Blog is a Mix Tape

one line: i got out just in time

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:17:26 -0800

I clicked on over to my Facebook account, only to find --I'D BEEN SPAMMED!!!

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song for sunday: that thing happened...

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 21:16:01 -0800

Jazzanova

Berlin got a new show in 2006, Belle et Fou realised by four star chef and event caterer HANS-PETER WODARZ and producer/director ARTHUR CASTRO. Besides dance, theatre and refined culinary delights, this new project from the makers of Pomp, Duck & Circumstance has one very special highlight to offer: the soundtrack is by JAZZANOVA.

-quango.com

This track is of particular interest because it was originally sung by Vikter Duplaix. Clara Hill gives it a completely different vibe. I dig it. The whole soundtrack, however, is stellar. Jazzanova can do very little wrong.

I'm staring at the screen, distracted by the corny profile that 60 Minutes is doing on Facebook (although I'm impressed that after the first half of puff, Leslie Stahl is digging into Beacon a bit), and thinking about what I want to share about my week. That's what these song for sunday posts have become. For some odd reason, I want to talk about how I've been postponing cleaning my bathroom all week and using remember the milk to do so. That's not a good story.

I feel like I should say something about the week I had with my sister - it began with us leaving Vegas, the middle was having Ethiopian at Nyala, the end was dropping her off at the airport for her to return to school today - but I'm not trying to get all sappy up in this piece. Especially when I know she's reading. The highlight, however, was switching iPods with her at McCarran Airport and getting her into Björk. She left town with a CD packed with my favorite tracks from across her entire catalog. Bomb.

I could talk about the Murakami Exhibit (that needs it's own post) or the trip we took to Pink's yesterday (but I might turn that into something for laist) or my initial thoughts on the first two episodes of the final season of The Wire or on all the signs that I'm starting to act like a grown-up that showed themselves this week. I could talk about all those things but I don't feel like it.

It's Sunday, Andy Rooney is being crabby, my feet are up and I'm still not going to clean that damn bathroom.

It's enough.

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one line: world AIDS day

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 10:26:01 -0800

"You could fill Dodger stadium with the 60,000 people now living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County"

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A Week of Great Service

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 10:46:58 -0700

Just want to give a little public thanks to:

Our Waiter at Arnie Morton's on Monday - It was our first time there and he treated us well. He cracked jokes, asked if we smoked out before arriving, was convinced he'd seen us before (which, you know, is possible. We are internet famous), brought us complimentary asparagus and molten lava chocolate cake and regaled us with tales of his long time experience as a waiter there. The steep bill was well worth it for my birthday dinner. Kudos.

Curtis - Curtis has been my bartender of choice for at least 2 years. It began the night of the LAist one year birthday party and has continued ever since. This week, with a packed bar at The Vermont, he bought Felicia and I our first round and then gave us a 5 minute classic Dave Chappelle routine. The whole experience of the Vermont is about us getting great service. From our favorite valet, who can see us coming from a mile away to Alex, the 2nd bartender, to the bar backs, the good twin and bad twin, Kevin, and even you, Smarmy Waiter, y'all make The Vermont always feel like home. Huzzah!

Dj O-Dub -- Mayne, you were in mad service to my feets last night. I did the slide, the twist, the wop, the boogaloo, the happy feet, the running man, the robot, the jerk, the swim, the shimmy shake, the rhumba, the salsa, a little west coast swing, the glide, the mashed potato, and my best James Brown and Billy Preston impersonations to your Soul Sides set at Funky Sole. We walked in to Mr. Wang dropping some of my Soul Sides faves - Those Dells and Dionne Warwick joints - before he just tore the roof off the sucker. It was hot and sweaty in the Star Shoes back room and it was perfect. O-Dub let my soul glow. Egon and Miles weren't bad either.

Joey - We see you, Joey, our Fred 62 waiter being sweet on us at 2 in the morning. Yes, you're right, we are internet famous. Now, go get us some mac daddy and cheese balls, damnit.

I appreciate y'all. I really do. Now, if only someone would come be in service of this damn sick I'm encumbered with today.

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@sxsw: The Ramble

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:27:22 -0700

I'll come back to a lot of the things I'm going to touch on here more deeply later (particularly twitter, the digital ethnorati panel, and the new "online identity" conversations) but here's what my very tired brain is thinking about:

Twitter:

How did I stay connected to people at SXSW before twitter?
I do have unlimited text on my phone, right?
Twitter is not for your personal conversation. Let's try a one interaction AB conversation (and use the @username convention) and not AB AB AB AB AB AB where I don't know if you're talking to me or not. Remember we don't all have the same friends. We do still have IM and Direct Message and E-Mail for that.
It is not rude to stop following someone.

People:

Samhita and Erica are some of my new favorites. Get Familiar.
Laina and Ms Jen are now officially part of my sxsw inner circle
I'm awfully excited I finally got to meet Rox and RKB in person
It's nice being able to talk work stuff with work friends like Amy and Cruftbox at SXSW
George, Lynne, Tiffany, Lainie, and Tracy are all my ace #1 peoples but you know this

Parties (one word thoughts):

Panels:

Business Side of Web Design

I really need to come up with the "Agency Constitution" for my production team
I really need to form a production philosophy that we'll adhere to. A mantra, if you will (and not negative ones like "No more phases" and "Not a production issue").
I don't have any design/agency/business role models. I should get some.

Emerging Technology and Social Trends

Summary thought: Now that people have developed online identity, they are now seeking a sense of place and that often means at points where online and offline worlds intersect.
We really need to stop thinking about offline and online as separate.
public vs. private is still a huge (and unsolved) issue.
SF nerds name-check plazes all the time but I don't think it has much average user application (or provides a service that people are clamoring for)

Every Breath You Take

New etiquette rules really need to be established for online and mobile communication
Reputation, Identity, Presence, Nameplaces - these are my kinds of buzzwords
How does the desire for someone like me who wants a persistent online identity exist at the same time that many people (particularly young people) like the concept of disposable identity? Are their tools and applications that can make the web better for both types of folks?
What about those who want no online identity but still wants the tools that are increasingly requiring identity creation?

Production 2.0

Short form/online content creators are mostly thinking about how to navigate big media negotiation instead of thinking much about the new challenges they face as their content gets monetized (unions, guilds, talent, production value)
I don't know enough about the VLOG community

User Generated Content

This requires it's own post.

The Digital Ethnorati (questions)

Do we get to self define ourselves as the "Ethnorati"?
When unexpected communities begin using a tool in unexpected ways, is there a kind of "byte flight" where the intended/existing community leaves for other options? (See Orkut, see fotolog, See even Friendster)
I'm not sure I subscribe to the assumption that online access is for all (at least not in the "a laptop in every living room, a broadband connection in every wall" kind of way it was discussed here)
Are there companies thinking about technology tools from ethnic/geographic perspective? Who are they? Who is running them?
Aren't the tools being created from a commerce perspective different from the ones that academia and/or socially progressive organizations need in the communities they service?
Does perception matter in this case?

Dan Rather Keynote

snooze

(This isn't done but I want to get it live. Many many links to come)

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@elsewhere: California Love

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 16:50:23 -0800

In a pretty dismal year for hip-hop, local hip-hop head Peanut Butter Wolf and his Stones Throw label put out some of their best work ever and the absolute top of my overall best list for the year are two of their releases. So I said to myself, "Self, you've got an LA record label making LA records. Make a list."

- Jason Toney's Top 10 Best LA Hip Hop CDs of 2006 by Me, LAist, 12.18.06

Please ignore the picture of my big ol' bucket head. It's far too ginormous.

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