Favorites - News

Won't find any 24-hour news channels here! But to the right, yeah ...

National Public Radio. NPR has many good news programs, on public radio and on their site.

Google News. You Google. I Google News, and you should, too. News from all kinds of places and sources, all in one place, regularly updated.

NewsAlerts. A product of Information.com, this is not a U.S.-centric news site, which means something good for world news readers.

BBC. Their day is 5 hours ahead of America's across the pond ("pond" -- that's a nickname for the Atlantic Ocean, Skippy), so at times I find news here first, even for U.S. stories.
- It often feeds my late-night AvantGo-to-Palm handheld news fix as I sit in bed (if this means I'm a dork, then I am guilty). Besides that, it's an excellent news site. BBC of course offers lots, so it not just the site, but online radio and more.

RSS feeds rock, dude!
OK, that's scary. This flaming little carnivore isn't: FIREFOX - Newsfeeds as bookmarks. Get Firefox - I love it for its speed, while now, even Safari has a Windows browser and it has feed options. I think we all deserve a little less Microsoft in our lives (Explorer is, umm... old news).

I use Safari, too.

Best Bets in
U.S. News

Boston Globe
- Boston Herald
- Atlantic Monthly

New York Times.
- New York Post.
- Newsday
- New Yorker

Foreign Affairs

Washington Times
- Washington Post

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Chicago Tribune.

Los Angeles Times

San Francisco Chronicle

Houston Chronicle

Miami Herald

Nashville:
The Tennessean
- The City Paper

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NEWS:
Current Events, Archives, Media

Faves | Print/Online | Airwaves | Search: Pentagon secret tapes | Top

Print & Online - Florida | U.S. Best | Foreign & Agencies (some RSS) | Top

Nashville Scene. This is a very good, very fun alternative weekly newspaper. Maybe ya gotta know Nashville to enjoy it, but not necessarily. Check out the "Off Limits" and "Desperately Seeking the News" columns. It's owned by the company that does NYC's renowned Village Voice paper. It is still the brazen but sensible rag I knew it to be.

Florida

Orlando Sentinel. Moved away from Daytona Beach, Fla., in 1992. Still admired this paper when I left, and it was my favorite before I left. I moved to the Orlando area 15 years later, and I rarely read the thing. That's a real turn, since for quite a while I pined for a job at the paper. (Then I realized that after working for one of its sister companies that the lowest form of journalists in general are similar to intersection beggars: they earn by doing the same rote thing over and over, and will do just about anything to get the attention of the people with nice cars. That works unless you are trying to be a sensible and reasonable and fair person in general. I do not want to work with such people on the terms that they set for me, despite my wish to be like their betters.)

Daytona Beach News-Journal. My hometown paper, of the place I grew up and went to college. I improved since I left town. Can be counted on to cover Daytona area stories, which is a decidedly weak side of the O-town Sentinal.

Miami Herald. This is the most notable -- or, noted -- paper in Florida. Not only do they maintain significant news bureaus, but they cover more of the countries to the U.S.'s south than probably any other paper in the States. Biggest paper of the Knight-Ridder organization; then K-R sold it.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel. I moved back to Florida -- South Florida -- in 2003, and for a financially painful period had a job with them. This paper is a Tribune Company division, and competes regionally with the Miami Herald. With the Orlando paper (above), this is Tribune's major print media property in Florida (all are owned by McClatchy since 2006). It's a good paper, and there's lots of good people that are acquaintances of mine there, still. I mean, I no longer communicate with them, but they seemed good people while I worked there.

NewsMax. I'm never one to prefer showing the obvious first. So, off the beaten path when I discovered it, NewsMax is a pretty "busy" site with lots of content classes. The site's ads suggest it's rather conservative, while the content is versatile. The NewsMax HQ is in South Florida (Palm Beach County), with a print magazine, too. Many columnists online, and a variety of perspectives.

Foreign & Agencies; Some RSS Feeds | Top

Reuters | AFP | AP RSS feeds | AP's world RSS feed (copy / create feed RSS) | McClatchy | Int'l Herald Tribune | Economist | The Advertiser (Adelaide, Aus.) | Jerusalem Post | Al Jazeera (> Middle East only) | Epoch Times (China) | The Independent (London UK, or World) | There's lots more out there more effective (across the board) than NY Times and other U.S. big-hitters.

Airwaves: TV/Radio (and online Video) | Top

PBS. NewsHour, Frontline, and many more news shows. You can see them online at any time -- lots of shows -- for free. Yes, video, for free. The commercial stations hardly do this (still, as of 2007); lucky to get 60 Minutes.

NPR. Morning Edition and All Things Considered are two great ways to get lots of news without cooking, pop psychology and all the other crap on TV news in the morning, and the make-me-laugh "in-depth reports" of some evening news.

Frontline. PBS's leading investigative news program, and one of the best. The 9/11 tragedy study, "How the Towers Fell," was not only troubling, moving and interesting, it won the accolades of many. One of the many fine programs brought to us by PBS Boston's WGBH-TV. Plus, you can view many episodes for free, online.

FOX News Channel. This is a great news network, or at least I thought so when I put this link up here. Best thing I say about it: the site has a quick-loading first page (not billions of images to put up with like so many others).

CNN. "This is CNN." This was the original 24-hr. news in the world. Ever since my wife was exasperated by FOX News' two morons with a woman (Fox & Friends), we watched this. Now, Lou Dobbs Tonight is a favorite news hour.

Yahoo News video. Free news video online. Each one starts with an ad, but hey, it's free. You can find lots of other TV news online, but to see the video costs you, such as the higher quality feeds of ABC News.

NBC News. Microsoft strikes again. I used to watch the Today Show until I started getting up well before 7 am. I clung to the Today Show on 9-11-2001. For some reason, for years I ended up watching Today, or the CBS Early Show, except for a time when I was amused by the silly Fox & Friends on FOX News Channel. What sucks about NBC online: this is an MSNBC site, which means it is a Microsoft site, which means it is impossible to get around without having a degree in computer science. I mean, is having a link as simple as "http://MSNBC.com/today/" so difficult? Geez, Mr. Gates and his weenies. Get over the fact that you can program code, boys.

Current news: USA Today Headlines Gannett provides free RSS feeds (new window). Plus some feeds from Fresh Content ... Visit USA Today | learn how to put USA Today on your site Top

Fun's
Master Mix

These sites have a lot to say, about a lot ... of entertainment subjects. Not just music or movies, but both of them. And then some.

MTV News I don't watch the TV channel, but I do visit the site. Despite the name (Music TV), it is about more than music, you dolt, just as ... VH1 -- it's sister channel -- is contrarily more about music than anything else.

Rolling Stone
Irrelevant? Says some 18-year-old wearing his pants below his butt cheeks. Is there more to say? Some regard it as a music magazine, but I find all of its writing worthy of a read, or at least a browse.

P.J. O'Rourke was a favorite writer of mine back when -- I don't know if he still writes for RS, but, uhh, I do hear him on NPR radio.

If solely dependent on founder Jan Wenner, this would suck, blow and smell bad. But despite himself, this mag still has some redeeming qualities. Miraculously.

Entertainment Weekly The most intelligent yet light mag on all things entertainment, for the fan. And for the fan who likes the business of entertainment.

New Yorker Critics
Excellent critical opinions on many things, intelligent and well-written, perhaps better than any other. On movies, music, books, TV shows, theater, etc. They actually criticize, as if nothing is perfect, which is what it's all about. As an on-and-off professional writer, I hate this mag's writers with a passion I cannot put into words, except to say that I wish I were among them.... What? WHAT?!

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Fun/intriguing | Master Mix | Music | Movies | Literary/Books

Paranormal News. Check out current stories of the strange, mysterious, and in some cases probably the rants of paranoia, plus recent (past several years) stories on some rare topics. You might find some of this stuff on strictly science sites. Other things, the only place you might see them otherwise is in creepy YouTube "evidence" videos and call-ins to the following link's radio show.

Coast to Coast AM. If you don't know the chupacabra, you don't know this radio show. Art Bell put on a great show for many years. Now, he's back once in a while, though George Noory is the work week host, and doing a terrific job. Always intriguing, at times wacky, this late night radio show plays a dual role of being cordial to nuts and offering intrguing information you might not find on-air anywhere else. Up late? It's worth a listen.

The Onion. I should have put this under news, but that would be... stupid. Howveer, this is the finset pubiclation on the palnet. If you are looking for columnists who don't bathe and "interviews" with the world's biggest losers. Downright silliness!

Daily newsbits of Arts & Entertainment
Provided free by Fresh Content.net

Music | Top

Radio Lightning 100 (WRLT). One of my favorite radio stations in Nashville or anywhere. Progressive. Once, for two hours, I was a guest DJ (w-a-a-y back in 1995). L-100 plays eclectic stuff other stations not only don't play but wouldn't know about. They push it a bit, in a progressive sense. Most large city dwellers have no idea what an eclectic station sounds like, because they've never heard Lightning 100. (David Hall: I still miss Thunder 94!!!) Fortunately, I can listen online.

MTV News. [See Mix for notes]

Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone is simply a great magazine. Online, the archives alone encompass a grand collection of stuff about so many artists, it is stunning.

Lyric Freak. You know you do it, you wonder about the lyrics in a song, you realize you've had them wrong for decades. Interesting for the curious about lyrics, and even writing lyrics. Check it out.

Movies, Movie Companies

Movies.com. Ya gotta love movies. There's all kinds of movies out there. You do love movies, right? Geez, I hope so. Sign up and write reviews. Check out reviews before you blow $4.55 on a Blockbuster rental. Do a search for the movies that your favorite actor has been in, and you'll see everything else in the biz that they've done, theater, producing, directing, even as a stagehand (well, all but that last one).

Yahoo! Movies. Find details on movies, even TV movies. Join and create your own quick reference lists of your favorite -- or least favorite -- movies. And write reviews. It's a good referenece point, a community within the Yahoo! universe.

IMDb. The Internet Movie Database is good for what you want to watch, too. Includes reviews just like the prior two sites.

Warner Bros. Well, I don't know. Looney Toons, Batman, and more. Check out Pinky and the Brain, two of my personal heroes. There's tons of entertainment coming out of them. I like superheroes! OK!

Disney.com. There's more to Disney than its channels and shows, and ABC. There's movies, of course, and not only the Snow White variety. Now they own Steve Jobs' other great corporation, Pixar, and don't seem to be slowing down at all. Of course, EPCOT being a favorite place of mine, there's always the parks, sites and centers (including Downtown Disney and Disney Boardwalk). http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index

Fox Movies. Films from 20th Century Fox.

MORE MOVIE COMPANY LINKS COMING SOON

'The New Yorker' cinema critics. I've known for a long time that the New Yorker is a very important magazine that deserves our respect. So I read their movie reviews, cuz I don't undastand none-uh that other crud they write. They can't even call them movie reviews, but "The Current Cinema." What snobs. I would video record my killing of my pet turtle to have my name -- to have a byline -- in the New Yorker. Yes, I am a bastard. (But no, I won't actually kill the turtle.) Terrific criticisms of many things can be found at the New Yorker, the snobs.

Ebert & Roeper. They aren't embarrassed about liking offbeat movies, and they're not ashamed of slamming popular garbage. That's why I often see what they have to say. Also, I listen to them because I can't always turn to the pompous snobs at the New Yorker (above) for my movie rentals.

 

Literary/Books/Prose | Top

Writer's Digest. This is a terrific mag for writers, including those trying to earn a lving at it (or, at least, find a way to be published without having killed someone or been publicly embarrassed by sex escapades). Also, Writer's Market and books for getting you to write. (Some books about writing are better than others, so look into them.)

Library Spot. Really, this is a reference place, but it's got links to benefit readers and writers. Mostly, libraries, lots of links to libraries all over the place.

State Libraries. In Library Spot, all in one place, use the info of state libraries of the U.S. For instance, if you live in Florida, as I do, you can log into Florida's electronic library with your public library card number.

Project Gutenburg. Free books online! Free texts, that is. Using a computer as much as I do, I like this site, since I can occassionally find myself reading Socrates when I'm having a problem getting actual work done.

I know as a "collection" these prose-related links are absolutely lame, and I'm working on more, OK? There's more under "Reference" that relates to stuff that could be under Literary.

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Recent Mac Sites I've Been Using

There's not really a general site I use all the time. But these are places I've gone that I do like, either as a shopping or info resource, for my Mac use....

MacWorld. They gobbled up some other mags, and they are still doing a great job covering Apple. I like to check out the reviews of paid, free, and open srouce software, and more.

Mac | Life
As noted to the left, I used to read MacAddict; this is what came of that mag.

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Mixed Bowl | Memory Lane | Use Mac

FIREFOX. When it came out, this newest browser from the Mozilla community was safely the best I've ever used (with a few gripes, but it compensates in vital, helpful ways). I was hooked on Apple's Safari until this came along. It's hands down the fastest (with DSL), and I love that it offers a boatload of freedom to developers, for themes and extensions. Pass it on!
- Get RSS Newsfeeds in your bookmarks. Visit the site to learn more. I think we all deserve a little less Microsoft in our lives (Explorer is, uhh, old news).

Macworld Magazine. The leading Macintosh mag's website, with lots of links. If you're looking for a good place to get to know Macs, this is a good place. (They took over another good one, Mac Central, a while back.)

Mac | Life - Mac Addict. Yeah, I love the Macs. But these guys, geez, they really love the Macs. Back when this was MacAddict, it was a strange, riotous Mac mag. It is more tame, but still a good read. They were popular with me for the free CDs of goodies in the early days and their rather unconventional style. Now I simply pay attention to them.

eWeek. You think they don't do Mac? Duh! This title ate up MacWeek, and they cover it all, to an incredibly droll extent. Forget jargon used that I don't understand, some of the articles on this site lose me at the headline! I'm no techie, just a tinkerer and heavy-duty user. The Coursey Report is one of my favorite parts of this mag. Look for it!
- For Macs alone, click here or find the Macintosh category link on the main page.
- See the loads of eWeek links for Mac that one of the top editors suggests.

WOZ.org. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, is a rather smart and wacky dude, judging from his web site. Take a look. He is still very much a fan of Apple and Macintosh.

WOZ's Mac Links. Steve Wozniak's site has a monster list of Mac links. For the Mac user, it is worth keeping a link to it. This is an incredible collection of Mac and Apple-related stuff.

MacMusic. A site especially for the musician and music industry techno people who work with Macs, which I am not. I really have no idea why I visit the site, actually.

Bill Palmer. This guy is a central Florida Mac guru. Interesting blog at the main page, and lots of links. Hosts a Mac Users Group (MUG).

Apple Report. Lots of info about Apple and iPods, Macintosh and more.

MAC MEMORY LANE: eWorld (1994-1996) | Top

eWorld. << The unofficial farewell site.

Did you have eWorld? Hear of it? Apple's innovative and nice-looking online service began in 1994, died and went to digital heaven in 1996, as subscribers went to AOL (<< news article about it), as a continuation of service. But folks remember it. Oddly, or not, eWorld was partially America Online chief Steve Case's thing, before AOL (his own company, at the time, was called Quantum).

Using Answers.com, read the history and facts about eWorld. Using Ask, discover old press releases and more about eWorld and its demise.

eWorld links and "eOrphan" communities:

Yahoo! Groups eWorld Community | Remember eWorld | eWorld "off world" Tour

The End of eWorld (scroll it) | eWorld memorial (a funny pic) | eWorld CD-ROM design |

Mac 512 on eWorld (bottom, theme song) | Scott Converse, eWorld page (former Apple emp.) |

YOU USE MACS? YOU WANT TO? | Top

Check out the following sites for buying Macs, upgrades, freeware, shareware, toys, games, system toys, themes and more.

Apple.com. Try a Mac, you'll want one, you'll like it! I think the best world would have a Microsoft marketing effort for a Macintosh format. I saw a bumper sticker a long time ago -- "Windows95 = Macintosh '85." Yup. The biggest is not the best. If the Mac ever goes, I am going to have to figure out a way to sit at another PC and manage a genuine smile, or maybe I can just use a Palm device for everything. PCs just aren't P.C.
- Always do your homework before you buy! Visit the Apple Store.

For Apple support, click HERE. I hope you find what you're looking for.

OWC. Other World Computing has treated me well. I've purchased from them a few times, and they offer lots of nicely low prices compared to shopping at retail shops (several vendors, name brands to unfamiliar ones). Always do your homework before you buy!

J&R Music. I guess they just call themselves J&R lately, but this massive store, located in NYC (across from City Hall and on 34th St. at Macy's), does a solid trade online, too. I have picked up a few items from them, since their price (with shipping) beat other sites I trust (and some I don't, too). It is a bit of a New York establishment. They offer excellent music and Mac stuff. Worth a look.

Tucows. This site has lots of links, and they sell Mac products. Was a bit dated lately (2007), but that was the freebie stuff. Lots of freebies and shareware (for older systems).

Everymac. This site saved me some time a time or two. Lots of users supply their experiences here for others to learn from. There's plenty of info and links, including lesser-known selling outfits. Always do your homework before you buy! This site can help revive an older mac.

Low-end Mac. This is a useful site for keeping older Macs in order, and finding ways to upgrade. Much like Everymac, you can look up what you're trying to do for your Macs, and see what others' experiences have been.

The 6400 Zone. I have (in 2007) a Power PC 6400/Performa 250MHz, which serves as a terrific legacy Apple computer. So dated now, not for much longer, myself, but I still have some diskettes I can't seem to yet bring myself to copy and bring into the 21st century. This site has helped me out with other matster, such as when I added Ethernet and had software questions.

PureMac. lots of things for Mac users running an older OS, but some links are dead. Last I checked it was updated in Jan 2002. So, it's older stuff. Plenty of other stuff for older Macs. There are ones worth checking out here. You can find system themes here, but be forewarned -- some may freeze your applications and your CPU.

Info-Mac. This is a bland but filling archive of Macintosh info and software.

1001 Fonts. Offers Mac or PC fonts. The initial link goes to the Mac area.
- Click here for the site's main page. "1001 Fonts" has lots of fonts, and is easy to browse, plus there's links to other font and typeface sites.

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HERE'S
links to some other places; some to sites that are for stuff I'm fond of, sites of friends, guys I know, that kind of stuff.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University |

The Avion | klydemorris.com | Piper Aircraft - the new PiperJet

Warehouse Multimedia Studios | Tigers R us - wildlife care |

Harddog's Requisites - dog training gear |

Virtual Daytona | Red Sox Connection |

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