Megan West(erby)

thegeneralcafe: I was heartbroken when the Howard Johnson’s in...

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:27:00 -0800

I was heartbroken when the Howard Johnson’s in Times Square closed. That was my place that mattered in a part of town I hated.

Apparently Prime is midtown east, which is why I’ve never been there. I didn’t go to the east side above Union Square when I lived in NY. Prime is remarkably similar to 3 different diners I can remember, only not by name, just by look and memory and taste.

Now I want a tuna melt.

We can’t give The General a history that spans centuries but if there’s one thing that LA has taught me it’s that you don’t need to have a long history to have an important history. All it takes is the type of respect that indicates you intend to be around in a century.

Jess and I are starting to find our footing on making The General real.

this video did not go viral

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:55:25 -0800

this video did not go viral:

hungryjughead:

Not the first time I’ve heard someone’s head nearly explode over the much-abused term ‘viral video,’ which makes complete sense if you imagine what a VIRAL video would actually be:

Here’s what a viral video would actually be: I receive a link from a friend to watch a hilarious YouTube video of a cat walking on a birthday cake. I click said link. Some malicious code on the page copies itself to my computer. That code continues to replicate across my system files. To make the marketers happy, that video also commandeers my social network profiles and publishes the same link to the hilarious video of a cat walking on a birthday cake. The same code has also corrupted my browser, now any video I want to watch is replaced with the link to the hilarious video of a cat walking on a birthday cake. (someone please write this code)

Viruses are inherently malicious because they disrupt the normal mechanics of a system. Trust me giant global brand, you don’t want to keep calling it a viral video. At some point, people may have different feelings about you huddled in some dark corner engineering viral videos to infect us with some advertising message.
http://whatconsumesme.com/2009/posts-ive-written/will-i-share-your-branded-content/#ixzz1lkGCxFu5

So what’s the solution? @whatconsumesme suggests we coin the term “spreadable media,” but really, who wants to walk into a meeting shouting spreadable? You’re either ordering lunch, or something NSFW.

I have never been a fan of calling anything “viral” but I definitely agree on one thing: calling something spreadable probably won’t earn you any points in a pitch meeting.

Granite: Why every homeowner wants a piece of the rock

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:35:19 -0800

Granite: Why every homeowner wants a piece of the rock:

bronwen:

“People wanting granite countertops is people wanting to sound like they know what they’re talking about,” Carino says. “It’s like listening to two guys talk about hot-rod cars.”

DRINK

Seize it. Seize the countertop.

Bring it home and install it. Styles may fade, but it would take eons and eons for the granite to crumble, returning to the elements from whence it came. Have something permanent. Something dependable. A big, weighty slab of the American dream.

"According to Miss Representation, the organization that launched the [#NotBuyingIt] hashtag, women..."

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:19:00 -0800

“According to Miss Representation, the organization that launched the [#NotBuyingIt] hashtag, women make up about half of the Super Bowl’s audience and they’re more likely than men to tune in for the ads, rather than the game. Miss Representation notes that while they wield more household purchasing power than their male partners, 90 percent of women think advertisers don’t understand them. Super Bowl ads do an especially good job of missing the point by acting as though dudes are the only ones watching.”

- Twitter Talks Back to Sexist Super Bowl Ads | Mother Jones

This is largely what confuses me about sexist advertising. When you want someone’s money why would you silence or ignore them?

Also read: Ten Lady Innovators Best Buy Could’ve Put in Its Super Bowl Ad

nonmodernist: ‘I don’t read novels,’ Tietjens answered. ‘I know what’s in ‘em. There has been...

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:27:40 -0800

nonmodernist:

‘I don’t read novels,’ Tietjens answered. ‘I know what’s in ‘em. There has been nothing worth reading written in England since the eighteenth century except by a woman…But it’s natural for your enamel splashers to want to see themselves in a bright and variegated literature. Why shouldn’t they? It’s a healthy, human desire, and now that printing and paper are cheap they get it satisfied. It’s healthy, I tell you. Infinitely healthier than…’ He paused.

‘Than what?’ Macmaster asked.

‘I’m thinking,’ Tietjens said, ‘thinking how not to be too rude.’

— Ford Madox Ford, Parade’s End (Some Do Not…)

This is basically the Edwardian version of hating on bloggers.

I’m behind in my Parade’s End reading but I already love Tietjens.

Spam comet. (Taken with Instagram at LACMA)

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 17:40:59 -0800

Spam comet. (Taken with Instagram at LACMA)

entropicflux: bunnyfood: Car ride blows cat’s mind This is...

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:57:26 -0800

entropicflux:

bunnyfood:

Car ride blows cat’s mind

This is exactly what my cat is like when we take him in the car. He chirps joyfully the whole time. And if the window’s down? Jesus help us.

I just compared this gif to a greek tragedy in chat so now I’m going to get off the social web for a few days. See y’all Monday.

Facebook's Culture of Fast Innovation

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:15:00 -0800

thoughtyoushouldseethis:

I’m not going to delve into Facebook’s S-1 IPO filing, given that the world’s press has done a pretty thorough job of that already. (As TechCrunch writer, Alexia Tsotsis, put it: “This Facebook S-1 is like an animal carcass and us bloggers are like a pack of rabid wolves.”)

But it’s here, if you do want to read it. And it *is* pretty fascinating. This phrase stuck out for me, from the section detailing “Risks Related to Our Business and Industry”:

We have a culture that encourages employees to quickly develop and launch new and innovative products. As our business grows and becomes more complex, our cultural emphasis on moving quickly may result in unintended outcomes or decisions that are poorly received by users, developers, or advertisers.

You think? I also loved the entirely un-user-friendly terminology used to describe Facebook’s users: MAUs (“monthly active users”) and DAUs (“daily active users”.) Overlooking the fact that if you sign in once a month you surely can’t be considered “active,” it just all seems so clinical. Then, as Mozilla’s Pascal Finette pointed out to me on Twitter, “DAU” in German stands for “Dümmster Anzunehmender User” or “most stupid user possible.” Well then.

The tweet that got me to this quote invoked Facebook’s systematic tendency to dehumanize their users. Sounds about right.

The Downton Abbey Cocktail

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:00:00 -0800

bijou156:

clairiere:

whimsandfancythings:

Half a lime, squeezed, 3 parts Hendricks gin to 2 parts St Germaine, topped with Champagne.

Wonder if this is where they serve(d) it:

Heheh I wonder if they will all have a Downton cocktail on the premier night? lol They all look smart and chic!

Things, in list format:

Dan Stevens apparently tweeted about the Downton Abbey cocktail — but it was invented by Oliver’s Bar inside of the Mayflower Park Hotel in Seattle, Washington, at least according to this blog about fashioning said cocktail.
That blog is a good intro on making this drink correctly, if you’re not familiar with making cocktails. Real ones.
To clarify: this means that is NOT an “official” Downton Abbey cocktail.
I’m not sure why this is as important to me as it is. I’m not a trained mixologist.
But, really? Cocktails were not what our Edwardian favorites of the year would drink, at least while in residence. Maybe in town. If you’re from a younger generation.
And it probably would’ve been called a sling, punch, shrub, sour, flip, or toddie instead of a cocktail.
Actually, Mrs. Beeton’s had a sling fairly similar to this — gin, lemon, sugar, and ice.
At some point I lost or loaned away my copy of Mrs. Beeton’s. This needs to be fixed.
The point is, cocktails are pretty American.
Which is awesome.
All that being said, this looks like a decent cocktail. Any champagne cocktail would pair well with an episode or three of Downton Abbey, in my mind.
Except, really, this looks way too sweet. St. Germaine should used more as an accent than a main ingredient. 3 to 2 gin to germaine? Even with the champagne and lime that makes for an awfully sweet overall flavor.
Which means you’ll drink it quickly.
And, really, what’s the point of making a really good cocktail only to drink it quickly?
Don’t bruise the gin.

Edited to add: this is a motherfucking champagne cocktail. Do not serve it in a martini glass.

Social media slang

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:20:41 -0800

digitalslurp:

The growing popularity of Pinterest got me thinking today. So I made up a bit of social media slang for you to insert into your everyday lives. Enjoy.

Pinterested (adj): I’m kinda pinteresed in that.

Pinteresting (adj): Your house is very pinteresting.

Unpinterested (adj): I’ve become unpinterested with this campaign.

Unpinteresting (adj): I find this blog to be unpinteresting.

Self-pinterest (noun): They are only looking out for their own self-pinterest.

Who isn’t guilty of occasionally self-pinteresting?

chrisevanstakeshispantsoff: Tumblr needed a Chris Evans Takes...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:56:00 -0800

chrisevanstakeshispantsoff:

Tumblr needed a Chris Evans Takes His Pants Off Appreciation Blog. So now it has one.

Look, sometimes ideas start at RuPaul Drag Race Premiere Parties and then you end up starting a tumblr devoted to Chris Evans Taking His Pants Off. These things happen to everyone, right?

My work here is done. Now I’m going to lunch.

Kicking Off the Best Sitcom Episode Ever Tournament

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:19:17 -0800

Kicking Off the Best Sitcom Episode Ever Tournament:

jaybushman:

lizlet:

jaybushman:

bronwen:

Let’s do this.

here’s no “Lesbian Spank Inferno”? I call shenanigans.

You’re going to bring it up and not even provide a link? FOR SHAME.

Also, today appears to be Jack Davenport Appreciation Day! Hooray!

Sorry. I got sidetracked. Cleft. Gusset.

Bicycle saddle.

(There’s a Daleks shoutout. If you didn’t know.)

lizlet: This is not the face Megan makes when she thinks about...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:43:32 -0800

lizlet:

This is not the face Megan makes when she thinks about what it would be like to have a threesome with Marshall Kirkpatrick from Read Write Web. This is the face Megan makes after you make a joke about having a threesome with Marshall Kirkpatrick from Read Write Web and then immediately say “Make that face again so I can take a picture of it!”

No comment.

Chris Molanphy's column this week, on how the iTunes Store helped reverse-engineer the singles-marketing plan for Adele's "21," is particularly great.

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:43:00 -0800

Chris Molanphy's column this week, on how the iTunes Store helped reverse-engineer the singles-marketing plan for Adele's "21," is particularly great.:

maura:

Also it made me think of my essay on readers serving as assignment editors from last year.

This boils down to, “The label chose the fan favorite as the next single!” instead of “The label determined the next single on its own or with some radio input,” and doesn’t that sound like something labels SHOULD do now?

I’m no fan of radio (it’s my least favorite of all broadcast media), in part because the underlying methodology for success is one that purposefully de-emphasizes audience autonomy. I appreciate the way this article traces the success of one Adele single and how that success is a metaphor for changing industry influence.

“The Third Place”

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:48:00 -0800

“The Third Place”:

austinkleon:

The Third Place is a concept of Ray Oldenburg, urban sociologist and author of The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons, and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community. The First Place is your home, and the Second Place is your office. You have assigned roles and tasks at each place, and you know nearly all the people in each. The Third Place is where you meet with people you don’t know that well, or maybe at all, and you exchange ideas, learn about other people, and, as Oldenburg sees it, enrich society and yourself.

via Why In-Person Socializing Is A Mandatory To-Do Item | Fast Company

When I was a senior in high school I started working at Starbucks, a job to save money for college. They were big on having us read and appreciate Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, which emphasized Starbucks As Third Place, and how we as employees had a responsibility to create that space. I would definitely say I’ve internalized the concept of the Third Place and the creation of such, and that internalized lesson also relates to my ideas on performing identity, being a hostess, and being a guest. Thinking about the explicit and implicit weight we place on interpersonal transactional time is important.

turnabout: justmako: Someone please get this book for...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:56:57 -0800

turnabout:

justmako:

Someone please get this book for me.

Megan and I saw this book at a yarn store in Belfast, Maine. The patterns were awesome. Things like saddle blankets and hammocks.

Why didn’t we buy it?

"Informationally, we are becoming lard-asses. In the pageview and ratings driven media economy, too..."

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:23:00 -0800

“Informationally, we are becoming lard-asses. In the pageview and ratings driven media economy, too much of the content these days is designed to be just like junk food to quickly boost quantifiable viewership. If you make content that is the intellectual equivalent of gummy bears, your site will appear to grow quickly.”

- Happiness Takes (A Little) Magic | The Wirecutter

Later: “Clicking the like button 1 billion times will never give you an orgasm or a hug or a high five.”

"I’m not going to dig too deeply into this, but at best it shows how far off we are from truly..."

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:51:21 -0800

“I’m not going to dig too deeply into this, but at best it shows how far off we are from truly personalized and scary ad targeting, and at worst it gives a pretty sad indication of how technology is still clearly defined as a “male” activity.”

- Hey ladies, does Google think you’re a guy? — Tech News and Analysis

Google thinks I’m a dude. What about you?

juntoboxfilms: We’re hard at work on an example project to...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:45:54 -0800

juntoboxfilms:

We’re hard at work on an example project to amuse and educate the JuntoBox community and we thought you would appreciate a peek at future greatness.

Can you guess the plot or synopsis? We’ll keep giving you hints as the project shapes up.

I’m not going to lie, this has been fun.

"Under the companies’ previous agreement, users could add discs to their queues even before..."

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:58:00 -0800

“Under the companies’ previous agreement, users could add discs to their queues even before they went on sale. Warner executives apparently believed that policy made it easier for consumers to wait, confident that the discs would arrive eventually. But now when users search for Warner’s “A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas,” which goes on sale Feb. 7, the Netflix website simply says the movie is not available. Consumers will have wait until March 6 to add the film to their queues and until April 3 to get it in the mail.”

- Netflix deal with Warner Bros. includes delay in queues - latimes.com