Wednesday, March 29, 2000

My day has arrived!

This whole week is just going to heck. Much to say here, but more to do elsewhere. Fortunately, this paragraph kicks this page over the 3,000 word mark, so I can safely take the rest of the month off, secure in the knowledge that I am both verbose and trendy. Finally, my day has arrived!

Monday, March 27, 2000

It’s MetaDataDay in The BradLands!

<META> I: I've had a very long and exhausting week(end), and a remarkably rewarding one at that. Still, it's going to be a bit before I recover and get back in the work/sleep/create groove. I'm also way behind in my e-mail. Your patience, if awaiting a reply, is appreciated.

<META> II: Is it just me or is Mark going topless more often on his webcam since meeting Halcyon?

<META III>: I've been using the new Macintosh Internet Explorer for almost 48 hours now, and I'm fairly impressed with it as a robust, relatively stable browsing enviroment. There's a bit of the gingerbread I could do without, but the integration of keyboard shortcuts for type scaling and window cycling are welcome; it also seems to render pages similarly (appearance-wise) to Navigator. IE may not be my default browser, but it's my primary browser for the next few days at least.

<META IV>: Thanks to everyone who's written with suggestions for sucking audio from a Mini-Disc (see March 24 below). Everything so far seems to say it's easy to grab the audio by just redigitizing it, but I'd rather not lose a generation. Is there no (easy/cheap) way to go digital to digital?

Friday, March 24, 2000

A little help?

Can anyone point me toward a web resource/how-to/software for pulling digital audio files off of a mini-disc and into a format I can in turn use Toast to write to an Audio CD? (Assume that I have a mini-disc deck and can find some way to connect it to my Macintosh.) Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thursday, March 23, 2000

Oh, that was Fozzie

DANCIN' MAN: Fosse was a fine production Tuesday night, but the really odd thing was that it turned out to be all dancing, apparently the work of some famous choreographer. And all this time I thought it was about that bear from The Muppet Show.

MEANWHILE, AT THE AIRPORT: I literally bumped into John Goodman last night at Lambert, me rushing to meet a flight from LAX and he rushing from it. We barely had time to say "Hello" and "How ya doin'?" and I joked that I felt like I'd just been slammed by the subway train from Now & Again (Johnny's a big boy!). We worked together on a little project a couple of years back, but you may have heard that Goodman has a new, higher-profile gig in the works, a Fox sitcom where he's slated to play a working-class gay guy.

Tuesday, March 21, 2000

Everybody wants to be Sondheim

HOT HONEY: In keeping with my plans to be more spontaneous this year, I'm headed to the fabulous Fox Theatre this evening for the opening night of Fosse. The company has been doing brush-ups at COCA today and we're doing a live shot from here for the morning chat show on Channel 2 for them. So, in gratitude for the use of the studio and for dragging me out of bed at 4:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, they offered me comps for the show. (Fosse style is infectious: since this morning, two of my staff have been floating around the office and strking jazz poses...they look like Ann Reinking balloons in a Thanksgiving Day parade.)

HEADS UP...AND COVER YOUR BACK: Fresh Air is rebroadcasting an archive interview with Stephen Sondheim tomorrow in observance of the composer and lyricist's 70th birthday. (Ever heard the song, "Everybody Wants to Be Sondheim?" It's one of my favorite cabaret "fun" numbers. Amanda McBroom has it on her Rainbow & Stars album, but I don't know if it's available anywhere else.) If you're a Sondheim fan — or if, in fact, you want to be Sondheim — you can''t go wrong with activewear from Sondheim.com. Sweeney shirts for a good cause. Click now...operators are standing by.

Here concludes the gratuitous Mark Bakalor linking for the day. (In addition to being the man behind sondheim.com and fosse.com, he's also got a great personal website. And he's cute.)

BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BE-GOOGLED: For some odd reason, I never checked out this domain until today. You'd think it would have been the first one I ever plugged into a browser.

END OF THE LINE: The guys from y2kwhistlestop have filed their last missive from the presidential primary trail. Sigh. It was fun while it lasted. The way-too-early resolution of the primary race would be kind of funny if it weren't all so sad.

Monday, March 20, 2000

SXSW2000 Sweet ‘n’ Sour Interactive

Downloading, data recovery, downsampling, cropping, writing, designing, linking, more writing, backup, backup, backup, uploading, testing, testing, tweaking...and then, SXSW2000: Sweet 'n' Sour Interactive, personal reflections, recollections and more. Enjoy, with props to everyone who made my vacation wonderful.

Thursday, March 16, 2000

Sudden Powerbook Death Syndrome

After what can only be described as The Most Turbulent Austin-St. Louis Flight Ever, I have returned to the City by the Bog, shaken but not stirred. Unfortunately, I had scarcely tubbed, scrubbed and supped before I was faced with the terrible reality of Sudden PowerBook Death Syndrome.

Yes, the very same laptop which has accompanied me on numerous jaunts around this great land of ours and survived far more strenuous challenges than a bumpy TWA ride appeared to have kicked up its heels and gone to portable heaven. No biggie, thought I. No appreciable data was lost, except Every Single Damn Digital Image I Captured in Austin (including the much anticipated photos of bloggers in compromising — or at least improbable — positions) and 36 Shiner-Induced Pages of Work on My Novel, a project heretofore fallow yea these past two years.

Must. Control. Fist. Of. Rage.

And then, when things looked darkest, a ray of hope in the form of my buddy Will. A heroic measure that would rescue the many 1s and 0s held captive by my vegetative notebook, a solution that involved a torx screwdriver, a Bloody Mary and allowed — nay, required — me to say the word "dongle" many, many times. Dongle. Dongle. Dongle. Tee hee.

OK, maybe there was more than one Bloody Mary involved. It's been a hard day at work besides. Stay tuned, faithful readers: SXSWrapup, coming soon, and the return of silky smooth linkage.

Wednesday, March 15, 2000

Only 361 days until SXSW 2001

Live from Austin, TX

What can one say about a day that begins with a presentation by Mr. Whole Earth/Long Now and ends with a kegger at Bruce Sterling's house? Well, the interjection "whew!" comes to mind. SXSW2000 has certainly provided its share of good times, and today's assortment was emblematic. So many creative, energetic and preternaturally friendly folks in one place. Big fun.

The weblog roundtable was, as expected, a relatively spirited discussion on the evolutionary use by individuals of this new medium. Proponents, practitioners, naysayers and detractors alike contributed thoughtfully to the mix, and the whole thing was ably and amiably guided by moderator Derek Powazek. No big surprises, but lots to chew on in the coming months. As Nikolai noted: "Only 361 days until SXSW2001."

Thanks to Ev, Meg, Paul and the whole Blogger crew for the nifty t-shirts.

Today: Knocking about Austin freestyle, and — inevitably — the return to reality. Stay tuned for pictures, pictures, pictures...same Brad time, same Brad channel.

Tuesday, March 14, 2000

Stalking Janine

Live from Austin, TX

Oy! Such a long day. So much to tell, and yet I must be up and presentable (relatively) early tomorrow for the much-anticipated weblogger panel. Actually, they're calling it a weblogger "roundtable," which beckons images of Arthurian egalitarianism, damsels in flowing gowns and pointy hats in distress, and Monty Python dance numbers. The reality, though, will likely be considerably different. This is no Lerner & Lowe production, despite the appearance of Cam(elot) and possibly Lance(lot). Most of the "distressed damsels" could probably kick my booty up and down the block. If anything, the whole endeavor may end up resembling the Cheese Shop sketch from Python more than anything else.

But I digress.

I spent most of yesterday abroad in central Texas, on a mission the details of which I cannot adequately explain in my current hazy state. Suffice it to say it involved deception, stealth and a digital camera.

The balance of the evening was divided among Club DeVille and Red Eyed Fly, for parties hosted by HerDomain and ChickClick, respectively. The latter featured loud music, crushing crowds, great swag from Disgruntled Housewife, and considerable idea incubation and fine discussion among the webloggers. The former had occasionally entertaining monologues by web warriors, Janine Garofalo in the house and whimsical discussion among the webloggers.

Today: Final official day of SXSW, a plenary lecture by Stewart Brand, the weblog panel, and many tearful farewells.

Monday, March 13, 2000

Mmm…free Shiner

This is a cheerful place to be, on balance. As I've disclaimed, I'm more or less treating this whole jaunt to Texas as a vacation, so I'm excused on principle from having to take much of the festival/conference very seriously. But SXSW may become one of those annual journeys for me, one of that select group of ostensibly professional development events that is, for me, instead an opportunity to hang out with cool folks, learn some new things and just generally recharge my creative batteries.

While many of the folks on the Interactive track do web-work and the like for a living, there's an equal if not greater number present who write, design and code for the internet because they love it. How joyous and freeing it is to do something because you want to and because you enjoy it and because you're impelled rather than compelled by it.

The trade show itself proved rather disappointing, as it skewed rather heavily toward the film end of things, but it was nifty to lay hands upon a top of the line PowerBook and fool with the new video editing software. The panel du jour: "Making a Living Producing Non-Mainstream Content" provided no real surprises, but did re-conjour some ghosts of ideas in the back of my mind regarding what to do with that spare domain name I've had lying around.

The Scient party was notable for the rooftop view, the tasty food and — of course — the complimentary Shiner. Still, the highlight of the nighttime diversions was the Frog Design party. From the geek show (featuring actual geeks) to the nifty retro computer buffet to the — wait for it! — free Shiner, it was fun and a half. All that and Jason in an amazing display of courage and balance. But y'all will just have to wait for the pictures on that one.

Today: I'm heading south on a mission. I should be back in time for the various grrl parties. As if you could keep me away.

Sunday, March 12, 2000

DeeeeeepLeap

Live from Austin, TX

I don't know what we were thinking. The buffet after the web awards ceremony last night was consumed at a rate of roughly one crudite per second, so I suggested to the lady Rebecca Blood that perhaps we forfeit our chances of actually snatching a teriakyi beef stick and instead adjourn for an actual dinner.

Of course, by the time the "let's go to dinner" meme had spread through the assembly of the Weblog Nation, we were a crowd some 20-strong, snaking through the streets of Austin: Pyrans, Bumps, Metas Filter and Grrrl, jjgs and Kottkes and the like, meandering in search of food. Long story short, getting nearly two dozen folks to (A) agree on a cuisine and (B) subsequently seated at a restaurant sans reservations is a task to which we were not equal.

Most everyone ended up fed, though, dispersed to various eateries, and then reconvened at the DeepLeap party, held at the shadowy, maze-like B-Side Lounge. Great conversation, free drinks, showings of the DeepLeap commercial...well, who could have asked for more? Spotted in the crowd: Peter Merholz (sporting a t-shirt with the spiff new Epinions logo), Jack Saturn, web awards emcee Halcyon, Derek Powazek, Wes Felter, a befeathered Ben Brown, Bryan Boyer, The Brig, The Carl and The Lance, among many, many others. Congrats and thanks to Lane and the crew for a great time.

Oh, the web awards? Well, much-deserved wins for Nikolai and Lane in their categories, and two free-association acceptance speeches from Ana Voog were probably the highlights. Halcyon dispatched the hosting duties with vim and verve, as expected. The ceremony itself was mercifully short since, as the emcee noted, the bar would not reopen until all the plaques were passed out.

It's a PPP day here at SXSW: plenaries, panels and parties. Gotta love that. Bing!

Saturday, March 11, 2000

Day one in Austin

Live from Austin, TX

Yes, I've arrived in Austin, more or less without incident. Good flight, decent hotel, wheels (unexpected free car upgrades rock!). Spent last evening knocking about town with Matt Haughey and Robert Occhialini; we spent a convivial dinner debriefing the state of the Weblog Nation (which, as everyone knows, is the natural next step after having depantsed the Weblog Nation).

We made the scene, such as it was, at the GSD&M Festival Pre-Party. Some have noted the bad acoustics of the space and the dearth of attendees, but frankly, it's difficult for me to find fault with any party that features an open bar and halfway decent hors d'ouevres. (Downside: Miller Beer sponsored the gig, so no Shiner.) It was also unexpected and pleasant to have folks come up to me and tell me they enjoy reading The BradLands. Non-webloggers, even — can you imagine?

The DeepLeap crew was much in evidence too, and I'll be heading over to their non-launch Launch Party tonight. It was pretty much a coin-toss as to who had the better sticker swag; both DeepLeap and "Hello" stickees were coveted by the assembled masses. Cool to (finally) meet Cam, and also Nikolai Nolan (Fairvue, up for a web award tonight), Denise Czaja, and the sweet-and-low-down Heather Champ from Harrumph and Jezebel.

Nota bene: Digital cameras, digital cameras EVERYWHERE. Expect webloggers to well and more-or-less-truly document this event to death. I think Robert already has enough shots of me to build a virtual The Brad. Be very afraid.

Thursday, March 9, 2000

("Bing!")

/AWAY: Further updates, as events warrant and sobriety permits, will be made from the great state of Texas, where I'll be attending SXSW March 10-15. If you see me at the Festival, c'mon up and say howdy or buy me a Shiner. (Unofficial SXSW news, gossip and falderol may be found at SXSWbaby, a Blogger joint.) Feel that Austin power, baby! Yeah!

I NEED LOSSLESS COMPRESSION: My carry-ons usually look like I boosted an entire Best Buy store, but this Texas trip takes the cake. I've never packed so many PC cards, cables, power cords, batteries and electronic devices of one sort or another. It's coming down to tough choices: travel iron or Zip drive? And what to wear? What to wear?

This week's quote is posted in honor of my very favorite Texan. She's got a new book out, just in time for the every-four-years-folly, titled "Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush." Here's Molly in true form, again on Dubya, from The Progressive:

But he never would have won without real political skill, and Ann Richards, even running the worst campaign of her life, was no pushover. It was a completely depressing election: The issues were God, gays, and guns. Richards had vetoed the concealed weapons law and appointed a few (two, as I recall, out of hundreds of appointments) openly gay people to state boards. Her campaign workers made up a game that year: You had to put a bumpersticker on your car, drive through East Texas, and anyone who made it back to Waco alive was a winner. The bumpersticker had to say: I'm the Queer/Ann Sent Here/To Take Your Gun Away.

Wednesday, March 8, 2000

National News

It makes me feel extremely warm and fuzzy that Jesse James Garrett — known fondly as Jesse the Giant Floating Head from Infosift and Seventeen Syllables — has a new digest of weblogs (how meta is that?!) called Weblog Nation.

Tuesday, March 7, 2000

The genuine article

After SXSW, you may address me as The Brad. Top of the world, ma!

Monday, March 6, 2000

Minding my e-bidness

So last Thursday, my organization's website took third place in the Best Community Web Site in the St. Louis E-Business Awards, doled out in a snazzy ceremony at the City Museum. There was an open bar, chi-chi hors d'oeuvres and a couple of podium speeches claiming St. Louis is poised to become a major player (a "technopolis," one fella averred) in the emerging information economy.

Here are a couple of clues we have a ways to go: (1) The website advertising the awards, including a call for entries, hasn't been updated in two months. Up until and after the awards ceremony, there were no details about the event and the award itself was listed as "TBD". (It turned out to be a nicely framed certificate and, for the first placers, a hunk of engraved lucite.) (2) The awards were sponsored by, among others, the St. Louis Business Journal, which announced the winners in a special edition handed out and hitting the street just after the ceremony. You'd think, given the nature of the event, they'd post the same special section on their website. You'd be wrong.

Update: Earlier today, the Business Journal posted the entire feature on the winners and finalists from the E-Biz Awards, only 84 hours after the event. Not bad for a non-technopolis, I suppose. (We're here, by the way.)

Enough biting the hand. It was a decidedly business- and marketing-heavy event; few actual web geeks in evidence. One nice thing was a good sweep by the folks at Build-a-Bear Workshop in several categories. They built a 3,000-option web store in two months in-house. As near as I could tell, COCA and Build-a-Bear were the only in-house projects honored. It was a nice vindication for small and one- or two-person web teams.

AUSTIN POWER: A couple of major projects to wrap up this week, and then I'm off to Texas for South by Southwest, which is turning into quite a little weblogger confab in the bargain. I'll be in town March 10-15. If you're gonna be there and interested in a meal, glass-lifting or other diversion, let me know.

CLAUDIA CONCENTRATION: The Claudia Schiffer Memory Game.

DOIN' IT WITH STYLE: Can anyone recommend a readable dead-trees tutorial/reference on Cascading Style Sheets?

Thursday, March 2, 2000

Office tour

THE ANNOTATED BRAD CAM: Jason was fooling around with my camera on Leap Day and snapped this shot of me in my office, deep in contemplation of the rigors of marketing a multi-disciplinary arts center. Click on the thumbnail, and you can take a brief virtual tour of the space where I spend 9-16 hours damn near every day of the week. (Note: The image is approximately 1000 x 700 pixels, or roughly 1/3 the actual size of my office.)

COUNTDOWN: Only eight shopping days until South by Southweblog.