Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Googland

Googland

[G] A Whole "Latte" Books

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: A Whole "Latte" Books

Posted by Cheryl Pon, Google eBooks Support Team

T.S. Eliot once remarked that he "measured out [his] life with coffee spoons." Wise man. I measure out my mornings with double espressos.

Whether it's a double-tall, half-caffeine, sugar-free hazelnut soy latte, cappuccino, macchiato, espresso, or just a fresh, plain hot cup of Joe, we Googlers love our coffee.

Not only do we have mobile baristas who travel around our Mountain View campus, but tutorials on how to pull the perfect shot of espresso.


Naturally curious as to where my daily java comes from and how it transforms from this picture of brilliant red berries swinging innocently on a branch surrounded by white flowers into a variety of light, medium, and dark roasts brewed in my kitchen, I dove into Google Books and Google eBooks to learn more.


If you, too, want to get educated in coffee culture throughout history, check out Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World on Google eBooks, published by Basic Books.

Interested in the cultivation and profit-making aspects of coffee? Be sure to read Edwin Lester Linden Arnold's Coffee, its cultivation and profit.

If you're keen on learning more about the corporate culture and commerce surrounding coffee, Everything but the coffee by Bryant Simon (published by UC Press), or Starbucked: a double tall tale of caffeine, commerce, and culture (Hachette Digital) are perfect for your — wait for it — coffee table. Also, make sure to read All about coffee by William Harrison Ukers or Coffee, from plantation to cup by Francis Beatty Thurber.

So grab a book and cozy up with a cuppa!
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/whole-latte-books.html

[G] Fighting for the Irish Independence through words: Lady Speranza Wilde

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Fighting for the Irish Independence through words: Lady Speranza Wilde

Posted by Francesca di Felice, Google Books Dublin

Have you ever heard of Lady Speranza? She was a mysterious pro-Irish Independence writer for the magazine The Nation during the middle of the 19th century in Dublin. That's the pen name of Jane Francesca Wilde, the mother of the famous and controversial Oscar Wilde.

Born around 1821, Lady Wilde was the daughter of Archdeacon Elgee (son of an Italian immigrant), Rector of Wexford, and Sara Kingsbury, granddaughter of the Commissioner of Bankrupt. At this time, Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain due to the Acts of Union in 1800, and many Irish people hoped for independence from Great Britain's Protestant kingdom.

Lady Wilde embodied her country's hopes and dreams during the fight for independence, by adopting the nom de plume "Speranza," the Italian word for hope. With this nickname she signed many poems, writings, fairy tales and translations. By examining her talent with language, it's easy to understand the origins of her son's genius.



Her first poem appeared in the newspaper The Nation in 1846 and was followed by many others which won the enthusiasm of the leaders of the Young Ireland, the social and political nationalistic movement responsible for the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848.

Gavan Duffy, the editor of The Nation, didn't know that Lady Wilde was behind the Speranza poems and letters. Her article, "Jacta Alea Est," published in 1848, urged armed revolt in the cause of Irish freedom.

Because of the contents of his paper, the British authorities brought Duffy to court. Speranza's article was used as evidence of seditious conspiracy. Duffy refused to identify the author responsible for the writings. Jane Francesca Wilde came to court and claimed the writings with pride, for she wasn't afraid to stand up for her nation. The following is an excerpt from "Dedication to Ireland," published in Poems by Lady Speranza in 1871:

My country, wounded to the heart,
Could I but flash along thy soul
Electric power to rive apart
The thunder‐clouds that round thee roll,
And, by my burning words, uplift
Thy life from out Death's icy drift,
Till the full splendours of our age
Shone round thee for thy heritage—
As Miriam's, by the Red Sea strand
Clashing proud cymbals, so my hand
Would strike thy harp,
Loved Ireland!


The Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 collapsed quickly and the leaders were arrested. After the closure of The Nation, Lady Wilde lost hope for the cause though she continued to believe in its ideals. She started to write about Irish folklore: fairies, leprechauns, elves and the mysticism which is prevalent on Celtic tradition.

Lady Wilde's outspokenness emerged once more when her son Oscar was accused of sodomy and she earnestly defended him. She usually quoted to him lines by Goethe to help him face the troubles of his life.

Indeed, she was used to troubles. Her husband Sir William Wilde, a famous eye and ear surgeon, was at the center of a scandalous court case regarding a young woman. Mary Travers claimed to have been seduced by him. The girl was the daughter of a colleague of Sir William and won the case, gaining £2,000.

Lady Wilde stayed always at her husband's side, like she did for her son Oscar, even when they found themselves bankrupt after Sir William's death. She moved to London (where she died in 1896) with her two sons. Despite the conditions of her late years, she didn't lose the style and appeal which made her so well known and remembered in her beloved Ireland.
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/fighting-for-irish-independence-through.html

[G] Hobbyists unite! How one Google Books user built a vintage automobile

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Hobbyists unite! How one Google Books user built a vintage automobile

Posted by Oliver Chiang, Google eBooks Support Team


Meet Bob Ferry and his nice 'ride': a 1906 Oldsmobile Model B Runabout. You might be thinking, "Wow, for a model that's nearly a century old, this car looks brand new." That's because it is brand new. Bob found old magazines and publications on mechanics with pictures, diagrams and descriptions, by searching the digital treasure trove of Google Books, which helped him build the car from scratch.


"It's been a great avenue for any hobbyist," says Bob, who has amassed a collection of over 100 Google Books, from out-of-print issues of Popular Science and Popular Mechanics to Harper's gasoline engine book and Horseless Age.

Bob is a 51-year-old machinist who lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and runs a family-owned shop that builds industrial machinery. Building 'horseless carriages' has been his passion on the side for years, and an outlet for his skills as a machinist. He belongs to an Internet group of horseless carriage replica builders who share photos and ideas about the cars they are building. Some members have been inspired by Bob to also use Google Books to help them construct vintage vehicles.


An image of an Oldsmobile Runabout from an ad in "The Horseless age" Volume 16, published in 1905

When Bob started building his car, he started off with a set of plans he obtained from another replica car-builder, but he also wanted to add as many original qualities to the car as possible that were not in the plans, such as a steamer trunk extension and fringed 'Surrey Top'. He had heard of ebooks, so he went over to Google Books and discovered many old books and magazines about the earliest automobiles from the early 1900s. He loaded them up onto his iPad using his Google Books app and got to work.

Bob says the Surrey Top was especially difficult to design, but that the vast number of digital books were a great resource, with drawings and texts describing various car tops and the pros and cons of each.


A diagram of a steering arm lower control rod that Bob used, from "The Gasoline Automobile: Transmission, running gear, and control"



Bob, testing the early frame of his Oldsmobile


The final product, in his own words:
My car is powered by a 17-year-old Briggs & Stratton 12 HP engine and a hydrostatic transmission from a 15-20-year-old Craftsman riding mower. It is steered with a tiller arm (no steering wheel) and reaches a blazing top speed of about 6-7 miles per hour.

Bob also sees his hobby as a way of giving back to the community. He has been exhibiting his Oldsmobile replica at senior citizen's homes and local shows. The car has elicited huge smiles from seniors. "They would say, 'You know, I used to drive one like that.' Many of these are World War II vets, and I thought, if I can just bring a smile to their faces, let's do it," Bob says.


Bob's 7-month-old granddaughter takes the vintage car for a spin

Bob plans to continue using Google Books to help him on future car-building projects. In the next few years, he plans to build a 1902 De Dion Bouton French car, a 1920 Norton Racer Motorcycle and an Orient Buckboard. He is studying early engine designs, as he wants to build the engine from scratch on his next replica car.

While he's still a fan of physical books, Bob has increasingly turned to digital books for their convenience, and to find obscure and useful information. "It has really, really been fun," he says. "I don't know how many books are out there that I would like to try to read each one, cover to cover."

Do you have story about using Google Books in an interesting or helpful way? Write us at googlebooksblog@google.com
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/hobbyists-unite-how-one-google-books.html

[G] Google eBooks: By the Numbers, Then and Now

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Google eBooks: By the Numbers, Then and Now

Posted by Abe Murray, product manager

It's been about six months since we launched Google eBooks. Now, we're happy to report there are more than three million free Google eBooks available in the U.S. for your enjoyment and enlightenment (as compared to more than two million at launch). You can read them in the free Google Books Web Reader, through a free Google Books app, or by downloading them to your favorite compatible ereader.

To find free Google eBooks, click on "Free Google eBooks" in the left-hand column to narrow your Books search or browse through the Best of the Free bookshelf in the Google eBookstore.

Free ebooks aren't the only thing on the rise... At launch, there were just over 100 independent booksellers selling Google eBooks -- now there are more than 250. And while we had just over 5,000 publishers participating when Google eBooks first hit the cloud, we now have more than 7,000 -- a 40% increase in half a year. Last but not least, installs of the Google Books apps for iOS, Android and Chrome have exceeded 2.5 million since December.

This week, we'll be revealing Google eBooks facts and figures, and some of the stories behind them, at the BookExpo America and related events in New York.

Here's the line-up:

Monday, May 23

IBPA Publishing University 2011
Google eBooks: How Publishers Can Maximize Ebook Sales ‹ On- and Off-line
8:00 -- 8:45 AM
The Jacob Javits Convention Center, Level 1, Hall 1A
Presenters: Pratip Banerji, product manager, Google Books with Matt Supko, American Booksellers Association

Summary: Learn how you can take advantage of the Google eBookstore and discover from the American Booksellers Association what independent booksellers' partnership with Google eBooks means to book buyers -- and publishers.

IDPF Digital Book 2011
The Year of the eBook - Globally
8:30 -- 9:15 AM
The Jacob Javits Convention Center
Panelists: Abe Murray, product manager, Google Books with Michael Tamblyn of Kobo Books and Yoshinobu Noma of Kodansha

Summary: Digital books have "crossed the chasm" to mainstream consumer acceptance. What were the critical success factors in this global success story? And what's next?


Tuesday, May 24

BookExpo America
The Future of eBooks Publishing Executive Panel
3:30 – 4:30 pm
The Jacob Javits Convention Center, Room 1E13
Moderator: Tom Turvey, director, strategic partnerships, Google Books
Panelists: Amanda Close (President, Random House Digital), Evan Schnittman (EVP, Business Development, Bloomsbury) David Steinberger (CEO, Perseus), Andrew Savikas (SVP, O'Reilly)

Summary: Senior executives from top publishing houses tell it like it is in a rousing panel discussion about the future of ebooks. This no-holds-barred session will tackle tough issues such as the changing definition of a book, digital rights management, and international marketing, plus new business models like subscriptions and bundling. Bring your burning questions and a pen -- you'll want to write some of these gems down. The panel will include audience Q&A.


Wednesday, May 25

BookExpo America
Three R's of Google eBooks: Reading, Regions and Retailing
9:00 – 10:30 am
The Jacob Javits Convention Center, Room 1E02
Presenter: Scott Dougall, director, product management, Google Books

Summary: Nearly six months since launch, hundreds of thousands of Google eBooks are being merchandised through the Google eBookstore, the Android Market and on the websites of more than 200 partner bookstores across the U.S. More than two million Google eBooks are available for free -- driving trial and excitement for digital reading in the cloud. But on what devices are people reading? What genres are most popular? Which cities have the most avid e-reading populations? Attend this interactive presentation and find out all this and more.


Thursday, May 26

BookExpo America
Seven Years of Google Books: The Next Chapter
9:00 – 10:30 am
The Jacob Javits Convention Center, Room 1E15
Presenter: James Crawford, director, engineering, Google Books

Summary: Since setting out in 2004 to bring the world's literary treasures online, the Google Books team has indexed more than 2 million books from publisher partners around the world. With Google Books, millions of users search through trillions of words in milliseconds to find just the book they were looking for -- and the retailers that sell it. What started out with one makeshift scanner and a dream has become a large-scale operation that delivers a free promotional tool for more than 35,000 publishers around the world. Find out what's next for the Google Books Partner Program, Google Books search and Google eBooks.

Happy reading!
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-ebooks-by-numbers-then-and-now.html

[G] Define, translate and search for words in Google eBooks

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Define, translate and search for words in Google eBooks

Posted by Derek Lei, Software Engineer, Google Books

When bookworms stumble across a word we don't know, we face the classic dilemma of whether to put the book down to look up the word or forge ahead in ignorance to avoid interrupting the reading experience. Well, fret no more, readers, because today you can select words in Google eBooks and look up their definitions, translate them or search for them elsewhere in the book from within the Google eBooks Web Reader—without losing your page or even looking away.

The Web Reader works in all modern browsers and lets you read Google eBooks without having to download them. To select text in a Google eBook within the Web Reader, double-click or highlight it with your mouse and a pop-up menu opens with the following options: Define, Translate, Search Book, Search Google and Search Wikipedia. (Note: these features work in "Flowing Text" mode not "Scanned Pages" mode. Switch to "Flowing Text" in the Web Reader by clicking on the Settings menu labeled "Aa" and select it under the "Show" drop-down menu. Not all Google eBooks are available in "Flowing Text.")



Define
Click "Define" and the pop-up now displays a definition of the word via Google Dictionary, without leaving the page you're on in the Google eBook. Click on the audio icon to the left of the word you want defined to hear the definition pronounced aloud. If you decide you do want to leave the page, select "More" to go to the Google Dictionary page for the word, which provides additional information like usage examples and web definitions.




Translate
You can also translate a single word or several sentences of content into dozens of languages, from Afrikaans to Yiddish, by selecting the "Translate" option. As with definitions, you'll see the translated text displayed in the pop-up window.







Search
By selecting one of the search options, you can search for the selected text in other places within the ebook itself or across the entire web.

"Search Book" brings up all the instances in which the selected text appears in the ebook. You can also access the search options by clicking on the magnifying glass icon in the upper right-hand corner of the Web Reader. Click on a search result to jump to that section.

"Search Google" and "Search Wikipedia" open up a new browser tab displaying the search results for that text on Google and Wikipedia, respectively.



Go ahead and give these new features a spin by reading a Google eBook.

Update 5:54pm: Included details about "Flowing text" vs. "Scanned pages."
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/define-translate-and-search-for-words.html

[G] Books on Wheels

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Books on Wheels

Posted by Dan Hirsch, Google Books Support Team

Please note that some content may not be available in full view to users outside of the United States.



As millions of commuters clip in and pedal off for Bike to Work Week, we, on the Google Books Team cruised through our library in search of bike-inspired writing. To our delight, books on bikes abound. The 19th century in particular proved itself a fruitful time for writing about self-powered vehicles. Since 1817 when Baron Karl von Drais invented the first Laufmaschine or "dandy horse," innumerable authors have penned user guides and treatises on bikes, trikes and velocipedes. However, these works do more than just explain how to lube a chain or fix a flat — they reflect on overarching themes of modernity itself. Bike writers cover everything from feminism to globalization. Below are some of the many bike books we liked the most.

Fast Age




"Whether velocipedes will ever become a necessity of our civilization—the 'fast' adjunct to our 'fast' age—it is impossible to say, though appearances would warrant such a prediction," writes the anonymous gearhead "Velox" in Velocipedes, Bicycles, and Tricycles: How to Make Use of Them. In 1869, Velox certainly couldn't imagine the ultimate dominance of planes, trains and automobiles. However, his bike guide affirmatively depicts the modern age as an era defined by transportation. "Man being his own horse" was only the beginning.

Around the World in Way More than 80 Days




In a century of expanding empires and increased global exchange, novelist and writers spilled a great deal of ink imagining fantastical trips around the world — Jules Verne's work is a quintessential example. One adventurer named Thomas Stevens actually took such a trip, but rather than luxuriating in a hot air balloon, he propelled himself on wheels. Starting off in San Francisco in April 1884, Stevens rode his large wheeled "penny-farthing" across the U.S. to New York City. From there he traveled with his bike by ship to London, then Paris. He cycled across Europe, did a big loop through the Balkans, rode a steamer down the Red Sea, then crossed the Indian Ocean to Karachi, Pakistan, where he pedaled through the Indian subcontinent. Traveling by boat from Yokohama, Japan, Stevens arrived back in San Francisco in December 1887. He lived to tell the tale and collect his memories in a Around the World on a Bicycle.

Biking in Bloomers




If you were a turn-of-the-century suffragette looking for a delightful way to attain mobile independence in a world increasingly populated by male automobile drivers, then biking was the thing for you! In her 1895 work A Wheel Within a Wheel, feminist writer and activist Frances Willard argued that a woman's ability to self-propel using pedal-power could also empower her to advance beyond the traditional restrictions of her gender. Willard writes: "Indeed, I found a whole philosophy of life in the wooing and the winning of my bicycle." Her work gives new meaning to the phrase, "it's like learning to ride a bike."

* * *


Should all this talk of free-wheelin' get you in the mood to hit the road yourself, you can find out how to get from home to office (or San Francisco to Yokohama, as the case may be) via bike by using Google Maps biking directions. For more on all things bikes, you can also browse through select archives of the magazine Bicycling.
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/books-on-wheels.html

[G] Books from 16th and 17th centuries now in full-color view

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 03:23 AM PDT

Inside Google Books: Books from 16th and 17th centuries now in full-color view

Posted by Dan Bloomberg and Kurt Groetsch, Google Books team

Google has formed partnerships with many of the great libraries of Europe, including the Czech National Library, the National Library of the Netherlands, the Austrian National Library, the National Libraries of Florence and Rome, the Municipal Library of Lyon, Ghent University, the Bavarian State Library, the National Library of Catalonia, the University Complutense of Madrid, the University Library of Lausanne and the Oxford University Library.

To date, we've scanned about 150,000 books worldwide from the 16th and 17th centuries, and another 450,000 from the 18th century. With our growing list of partners, we expect to scan many hundreds of thousands more pre-1800 titles.

In digitizing books from any century, we try to create clean images with black text and color illustrations on white backgrounds. This helps enhance readability, save storage spaces and serve illustrated pages faster to readers. However, partners, researchers and other readers have frequently asked us to show the older books as they actually appear, for a couple of reasons: First, these books are interesting artifacts. They have changed their appearance over the centuries, and there is a cultural value in viewing them. Second, because of aging and bleed-through, it can be very difficult to display the images as clean text over a white background; in many cases it's actually easier to read the text from the original (what we call "full-color") images.

Printing was introduced in the 15th century, but a great flowering of experimentation in typography took place in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Secunda centuria, das ist das ander Hundert der Evangelischen Wahrheit
Johann Nass, 1568


Thargum, hoc est, Paraphrasis Onkeli Chaldaica in sacra Biblia : ex Chaldaeo
Paul Fagius, 1546

Some have great historical significance. Others have interesting typography and wood block illustrations. The links open thumbnail versions of each book (icons with 4 little squares). You get other views by clicking on nearby icons; from the thumbnail view, you can click on a page to expand it.

Below are links to a few more of these 16th and 17th century books now available in full-color view in Google Books:

Prognostication nouvelle et prediction portenteuse, pour l'an M. D. L. V.
Nostradamus, 1554
The first year of his prophecies, provided for scanning by the Municipal Library of Lyon.

Description de l'abbaye de la Trappe
André Félibien, 1689
A description of La Trappe Abbey in Soligny-la-Trappe, Orne, France. Authored by André Félibien, a French chronicler of the arts and official court historian to Louis XIV of France.

Epitome Astronomiae Copernicanae: Usitata forma Quaestionum ..., Volumes 1-3
Johannes Kepler, 1635
The German astronomer's textbook on astronomy (translated as Epitome of Copernican Astronomy); his most influential work.

Systema cosmicum : in quo dialogis IV. de duobus maximis mundi systematibus, Ptolemaico & Copernicano, rationibus vtrinque propositis indefinitè disseritur : accessit locorum S. Scripturae cum Terra mobilitate conciliatio
Galileo Galilei, 1641
Galileo's landmark work comparing Copernican heliocentrism with the geocentric Ptolemaic system. Engraved frontspiece of Aristotle, Ptolemy and Copernicus.

La operazione del compasso geometrico e militare
Galileo Galilei, 1640
Description of and manual on the operation of Galileo's geometrical and military compass.

Tractatus de proportionum instrumento : quod merito compendium vniuersae geometriae dixeris
Galileo Galilei, 1635

Ioannis Kepleri ... Dioptrice seu Demonstratio eorum quae visui & visibilibus propter conspicilla non ita pridem inventa accidunt. Praemissae Epistolae Galilaei de iis, quae post editionem Nuncii siderii ope Perspicilli, nova & admiranda in coelo deprehensa sunt. Item Examen praefationis Ioannis Penae Galli in Optica Euclidis, de usu Optices in philosophia.
Johannes Kepler, Galileo Galilei, Jean Pena, 1611

Patris Gabrielis Vazquez ... Disputationes Metaphysicae …
Gabriel Vázquez, 1617

Relaciones universales del mundo ... : Primera y segunda parte
Giovanni Botero, 1603

La rhétorique ou l'art de parler
Bernard Lamy, 1699

Idea de vn principe politico christiano, representada en cien empressas …
Diego de Saavedra Fajardo, 1675

Idea de un principe politico christiano, representada en cien empresas, dedicada al principe de las Españas nuestro Señor …
Diego de Saavedra Fajardo, 1655

Pia desideria emblematis elegiis & affectibus S.S. Patrum illustrata
Herman Hugonus, 1624

Obsidio bredana armis Philippi IIII, auspiciis Isabellae ductu Ambr. Spinolae perfecta
Herman Hugo, 1626

Emblémes Ou Devises Chrétiennes
1697
URL: http://booksearch.blogspot.com/2011/05/books-from-16th-and-17th-centuries-now.html

[G] Google Offers beta starts in Portland, Oregon tomorrow

Posted: 01 Jun 2011 02:01 AM PDT

Official Google Blog: Google Offers beta starts in Portland, Oregon tomorrow

(Cross-posted on the Commerce, Places, Retail and Small Business Blogs)

Portlanders know how to mix the urban (killer coffee, music and art) and the small-town (easy walking, biking and socializing). There's no end to the city's great restaurants, coffee shops, hot spots and places to explore. That's why, when we started planning the Google Offers beta, we knew Portland was the ideal place to get it all kicked off.

Today, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and VP of Commerce Stephanie Tilenius announced at the D9 Conference that we're launching Google Offers beta in Portland, Ore. tomorrow.

Our first Google Offer will be from beloved local java shop Floyd's Coffee. Husband-and-wife team Jack Inglis and Cris Chapman opened Floyd's seven years ago, offering up espresso, coffee, breakfast burritos and more. They now have two convenient locations—one cozy, brick-lined shop in Old Town and another Stumptown watering-hole in Buckman.


With Google Offers, we're working with great local businesses like Floyd's Coffee, Le Bistro Montage, Powell's Books and Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade to help them reach more Portlanders. We hope to bring Google Offers to other cities soon, with New York City and the San Francisco Bay area as our next stops.

You can learn more about Google Offers and sign up at google.com/offers. If you're a business interested in participating in Google Offers, you can let us know too. Finally, if you're at the Portland Rose Festival this Saturday, visit our Google booth at CityFair to say hello to our team and learn more about Google Offers.

Posted by Kyle Harrison, Product Manager, Google Offers
URL: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/google-offers-beta-starts-in-portland.html

[G] Music Tuesday: Death Cab for Cutie, Cibo Matto and more

Posted: 31 May 2011 06:00 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: Music Tuesday: Death Cab for Cutie, Cibo Matto and more

What's happening on youtube.com/music? If you're a fan of one of indie rock's most influential bands, a lot. Check out our picks for what's happening in music this week.

Death Cab for Cutie curation
Death Cab for Cutie's intelligent, heart-restrained-by-head songs have always vibrated with barely-contained desire. They're also innovative video-makers -- earlier this year they released a pretty stunning one-take video for "You Are A Tourist." They followed it up by asking Shepard Fairey to tag L.A. with the lyrics to "Home Is A Fire." So we were pretty psyched when Ben Gibbard and Nick Harmer agreed to sit down and choose some of their favorite videos for us on the eve of the release of their new album Codes and Keys. Like the band itself, their videos are diverse, thoughtful, surprising and sometimes cute: you'll find indie rock videos, sure, but also French bulldogs, exploding volcanoes, and a starry sky. Prepare to swoon.



Cibo Matto reunites
Everybody's favorite quirky Japanese alterna-pop duo, Cibo Matto grabbed a devoted following back in the '90s for their deceptively simple, sly and silly songs. They weren't rockstars, but they were cool and goofy and hard to ignore. They recently announced they're getting back together for a tour and a new album. Here's why you care:



Lavalier "Santa Claus Ain't Comin'"
When even Nylon Magazine is trying to remind us that there's music being made outside of Brooklyn, it feels a bit perverse to hype yet another Brooklyn band. But Lavalier -- a slightly psychedelic, slightly melancholic indie band -- have something else going for them: their new video from the art collective Everything Is Terrible. The collective scours junk sales and thrift stores for discarded VHS tapes and turns them into hilarious videos. They hit the jackpot with this one, sending up '80s culture by using detritus from the decade itself. This is cultural archeology at its best -- and the song's not bad, either.



Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched "Go - Santogold & Karen O."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/megSPIK2iY4/music-tuesday-death-cab-for-cutie-cibo.html

[G] 3 Labs graduations, 1 retirement

Posted: 31 May 2011 03:53 PM PDT

Official Gmail Blog: 3 Labs graduations, 1 retirement

Posted by Maciek Nowakowski, Associate Product Manager

Today we're excited to graduate three more features from the experimental testing ground of Gmail Labs. Superstars, Nested Labels, and Advanced IMAP Controls are now first-class citizens in the Gmail world, thanks largely to your feedback. We're also retiring the Google Search box lab which was redundant with the "Search the Web" button that's already in Gmail.

Superstars
Superstars, one of the most popular Labs features, provides different types of stars in addition to Gmail's basic one. You can assign a certain star to special conversations and use another as a visual reminder that you need to follow-up on a message later. You can now choose your own set of stars from Settings:


Once you've done that, the stars will rotate with each consecutive click on the star icon.


Nested Labels
Labels are a great way of organizing your email; nested labels give you the ability to organize labels hierarchically. Starting today, nested labels are enabled for everyone along with a couple of small improvements such as a sticky collapse/expand state and better editing options.


To start using them, you can either create a new sub-label from the dropdown menu on the left hand side or just move an existing label under another one using the edit option:


Advanced IMAP Controls
This Labs feature provided a very useful set of advanced controls for those of you who access Gmail through IMAP clients (e.g. Outlook, Thunderbird, or your iPhone's native mail app). Now it's easier to take advantage of features like syncing only selected labels or limiting the folder size limit to improve your IMAP experience.


True to the original spirit of Gmail Labs, we'll continue to add new features, graduate some, and retire others, so keep trying them out and sending us your feedback.
URL: http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/3-labs-graduations-1-retirement.html

[G] John Legend takes your education questions in next World View interview

Posted: 31 May 2011 12:00 PM PDT

YouTube Blog: John Legend takes your education questions in next World View interview

In the past five months, YouTube World View has challenged leaders to talk about some of the most pressing issues facing the world today. Until today, these leaders have resided squarely in the government space, however, our next World View subject has a slightly different background.

Starting today, you can ask questions of philanthropist and soulful crooner John Legend. In addition to being a nine-time Grammy Award winner (!) and one of Time's 100 Most Influential People, John is the founder of the Show Me Campaign, an effort to use education to break the cycle of poverty.

John wants to hear your questions about education, whether they're about raising the standard of education around the world, improving the quality of teachers, or the work he is doing with the Show Me Campaign. You can head over to www.youtube.com/worldview to submit your questions now. He'll answer the top-voted questions in a special interview that will be released on June 8.


Ramya Raghavan, News and Politics Manager, recently watched "John Legend in Ghana"


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/qWkSOAG7KWo/john-legend-takes-your-education.html

[G] Watch My Morning Jacket’s perform live tonight

Posted: 31 May 2011 07:31 AM PDT

YouTube Blog: Watch My Morning Jacket's perform live tonight

Tonight at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, indie rock darlings My Morning Jacket will debut their new album Circuital in style: with a performance in Louisville, Kentucky's historic Palace Theatre. No ticket? No problem. Watch the performance live on youtube.com/mymorningjacketvevo.

The show marks the next installment of the original music series UNSTAGED, in partnership with American Express and VEVO. UNSTAGED pairs bands with iconic film directors to create one-of-a-kind live performances.

Director Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine, I'm Not There) will conduct the show. Haynes has been engaged with pop music throughout his career, crafting films that have frequently looked at music icons through an unusual lens: in Velvet Goldmine, he approached glam rock through the guise of a fictional, Bowie-like rock star named Brian Slade. In I'm Not There, six different actors inhabit or embody Bob Dylan's many-faceted career. A subtle provocateur, Haynes has always looked to transgress social norms in his work.

As an indie band that often flirts with experimental elements, My Morning Jacket are a natural match for Haynes. The group burst onto the scene in 2001 with the release of their sophomore album At Dawn. Alt country had become the fashion among many northern rock bands, but as native southerners, these Kentucky boys came by their twang honestly. When they drenched it in oceans of reverb, what could have been relatively straightforward country rock verged on otherworldly.



Over the years, the band has evolved, experimenting with neo-psychedelia, reggae and progressive rock and even emulating Prince. Circuital sees the band returning to its early influences -- and returning home to Louisville to perform in the Palace Theatre, an ornate Spanish Baroque-style theater built in 1924. The theater oozes with atmosphere: the trompe l'oeil ceiling looks like an open sky, and a "hall of faces" features over a hundred sculptures of Socrates, Beethoven, Dante and more. The venue also has amazing acoustics -- and, according to some reports, a ghost.

Anything could happen tonight! Tune in early for an exclusive Q&A before the show, and keep an eye out for interesting components of the webcast: vote for their encore song, choose your camera angle, watch for user-submitted eyeball photos (yes, eyeballs) on stage, and potentially unlock some exclusive photo content during the performance!

Sarah Bardeen, Music Community Manager, recently watched "LOUDER|DUBSTEP."


URL: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/youtube/PKJx/~3/xN0vxj88ni4/watch-my-morning-jackets-perform-live.html
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