Did Google Quietly Turn Off Orkut Media?

For those of you who don't know, Orkut has had a "media site" called Orkut Media.

It's purpose (at from what I could tell) was to help spice up Orkut to the outside world with views about politics, sex, God (more like "God bashing"), or random amusements by either Googlers or friends of Googlers.

Anyways, its seems as if the last post to the site was around April 18^th of this year, six months ago.

Google may have discontinued publishing articles there due to its content, as some of it was not exactly suitable for little kids (despite the fact than anyone could access it).

Although Orkut has an official blog, it mostly focuses on improvements to Orkut, while Orkut media commented about items in the general news.

Either way, Orkut Media was fairly interesting (especially the Gallery) and it would be nice if Google decided to bring portions of the site back (especially comments from Jen).

Lexy London Adds "Warning In Red"

For those of you who don't know, Orkut Media is Orkut's official magazine highlighting (mostly American) politics, culture and for the lonely love advice from Lexy.

Now, Lexy is not a saint (by any stretch) and she does not write articles geared with a family audience in mind. She does however answer a lot of off the wall questions regarding sex that most people would not be brazen enough to ask their parents, religious leader, or any respectable politician community leaders in town.

Probably in order to protect themselves from future lawsuits, it seems that Google has placed some "discretionary advisor" text in red for users to warn viewers before they open the Pandora's box.



Lexy is one of many writers of Orkut Media, and although not my favorite (Jen Sala holds that title) she probably is a favorite among many Orkut readers for various reasons.

Regarding Orkut Media, is it me or does Google need a developers blog on the site?

Rise Of The Geek Machines?

Over on Orkut Media Jen La Sala (whose articles never cease to amuse me) publishes another amusing post regarding the dreaded office machines of America.

Other people must have this problem. It starts when one thing breaks, then something else, then something freezes, and when you think there is nothing left that can go wrong, something starts to smoke. That's when you know it's happened. The machines have turned against you. [...]

In any office, there is that one contraption that befuddles the most eager of IT personnel that can reduce the most even-tempered employee into a raging stapler wielding head case. In my office, it is the combination printer copier.

Having worked on these machines as an IT technician, I can testify how annoying they were to work on. It usually did not matter if these machines were old or new, laser print or an office machine, USB connection verses wireless, they always caused jams, toner issues and worst of all, missing documents.

The "printer ate my project" was a common excuse at my former job, and to make things worse I could not operate on the machine because of a "minor" contract with the manufacturer!

Ok, enough ranting about my life experiences, here is more of Jen via Rant:

All of this makes me glad I'm not an astronaut. Since technical things seem to go wrong all around me I could be right at home at NASA. [...]

Insulation issues have been a thorn in the side of NASA's space program since the mid-air disintegration of Columbia in 2003, caused by a piece of insulation breaking off from the shuttle mid-decent.

She later talks about the Discovery space shuttle mission which NASA bet it would succeed despite the minor issue with the insulation (and it looks like NASA won that bet).

Hopefully technology failures won't keep Jen from reaching the stars. After all, with Google expanding around the world, I wouldn't be surprised to find her writing from the Moon.

North Korean Dictator A Film Critic?

(Note: I guess I should not be too surprised that blood thirsty people have their hobbies...outside of slaughtering people that is.)

I came across this post on Orkut Media which I found almost amusing. John Gorenfeld on 2400 Baud talks about Korea's favorite dictator's passion about acting and film.

Kim has also written a book on what's wrong with opera. I bought it on Amazon.com. 1974's "On the Art of Opera: Talk to Creative Workers in the Field of Art and Literature" is available from the University Press of the Pacific, along with "On The Art of the Cinema," which recommends that actors seethe with ferocious party loyalty as the only path to mastering their craft.

"Actors must be ideologically prepared before acquiring high-level skillsÂ…The actor requires an ardent love of his class, and a burning hostility towards the enemy," he writes.

I do not know how anyone could take this dictator seriously. Not only does he have goofy hair, (just like Hitler) but he also thinks he can win a nuclear war against the West. (note: no one wins a nuclear war Kimmy)

Getting back on topic, here are some of the reviews from Amazon (which were in my opinion quite appealing).

(via Gjergj Plazh "comecon") Reading this book by this great Korean leader and the best man of his country put me in true ecstacy. The depth of his work is so immense. Yet he is able to put the most complex problems of his country in so simple terms that one begins to wander if his career would be better off as a writer or a philosopher.

(via Greg Mills "Greg") First off, I'm a huge fan of Mr. Jung's work.

"Let's Work On Doubling the Output of the Red Harvest Tractor Factory #8!!!!" was a beautiful little film, all four hours of it. Great rainy day treat, if your work militia collectively owns a dvd player.

Although tempting, I'll probably refrain from purchasing the books. After all, why support a regime that threatens the world with war?

Endangered Species: Crazy American Soccer Fans

Jen Sala over at Orkut Media has an interesting article about why Americans are generally not interested in soccer.

American sport enthusiasts are the poster children for attention deficit disorder. We like big numbers; we like clear-cut winners; we like action and aggression marked by runs, touchdowns, baskets, and goals, peppered perhaps with the occasional fistfight. We like tangible action that we can read about in the box scores the next day. We don't appreciate the drama and struggle of a zero-zero game. [...]

I personally think that American soccer fans aren't nearly dedicated enough as Latin American or European fans. We need more painted people, more people dressed up like complete freaks. I would like to see more fans covered in greasy head to toe red, white, and blue. We need more people in giant wigs.

What Americans like about soccer is that it is what I call "a hype sport." Basically, it is a sport that, like basketball, a player can do a lot of cool tricks, have fun and use their skills to out smart the opponent.

Unfortunately unless those tricks are giving your team a massive lead (or showing up early on the score board) then the game loses interest, making the Golf channel much more appealing.

Relationships, Immigration And Moving (Oh My!)

I wish I had time to comment on these individually, but lack of sleep is preventing me from doing so.

Although I have not been a huge fan of Orkut Media in the past (I was not very impressed with the writing) it seems that the authors recently have been posting relevant and quality essays. It either is something Google is putting in the water or perhaps Orkut is serving his authors some yummy donuts.

Here are a few that caught my eye and are worth reading.

Via Lexy London:

Many couples go through rough patches where intimacy is threatened by external forces - cheating is not an uncommon problem, even in countries and cultures where extra-marital sex is against the moral (and legal) code. [...]

This week's reader, like most women, seems to be less hurt due to the cheating, and more hurt because her man won't be honest with her.

I am getting married to a person I truly love. We've known each other for approximately the past four years, and now I am to marry him in three months.

Continue Reading...

Via Petrice Gaskin:

When the Minutemen arrived in South Los Angeles on May 3rd to recruit African Americans to support their anti-illegal immigrant platform, they received an enthusiastic response - just not the one they were hoping for. According to the L.A. Times, "they were met by protestors - most of them African Americans - who compared the group to the Ku Klux Klan and urged them to take their campaign elsewhere."

Continue Reading...

Via Jen La Sala:

Over the past month or two, several of my friends have looked for and gotten apartments with the ease one takes in eating ice cream, or maybe sherbet for those of us who are lactose intolerant. They tell me how fun it is, that they saw all these different places and what different floor plans looked like, and all sorts of different neighborhoods. They say they have a good time; they think it's so interesting and exciting.

They're lying. Each and every one of them.

Continue Reading...

A long post mostly quoting "the masters," but interesting none-the-less. Worth reading...especially the last one.

A Guitar Hero You Say?

I guess I am not the only person to attempt to learn how to play the guitar and fail miserably.

Although I'd love to tell my story, Jen Sala (writer for Orkut Media) has a better tale to tell.

I have a guitar. During my senior year in high school, Gwen Stefani and the band No Doubt were huge. Although I couldn't stand, well, still can't stand the nasal quality to her singing, I admired her aerobic live show. She looked like she was having a good time. I wanted to have a good time too. So I asked for, and got a guitar for Christmas. I was going to teach myself how to play. I practiced diligently, everyday. Then, about three weeks later, track practice started. Stupid sports foiled my dreams again.

Later on she mentions that after telling her friends her sad story, they tried to buy the guitar from her. Where as I would have put it up on Ebay (or Froogle) in a heart beat, Jen decided to keep the unloved instrument in a dark closet at her home.

Despite the fact that she could never be a pro guitar player, Jen discovered the next best thing--Guitar Hero for Play Station 2.

I wonder if they could integrate this with Dance, Dance Revolution?

Geek Reading (Data Mining On Orkut)

(Note: My family considers me a "geek," so no blog hating here).

Ellen (a Googler) has posted an interesting read for the tech minded on her blog site.

Last spring, orkut began providing related community recommendations, which are displayed on the bottom-right side of community pages. They were generated automatically based on common community membership. For example, since many of the same people belonged to both The Simpsons! and South Park, links to each community were displayed on the other community's page.

The full article can be viewed at Orkut Media.

A Christmas Story (Gone Wrong?)

Google is pretty much a multi-cultural company, and I was quite surprised when I came across this on their media site (article written by Gavin Tachibana).

(Letter from the Editor) I don't mean that it's one of my favorite stories, or that it should be anyone else's favorite. But it is one of the best because it has managed to captivate the world for thousands of years. If you believe in Jesus Christ it's the foundation of your belief. Even if you don't, the birth of Jesus is one story that you can evaluate your own personal growth in relation to your response to this timeless tale.

Shocking I tell you. ;)

Gavin later talks on about the hopes and failures of stem cell research, particularly noting Hwang Woo Suk, who before being discovered as a fraud led the world to believe that there was a break through regarding stem cells. He then makes a surprising statement about Hwang Woo Suk.

But perhaps the frame around this debate can be nudged ever so slightly, for this was a researcher not trying to play God. He was trying to be Jesus.

I'll leave you to your own conclusions.