Somewhere Over the Rainbow: from deep inside the Jonathan+Gabi archives

Gabi and I watched Meet Joe Black last night—her for the first time, me for the second (or third). The first song in the closing credits is Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s ukulele version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The song reminded me of the version of the song in the video below that Gabi and I performed for the Franciscan University talent show back in college before we were married, circa Fall 2005.




It’s quite a bit different than Kamakawiwoʻole’s version and far cry from Judy Garland’s original. There’s one weird jump in the recording about half way thorough, but still, it’s worth watching for Gabi’s vocal acrobatics.

Do you think Gabi and I should take this show on the road?

by Jonathan Frei

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFNJGujBInI?feature=oembed&w=250&h=140%5D
Darth Vader and Son — Book Trailer (by ChronicleBooks)

What if Darth Vader took an active role in raising his son? In this hilarious and sweet comic reimagining, Darth Vader is a dad like any other—except with all the baggage of being the Dark Lord of the Sith. Celebrated artist Jeffrey Brown’s delightful illustrations give classic Star Wars® moments a fresh twist, presenting the trials and joys of parenting through the lens of a galaxy far, far away. 

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
by Jonathan Frei

AI is not about replicating human intelligence

AI is not about replicating human intelligence

It’s about a new kind of intelligence.

The AI community is beginning to question whether we should be so obsessed with recreating human intelligence. That intelligence is a product of millions of years of evolution and it is possible that it is something that will be very difficult to reverse engineer without going through a similar process. The emphasis is now shifting towards creating intelligence that is unique to the machine, intelligence that ultimately can be harnessed to amplify our very own unique intelligence.

by Jonathan Frei

Happy Birthday David

I’m really getting excited for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus movie after seeing this second promo video.

The first one I saw was great too. It’s set to look like a TED talk from 2023.

I always find sci-fi prequels strange though since everything looks so much more futuristic than the movies that follow them in cronology but proceed them in release date (e.g. Star Wars).

There’s an official trailer for the movie too.

by Jonathan Frei

What I’m reading

Here is a list of the last 100 things I’ve read (courtesy of Instapaper). This list has items that consists of things I’ve read since March 30, 2012. A few of these things I’ve already linked to or blogged about but most are just things that grabbed my attention long enough to read from beginning to end (which is saying a lot for links on the Internet).

  1. Gladwell reveals writing strategies | Yale Daily News
  2. Writing in the Age of Distraction (Who distracts you the most?)
  3. The Battle of All Mothers – WSJ.com
  4. Living Together, With One Condition – His and Hers Houses – NYTimes.com
  5. TED | TED Quotes | Top quotes
  6. as a child rests in his mother’s arms, so will i rest in you
  7. Let’s ride this bull!
  8. Your iPad: The Creative Tool You Never Knew You Needed [Video]
  9. How Computers Are Creating a Second Economy Without Workers – Bill Davidow – Business – The Atlantic
  10. Finding Your Voice
  11. The end of the diva paradox
  12. AuBHO – WSJ.com
  13. Essay: First, Care – Merlin’s Media – Video, Audio, Photos and More – Merlin Mann
  14. Jonathan Harris . Mar 19, 2010
  15. Jonathan Harris . The fading light
  16. Facebook and Instagram as company towns
  17. Don’t give up (you’re on the right track)
  18. Staying Independent
  19. Bad Ass | Cracked.com
  20. Love and Safety
  21. The Packers Can’t Beat the Lions – WSJ.com
  22. The Two Economies – NYTimes.com
  23. A VC: Life Liberty and Blazing Broadband
  24. A List Apart: Articles: Getting Clients
  25. A List Apart: Articles: Dive into Responsive Prototyping with Foundation
  26. Michelle Borkin
  27. Instagram’s CEO was a Marketer Who Learned to Code by Night
  28. Selling Free Software – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation (FSF)
  29. c’est bon.
  30. Wild Goose-Step Chase – WSJ.com
  31. What is free software? – GNU Project – Free Software Foundation (FSF)
  32. Mingle2 – How I Built a Web 2.0 Dating Site in 66.5 Hours
  33. Flashback and the E-Word
  34. iowahawk: A Vote For Obama is a Vote For Civility
  35. Zombies, Yes, but No Cash – NYTimes.com
  36. When Companies Become Countries
  37. Why Are So Many Americans Single? : The New Yorker
  38. How To Craft A Job Search Elevator Pitch – Forbes
  39. What’s the big idea? – FT.com
  40. The Internet Is a Major Driver of the Growth of Cognitive Inequality | Mother Jones
  41. Sourced Quotes, 14
  42. Is everyone entitled to their opinion?
  43. What is Philosophy? An Omnibus of Definitions from Prominent Philosophers
  44. Bryan Burrough on the Costa Concordia Captain’s Deadly Error and the Dramatic Rescue That Saved Thousands of Lives | Blogs | Vanity Fair
  45. Woody Allen, Creative Management Genius: Observatory: Design Observer
  46. Boyz II Goats – WSJ.com
  47. Twitch
  48. Happiness: No longer the dismal science?
  49. Cancer and epigenetics: Cancer’s epicentre
  50. The People vs. the IRS
  51. Are You Afraid to Earn More?
  52. The Ottoman Empire’s Life-or-Death Race | Past Imperfect
  53. Want To Be More Creative? Get Bored
  54. Age and wisdom: Older and wiser?
  55. Why Storytellers Lie
  56. What Is Science? From Feynman to Sagan to Asimov to Curie, an Omnibus of Definitions
  57. this link (Might as well face it, you’re addicted to games)
  58. COPE: Create Once, Publish Everywhere
  59. Tim Siedell: Baseball Is Life
  60. The Six Most Important Ideas From An Event Apart Seattle 2012 – mStoner – Blog
  61. The Dissent That Wasn’t – WSJ.com
  62. i choose to love.
  63. Apple’s Highest Priority Is Obviousness
  64. Robot Love
  65. Cloning Successful Startups
  66. Watching Me Blog | Six Pixels of Separation – Marketing and Communications Blog – By Mitch Joel at Twist Image
  67. Productive Living
  68. Obama’s Base Play – WSJ.com
  69. Is Your Product Ready for Its Close-up? | Inc.com
  70. Creativity tools: The next wave of iOS apps? — Apple News, Tips and Reviews
  71. What if Stupid People Organized?
  72. Why Entrepreneurial Thinking Is For Everyone Now :: Articles :: The 99 Percent
  73. Will Low Prices Help You Sell More? (Biz Book Friday!) « Unicornfree
  74. The Man Who Knew Too Little – WSJ.com
  75. How Perfect Pricing got me 1500 Sales in 2 Days | A Smart Bear
  76. Perfect Pricing Part Deux — More money from fewer sales | A Smart Bear
  77. Letters of Note: C. S. Lewis on Writing
  78. Why Didn’t I Think of That? | Think Quarterly by Google
  79. Startups, This Is How Design Works – by Wells Riley
  80. Why Xanax is the Most Popular Anti-Anxiety Drug in America — New York Magazine
  81. If your happiness is based on always getting a little more than you’ve got…
  82. The Case Against Kids
  83. Teaching Wikipedia to Write Itself
  84. Why Don’t Black People Protest ‘Black-on-Black Violence’?
  85. Anil Dash on Readability and Instapaper
  86. What the Betamax Case Teaches Us About Readability
  87. Symbols, everlasting
  88. Do the Right Thing – WSJ.com
  89. Thinking – Why I’m taking full responsibility for my education
  90. Talent or Handicap
  91. The War Against Youth – Esquire
  92. The psychology of morality: Time to be honest
  93. Fracking and Self-Sufficiency in Gas and Oil-Becker
  94. Test Your Creativity: 5 Classic Creative Challenges
  95. Energy Self-Sufficiency—Posner
  96. Why Some Cities Lose When Others Win
  97. The Advertising Industry’s Definition of ‘Do Not Track’ Doesn’t Make Sense
  98. My Unsavvy Twitter Code of Conduct
  99. → Hammerforum
  100. Leonardo’s To-Do List : Krulwich Wonders… : NPR

Let me know if this is of any interest, and I’ll keep posting lists of what I’m reading. Maybe I’ll include some comments about items that struck my fancy.

by Jonathan Frei