Bing Crosby - White Christmas (colorized version)
with Marjorie Reynolds dubbed by Martha Mears

Let’s turn back the clock – forget global warming, banking meltdowns, moronic political goo and remember the 1800s with Dicken’s "A Christmas Carol."

Imagine a goose roasting in the oven, a touch of snow on the ground, a nip of frost in the air, a time of merriment with family and friends, of Christmas crackers and carol singers, sheep huddled in frozen fields below bright stars, of Channukah lights and piles of wrapped presents around a cozy fireplace.

May the spirit of the holidays bless you and those you hold most dear bringing peace and happiness to your household. And may the New Year be filled with excitement and joy and wonder.

- Douglas L. Lowell

iTunes Australia's Song of the Year 2011
Gotye featuring Kimbra on KCRW

I want to put a ding in the universe.

Twenty-two percent — more than one in five — of America's kids live in poverty, according to 2010 stats from the Bureau.

Grouping all Minnesota children together in 2009, the poverty rate was 14 percent, but among African-American kids it was 47 percent, among Hispanic children 32 percent and among Asians 22 percent. White, non-Hispanic youngsters figured at 8 percent.

Dennis Cauchon and Barbara Hansen report on the drop in income and increase in poverty.

Michael Stern Hart

At a time when "Net Neutrality" and digital access is a non-given, one is reminded of Hart's use of mainframe time for free (in *both* meanings of the word) information distribution.

Hart related that after his account was created on July 4, 1971, he had been trying to think of what to do with it and had seized upon a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, which he had been given at a grocery store on his way home from watching fireworks that evening. He typed the text into a teletype machine but was unable to transmit it via e-mail. Thus, to avoid "crashing the system", it had to be downloaded individually.

- Wikipedia

Hart's keen intelligence and tenacity are described in a letter of recommendation by his Assistant Dean at the University of Illinois posted on The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation website:

I feel strongly that the keenness of his intellect and the quickness of his mind, his personal stamina and his fearless determination to pursue avenues of inquiry which frighten the less vigorous minds are worth of serious consideration for a position in which innovation and compelling imagination are essential.

Today Project Gutenberg, which Hart founded, offers over 36,000 free ebooks to download and use on a variety of digital devices. Over 100,000 books are distributed by the organization's affiliates.

You want to see my stressed face?

The second edition of Fortnight, the new multimedia online journal assembled quarterly in New York, features 14 contributors from 14 disciplines. That's 56 young people annually, their actions today and ideas of tomorrow.

Masthead lists: Adam Whitney Nichols and Samantha Hinds as Co-Founders, Ian Lewis Campbell, Managing Editor and Patti Smith, Patron Saint. Fortnight is a Solo Foundation project.

The bridge crossing the lagoon in Boston's Public Gardens was erected in 1867.

Tai the elephant

Watching the last third of the movie was plagued by what appeared to be a loose or failing projector bulb, flickering as the entire screen went black in annoying flashes. Closing one's eyes solved the visual annoyance, but it defeated the filmmakers' purpose of spending tens of millions to make even a mediocre movie. A couple of patrons went to notify the absent management.

Technical problems happen, but we did notice how dim the projection was even without the flashes of black. Ty Burr reveals why.

Not so apparent if you use the wrong lens

Some theater owners, the same ones who complain about Video-On-Demand and the shrinking Theater-to-DVD Window, are too cheap to change 3-D lenses on Sony digital projectors (which they got for free) when showing a film that is not 3-D.

Facebook may have a huge installed base, but it's dead to me. I can't get there. The platform vendor is too active. Same with Twitter, same with Apple. Give me a void, something I can develop for, where I can follow the idea where ever it leads. Maybe there are only a few thousand users. Maybe only a few million. Hey, you can't be friends with everyone.

- Dave Winer on Twitter's new developer roadmap

Ladies and Gentlemen, we bring you a brief musical interlude.

Happy New Year!

American Consumers do their part.

What we think is most powerful is not one modality -- it’s how multiplatform you can become. Consumers want choices.

Must be a bad hair day for Skype CEO Tony Bates whose call for Premium Customers went out on the wire today.

Companies like Skype have a tremendous amount of opportunities. You have to focus on the things that matter.

Oh well, back to Monster Mayhem.

Un grande italiano che, grazie al cinema, ha raccontato la rinascita del Paese dopo la fine della Seconda guerra mondiale. - Adnkronos

Dino De Laurentiis and John Houston

''Il cinema perde uno dei suoi grandi vecchi.''

"The cinema lost one of its grand old men," said Rome's Mayor Walter Veltroni of the death of Dino De Laurentiis. Given the name of this weblog, we must mark the life of the Italian producer of La Strada. While we once shared an office building with his daughter Raffaella and her Mercedes that leaked oil, we only knew Dino De Laurentiis through the myriad films (clips) he produced and the press reports of his up and down business dealings.

De Laurentiis played an essential role in building the post-WWII, post-Mussolini Italian cinema, particularly that known as neorealism (htip Jack Riggs.) He will certainly be remembered, however, for his chutzpah.

Waiting to board a 16 hour flight to Asia. We can only fly in metal bird replicas.


Native American Dancer waits to perform the Eagle Dance

Yesterday's An Open Dialogue by CEO Steve Ballmer of Microsoft Corporation at
We're all in: Three Screens and a Cloud was actually by invitation and closed to journalists.

By contrast, today's Government Open Source Conference was streaming live.

different strokes for different folks.