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Posts from the ‘A series of tubes’ Category

What’s The Deal with Rogers DNS Hijacking?

It was discovered today that Rogers Internet has started a new practise (often called “DNS Hijacking”) that redirects you to a Rogers-branded pages full of advertising instead of a “Page Not Found” page when you mis-type a web address (or type a non existent web address).

Click on for a patented “What’s the Deal?” Breaking down what this is about, why it sucks, and why you should care. Read more

XKCD meets state campaign financing

Given that, US politics often influences Canada to varying extents, there’s been a number of times I’ve been frustrated that I can’t donate to US political campaigns… although almost always at the national level. I can’t say I’ve ever really wanted to support a Kansas state representative before. I’m sure it’s a lovely state, I just don’t have a vested interest.

But this? This deserves $8.

(via Balloon-Juice)

Behind “The Waldo Ultimatum” (Part 1)

The Where’s Waldo on WordPress blog has posted the first part of a three-part interview Matt Hoos and I conducted with blogger Michael Liss last month about “Where’s Waldo” and even thought it was a three hour discussion about Waldo, he’s somehow managed to make us sound reasonably coherent.

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Ah man this is going to be stuck in my head all day…

Feist teaches us about counting to a number bigger than three, but less than five…

I’ll tell you where Matt is…

Ooh! Ooh! I know where he is!

… he’s all over the freaking internet and still going strong.

I remember Matt Harding’s 2005 “Dancing” video pretty clearly. A friend of the family was doing a world tour around the same time, so I’d often contrast his e-mails with what Matt was up to.

But this… this is just awesome. It’s raising the game both technically and artistically. Stupidly inspiring and sentimental, and speaks to something so primal I could watch it all day. Furthermore, Stride Gum, (who financed this whole venture) is so hands off with their branding (outside of their own site) that as soon as this is posted, I am going to walk to the convenience store on the corner and buy a bunch of their freaking gum. I don’t even like gum.

Where the Hell is Matt 2008 (thanks to MGK for the hook up… I should just start scraping his feed).

Submitted without comment

More information on traditions can be found on the internet (specificially on Balloonjuice via Mightygodking, of course).

From the heart

After a frustrating day of being tired and cranky, and trying to focus on some trifling paperwork it suddenly occurred to me (as it does a couple of times each year), that I miss Bill Hicks. And sure enough, it’s probably been almost exactly 15 years since Bill finished recording Arizona Bay.

And that sucks.

(NSFW)

Bryan Lee O’Malley and the case of the TokyoPop Pilot Pandemonium

Bryan Lee O’Malley has recently posted a number of objections regarding TokyoPop’s default contract for their new Manga Pilot Program.

Firstly the obligatory disclosure that I have a gigantic man-crush on Bryan. Anyone who has ever worked at The Beguiling is automatically cooler than me, but come on – “Lost at Sea”, “Hopeless Savages”, “Scott Pilgrim”!? I have lost this battle already. So I actually was going to limit my comment on this issue to an e-mail to him directly. But since a lot of other people have started commenting on his original post, especially creators I have huge respect for

[Edit – I owe Lea an apology as this whole kerfuffle started with her post, I mis-read the timing of the posts .. worse – I mis-spelled her name (which she was too polite to point out). How bush league is that?]

(Lea Hernandez, Kris Straub, I’m looking at you) I felt it was important to get some kind of contrarian opinion out there for anyone who might be Googling.

So please take what I have to say from a place of deep respect for some of my favourite creators out there: There are bad screwjob contracts out there. TokyoPop may have a record of bad Original Property Agreements (of which I can’t comment, having never seen one, or heard anything about one, ever) [Edit – No, their record is pretty bad. See my amended take at the bottom]. However as someone with no particular tie to TokyoPop whatsoever (other than devoting a copious amount of my bookshelf to Shojo titles which-shall-not-be-named) this particular agreement is not one of them.

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