Flight of the Conchords: Google I/O

On Tuesday I went to Google's I/O party where I was pleased to watch Flight of the Conchords play. I even made friends with the security guard and got some covert video footage. We talked about how Google had paid a bundle to hire the band to play for only 2000 developers at Moscone West and how one guard's sole job is to stop amateur videographers from taking footage and posting it to YouTube. However, because Google owns YouTube, doesn't it stand to reason that the company would actually make money from uploads? Or for that matter, doesn't embedding it into my Blogger blog also make Google money through impressions? Then I thought about Flight of the Conchords. Would uploaded concert video prevent fans of the lovable Kiwis from buying concert tickets or tuning in? Actually, it would do the opposite and act as free promotional b-reel. All of these were moot points when I got home to find a series of 4 min over-exposed clips of two bobbing heads behind a hulking security guard. Hmm...you know why professional photographers get gorgeous shots? Because their tripods don't get tipsy on free beer and gush to the security guard. Angry dance>>

Spore: Inner Feelings from Outer Space

I've been waiting for Electronic Arts' evolution game, Spore, ever since Will Wright made it seem educational and good at last year's TED conference. Since then, a friend has landed the PR on the launch, I've evangelized the crap out of it to friends with kids, and yesterday my honey bunny alerted me to Inner Feelings from Outer Space - bizarre Jack Handey-esque musings from Spore creatures. It got me thinking about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and those cute little Brown twins.

Someone should let these people write voice overs for video game and cartoon characters.

Bay to Breakers

Bay to Breakers is just one of those SF events that cannot be escaped. It runs the entire length of the city, the event lasts from dawn until dusk & traffic is backed up for miles. This year we suited up and joined in the festivities. This pic makes us look like we're hatching a villainous plot. Then I found this random generator.

*The rest of the photos are here.

Metropolis, Music & Moms

Nokia is paying DJ Shadow to take a bunch of user-submitted samples and create songs from various cities. San Francisco has already been uploaded and from the sounds of it, my city consists of trolley bells, seagulls, the Sausalito Ferry, the Alcatraz foghorn and Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs repeating the words, "Listen...these are the sounds."

I would've included the voice of the Tamale Lady, the clacking of computer keys and the cuss of a tourist caught off guard by the price of a Blue Bottle Coffee artisanal microroast.
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Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, Mr. Wonderful's Mom, and all the Mom's I know.

And Tango Makes Three

I went for an interview at a cool tech/cause NGO this morning and then headed over to Songbird to freeload pizza and catch up on reading. According to HuffPo, the "gay" penguin book, "And Tango Makes Three" is the book most objected to in US public libraries. Based on a true story, the book tells the tale of Roy and Silo, two male Chinstrap penguins who hatched an egg in NY's Central Park Zoo. (Awww)

WHAT I DON'T GET...
I understand that homophobia is still an awful reality, but what I don't understand is how we know that the birds are gay. Were they practicing Bob Fosse numbers with their tiny jazz flippers? Are heterosexual males incapable of cooperating as parents?

Doesn't anyone else remember Three Men and a Baby? It won a People's Choice award and homosexuality was never even discussed. Do we just assume that if they were gay, Magnum P.I. and Sam Malone would've kicked Steve Guttenberg to the curb?

Maker Faire

This is my second Maker Faire and it's still just as cool as the first time. Every time I see a bunch of giddy kids building their own bike, soldering their own circuit board or programming their own Chomby, I am impressed. If all learning were this fun, I honestly think the world would be a better place.

On the way home Mr. Wonderful fell asleep on BART and a couple of guys almost had a knife fight next to Morgan and I. There are good and bad reasons to raise a kid in the city.

Happy Birthday Marilyn and Andrey!

The woman on the left is Marilyn. She is a chain smoker, a lady programmer and has two of the chubbiest cats in the history of the universe.

The man on the right is Andrey. He looks 15lbs heavier in photos, is a proud Russian, and once dated a psychopath but has since taken up gambling.

Who says lightning never strikes twice? Happy Birthday to two of the biggest flaming dirtbags I know.