Caleb Booker

Spark on CBC Radio

Alright, I’m a very bad Canadian. I’m only just now discovering this incredible series. So sue me. Well… ok don’t sue me even though I’ve created this almost-logo above from some image snatched randomly on Google Image search, thus committing many an old-media faux-pas.

Spark is a radio show / podcast from the CBC, hosted by Nora Young (pictured above), and I’ve been listening to them compulsively all day. Who knew that there was anything this cool out there? So far I’ve heard about telecommuting technology, immersion, internet memes, fonts, net neutrality, and how text is transformed in the digital age. I’m finding I know a lot about what they’re talking about, but always learn something I might never have known.

The best part: when an interview is really good but too long for broadcast, it’s made available on the website separately.

Check out Spark on the CBC website.

Meanwhile: dear Spark. Please make a logo available. Yes, I know, you’re a radio show… irony irony blah blah blah…

[UPDATE] – Just a few hours later, and producer Dan Misener from Spark has already scoped out this blog entry and responded to my request for a logo:

Hmm. I like mine better, but then again, I’m partial to the Futura font. Maybe this 70s/80s funk feel logo is really fitting for a cutting-edge technology show, considering how well technology seems to be dissolving our sense of history as something from “long ago”.

That was FAST though, and how cool is it that the show is so intimately interactive like this? It may seem trite, but I just have to say it: I love the Internet!

Games Week on Orange Island

I “spoke” today on Orange Island to help them kick off Games Week. This was a text-only event, which is pretty hardcore oldbie stuff.

The Orange website has full details of the event series. Here’s the transcript:
Continue reading ‘Games Week on Orange Island’

Giant List Of Web 2.0 Company Name Generators

This is what happens when geeks rule the earth. Every company name ends up sounding like “Cyclofab” or “Ambertect” or “Nfish” or “random sylables go here”. Ah well, who am I to talk… I love the name “Clever Zebra“.

Try any one of these and you’ll have a company name that will make people stand up and say: “I don’t get it! Brilliant!”

Frighteningly enough, the very first click I did on the very first tool spit out “Oonder”. Freaky.

• Web 2.0 Company Name Generator
• One Hundred Possible Names for your New Startup
• Dot-o-mator
• MakeWords.com
• RANDOMAINER.com
• Java Password Generator (all pronounceable)
• company name generator
• Web Two Point Oh!

Enjoy. Oh, and you now owe me for all your future wild success because I helped name your company. Just email me, I’ll tell you where to send the check.

Giant NES Controller

Giant NES Controller – Attack of the show’s stupidly monster one.

Giant NES controller coffee table – beautiful woodworked coffee table sized controller. And yes, fully functional.

Super Lego Mario (Level 1) – Well ok this has nothing to do with giant controllers but hey, this must have taken hours. Fans rule!

Say It With Me: “MEME”

So, we start with this 17 seconds of joy:

Zombie Kid Likes Turtles

Beautiful. Remixes ensue. The celebrity sing-along was my personal fave.

Now, the TV station picks up on it and says: “Why the hell is everyone so excited about this? Those remixes are getting massive attention! Let’s do the ULTIMATE remix and do an actual full blown follow-up story!”

Zombie Kid Likes Turtles UPDATE! New Interview! Station KGW-TV, where the original “I like turtles!” interview aired, knows which side of the bread their butter is on. They’ve aired an update to the Zombie Kid story, tracking down Johnathon and asking what made him simply blurt out “I like turtles!” and become an internet sensation

Wow, that sucked. WHY did it suck?

Memes are kind of like jokes. Imagine doing a news story about a decent knock-knock joke. Not only would the news story suck, but you probably wouldn’t like the joke much afterward.

You can’t do this on TV. At least, the correct method hasn’t yet been discovered.