For those (like me) with dreams of hanging out with the crew of the Firefly, your chance may be coming. Fans of the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi TV series Firefly have been petitioning and lobbying the folks at Fox for the show to return, to no avail. But they will be somewhat relieved to…
New Orleans Musicians on Studio 60 (have a tissue handy)
The new Aaron Sorkin drama "Studio 60: Live on the Sunset Strip" is still, in my view, trying to get its legs. I found this last episode more hit than miss. But all is forgiven with the literally show-stopping performance of "O Holy Night" by five New Orleans musicians. (YouTube link.) The performers were there…
The problematic of constituencies of color and Net Neutrality
Matt Stoller over at myDD.com posts a terrific commentary on the difficult political trade-offs for communities of color and the network neutrality debate. In a nutshell, Matt notes that while two major associations of black and hispanic journalists came out recently in support of net neutrality, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and…
My friend Bob in Big Sur
This picture is so pretty that it looks completely fake. But that really is my friend Bob Baldridge, great photographer and Quaker artist/activist, playing sax early morning in Big Sur, California. The world is still full of such beauty and magic. Thanks for sharing this, Bob.
Virtual yaks save real world kids!
I just got a notice from Kathryn Parsons about a cool virtual fundraiser for the UK charity Save the Children called the "Yak Shack." The idea is that they are selling, of all things, virtual yaks for L$ 1,000 each (about 3 bucks) which go toward helping real children living in poverty around the world. …
Too old for breakin?
I went to my first breakdance class last night at PMT Dance Studios in the Village, taught by the patient and talented Pavan Thimmaiah. Mostly it was just an experiment to see what a 37-year old me could manage in this most physical of dances. I actually did pretty good with the basic uprock, basic…
My friend Mensajero, the virtual panhandler
After reading about a homeless avatar begging in Second Life (Thanks, Hamlet Au , SL Insider, and my friend Tony) I decided to pop into SL to check it out. I tracked down the resident named "MensajeroDeLaPaz Jubilee" and got a TP to his location, appropriately enough, right in front of one of the NBC-sponsored…
Second Life: The Official Guidebook? What is this “book” you speak of?
Color me curious about the new book Second Life: The Official Guide, written by a number of notable bloggers and developers in SL, including Michael Rymaszewski, Wagner James Au, Mark Wallace, Catherine Winters, Cory Ondrejka, and Benjamin Batstone-Cunningham. While a dead trees static guide to a dynamic, constantly-in-beta virtual world sounds like a strange idea,…
FOREX /WCE shareholder meeting on Friday Dec 8
Attention, all virtual currency speculators! I just saw on the SL calendar that on Friday December 8 at 12PM SLT there will be a meeting for potential shareholders in the FOREX World Currency Exchange, that I blogged about last week. The CEO of the World Currency Exchange is listed as an "Adam Constantineau" in case…
Merry Mex-mas from El Vez!
You know, nothing says the holidays quite like El Vez, the Mexican Elvis. El Vez signifies everything that is Christmas in America : glitter, excess, frenetic action, and joyful noise. He is not to be missed. I caught El Vez’s holiday show this weekend at the Mercury Lounge with Cindy and our friend Amy, who…