Goodreadin' - Thang No. 11

Goodreads is one of my favorite library 2.0 tools. I first chronicled all my children's books before my slipshod memory lost them. Then I added reader's advisory Goodreads shelves for YA lit, comedy & satire, art and more. My Goodreads holds almost 700 books (this includes a list of 100 to-reads, which is growing by the week). Soon my virtual bookshelves will be larger than the ones in my house.

My Goodreads "to-reads" are gathered mostly from suggestions, but occasionally from ALA and TLA reading lists. I can see what Neil Gaiman is reading, and add books from my favorite surreal novelist. How cool is that - to live in a time where I can see what authors I enjoy are reading.

My reading plan currently includes mystery and suspense books. I'd love to hear your bookish suggestions, so feel free to click through my Goodreads widget on the right and send me a message or friend request.

Being John Malkovich - Monroe - Thang No. 10

I decided to try an image generator using one of my drawings rather than a personal photo. First, here's how the original drawing looks. I took a photo of the drawing.



Photofunia has 2 kinds of image generators - one that uses "Face Technology" to match your image to the face (3-D), and one that takes your face and presses it flat. The Face technology one is truly creepy. It gives a new meaning to the phrase - I'm all ears...



A less sinister version is the Photofunia graffiti image generator, that rendered my drawing quite nicely.

The RSS Affair and Daily Lit - Thang No.9

Daily Lit was a joy to use - easy to search for books. I decided to receive RSS installments of Jane Eyre, Bronte's classic novel that I have never read. I liked being able to choose how often my RSS was delivered and bopped around in Daily Lit's book forum, where nothing recent was being discussed. My plan is to read Jane Eyre on RSS and then read the Eyre Affair again. Only 261 RSS Bronte feeds to go!

Then I wondered - is fan fiction alive for the classics? We all know about Harry Potter fan love and Sherlock Holmes homages, but is there a Eyre world beyond Jasper Fforde? Back to the Technorati searches. My survey found luscious fan fiction for Jane Austen (no Bronte so far). But there is [drum roll] a new graphic novel version of Jane Eyre. Will it help struggling readers learn the classics or is it a "dumbing down" of a masterpiece? Genteel bloggers want to know.

It's positively reviewed on the Other Stories blog - and here's a sneak peek.
Jane Eyre The Graphic Novel

RSS Simplicity - Thang No 8.

So I started out thinking I was really simple Selwyn (RSS), mostly because I have once again allowed my RSS feed to reach 1000+ in Google Reader. I'm much better at adding feeds than actually checking them. As a hedonist, I consider it my duty to indulge all kinds of things - techno toys (Lifehacker or Boing Boing), my 23ers (you guys), and Reader's Advisory (Give 'em What they Want). I'm also testing Evanced feeds at the moment - that's what I'm on top of most of all at the moment, along with the reader's advisory feeds.

I do like RSS coming to me instead of bopping around 20 websites or so. The only downside is sometimes it's akin to the Sunday NYTs - too much to examine in one sitting. Just need to develop my skimming skills a little more and a little more often.


Photo credit from Flickr Commons - NYT by Mezzoblue

Technology and Ads - Thang No. 7

There's a whole lotta connectivity with web 2.0, and I'm not just talking about Internet speed. Here's a couple of weird aspects of networking I've noticed - involving ads.

1) Facebook: most pleasant surprise, discovering an old friend, who teaches in Australia. Unpleasant surprise: the new design has even more ad traffic. Also, any other women in the 30's demographic sick of generic diet ads?

2) Reflections on the Wired article: is the Internet one large, flexible learning brain? If so, why are some of the synapses (individuals) feeling a disconnect? Are things growing faster than our ability to process them?

As the Internet grows (and we come producers of information as much as consumers) it has the impact to transform our traditional advertising (for products) but not our basic desires (wealth, sex, forming relationships, fame). I think that Internet banner advertising is going the way of the dinosaur, and in a few years products will be embedded even more in more of our YouTube videos, and eventually in our virtualities. This election was, after all, the first time that political ads were added into billboards in a video game.

What to do with a synapse wraps truth and fiction into our thoughts? A brave new world indeed. It's not all about a buck, but the Wired writer is joking if he thinks it's all free.

Viral Video - Election Day

Here's my attempt at improv for the electorate. It's only on half a lung, but still a decent try. It's called "Getting Out the Sick Vote."