Famous among dozens
Make:Grow:Gather is published by Kelly, who is an NPR-affiliate reporter and producer. We met when she introduced herself at City Hall, where she was covering gay marriage and I was photographing. The thing I love most about Kelly’s site is how she’s always drinking something amazing. In my mind, delicious beverages are sort of her thing. Go see what I mean:
Warm Port with OJ and Thyme
Jug of Pimm’s and Ginger
Rainy Day Tonic
Beloved McSweeney’s Lists, I am forever discovering you anew:
Three Things I’d Take to a Desert Island
T-Shirts My Ex-Boyfriends Would Wear in a More Honest World
Jane Austen Tries Her Hand at Advertising
Loobylu is published by illustrator and artist Claire Robertson, who lives in Melbourne. Loobylu has been around since the early days of blogging, and I go there when I need a little bit of whimsy, like these:
Zulkey is a thinky humor site, and I met Claire Zulkey years ago at SxSW. It turns out she’s still smart, and funny, and good at getting it all down on paper. An excerpt.
“Things I Have Learned About Vegetable-Matter-Based Packing Peanuts
1) They can be dissolved and thus washed down the drain
2) They taste like Pirate’s Booty
3) Demonstrating how I learned this makes people uncomfortable.“
Inside the Loop is written by a designer in Houston. I have no idea how I came across her, but go check out her posts on:
Oh Joy is written by Designer Joy Deangdeelert Cho, who worked on Cynthia Rowley’s product line for Target, and runs her own stationery shop Nantaka Joy. She lives in Philadelphia, and has a great eye for gorgeous handmade objects, like these:
Sculped Wooden Animals from Romp
Bouttonieres from Laurie Cinotto
Hand-stitched birds by Emily Sutton
I met Zan at the Mighty Haus launch party, and I wish I’d had more time to get to know her while she was in town. She writes over at A Cup of Tea and a Wheat Penny and lives in New York. An excerpt from her site:
“They’re all readers down here in the tunnels, just like up on the buses. Only here they turn the pages faster.
An older couple embarks; the woman finds a seat. I stand to offer the man my seat, and he politely waves me back down.
‘You sit. You’d better finish your coffee, before you spill it.’
‘Sir, I’m not allowed to drink coffee on the train. You’re not even supposed to know I have it.’
A girl pulls a notebook hurriedly from her handbag, as if the thought might fly from her mind before she has a chance to capture it in its perfectly formed newborn state. She clicks open her pen and writes:
‘Download RADIOHEAD!!!’
With two underscores.“
I’m taking a break from the computer for a week or so, and while I’m away I’ll be posting about a few sites you should read more often. Check back Monday for the first installment, and I’ll see you in a bit.
Some of you may not care about free stuff, and for you, I have four photos of people interacting with wildlife in inadvisable ways:
1. Seals
2. Rhino
3. Sharks
4. Crocodile
Now.
I know, from that survey a while back, that lots of you are teachers, librarians, students, and parents. I’ve never done a sponsor giveaway before but holy crap, some of you are going to need this.
Intel is giving away $5,000 in brand new tech equipment to three people who post over here about why they need it (photos and/or video encouraged). They’ll also send over the guys from Hot Hardware to install everything and teach you how to use it. Nice.
Selection is based mostly on how compelling your story is — and you can nominate other people (!). The odds are pretty effing good, and you will be excellent at this. You will make the judges, laugh, cry, and bend to your will.
So what do you need that Intel has? They could make a tech station for your class. They could give you the ability to write and print term papers without fear of losing a month of work to a hard drive malfunction. They could provide a functional workstation so you could run a business from home and see your kids more.
Here’s more info, and here are the rules. I’m one of the judges, but please limit your persuading to the Intel site.
Do some good for yourself, your team, or someone who needs your help. I’m rooting for you, and I’ll tell you who wins.
Mighty Girl 