As predicted by local weatherfolk, I awoke to a magical springtime wonderland. What was green, blue and yellow yesterday is now whitewhitewhite. Again, I love the spontaneity and sudden change of the Several items on my mind today, namely:
I heard on NPR yesterday that Golden State Fence, the company that was hired to build that godforsaken fence along the Mexican border, has been (surprise!) caught for employing illegals has been sentenced to community service and a three-year probation. Ha! Although George Lopez may have jumped on this comedy opp first, this joke practically wrote itself. I mean, who the fuck did they think was going to build this thing anyway?
As many of you have noticed, the blogosphere is aflame with the news that blog-ebrity, Kathy Sierra, received death threats and was sexually harassed by some anonymous coward who hides behind his keyboard and undoubtedly has the wang size of a dog. (No offense to dogs.) I caught Kathy's keynote address at SXSW, even though I'd never heard of her, and was so glad I did. She is frightfully smart, very funny and terribly cute. Plus, she's a chick and there just aren't enough programmer/designer/blogger ladies at Kathy's level who get recognized. I'm glad she has the following that she does but it looks like fame – even in the blogosphere – comes at a price. Kathy is now afraid to leave her house and has cancelled all speaking engagements. It's a sad story for all of us.
Fred Vogelstein, a reporter dude I know, is all over the web lately, thanks to a PR mishap. He writes for WIRED and was working on a story about Microsoft. The Big M's PR firm, Waggener Edstrom, mistakenly sent him background notes on … Fred Vogelstein, including bits like "It takes him a bit to get his point across so try to be patient." Said Fred in his subsequent blog post: "I know my long-windedness drives my wife nuts occasionally. I didn't know it had become an issue for Microsoft's pr machine too." Anyway, as a blogger and PR hack, I find this all endlessly amusing and a tad frightening.
Finally, my pal (okay, not really but I am a dedicated fan), Paul Kadrosky, let me know about a study that came out recently that reveals 29% of Americans are not connected to the Internet. Furthermore, most of 'em couldn't care less. The number one reason cited is, "Nothing interesting on the Internet." They've got a point, my life seemed to be chock full before 1997, when I got my first peek. Question is, what would I be doing right now if it wasn't around? Probably talking to myself ... a tragic thought. At least with a blog I have the bold assumption that someone is paying attention and I'm all about self-delusion these days.
Finally, it looks like my father, Bob, is facing a double bypass operation next week. Of course, he is upbeat so that's the attitude I'm trying to adopt. The doctors who will be working on him do this same procedure 400 times a year without complications so no need for wringing hands, right? Thankfully, my good pal, Gins, is visiting this weekend so some much-needed giggly distraction is on its way.
5 comments:
did you know kathy lives outside of Boulder. though i don't agreee with any of the harassment and threats kathy had to put up with, i found it weird that she reposted the images and portions of the email and comments that she found so threatening on her own blog. it's all too bad, i feel sorry for her.
Continued best wishes for the Mighty Bob. And have a great time with your Beantown buddy!
I did not know she lived nearby! Yeah, I thought it was a bit weird too but it makes sense. The whole idea of blogging is feeding that compulsion to share what you are experiencing.
Either way, it's icky.
Good thoughts for Mighty Bob! I'm sure things will just go swimmingly. My girlfriend's dad just went through this, and he only has to learn to take it easy on the flip side. That's the hardest part.
Heather, thanks for the link to the Sierra controversy. I had not heard of this.
I sure hope your dad comes through with flying colors. I still have not met him, but would really love to someday.
Post a Comment