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Fiction authors like Stephen King, John Scalzi, Sharon Lee, Steve Miller, and Cory Doctorow are conducting interesting attempts at online donation models. PBS has a very article that examines the methods that each of them have tried. Interesting reading if you’re a writer trying to figure out how to monetize your work. More on Publishing. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

You’re never too old to write up a holiday wish list. Santa won’t deliver, but with the right hint-dropping strategy, a loved one might! If not, you can always treat yourself - because these ten great gadgets (like the Kodak pocket video camera or the Olive Opus No.4 digital music server) are worth saving up for. Get your gadget fix. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Whether you’re settling in for an overnight World of Warcraft session or you’re gearing up for some Left 4 Dead, it’s safe to say you gamers likely have your food plan secured. But there are designated guidelines for what is considered acceptable snacking during gameplay. Ideally, you need to be able to grasp the food item with one hand, and without having to look....

DoSomething recently held a party and successfully raise half a million dollars for its charity work. That’s the good news. Nancy Rubin, the CEO of DoSomething, considered the event a failure from the standpoint of PR. That’s the bad news. With hindsight, she came up with seven recommendations on how she could have reaped more marketing and PR benefits....

Artist Paul Curtis has a new spin on graffiti: he strips away “soot, dirt, and atmosphereic detritus” to make a statement. More Art. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

The Dalai Lama made a visit to a monastery close to the Tibetan border. He visited Tawang which is in India’s state called Arunachal Pradesh. BBC caught the visit in pictures. More coverage of Politics. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

If you haven't already heard of @FakeAPStyleGuide, you're apparently not one of the 9,000 who followed the feed in the first four days. It's explosive growth, even for one of the wittiest Twitterfeeds I've ever seen. In a single day, they had 1,000 followers, and by day two, they had literary agents at their tweet....

Have you heard LinkedIn is getting a redesign? Ben Parr of Mashable's been on the story. Check out his before and after shots: Before: After: Check out his article for more.  More news on LinkedIn. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

According to a new study, obesity causes 100,000 U.S. cases of cancer per year. That number is only expected to rise, as Americans get bigger. Cancer is currently the second leading cause of death, next to heart disease. Learn more about this frightening study, and how we should all aim to lose those extra pounds, here. Read all the latest stories on cancer. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

It’s true that you can have too much of a good thing - especially in the case of branding. The last thing you want is to burn too bright too fast, only to fizzle out in a few months. Take crocs, for example. If they had made better branding strategy decisions, they’d still be a shoe wear staple, rather than a soon to be forgotten fad. It’s important to remember some key...

Check out this list of ten DIY photography tips. I must admit that they might a little too geeky for me, but I love the spirit of them. More Photography tips, tricks, and hacks. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

An alpine ski racing coach once told Michael Schwalbe of Behance that racing is 40% physical training, 30% technical skill and experience, and 30% willingness to take risks. In ski racing the 40-30-30 rule meant taking more chances and increasing the likelihood of falling. In fact, his coach told him that if he wasn’t falling at least once a day, he wasn’t trying hard enough. What’s true in ski racing is true...

You’ve got to love Etsy. It’s doing $180 million/year now with artists selling their handmade arts and crafts. Check out this video to see how Etsy works and the philosophy of the company. Total aggregation of Etsyrati. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Drew Nieporent is the entrepreneur behind the restaurants Tribeca Grill, Nobu, and Centrico. In this video (sorry, I can’t embed it), he explains why “chains” is a bad word and how “fish stinks from the head”—in other words, the head of an organization has to set the pace for all employees. More on Leadership and Food. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Eleven novelists explained how to write a great novel in the Wall Street Journal. My favorites: “Put your left hand on the table. Put your right hand in the air. If you stay that way long enough, you’ll get a plot.” Margaret Atwood When he [Junot Díaz] needs to seal himself off from the world, he retreats into the bathroom and sits on the edge of the tub. “I find the bigger the monitor,...

If you’re looking to try your hand at blogging, be prepared for a steady stream of questioning from your spouse - if they aren’t well versed in web 2.0. Here are five things your spouse won’t understand about blogging. 1. Why you spend so much time doing it. Your wife or husband might not get why you need to post frequently or strike while the creative juices are flowing - especially if you’re...

Just days after birth, babies are much too young to control their vocal cords or the muscles that shape the mouth to make specific sounds. But that doesn’t stop them from communicating in their mother tongue, new research suggests. The study monitored thirty French and German newborns, and noted distinct differences between the cries of the two tiny groups....

Who’s got the best power plug? Crave UK answers the question with their tongue somewhat in cheek. Could there be any bias with their choice for the #1 plug? I guess the writers don’t travel much and don’t care about size. Also, perhaps anthropomorphism is a bit too highly ranked? More intelligent ways to be shocked. Permalink | Leave a comment  »

Running 26.2 miles while sucking down polluted urban air wasn’t quite difficult enough for some jogging fools competing in the New York City Marathon last week, so a handful of creative folks decided to extend Halloween an extra day and run the race while donning costumes. Photogs spotted clowns, super heroes, Uncle Sam, nuns and even an apparently alive Michael Jackson....