norva)
08.25.07 - Washington, DC (9:30 Club)
08.26.07 - Carrboro, NC (Cat's Cradle)
08.28.07 - Cincinnati, OH (Bogart's)
08.29.07 - Cleveland, OH (The Agora Theatre)
08.30.07 - Grand Rapids, MI (Intersection)
08.31.07 - Detroit, MI (St. Andrew Hall)
09.01.07 - Chicago, IL (The Vic)
09.02.07 - St. Paul, MN (Station 4)
09.04.07 - Iowa City, IA (The Picador)
09.05.07 - Stuget, IL (Pop's)
09.06.07 - Lawrence, KS (The Granada)
09.07.07 - Englewood, CO (Gothic Theatre)
The Format
MySpace
[The Tripwire]
3:44:20 PM
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Thursday, June 21, 2007 |
Common Cause Blog
Gov. Richardson stands up for a paper ballot. Kudos and thank yous go to Governor Richardson, both for what he has done for voters in the state of New Mexico, and today for an oped he wrote which appeared in The Hill in support of the paper ballot bill, The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007. In the November 2004 election, many New Mexico voters were forced to vote on paperless DREs. True to form, these machines lost votes and added votes, and generally destroyed voter confidence in the elections process. To address the situation, the Governor proposed a plan to move the State of New Mexico to a paper ballot system. Of course, he encountered resistance, very similar to the resistance that Members of Congress are facing today for making our voting systems reliable and secure: "Change is bad." It is costly. It can't be done. It can't be done quickly. But with the Governor's leadership, New Mexico converted to a paper ballot system in less than a year. This past election, the number of machine-related voting problems dropped dramatically in New Mexico. Now we just need that kind of leadership on voting machines in Congress. Swift. Bold. Decisive. [Common Cause Blog]
5:46:20 PM
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007 |
Gymboree, From 'Italian Born Chinese'
Gymboree Class. Last Sunday we took Logan to a Gymboree class which was given to us gratis. They had many different activities to which all the kids were responsive to. Our Logan only cooperated when he could run around, anything that required him to sit down or even stand in one place would not meet his cooperation at all. Towards the end he finally sat in my lap and listened to the teacher, who said "finally Logan joins one of our activities".
Here are some photos:
If you can't see this slide click here.
Tags: baby, photobaby, photo [Italian Born Chinese]
6:19:18 PM
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Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |
Source: Classic-Horror
Nightmare.
Romano Scavolini's Nightmare (better known under its UK title Nightmare in a Damaged Brain) has a history of controversy and censorship. The video was banned during the "Video Nasty" debacle in Great Britain and remained so until 2005. Additionally, Tom Savini, who is credited with the special effects, has publicly denied that he worked on the film, although there is some evidence to suggest he served as a consultant to effects artist Ed French. [Classic-Horror - Reviewing the History of Terror]
6:15:48 PM
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at paidContent.org
Industry Moves: Krohn Leaves Yahoo For RNC; Internet Broadcasting; UMG; CBS Stations. -- Republican National Committe: Very interesting move, and another key loss for Yahoo at a crucial time: The Republican National Committee has hired Yahoo's director of election strategy Cyrus Krohn, who says his aim will be to bring the GOP message into the Internet's mainstream. He is the new eCampaign Director, and helped start the Web magazine Slate in 1996. He was at MSN Vide, and then joined Yahoo's Media Group in 2005. He will be based in Santa Monica.
-- Internet Broadcasting: David Lebow, former EVP and GM of AOL Media Networks, has been named president and CEO of Internet Broadcasting, a company that runs a network of TV station websites. IB has partnerships with Hearst-Argyle Television, Post-Newsweek Stations, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, NBC, Cox Television, Meredith Broadcasting and, most recently, CNN. Reid Johnson, who formed the IB in 1996 and has been serving as president and CEO, will remain with the company. (Release)
-- Universal Music Group: David Ring has been promoted to EVP of Business Development & Business Affairs for Universal Music Group's digital commerce unit eLabs. Ring, who has been with UMG since 1996, previously served as SVP of Business Affairs & Business Development for the division. (Release)
-- CBS Television Stations Digital Media Group: It has promoted Aaron Radin to SVP, Advertising Sales & Business Development...he will be responsible for overseeing national advertising sales, ad sales operations and business development for the station group's websites and wireless platforms. He joined as VP in 2005.
By (David Kaplan). [paidContent.org]
6:05:22 PM
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Monday, June 18, 2007 |
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Sunday, June 17, 2007 |
Happy Dads
Happy Father's Day from Mediaburn.net
10:05:41 AM
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Saturday, June 16, 2007 |
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Friday, June 15, 2007 |
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Thursday, June 14, 2007 |
Infocirculation
Nice things in the post. 
I got sent some lovely things in the post the other day. First up this letter from Craig at The Chase. He's doing a project to highlight the fact that we don't see much hand writing any more. He asks me to write something (anything) on our company letterhead and post it back to him. So that's what I'm gonna do. What do you think I should write?
Secondly I got sent some ace Moo cards from the wonderful Ghost School. I also got a specially hand drawn horseman warrior soldier thing. Pretty fucking cool, eh?
[Noisy Decent Graphics]
5:56:50 PM
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Wednesday, June 13, 2007 |
Babelgum via paidContent.org
@ DH: Interview: Silvio Scaglia, Founder, Babelgum.  For an Italian billionaire many times over, Silvio Scaglia seems and sounds very humble. He says he's merely the engineer, but of course that only a partial picture of his creds: He recently sold (still in the clearance process) his pioneering triple-play company Fastweb to Swissscom for close to $5 billion. Before founding Fastweb in 1999, Scaglia was CEO of Italian operator Omnitel, now Vodafone Italy.
His new venture is Babelgum, a full-screen, high-res online video service which will always be compared to Joost, even though the two started around the same time, though Joost has a headstart and much more content on it for now. But he says he is patient, and in it for the long haul, much like his other two companies. He is investing a big chunk of his personal money, as an indication of his commitment to this, and that's the only money he is taking for now, he says.
The company just announced about 30 content partnerships, it first major ones, including, Reuters, ITN and BBC MotionGallery, and sports content from Fight Network and Black Diamond. The site for now focuses on independent film through deals with the Soho Film Festival, the Rushes Short Film Festival and Spike Lee, who has contributed documentaries and short films to the service.
Scaglia is in town for Digital Hollywood (the company is based in Ireland), and I spoke to him over coffee at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills yesterday. A wide ranging interview on his views on online video space; the IPTV market in Europe and how he views IPTV efforts from AT&T and Verizon here; IPTV versus online TV; difference between Babelgum and Joost; his view on how content players are easing up on distributing content; the technology for high-red video online as it stands now; and others topics.
Stream the audio below, or you can download the MP3 of the interview here (25 mins, 10 MB).
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Advertising for Success
Bring on the Night Unless you have slept through the past several months, you know that The Police are together again. The 2-disk compilation Police cd was released to kickoff The Police 2007 Tour.
Here are some of my favorite songs from The Police cd:
1 ualtofl
2 ouon ttxey
3 oylselno
4 nnebhg ttrhigoni
5 e etvekruaeyrhta boy
6 ycirysotnicn
7 irs a kut tnepwyonoifglos
8 as poidi sit larhitletrmernw
9 c rtdeleganbat a
10 esblnvisiun i
What? Oh, you do not recognize these? That is because these are the scrambled names of some of The Police songs from the compilation set. Do you like puzzles? Can you figure out the name of the songs?
Win a New York fly-away to see The Police live.
Give up? It took me awhile, but I think I deciphered the names of the songs. Check the song titles and see if I got them right. They must be titles of songs on The Police compilation 2-disk set.
1. Fall Out
2. Next To You
3. So Lonely
4. Bring On The Night
5. Every Breath You Take
6. Synchronicity
7. Walking in Your Footsteps
8. Spirits in the Material World
9. Regatta de Blanc (missing a "g")
10. Invisible Sun
My favorite of these songs is:
Bring On The Night
The afternoon has gently passed me by
The evening spreads its sail against the sky
Waiting for tomorrow, just another day
God bid yesterday good-bye
Bring on the night
I couldn't spend another hour of daylight
Bring on the night
I couldn't stand another hour of daylight
The future is but a question mark
Hangs above my head, there in the dark
Can't see for the brightness is staring me blind
God bid yesterday good-bye
Bring on the night
I couldn't spend another hour of daylight
Bring on the night
I couldn't stand another hour of daylight
I couldn't spend another hour of daylight
I couldn't stand another hour of daylight
This song was released in 1985 for the documentary of the same name. The film captured the excitement of the recording and launch of Sting's solo album. Sting had help from some wonderful jazz musicians, in both the documentary and the song. Joining Sting were Kenny Kirkland on piano, Brandon Marsalis on saxophone, Darryl Jones on bass guitar, Omar Hakim on drums, and Janice Pendarvis on vocals. This song fused rock, reggae and jazz into something else: Sting.
  - CyberCelt [Advertising For Success]
5:58:23 PM
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Tuesday, June 12, 2007 |
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Monday, June 11, 2007 |
Mary Timony Band (Sharpshooter MP3)
Mary Timony Band at Little Brother's on Sunday. 
To string a couple of cliches together, even if a Mary Timony song was a needle in the proverbial haystack, picking it out would be just as easily done as said. She's put her distinct off-kilter branding on every subtle nuance of everything she's ever done. In less capable hands, this could be heard as being redundant, but with Timony it's a sign of artist in complete control of her voice (in the figurative sense). From her days with Helium to the now fourth album of her solo career, for which she's touring, Timony has marked her work with a unique bent, no matter how it's been fortified with accouterments.
Recorded with new bassist Chad Molter and drummer Devin Ocampo, The Shapes We Make, is the first record Timony's released under the moniker of the Mary Timony Band. Still, it's obviously her brainchild, as one can clearly draw lines between the album and the rest of Timony's oeuvre. Ringing outside-the-box guitar work? Check: "Killed By the Telephone." Cool lyrical imagery? Check; "Summer's Fawn." Prog weirdness? Check: "Pink Clouds." And where the sparseness of her previous effort, Ex Hex, was somewhat wanting, the sound of Timony's "full" band puts each edge in sharp relief and makes each hue of her pallet more vivd. In many ways, Shapes is more cumulative of every thing she's done than anything she's done, pulling all her trademarks into one place.
MP3: Sharpshooter
BUY: Amazon.com [donewaiting.com]
8:39:28 PM
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oversi
P2P Content Delivery Manager Oversi Gets Backing From Cisco For Planned $8 Million Second Round. Oversi, a marketer of P2P caching and content delivery solutions, has received funding from Cisco as part of an extended second funding round, totaling $8 million. Oversi attracted Cisco's financing by stressing the importance of developing tools that reduce P2P traffic congestion. The round was led by Carmel Ventures. StageOne Ventures and TempoPark Fund also participated. Israel-based Oversi plans to use the funding to build up its sales and distribution channels. It's also working on developing new products in the P2P streaming and delivery space. Release
Related
By (David Kaplan). [paidContent.org]
8:28:46 PM
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Sunday, June 10, 2007 |
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Saturday, June 9, 2007 |
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Thursday, June 7, 2007 |
Bono Guest Editing
Bono: Vanity Fair Guest Editor.
When not fronting "Irish postpunk combo U2" (ok, it is forever settled. That is how U2 shall now be referred to, onwards to eternity), inexhaustible renaissance man Bono turns a deft hand to one of journalism's most sought after gigs - editing Vanity Fair. His Africa Special Issue of the magazine is notable for countless reasons, not least its 20 covers, as shot by Annie Leibovitz. You can read Bono's letter from the editor here: A Message 2U. [U2log.com // Weblog and Magazine]
9:46:54 PM
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Wednesday, June 6, 2007 |
Dave Winer, Italy and Beyond
All roads lead to.... Where I am right now. 
This morning (Sunday) it was pouring rain, I was feeling better after a second consecutive night of non-jetlagged sleep in a comfortable bed (I'm in a four-star hotel, very nice), but still fighting a nasty head cold that was creeping down into the chest. I slept in, had breakfast, dressed warm (it's unseasonably cool here), put on my rain coat, left the laptop in the room, and headed out for Vatican City, thinking I'd see the insides of some fantastic churches, where it was nice and dry, and try to seen ancient Rome tomorrow.
Well, I made a wrong turn somewhere, and ended up at the home of Caesars and gladiators, and because it was a drenching rain, it wasn't so crowded, you could actually get around.
Flickr photo set: Italy June 2007.
The scale of the center of ancient Rome is both surprisingly large and suprisingly small.
It's small when you think that for centuries, this was the capital of the western world. It's the size of a small college campus. Smaller than UW-Madison, or Harvard, about the size (or so it felt to me) of Tulane University when I went there in the 70s.
The largeness was best expressed by the feeling standing where an emperor could have stood, looking at something that man had created. At that point in time, it wasn't the only such achievement, but it was a 2.0, compared to the earlier capitals. Yes, they stole ideas from the Greeks and the Egyptians, but the scale of their accomplishment, their power, was unparalleled.
That was the ancient experience. Walking back from the ruins of ancient Rome, you visit functioning architecture of stunning beauty and modernity but also ancient by the standards of civilization where I come from. But the beauty. Oh man. Of all the sites I saw today, the one that impressed me the most was Trevi Fountain. But that's with the caveat that I saw only a small fraction of what Rome has to offer.
I came back to dry off, upload pictures, and take a rest (nursing a cold) before going back out again. The sun won't set until 8 or 9PM and it's ony 3PM, so I should be able to get in a bit more touring before turning in for the night.
This is very good medicine, it seems to me.
Oh one more thing, to Sylvia, the hills of Rome are smaller than the hills of Berkeley. Piece of cake for this hiker. [Scripting News]
5:44:13 PM
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Tuesday, June 5, 2007 |
In the News
Murdoch Reject Bancrofts' Independent Board Idea; Employees Union Considering Other Options.  Updated below: Rupert Murdoch had a "constructive" meeting with the Bancrofts today on the future of Dow Jones, reports Reuters...this to the swarm of reporters descended on the meeting building. Meanwhile, the union representing over 2,000 Dow Jones workers, the Independent Association of Publishers' Employees, said it has retained advisers to seek alternative bids that could better protect the publication's "unquestioned journalistic integrity." The process was started last Friday, it said, with a list of about half a dozen individuals with "the money and the integrity"...more details were not released.
Updated: WSJ: The two sides convened yesterday for more than four hours to discuss issues of journalistic independence for DJ and WSJ. The two sides exchanged proposals on structures to maintain journalistic integrity, but price wasn't discussed...there isn't another date set for a meeting, the story says.
NYTimes: The Bancrofts told him they would sell him the company only if they could keep its jewel, The Wall Street Journal, out of his editorial control. Murdoch made clear that he would not accept the Bancroft family's proposal, which would give a board of independent overseers the power to hire and fire top editors, but various adjustments and alternative plans were floated in a meeting that lasted almost five hours, the story says.
Bancrofts' proposal, that the board's initial members would be chosen by the family (and would choose their own successors in perpetuity) was rejected by Murdoch, but he has offered a less independent sort of governing board like the one at The Times of London when he acquired it, with some members appointed by him.
Staci adds: Journalists and unions at various newspapers have tried to no avail to take part in the recent rounds of musical chairs by attracting white knights and/or creating ESOPsâo[per thou]Knight-Ridder, Pulitzer Publishing are but two examples. The only one to succeed so far: Tribune Co., where the employees are being used to take the company private without direct rank-and-file involvement. Maybe Ron Burkle wants to try again.
By (Rafat Ali). [paidContent.org]
7:48:57 PM
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Monday, June 4, 2007 |
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Sunday, June 3, 2007 |
Don't Mind Our Dust
we'll me making a few, small modifs to the mediaburn radio weblog homepage over the next few days. Please don't mind these irregularities/
11:03:31 PM
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FÀs-Boulemane, Morocco
From U2log
Is this the rekindling of the DreamTeam?.
Well, who knew that U2 worked for a living? LOOK - here they are in Fez, according to U2.com, working with Lanois and Eno. Though, apparently, "there's no word on what the new material is for." WHAT IS IT FOR? Oh come now, don't be so coy, U2! It is clearly for the GREATEST ALBUM WITH THE EDGE ON FIRE, FOUR MEN IN A ROOM, EXTRAORDINARY, NO PRESSURE, HURRY HURRY UP!!
Being in the city of Mysterious Ways, does this herald U2's return to the Achtung Baby halcyon days? Where would you like to see U2 take their sound this time round? [U2log.com // Weblog and Magazine]
8:37:39 PM
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FeedBurner Entry, via paidContent.org
Itís Official: Google Acquires FeedBurner
Another open secret becomes official ... Google has acquired RSS distributor FeedBurner and its FeedBurner Ad Network, filling a significant gap in its own advertising offerings. No terms are being disclosed officially; the deal already has closed. The reported price when the most recent round of reports started: about $100 million.
From the official FeedBurner blog: ìWe are confident that we are going to be a part of the company that can best deliver the most comprehensive suite of services to publishers.î Susan Wojcicki, VP, Product Management, wrote about the acquisition at the official Google blog.
Thereís also a FAQ that includes this answer to the why question: ìGoogle believes that feed-based content and advertising is a developing space where we can add value for users, advertisers and publishers. FeedBurnerís technology and talented team are a great addition to Googleís current solutions for advertisers and publishers.î
Some mixed messages on autonomy and the future. Hereís the FAQ on the subject: ìQ. Will Google assume full operational control of FeedBurner, or will FeedBurner remain autonomous? A. We are excited to have the FeedBurner team join the Google team. The FeedBurner website will remain operational as we continue to integrate their technologies with Googleís tools.î Another answer says itís too early to tell how FeedBurner will be integrated and another says FeedBurner will continue to sign new users.
Lots of red flags already flying from privacy watchers. Hereís the FAQ: ìWe believe that notice and choice are the foundations of privacy. As such, we are committed to transparency for our end users, and to respecting the choices they make with regards to their privacy preferences. The transition to Googleís privacy policy and the opt-out mechanism we are providing for current FeedBurner users will help us achieve these goals.î
As of February 2006, FeedBurner had $10 million in investment backing. Investors included Mobius Venture Capital, Portage Venture Partners, Sutter Hill Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Union Square Ventures. Based in Chicago, it was founded in 2004 by Dick Costolo (CEO), Eric Lunt (CTO), Steve Olechowski (COO), Matt Shobe (CDO). More than 431,000 publishers (including our parent, ContentNext Media) use the service.
Update: About that opt-out mechanism ... I just logged in to our FeedBurner account and a note came up explaining service would not be interrupted because of the acquisition but we have 14 days ending June 15 to opt out of allowing Google to service the account. The alternative: ìIf you take no action by June 15, 2007, the rights to your data will transfer from FeedBurner to Google. Opting out will terminate your user agreement with FeedBurner, permanently delete your FeedBurner account, feeds, and all related statistical data and history, and prevent the transfer of your data rights to Google.î
Update II: AP: ìGoogle will allow FeedBurner to remain based in its current Chicago headquarters, but hasnít made a decision on whether the brand will be retained.î FeedBurner has 30 employees.
- Staci D. Kramer (staci(at)paidcontent.org) [paidContent.org]
10:47:25 AM
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Saturday, June 2, 2007 |
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Friday, June 1, 2007 |
Really Simple Syndication (RSS/XML)
FeedBurner Is a Part of Google. 
You can replace FeedBurner with Google and Blogbeat with FeedBurner in the image above. The rumors turned out to be true: Google acquired the Google of feeds, FeedBurner. The reasons are many, but the most important ones were to improve Google's analytics tools and to add a new medium for AdWords advertisers.
"[FeedBurner's] web-based tools, including an extensive feed and blog advertising network, help publishers promote, deliver, and monetize their content on the Web and make feed-based content more accessible and manageable for its end users. (...) Google believes that feed-based content and advertising is a developing space where we can add value for users, advertisers and publishers."
FeedBurner's team is optimistic and it doesn't seem to be scared by the fate of some of Google's acquisitions (like Measure Map, Dodgeball, JotSpot) that are barely visible right now:
The fact is that there is an immense amount of work to do in order to a) continue to provide our customers with the best feed analytics, b) begin to provide a more comprehensive 360-degree view of audience and reach, and c) enable publishers to most efficiently determine the best ways to distribute and monetize their content.
We like our chances. We are confident that we are going to be a part of the company that can best deliver the most comprehensive suite of services to publishers. We are confident that we're going to continue to have fun and innovate for customers as rapidly as possible. We are confident and hopeful that you'll look at your feed dashboard soon and say to yourself "Well, *that* was a good idea!"
Moreover, Feedburner could provide a lot of useful information to Google Reader to filter the most popular/interesting/relevant posts and could enhance Blogger's feeds without having to Burn them at feedburner.com.
If this isn't a good news for you and you're using FeedBurner, you can opt-out of allowing Google to get your data by sending an email to accountx(at)feedburner.com until June 15. "Opting out will terminate your user agreement with FeedBurner, permanently delete your FeedBurner account, feeds, and all related statistical data and history, and prevent the transfer of your data rights to Google." [Google Operating System]
8:52:18 PM
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Imagination
Lennon's "Imagine" Reworked Into Art. 
Recently London's PYMCA was host to an awesome exhibition on rave culture. Now, the British gallery will have another work on display having to do with music and art. This time it will pay homage to one of the biggest rock music legends ever.
Yoko Ono and the John Lennon estate gave the green light to have Lennon's song "Imagine" reworked into an art piece. The print consists of a black canvas embossed with the imprint of the lyrics from "Imagine." It will be joining previous creations inspired by other acts including Primal Scream, Motorhead and Monty Python.
Speaking to XFM, Airside, the infamous artists who created the artwork for Lemon Jelly, commented on the project, "It's sentiment is pure and to pollute the print with any sort of ink would somehow be wrong. Lennon is held up as quite a reverent figure so we wanted to reflect that. We had the idea to purely de-boss the print so that you get the lyrical context from the light falling onto the print."
100 prints will be made for purchase in three different colors, grey, blue and white. If you want to have one of these bad boys be ready to dish out 150 pounds. Each copy will be numbered and signed.
It's Pop It's Art
[The Tripwire]
8:23:54 PM
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A young star's strange elliptical ring of dust likely heralds the presence of an undiscovered Neptune-sized planet, says a University of Rochester astronomer in the latest Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
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Our editor and publisher Rafat Ali has been in Carlsbad these past couple of days, covering the the Wall Street Journal's "D Conference." Some of our coverage of D, and major announcements over the past couple of days: