Month: July 2011

5 reasons to post top-5 lists

5. The numeral 5 in a blog post title is a secret signal to Google’s SEO filters that the post is a Super-premium-level link and should be moved up in the page rankings.

4. No need to worry about how to organize the post’s contents.

3. 5 is not the same as 10, so David Letterman won’t be able to sue you for stealing his bit.

2. 5 is a perfect blogging number: you can use one hand to count, and still be able to type with the other.

1. The numeral 5 looks very much like the letter S: because the most powerful link-bait word also begins with S, by a process of unconscious transference many readers will click the link hoping to get lucky.

Ganging up on the iBookstore

This evening, I went to the iBookstore in iTunes and checked out the Computers & Internet section. Not only is our iPad 2 Project Book featured, but it is #2 in the sales ranking, just behind my friend Jeff Carlson’s book. There’s also another book of mine on the page, another one of Jeff’s, two books by yet another friend, Joe Kissell, and another book by another friend, Tonya Engst.

Weirdest flash mob ever.

Simon and Garfunkel on the 405

When you’re in the car
Feeling stalled.
When smog is in your eyes
Turning them to burning balls.

I’ve blocked your lane, oh,
When traffic crawls
And off-ramps can’t be found:
Like a bridge over shut-down freeways
I will tear me down.
Like a bridge over shut-down freeways
I will tear me down.

Sorry, Lisa, “Larry Crowne” is Better Than That

Lisa Schwarzbaum trashes “Larry Crowne” with a grade of C+ while giving “Transformers 3” a B. Oh, my.

Romantic comedy has this in common with romance: when you’re not in the mood, it can disappoint. Maybe Schwarzbaum was just having a bad day.

The film that I saw this afternoon was a cute, light-hearted, broadly painted romantic comedy, showcasing some likable actors delivering engaging performances. It was funny. I laughed out loud a lot. Hanks and Roberts pair well together and they’re charming enough that you want them to get together, as they, of course, eventually and obligingly do. In the supporting roles, I particularly liked George Takei’s slightly manic and off-center economics professor. Schwarzbaum dismisses his part as “an economics professor who sounds like Mr. Sulu,” but, if so, maybe it’s because Sulu sounds like George Takei. He’s still the funniest economics professor I’ve seen recently.

Yes, “Larry Crowne” is a fluffy, pat, feel-good story in which nothing ever seems really at risk, but sometimes I don’t want to feel at risk. I want to laugh and feel good. “Larry Crowne” made me laugh out loud and I left the theatre feeling good. That’s worth more than a C+ to me.