Apple's Aug. 7th Event: iPhone & iPod Free

I've been lax in reporting Apple/Mac news. Especially with the release of the iPhone. I just don't have that much interest and need to upgrade as soon as I move. Maybe then I'll get a bit excited. Unless this coming Tuesday changes things:

AppleInsider : Apple to host Mac event next Tuesday

Apple Inc. is gathering analysts and members of the media for a Mac-related press event to be held at the company's headquarters in Cupertino on Tuesday, August 7th, AppleInsider has been told.

Unlike past events in which the company drafted and issued digital invitations through e-mail, word of next week's event was initially spread Tuesday afternoon via phone calls from Apple's media relations personnel.

AppleInsider was told, and Gizmodo confirms, that the event will be restricted exclusively to Mac announcements. In speaking to journalists by phone, Apple representatives were reportedly very clear in expressing that no iPhone or iPod product announcements were in the cards.

My predictions:

1. New iMacs = 90% probability
2. Mac mini replacement (or greatly redesigned, although I don't know how that's possible/desirable) = 50% probability
3. Sub-notebook Mac = 25% probability
4. Leopard details = 50% probability

The first two should ship immediately. The Sub-notebook, if it materializes, ships in time for the college kiddies to use at the start of the semester (late August or early September). No firm date for Leopard's October release.

1st Amendment Shootout: Thurs, Aug 2nd

emergency PLEASE READ, originally uploaded by Atila

COME TO AN NYC SHOOT-OUT FOR FREEDOM
AT UNION SQUARE, THURS Aug 2nd 1130 AM till 2 PM
BRING A CAMERA - TAKE PHOTOS - FORWARD THIS INFO

Photographers, filmmakers, local residents, and tourists face serious restrictions by the NYC Mayor's Office proposed law.
The City plans to enact legislation THIS Friday. The NEW LAW will require any group of two or more people who want to use a CAMERA (still or moving) in any public location to have a permit and proof of a one million dollar liability insurance policy.

[For more info, click on the photo.]

Let The Bitching Begin

Well, hopefully not. Today begins the nominating process for:

The 2007 Black Weblog Awards.

The Black Weblog Awards are for weblogs for, by and/or about Black people. If you've got a question on what a Black weblog is, feel free to browse the winners from past years (2005, 2006).

Please read ALL of the rules and vote accordingly. I'm making it a point to vote later this week after careful consideration.

Books In 15-Minutes & $3 A Pop?!

Simply put, this sounds amazing. It could help me tremendously if used smartly.

And Now, Folks, Behold the 15-Minute Publisher

Today, the book business is faster still, but few things are as fast as something called the Espresso Book Machine, the product of a high-tech publishing venture that has nothing to do with caffeine.

Yesterday, in the lobby of a Midtown branch of the New York Public Library, three visitors — a graduate student, a Hong Kong publishing executive and a sixth grader — stood in various states of awe as a Rube Goldberg contraption produced a book from digital code to hefty paperback in under 15 minutes.

The book machine, which occupies the space of two deli-style ice cream freezers, looks like office photocopiers attached to a tinted stereo cabinet and computer terminal. It hums, makes spitting noises, moans and then belches out a newly glued book, fresh as bread and almost as hot.

Happy 83rd Mr. Baldwin

[ via writer-activist Kenyon Farrow ]:

There is too much for me to say about James Baldwin. No writer means more to me than him.

If you know me, you know that I'm a huge fan of Baldwin, and second Kenyon's sentiments. I know the event is over, but I figure Kenyon will have a recap soon and y'all will want to know how it went.

Lady, You're No Broad(sheet)

The New York Times narrows its page width — from a hefty 13-1/2 inches, down to just 12 puny inches. It just doesn't seem like The New York Times I grew up with. Of course, I can't remember the last time I bought a paper copy of the Times; or any newspaper for that matter. In fact, I don't read physical newspapers unless I get them for free.

New Hopes For Ancient Timbuktu

I've always been fascinated by Africa and her ancient kingdoms/civilizations. Especially Timbuktu:

Timbuktu Hopes Ancient Texts Spark a Revival

Ismaël Diadé Haïdara held a treasure in his slender fingers that has somehow endured through 11 generations — a square of battered leather enclosing a history of the two branches of his family, one side reaching back to the Visigoths in Spain and the other to the ancient origins of the Songhai emperors who ruled this city at its zenith.

"This is our family's story," he said, carefully leafing through the unbound pages. "It was written in 1519."

The musty collection of fragile, crumbling pages, written in the florid Arabic script of the sixteenth century, is also this once forgotten outpost's future.

[ tags: Timbuktu, Mali, Ancient Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa ]

A Mini Event?

Keep your eyes on Apple as they make announcements today — 10am to 1pm PST. You can reread my updated predictions below, but I think the Mac Mini may be the biggest surprised. Either it gets updated instead of killed, or it morphs into a better system with peripherals. It'll still be somewhat expensive though.

My predictions:

1. New iMacs = guaranteed | was 90% probability
2. Mac mini replacement (or greatly redesigned, although I don't know how that's possible/desirable) = 90% probability | was 50% probability
3. Sub-notebook Mac = Dead! | was 25% probability (what was I thinking?!)
4. Leopard details = still 50% probability
5. Other software updated and/or introductions = 50/50

No more comments from me till I get home late tonight. In fact, I don't know if I'll even be near a computer at work to get the news. *sigh*

On Apple's August 7th Event

It's kinda late, I had a lousy day. So I'm jacking a big update post straight from Mac Rumors:

August 7th Updates: iMacs, iLife '08, iWork '08, Mac Mini (Keynote Video), Posted by arn

Mac News
Apple introduced quite a few updates today, so we summarized them here to make sure you didn't miss any of them:

~ iMacs - brushed metal, with thin keyboard, up to 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme Processor. (unboxing)
~ iLife '08 - completely new iMovie and updated iApps (video tour)
~ iWork '08 - updated Keynote, Pages and new spreadsheet called Numbers. Downloadable demo available.
~ .Mac - personal domains, increased storage (10GB) and transfer limit (100GB), Web Gallery (example)
~ Mac mini - Core 2 Duo processors at 1.83GHz/2.0GHz.
~ Airport Extreme - now with Gigabit ethernet.
~ Mac Pro RAID - build-to-order RAID card for $999,..

Individual stories are linked above. {ed. only if you follow the link I stole.}

Apple has posted a quicktime video of today's event.

So, what do I think?

While some are bemoaning a so-so event, I am satisfied with Apple's announcements. I expected the Mac mini to die or be transformed. Yet Apple barely mentioned it. At least it got some mention as there was no word on Mac OS 10.5 (AKA Tiger). Guess they're waiting on Mac World Paris.

I am loving the new iMac and may... just may finally get a new computer. Yeah, I know. I always say that with every event. This time, I think I finally have no excuses. I am especially excited by the updated iLife and iWork suites and the introduction of Numbers. I could never wrap my brain around Excel, so maybe I finally have productive, intuitive tools for business.

Go Victor! Get Busy!!

A collaborative effort from the creative minds of Singer Kevin So and writer-director Kevin Merritt, Victor Woo — The Average Asian American:

1980's preteen Victor Woo dreams of becoming a pop star "sensation". His Chinese-born parents see a different future. Confronting cultural expectations and media stereotypes, "The Average Asian American" reconciles his duty to his family, his heritage, and himself.

Victor Woo — Average Asian American will be playing at the 2007 Fringe Festival. Performance Schedule:

All performances are at:

The Village Theatre
158 Bleecker Street (NYC)
between Sullivan & Thompson (east of 6th Avenue)

Additional information can be found at the production's MySpace page.

I still haven't bought So's latest album, A Brighter Day, but his previous work is very good and highly recommended by me. Here's Kevin's latest gig info (from his email list) the day before the Fringe Festival:

What: The Return of "KEVIN SO & MIDNIGHT SNACK" - 9pm
Where: ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL, 196 Allen Street (b/t E. Houston & Stanton), Lower East Side, NYC
When: Friday AUGUST 10th 9pm showtime
Cover: FREE Rockwood Music Hall
Who: Kevin So - piano / Brad Craig - guitar / Kona Khasu - bass / Dan Weiner - drums

Our My Space page: Kevin So & Midnight Snack

Check out this page for NEW MP3s, NEW TOUR PICS, etc !!!

An Inside Look At Terry Gou's Factory City

The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating and insightful look at Terry Gou (founder) and Hon Hai, the iPod, Wii and PC maker:

The Forbidden City of Terry Gou

Past a guarded gate on the outskirts of this city sits one of the world's largest factories. In dozens of squat buildings, it churns out gadgets bearing technology's household names -- Apple Inc.'s iPods and iPhones, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s personal computers, Motorola Inc. mobile phones and Nintendo Co. Wii videogame consoles.

My 2nd Most Anticipated Book Of 2007

The Water Cure: A Novel By Percival Everett

From the publisher:

I am guilty not because of my actions, to which I freely admit, but for my accession, admission, confession that I executed these actions with not only deliberation and premeditation but with zeal and paroxysm and purpose . . .

The true answer to your question is shorter than the lie. Did you? I did.

It comes out on August 21st, so read his other works beforehand. I mos def recommend Erasure (I'm sure Oprah won't. Har!!).

Return Of The Ghetto Nerd

I can't remember the last time I was this anxious for a book release. I am seriously considering a week of precious vacation time to guarantee time to read the damn thing. So yes, if you were wondering about the title of my last post: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is my most anticipated book for 2007. By far!

Amazon has a nice blurb from one of my heroes (publishing or otherwise):

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a book that speaks in tongues. This long-awaited novel by Junot Diaz is a masterpiece about our New World, its myths, curses, and bewitching women. Set in America's navel, New Jersey, and haunted by the vision of Trujillo's brutal reign over the Dominican Republic, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is radiant with the hard lives of those who leave and also those who stay behind-it is a rousing hymn about the struggle to defy bone-cracking history with ordinary, and extraordinary, love. -- Walter Mosley, author of Devil in a Blue Dress and Cinammon Kiss

There's a brief excerpt available at website of the 2006 edition of ¡Vamos! (a ten day biennial festival celebrating Latin and Lusophone cultures in Newcastle-Gateshead, UK).

Coming Soon: Soul Bounce

I'm psyched to see what Nova's gonna do with Soul Bounce.

His own description:

The site was inspired by a need to show people there are alternatives to what’s being constantly played on the radio and video channels. We cannot complain about the lack of variety in music if we refuse to give something new and different a chance. The site will celebrate and eventually aid in the promotion of alternative soul/non-mainstream artists, as well as providing summaries and links to news that fall under the “soul” umbrella.

Join the site's Last.fm group and they're looking for contributors.

Another Jazz Master Gone

I remember laughing at his surname as a kid/teen. Thankfully, Pops schooled me on his greatness:

Max Roach, Master of Modern Jazz, Dies at 83

Max Roach, a founder of modern jazz who rewrote the rules of drumming in the 1940s and spent the rest of his career breaking musical barriers and defying listeners' expectations, died early yesterday in Manhattan. He was 83.

Nollywood Comes To Brooklyn

A free event in Brooklyn

On Saturday August 25th, 2007 the National Black Programming Consortium (NBPC) in conjunction with New York City Council Member Letitia James and Rooftop Films will screen the new documentary Welcome To Nollywood, by Jamie Meltzer at Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park.

Carrying The Word

A great profile and must-read on writers and publishing heroes Steven G. Fullwood and Lisa C. Moore in the current issue of Time Out New York:

Time Out New York: Color Treatments | A vast new bibliography presents black gay lit from Aab-Richards to Zirin - By Beth Greenfield

"We are what we write; we become what we read."�

So begins the first-of-its-kind Carry the Word: A Bibliography of Black LGBTQ Books, which lists nearly 700 titles in varying genres. Compiled by co-publishers Steven G. Fullwood and Lisa C. Moore, as well as writer-librarian Reginald Harris (whose soulful intro opens the book with that sentence above), the new bibliography covers a wide scope of topics and time periods from within black gay history and culture.

"We pretty much included the universe," says Fullwood, an archivist for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, where he founded its Black Gay and Lesbian Archive. "I got tired of people telling me, 'I want to read Black LGBT same-gender-loving books, but I don't know any of the titles.' This is an answer to that." Fullwood's own three-year-old Vintage Entity Press joined with Moore's Washington, D.C.-based RedBone Press to publish Carry the Word, and proceeds from its sale will directly benefit Fire & Ink, an advocacy organization for LGBTQ writers of African descent (currently headed by Fullwood and Moore). Their hope is that the bibliography will be helpful to individuals and book providers alike.

The article includes a photograph from Donald Andrew Agarrat