Sky Yacht: The world's first practical personal blimp.

Livia and I participated in the Walk for Farm Animals today in Boston. I was thinking it was going to be more of a walk (t-shirts, sneakers, bottled water, chatting) and less of an protest (signs, pamphlets, police, hecklers). So yes fellow Bostonians, if you thought you recognized the guy in the red sox cap holding a Go Vegan poster and walking with a group of suspicious characters (including a very dedicated woman in a cow costume) you were right; that was me. Biz Stone: Fringe Activist.

Mona Lisa Smile is the story of a free-spirited Berkeley graduate in 1953 who takes a position as a teacher at Wellesley College. They're shooting it here where I work. Nice.

Cool, now you can see 63 pages of my book online at Amazon.

My friend Marc just emailed to say he bought my book at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square in Manhattan. Of course, as co-creator of Xanga.com, Marc already knows a thing or two about blogs. Still, it's out there and it's filled with how-to's (and wacky goodness) about blogs and blogging.

NaNoWriMo! Rocktober, baby. I'm thinking of giving it a shot.

My new job as Web Specialist at Wellesley College entails developing online community around personal publishing. We want people to share blurbs about their lives, and connect online in an easy, intuitive environment. Sound familiar? I love it, we're just getting started.

Ask Lutz comes up third in a Google search for "unprofessional advice." If she starts making money, will she have to change her blog's tagline?

The Sopranos Mob Nickname Generator. Biz Stone is "The Coin Operator." Don't mess.

bSTATS :: who's coming to visit? This is really cool. I hope it is available for Blogger Pro users soon. I might have to get a Blog*Spot Plus account just so I can use it.

Molly's new book, Integrated Web Design is out. I gotta get me one. Molly rocks.

I just saw a commercial for a Tuck Everlasting feature film. I know I read the book in middle school but I don't remember all the details... just that there was water that made you immortal or something like that. I love immortality water. Order me up a case.

Note to self: Items left in front of an apartment building in Manhattan, NY is not the same as stuff left in front of an apartment building in Wellesley, MA. In other words, Manhattan: it's junk, take it. Wellesley: it's rare, imported Japaneese pottery and the neighbor will introduce himself to you by asking for his dishware back. Genius Labs is not known for tact.

Tips for starting or improving your weblog Cool, Leonard Fischer of Gannett News Service mentions my new book. Gannett provides wire services to a bunch of newspapers. Nice.

Had a little meeting with these guys today. Pretty cool stuff.

The Art Speaks Volumes "We have a fraction of a second to catch their attention. Then all we can hope to do is get them to pick the book up," said Steve Snider, creative director for St. Martin's Press, who runs an art department that designs 600 book jackets a year. "Then they read the flaps and they either like it or they don't."

In Brazil, Blog Is Beautiful "Globo.com has already created three blogs for the main characters of its newest novela The Vampire's Kiss. The actors are supposed to refer to the blogs on camera to drive viewers to the Web." I love that.

Our new apartment is right across the street from a Starbucks. I was hoping it would be one of the stores with high-speed internet access. It's not. But our living room does smell like coffee in the morning.

Ask Lutz is back!

Are you ready to buy? My book is published and available for anyone who has an interest in blogging or existing bloggers who want to dig a little more into it. Only twenty-one bucks from Amazon! Special thanks to the fantastic tech duo of Monsur and Matthew for all their contributions and help.

Been busy at my new place of employment this week. That's right, Genius Labs is going back to skool. I'll be contributing to the development of the online community for the alumnae department here at the college as well as other web related goodies. Good stuff.

Xanga launches Xangazon, "A quick and easy way for you to add Currently Playing, Currently Reading, and Currently Watching selections to your Xanga Site."

Genius Labs is looking for new headquarters (again.) Also, I'm going back to skool starting tomorrow, sort of.

Meg's mom. I can't keep discovering great blogs. I need to get out of the house.

We just got the color proofs of Livia's latest book, Stained Glass: Exploring New Techniques & New Material that she wrote together with her mom, Giorgetta McRee. It's beautiful, maybe even the best yet. And it actually makes working with glass seem approachable.

LiveJournal gets some long overdue media coverage. And from the New York Times no less. Fancy.

CrashBonsai is the creation of John Rooney, an artist who is torn between the desire to create and destroy. Recently, he has been making bonsai plants, and combining them with model cars and trucks which he has creatively smashed and melted, to create "CrashBonsai," little living car crash sculptures. (via)

Katherine Murray, author of the upcoming Faster Smarter Microsoft Office XP was part of the New Riders editorial team that worked on Blogging. Now she's hooked! Check out Kathy's BlogofficeXP for XP tips.

Powell was shipped off to the last day of World Summit where he was repeatedly interrupted by jeers and protests as he attempted to defend the US environmental record. "As Powell spoke, delegates from US and Australian environmental groups repeatedly interrupted him, shouting "Shame on Bush." Thirteen people were forcibly removed from the hall by security. Even other Americans say: "Bush is moving us in the opposite direction we need to go."

Overheard at Design for Community: Community software that supports paid membership. I have long thought that a Blogger-in-a-Box™, a Mini-Xanga™, or a DIY Metafilter™ would be great products for non-profits, companies, and especially magazines who want to kick their online community action up a few notches. Complete with paid membership, full reporting, built in text ads and the ability to turn these things on or off as needed. Hey, the product could even double as a game: SimEv™.

Google has become very popular in China because of its ability to run thorough Chinese-language Web searches but now the Chinese government is blocking Google because searches could "bring up links deemed harmful to national security."

It looks as though you could potentially crack the UPC and then use a free online barcode generator together with a laser printer and some sticky labels to cause some mischief. Not recommended by Genius Labs.