Lucy Lawless, Eco-Warrior

Actress Lucy Lawless and six Greenpeace activists have climbed an oil-drilling ship bound for the Arctic. The group is trying to prevent the ship, which is chartered by Shell oil company, from leaving port to drill five exploratory wells in the Arctic. The ship was due to leave port this weekend. From atop a 174-foot (53 meter) derrick aboard Shell Oil's Noble Discoverer in New Zealand's Port Taranaki. Lawless said she was taking direct protest action for the first time in her life to protest oil drilling and to draw attention to climate change. "I've got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can't do that in a filthy, degraded environment," she said. "We need to stand up while we still can." She's tweeting her protest. Follow along.

Today I’m taking direct action with GreenpeaceNZ in peaceful protest against Shell’s Arctic oil drilling  #savethearctic
— Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) February 23, 2012

UPDATE: Actress Lucy Lawless arrested in oil-ship protest.

All Hollow's Read

Image by The COM Library via Flickr
Award winning Science Fiction & Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman made a modest proposal on Twitter and in a blog post a few days ago: "This year make Halloween All Hallow's Read." He suggests giving someone you love or your Trick-or-treaters a scary book on the 31st. I think it's a great idea. Check out the details. All Hollow's Read.

Here are some book suggestions for kids from Candlewick Press.

Related articles

• Poll: Halloween Books [Uncertain Principles] (scienceblogs.com)
• Mondy Bookish Fun: Give someone you love a scary book! [Confessions of a Science Librarian] (scienceblogs.com)
• Halloween Books: Rare Books About Spiders, Scorpions, Ticks And Other Beasts (huffingtonpost.com)

Six Word Stories

Image by s!znax via FlickrOver on Tor.com, they’ve asked their readers and twitter followers to write a Science Fiction or Fantasy story in only six words! Here's the twitter hashtag thread.
Via: A Dribble of Ink

Related articles

• Create a Six Word Fantasy Story! (tor.com)

An Awesome T-Shirt For Comic Collectors

Oh we do. We just keep them sealed tightly in acid free Mylar.
On sale right now for $12.99 at threadless.com
h/t: @caseymckinnon

Conan O’Brien Visits Google Headquarters

Conan and Andy Richter stop by Google's Mountain View, CA headquarters. This event took place on May 5, 2010. At the 18 minute mark in his @google talk, Conan says his entire marketing campaign for @ConanOnTour was one tweet. Enjoy.

h/t: @MarilynM on Twitter. Thanks for the share.

Twitter Cooks Up The Blackbird Pie Tool To Bake Tweets Into Your Website

Twitter has rolled out a new tool that lets you embed a tweet on a website. Using Blackbird pie, you can create an embeddable tweet by entering the URL for the chosen update.

From there, click Bake It, and Blackbird generates the code to embed the tweet on your website. Here’s one of mine from last night:

I now firmly believe that the only reason Justin Bieber's always trending is the hive 'WTF' of Twitter asking why he's always trending.less than a minute ago via webDavid M
davidinindy

Via Mashable

Why Historians Love Twitter

There's a great post by Julia Baird over at Newsweek.com. It's about the implications and importance of the recent news that the Library of Congress will acquire every tweet, ever. I applaud the move. Social networking is just that, social. It's not inherently private. In the future, historians, researchers, reporters, genealogists and political operatives are going to pour over those tweets. No doubt, some one running for political office will one day be haunted by something embarrassing they once tweeted. If you can't wait to read my archived tweets, you may follow my twittering ephemera, here.

Politics and junk, self-aggrandizement and social activism, the phony and the genuine, the mad and the sweet. This is the history we are hammering out, daily, in the online world that we consider ephemeral and intimate and yet that is rapidly becoming more concrete and public.

From the Newsweek article, Our True, Tweeting Selves.

Dork Tower Shares the Zen of Twitter Following

http://www.dorktower.com/

My Favorite Tweet Of The Week

This tweet made me literally LOL and then just made me sad and a little mad. I mean, other than being the daughter or an (alleged) war criminal, what gives Liz Cheney any reason to be a well listened to or respected pundit?

I’m PBS3 Famous

Actually still not famous at all.

I just received this tweet from the PBS and Internet nightly news show World Focus.

I went over to the site and they already have the episode up that will air tonight. (Here in Indianapolis: 10:30 PM on digital WFYI.3.) They didn’t actually mention me, but quoted from this tweet I sent them as a reply to this one. No biggie, but it’s worth a blog post at least.

NSO to Live Twitter Performance of Beethoven

Have you ever sat in the audience for a classical music concert and wished you understood the music better -- even for a piece you were familiar with?

National Symphony Orchestra Associate Conductor Emil de Cou feels your pain.

De Cou is writing a series of messages on Twitter designed to draw the audience into Thursday night's NSO performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 6, better known as the "Pastoral Symphony," at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, which is the summer home of the NSO. Wolf Trap is encouraging audience members on the outdoor lawn to follow on their cell phones during the concert.

Following a similar experiment in 2007 involving iTunes and podcasts, audience members who are interested in learning more about this symphonic work can follow the Wolf Trap Twitter feed. During the intermission of Thursday's concert, tweets explaining the composer's intent behind the music will be sent both to those at the live performance and for those playing the piece at home.

This particular work was not chosen by accident. Many pastoral symphonies were written before and after Beethoven's time, but his remains the best known. It's a genre that audiences of the 1800s were very familiar with -- a context with its own musical themes that is largely lost to modern audiences. So sample tweets like "Measure 37: A grove of trees filled with singing birds" will give any listener a visual context to go with the performance.

Read the rest here

Brent Spiner's Twitter "Rehab Series"

Just because it amused me more than it should have... here are the adventures of Brent Spiner Twittering from inside the fictional walls of the Betty White Center, not because of any addiction but because his agent thought it would be a "good way to jumpstart an acting career." Soon, like a bad Holodeck trip, he realizes it's not what it seems and he must escape before actually going insane becoming sane or waking up on Dallas, or entering Dancing With the Stars with James Woods.
These tweets are hilariously inspired and just another way that Twitter is pretty awesome. (Important note: To read in order, scroll down, start at the last tweet and scroll up.)
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Hey, today is Sunday! Why didn't anyone tell me??? I'll look for an agent tomorrow. I'll start with the ones who are in walking distance.about 3 hours ago from web

Well, as Scarlett said, "Tomorrow is another day". And what better day than Tuesday to go looking for a new agent!about 15 hours ago from web

Obviously meant hotel. Not a bad place. At least I have company. A charming spider who hovers just above my pillow.about 16 hours ago from web

They say the room next door was where Joplin OD'd. Sorry to drop the name, @Greggreenburg, whoever the hell you are.about 16 hours ago from web

Called my friend Dave. He lent me enough for a month's rent at a transient hotil in Hollywood. Same place I stayed when I first came here.about 16 hours ago from web

Don't worry folks. I'm not down. If there's one thing I learned in rehab...well, I didn't learn anything there. But I'm an eternal optimist.about 21 hours ago from web

The bad news: The market crashed, Bernie's in jail, and I'm broke. The good news: My agent has dropped me. Breakdowns aren't marketable.about 21 hours ago from web

No pay phones? Had to use a neighbor's. Chad from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Long distance. Had to give him action figure. Running out.about 22 hours ago from web

Foreclosure sign on my house? Thought I was well invested. Calling my financial investor, Bernie. If I can borrow a quarter.2:52 PM Apr 4th from web

Almost home. A beautiful day! Can't wait to sleep in my own bed. Ahhhh. Today is the first Monday of the rest of my life!2:20 PM Apr 4th from web

Feeling a little sad. Lonely for the Betty White. Miss some of my friends. Toothless Ted, Cowgirl Clara, Brittany, well, everyone but Woods.1:00 PM Apr 4th from web

Hitchhiked to a gas station in Flagstaff. Enjoying a Dr. Pepper and a Slim Jim. Best meal in seven years. Hollywood, here I come.12:35 AM Apr 4th from web

Dissolved my pill stash in the guard's late night Bosco. Switched clothes with him. Literally strolled out of the joint. Free at last...9 minutes ago from web

No more tweets till I'm free. I'm breaking out of this joint. I'll update you from the other side. Hopefully on Entertainment Tonight.8:09 PM Apr 2nd from web

Great. The chef is on twitter. He's a company man. He's onto me. No pudding tonight. I hope the key's not in the mashed potatoes.8:01 PM Apr 2nd from web

For those who keep asking, here's how it works. Click on my picture and read a few back posts. Geez, don't I have enough to deal with?6:50 PM Apr 2nd from web

Never looked forward to dinner as much as I am right now. For one thing, I'm soon going to be outta here. For anthoer, I'm oddly hungry.6:42 PM Apr 2nd from web

I keep few Galoobs handy for emergencies. This may require one with a spotted face. Guard says there will be a key in my pudding tonight.2:27 PM Apr 2nd from web

Doc now says next week. No way. Bribing a guard to get me out. He's a ST fan. Autographed photo and original Galoob action figure should do.1:22 PM Apr 2nd from web

Woods now making everyone watch, "Once Upon a Time in America". The long version. Everyone asleep but me. Hid my pills under my tongue.12:52 AM Apr 2nd from web

Unless it was an April Fool's joke, the doc says I get out tomorrow. I'm watching TNG with my friends here. "Schizoid Man". Apropos.12:35 AM Apr 2nd from web

While I was catatonic, Patrick, bless him, came to visit. He read a selection of sonnets for the inmates. When he left, they were catatonic7:44 PM Apr 1st from web

Doc says I may get out in the next day or so. Suggest another shock treatment. Kind of enjoyed the last one. If I remember correctly.11:51 AM Apr 1st from web

Spent the morning in Crafts. Made something out of paper mache. It's either a pig or a fish. Hey maybe I could do this when I get out.10:42 AM Apr 1st from web

Movie night here. "Girl Interrupted". Woods says he used to be married to Angelina. I don't believe him.11:26 PM Mar 31st from web

Woods asked if I wanted to play. I was going to, then he said he didn't like "Nemesis". Not speaking to him. Or anyone else for that matter.8:09 PM Mar 31st from web

It's clear to me now. Nothing here is as I thought it was. Well, James Woods is still here playing ping-pong.7:04 PM Mar 31st from web

Thanks for all your good wishes. Apparently, my entire life since "Nemesis" has been a dream. Family, friends, everything. Got to get out.6:56 PM Mar 31st from web

Not in rehab. Must've been dreaming. Told I've had a breakdown. In institution. Okay, should be good enough to get me on Oprah or The View.12:30 PM Mar 31st from web

Woke up in a fog and realized...Hey, they don't give pills in rehab! And they don't put you in straight jackets! Where am I? Helllllppppp!!!12:04 PM Mar 31st from web

Refused to take my pills. They put me in a straight jacket. Am typing this with my nose. Feel so goooooooood.12:09 AM Mar 31st from web

More group sessions. Beginning to take responsibility for my actions. Wait a minute...I didn't do anything. Gee, this place is confusing!12:01 AM Mar 31st from web

Thankfully, that session ended before the "lightening round". I'm going to take a nap now.3:24 PM Mar 30th from web

Had my first solo therapy session in the Allen Ludden, "Password" room. Cute therapist. Couldn't decide whether to give or receive.1:45 PM Mar 30th from web

Looks like I'm not the only one here with this idea. I saw James Woods playing ping-pong last night.12:18 PM Mar 30th from web

Watched "Family Guy" in the rec room with the other prisoners...er, patients. They seem to think I'd get more work if I was a cartoon.12:15 AM Mar 30th from web

I'm now writing from the Betty White Clinic. Group session. We have to say what we think is wrong with us. I'm saying, "bad agent".2:34 PM Mar 29th from web

I'm thinking of going into rehab. I'm not addicted to anything, but I think it's good way to jumpstart an acting career.8:40 PM Mar 28th from web

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Listening to: Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
via FoxyTunes

Check Out Some of My Wonderful Twitter Friends

Click on any icon for a link that that person's page.

Avatars in mosaic were chosen and randomized by the Twitter Mosiac application.

Twitter is an addictive micro-blogging site where you can send messages of up to 140 characters about what your doing 'right now' to your followers via phone, web and 3rd party apps. It claims a world-wide membership of over 6 million users.