Web Standards for E-books

3/10/2010 in General by face | No comments

The internet did not replace television, which did not replace cinema, which did not replace books. E-books aren’t going to replace books either. E-books are books, merely with a different form.

via A List Apart: Articles: Web Standards for E-books.

ePub Zen Garden

CSS Zen Garden

Drink Black Coffee

3/10/2010 in General by face | No comments

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Mysticism for All – NYTimes.com

3/8/2010 in General by face | No comments

In a sense, Americans seem to have done with mysticism what we’ve done with every other kind of human experience: We’ve democratized it, diversified it, and taken it mass market. No previous society has offered seekers so many different ways to chase after nirvana, so many different paths to unity with God or Gaia or Whomever. A would-be mystic can attend a Pentecostal healing service one day and a class on Buddhism the next, dabble in Kabbalah in February and experiment with crystals in March, practice yoga every morning and spend weekends at an Eastern Orthodox retreat center. Sufi prayer techniques, Eucharistic adoration, peyote, tantric sex — name your preferred path to spiritual epiphany, and it’s probably on the table.

via Op-Ed Columnist – Mysticism for All – NYTimes.com:

The man who wants to kill crunches

3/8/2010 in General by face | No comments

After three decades of ?guring how out the spine works, Stuart McGill has come to loathe sit-ups. It doesn’t matter whether they are the full sit-ups beloved by military trainers or the crunch versions so ubiquitous in gyms. “What happens when you perform a sit-up?” he asks. “The spine is ?exed into the position at which it damages sooner.”

via The man who wants to kill crunches – Health – Macleans.ca.

Interesting points. The comments on the article go both ways.

James Kibbie – Bach Organ Works

3/6/2010 in Music by face | No comments

This website offers free downloads of the complete extant organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach, recorded by Dr. James Kibbie from 2007 to 2009 on original baroque organs in Germany.

via James Kibbie – Bach Organ Works – About.

Why you’ve never really heard the “Moonlight” Sonata

3/5/2010 in Music by face | No comments

When composers wrote for these instruments they sometimes loved them and sometimes chafed at their limitations, but in any case they wrote for those sounds, that touch, those bells and whistles. From old instruments, performers on modern pianos can get important insights into the sound image that Mozart, Schubert, et al., were aiming for. But music from the 18th and 19th centuries doesnt just sound different now than on the original instruments; some of it cant even be played as written on modern pianos.

via Why you’ve never really heard the “Moonlight” Sonata. – By Jan Swafford – Slate Magazine.

Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers

2/17/2010 in General by face | No comments

As new digital book tools and services roll out, we need to be able to evaluate not only the cool features they offer, but also whether they extend (or hamper) our rights and expectations.

The over-arching question: are digital books as good or better than physical books at protecting you and your rights as a reader?

via Digital Books and Your Rights: A Checklist for Readers | Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Wine of the Week

2/17/2010 in Food and Wine by face | No comments

Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 Red Washington 2007 88 points, $8

Plush and polished, not a big wine but it applies pillowy tannins around a core of dark berry and sassafras flavors. Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Drink now. 50,000 cases made. From Washington.-Harvey Steiman

via Wine of the Week for January 11, 2010 | Wine of the Week | News & Features | Wine Spectator.

Albertson’s has this for $6-$7 per bottle. First few I found were 2006, which I think is actually better than the 2007 – what a little age can do.

Gotta keep MarsEdit honest

2/12/2010 in General by face | No comments

Currently playing in iTunes: Solar Bingers by Oberlin Jazz Septet

Listen to SXSW ’10 Bands

2/12/2010 in Music by face | No comments

SXSW has set up an official SXSW station called SXSW 2010 Music - which is featured in the SHOUTcast Radio Directory — where you can listen to many of the amazing bands who will be performing at SXSW 2010.  SHOUTcast Radio features over 32,000 radio stations from around the world and offers free broadcasting tools to set-up your own radio station. You can even get great SXSW music on-the-go via the SHOUTcast iPhone app.

via Listen to SXSW ’10 Bands on SHOUTcast Radio | SXSW.com.

In 2009 there were over 1,200 tunes submitted to SXSW. I’ve made it through about 1/3 of them. Most haven’t caught my fancy, but a few (4) have. Catchy enough for me to rate them 3 stars or better. At this rate about 1% will make it into the “make sure we listen to more” list.

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