Miss Madison-Capital City Pageant 2009

Uh. muh. gah.


Is that a red velvet dress?


Why, yes it is. (Photos by Phil Ejercito)

When I asked the night's winner, Kristina Smaby, what drives a person to enter the pageant world, she immediately noted that it is "the world's largest scholarship program for young women" and cited her own experience netting thousands of dollars in scholarship money since starting competing at the age of 18.

...really? The largest scholarship program for women? Sad panda.

Brushing off the dust

Sorry about the lapse in posting, but hey, look! These guys won $10,000 in this contest for their creation of an iPhone alarm clock app that supposedly helps people sleep better.

Developed by electrical and computer engineering senior Justin Beck and psychology and neurobiology senior Daniel Gartenberg, the application serves as a sophisticated alarm clock that wakes users up during the light sleep phase of their cycle, meaning they will be less groggy and more alert during the day. In the morning, users play an easy game that tests alertness, and the software then automatically reconfigures as it learns the user's unique sleep cycle. Called Proactive Sleep, the software could be on sale in the Apple application store in the next few months.

Interesting idea, but can it live up to the Ocarina or Hammertime apps? Only time will tell.

I'm also excited for the upcoming 100-Hour Wiscontrepreneur Challenge Feb. 18-22... how's that homework machine coming along, btdubs?

Electronic newspapers(?!)

A 1981 TV report on reading newspapers on computers.



via Waxy

FlyerSide.com

Ah, how I wish I could be part of UW's media squad and write fun features like this.

Grads Joe Nelson '06 (Math) and Andrew Kramp '04 (Economics) are ramping up plans for their Web site, FlyerSide.com. The aim of the site is to compare grocery prices by aggregating local stores' sale listings. I have a lot of hope for the implications this site holds for students living on a tight budget on and off campus.

From the article:

"Of course we want to make this a nationwide service; we've had interest from nearly all 50 states," Joe says. "We also have some exciting features in the works, like incorporating recipes and forums."

Although some listings are simply unreasonable for students dependent on the bus line to get to their destination, (Really, ALDI? And what the hell is Pierce's?) not to mention self-respect, (the day I shop for groceries at Menards will be a sad day indeed) the germ of the idea rocks.

But where's Cap Centre? TJ's? I'd even like to see convenience stores like the OP show up for when I'm deciding where to buy staples like milk and brownie mix. (Aside: I doubt Whole Foods will be showing up much on the site.)

It may be more difficult to aggregate sale listings from places like this, where sales change on a day-to-day basis, but the more campus-specific stores listed, the more student interest there will be. Even Luckyites may discover what a dent groceries can make on their budgets (?), and the Campus Mall Walgreens can only take them so far.

Sonic

I'm shamefully excited about this. Although my first Sonic experience (in sunny Pasadena) was lovely, I'm not sure it has much over Kopp's, Five Guys et al. Middleton's ambiance may also be a bit lacking in comparison...

NYT's Guantánamo Docket

...and they may be there for another year.

A Clean River is a Fun River

Some nice ad work by Stir Marketing for Milwaukee Riverkeeper (via Wooster Collective).

More samples of their work (h8 flash sites):

For Industrial Ventilation Inc.
Caption: "50 years ago, a safe work environment was easier to measure."


For Kyle's Kids
Caption: "How do children learn to grieve?"


For British Auto Service, LLC (currently expired domain)

PYG + MIA = NO.

Lordy, lordy, lordy, why did Cokemachineglow have to go and ask local act Pale Young Gentlemen to cover a Top 40 hit? And why on Gaia's green earth did PYG decide it would be most apt for them to cover "Paper Planes"???

I like the band alright, especially their older, more freewheelin' material (see "Saturday Night").

Nevertheless: be forewarned.

“In the [original], M.I.A.’s voice is thin, hiding behind a lot of production and samples of gunshots, so we thought we’d go the other way and make it more organic, honest maybe,” Reisenauer explains.

(emphasis added)

Isthmus' Jessica Steinhoff lets these guys off the hook in her review--although the track may seem to "endow the song with a new story," that story is about as effective as a tribute to Do The Right Thing performed by Cirque du Soleil.

Journalism links

Having recently been accepted to the J-School, I've been experiencing the same thrills and chills as many prospective and current reporters--excitement about New Media and their ilk interspersed with anxious spasms about the survival of the field as we know it. I've been thinking about making this (non-comprehensive) list for awhile as a means to keep track of the criticisms and possible solutions for reliable, effective coverage in the future. Recommendations of other articles are appreciated, as I'll be adding onto the list.

The Survival of Journalism: Ten Simple Facts (via swissmiss):

10 reasons why newspapers won't reinvent news (via kottke): A brief but more scathing list of traditional media's inability to compete (at least in their current incarnation) in the digital age.

News You Can Lose (via Waxy)

Crowd Funding - A Different Way to Pay for the News You Want: Sites like Spot.us have been getting a lot of buzz for trying this model, wherein readers directly fund articles they want to see covered.

The Death Throes of Print? (via DesignNotes)

The New Journalism: Goosing the Gray Lady (via Waxy)

Journalism's Digital Future (via DesignNotes)

End Times (The Atlantic via Letters In Bottles) I agree with the assertion made here that bloggers are the main fuel for the Long Tail, but think they severely lack the resources and support necessary to contend with full-fledged investigative reporting.

Let's Invent an iTunes for News counters The Atlantic:

"...while there is nothing sacred about The New York Times, the experienced, and yes, expensive journalistic muscle it deploys on events big and small is not going to be replaced by a vanguard of unpaid content providers. It’s not that journalism is impossibly difficult; it’s just that it takes enormous amounts of time and a willingness to stay with the story.

'Free is not a business model,' said Mr. Moffett of Bernstein. 'It sounded good and everybody got excited about it, but when you look around, it is clear that is creating havoc and will not work in the long term.'"

(emphasis added)

Slate's Jack Shafer responds with Building an iTunes for Newspapers, endorsing paid online publications that eschew the browser format (see this 2006 article):

"Why should a customer pay for newspapers online when they can get them free via the Web? Well, why does anybody pay for a print newspaper when they can get it free via the Web? The first answer is that despite the wonderfulness of the Web, the print version still does many things better than its electronic cousin. If you read newsprint, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't, I can't explain it to you."

Well...if it can't be explained, what future does it possibly have in a generation born and bred on online news? See the comments section on the article for more points of contention.

A Revolving Door of Editors and Publishers

(A Belated) Happy New Year

monsters break down 2009's cost-benefit

via darcel disappoints