This post is a collection of some cool stuff I’ve found/read over the last couple of weeks.
First, ABC’s LOST finally returns on January 31st. Unfortunately, there are only 8 episodes in the can, and with the writers strike still on, that may be all the LOST we get for a while.
But in the mean time, here are 49 photos from the upcoming season.
The photos are hosted by the website io9, which brings me to the second topic. One of my favorite tech blogs is Lifehacker. Every day, Lifehacker features some pretty interesting articles, from new technology, to everyday tips and tricks (like how to make a 2-bottle wine carrier out of a single piece of square cloth), to helpful (and usually free) software. Lifehacker is a member of the Gawker media sites. io9 is a new member of the Gawker family, and it caters to science and science fiction. The io9 bloggers hit the ground running on the site’s January 2 launch date, and since then it has been a font of information worth checking at least once a day.
And finally, there’s TED. TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, though the scope of TED has become much more broad) is a conference that has been bringing together industry notables since 1984, and the TED website features some very cool mini-lectures. The videos can be watched on the site in flash format, or downloaded and watched via Quicktime.
All kinds of notable people, from lexicographers to presidents to people who were voted president (cough cough) to mathematicians and video game developers. I have yet to find an uninteresting video on the site.
Of particular note is a recent talk by J.J. Abrams, creator of LOST (and now this blog post is back to LOST again…the circle is complete) talks about his grandfather and a childhood magic shop purchase that has become the driving force behind his career in the film and television industry. It’s a touching an inspiring look into the “mystery” of entertainment.