So Rachel Ray wears a scarf in a Dunkin Donuts ad. Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin decides that since a number of bad guys have worn similar scarves that the ad is somehow sympathetic with terrorists. The ad is pulled. Seems that wearing a certain type of scarf (a “kaffiyeh”) “…has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad.”

That strikes me as nonsense. According to wikipedia…

Since the beginning of the War on Terror, these keffiyeh, usually cotton and in military olive drab or khaki with black stitching, have been adopted by US and troops as well. Their practicality in an arid environment, as in Iraq, explains their constant popularity with soldiers. Soldiers often wear the keffiyeh folded in half into a triangle and wrapped around the face, with the halfway point being placed over the mouth and nose, sometimes coupled with goggles, to keep sand out of the face.

But also…

The keffiyeh has become a symbol of the Palestinians in the long running Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As a result of its symbolic meaning in this context, its display in the West has periodically been the subject of criticism.

To a delusional paranoid conservative columnist, I guess it could be mis-construed - somehow. To the rest of us, it’s just a friggin’ scarf.

Indiana Jones premiered today at Cannes. Reviews are trickling in, and they’re pretty much as expected. Mixed. I don’t care, I can’t wait to see it. The photo below was taken back stage at the original Disney World Raiders show.

Quick review of Seth Godin’s The Dip.

The book is short and sweet, but could’ve been a blog post instead. I found myself thinking “Okay, I get it!” about a quarter of the way through. Here’s my summary…

1. Stuff gets harder, stick with it…

2. …unless you shouldn’t. Then Quit.

And all the “best in the world” stuff didn’t really help. It’s still worth the read.

I’m Going To Scale My Foot Up Your Ass - Ted Dziuba

“Scalability is not your problem, getting people to give a shit is.”

Yup.

Can’t recall where I grabbed this quote, but it depresses the hell out of me.

Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. — H. Jackson Brown

Saving Seconds

I’m the guy who will spend the entire goddamned weekend reorganizing my tagging system because I didn’t like the tone or the tense of my previous tagging system.

Ya. Me too.

I love Twitter. It’s extremely valuable and has become an important part of my daily flow. There’s a ton of value in following a whole bunch (not too many!) of the brightest people I know. It’s amazing. Lately, however, I’ve been noticing a few recurring themes which have not contributed to this value. In an effort to keep Twitter a service that’s suited to my specific needs, I present to you 5 things you should not Twitter.

1. Complaints about Internet Explorer. No shit

2. The weather. We know. And if we don’t, we don’t care. Exceptions: Hurricanes and Earthquakes

3. Clients behaving badly. They all do that occasionally. Don’t tell us about it. It makes you sound whiny and will definitely bite you later.

4. How many people follow you. Yay, you’re popular. Whatever.

5. “Good Morning!” That’s it? You’re awake? I don’t need to know you’re awake.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ve seen examples of each of them already this morning. Yes, I’ve done all of the above myself, but that doesn’t make it right. Carry on.

http://twitter.com/jackbaty

PS This is just for fun. Let’s all keep our undies firmly unbunched.

Clay Shirky video. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. Some quotes (from memory)…

“Sharing has become a platform for collaboration rather than vice versa”

“Every URL is a latent community”

“It’s exactly the point that technology gets boring when its social aspects become interesting”

Fascinating. I’d read his companion book, but it’s not available on the Kindle.

I’m busy. I have too much to do. I work as much or more than anyone I know much of the time. And it’s all my fault.

Having too much to do in too short a time is nothing more than bad planning. I’m convinced that working 12-hour days trying to catch up is not the answer. Not even in the short term. I don’t know what the answer is, but I’ll be sure to let you know as soon as I figure it out. In the meantime, read this terrific, balanced piece about the fallacy of 12-hour work days: How to work an 8-hour day | Philosophical Geek

I am saying that just because you have a lot of work is not a valid reason to work 12 hour days.

Unless you enjoy it…in which case you’re reading the wrong article. If you’re a workaholic, sacrificing your health, family, and free time to get ahead, knock yourself out. You can stop reading now.

I find myself agreeing (mostly) with Jason Fried’s post, Urgency is poisonous

“One thing I’ve come to realize is that urgency is overrated. In fact, I’ve come to believe urgency is poisonous. Urgency may get things done a few days sooner, but what does it cost in morale? Few things burn morale like urgency. Urgency is acidic.”

(Via Signal vs. Noise.)