Who Knew?
Fancy new ad over there in the right column from no less than a presidential candidate. Please be so kind as to click through the ads early and often to support this site.
- posted by Amy @ 11/08/2003 09:55:00 PM

 

Look Mama, it's Dead. No Dear, it's Sleeping
The L.A. Examiner is still dead.
- posted by Amy @ 11/08/2003 04:17:00 PM

 

For Those Who Live On the Record
"I'm blogging this" T-Shirts. (link via Greg McIlvaine)
- posted by Amy @ 11/07/2003 07:37:00 PM

 

Blog Changes
New colors, new pictures, but the same Amy. This weekend I'll probably be trying a few more new things with the blog. There are new colors (or the lack of, as the case is now) and I'm trying revolving images up in the flag at top. The pictures will likely come entirely all from my camera phone, and I'm trying to update at least once a day with images if I'm not actually blogging.

Web access (cool, but slowish) on my Treo is also encouraging me to try some new things. I've shortened my main page so the posts remain up a shorter time before retreating to the archives. I've also cut down the number of individual Amazon ads and deleted some links I don't use much anymore. If you have any thoughts on the changes, or something else I should try, please use the comment form or drop me an e-mail.
- posted by Amy @ 11/07/2003 05:37:00 PM

 

Zagat Morsels
When the Zagat 2004 NYC Restaurant Guide was released a couple weeks ago, all the fuss was over the excessively high ratings for a Brooklyn mostly-locals place I've never been to. My copy of the restaurant guide came in the mail yesterday and I found there were some other good observations from their survey.

New York's new no-smoking policy: "23 percent of our surveyors report that it has prompted them to go out more often than before -- particularly to 'authentic' (i.e. 'smoky') French bistros, which they once shunned. Only 4 percent say that the smoking law has deterred their restaurant going."

Economy's impact: In response to the sluggish economy, more restaurants are offering prix fixe dinner menus in the $20 to $25 range. The average cost of a NYC meal rose only 0.3 percent from a year ago to $37.06 (compared to $51.15 in London, $53.29 in Paris and $66.60 in Tokyo.)

French boycott: That whole anti-France war thing didn't last long here, Zagat says. "This embargo proved short-lived as most diners realized that NYC's so-called French restaurants are in fact run and staffed by Americans, serve American products and pay American taxes.

Favorite foods: Japanese food is on the rise and Chinese is slipping.
- posted by Amy @ 11/07/2003 12:55:00 PM

 

How 'Bout This for Product Placement?
From a business story in today's New York Times: "Nissan Motor is planting actors in movie theaters to perform live commercials before the start of showings of "The Matrix Revolutions" in an effort to expose jaded, skeptical consumers to advertising by masking it as something else."

Tomorrow's story: "Theater-goes beat Nissan's actors silly at movie houses across the country Thursday. ..."
- posted by Amy @ 11/06/2003 10:26:00 AM

 

Quickies
A few things I've been meaning to link:

*My friends in Tsar have a new single out, "Straight" available to order for $5. Only if you know how to rock.

*A week ago, Steve Outing in E-Media Tidbits surveyed the online California fire coverage and lauded the work at the San Diego Union Tribune. They were able to order up more bandwidth, add videos, a fire blog and other fancy stuff about a day or so after it was clear the fires were a major story. He asks: "Are you that prepared for the Really Big Local Story?" ... On the same topic, the LA Times (via Romenesko) has a story about "Ranger Al," a retired firefighter who defied evacuation orders near Arrowhead Lake and built a website, fireupdate.com, about the fire from within - checking specific address to determine what was destroyed. Incredible resource.

*Tony Pierce is using his blog to pitch blogging business ideas, at a rate of about one a day. He wants to run a blog for a company and he's telling them why. So far he's made a case for blogging for the Chicago Cubs, Playboy, Blogger/Google (duh,) and his local strip club.

*I was in Strand bookstore earlier this week and let's just say the guys working there are none to excited about "the daughter's" plan for a coffeeshop. Their reference was Dante-like.

*Am I the only one who's disgusted by all this fake media contempt about Shattered Glass which is just thinly veiled "I wish they'd make a movie about me" envy. (Is that like overpaid media critic Michael Wolf who criticizes media owners because he wishes he were one of them?)

*And while I'm on the topic of New York magazine writers I don't like, anybody know if Jim Cramer has come up with a lame defense yet for the mutual fund masters cheating on behalf of its favorite hedge fund owners? I mean, how could someone like Cramer not know stuff like this has been going on? He runs a hedge fund, he owns TheStreet.com, he has his own crap talk show on CNBC and his own Go, Wall Street, Go rah-rah column in New York mag. How can a guy be that connected and not know or not tell? I really don't know because I no longer have the patience to read more than a paragraph or listen to more than a few sentences before his spin drives me nuts. Has he apologized for this like he did after the bubble burst and he told CNBC viewers all his prior advice really wasn't intended for mom-and-pop investors? Whoops, sorry.
- posted by Amy @ 11/06/2003 10:12:00 AM

 

Audience-generated Content Equals Free
Jeff Jarvis reports that AOL says its users spend 60 percent to 70 percent of their time with audience-generated content. See the future now.
- posted by Amy @ 11/06/2003 09:13:00 AM

 

Multi-Party Judges
Yes I voted, thank you. Turns out they accepted me at my same old polling place. However, no one could explain to me why the ballot listed some judge candidates multiple times - sometimes as Republicans, sometimes as Dems, sometimes as Working Families. About five names seemed to be repeated throughout though others weren't. Voting in New York always seems to be fraught with surprises.
- posted by Amy @ 11/04/2003 10:17:00 PM

 

Amy's NY Notebook: Only 33 Pct Evil
Now this can't be right. The Gematriculator says Amy's New York Notebook is 33 percent evil and 67 percent good. I'm far more evil than that. The site also offers this thought: "Wasn't that fun? Now waste your time by killing everyone." (Link via That Happy Feeling, who is only slightly more evil than me. UPDATE: Apparently Happy Feeling got the link from Jase Wells - I never know how many links I'm supposed to credit. But I don't get charged by the word, so I suppose the more the merrier?)
- posted by Amy @ 11/04/2003 11:40:00 AM

 

Vote, Vote, Vote
Voting should be interesting today. Since New York never mails you everything you'd think you need to know - like what's on your ballot or where you should vote - I logged onto the city's election site to find out where to go. Lovely. My polling place is definitively in one of three places: 7th Avenue, 6th Avenue or 6th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenues. I think I'll try the closest one first.
- posted by Amy @ 11/04/2003 08:59:00 AM

 

Hot Hot Hot
It's 77 degrees outside. There's no good reason for me to be near a computer.
- posted by Amy @ 11/03/2003 04:00:00 PM