Things We Love – January 30, 2012

Hello! Can you believe it? January is almost over. Ah, well. Onward to February…Valentines Day and all that. Anyway, here are some lovely things we’re digging this week:

Reading
Regret the Error. Media critic Craig Silverman guides us through the evolution of an often overlooked aspect of the journalism world: errors and corrections. This book is an interesting, occasionally hilarious, and often infuriating look at media policy, transparency, and reader participation. Silverman also maintains a blog of the same name, and is a regular commentator on NPR’s On the Media (or as we call it, The Best Podcast Ever). Check him out – you won’t regret it.

Listening
The News Quiz from BBC Radio 4. Sandi Toksvig is one of the sharpest women working in British comedy today, and each Friday she hosts a panel of fantastically funny people as they identify news stories and poke fun at, well, everything. Funny, funny, funny. (Warning: every few weeks, the BBC substitutes a Podcast called The Now Show, which is not funny at all. Skip those ones and wait for Sandi Toksvig’s triumphant return.)

Interesting ( , Being More)
How to Be More Interesting (in 10 Simple Steps) is a neat little infographic from Forbes Magazine. Our favourite advice: Go exploring. The inside of the echo chamber is where all the boring people hang out.

Profiling
Wink Photography’s Jana Frandsen is profiled in the most recent installment of our 8 Questions + 2 Imperatives series here on the Nixey.ca blog. Ms. Frandsen discusses launching her photography business, being a straight lady in a gay book club, and the perils of being a pregnant vegetarian in Nashville. Take a look!

Watching
On a recent flight from Ottawa, we noticed that Air Canada is now showing IFC series Portlandia on-board. Uh oh: has the series jumped the shark? We don’t care. Here’s Put a Bird on It and Is the Chicken Local?, which are hilarious introductions to the series, which sends up Portland’s hipster/indie/green/lefty/West Coast culture. Please enjoy.

Drinking
Stop what you’re doing and buy a SodaStream. It is a magical device that changes tap water into delicious bubbly goodness.