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Underground marketing shills "put it in your life". Big Fat co. sends 18-34yr olds into the world to act out ad dramas promoting products. "I feel so great, so real." (I'm not sure what the writer means by "facially attractive, in that asymmetrical sort of way," though.)[via null device, NYT reg. req.]

Ten-day Ubik deodorant spray or Ubik roll-on ends worry of offending, brings you back where the happening is.
posted by aflakete at 10:46 PM PST - 12 comments

Tanzania 9th most corrupt country, of course the word here is that they bribed transparency international to place them above kenya....... according to the director "HIV AIDS is killing millions of Africans, and in many of the countries where AIDS is at its deadliest the problem is compounded by the fact that corruption levels are seen to be very high. While it is imperative that richer countries provide the fruits of medical research at an affordable price to address this human tragedy, it is also essential that corrupt governments do not steal from their own people. This is now an urgent priority if lives are to be saved." local traditions don't help either. what this story does not say is that 4,000 girls will be circumsised at this ceremony and the govt/police won't interfere.
posted by quarsan at 10:34 PM PST - 5 comments

Countless people have had problems with their Apple Airport wireless base stations failing shortly after the one year warranty ran out. Adventurous folks figured out that there was a faulty capacitor in the power supply, got out their soldering irons, and drilled some ventilation holes. Apple is aware of the issue, and is quietly replacing ABSs that fall within a specific serial number range, but only if they have failed. So other folks have to wait until the damn thing dies before it can be replaced. This corporate behavior isn't just limited to Apple. What other vendors are guilty of lack of disclosure for faulty products, and only change their tune after public outcry?
posted by machaus at 7:09 PM PST - 18 comments

Smart Tags Redux a company called ezula is taking the idea of smart tags and running with a product variously called TopText or HotText.
posted by mutagen at 6:50 PM PST - 7 comments

Companies Encouraged to Mine Your Email Messages for Marketing Information. DoubleClick redux only now with e-mail? "Companies should be adding code" to your HTML-based e-mail messages, recommends an analyst from Jupiter, in order to track what products you're recommending to your friends and lovers. You may have missed this one due to CNET's marketing-happy headline. P.S. Here's the original press release from Jupiter.
posted by leo at 6:34 PM PST - 9 comments

'Like, what? Some 12-year-old kid is going to give me legal advice?" On the internet, no one knows that you're a 15-year old legal whiz without a license to practice law. Long story, but well worth it. Any MeFi lawyers care to comment on the UPL aspect?
posted by davidmsc at 4:16 PM PST - 11 comments

MTV's Real World Gets a Taste of Chicago's REAL World. "The crowd chanted derisive comments about MTV and demanded The Real World pack their bags and head home. The crowd quickly overtook the streets and an ad hoc street party ensued."
posted by ry at 1:38 PM PST - 47 comments

Happy birthday, Holden. Catcher in the Rye turns 50 years old today.
posted by honkzilla at 1:32 PM PST - 31 comments

The Destination Matters More Than The Journey is a well-written tutorial on typesetting and other matters typographical having to do with the web authored by Dean Allen. It's a good read, especially coming from someone who has absolutely no design background but who pretends to be one nonetheless. How much attention do you pay to letter spacing, line height, and the like on your websites?
posted by moz at 12:55 PM PST - 6 comments

The 5th Annual Webby Awards take place in two days. Any predictions for the winners?
posted by kchristidis at 12:51 PM PST - 28 comments

"I'm here today with something of an apology,'' said Silicon Valley VC guru John Doerr. In his speech ... Doerr offered a revised version of his Internet quote. He projected a slide on a screen that described the Internet as "the largest legal creation (and evaporation) of wealth in the history of the planet."
posted by msacheson at 11:06 AM PST - 9 comments

Lido STF is a freeware serif font of sufficient quality to be used instead of Times. Are there any other worthy freeware alternatives to the main system fonts? (via Lines and Splines)
posted by ecvgi at 11:03 AM PST - 19 comments

No more liver spots. No more birthmarks. No more RACISM? How about a new cosmoceutical that allows you to change skin color at will? Just rub on a cream, and you're no longer black, but asian. Another one changes you from a pasty-legged geek into a bronze adonis! Now how much would you pay?
posted by dwivian at 10:58 AM PST - 23 comments

What's the easiest way to fool your neighbors into giving you money and sympathy? Paint racist slurs on your garage door and set your car on fire.
posted by darukaru at 10:49 AM PST - 6 comments

Something about "fighting your own battles" prevented my Dad from doing stuff like this for me when I was a kid.
posted by TiggleTaggleTiger at 10:23 AM PST - 31 comments

The Florida publisher of ChildSuperModels.Com, Jessi the Kid, Tiffany Teen Model and other creepy child-model sites also publishes Home From School and other explicit porn sites with older models. "Please treat my daughter with respect," Jessi's mom asks on her about page. Are parents knowingly consenting to this?
posted by rcade at 9:35 AM PST - 78 comments

Liberals Now Target Media Terry Anzur is not happy with reporting on the internet. She is unhappy that anybody with a website can be a reporter or a pundit.
posted by headlemur at 8:59 AM PST - 13 comments

A picture of the internet.

"A bot is out on the internet every half hour and looks for images which it puts together to a giantic picture - the picture of internet. This is samples from all over the internet. The bot surfs pretty strange and takes strange ways to spread out its ways as much as possible. Sometimes it follow links that it doesn't should visit... but that doesn't happen too often."
posted by o2b at 8:29 AM PST - 15 comments

highest-paid voice "The deal represents a stunning triumph over the establishment by an outsider who connected with and captured the spirit of the nation’s heartland." -- Drudge
posted by drunkkeith at 8:17 AM PST - 59 comments

Buckley (Heart) Elvis? No, it's not a liberal v. conservative thing. Writing an Elvis book just does not fit the William F. Buckley image. Ontime spy novelist. Erudite PBS show host. Shows up in places like House Beautiful, waxing witty about homes and home decor, with references to the Metropolitan Opera and such. I too love the Big E, but this is baffling and hilarious. He apparently discusses his E fixation in the upcoming (and usually outstanding) Southern Music Issue of the Oxford American. Thoughts? Is the new American literary dream to retire and write an Elvis book, as opposed to the Great American Novel?
posted by raysmj at 7:50 AM PST - 22 comments