BrandonMoeller.com

It’s the weekly list of links, except this is more than a week late and such. Yeah, I took last week off from blogging. I blame the new school year, a rush order at work and planning a wedding - all of which has helped to warp what’s left of my sanity.
ART
Time to take a bath : http://www.baldheretic.com/2009/08/09/bath-time

Why being a professor is the best job in the world : http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/2009-08-16/

Poor, poor Annie Leibovitz : http://nymag.com/fashion/09/fall/58346/

GARDENING
Hunting season for gardners? : http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=rjudd&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=rjudd&plckPostId=Blog%3arjuddPost%3a805907a5-17e1-4765-afa5-967e18cca9e8&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest

How to ripen tomatoes : http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/ripen-green-tomatoes.html

A shot of lavender, please : http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2009/08/grow-your-own-drinks.html

GEEK + TECH
Can Streamy fill the FriendFeed void? : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/why_streamy_could_be_the_next_friendfeed.php

Wired’s first look Windows 7 : http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/first-look-windows7

Maximize Photoshop efficiency and such : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/13/10-simple-steps-to-better-photoshop-performance/

Yahoo’s Know Your Mojo says I’m a “matchmaker,” as in, I should have my own game show. Lame. : http://yahoo.knowyourmojo.com/

We’re the digital sharecroppers : http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001295.html

1998 was a long, long time ago : http://www.smashingapps.com/2009/08/13/how-popular-website-designs-looked-like-in-late-90s.html

Why not to call your boss a “wanker” on facebook, especially if they’re your “friend” on the service : http://thenextweb.com/2009/08/09/note-friend-boss-fb-bitch-job/

Get the OpenID code : http://openid.net/developers/

iGoogle gets more social : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_launches_social_gadgets_for_igoogle.php

Why not to switch to Windows 7 : http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/7-reasons-to-avoid-windows-7/

Facebook to RSS … for now : http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/08/another-facebook-newsfeed-rss-application-emerges-will-facebook-let-it-stay/

What about Bob : http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001297.html

Advanced CSS 3 Selectors : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/17/taming-advanced-css-selectors/

Fonts on the web - where we’re at : http://www.zeldman.com/2009/08/17/web-fonts-and-standards/

21.3 GB = The Pirate Bay : http://torrentfreak.com/download-a-copy-of-the-pirate-bay-before-its-gone-090816/

WordPress Hook Hacks : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/18/10-useful-wordpress-hook-hacks/

Lookout for the virus that seeks out your stored-FTP passwords : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=732&doc_id=180663

Photoshop paths refresher : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/18/mastering-photoshop-with-paths/

It’s content strategy, dummy : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/the-case-for-content-strategy-motown-style/

Twitter - It replaces nothing and adds nothing : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/17/why-i-dont-use-twitter/

When stealing isn’t flattery : http://www.designer-daily.com/what-to-do-when-your-design-is-stolen-2855

How to die the green way : http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2009/08/the_ultimate_environmentally_friendly_way_to_die.html

HYPER-LOCAL
Chron Neighborhood News draws the attention of Hairballs : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/chronicle_email_quotes.php

BlogHouston talks about the Chron’s adventure in bad journalism : http://www.bloghouston.net/item/7791

A high tech county fair? : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/08/15/news/doc4a86d266d07da325602700.txt

“(Alberto) Gonzales teaching a class on executive branch issues is a bit like … Dick Cheney speaking on firearm safety” : http://www.texasobserver.org/index.php?/pi/going-gonzo-in-lubbock/

Texas Watchdog isn’t granted access to the Lege floor : http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/08/news-web-sites-denied-press-access/

It’s a good thing blogs always get it right : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/bloggingfail_right_here_in_hou.php

Holy Rosary Bazaar is Sunday : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/08/18/news/doc4a8aef2220ad4244821238.txt

Shudder: Could Perry pick Patrick : http://www.texasmonthly.com/blogs/burkablog/?p=4448

“rick perry gay” : http://www.texasobserver.org/editorial/gay-panic/

The latest issue of graffit-e, the newsletter for the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, is out : http://www.class.uh.edu/enews/2009/08/index.html

MIXED SIGNALS
I’m stock-full of playing experience, I’ll let you know : http://communitynewspapergroup.com/articles/2009/08/20/waverly_newspapers/sports/doc4a8c6a9f0eb44811736602.txt

MUSIC
Despite Eddie Money, Neko Case to play Warehouse Live on Nov. 22 : http://www.29-95.com/music/story/neko-case-houston-date-announced

Lone Star Indie Bash : http://indiehouston.org/upcoming-shows/lone-star-beer-is-having-a-show-support-your-states-brewery/

R.E.M. live discs out Oct. 26 : http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2009/08/rem-live-at-the-olympia-set-for-oct-26-release.html

New R.E.M. tracklist : http://pitchfork.com/news/36257-rem-reveal-live-album-details/

Kind of Bloop - a tribute to Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue : http://laughingsquid.com/kind-of-bloop-an-8-bit-tribute-to-miles-davis/

Astral Years : http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/17/van-morrison-rediscovers-astral-weeks-in-to-be-born-again-doc/

Why Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue is so great : http://www.slate.com/id/2225336/pagenum/all/

NEWS
Meet the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement (JADE) : http://iheartejade.blogspot.com/

A screeching halt : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/business/21clunkers.html

The rich not as rich no more, featuring Mr. (Virus) McAfee : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/business/economy/21inequality.html

It’s the weekly obligatory linkpost. Yeah, you know you want it.

Here's a shot I snapped of Westheimer at Dunlavy, during a recent visit with my pal David.

RECREATIONAL READING
Another great post from Betty Martin’s blog : http://bettymartin.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/another-anti-war-blog/

GEEK + TECH
Houston design firm makes unmatchedstyle.com : http://www.unmatchedstyle.com/gallery/poplabscom.php

For IE6, gif it, don’t png it. : http://www.pewpewlaser.com/articles/png-into-gif

“The over-extended class” : http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/005073.html

What WebMonkey wants to throw in a black hole, featuring #99ff33 : http://www.webmonkey.com/blog/8_Things_on_the_Web_We_d_Like_to_Throw_Down_a_Black_Hole

Nobody cares about your website : http://newsweaver.ie/gerrymcgovern/e_article001512755.cfm

New tools for Google Services for Websites : http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/new-tools-for-google-services-for.html

The crash-happy Firefox 3.5 : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/i-want-to-love-firefox-35-but-it-keeps-crashing-on-me/

16 ways to share large files : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/16-apps-that-make-sharing-large-files-a-snap/

Does Microsoft’s investment in Facebook net them “below-the-fold” search results when one searches Facebook? : http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/08/facebook-search-bing/

Advanced CSS tips and tricks : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/10/mastering-css-advanced-techniques-and-tools/

“… A website is more like a storefront … you need to advertise to attract trade.” : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/09/10-harsh-truths-about-corporate-blogging/

As it broke - Facebook acquires FriendFeed : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/10/facebook-acquires-friendfeed/

Blackberry vs. iPhone : http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/08/great-geek-debates-iphone-vs-blackberry/

Forgetting is healthy : http://blogs.chron.com/sciguy/archives/2009/08/in_a_webbed_world_do_we_remember_too_much.html

You can’t delete Flash “cookies” : http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/08/you-deleted-your-cookies-think-again/

Android has some cool apps : http://lifehacker.com/5331710/ten-more-neat-and-productive-android-apps/gallery/

How to create a line art silhouette : http://www.layersmagazine.com/silhouettes.html

How to create line art from a photo : http://www.graphic-design-employment.com/live-trace.html

Colorizing line art : http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=30229&seqNum=8

“New Photoshop Line Art Trick” : http://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/2008/06/06/new-photoshop-line-art-trick/

HYPER-LOCAL
Maybe carp is not crap : http://www.texasobserver.org/index.php?/botb/one-mans-trash-fish

More on the Schulenburg dance hall : http://www.texasobserver.org/index.php?/critics-notebook/destination_dance_hall

WiFi coming to Rosenberg : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/08/06/news/doc4a7b0c05465f7459130225.txt

Sunflower swiping in the Montrose? : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/some_old_ahole_is_swiping_the.php

I can’t believe there wasn’t any water at Summer Fest. My God. : http://www.29-95.com/music/story/29-thoughts-summerfest

Prescriptions just got cheaper in Fort Bend County : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/08/10/news/doc4a8082d5e8e8f365451104.txt

MEDIA
On media layoffs, and the wrong assumption of “I’m a lot better than that doofus, so I must be safe.” (the comments are as good as the post) : http://johnemcintyre.blogspot.com/2009/08/patron-and-protege.html

The term is “programmer/journalist” : http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/08/how-computer-assisted-reporters-evolved-into-programmerjournalists219.html

NEWS
How to refute the birthers : http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/08/05/birther_faq/index.html

So what - a third of the kids who graduate college were likely pushed there by rich parents and thus have no debt. For the rest, the median debt was about $20K : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/education/12college.html

ART
Why so serious? : http://www.drawger.com/drewfriedman/?section=articles&article_id=8462

Marmaduke explained : http://www.29-95.com/time-suck/story/marmaduke-explained-08-10-09

MUSIC
Elton John + Alice in Chains = Black Gives Way to Blue : http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/11/elton-john-joins-alice-in-chains-new-album-to-honor-layne-staley/

.CMX : http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/08/11/in-a-move-im-calling-too-little-too-late-too-proprietary-major-labels-are-introducing-their-own-file-format/

TELEVISION
Mad Men written predominately by mad women : http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/08/08/mad_women_writers/index.html

GARDENING
Tomato blight is partly the fault of the renewed interest in gardening, Dan Barber claims : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=late%20blight&st=cse

Coreopsis - one you don’t hardly have to water : http://blogs.chron.com/lazygardener/2009/08/ol_reliable_heat_bloomer_coreo.html

Here’s the obligatory end-of-the-week post-o-links.

A store sign spotted on the way to Freeport last week.

ART
Sharks + Beer = (Bleep) yeah! : http://fuckyeahsharks.tumblr.com/post/153105566/nickdouglas-fuck-yeah-beer-fuck-yeah-summer

COMMENTS
Third comment : http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2009/08/omg-wicked-plants-is-the-cover-story.html

GARDENING
How to recycle rain : http://blogs.chron.com/lazygardener/2009/07/recycle_rain.html

The botanical collection : http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2009/07/the-botanic-garden-collection.html

I would wiggle mine, but it was mauled by a shark : http://blogs.chron.com/lazygardener/2009/08/for_mon83_whats_in_your_escape.html

GEEK + TECH
Smash it open : http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/01/why-the-fcc-wants-to-smash-open-the-iphone/

How to Bypass Stupid Voicemail Instructions : http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/how-to-bypass-stupid-voicemail-instructions/

Laughing Squid was banned for mysterious reasons for months from Digg, proving Digg is pretty worthless : http://laughingsquid.com/digg-bans-laughing-squid-without-warning-or-specific-reason/

MySpace steps toward open : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/myspace_to_bet_its_future_on_open_standards.php

FileSoup under seige : http://torrentfreak.com/oldest-bittorrent-site-targeted-by-police-owner-arrested-090804/

WebTrends 9 is out : http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2009/08/webtrends-9-google-analytics-eat-your-heart-out.php

Die for freedom, but don’t you dare enjoy it yourself : http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/08/marines-ban-twitter-myspace-facebook/

Kill, kill, kill IE6 : http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/08/06/internet.explorer.six/index.html

A little more openness for facebook Pages : http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/08/facebook-opens-stream-further-pages-become-true-twitter-competitor/

The end of the codec wars? : http://blog.broadbandmechanics.com/2009/08/05/the-end-of-the-codec-wars/

Now that’s what I call a remote control : http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10302894-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

Bring. It. Down. : http://www.bringdownie6.com/bring-down-ie-6.html

IE6 - No More! : http://www.ie6nomore.com/code-samples.html

Transparent PNGs + IE 6 : http://24ways.org/2007/supersleight-transparent-png-in-ie6

A-Z of Free Photoshop Plugins and Filters : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/03/a-z-of-free-photoshop-plugins-and-filters/

Inside the Erskine redesign : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/erskine-design-redesign/

How to redesign your own site : http://www.alistapart.com/articles/redesigning-your-own-site/

HYPER-LOCAL
“Heck, you’ve already reduced the size of the weekday paper to a point the delivery folks are having to add weight to keep people’s copies from blowing away.” : http://loseaneye.blogspot.com/2009/07/chronblog-lets-talk.html

That’ll get their attention : http://www.fbherald.com/articles/2009/07/29/news/doc4a70b8ffe5487069255089.txt

New inspection stickers invoke feelings of cowboy pride, heritage : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/new_inspection_stickers.php

No more (kid) culture at the Woodlands Mall : http://blogs.chron.com/woodlands/archives/2009/08/museums_to_clos_1.html

Hail Mary: Nutty Christians vs. Social Science : http://www.texasobserver.org/index.php?/pi/history-the-right-way/

The Smoking Gun vs. the not-so-merry pranksters : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/08/prankster_smoking_gun.php
The right should ‘come to Jesus’ : http://loseaneye.blogspot.com/2009/08/its-time-for-come-to-jesus-meeting.html

MEDIA
Why the AP no longer matters : http://www.boingboing.net/2009/08/02/associated-press-wil-1.html

MOVIES
New Wes Anderson flick, Fantastic Mr. Fox : http://www.29-95.com/movies/story/wes-anderson-totally-wes-andersons-out-new-wes-anderson-trailer

MUSIC
Meridian, JavaJazz merge in a move that makes no sense : http://www.29-95.com/music/story/meridian-javajazz-become-one

Rolling Stone nods Listen Listen : http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/07/30/hype-monitor-listenlisten-ramona-falls-neon-indian

Loving it up while you’re falling down : http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/08/06/aerosmiths-tyler-airlifted-to-hospital-after-falling-from-stage/

Get Tweedy on the phone and over here, stat : http://www.29-95.com/music/story/sigh-another-wilco-tour-passes

NEWS
A Palin divorce? : http://gawker.com/5327957/are-sarah-and-todd-palin-getting-a-divorce

Now we pay you, now we don’t : http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6557588.html

RECREATIONAL READING
A tribute to Pumpkin : http://seanmorrisseycarroll.blogspot.com/2009/08/orange-jack.html

Portulaca (moss rose) art

GEEK + TECH

• Where’s the $10 million, Google? : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=466&doc_id=179611
• Be a keyboard ninja : http://lifehacker.com/5321432/how-to-highlight-text-like-a-keyboard-ninja
• “Now the challenge is to keep proving that Mozilla matters.” : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/technology/companies/26mozilla.html?_r=1
• What is a good standard? An essay on W3C’s design principles by Bert Bos : http://www.w3.org/People/Bos/DesignGuide/introduction.html
• A maker’s schedule : http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html
• Unlinker Replaces Thumbnails with Full-Size Images : http://lifehacker.com/5323756/unlinker-replaces-thumbnails-with-full+size-images
• Best. Vista. Service. Pack. Ever. : http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001290.html
• Kill dead-in-the-water apps in Windows with SuperF4 : http://lifehacker.com/5324471/superf4-truly-kills-faltering-windows-apps
• The definitive guide to negative margins : http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/27/the-definitive-guide-to-using-negative-margins/
• jQuery vs MooTools : http://jqueryvsmootools.com/
• Microsoft’s biggest threat isn’t Google : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=561&doc_id=179794
• A strange era indeed : http://gawker.com/5325619/chris-anderson-asshole-interviewee
• Textures + photos = coolness : http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-use-textures-to-enhance-your-photographs

MEDIA

• AP to index text : http://gawker.com/5321433/ap-to-finally-invent-indexing-of-text-on-internet
• AP and hNews : http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/07/ap-doesnt-know-its-protection-tech-doesnt-protect/
• NPR revamps its website, emphasizing written reporting over audio : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/business/media/27npr.html
• Me likes the NYT Skimmer : http://www.internetevolution.com/author.asp?section_id=705&doc_id=179674
• Two-thirds of internet users have spent time managing their online profiles : http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/social_networks_growing_while_other_social_media_sites_stagnate_and_decline.php

GARDENING

• Plantwoman on the swallowtails : http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=plantwoman&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckUserId=plantwoman&plckPostId=Blog%3aplantwomanPost%3aff52dfa6-02f9-4a5b-b67a-dad233fc0eab&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest
• Swallowtail mating : http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=plantwoman&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3aplantwomanPost%3a1daff255-e32d-4ccd-a24b-27a7cbde7bc6
• What a kook! : http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/air-conditioning-texas.html
• A self-watering container garden : http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/selfwatering-container-garden-bin.html

NEWS

• “Ruthless defaulters” unite : http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/weekinreview/26streitfeld.html?_r=1
• Go jerks! : http://physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=3414795237807494042
• Retaliating with truth? : http://www.fortbendnow.com/2009/07/29/39240

COMMENTS

• That’s not journalism : http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/07/work_visas_unemployment.php
• Why is Baytown hoarding your personal information? : http://blogs.chron.com/eastharris/2009/07/redlight_cameras_a_new_wrinkle.html

ART

• 2009 live music photos by Pin Lim : http://forestphotography.smugmug.com/Jazz:%20In%20Photos/709276
• Mad Men Yourself : http://laughingsquid.com/mad-men-yourself/

HYPER-LOCAL

• India. China. What’s the difference? : http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/cornyns-office-apologizes-for-india-comments-says-he-misspoke.php
• Burka in town Aug. 21 : http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nb/fortbend/news/6546503.html

MUSIC

• The future of album art is Apple? : http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/07/apple-and-labels-hope-to-reinvent-digital-album-as-something-people-buy/