With Latest Attack, Birds Send a Message to Humans, Sully | Daily Intel New York Magazine

With Latest Attack, Birds Send a Message to Humans, Sully

Last night, a Delta flight approaching La Guardia was the victim of a vicious kamikaze bird attack that left blood, feathers, and a surprisingly large dent in the nose of the plane (which landed safely).

Not at all coincidentally, it was announced the day before that Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, hero pilot of the Miracle on the Hudson and the sworn enemy of birds everywhere, would be returning to the cockpit as some kind of safety adviser for US Airways, which seems pretty appropriate.

Clearly then, this collision, with its unavoidably gruesome results, was a symbolic act of muscle-flexing. Just as Iran or North Korea test missiles when they feel threatened, the birds meant this as a message and a warning:

We are not afraid. We can strike at will. And your precious Sully cannot protect you.

Bernie Madoff Gored By Wall Street Bull

Bernie Madoff's wild ride  (Photo AP)
Bernie Madoff's wild ride (Photo AP)

I appreciate the sentiment expressed by this sculpture by Chinese artist Chen Wenling, but it’s confusing. What is coming out of the ass of this bull? How would you frame a critique of this piece?

The criminal is pinned to the wall of justice by a raging, avenging, fart powered bull, demonstrating that crime is dealt a swift, brutal and smelly blow.

Sometimes, I just don’t understand fine art.

The Future of Local News?

Newspapers are caught in a graveyard spiral. Reduced advertising budgets mean cuts in reporting staffs which in turn lead to less and less reporting on local news. People stop reading the paper because there is no content relevant to them.

EveryBlock is a highly localized new website that provides information about everything from crime to food establishment inspections, fire calls and car crashes. Is this what the future of local news looks like?

Scam Alert | You Have Been Selected

You may receive this happy announcement:

Hey! People like me if I pay them!
Hey! People like me if I pay them!

I am pleased to announce that Whiteboard Partners LLC has been selected for the 2009 Best of Chino Hills Award in the Industrial & Labor Consulting Services category by the US Commerce Association.

After the initial wave of ‘Yeah, I’m all that’, you start asking yourself, who is bestowing this honor.

A quick trip to the Better Business Bureau reveals this:

Recent emails notifying businesses that they have won prestigious awards from a national association appear to be part of a widespread scheme designed to get companies to pay for “vanity” awards and plaques.

A Google search produces a much more entertaining result.
Continue reading “Scam Alert | You Have Been Selected”

Showdown At The Web Corral: Convincing Your Boss to Fix a Hideous Website | Fast Company

Q: I work for a nonprofit with a hideous website. Hideous in the sense that the copy is generic and bland and filled with jargon. Supremely unsticky, in other words. Some of my colleagues and I have lobbied to change it but, whenever we suggest new copy, our executive director inevitably waters it down until it sounds like what we’ve already got. What can we do to convince her to stick-ify our site? – Stickless in Seattle

Read Article.

Want to Improve Democracy? Try Design Thinking | Fast Company

Better ballot design could have changed the results of the 2000 election. A better design for information sharing might have prevented 9/11. Now, could design thinking help fix something fundamentally broken in American democracy: how we engage in national debate?

Whether the topic is climate change, financial regulation, or health care reform, when asked to “discuss amongst ourselves,” the conversation devolves into who can shout the loudest, hurl the nastiest epithets, or pervert the facts to fit their own agendas. Can this process be saved?

Read Article.

“Off the Deep End: A Look at the Decline of Dubai” Slideshow | Fast Company

We have several friends who have traveled extensively to Dubai over the last decade. They would come back with stories about luxury taken to the extreme. I have followed the construction of the Burg Dubai, the largest structure on earth at over 2,000 feet in height, with interest.

All of us had the same question: This can’t go on forever, can it?

This looks like part of the answer.

Read Article.