Best. Clip. Ever.

Really. Nicole has had excellent play on substantial dead-tree publications like the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Times (and their digital entities as well, of course) but today's article on npr.org looks really, really pretty.

It could be the bitchin' pictures Nicole took. It could be that the recipes are tantalizing (peepsNet is making the peppers this week). It could be that this is the first food story she has been paid for, after giving away the store for free over at cucinanicolina for so long.

But we don't care. We just like it. Really, really.

More Great Press for Mike

More great notice for Mike, at AsOneNational, a national website that highlights and advocates for black businesses of note.

TYPE ILLY PRESS is turning the page on the next generation of comic books.

TYPE ILLY PRESS lays out a masterful comic strip featuring ethnic characters in the ultimate battle for survival from the everyday problems that plague our society.

Mike is always a great interview, but this is best line from him I think I have seen so far about his hero, Nefertiti Jones:

"If you ever wished PAM GRIER could play WONDER WOMAN, this series is for you."

Rich in ...

Rich comes up for air long enough to tell peepsNet that he has carved out a comfortable freelancer's existence and that Maureen is working on a book that is just about ready to be pitched.

He is shooting up a storm for a wide variety of clients, our man in Portland (Ore.) reports, including Reuters and Bloomberg. Apologies to Rich if this is the first time these competing agencies have learned of his mercenary lack of fealty. You have to say "off the record" right off the bat.

Rich says his description of Maureen's book doesn't do it justice. But his take -- that it is "sort of a yogic philosophical look at nostalgia and how we remember those events from our youth and what they mean" -- sounds plenty fascinating to me, so the truth can only be better.

We remind Maureen that peepsNet employs an ombudsman, who would love to hear from her. Or we can sort this out at the Politics & Prose reading.

Here is the money quote from his despatch:

"our cat is freaking nuts! she's 18 y-o and after she eats, she stands in the bedroom howling at unseen entities. just being a cat..."

Wrong. This is what Samer does every time he drinks.

Pets with a Purpose

You want worms. Red ones. Lots of them. Trust me.

Nicole's latest Chronicle column answers the question that loomed large when she wrote two months ago about gardening in your apartment: where you gonna get all that rich dirt you need to grow tomatoes on your window sill?

The answer is worms. About 1,000 will do.

They don't take up much space, you don't have to clean up after them (that is kind of the point) and they subsist on a diet of vegan scraps that, in San Francisco, would otherwise become part of the three tons of used food collected every day and processed at a commercial compost facility outside Vacaville (love the sound of that town's name).

If you are in Bay area check out the the print version of Nicole's article, which is framable, we hear -- it takes up the whole back page of the House and Garden section, on page on F - 8.

Samer, Exposed

Samer has begun to market his photos at Etsy, a e-commerce site that lets anyone sell their wares in the same empowering way eBay has turned everyone into an auctioneer.

Not much to see there yet, but since peepsNet was given a preview of Samer's portfolio we can say with great authority, though not for the record, that there are many more great shots to come at FarhaFoto (wonder why he didn't go with PharhaPhoto, which would have been really Phat).

Bookmark the page, but even better: Subscribe here.

On a housekeeping note: We are, of course, too lazy to check the archives and see if we have used this headline before, although we are almost certain we have. Can you plagiarize yourself?

Nicole, Redesigned

Well, her site is anyway. No reason to tamper with perfection.

After a long period of contemplation and the press of higher priorities nicolespiridakis.com has undergone a complete makeover (no way was I going to use that word in the headline.)

Gone is the iconic picture in the borrowed shirt, replaced with a graceful headshot (used here without permission, as usual).

Speaking of photos, the landing page is a nicely staged shot of one of Nicole's many SF Chron articles -- you know she has a monthly column there called "Common Walls?"

But our favorite page is "clips." There are lots and lots of them, and room for more. Get on it, girl!

The Pantry is Perfect. Of Course It Is.

On the theory that you just can't know enough about Nicole and the reality that peepsNet is too lazy to do any enterprise reporting, we invite you to surf on over to The Perfect Pantry and read up on what "the passionate cook behind the stove at Cucina Nicolina" likes to read up on.

She's got a birthday coming up (not A Big One, no, not until Next Year) but, who knows, you might get an idea or two about what the girl is into if you haven't yet bought that present yet.

We know this is all only about Nicole's shameless attempt to promote her blog, and we applaud her for it.

Hey -- we hear that a redesign in the offing @ nicolespiridakis.com. About time.

Square Curves

Square Curves Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

Samer scores a double today with another DCist "Picture of the Day" and a Flickr explore (#15 and counting)!

Ross in Santa Monica

peeps-in-law Michael Knud Ross is showing in Santa Monica starting Sunday, Sept. 23, as part of a tw-person show at Terrence Rogers Fine Art.

The exhibit, also featuring David Molesky, runs through Oct. 27. The artists will be on hand at the Sunday opening, 2-5.

If You Want Her, She'll Be In The Closet

We wonder if Nicole needs to phone ahead for reservations anymore, or if Barry Bonds wants to be photographed with her, or if it's starting to get a little creepy for Gavin Newsome to keep dropping by because "I just happened to be in the neighborhood?"

Not that we think she should stop writing. And neither does the Chron, which today publishes Nicole's latest column about life as a renter in San Francisco. We can't get enough of these. So keep it up. And just tell the mayor when he drunk dials you that you can't hear the doorbell in your closet. Office.

Fare Card, Dave?

How May We Help You? Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

More DCist love for Samer.

When we saw this, we were immediately struck by how this image evoked HAL 9000 from "2001: A Space Odyssey," even down to the colors and brightness. Amazing. But we were not alone -- a previous commenter on this picture at flickr made the same observation, first.

This is a great example of how the eye and brain of a true photographer work. Here is something that tens of thousands of people see every day, but this capture seems unique -- special.

On the other hand, maybe nobody has taken this before because there is never nobody in the shot. There is always some poor soul struggling to get one of these machines to do what it is told, fighting to prevail.

Hmmm ... perhaps they are HAL.

A view of HAL 9000's Brain Room in the Discovery.

On T-Mobile

On T-Mobile Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

Samer has now taken control of his iPhone and has provided photographic proof.

In his words:

"Look at the top left of this screen capture from my iPhone. "T-Mobile" it says! And I've got Edge working on it, too. It rocks.

"I used the free iPhone Dev Team solution and did it from an SSH session to the phone. It was a bit nerve wracking as it takes approximately forever to do its thing, but it worked. Like a charm."

Letters to the peepsNet Ombudsman

Dear peepsNet ombudsman,

I'm all about a shrinking world wrought by the digital revolution but at heart I'm a pretty provincial guy. Can you arrange to have Nicole's latest article, about that neighborhood in San Francisco, published on my local newspaper's web site?

Mike in Raleigh

Dear Mike,

No problem. Here it is. And tell your like-minded friends in Boston they don't have to cruise to far-flung servers either.

The peepsNet Ombudsman
"It's all about you."

________________________

Dear peepsNet Ombudsman,

His work is good and all but some of us actually take pictures for a living and kinda resent all the attention Samer is getting with his DCist play. Any chance you can cut back on the articles about him and leave a little air in the room?

Rich in Portland

Dear Rich,

No.

The peepsNet Ombudsman
"It's all about you."

________________________

Dear peepsNet Ombudsman

I may be wrong about this, but it seems like you only write about the same 6 people over and over again. People tell me I'm pretty interesting -- is there any chance you can do an article about me? You could talk me into an interview (wink wink) and I don't look half bad these days on TV.

OBL in ?????

Dear OBL,

Am I mistaken or did you an advice column for our sister publication? Frankly, we were disappointed that you couldn't come to terms on a renewal, but, hey, I also thought Hell would freeze over before CNN walked away from Reuters.

I don't really know how to answer your question. Our subjects generally beg us to stop writing about them. We've never been actually invited to cover anything. We'll have to think about this and get back to you.

The peepsNet Ombudsman
"It's all about you."

DCist: Morning Roundup: Six Years Later Edition

10
Originally uploaded by Samer Farha

DCIst staff photographer (he isn't?) Samer scores again with Morning Roundup: Six Years Later Edition.

I think he needs a challenge. He should start shooting exclusively with an iPhone.

[19:21] Samer: I have an 8GB iPhone in front of me

Sexy
Originally uploaded by Samer Farha

These words aren't exactly "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" -- but they are close.

They have met Samer's price, and only part of that was reducing the retail of the first generation iPhone by $200. The deal maker was the release and verification of a free unlock, which lets the iPhone buyer spit in the general direction of ATT's two-year contract and Steve's hard-wired SIM.

For some of us (ahem) this development comes too late. While the Jesus Phone wasn't important enough for some of us to lose sleep and dignity over, waiting on a line outside the Apple Store with guys who have never kissed a girl, it was too important to wait for the Neo to crack The Matrix. This was especially true for those of us whose mobile phone just died out of nowhere (really) and you can't go a day without coverage because that's when the Big Call you've been waiting for all your life will come. But we digress.

peepsNet, which has already benefited greatly from Samer's general Mac expertise and specific pre-ownership iPhone interest, expects great things to be discovered now that the boy wonder has one in his mitts.

You can start by porting VNC and building an IM client that works in the background and notifies even when not in focus. If it isn't too much trouble.

ghettoManga: i got your Superwoman...

Mike gets a nice review at ghettoManga.

Blogger Samax says he's read all three of Mike's SouthSide Nefertiti books and has seen his growth, especially since relinquishing drawing responsibilities and concentrating on the writing.

"every now and then, a book which started out as a good idea with not-so-great execution starts to catch up to its potential.

Southside Nefertiti (Type Illy Press) is JUST such a book homie!! in its defense, i've been reading the adventures of single mom/college student/superhero Nefertiti Jones for some time now... and series creator Mike Sales is one hell of a great writer... but he also drew the book, which was holding his writing back. like many indie cats, his art was passionate and distinct, but not up to the level it would take to do his skillfull writing justice..."

Apparently You Can Go Home Again

peepsNet did not see this one coming, which makes it an extra delicious treat.

How better than to start off a new month than a little Nicole read?

Katy Moves On

After turning in some fine work at MarketWatch, Katy is moving on.

She starts at Thompson in three weeks. Hey -- doesn't that mean she'll be working at Reuters again?

peepsNet Made on 267

Thumbs Up Originally uploaded by Samer Farha.

Curses!

More Mike

Could be because peepsNet only just signed up for Type Illy email updates that I just got blasted with four (4) missives. Much of it has already been covered here, but here are some as-yet unreported tidbits:

"The CHARLOTTE ARTS FESTIVAL turned out to be the most succesful outing TYPE ILLY PRESS has ever had. Not only in terms sales, but also in solidifying a long term business strategy for independent comic creators (particularly of color)..."

"we did our HIGHEST first day sales numbers at the CHARLOTTE ARTS FESTIVAL, and we owe it all to the lovely parents and children who came out and dropped HEAVY support for SOUTHSIDE NEFERTITI. Parents looking to get their children reading took to the book, and young teens dug the hip hop angle. The incredible cover art by Randolph Williams caught eyes all weekend, and the story kept them reading."

"Everybody's experience is different, but the reaction to SOUTHSIDE NEFERTITI and the continual support reaffirms to me that there is a significant audience for high quality comics by independent creators and people of color. Not only that, but people of color will SUPPORT high quality comics if they are done well and if the story resonates with them. In one day, I moved more units at the CHARLOTTE ARTS FESTIVAL than I did in an entire weekend at WIZARD WORLD LA and mainstream comics shops put together.

And the Charlotte Arts Festival had a LOT FEWER people. Men lie, women lie, but numbers don't lie. (c) Jay Z And the numbers keep saying to me that people of color – ESPECIALLY PARENTS – are much hungrier for this particular TYPE ILLY comic than mainstream comics fans."

" From the SOUTHSIDE TO SAN DIEGO... SOUTHSIDE NEFERTITI has stepped into new territory. TYPE ILLY'S latest release SOLD OUT the entire special edition print run for the 38th Annual COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL at the San Diego Convention Center!(WEE PALS Creator Morrie Turner and KUNTA KINTE at our (ComicCon) booth, yall!!)