speaking of water

Video: Think About Your Troubles from Harry Nilsson's The Point

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swarmin'

In a study conducted by researchers at the Stern School of Business at New York University, an examination of 108 albums that hit record shops in early 2007 determined that those that had been the subjects of 40 blog posts before their release date had sales of triple the average.

Cited in this morning's New York Times.

ishikoro

Illustration: Creative Thursday

In Japan neglected or abandoned blogs are called ishikoro, pebbles.

One of many tidbits about blogs in Sarah Boxer's review of many many books re blogs and blogging in this week's New York Review of Books.

Much as Boxer struggles (or pretends to struggle) to define "blog writing", that thing that "stinks of the link", and how it differentiates itself from traditional journalistic writing, she wraps up the piece in true blogger style as she marvels "at the large numbers of bloggers obsessed with masked superheroes":

Finally, I think I get the superhero fixation. It's the flying. It's the suspension of punctuation and good manners and even identity. Bloggers at their computers are Supermen in flight. They break the rules. They go into their virtual phone booths, put on their costumes, bring down their personal villains, and save the world. Anonymous or not, they inhabit that source of power and hope. Then they come back to their jobs, their dogs, and their lives, and it's like, "Dude, the ball."

Blog writing is id writing—grandiose, dreamy, private, free-associative, infantile, sexy, petty, dirty. Whether bloggers tell the truth or really are who they claim to be is another matter, but WTF. They are what they write. And you can't fake that. ;-)

chipompompom...atatataaa.ole..asa! [1]

Had the great good fortune of hanging out with Anali of Anali's First Amendment this afternoon, who was in Chicago for the Blogher conference.

We wandered from lunch at Fox & Obel over to Millennium Park, where we were treated to a free open air rehearsal at the Gehry Bandshell by some kind of wonderful Flamenco group -- dancer included. Neither one of us could place them -- although the gentleman's voice was hauntingly familiar -- and I found myself wishing, sitting there with someone I had only just met for the first time in person but felt like I'd known forever, that someone else I feel I've known forever (but have never met) -- the flamenco dancer, chi pom pom pom blogger Lolabola -- were there, because she'd know right away who was performing.

Strange world, this blogiverse: where you can meet a person for the first time in the flesh and skip past all the early getting-to-know-you questions. I've had the same experience meeting up with Flickr pals who have passed through or live here in town. This blogging thing is a little like pen pals for grownups.


Now that I'm home with Google at hand I can report that it was Gerardo Núñez on guitar with bailaora Carmen Cortez (who only gave up the tiniest nibble) on the stage, along with a whole retinue of performers -- all of whom were amazing. It was a little bit magical, stumbling across them that way, all of them slobbed out in jeans and t-shirts (in a good way), just making music. Random YouTube video of Mr. Núñez follows. Wish you coulda been there, Lola. So great to meet see you, Anali.



[1] defined here »

diagram of a blog

Missed this when it ran in the NYT on 5 April -- stumbled across is yesterday on Pentagram's Blog.