I long thought about what photo should be appropriate for April Fools. Today’s selection is about the foolish things we sometimes do—the pranks we mistakenly play on ourselves. Let me state clearly: I don’t mean […]
It’s No Joke: $149 Chromebook
If Google made its big Chromebook announcement today instead of March 31st, I would think it’s an April Fools prank. Seriously? One-hundred-and-forty-nine dollar models, from Haier and Hisense, with one available from Walmart? I know some of these laptops sell for $199. But this is a new low.
Meanwhile, ASUS will, in summer, start selling something for even less: Chromebit, a $100 candy-bar size carry-all computer. Plug it into a HDMI display (say, the TV), and your Chromie lifestyle is even-more mobile. The company also will release Chromebook Flip, a tablet-convertible wannabe, sooner. Someone tell me: This isn’t a Foolie prank?
Flickr a Day 90: ‘A Perfect Day in Lisbon’
Where is the year going? We end the third month in this series with a beautiful townscape from Portugal, courtesy of photographer Diego Sevilla Ruiz. He shot self-titled “A Perfect Day in Lisbon” on Nov. 17, […]
Google, Love You, Love You Not, Love…
As a working journalist, I am conflicted about Google. In my ebook Responsible Reporting: Field Guide for Bloggers, Journalists, and Other Online News Gatherers, I call the company a “leech that feeds off the intellectual property of legitimate content producers” and rail on the Google free economy’s negative impact on the Fourth Estate. That said, I am a huge consumer of the company’s products and services, which enable me to better do my job and that empower my life.
Something else: A decade ago (yes, 2005), I identified “Search as the New User Interface“—and it has proved to be for a generation of computer users. The UI, particularly from Google, helps to democratize content, and so doing empowers (there’s that “e” word again) everyone. But search also encourages content piracy. Philosophically, I strongly believe in information for all. Economically, I want to earn a living from writing, which is much more difficult in 2015 than 2005.
Flickr a Day 89: Dreamy
What Gabriela Camerotti chooses not to post on Flickr is more interesting than what she does. She treats her photostream like a literal pond or stream across which pics skip like stones. Today’s selection is good example. She presents more photos from the model shoot on her Tumblr. That one, and others, deserves your attention. Her work is best appreciated seeing each image in context of the others.
There is a youthful vivaciousness to her fashion photographs—dreamy, sensual, and surreal are all appropriate adjectives. Colors typically are soft, and she shies from heavy contrast and strong saturation except when deliberately producing specific mood, such as retro-look.
Luna Moths
On the afternoon of June 14, 2004, something quite remarkable happened in my Kensington, Md. backyard, about which I briefly posted on that day. My wife urgently called me from my basement office. Beautiful butterflies had taken up residence on my daughter’s snow sled, which she had dragged out and left for some inexplicable reason. I immediately recognized them as something better: Luna moths.
I was an amateur bug collector in my youth and teens (someday I should tell you about raising praying mantids). So interested, I came a hair’s width from majoring in entomology (e.g. study of insects) in college. I dissected a good number of animals during anatomy and physiology classes, but nothing grossed me out more than cutting open a cockroach. But I digress.
Flickr a Day 88: ‘High Hats & Goggles’
While compiling this series for the past 88 days, my appreciation for black-and-white photography increased immensely—particularly people. Belgian Fouquier shoots little else. “I am a firm believer”, he says, “in the Ted Grant quote: ‘When you photograph people in color you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!'” Mr. Grant is a renown Canadian photojournalist, living in Victoria, British Columbia.
Fouquier’s photostream is filled with screaming B&W street photography that demands close attention. Today’s selection, self-titled “High Hats & Goggles”, shot on July 27, 2012, is fine example.
Say, Hello, Sammy
Happy Caturday! For months, I have wanted to introduce you to the kitty who resides at local Mac dealer DC Computers. But Saturday comes, I forget, and is gone. Finally, I remember, while the sun still shines brightly overhead and Modest Mouse blasts form Chromebook Pixel LS. Mmmm, cat and Mouse (song “The Ground Walks, with Time in a Box“, BTW).
Sammy is about four years old, and she amazes me for her territorial confinement. During hot summer days, DC Computers cracks wide the doors and circulates the breeze blowing from the ocean, just 9 kilometers away. Sammy may sit inside, nose held up sniffing the air, but she doesn’t cross the threshold into the bustling parking lot. She never ventures outside.
Comic-Con Heroes: The Millennial
Today’s excerpt from my 2013 ebook Comic-Con Heroes: The Fans Who Make the Greatest Show on Earth is the last of the dozen profiles, which I started serializing Saturdays more than two months ago. One more installment remains, posting in a week, after which, on July 8, 2015, when my current commitment with Amazon KDP Select ends, the book releases into the public domain.
To recap: “Comic-Con Heroes” is a collection of profiles. Twelve attendees. The people whom I believe are the real stars of the show. Not Hollywood, which presence feels larger every year. As I write in the book’s opening section: “While many Conners role-play fictional characters or superheroes, fans of every ilk play the most important role of all. They are Comic-Con. But no one tells their stories. I want to change that”.
Flickr a Day 87: ‘Edinburgh’
We begin, more by coincidence, two day’s study in black-and-white street photography. First up: Martin Mutch, who is founder of IT consultancy Rocela and self-described “street and social photographer”. His candid captures using Leica Camera AG M Monochrom […]
‘Really, Rupert?’ is the Right Question
Today, Rachel Whetstone, Google’s senior vice president of communications and policy, asks what has been on my mind since a stunning scoop set the Wall Street Journal against the Federal Trade Commission and the search and information giant. As I explained in an analysis of the news reporting, the story is flush with insinuation and veiled accusation, bereft of context.
Among my more serious concerns: Journal-parent News Corp’s ongoing tug-a-war with Google’s business model and its impact on paid content. Both entities likely would benefit by any means that trustbusters could crimp Google. The scoop’s timing and tone look like they intend to influence European Union public policy. Rachel’s response is brilliant, because it gets to the point: Conflict of interest taints the Journal’s credibility and impartiality. She rightly observes: “We understand you have a new found love of the regulatory process, especially in Europe”.
Flickr a Day 86: ‘Broken Glasses’
Among the best Angus Stewart photos are those this series cannot feature, because they are All Rights Reserved. “Double Dubious“, “Sneaky“, and “Three’s a Crowd” are examples. He shot today’s selection, self-titled “Broken Glasses”, on March 6, 2008, using the Leica D-LUX 3 compact. Vitals: f.4, ISO 100, 1/30 sec, 15.6mm.
More recently, Angus uses the Fujifilm X100S, although his newest, 2015 photo was shot with the Leica M rangefinder. That’s a big step up from the D-LUX seven years ago. He joined Flickr in April 2007. His hometown is Tumbleweed, Suffolk, United Kingdom, but Angus lives in London, where he works “with a range of performers including circus acrobats, clowns, burlesque, tumblers, this remains an ongoing personal project”.