John Hodgman, former professional literary agent, is now a food columnist (my dream job!) for Men's Journal. In April he went In Search of the Next Big Fish. In May, we discover him Rediscovering the Lost Art of Bitters. And a quick search yields many more results, including an article extoling "the Lobsterwich – the perfect summer sandwich." Move over, Steingarten, there's a new man on the block!
Month: May 2003
Road Runner Sports at Amazon
Amazon seems to be teaming up with everyone. Today I noticed Amazon's now partnered with San Diego's Road Runner Sports, my favorite place to buy running shoes. RRS used to be an all-catalog outfit and they won me over the very first time I called them, in 1990. I'd seen the shoes I wanted in the local running store in Cambridge (MA). I called RRS for a price quote. The price was the same as the local store, so I told the guy on the phone, "Thanks but I don't want to order them."
He asked me, "Why not?"
"Because the price is the same as the store nearby and I could get them today, without paying for shipping."
So he lowered the price by $10 and overnighted the sneakers to me for free. Yup, I like RRS. And I like them even more integrated into Amazon's super-duper shopping and recommendation engine.
This week, a list
- On Tuesday, I stubbed my toe and now there's blood bubble and I think the nail is going to fall off.
- Later that evening, I dropped my iBook and now the lower left-hand corner of the screen has this bright spot, like all the pixels increased their display power by 500%.
- Yesterday the 1/9 subway seemed to halt all service whenever I needed to ride it. In both commute directions I had to wait 15+ minutes for a train. Of course, many many 2/3's zipped past.
- This morning I spilled a 12 oz. glass of orange juice all over my sofa.
- Then just now at lunch I put down a $20 for the check. A few minutes later, the waiter chased after us, saying we hadn't left enough. The $20 was missing from the collection of bills we left! I think I was grifted!
- And to top it all off, the key to my apartment building has ceased to work, forcing me to buzz whenever I wish to enter my home.
- I think I'll move to Australia.
Pretty in Pink pedicure
It's sandal time of year again, and you know what that means, time to get your feet in shape! If you're looking to splurge, the Sweet Lily Spa in Tribeca is offering a new Pretty in Pink pedicure ($55 for 60 minutes). Your soles will be soaked in a cocktail of grapefruit, mint, and essential oils and the treatment also includes reflexology and of course, application of polish. Your feet will smell delicious for days.
Remaindered linking!
I've been invited to contribute to Jason's sidebar of "Remaindered Links" for the next few weeks. I've been posting up a storm, though my contributions aren't distinguished from Jason's so you'll have to guess who's whose. I like the idea of being able to point to something neat without having to write about why it's neat. Perhaps if this experiment goes well, I'll add my own remaindered links to megnut. In the meantime, be sure and check in there for links on things like CSS, hypertext, and the American Chestnut Foundation.
Update: Mike writes in to point out that if you read the remaindered links via an RSS reader, you get the author information because it's in the feed. So there you go, not so secret after all.
Things we do for love
People will tell you the key to any successful relationship is compromise. Without the ability to compromise, long-term love affairs don't make it beyond short-term trysts. Compromise done well is like any negotiation, the trick is to give so that in return you get something you want. In that vein, I'm going to see The Matrix: Reloaded tonight. I didn't like the first Matrix. But I also don't want to go alone to the premiere of Seabiscuit this summer. No wonder people say relationships are hard!
Cyberarts/eNarrative slides
Here are the PowerPoint slides from Saturday's talk at the Boston Public Library [108 KB] and here is the HTML version. There's not much different in here from the last few presentations I've posted. The session was very interesting and I learned a lot from my fellow presenters, especially relating to hypertext. Looks like I have lots of reading and research to do!
More info on today’s talk
I've found some more information about today's weblog roundable on the eNarrative site (well actually my mom did, thanks mom!) The session is entitled, "weblog to webtale: living and writing as electronic art" and will take place at 3 PM in the Raab Auditorium at the Boston Public Library. In addition to me, there will be: George P. Landow (Hypertext 2.0), Dave Winer (Radio Userland), Noah Wardrip-Fruin (The New Media Reader), Mark Bernstein (Tinderbox), and George Fifield (Boston Cyberarts Festival). Oh, and it's free!
Best of NY food
It's that time of year again when the "best of" lists are out. Here's NYmetro.com's Best of New York 2003 food. Local spot Jefferson won Best New Neighborhood Joint. I haven't eaten there yet, but have been meaning to. Now I'll have to get on it before it becomes too crowded!
War is peace
Apparently a Norwegian parliamentarian has nominated President Bush and Prime Minister Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize. I can't think of anything more 1984-like in my life. It's like the culmination of all the propaganda we've been dealing with. Anyway, the link is to a GOP site which lists an email address and postal address where you "can send a letter of support for the nomination of George W. Bush and Tony Blair for the Nobel Peace Prize to the Norwegian Nobel Institute." Of course, one could also send a letter conveying shock and outrage at the mere suggestion of such a thing. Unless you believe we've always been at war with Eurasia.