davextreme: December 2005

The original vision for the Empire State Building included the ability for a zeppelin to dock with it and unload passengers a hundred stories in the air.

25 December 2005

Feed Icons - Help establish the new standard

Nice alternatives to the stock orange XML icon.

24 December 2005

Lazy Sunday on iTunes for Free

Hurray for NBC for doing something really right. Last week, they aired an hilarious rap video called Lazy Sunday by a comedy group called The Lonely Island, which spread across the internet like wildfire within 48 hours of its original broadcast. Mid-week, a streaming copy appeared on the Saturday Night Live website. And now today you can download the video for free from iTunes. NBC could have easily had its lawyers throw around take-down notices to all the websites sharing the clip, but it wouldh’t have actually stopped the sharing, and it would have made the network look like a stupid bully. Instead, NBC did the right thing and gave it out for free. After all, people just share these sorts of things because they think they’re funny and want other people to enjoy them. It’s free advertising coming from your own fan base, at a time when the general impression about SNL for years has been that it’s not funny anymore. In other words, advertising their marketing department could never generate themselves, using the actual product to be sold to show how good it is. Bravo.

22 December 2005

Public Domain Movie Torrents

Lots of free movies you can download legally.

The De-Cokeing of Cherry Coke

![New Coca-Cola Cherry Bottle][5]

Has anyone else noticed that Cherry Coke has been renamed “Coca-Cola Cherry”? The flavor is in every way the same, but the name suddenly changed on me. It seems like they’re trying to rebrand everything under the name “Coca-Cola”, and exorcise “coke” from their product titles. Oddly, their press release dated December 15 still refers to a number of “coke”s, including the new Coke Blak, a premium, coffee flavored beverage, diet Cherry Coke, Coke Light Lime, and Coke Light Sango, so either it’s just a can redesign, or their entire PR team hasn’t gotten word of the change yet.

Personally I don’t like it. I like the simple name of Cherry Coke, a sweeter companion to the mainstay Coca-Cola Classic. “Coca-Cola Cherry” sounds more like an expansion rather than its own item, even though it’s been around for over 20 years. It sounds like it’s a temporary flavor-of-the-month, to be discarded in time à la Vanilla Coke (which I rather liked).

Kottke today links to a great archive of photos of soda cans over the years, which includes this selection on Coke 2 and other flavors. If you scroll down to the Coca-Cola Cherry née Cherry Coke section, you can see how the drink has been rebranded over the years. The earlier cans incorporate some white (now associated with Diet Coke) and feature a gradiant to red and a big cherry. The late 80’s and early 90’s cans play up the “fountain style” of the drink, going back to the drink’s soda fountain-era incarnation where a cherry Coke was created by a soda jerk who’d mix in cherry syrup on the spot. 1996 brought the purple “rain of cherries” can, which sticks in my head even though it seems to have been around for two years before being replaced by 1998’s “eXtreme Cherry Coke to the max!” branding, which would last four years until it was replaced by the red and maroon version.

The [new design][5] is, well, exactly like the standard Coca-Cola Classic packaging, but with a cherry under the italic word “Cherry”, the swoosh tinted redder, and with pink top and bottom borders instead of white. It says “there’s nothing distinctive about me, I’m just Coca-Cola Classic with some cherry syrup added in,” which, I guess, it is, but I’d like to see a little more love put into the design of a variety that’s stuck around for so long, and is one of my favorites.

[5]: http://david.ely.fm/davextreme/images/E4BBF1DE-4EC9-4DBD-828C-FEC9FC175D93.jpg” alt=”E4BBF1DE-4EC9-4DBD-828C-FEC9FC175D93.jpg

Edit: Looking more closely at the bottle, on the back, next to the barcode, are the words “Coke Cherry”. Curiouser and curiouser.

YouTube - A Fairytale Of New York

Video for one of my favorite Christmas songs.

Crisis Looking: The Other, Happier(?) Batman?

Everything you never realized you wanted to know about Earth-2 Batman.

Why you should continue to date me; a series of charts and graphs. by Joel A. Friesen

Somehow I’d never seen this. Bravo kwc for linking to it.

21 December 2005

The Case of the Super-Serif

All-Star Superman has been out for a month now, but I’m just getting around to writing about this. When the preview images came out, there was a small but noticeable amount of chatter about the new logo. It wasn’t anything drastic, but penciller Frank Quietly had taken out the serifs on the famous Superman “S”. Back when the book was in its early stages, writer Grant Morrison wrote We’re changing his costume slightly… the symbol slightly. Yet when the book actually hit the shelves, the standard Superman logo was what we got. Why the change?

The cover:

Cover New S

Cover Classic S

Page 10:

Page 10 New S

Page 10 Classic S

First, you can see the sans-serif version that was never published (click to enlarge). Then, the published version, containing the traditional “S” logo. It’s a slight difference, but the omission of those little bits takes out the definition of the “S” shape, moving the emphasis from the logo being an “S” in a diamond to the diamond shape itself. It’s a softer look, in my opinion, maybe indicating that this Superman, the one in the All-Star books, hasn’t had as rough a time as the standard version. It also gives us a kind of half-way point between the standard logo and the Kingdom Come shield (seen bottom-right here).

So why the change? Why did Quietly’s original design never make it to the page? A poster on Barbelith asks:

So could someone tell me what the deal is with the Superlogo? I know Quitely rounded of the top serif, and that caused and uproar in some arenas. Then Tom¹ wrote an article about it on plastikbag. Then I sat and to design a mark. Then “new” images come out of A-S:S#1 wirth what looks like redrawn linework over the original, making me question whether the new Superlogo was retracted, and DC now has equity in an antiquated design, or what?

The response on that forum was:

What it seems like is that Grant & Frank proposed a new S logo for this series, DC took them seriously for a while but at the last minute decided their iconic trademark S was too precious to change at all, esp. for a title aimed at readers who maybe aren’t super comic book fans (the whole ‘these are the Classic versions of the characters that the average man/woman on the street know’ approach to the All-Star line).
Similar things happened right before Greg Rucka took over Wonder Woman, the artist had designs that were shown in various comics news magazines that would change Diana’s costume, take away the star-spangled panties and make them a permanent star-spangled skirt, and make her look more Greek, change her hairstyle a bit. It seemed these were a go until the issue came out and lo and behold, Diana was drawn the way we all know her, the ‘classic’ WW look. So basically, DC seems very hesitant to change the look of their big 3 characters even in slight ways. (Apparently getting rid of the yellow oval on the Batman in a permanent way doesn’t seem to matter much, Batman Begins having solidified that image in the public’s mind.)

I buy that explanation, but I think it’s a bit of a shame. The Superman logo is one of the most recognizable icons in the world, so I can see that DC wants to protect it and make sure they aren’t dilluting it, but I’d like artists to be able to have some fun with it, too. I guess there’s no middle ground here, and since DC’s the owner of the mark, they can decide if they want to be strict about the design or not. Except of course that Infinite Crisis, currently their best seller, features two different Supermans, one of whom wears a golden-era shield, so they’re clearly willing to break the rules in some cases.

So if DC did decide that they couldn’t allow their Superman logo to be changed, did they really have a staff artist go through each panel and draw in the tops and bottoms of the shield? Maybe this is common practice and I just didn’t know.

The reference to “Tom” is in regards to the post Type Challenge: Redesign the Superman logo… on Plasticbag.org. ↩

Machinima of Avenue Q song

A bit not safe for work.

Video-Game Characters Denounce Randomly Placed Swinging Blades | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Video-Game Characters Denounce Randomly Placed Swinging Blades | The Onion - America’s Finest News Source

In addition to the standard spinning blade, the coalition is seeking restrictions on random whirling fireball chains, falling blocks, spike-pit traps, and invisible cross-corridor laser arrays.

20 December 2005

Slashdot | Groening Confident on Futurama Relaunch

And the good news just keeps on coming.

How to fix Mom and Dad's computer

How to fix Mom and Dad’s computer

Man, those PCs sure require a lot of trouble.

CNN.com - Court rejects 'intelligent design' in class - Dec 20, 2005

CNN.com - Court rejects ‘intelligent design’ in class - Dec 20, 2005

Man, all sorts of good news to round out an otherwise messy year.

Pants Pants Revolution - The Gap squanders a great Spike Jonze ad. By Seth Stevenson

Writeup of the great Spike Jonze ad.

PARK(ing)

Hilarious: a group of people put money for 2 hours in a meter and built a park in the parking space.

19 December 2005

SPEED LACES, shoe lacing system

I think I still prefer Velcro, but this does have the advantage of working on any pair of shoes.

Bulgakov Classic to Enthral Russia

Bulgakov classic to enthral Russia

I want to read this book again. Good thing I have it on my shelf at home, and a plane ride + layover ahead of me this week.

Boing Boing: SNL short: Chronic of Narnia rap

This is truly hilarious. Apparently from a comedy troupe SNL’s farming talent from.

18 December 2005

Superman Returns

Slashdot today reports on word that Brandon Routh’s package is too large for the producers of Superman Returns, who’ve allegedly ordered the makers […] to cover it up with digital effects.

Not to worry, though, viewers this summer will see all, as it’s apparently just a rumor. Dark Horizons did some digging into this breaking story:

Speaking with the costume designers earlier this year, they told us that whilst the bulge indeed was the most complicated issue in terms of the costuming, they worked out a practical solution involving a codpiece and special padding which ultimately negates the issue.

In other Superman Returns news, I finally figured out why I didn’t like the initial promo photos of Routh in costume: he parts his hair on the wrong side.

Anyway, there’s a teaser trailer for the film out. If you haven’t seen it, it really does look good. Paint me excited.

17 December 2005

Schrödinger's Encyclopedia

Wikipedia’s been on the mind lately. As syncronicity would have it, Penny Arcade had something to say about it yesterday:

Any persistent idiot can obliterate your contributions. The fact of the matter is that all sources of information are not of equal value, and I don’t know how or when it became impolitic to suggest it. In opposition to the spirit of Wikipedia, I believe there is such a thing as expertise.
[…] the collaborative nature of the apparatus means that the right data tends to emerge, ultimately, even if there is turmoil temporarily as dichotomous viewpoints violently intersect. To which I reply: that does not inspire confidence. In fact, it makes the whole effort even more ridiculous. What you’ve proposed is a kind of quantum encyclopedia, where genuine data both exists and doesn’t exist depending on the precise moment I rely upon your discordant fucking mob for my information.

Fair enough. My feeling, though, is that I’m not looking to Wikipedia to be the authoritative source on which I base my entire dissertation. Usually I just want to look something up quickly, and Wikipedia’s a great source for it. The question is, what sources on the web can be seen as authoritative, credible, trustworthy? In my mind, there’s a hierarchy, and it goes like this:

The primary source. (Like a company’s own website, if you’re looking for their mailing address, for example.)
Sites published by reputable sources you already trust. (The Washington Post, The New York Times, BBC, CNN, maybe Encarta, sites written by a recognized expert in the field in question, assuming you’re sure that they’re actually written by that person, etc.)
Wikipedia
Websites dedicated to the subject matter in question.
Other websites, blogs.
Forum posts, blog comments.

The question of authority on the web is, how do you know you can trust something that’s on any given page? The answer of course boils down to how much you think you can trust the author. If the author works for a source you otherwise trust, you can probably trust the page. But more often than not you don’t know who wrote what you’re reading. Sometimes you’ll run across something you know to be factually incorrect, but can’t do anything about it because it’s not your website. Hence, Wikipedia. Sure, the articles may change, and there might be some petty vandalism going on, but those sorts of things are fixed pretty quickly, and generally I’d say it’s still the best source of on-the-spot information out there.

One thing I would like to see is more citation on Wikipedia pages. Every page should have a footer section containing bibliographic links where the information contained therein can also be found. Granted, as stated above, there’s no reason to believe that the other pages are any more trustworthy than Wikipedia, but it’s good to have the trace there anyway.

Newsarama: Winick on Green Arrow: One Year Later

This One Year Later thing is really starting to intrigue me, even more than it’s worrying me. Here’s hoping it’s great and not just a stunt.

Popular Toys of the Last 100 Years

Popular toys of the last 100 years

Neat article, but putting it into slideshow format is infuriating. I’m lazy, sure, but not so lazy I can’t click “next” for myself when I’m done reading.

16 December 2005

:: rogerebert.com :: Reviews :: The Producers (xhtml)

I need to watch the original again, first, but I’m very excited about this.

Senate Rejects Extension of Patriot Act - Yahoo! News

Official Google Blog: Searching for music

Search for an artist name on Google now and you’ll get a discography, lyrics, and a link to buy it on iTunes and Rhapsody.

Report: Bush Authorized NSA to Spy in U.S. - Yahoo! News

Hey, didn’t the House just renew part of the Patriot Act? Sigh.

LCARS Standards Development Board :: Index

How completely fantastic. I wish it were more standards-based, but still, nerdy awesome is nerdy awesome.

15 December 2005

A Charming Tale of Christmas Multiculturalism

So I’m in the Post Office today mailing a package. An Asian man to the right of me is also mailing something. Over the radio, gospel choir Christmas music is playing. After completing his transaction, the man points to the speakers and says, black man music.

The postal worker, shocked, replies, excuse me‽

He repeats, pointing again at the speakers, black man music.

At this point I’m silently hoping she’s going to reach across the counter and slap him, but she has the composure to say, I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no such thing as ‘black man music.’

BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - TOP 100 - Fairytale Of New York

BBC on one of my favorite, if a bit unconventional, Christmas song.

Microsoft Team RSS Blog : Icons: It’s still orange

Cool. It’s good to see collaboration going on.

Top Ten Movie Robots of All Time

Data should be number one, and Optimus Prime should be on there instead of the Westworld robot, but a fun list nonetheless.

13 December 2005

Plurals

I bookmarked this on del.icio.us, but I thought it was great enough to merit its own post. In fact, I think it’s my favorite link of the month so far: Engadget investigates: Is it “iPod shuffles” or “iPods shuffle”?.

Engadget investigates: Is it "iPod shuffles" or "iPods shuffle"? - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Engadget investigates: Is it “iPod shuffles” or “iPods shuffle”? - Engadget - www.engadget.com

I agree with Engadget.

The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web - a practical guide to web typography

Good stuff.

INTERVIEW: WOW: THE BURNING CRUSADE

Interview with WoW developer Shane Dabiri about the expansion, due out some time in 2076 I think.

12 December 2005

Wired News: TV Writers Must Sell, Sell, Sell

Writers not happy to have to work product placement into their scripts.

10 December 2005

MeetWithApproval.com

Looks like it does event invitations, but has a focus on helping figure out when people are all free.

The Lion King - C.S. Lewis' Narnia isn't simply a Christian allegory. By Meghan O'Rourke

The Lion King - C.S. Lewis’ Narnia isn’t simply a Christian allegory. By Meghan O’Rourke

Books have more than one cover by which you can judge them.

09 December 2005

Treats

I’ve discovered an even stranger snack than wasabi peas: spicy caramel popcorn, as seen in Dean & Deluca’s seasonal gift basket.

50% of HDTV Owners Don't Use HD

This bit from slashdot warms my heart this snowy morning. Broadband Reports and Techdirt posted The Technology Liberation Front’s article that said apparently half of all High Definition Television (HDTV) owners don’t actually use the HD capabilities of their set, and nearly a quarter think they are watching high definition video when they actually haven’t set it up correctly.

A few things. Obviously it’s fun to blame the morons who’ll spend $3000+ on an HDTV and then not ever figure out how to set it up. It’s fun to laugh at them when they don’t realize that they’re watching normal TV that’s stretched 1/3 wider so that everyone looks fat. But really this is a technology issue, and an implementation issue. A device as expensive as an HDTV should do all the configuring itself. Sure, techies will want to tweak everything, so it should have those options, but the makers of HDTVs should just take a guess at how most people will want things and do that. It should, for instance, know when you’re watching a widescreen program and when you’re not. It should not give you the option to stretch 4:3 TV, even though idiots think they want that “feature.”

Of course, a lot of the issue comes from the cable companies and the terrible cable boxes that Scientific Atlanta sells them, which are fairly hard to use. And now that they offer hundreds of channels, you really need to be using DVR technology to manage all those shows. Additionally, the regular, non-HD channels should have special banners along the sides of the screen that say, “IDIOT! You’re watching this program on an HDTV, switch to channel 426 so you can see it in HDTV.” Even better, it should just not even give you the option unless it knows you’re smart enough to tell the difference, and only offer one version of NBC.

Of course, none of this matters because there’s no incentive for the TV makers and the cable companies to take pride in their products. If the customer’s already shelled out his money, why bother?

How to Split a Shared Cab Ride?

The Wall Street Journal asks lots of economists their opinions on how to split shared cab fares.

07 December 2005

The Right Price for Digital Music - Why 99 cents per song is too much, and too little. By Adam L. Penenberg

Slate picks up my market pricing idea for online music pricing. (Without of course crediting me, or probably even knowing it was my idea first, which it probably wasn’t.)

02 December 2005

The Forbes Fictional 15 - Forbes.com

The top 15 richest fictional people in the world.

29 December 2005

28 December 2005

27 December 2005

26 December 2005