Finds of Mine
Random shouts out to two online treasures I've been digging lately.

Space is the blog of a 19-year-old Singaporean girl who's into the Net, zines, color, and her dog. Her blog is extremely bright and happy-looking, and I've enjoyed reading the last few entries about her first days back at uni. Seems to have quite a community around her blog, too, as most posts attract a good share of comments and discussion.

Paul Hanna's Naked Acid Castle might not be of much interest to you if you don't know Mr. Hanna, but I've gotten a kick out of his friends' recent discussions and shenanigans. Paul's a contributor to Pop Image and seems to revel in the work of Warren Ellis and similar creators. Come to think of it, if you check out the Acid Castle, you might want to stumble over to Warren's discussion space. You'll find many of the Acid Castle's denizens there, too.

Building the Next Beantown Zinetown
Tireless DIY media maker and political activist Rich Mackin is starting to think about Beantown Zinetown 4, the next iteration of this annual grassroots media gathering. And he's going to do it a little differently this time:

"As I start trying to organize Beantown Zinetown 4 way ahead of time so as to not only avoid the annoyance that has plagued the last 2 but to also make it more a multi-event conference instead of the standard BZ bunch of zinesters in one room, I have decided to make up a Yahoo! group about it, instead of having an increasingly complex mailing list on my email account(s)."

I know you probably don't need another mailing list, but if you live in the Boston area, this is the premiere zinemaking gathering, and it might be fun to get involved. You can access some past reports on Zinetown thanks to Lone Ranger Radio, Wred Fright, and Rich Mackin himself.

Pull off, Plug in, Log on
Former bOING bOING and Wired editor Mark Frauenfelder writes monthly column for Playboy called Living Online. Most months, there's not too much of interest in his reports from the inside of the Web. But occasionally, he picks a winner and highlights a Web site well worth visiting. As I plan the CoF Roadshow for this fall, the more I realize that the less I carry, the better -- and that if I can't get online, I can't get to the next city in good shape. So I was psyched to see Mark's writeup of Cybercafes.com, an online directory of more than 4,000 Net cafes in 148 countries. You can learn about their hours of operation, their rates, and what kind of equipment they have on hand. Now I know that I won't need to dial in using my laptop all the time. I can just pull off to the side of the road, plug in to one of these cybercafes, and log on. Thanks, Mark.

Throwing the Book at the Boomers
This past weekend I read the most wonderful book almost in one sitting. John Strausbaugh, editor of the New York Press has written a smart, funny, and insightful book about the state of rock 'n' roll, how quickly the counterculture became a commodity, and how the Boomers who once led the revolution might have been the very architects of its demise. "Rock Til You Drop" starts as a screed against aging rockers a la the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen but quickly becomes an analysis of the commercialization of rock -- and how the rock "revolution" of the '60s as propelled by MC5, Jefferson Airplane, and other musical groups was never really meant to happen. Strausbaugh holds up several solid examples of how this happened: the Stones themselves, Rolling Stone magazine, and the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. If you have any interest whatsoever in music's role in politics or the politics of music, pick up Strausbaugh's book.

On the List: As the Globe Spins
For more commentary on the Phoenix's coverage of the recent editorial changes at the Globe -- and what they might mean for the paper -- check out Keith Berman's contribution to the Media Diet mailing list.

From the Inbox: As the Globe Spins
Have you seen the amazing Dan Kennedy piece in this week's Phoenix about the changing of the editorial guard at the Globe? Wow -- very thorough stuff, though it's too bad that new editor Marty Baron didn't give him an interview. -- Scott Kirsner, July 20

You mean Goodbye to All That? I hadn't read it yet, actually. And, man oh man are you right: It is thorough. Dan Kennedy's one of the best writers at the Phoenix, and his work documenting the media and journalism scene in the Boston area is one of the things that makes the Phoenix a true alternative paper, despite its corporate organization (the Phoenix, WFNX-FM, Stuff@night, etc.).

I'm not too surprised that so many Globe-trotters are keeping mum. This is a big deal. And I won't be too surprised if the rounds of layoffs that we've seen recently are followed by an exodus of top-level editorial talent that didn't get the head editor nod. Kennedy's right, Baron needs to build bridges with some of these folks quickly; his arrival is indeed the end of an era at the Globe. It'll also be interesting to see what the outsider's arrival means in terms of the Globe's changing focus. The paper's had a rash of plagiarism charges and bad blood internally. It's dropping sections left and right these days. Will the paper continue to lose credibility and weight? Or will it step up and renew its search for excellence? -- Heath

Meet the Meta-Community!
Web Crossing Inc. is holding a public online think tank called Return on Investment: Can Your Community Pay the Bills? through July 27, and so far, I am hella impressed with it. The people involved -- including Cliff Figallo, Jon Lebkowsky, Nancy White and other online community notables -- the ideas already being shared and discussed, and the whole feeling of the gathering energizes and inspires me like nothing else. If you have any interest at all in online communities, check it out.

While I'm on the topic of online communities, I'd like to tip hat to Craig Newmark, founder of Craig's List, which just last night won a Webby Award in the Community category. As a nominating judge in that category, I tried not to have any vested interests in the nominees, but I've got to say that I'm proud and pleased that Craig's pet project has been recognized so. Right on to someone I consider an inspiration, a colleague, and a friend.

Shows of Note
In the spirit of Bill Graham, I'm now a show promoter. Friday night, Friday the 13th, natch, I organized a concert featuring three bands: The Tardy, Clare Burson, and Gloria Deluxe. And it was a blast. After a series of near disasters -- previously scheduled bands losing band members and promised venues falling through -- Handstand Command connected with the friendly and funky folks at the MIT Electronic Research Society. Every month, MITERS holds what they call SHOW+TELL potluck performance art parties. We collaborated to punctuate the usual technology demonstrations, mime performances, poetry readings, and other high art shenanigans with live music. Folks seemed to have fun. Now Kastle, my partner in crime for this, and I are thinking of organizing another show in a month or so. Woohoo!

Hanging out with Hicks
A friend of mine, Sander Hicks, publisher of Soft Skull Press was recently interviewed in Terra Spatial. Quoth Sander about the interview, "This might be one of the best interviews I've done, because it was in Ohio, and my mind had been feeling very isolated that morning, among the ultrarelativistic, postmodern anarchist youth of the Underground Publishing Conference, 3 weeks hence."

I think I know what Sander's talking about. Way back in 1994, I was a panelist at the first Underground Press Conference at DePaul University in Chicago. Events like the old UPC-ICE and the newer UPC tend to bring out the best and the worst of zinemaking -- and zinemakers. One relatively positive zine-related event I recently participated in was the Well's Inkwell discussion about zinemaking and blogs. In fact, the similarities between the two are what inspired me to start Media Diet as a blog.

Get on the List
There's now a new Media Diet mailing list for people who are interested in discussing items published here, as well as other sundry topics. If you'd like to join the conversation, sign up today.

From the Inbox
I stumbled across your blog when updating my own -- yours came up on the "recently updated" section and I recognized the name, but wasn't sure. Are you the same Heath Row who writes for Fast Company? -- Keith Berman, July 10

I am. Do we know each other? -- Heath

Unfortunately, no. I'm a former PR guy (don't worry, this isn't a pitch, this is strictly non-business) so I've seen your name around a lot as well as read your stuff in Fast Company, which I liked, and I've always found it interesting to see what writers are like off the clock, so it was great to see that you have a blog. Meeting and chatting with Scott Kirsner (I seriously doubt he remembers me with all the people he's met though) actually made me appreciate his columns and articles more.

How'd you hook up with your band? I'm looking for a band to sing with as well, though my style leans more towards alternative than punk, so if you have any suggestions of places to look (besides the Phoenix), I'd welcome suggestions. Thanks!

Huh. I've never started a band with anyone other than friends, so I don't know what advice I can offer. You might check out a couple of local mailing lists -- Newconcerts offers notices of local events, as well as other indie-pop news; and Blisscent is a new-ish list that concentrates on "dreampop and shoegazer projects." You might also flier in places that you think might be frequented by the kinds of folks you'd like to play with. Does anyone else have other advice? Share.

Spinning Discs on the Web
As I was researching record labels based in cities I'll be visiting on the Company of Friends Roadshow this fall, I stumbled across one of the most amazing Web resources I've seen for quite some time. Record Labels on the Web is a searchable database of record label Web sites. The labels are organized geographically as well as by genre, and it's quite the useful tool -- regardless of whether you're a music geek or some sort of strange traveler who likes stopping by record label offices while you're on the road. I'd be, well, both. Thanks to the developers, Rancid Amoeba. You guys rock.