April Fools’ Day, self-publishing, World Expo 2010
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Today is not a very good day to try to read the news, because there’s always doubt. Is it real or is it an Internet annoyance?
April Fools’ Day
Google did its usual array of hoaxes for 2009, this time featuring a panda named CADIE (the world’s first Cognitive Auto-Heuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity) who showed up everywhere! 
For one, Google’s Image Search was updated to include a message from CADIE featuring some of her favorite search suggestions. She likes searching for rainbows, bunnies, LOL cats and unicorns.
Trent Reznor continued to rip on Chris Cornell’s latest album with today’s announcement of a new full-length NIN album Strobe Light, produced by Timbaland. The inclusion of the Windows blue screen of death was a nice touch.
I want this to be real: “Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse Are Up to Something Really Cool.” So much name-dropping: “It involves the Flaming Lips, Julian Casablancas, Iggy Pop, James Mercer, and David Lynch. Yes, David Lynch.” Seems a bit too awesome to be valid news, but I can dream.
Here’s a nice compilation: “April Fool’s Day pranks around the Web.”
Self-publishing
Back in reality, here is a useful overview of different self-publishing services: “6 Ways to Publish Your Own Book.” The six services described are Lulu, Blurb, Amazon’s CreateSpace, CafePress, WeBook and Xlibris. And here’s one more: “Myebook: Self-Publish Multimedia Books Online.”
World Expo 2010
The awesome digital cloud skyscraper called “My Dream, Our Vision” was a finalist in Singapore’s recent contest to design a pavilion for the World Expo 2010. Here’s the winning design: “Singapore Pavilion to Orchestrate Urban Symphony at World Expo Shanghai 2010.”
Other amusements
Apparently the Pictures for Sad Children webcomic had its own April Fools-type joke, but randomly unveiled it three weeks ago, when it pretended to be sponsored by Long John Silver’s. Weird.
What is the relationship of these two aliens with pedestrian English names: Roger (the alien from “American Dad”) and Karl (one of the Visitors from “South Park”)? I sense that the fate of the universe hinges on understanding the connection between them.
I like this Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman American Gothic photo.
Here is the first of four new cartoons David Firth made for the Playboy website last year. This one is called TIME and has nothing to do with what Playboy is famous for. Good stuff.