As Wired Blog and several new sources have reported, the US Army is starting a Second Life presence as a new form of recruitment. (Note how the Wired Blog uses an uncredited picture of my avatar.) This virtual presence is only the latest in the US military's incursion into the metaverse, joining the US Navy…
PMT Breakers & me at Frim Fram last night (video)
Here's a fun video of the PMT Breakers performing at Frim Fram last night. Thanks to my crew Ian, Ron, Will, Monica, and Marie for coming out one more time. Really awesome performance and great crowd! Special thanks to Effervescent for filming this for me and Ryan Mascaro for cueing our music. Here's another version…
Food Review: Baoguette pleases with pate-packed bahn mi in Murray Hill
My colleagues Rafi, Barry, Nick and I just had some tasty bahn mi from the new Baoguette sandwich shop at 61 Lexington near 25th Street. I'm happy to report that both their chicken and pulled pork variations were mighty tasty, heavy on the pate, full of fresh and pickled veggies, and nestled in a perfectly…
The Woz, Peter Norvig, Thomas Malone at “Program for the Future” at The Virtual Tech December 8-9
Really awesome in-world mural created by Eileen Legg and Valerie Landau Rob of The Tech Museum sent me the following event announcement for the "Program for the Future" on December 8-9 that sounds super cool: On Dec. 8-9, The Tech Museum in partnership with the MIT Museum will sponsor a major conference and design challenge…
SAVE THE DATE: Global Kids annual benefit January 14 in NYC with Vincent Mai of ICTJ
I just got the official word that Global Kids 2009 Winter Benefit will be held in New York City on Wednesday, January 14 from 6-9PM. This is going to be a very special event where we will be honoring Vincent Mai, CEO of AEA Investors and Co-Founder of the International Center for Transitional Justice, who…
Jollibee Plush Doll in Barong Tagalog
If you go to your local Jollibee fast food franchise now, you can score one of these sweet Jollibee dolls. This one comes in a traditional filipino Barong Tagalog dress shirt, with black dress slacks, a chinese-type hat, and a cool bamboo backpack that plays a silly Jollibee jingle. (Sadly, no balisang knive was included.)…
Rafi in awesomest Olan Mills photo collection ever
On Yehoodi, my friend Beckto posted a link to the awesomest display of Olan Mills/KMart photo studio portraits ever assembled on the interwebs. I feel justified in laughing at these, since I certainly have my own gems that I've posted in the past. Scanning through the horrifying and hilarious portraits, I found this one above. …
Local teen reporter Josetta Adams on WNYC/NPR (audio)
Give a listen to this insightful radio report by local teenager Josetta Adams, talking about her own frustrations, her East Flatbush neighborhood, and her love of rock music. An intimate portrait of what it’s like growing up as a black teen in the city. Broadcast on local NPR affiliate WNYC as part of their “Radio…
What I want for Christmas: The Spirit Moves dance documentary on DVD!
Judy Pritchett of Swingdanceshop.com sends out news that the classic vernacular dance documentary "The Spirit Moves" has finally been released on DVD! For lindy hoppers, "The Spirit Moves" is a treasure trove of footage of the original innovators of lindy hop, filming in the 1950s. For years, this documentary could only be viewed in select…
Breaking Practice: Handstand-headstand-kipup Combo
Hanging at my mom's I figured out how to do a handstand to a headstand to a kipup combination. Wanna use this for some cypher or performance in the future!