7th/Figueroa April 30, 2006
Subway. Wall. Sign.
New York PostSecret Event Wednesday
(PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.)
(New secrets are posted here every Sunday.)
Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 6:29 PM
To: frank@docdel.com
Subject: Postsecret Secrets
Hi Frank,
Although it’s wonderful that you recommend 1(800)SUICIDE for suicidal people, not all people with secrets are depessed, oppressed or scared. I think secrets are a good thing. It makes a person more mysterious, sexy and unique. Secrets are fun, liberating, it makes people who they are.. .
— Canada
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 10:51 PM
To: frank@docdel.com
To the person who says he/she can’t fix anything… of course you can, you have a roll of duct tape don’t you? Trust me, you can fix ANYTHING.
Sent: Monday, May 01, 2006 1:09 AM
To: frank@docdel.com
I go to your blog every week. Perhaps you have heard this quote before; it is from Sheldon VanAuken’s book A Severe Mercy.
“It is, I think, that we are all so alone in what lies deepest in our souls, so unable to find the words, and perhaps the courage to speak with unlocked hearts, that we don’t know at all that it is the same with others.”
Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 3:30 AM
Frank,
In regards to the post-secret that someone wrote about wanting to make someone feel beautiful all of the time. That is my wish for everyone who sends in a secret. I wish everyone could see how beautiful they are through my eyes, and how in my heart I love and accept all those secrets, and their authors, whoever they are.
Thank you everyone, for this gift of honesty that I get on a weekly-basis, it inspires me to live more fully and embrace everything in my life, even those things that are painful.
Your friend.
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 2:35 PM
To: Frank@docdel.com
Hello Franck,
My name is Nora, I’m french (sorry for my bad bad english …)
I love your blog.
It seems like a BIG heart, the word’s heart !
Original Article syndicated via RSS from PostSecret
Wyaworks - App Builder for Non-Coders
Wyaworks, a new startup, “aims to do for web development what blogging has done for publishing”. In other words, Wyaworks wants to help non-coders build usefull web applications. the “Wya”, by the way, stands for “write your apps”.
Their first application is called WyaCracker, a form builder. The site is in private beta, but the beta access code can be requested by email from the “try the beta” link on the left sidebar.
Wyacracker allows users to build simple web forms and publish them on websites or via email. Resulting data can be viewed on the site or exported to excel.
It’s very rough on design, but the core functionality works. And unlike competitor Form Assembly, which is also a great form builder, its free (to be fair, Formassembly has much more robust functionality at this point).
I really like applications like this that perform a task that is easy for coders but hopelesly complex for non-coders. I hope they give the site a redesign to allow the underlying application to shine, and I’m looking forward to future product releases. To see more on Wyaworks, check out Phil Sim’s Squash blog.
Original Article syndicated via RSS from TechCrunch
Stephen Colbert kicks ass at White House press corps dinner
Cory Doctorow:
Stephen Colbert’s routine at last night’s White House Press Corps dinner sounds like one of those perfect moments of comedy and commentary — someone, find me a transcript!
Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”
He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “They are re-arranging the deck chairs–on the Hindenburg.”
Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face–”and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”
(Thanks, Stefan!)
Update: Thanks to Butter71 for links to the transcript and video! w00t!
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing
Cinema owners try to lure us back to the movies
Cory Doctorow:
Cinema owners are freaking out over plummeting attendance. For me, going to the movies has stopped being nearly as much fun because of the crummy movies, the door-searches, the camera-confiscations, the nonstop advertising, security guards scanning the audience with infrared goggles, and especially the dumb anti-piracy nag-PSAs (hint to cinema industry: if I’m spending £13 to get into the cinema, I’m not a pirate, I’m a customer).
They propose to fix this by jamming cell-phones and creating nicer auditoriums. This seems like a pretty ineffectual band-aid to me. Better movies, fewer ads, eliminating invasive searches, infrared scanning, and no insulting pre-film notices would go a lot further to luring me back into the dark.
The mantra at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood is “ease, comfort and control.'’ Besides reserved seating, the 15-screen complex has online ticketing and 21-Plus Screenings, where, if you’re 21, you can bring alcohol into the theater.
“People complain about sticky floors, dirty bathrooms and zombie staff,'’ said the ArcLight’s Robert Brugeman. “To get their attention, you have to offer a premium product.'’
Theater owners are also taking aim at cell-phone users. NATO has made solving the cell-phone problem a “high priority'’ and is looking into jamming cell-phone signals.
(via Digg)
Update: Brian sez:
One particularly good theatre that has had no trouble luring me back again and again has been the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin - and why other theatre owners worldwide haven’t hit upon it’s recipe for success, I don’t know.
The Drafthouse, first of all, bans children except for special events. Each seat comes with a table area where you have a full restaraunt selection (including beer & wine) and you can order before or during the movie using order cards. The cost is roughly the same as you’d get at a diner, and you can get a burger and fries with drink for the same price you’d pay for a popcorn, twizzler & drink at othe theatres.
And that’s just for the “regular” movies that anyone else shows. They also show strange, odd indie films, host film festivals (right now, QT fest for Quentin Tarantino Fest is being held where Tarantino chooses his favorite movies) they have silent movies with live accompanyment, they have Videoke (Karaoke but with acting!) and they have two big shows: The Sinus Show (a live performance similar to but for trademark purposes completely different from Mystery Science Theatre 3000) and Foleyvision, where the sound to the movie is turned off and all voice acting, sound effects, and music are performed live in the theatre.
In short, it’s a movie theatre that has all but seen the studios as inconsequential to the product it sells - which is entertainment. They get their biggest sellers - and biggest crowds - running old 80s films and having three local live actors in the studio heckling them. If they needed to, they could still run the place on public domain footage.
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing
Smithsonian’s sellout to Showtime slammed by Congress
Cory Doctorow:
The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has written a letter to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, blasting the museum for inking a secret deal with Showtime to make the network the sole commercial user of Smithsonian footage in documentary films:
The Subcommittee requests the Board of Regents to immediately review this contract to determine whether it violates the spirit if not the letter of the Smithsonian Trust and to consider changes to the contract which would fully guarantee that its terms are limited to a narrow set of programs and not a bar to other legitimate commercial filmmakers who we believe have the right to reasonable access to the collections and staff. The Subcommittee requests that this matter be brought to the attention of the Board of Regents at its May 2006 meeting and that a response be provided to the Committee regarding these concerns within 90 days.
In addition to our concern about this particular contract, we would be concerned about any future agreements that are negotiated in secret, without Committee consultation, which commercialize Smithsonian resources or which appear to essentially sell access to Smithsonian resources. While the Committee recognizes that budget shortfalls, in particular the need for funds to repair and maintain an aging infrastructure, require the Smithsonian to be aggressive and imaginative in its fund raising, these actions are often controversial and raise the risk of damaging both Congressional and public support for the Institution.
Link, Link to WashPo article mentioned in letter
(Thanks, Carl!)
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing
Safety glass ad: double-pane stuffed with cash, left on the street
Cory Doctorow: 
3M”s ad campaign for its new security glass puts a double-pane window that appears to be stuffed with cash (really only $500 or so on the top, the rest is paper) on a public street in San Francisco. You”re welcome to try to kick it in (but not attack it in other ways — a security guard enforces this) — though you don”t get to keep the money if you managed to crack it. Still, as Gizmodo notes, “glass that can stand a double-footed kick from a man with a 30 foot head start is impressive. Don”t you wish your iPod screens were made out of this?” Link (via Gizmodo)
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing
Manuals for hundreds of consumer electronics items
Cory Doctorow: UserManualGuide.com links to hundreds of PDF manuals for consumer electronics from air conditioners to VCRs — great for lost manuals and garage-sale scores. Link (via Gizmodo)
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing
Wallaby milk: proof against antibiotic resistant bacteria
Cory Doctorow: Milk from lactating wallabies is effective in combatting antibiotic-resistant bacteria:
A newborn wallaby lacks a developed immune system and relies on compounds in its mother”s milk to protect it against diseases.Ben Cocks, of the Victoria Department of Primary Industries, in Melbourne, said: “A huge amount of development happens in the pouch, and during that time they just rely on milk.” The molecule, called AGG01, also kills other types of bacteria and fungus.
Link (via Futurismic)
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing
HOWTO mount a Pez dispenser on a camera’s hot-shoe
Cory Doctorow: 
A simple mod: trim the base of a standard Pez dispenser and it”ll fit in the “hot shoe” clip on top of your high-end camera — great for kids photographers or anyone who wants a sugar-storage unit integrated with her Nikon. Link (via Make Blog)
Original Article syndicated via RSS from Boing Boing | older posts »