Somebody Always Hates What You Do - Will Shortz

I'm a puzzle fan, and so I am interested in everything that Will Shortz (cross word puzzle editor at the NYT) does or says.

Ran across this interview with him at the Yale Daily News, and his last comment is so bone-deep true, even for hacks like me, that I simply had to share it.

"I’ve discovered that anytime you do something interesting and fresh and really nice, there will be people who hate it. And conversely, no matter how awful something is, there will be someone who likes it." Will Shortz

Backstage: Will Shortz

Global Warming Nutshell Sheet, and the F/R Ration

via archaeology.about.com

A hilarious snippet from the Annals of Improbable Research today!

Posted via web from Annabel's posterous

Global Warming Nutshell Sheet, and the F/R Ration

via archaeology.about.com

A hilarious snippet from the Annals of Improbable Research today!

Posted via web from Annabel's posterous

Mental Epiphanies

I just listened to this discussion by Jonah Lehrer on Fora.tv about how your brain works to solve problems, that there is a part of your brain that does the problem solving, a few cells in your right hemisphere it turns out, that you can only access if you're not directly focused on the problem.

It sounds really unlikely, I know—but I also know that this is definitely my experience, that when I'm working on writing a piece, a science piece that is, I often need to distract my brain by playing a game before I can complete what I'm doing. Sudoku, or Babble, or Cryptoquote, or JigZone. Just one of them and I can get back to work. In the past I've always felt guilty about this—I only have a certain number of hours to actually crank out a new science piece and the game-playing has seemed like a waste of time. I've always done it, though, especially just before the final read-through. I don't think I'll feel bad about this any more.

Street Fighter 4 Released Today

Street Fighter 4 was released today, and Mahalo has the goods!

• Street Fighter 4 Abel
• Street Fighter 4
• Street Fighter 4 Achievements
• Street Fighter 4 Akuma
• Street Fighter 4 Alternate Costumes
• Street Fighter 4 Balrog
• Street Fighter 4 Blanka
• Street Fighter 4 C Viper
• Street Fighter 4 Cammy
• Street Fighter 4 Characters
• Street Fighter 4 Chun-Li
• Street Fighter 4 DLC
• Street Fighter 4 Dan
• Street Fighter 4 Dhalsim
• Street Fighter 4 E Honda
• Street Fighter 4 El Fuerte
• Street Fighter 4 Fei Long
• Street Fighter 4 Gameplay Video
• Street Fighter 4 Gen
• Street Fighter 4 Gouken
• Street Fighter 4 Guile
• Street Fighter 4 Joystick
• Street Fighter 4 Ken
• Street Fighter 4 M Bison
• Street Fighter 4 Moves List
• Street Fighter 4 Release Date
• Street Fighter 4 Review
• Street Fighter 4 Rose
• Street Fighter 4 Rufus
• Street Fighter 4 Ryu
• Street Fighter 4 Sagat
• Street Fighter 4 Sakura
• Street Fighter 4 Screenshots
• Street Fighter 4 Seth
• Street Fighter 4 Trailer
• Street Fighter 4 Training Manual
• Street Fighter 4 Vega
• Street Fighter 4 Zangief
  

Adrenaline Rush: The Grammys

I love these days! Coverage of the Grammys at Mahalo.com on Sunday, February 8, 2009, will be just as mindblowingly exciting as the Super Bowl was last weekend. See ya there!

• Neil Diamond MusiCares Person of the Year


• Smokey Robinson Grammy Performance


• Stevie Wonder Grammy Performance


• M.I.A. Grammy Performance


• Kenny Chesney Grammy Performance


• Sugarland Grammy Performance


• Jamie Foxx Ne-Yo Grammy Performance


• Carrie Underwood Grammy Performance


• Jay-Z Grammy Performance


• T.I. Grammy Performance


• Chris Brown Grammy Performance


• Adele Grammy Performance


• Kanye West Grammy Performance


• Jonas Brothers Grammy Performance


• Jennifer Hudson Grammy Performance


• Rihanna Grammy Performance


• Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Grammy Performance


• Kid Rock Grammy Performance


• U2 Grammy Performance


• Radiohead Grammy Performance


• Paul McCartney Grammy Performance


• Katy Perry Grammy Performance


• Coldplay Grammy Performance


• Lil Wayne Grammy Performance


• Justin Timberlake Grammy Performance


• Best Rock Album 2009 Grammy Performance


• Best Alternative Music Album 2009 Grammys


• Best Country Album 2009 Grammys


• Best Pop Vocal Album 2009 Grammys


• Best Rap Album 2009 Grammys


• Grammy Awards


• Grammy Nominations


• 2009 Grammy Nominations


• Album of the Year 2009 Grammys


• Song of the Year 2009 Grammys


• Record of the Year 2009 Grammys


• Best New Artist 2009 Grammys


• 2009 Grammy Nomination Performances


• 2009 Grammy Performances


• Grammy Winners 2009


• 2009 Grammy Awards Photos


• Grammy 2009 Live Coverage


• Best R&B Album 2009 Grammys


• Bo Diddley Tribute Grammy Performance


• Robin Thicke Grammy Performance


• My Grammy Moment


• Grammy Red Carpet


• Best Short Form Music Video 2009 Grammys

Super Bowl Ads: The Preview

Is there another reason to watch the Super Bowl?

• Amy Borkowsky


• Angels and Demons Super Bowl Ad


• Budweiser Clydesdale Super Bowl Ad


• Career Builder Super Bowl Ad


• Cars.com Super Bowl Ad


• Cheetos Super Bowl Ad


• Chuck Super Bowl Ad


• Denny's Super Bowl Ad


• Doritos "Free Doritos" Super Bowl Ad


• Doritos New Flavor Pitch Super Bowl Ad


• Doritos Power of the Crunch Super Bowl Ad


• Doritos Super Bowl Ad


• Doritos The Chase Super Bowl Ad


• Doritos Too Delicious Super Bowl Ad


• Fast and the Furious Super Bowl Ad


• Frosted Flakes Super Bowl Ad


• GI Joe Super Bowl Ad


• Go Daddy Danica Patrick Super Bowl Ad


• Go Daddy Super Bowl Ad


• H and R Block Super Bowl Ad


• Heineken Super Bowl Ad


• Heroes Super Bowl Ad


• Hyundai Genesis Super Bowl Ad


• Hyundai Super Bowl Ad


• Jay Leno Super Bowl Ad


• Kings Super Bowl Ad


• LMAO NBC Super Bowl Ad


• Land of the Lost Super Bowl Ad


• Medium Super Bowl Ad


• Miller One Second Super Bowl Ad


• Monsters vs. Aliens Super Bowl Ad


• NFL Network Super Bowl Ad


• Pedigree Super Bowl Ad


• Pepsi Super Bowl Ad


• Sobe Lizard Lake Super Bowl Ad


• Sobe Super Bowl Ad


• Star Trek Super Bowl Ad


• Super Bowl Ads 2009


• Super Bowl Commercials 2009


• Super Bowl Commercials Live Coverage


• Teleflora Super Bowl Ad


• Transformers Super Bowl Ad

Election Results and Exit Polls

I spent part of the morning today, the BIG DAY, making telephone calls to college kids in my precinct for Obama. Most of the people in my neighborhood have already voted, and it's mostly the kids who are waiting until the last minute. It was good to talk to so many, all of whom said they were going to vote or had just returned from voting.

This afternoon, I'm going to be watching the polls for Mahalo.com. We have a network of people set to track polls this afternoon and evening, folks all over the country, with separate pages for each state and we will be watching and getting the exit polls and results listed.

Here's the main pages:

Election Results
Election Exit Polls
Presidential Polls

And I'll be tracking
Iowa: Exit Polls, Election Results
Minnesota: Exit Polls, Election Results
Oklahoma: Exit Polls, Election Results
Illinois: Exit Polls, Election Results
Nebraska: Exit Polls, Election Results
Oregon: Exit Polls, Election Results

And I'm going to be watching these as they change, because I can't miss a battleground state, not one.
Pennsylvania: Exit Polls, Election Results
Florida: Exit Polls, Election Results
New Hampshire: Exit Polls, Election Results
Virginia: Exit Polls, Election Results
Nevada: Exit Polls, Election Results
Indiana: Exit Polls, Election Results
Georgia: Exit Polls, Election Results
West Virginia: Exit Polls, Election Results
North Dakota: Exit Polls, Election Results
Ohio: Exit Polls, Election Results
New Mexico: Exit Polls, Election Results
Missouri: Exit Polls, Election Results
Montana: Exit Polls, Election Results
North Carolina: Exit Polls, Election Results
Colorado: Exit Polls, Election Results

Please feel free to join me. The champagne is on the ice, which we have planned to use as celebration or solace, but --- dare I say it? we are hoping for the former!

Go Obama!