Life of Alan

• “John McCain’s MySpace Page ‘Enhanced’” [TechCrunch]
  Someone on Presidential hopeful John McCain’s staff is going to be in trouble today. They used a well known template to create his Myspace page. The template was designed by Newsvine Founder and CEO Mike Davidson (original template is here). Davidson ga
  (tags: Elections)
• “The White House’s impending email security disaster” [Daily Kos]
  (tags: Security)
• “Republicans Fear 2008 Meltdown” [Politico]
  (tags: 2008_Candidates)
• “Obama’s K Street Project” [The Hill]
  (tags: Think_Tanks)
• “Shill Wind: All of Washington’s political reporters read ABC’s The Note. That’s why they keep missing the story.” [Washington Monthly]
  (tags: Media)
• ” Yes, You Can Surf in Cleveland, Before the Brown Water Freezes” [New York Times]
  (tags: Ohio)
• “Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia: Welcome to Jerusalem, Africa” [Spiegel Online]
  Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christians are among the oldest Christian communities in the world. Their hymns and prayers have been preserved and passed down over the ages. But with its numerous religious holidays, the Christian tradition also worsens the country’s
  (tags: Ethiopia)
• “Mauritania’s big lesson: While larger, wealthier Arab states plod on through dictatorships, one small Arab country is moving from military rule to full democracy with ease, writes Hassan Nafaa” [Al Ahram]
  (tags: Mauritania)
• “A City of Capital: London is diverse, dynamic and rich. It is also unequal, expensive and congested—and getting fuller every year. Can London’s socialist mayor preside over a hyper-capitalist city-state while keeping it a decent place…” [Prospect]
  (tags: London)
• “Food for Thought” [The New Republic]
  (tags: House)
• “Dispatches from the Blog Battle Zone: Threats against a prominent female writer reflect the worst of online discourse. But is speech any more hateful on the Net than elsewhere?” [BusinessWeek]
  (tags: Blogging)
• “The Pleasurers of the President” [New York Observer]
  (tags: Anti-Bush)
• “Getting Warmer: Democrats (and a few Republicans) are heading into complex terrain as they devise major legislation to address global warming. A guide to the coming fight.”‘ [American Prospect]
  (tags: Global_Warming)
• Graphical “Freakonomics” [The New Republic]
  (tags: Microeconomics)
• “Why Economists Can’t See the Economy” [New America Foundation]
  Economic theory and economic fact have long since parted company. And since we structure the world according to the theories of economists, this imperils just about everything.
  (tags: Macroeconomics)
• “All-time hack award: the Justice Department’s D. Kyle Sampson.” [The New Republic]
  (tags: Anti-Bush)
• “Resources versus Capabilities: Social Endowments in Egalitarian Theory” [Political Studies]
  (tags: Political_Science)
• “Politics Rules: The False Primacy of Institutions in Developing Countries” [Political Studies]
  Do institutions possess explanatory and prescriptive powers imputed to them by institutionalism? If they do, why do outcomes in developing countries (DGC) defy those powers? I argue that, although institutions play a role, they are neither the explanation
  (tags: Democratization:Central_Asia:Institutions)

• “Was Built To Last Built To Last?” [Fast Company]
  It’s one of the most influential business books of our era, and it helped turn coauthor Jim Collins into a management rock star. But how well have the companies it lionized and the principles it espoused stood the test of time?
  (tags: Strategy)
• “‘Boola Boola’ — and Other Words of College Wisdom” [Chronicle of Higher Education]
  (tags: Rhetoric)
• “X marks the spot in The Departed” [Reeling]
  (tags: Movies)
• Key Principles of Microfinance
  (tags: Microcredit)
• “The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid” [World Bank]
  (tags: Poverty)
• Joint Development Associates
  (tags: Democratization:Central_Asia)
• Seattle Startup Blogs List
  This is a list of blogs from the Seattle area Startup scene. It includes blogs from Founders, CEOs, Reporters, Investors, VCs, Consultants, Entrepreneurs and more.
  (tags: Seattle)
• “10 Things You Should Know Before Moving to Seattle” [Rain City Guide]
  (tags: Seattle)
• Espresso Vivace
  (tags: Seattle:Coffee)
• Caffe Ladro
  (tags: Seattle:Coffee)
• Seattle Daily Photo
  (tags: Seattle)
• El Diablo Coffee
  (tags: Seattle:Coffee)
• “Washington, D.C.: [New Slogan Goes Here]: 2 Firms Hired to Develop Catchphrase” [Washington Post]
  (tags: Washington_DC)
• A Displaced Hipster’s Guide to Renton, Wa: Two years ago, my wife and I moved out of the city of Seattle to the lovely suburby city of Renton, Washington. We’ve learned to survive without great restaurants, nightlife, and entertainment-here’s how we do it
  (tags: Seattle)
• “Inside Your Users’ Minds: The Cultural Probe” [A List Apart]
  (tags: Internet_Usage)
• “Good Malls and Bad Cities: New quasi-urban shopping centers and the digital public sphere call into question traditional hatred of malls.” [Metropolis Magazine]
  (tags: Urban_Studies)
• “How Not To Run a Business - The Sheep Strategy” [Business Pundit]
  (tags: Management)
• “Goodbye Pareto Principle, Hello Long Tail: the Effect of Search Costs on the Concentration of Product Sales” [Social Science Research Network]
  (tags: Macroeconomics)

• “I, Citiot: A move upstate promised a real house, decent public schools, all the trappings of the normal life we just couldn’t pull off in the city. Perhaps you’ve dreamed of it, too. The difference is, we actually did it…” [New York Magazine]
  In preparation for my move to Columbia County I sent an e-mail to friends. It had my new address and phone number, reassured them that while my new house didn’t have garbage pickup or mail delivery it did have running water, and tried to convey enthusia
  (tags: New_York)
• “The Facebook Skit” [Penn Masala]
  (tags: Internet_Phenomena)

• “My National Security Letter Gag Order” [Washington Post]
  It is the policy of The Washington Post not to publish anonymous pieces. In this case, an exception has been made because the author — who would have preferred to be named — is legally prohibited from disclosing his or her identity in connection with re
  (tags: Security)
• Social Capitalist Awards [Fast Company]
  (tags: Social_Entrepreneurship)
• College Sustainability Report Card [Sustainable Endowments Institute]
  (tags: Higher_Education)
• “Engineers create SpaceNet–the supply chain: Network of nodes could ensure delivery to moon” [MIT]
  (tags: Space_Exploration)

• IdeaWicket: Open Innovation Portal
  (tags: Innovation)
• “Analysis of expired air of fasting male monks at Mount Athos” [Journal of Chromatography B]
  Expired air chemical analysis is investigated as a search and locate method for the early detection of entrapped people under the ruins of collapsed buildings after an earthquake. Fasting individuals were examined as a group that simulates the medical sta
  (tags: Greece Chemistry)
• Star Trek: The ’80s Sitcom
  (tags: Star_Trek)
• “The Concept of God - And Why We Don’t Need It: In these newly religious times, it no longer seems superfluous to rearm the atheists with arguments. When push comes to shove, atheists can only trust their reason, writes Burkhard Müller.” [EuroZine]
  (tags: Religion)

• Anatomu: The South African Blogosphere, Sorted
  (tags: South_Africa)

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• “Reformers vs. the Old Guard: Will fiscal conservatives retake the GOP? Four key members to watch in Congress.” [Reason]
  (tags: Conservatism)
• “Why You Need A Mentor: Plato had Socrates. Tom Peters had Peter Drucker. Luke Skywalker had Obi-Wan. Here’s how to find yours” [BusinessWeek]
  (tags: Business)
• “Money Talks: What a forum held by the investment bank Bear Stearns tells us about the state of our presidential campaigns.” [American Prospect]
  (tags: Elections)
• “The World’s Most Controversial Religious Sites” [Foreign Policy]
  Politics and religion can be a deadly concoction. Nowhere is that more true than at the world’s holiest shrines, temples, mosques, and churches. From Japan to South Carolina, this week’s List looks at some of the world’s most contentious religious s
  (tags: Religion)
• “Best of British” [BBC]

  A cut glass English accent can fool unsuspecting Americans into detecting a “brilliance that isn’t there”, says Stephen Fry. So is a British accent - of any variety - the route to success in the United States?

  (tags: UK)
• A Scientific Definition of Religion
  Religion is a collection of behavior that is only unified in our Western conception of it. It need not have a natural unity. There is no reason to assume, and good reason not to assume, that all religious behavior evolved together at the same time in resp
  (tags: Religion)
• Semapedia
  (tags: Communication Internet:Development)
• The People History
  (tags: History)
• Las Onomatopeyas
  Las onomatopeyas o Batsigns se utilizaron en la serie y en el film para darle mas fuerza a las peleas, en la primer temporada se calaban en la imagen pero debido al costo a partir de la segunda temporada se insertaban con un fondo de color .
  (tags: Comics)
• “Hero deficit: Comic books in decline” [Toronto Star]
  (tags: Comics)
• “Top 15 Unintentionally Funny Comic Book Panels” [Yes But No But Yes]
  funnycomic_jokerboner1.jpg

  Comics are great because as they get older not only do they get more valuable (at least my future children hope so because they ain’t going to no college unless a certain Mr. Spiderman can afford to send them) but they also g

  (tags: Comics)

• “The Successful Iraq: How the United States defeated an insurgency in the Philippines.” [Slate]
  (tags: American_History)
• “Independence? Try ‘aid-dependence’: Colonialism didn’t cause Africa’s problems, and aid alone won’t fix them.” [Los Angeles Times]
  (tags: Donors)
• “Have You Been Tricked by Viral Marketing? Join the Crowd” [AlterNet]
  (tags: Marketing)
• “Islamic Banking: Is It Really Kosher?” [American Magazine]
  Muslim scholars say the Qur’an prohibits collecting interest on loans. But many banks, both global and local, have found clever ways to meet religious strictures. It’s a system that may be hypocritical, but also profitable.
  (tags: Islam Finance)
• “Structural Integrity: Sociologist Nathan Glazer argues that today’s leading architects learned the wrong lessons from modernism’s mistakes, and need to re-engage with the life of cities” [Boston Globe]
  (tags: Architecture)
• “Rapid Victories Against Extreme Poverty: Focused steps taken now could rapidly put the poorest poor on a self-sustaining course to productivity and health” [Scientific American]
  (tags: Economic_Development)
• “Mud in Mozambique” [Le Monde Diplomatique]
  Mozambique ranks 168 out of 177 countries in the United Nations development index, with 54% of its people below the poverty line. Yet the statistics are improving – the economy has a steady annual 8% growth rate and there are megaprojects coming on line
  (tags: Mozambique)
• “How They Do It Better” [US News & World Report]
  (tags: International)
• “How Traffic Jams Are Made In City Hall: The bad logic and failed policies of transportation planners” [Reason]
  (tags: Urban_Studies)
• “The Reagan Glam: Why can’t we party like it’s 1989? In Washington back then, parties mattered — not party lines” [MacLeans]
  (tags: American_History)
• Shorpy: The 100-Year Old Photoblog
  Shorpy.com is a photo blog about what life a hundred years ago was like: How people looked and what they did for a living, back when not having a job usually meant not eating. We’re starting with a collection of photographs taken in the early 1900s by L
  (tags: Photography)
• Bonjour Vietnam
  (tags: Vietnam)
• Hometown Baghdad
  A documentary web series following the lives of a few Iraqi 20-somethings trying to survive in Baghdad.
  (tags: Iraq)
• “Liberation of Baghdad” by Sandow Birk
  The Liberation of Baghdad, says Birk, is about “what we were told would happen — happy, joyfully liberated Iraqis welcoming American troops as we free them from the shackles of oppression.”
  (tags: Art)
• “This is SportsCenter” [ESPN]
  (tags: Television)
• “Attack of the Zombie Brands! Why Tab, the Taurus, and so many other failed products are getting resurrected.” [Slate]
  Last October, few tears were shed when Ford ended production of the Taurus. The unlovely, workhorse sedan had been the company’s best-selling unit for much of the 1990s, mostly because of huge sales to rental-car companies. Shutting down production was a
  (tags: Marketing)
• “This American Life” Parody [Kasper Hauser]
  (tags: Radio)

• Beatles Album Covers in Lego
  (tags: Musicians)
• Rageh Inside Iran
  Rageh Omaar embarks on a unique journey inside what he describes as one of the most misunderstood countries in the … all » world, looking at the country through the eyes of people rarely heard - ordinary Iranians.
  (tags: Iran)
• “Turkish Star Wars, Superman, E.T. and More!” [FanTent]
  Cynical-C posted a clip of a Turkish version of Superman. I was snickering away to the low quality special effects when a comment pointed out that there are other equally amusing Turkish versions of American movies. I’ve gathered some below. It’s like
  (tags: Türkçe)
• MemeFest: International Festival of Radical Communication
  (tags: Communication)
• “Poachers and Editors Beware: Mark Trail Always Comes Punching Back” [Washington Post]
  (tags: Comics)
• Nine million faces. Nine million names. Nine million stories.
  Ninemillion.org is a UN Refugee Agency led campaign to raise awareness and funds for education and sport programs for refugee youth, many of whom are forced to spend years of their young lives away from home with little hope of returning. What happens to
  (tags: Refugees)