So Awake

The wonders of technology

You can now download the first episode of Tabloid Wars for free on iTunes!

Also, the Top Model strike has a Myspace page. They need all the friends they can get, and they also think you look really cute today, so why don't you add them now?

Free to be union

America's Next Top Model writer Daniel Blau, aka Djb, explains why he and his coworkers are striking (and along the way clears up a few popular misconceptions of what writing for reality means). These people aren't just standing up for their rights, they're making television history. It's an incredibly brave step, and I very much hope they're successful.

Tabloid Wars

Tonight. Bravo. 9 pm.

Watch it!

(The official site has more about the show, and realityblurred has a pretty good round-up of our press.)

Some things never change

On Monday I drank an entire cup of coffee on my drive to work, and I didn't spill a single drop anywhere. Not on my shirt, not on my pants, not even on the cupholder. It was a miracle. I thought maybe I was finally growing out of my klutziness.

Then today on my drive in, I noticed a loose thread on my skirt. "Oh," I thought. "I better cut that off before it turns into a bigger snag." So the first thing I do when I arrive at my desk is grab my scissors and proceed to CUT A HOLE IN MY SKIRT.

Fortunately, the skirt is lined, making the hole relatively invisible. But now I need to take it to a tailor before it turns into a giant tear. I have no idea how to find a tailor. Any recommendations from LA readers would be very appreciated.

I'd try to sew it myself, but now that I know my klutziness is back, I think I'd better not. I'd probably end up stitching it to my leg.

Worst week ever

Is it Friday night yet?

Headbutt mystery solved, or, the Italian John Rocker

Two different British newspapers hired lip readers to determine what Materazzi said to Zidane during the World Cup final, provoking the headbutt that cost France the championship. Whoa. I think that definitely taints Italy's victory.

Blahg update

I have learned several things over the past few days.

One, Movable Type works a hell of a lot better when you upgrade your templates and stylesheet to 3.2 instead of trying to use your old 2.6 ones because you are very lazy.

Two, not even Typepad gives me as much control as I would like, although I'm totally in love with its super-easy Amazon plugins.

Three, coding Movable Type is somewhat easier than I remembered.

I think I'm done for a little while, though. I haven't stayed up this late working on a website for years. Time to sleep.

Dance revolution!

It was classic Los Angeles: Belle and Sebastian were playing an incredible set at the Hollywood Bowl, supported by the entire LA Philharmonic -- something fantastic that could only happen here. But most people were too cool to even stand up, much less dance. (This drives me CRAZY and is really an only-in-LA thing. If you go up to Santa Barbara or down to Orange County, this phenomenon disappears.)

But! The people who DID want to dance fought back! And they won! People started rushing the aisles en masse. There was a kind of hipster conga line going between sections. And by the end of the show people had made their way to the stage, and the entire sold-out Bowl was on its feet.

I've been waiting seven years for that to happen. It was so, so worth it.

Please excuse the dust while we renovate to serve you better

We're making a few changes here at Gwentropy HQ. If something looks broken, check back in a few hours — it should be fixed by then.

- Afsheen

Blahg

I know I haven't written much here this year. It's not that I don't have anything to talk about so much as I'm really starting to find Movable Type to be a hindrance. Between comment spam, random bugs, and templates not working like they're supposed to, it's just not much fun. And I'm past the stage in my life where I have the time to hack at every little piece of code until it works the way I want.

I've been testing out Vox*, which is so much more user-friendly and a pleasure to use. Of course, it's also incredibly limited, which would drive my little control-freak self crazy if I tried to switch over permanently.

I am, however, thinking pretty strongly about Typepad. Those of you who have made that switch, how do you like it?

* If anyone wants a Vox invite, let me know and I'll hook you up. It's kind of like a high-power and better-designed (and not so teenage-y) Livejournal.