not a lover of most social networking systems, facebook has always been the one to make me itch the most. i don’t like the feeling i get while using it…maybe it’s because i’ve always been something of a huac fetishist: i don’t want anybody creating databases linking me up to every friend, coworker, fellow alumni, etc., complete with dates and organization names and all. not to mention a system where i can’t delete my account…EVER. sure, i can “disable” it but it’s still there, mocking me. so, for me, that’s bad enough.
and then you get this:
from gigaom: “…this is a privacy disaster waiting to happen. The javascript on the Fandango site pops up a little screen which asks if you want to publish the information on Facebook. If you say no, your friends won’t see the information, but apparently Facebook still receives it. This means that if you are a Facebook member, Facebook will know what you are doing on each of their partner sites. And there is no way for you to opt out of that…” (clicky.)
from cory doctorow (on informationweek.com): “…If there was any doubt about Facebook’s lack of qualification to displace the Internet with a benevolent dictatorship/walled garden, it was removed when Facebook unveiled its new advertising campaign. Now, Facebook will allow its advertisers to use the profile pictures of Facebook users to advertise their products, without permission or compensation. Even if you’re the kind of person who likes the sound of a benevolent dictatorship this clearly isn’t one…” (clicky.)
from brainsturbator: “…it’s not an exaggeration to say that there are very real ties between Facebook and CIA—and there’s a whole covert landscape of semi-legal databases, companies selling private information, and the new horizon of computer-driven “Data Miningâ€. ” (clicky.)
so i know that “privacy” and “freedom” and “democracy” are concepts that have all but choked on their last breaths of life, but i’m dumping facebook. so there.
here! i made you a sampling of etsy goodies, catagorized by the food pyramid.
see, at the bottom you got your wheat, grains, pasta, bread. above that are veggies on the left, fruit on the right. over the fruit is protein which is next to dairy, all topped off with grease and sugar! (science fun fact: grease and sugar are also known as “delicious.”)
by the way, this is based on the “old” food pyramid. why? because the new one is badly designed and i hate it. clicky.
natalie zee drieu’s digital style blog coquette featured an amazing rant about the bad design featured on marc jacob’s new perfume web site.
predictably, this prompted the obligitory and inane “works fine in windows” comment.
genius. as we all know, every single person on the internet uses a windows machine, and microsoft products are the simplest, best designed, easiest to use goods on the market.
…….yeah.
anyway, today i found this video, and it made me happy.
i’m not usually a fan of your average mash up, this one got me good. fosse choreography is fascinating, but watching gwen verdon sync up with unk is hypnotic.
i love it when an artist creates a piece that means something to them, taking the chance that others might feel the same way. forget your average pop culture icon. why not sport a pendant featuring a photo of oscar wilde? or how about scaring your family with a scowling lizzie borden ’round your neck? clicky.
