Well, here is my final post in this series on my Best 40 Movies of the Decade (2000-2009). While making this list and writing these short reviews, I realized that there are a lot of other 5 star movies that I would recommend without hesitation that didn’t make the cut, so I’ve added a list down below of the ones I could think of. Also, as I said at the beginning of these posts, this list is based only on movies that I have seen – there are a number of other movies that are sitting in my Netflix queue (and a couple of flicks that are still in theaters) that I haven’t seen and from what I’ve heard a couple of them at least might have made this list, so I’ve also listed those down below as well. But let’s get to it. At #10…

#10 Letters from Iwo Jima

Clint Eastwood directed a war movie that is nearly entirely in Japanese that won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Let that soak in for a minute. Any director that could produce such a deeply felt and noble movie in their own language would be considered a great director – that Eastwood could wring such emotion out of his actors in a language he doesn’t even speak – it may be the best directing job of the decade.

#9 Memento

Better known now for Batman Begins & The Dark Knight, director Nolan (based on a story by his brother) started out the decade with his best film, which boasts one of the best screenplays of all time. Guy Pierce is very good, but Nolan (who also wrote the screenplay) is why you watch this movie.

#8 Ratatouille

When I saw this Pixar film in the theater, I remember my jaw literally dropping at some of the artistry in which Paris is displayed. Brad Bird was brought in to save this movie from another director, and the result was the best animated film of the decade.

#7 Old Boy

I really don’t know how to explain this movie. How director Chan-wook Park packed as much as he did into two hours I don’t know, but what an intense two hours it is. You will never look at an octopus the same way again, that’s for sure.

#6 Zodiac

I doubt that this nearly three hour epic made many people’s best of the decade lists, and that is a shame. David Fincher’s methodical narrative does almost nothing wrong – every character seems real, every detail is explained, and every shot in the movie feels like Fincher spent days perfecting it.

#5 Touching the Void

I’m a rock climber and I read this book about 15 years ago, so when I heard that they were finally going to make a movie out of it (and thankfully that Tom Cruise would not be playing Joe Simpson) I wondered if there was any way that they could possibly translate the drama of the book onto screen without it feeling cheesy. Director Kevin Macdonald (who a few years later directed the very good Last King of Scotland which is in my 5-star-but-didn’t-make-the-cut-list below) figured it out, making it a documentary starring Joe Simpson plus an actor double. The results of Joe Simpson returning to the mountain that nearly killed him made this the best documentary of the decade.

#4 There Will be Blood

From the moment the film starts to the very last scene, it is impossible to not be riveted to the screen. There is something elemental about this film, something that goes beyond “the American experience” to a much darker place – if I were to compare this to any other movie, I would probably say Apocalypse Now. Daniel Day-Lewis seems almost possessed in this movie (he is famous for never breaking character while filming – not sure I would have wanted to be alone with him off set), turning kind of an extended version performance of his other great role of the decade from Gangs of New York.

#3 Twilight Samurai

There is so much soul in this movie that it is a bit hard to believe that it was made in these (let’s face it) shallow times. Twilight Samurai is barely about samurai – it is about family above all else and how life continually conspires to try to tear us from the people that matter the most to us.

#2 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Version

The nearly 12 hours that it takes to watch the extended version of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy is certainly not something that everyone will do all in one sitting. If, however, you are able to sit through it, you will simply marvel at how Jackson was able to bring so much scope, action, acting and special effects together for 12 hours of movie making (that is six 2 hour movies, more than most directors ever make) so seamlessly. No trilogy has ever been so complete, epic or entertaining.

#1 Children of Men

Few movies that I’ve seen have been able to instill in me the feeling that I was watching the a reasonable rendition of the future unfold on screen, but Alfonso Cuarón’s masterpiece Children of Men is one. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want this future, and I honestly don’t think that our future will be so bleak. That said, the chaos that reigns in Cuarón’s England feels very real, and every character carries enough baggage to weigh down a tank (of which there are many in the film). Also, and this is without a doubt, Children of Men contains the best action sequence of any movie since perhaps Taxi Driver. In a decade when terror and the threat of terror caused wars and the fear of a new pandemic health event took hold, Children of Men – more than any other film of the decade – portrayed the mood and warned of the possible consequences if we don’t get out act together.

Best Director of the Decade

Clint Eastwood

Best Actor of the Decade

Tie: Daniel Day-Lewis & Leonardo DiCaprio

Best Actress of the Decade

Cate Blanchett

Great movies I saw this decade that didn’t make the cut

In no particular order: The Last King of Scotland, Mystic River, Wall-E, Black Hawk Down, Gladiator, Amelie (very hard to leave off), Bourne Identity, No Country for Old Men, The Assissination of Jesse James, Good Night and Good Luck, Frost/Nixon, An Inconvenient Truth, Sideways, City of God, Catch Me if You Can, Little Miss Sunshine, Spiderman 2, Superman, Babel, Gone Baby Gone, Million Dollar Baby, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, Hero, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Juno, Into the Wild, Persepolis…

…and I am sure many more that I’ll add as I think of them (and please feel free to suggest)

Probably Great Movies That I Haven’t Seen That Might Have Made My Top 40 (and yes, I know, I know, I need to watch them already)

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days; King of Kong; Man on Wire; The Royal Tenenbaums; Before Sunset; The Lives of Others; Waltz with Bashir; Up; Let the Right One In; The Diving Bell and the Butterfly; Sexy Beast…again, suggestions welcome

The rest of the movies on my top 40 of the decade:

#11-20

#21-30

#31-40

This is the third installment in my Best 40 Movies of the Decade series of posts. The feedback so far has been pretty positive, but I wonder if that is because readers think I’m going to put their favorite films in the last 20! I decided last night that after the final post, I’ll include a list of other films that didn’t make the top 40 cut, but are five stars nonetheless. So let’s get going and start with #20, about a family of superheroes…

#20 The Incredibles

Pixar’s first “people” movie was a great combo of the superhero and super-spy genres – the movie feels like Casino Royale meets Spiderman. Funny throughout, The Incredibles was one of two nearly perfect movies that Brad Bird made in the decade.

#20 The Incredibles

Pixar’s first “people” movie was a great combo of the superhero and super-spy genres – the movie feels like Casino Royale meets Spiderman meets Toy Story. Funny throughout, The Incredibles was one of two nearly perfect animated movies that Brad Bird make this decade.

#19 Borat

“That’s a nice!” is perhaps the best movie line of the decade. As it stormed into theaters catching an unsuspecting American audience almost completely off-guard, Borat provided us with something that we haven’t had in a long time at the movies – a great comedic talent completely owning both the movie and the audience. I just hope that Borat’s prostitute sister appreciates how great a talent her brother is. (p.s. the extra scenes on the DVD are amazing as well – “What’s this?”)

#18 Gran Torino

For any other director, Gran Torino would be enough to put them on a list of the best directors of the decade, but for Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino solidifies one of the best runs of any director in any decade (Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Letters from Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers, Changling, and probably the upcoming Invictus are all spectacular films). What makes this one special, however, is that in addition to directing, Eastwood turns in the best performance of his career. If it hadn’t been for Sean Penn also turning in the best of his career in Milk the same year, I believe Eastwood would have finally won a best acting Oscar.

#17 The Aviator

Although I assume most people would probably say that The Departed was Scorsese’s best movie this decade, as I’ve already said, I consider Infernal Affairs a tic better than The Departed, and The Aviator well beyond both. The Aviator is a different kind of Scorsese movie – it almost has a Spielberg feel to it – but that also makes it one of his freshest films. DiCaprio (who certainly was the best actor of the decade that didn’t win any kind of major awards) and Blanchett as Kate Hepburn are very enjoyable to watch, the flight scenes are done with such skill that it makes you wonder what else Scorsese is capable of.

#16 Hustle & Flow

Without a doubt the coolest movie of the decade was Hustle & Flow. Cool as in Dr. Dre cool. It’s a movie that needs to be heard as much as seen, one that you need to watch with your DVD player hooked up to a surround system – turned up to full blast.

#15 Maria Full of Grace

With all due respect to City of God, I felt Maria Full of Grace was the best movie to come out of South America this decade (with The Motorcycle Diaries, my #30 movie, the second best). This movie felt so real without banging us over the head, with themes that are central to understanding the entire Western Hemisphere, while showcasing a great new acting talent in Catalina Sandino Moreno.

#14 Serenity

The best science fiction movie of the decade (though honestly, there wasn’t a ton of competition), Serenity is probably also the best TV to film adaptation ever (although The Brady Bunch Movie was pretty good too). Part western, part sci-fi epic, Joss Whedon’s Serenity fills lots of holes left from the TV series Firefly while standing firmly on its own merits.

#13 American Splendor

The most droll film of the decade was also Paul Giamatti’s best work – funny, sad, depressing and inspirational all at once. A technical marvel of a film as well, with great integration of the comic into the film. Also, American Splendor is one of the best movies I’ve ever seen that breaks the 4th Wall rule.

#12 Lost in Translation

Bill Murray is one funny dude. He’s also an underrated actor – at least he was until this role, one he should have won an Oscar for. Scarlet Johansson also launched her career with in this movie about what about how being in a place so foreign can help us find out new things about ourselves.

#11 United 93

The best film to date about 9/11, and probably the best simulated documentary ever made. Not for the faint of heart (I know people who simply won’t watch it), but an entirely compelling film.

The rest of the movies on the list:

#1-10

#21-30

#31-40

If Twitter is the new Walter Cronkite, Gov 2.0 is the new Camelot. As the optimism of JFK’s time brought the best and the brightest to Washington DC and Houston (for NASA), the Obama administration’s commitment to opening up government has attracted a large number of technologists to government for really the first time ever. This is not to say that the tech community hasn’t always been more than willing to sell to government – we always have and always will, but two recent conferences have confirmed to me what others have been predicting would hopefully happen, that not only is the government encouraging innovation from the private sector (or as Anil Dash joked this week “or what everyone else calls the world”), but a growing number of tech stars are putting aside riches or the hope of riches to serve (at least temporarily). At both SuperNova in San Francisco this week and the Random Hacks of Kindness hackathon in Mountain View a few weeks ago – both a coast away from DC – I and other entrepreneurs got face-to-face time with a wide range of leaders in the federal government. We didn’t have to go through red tape, get on anyone’s calendar, or for that matter have to fly to DC – they came to us. At the Random Hacks of Kindness, we had the Administrator of FEMA speak to 50 or so crisis mappers for over an hour. At one point, he was wringing his hands saying “we don’t even know the questions to ask”. When the head of FEMA comes to a hacker’s garage in Silicon Valley to plead to the tech community for help, how can we not respond?

At SuperNova last week, it was even more apparent how far this movement (and I use the word movement like I would the Civil Rights Movement, as I think it could be that far reaching and important) has come just in 10 months of this administration. There was Anil Dash (@anildash), first employee of Six Apart and the first head of the new ExpertLabs, up on stage telling companies to get their apps up on Apps.gov which “can reach 2 million Federal employees”. There was Andrew McLaughlin (@mcandrew), the Deputy CTO of the US who left his position as Google’s head of policy earlier this year lamenting that “all the stuff that I can do at a startup for free, I can’t get at the federal government with a $76 billion budget.” There was Alec Ross (@alecjross), Senior Advisor for Innovation at the State Department – a position created by Hillary Clinton – sitting at the final keynote with Craig Newmark and Jimmy Wales talking together about the future as if this coupling with two of the largest innovators of a free and open Internet with a high level State Department official was the most natural thing in the world. There was Larry Strickland of NTIA saying that the administration was intent on laying fiber networks, and of course NASA was there, obviously very pleased that the rest of the federal government was finally waking up to the benefits of working with the tech community.

Which leads me to my point for this post. As more government data feeds become available and the government continues to become more open, I see two paths that geeks are going to have to face. The first is taking this data and access to build and sell (or give away) solutions that not only can government officials use, but also that will improve the lives of Americans. This first model is what has many companies and entrepreneurs foaming at the mouth. However, there is a second model that I see, and that SuperNova especially confirmed for me, and that is that technologists will continue leave (or put off) their startup dreams, join the government itself, and build these solutions from the inside. Camelot wasn’t just about passion and expertise at the top, it was about filling positions at all levels of government with dedicated and innovative professionals that wanted to change the world for good, and my hope is that there will continue to be a tech brain drain into the government. If there is, then I see the potential for this movement to change government for the next hundred years, possibly beyond even the changes the Internet has brought to business. My hope is that this government will continue to offer positions to the tech world, and that we’ll in turn heed the call to service. Here’s pinging the best and the brightest.

This is the second post in my countdown of my 40 best movies of the decade. You can read #31-40 here. Let’s start with #30, The Motorcycle Diaries:

#30 The Motorcycle Diaries

Probably the best road trip movie of the decade (sorry Little Miss Sunshine), The Motorcycle Diaries is a different kind of autobiography, one that gives great insight into how Che became Che, and was based on his book of the same name. The film has a great gritty feel to it while still using the vibrant colors of the South American continent.

#29 Volver

Pedro Almodóvar turns in a gripping although not too gripping film about family and loss in Volver. It is one of those films that catches you a little off guard and just seems so right for where it was made and is one of the best European films I saw this decade.

#28 Milk

Sean Penn turns in what is certainly his best performance (he was good in Dead Man Walking and Mystic River, but nothing like this). It takes about two minutes to forget that you are watching Sean Penn – after that you are watching Harvey Milk. An uplifting and still very relevant story and Gus Van Sant’s best movie in a long time.

#27 A History of Violence

There is a lot to “A History of Violence”. There are great and quick action scenes, solid acting, a great Middle America setting, and a tight script. This is a movie that – if you can stomach a few gory scenes – that can be watched over and over again.

#26 Fahrenheit 9/11

This remains the most entertaining documentary I’ve ever seen (and yes, it’s a documentary). Lots of people don’t like Michael Moore or his politics (lots of people like Jack-in-the-Box too, so no accounting for taste) but when it comes to making entertaining documentaries about the most important issues in America, he’s simply the best.

#25 Billy Elliot

A joy of a movie, with an amazing debut performance by Jamie Bell as the title character. The film really focusing on turning youthful anger into inspiration, and some of the dance scenes (along with the great soundtrack) are unforgettable, especially the Rocky-ish dancing up the streets.

#24 Tie – Batman Begins & The Dark Knight

It’s very hard for me to separate these two films. I think that overall, Batman Begins is the better movie, with a better overall cast effort, especially from Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman. However, The Dark Knight has Heath Ledger, and his Joker is without a doubt the best superhero film villain ever. So they are a tie. Here’s hoping there is a third leg of the series and that it doesn’t take a Spiderman 3 tumble.

#23 House of Sand and Fog

This is one of the most underrated movies of the decade. Both Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly turn in devastating performances in what is a pretty depressing movie – but sometimes depressing can be really good too.

#22 Casino Royale

Not since From Russia With Love has James Bond kicked this much ass. Great reboot (again, this was the decade of the reboot) and while not flawless (the poker playing goes on too long and well, the sequel wasn’t all that special) Casino Royale had one of the best Bond Girls ever, and was one of the most entertaining movies of the decade.

#21 Infernal Affairs

Although I really like The Departed as well, the movie it was based on – Infernal Affairs – was just a tick better, if for no other reason than it has a better ending. Infernal Affairs is a great example of how life with cell phones changes everything (even crime dramas), especially in Asia.

The other movies on the list:

#1-10

#11-20

#31-40

This is the first of four posts on the Top 40 movies of the decade (2000-2009). I’ve only included the top 40 movies that I personally saw (either in the theater or on DVD) – I am sure that if I had seen every film that came out in the last 10 years that this list would be drastically different. That said, I have seen well over 500 films from this decade. When making this list, I took into account the films that had the most impact on me, the ones that had the best acting, writing and directing, and the ones that I simply liked the most. Although the majority of films on this list are in English, a number of other languages are represented as well. I made an initial list of around 60 films with the initial intent of having simply a top 25 – however, I couldn’t bear to keep off other 15 films. Go to after the break for numbers 31-40:

#40 – Star Trek

The 2000’s may go down as the film decade of reboots, with a number of franchises getting a new and improved look this decade (and more than one of these making my list). Perhaps the most unlikely franchise to get a successful makeover, JJ Abram’s Star Trek – with numerous TV series and movies already – was a stunning success. The characters were fresh again, the action was crisp, the casting was near perfect, and above all, it was funny. The best time at the movies in 2009.

#39 – Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle had a great decade. In addition to getting the Best Picture Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, he directed the wonderful “Millions” and the highly underrated “Sunshine”. Slumdog Millionaire was a beautifully shot and acted movie, with a killer soundtrack and some very funny moments. It was the feel good version of “City of God”, and in my opinion, a better movie for it.

#38 – The Proposition

Brutal. There really isn’t any other way to describe the best western of the decade. Guy Pierce was haunting, Ray Winstone was amazing, and this Aussie film make other (good) westerns of recent years like “3.10 to Yuma” look tame in comparison.

#37 – Kill Bill Volumes 1 & 2

Tarantino’s best movie since Jackie Brown showed him at his technical best, and made Uma Thurman the most kick-ass heroine in years. David Carradine (who will be missed) was near perfection, and the movie produced the only role that I have ever liked Lucy Liu in.

#36 – Pan’s Labyrinth

Weird and haunting, Pan’s Labyrinth makes me want “The Hobbit” (which Guillermo Del Toro will also direct) to come out tomorrow.

#35 – Night Watch

We don’t get to see a lot of Russian movies here in the US, and that is too bad, because I have a suspicion that there are a lot of great movies being made over there. “Night Watch” was one that did make it out, and it was a great snapshot of a changing and chaotic Russia – and of course vampires.

#34 – Spiderman

Sam Raimi made Spiderman into about as entertaining a movie as one could imagine. It was funny, vibrant, exciting and stayed true to the spirit of the comics. Many people seem to think that Spiderman 2 was the better movie, but I recently watched Spiderman again, and if for no other reason, the closing scene in the cemetery makes it one of the best comic book movies ever.

#33 – Venus

Somebody please try to explain to me how anyone can take the Oscars seriously when Peter O’Toole has never won one? His fire made Venus the best romance of the decade, if not one of the most unlikely. Let’s hope someone sees fit to give him one more role like this so he can grab one of those statues.

#32 – Waitress

This one even surprised me. I had forgotten this gem, but as I was going through movies I’ve seen, I saw it and remembered how much it affected my wife who watched it with me, and I have to say that it is an amazing movie. Of course it was also a tragic one, as its director was senselessly murdered after the movie was complete. Even so, this is an uplifting movie.

#31 – The Pianist

Another really brutal movie, but the subject matter dictated it. Roman Polanski (whatever you think about him as a person) showed why many consider him one of the great all-time directors, and Adrien Brody turned in a (probably) once-in-a-lifetime performance. Not a movie that is easy to sit through twice, but great nonetheless.

The rest of the list:

#1-10

#11-20

#21-30

• so ends four days of doing absolutely nothing holiday/shopping/long weekend related – skipped the whole thing, and glad of it #
• thinking that I’ll redesign chadcatacchio.com after the New Year as I’m getting kind of bored with it #
• Win a new Macbook Pro on Cyber Monday 2009. Details here: http://bit.ly/29rFES #
• has anyone put a call into @Google yet about the rumors of their China operations closing down and employee exodus?

• when you use Twitter’s retweet function the retweet doesn’t show up in your archived tweets? #fail #
• The Twitter-Friendfeed-Facebook-love-hate triangle and why open systems will win in the end by @ChrisSaad http://bit.ly/5xveQG #
• The Swiss vote to ban minarets to stem “Islamisation” – absolutely ridiculous http://bit.ly/6P4oE5 #
• threw my back out last night lifting the kid. good thing all I needed to do this morning was to move furniture. #
• watching Irish vs Stanford, good game so far – Mr. Weis won’t be at next year’s game, that’s for sure #
• getting excited about Supernova in a few days, though I need to figure out where I’m staying in SF this week #
• well, so far Denzel is doing fine, but Travolta is no Robert Shaw (not that I needed to watch this movie to know that) #Pelham123 #
• watching the new “Taking of Pelham 123″ – Denzel is about as far from Walter Matthau as you can get, that’s for sure #
• RT @TechCrunch: In The Age Of Realtime, Twitter Is Walter Cronkite http://bit.ly/7s9wBg – I just posted my comment/post there #
• thinking about how I can add to the discussion on @parislemon’s latest TC post #
• Hotels.com just sent me a postcard saying I’m invited to their Five Star program – they should have just sent me an email #
• BART just sent me the $7 check they promised for screwing up my ticket that they’d said would get to me in 10 days – only took them 5 months #
• just entered Day 3 of the “Eat This Entire Pumpkin Pie Before Monday Challenge” #fatamerican #
• Tiger Woods released from hospital and his manager says he “is fine”. Good. #
• ABC just interrupted the Cincy v Illinois football game to report on Tiger – they used “seriously” but didn’t sound like they had new info #
• again, NBC Orlando affliate also has the story and does not use the word “serious” Tiger “treated for facial lacerations” #
• also http://bit.ly/6UjGca says that alcohol was not involved but that “charges are pending” – on Tiger? #
• RT @Slate: Tiger Woods seriously injured in car crash http://bit.ly/6UjGca (doesn’t sound too serious in this report) #
• Entire CNN story on CNN.com: “(CNN) — Golfer Tiger Woods was injured in a car accident near his home, Florida officials say.” #
• all that said, let’s hope he and his family are ok – same for everyone else traveling this weekend #
• also re: Tiger Woods – from the report, I hate to say it, but it sounds to me as if he was somehow impaired #
• re: Tiger Woods – remember that “seriously” is better than critical #
• Tiger Woods seriously injured in crash – says he pulled out of his driveway and hit a tree at 2am http://bit.ly/88VWrs #
• anyone else getting a lot of new quasi-spam followers from Brazil in the last 24 hours? @spam? #
• just turned on the Cinni v Illinois game – 28-7 Cinni half a minute into the second quarter #blowout #
• Dear Retailers, I do not regret that I will not be partaking in your outdated attempt to save yourselves from certain doom #
• watching “Star Trek” after a lot of handmade dumplings for dinner #
• finished rearranging the living room, now having some pumpkin pie on an 81 degree Thanksgiving – I used to ice skate on this day as a kid #
• “A’s Anatomy” Sesame Street parody http://bit.ly/Qmd4V #
• last 3 Thanksgivings; 4 day weekend in Joshua Tree, visited friends & family in PDX, cooked a turkey at home – this year nada #
• after hosting last year, going nowhere and doing nothing this Thanksgiving. You? #
• “What the Largest Coffee Retailers Are Doing On Their Facebook Pages” http://bit.ly/78iSu5 on InsideFacebook #
• RT @gregarious: BTW @themaria -> @thefiance – that’s a good! congrats! #
• has that “Retweets” link under Favorites has been there since Twitter relaunched Retweet? I just saw it now #
• had a good Ubuntu day – installed Chrome and finally got Skype calling to work #doubtI‘llchangeOSanytimesoon #
• glad everyone liked the #JTreeTweetup pics – I thought that I took more, but guess not (too busy climbing I guess #
• here’s a working link for my #JTreeTweetup set http://bit.ly/55svCp (the last link was Twitter fail) #
• I have finally uploaded my #JTreeTweetup pics to Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/28955795@N06/sets/72157622744609615/ #
• wow Chrome is fast using my Win computer right now to upload to Flickr (I usually use Ubuntu) and just forgot how fast Chrome is #
• “I am thankful for @TheMan presumably wearing clothes at an event he organizes @Twiistup #Thanksgiving” #
• post from last night “Palin vs. Newsweek – How The Battle of Words is Shifting to Facebook Pages” http://bit.ly/8W7tOl #
• “Palin vs. Newsweek – How The Battle of Words is Shifting to Facebook Pages” on InsideFacebook http://bit.ly/6eYw09 #
• thank you Netflix for including Elmo’s Adventures in Grouchland on Watch Instantly – you have saved my sanity this morning as babysitter #
• RT @dotBen: Official announcement on my blog of my new startup, @platosforms http://bit.ly/4NM60V – congrats man! #
• Flickr uploading has crashed FF three times in a row – I give up (using Ubuntu so no desktop uploader for me) #flickrfail #
• “New Moon, 2012, Verizon and Sarah Palin in This Week’s Top 20 Facebook Pages” http://bit.ly/4ETiix (my latest post for IF) #

• ok, tonight’s post in the queue, now to catch up on some Hulu #
• so rumors are that the iPod Touch will have a video camera in February, but not a still (like the Nano) #
• Prez Chavez is kind of a strange guy “Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez defends ‘Carlos the Jackal’” http://bit.ly/4PqCQj #
• “State of Play” is on deck – gotta love the run-of-the-mill political thriller with an A-cast genre #
• just watched the entire Oregon vs Arizona game – great game all around, glad the Ducks pulled it out #
• watching the Penn St / Mich St game and trying to catch up with with some stuff before going for a hike #
• Friday night o’ Hulu & Netflix #
• RT @sengineland Google Builds Out A National Real Estate Search Engine http://bit.ly/1qOxhp (this is big news) #
• RT @sososazesh: Sounds like chaos is ensuing at Cal over fee increases. #
• “How Businesses and Brands are Stuffing Their Facebook Pages for Thanksgiving” http://bit.ly/4vHOqc – my latest IF post #
• very eventful morning so far, now to get that post out the door #
• eyelids not allowing me to finish this post – hopefully they’ll be more cooperative at 6am #goodnight #
• RT @agentdero: FINALLY! I’m old enough to drink, WAHOOO! (well, you’ve always been wise beyond your years, now they’ve caught up) #
• very interested to see how often people check into @foursquare in Beijing & Shanghai #
• I’m at/in Goleta #
• cool that @foursquare is now in Beijing and Shanghai #
• RT @mikebutcher: I want to hear from any European startup which competes with @foursquare like NOW! #
• was high on National BLS until the CEO said they get buyer info from partners that’s a big weakness, they need to fix #sfnewtech #
• National BLS – Buyer Listing Service “mirror image of MLS” #sfnewtech – if this works, the most interesting service at #sfnewtech by far #
• ReFramIt CEO just threw a bone to Google Sidewiki saying ReFrameit is the first plugin to work on Google Chrome #sfnewtech #
• I don’t think that last argument from Webvanta is valid – you could just use WordPress.com, problem solved #sfnewtech #
• Webvanta seems like a good idea but going up against really big competitors in WordPress, Drupal, Joomla #sfnewtech #
• met @patricelamothe the founder of @pearltrees tonight at #sfnewtech – budding service intent on helping people organize the web #
• “we need to take people out of silos” Lunch.com founder #sfnewtech #
• I’m at Mighty w/ @xtel. http://bit.ly/176lCT #
• headed off to my fourth and final stop on my SF one-day tour then back to SB #
• swing by if you’re around Divis (@ On the Corner) http://bit.ly/3LShGv #
• I’m at/in Epicenter Cafe #
• so now if you sign in to m.foursquare.com on your laptop, it directs you to foursquare.com/mobile and you can’t check-in, swell #
• saw “2012″ tonight – was about as good as expected – and with that, I will call it a night #
• #FakeWhiteHouseReporter and #FakeXinhuaReporter just got in a fight over who would do the last interview with #FakeChinaExpert #
• As Obama leaves, our country feels an uplifting feeling about the future of our world dominance #FakeXinhuaReporter #
• On any subsequent trips, it will be important for Obama to build on the guanxi & face he has acquired/given #FakeChinaExpert #
• thinking of just going to see 2012 tonight as it’s rainy – anyone in SF up for a movie? #
• hitting the road to SF #
• driving up to SF later today – no plans for tonight yet, anything going on? #
• two weeks from tomorrow I’ll be attending @supernovahub in SF, one of the most forward thinking events on the calendar #
• if you made it onto my @chadcat/supercalifragilistic List, please take a spoon full of sugar to make the medicine go down #
• haven’t even started follow up from #rhok – still processing all of the great info and initiatives #
• my twitter stream just got more climberafied – just followed a dozen or #jtreetweetup peeps #
• shout out to @rockgrrl for organizing a great week/weekend of Joshua Tree twitterer climbing, can’t wait until the next one! #
• got back last night for an awesome 2 days of climbing hard at Joshua Tree with 20+ great Twitclimbers #jtreetweetup #
• back in SB for a day then back up to SF tomorrow and Wed, thinking of seeing 2012 in IMAX tomorrow in SF if anyone is interested #

• ok, tonight’s post in the queue, now to catch up on some Hulu #
• so rumors are that the iPod Touch will have a video camera in February, but not a still (like the Nano) #
• Prez Chavez is kind of a strange guy “Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez defends ‘Carlos the Jackal’” http://bit.ly/4PqCQj #
• “State of Play” is on deck – gotta love the run-of-the-mill political thriller with an A-cast genre
• just watched the entire Oregon vs Arizona game – great game all around, glad the Ducks pulled it out #
• watching the Penn St / Mich St game and trying to catch up with with some stuff before going for a hike #
• Friday night o’ Hulu & Netflix #
• RT @sengineland Google Builds Out A National Real Estate Search Engine http://bit.ly/1qOxhp (this is big news) #
• RT @sososazesh: Sounds like chaos is ensuing at Cal over fee increases. #
• “How Businesses and Brands are Stuffing Their Facebook Pages for Thanksgiving” http://bit.ly/4vHOqc – my latest IF post #
• very eventful morning so far, now to get that post out the door #
• eyelids not allowing me to finish this post – hopefully they’ll be more cooperative at 6am #goodnight #
• RT @agentdero: FINALLY! I’m old enough to drink, WAHOOO! (well, you’ve always been wise beyond your years, now they’ve caught up) #
• very interested to see how often people check into @foursquare in Beijing & Shanghai #
• I’m at/in Goleta #
• cool that @foursquare is now in Beijing and Shanghai #
• RT @mikebutcher: I want to hear from any European startup which competes with @foursquare like NOW! #
• was high on National BLS until the CEO said they get buyer info from partners that’s a big weakness, they need to fix #sfnewtech #
• National BLS – Buyer Listing Service “mirror image of MLS” #sfnewtech – if this works, the most interesting service at #sfnewtech by far #
• ReFramIt CEO just threw a bone to Google Sidewiki saying ReFrameit is the first plugin to work on Google Chrome #sfnewtech #
• I don’t think that last argument from Webvanta is valid – you could just use WordPress.com, problem solved #sfnewtech #
• Webvanta seems like a good idea but going up against really big competitors in WordPress, Drupal, Joomla #sfnewtech #
• met @patricelamothe the founder of @pearltrees tonight at #sfnewtech – budding service intent on helping people organize the web #
• “we need to take people out of silos” Lunch.com founder #sfnewtech #
• I’m at Mighty w/ @xtel. http://bit.ly/176lCT #
• headed off to my fourth and final stop on my SF one-day tour then back to SB #
• swing by if you’re around Divis (@ On the Corner) http://bit.ly/3LShGv #
• I’m at/in Epicenter Cafe #
• so now if you sign in to m.foursquare.com on your laptop, it directs you to foursquare.com/mobile and you can’t check-in, swell #
• saw “2012″ tonight – was about as good as expected – and with that, I will call it a night #
• #FakeWhiteHouseReporter and #FakeXinhuaReporter just got in a fight over who would do the last interview with #FakeChinaExpert #
• As Obama leaves, our country feels an uplifting feeling about the future of our world dominance #FakeXinhuaReporter #
• On any subsequent trips, it will be important for Obama to build on the guanxi & face he has acquired/given #FakeChinaExpert #
• thinking of just going to see 2012 tonight as it’s rainy – anyone in SF up for a movie? #
• hitting the road to SF #
• driving up to SF later today – no plans for tonight yet, anything going on? #
• two weeks from tomorrow I’ll be attending @supernovahub in SF, one of the most forward thinking events on the calendar #
• if you made it onto my @chadcat/supercalifragilistic List, please take a spoon full of sugar to make the medicine go down #
• haven’t even started follow up from #rhok – still processing all of the great info and initiatives #
• my twitter stream just got more climberafied – just followed a dozen or #jtreetweetup peeps #
• shout out to @rockgrrl for organizing a great week/weekend of Joshua Tree twitterer climbing, can’t wait until the next one! #
• got back last night for an awesome 2 days of climbing hard at Joshua Tree with 20+ great Twitclimbers #jtreetweetup #
• back in SB for a day then back up to SF tomorrow and Wed, thinking of seeing 2012 in IMAX tomorrow in SF if anyone is interested #

• hacking starting up at #rhok. then off to SFO to John Wayne then drive to #JTeetweetup, so day is still young #
• ran into a high school classmate here at #rhok – haven’t seen him in 12 years, we went to a school of 3K, 3K miles away #
• in the crowdsoursing breakout session at #rhok #
• #rhok breakout sessions getting started #
• learning how NASA is working with crisis mapping professionals. NASA is gathering 4Tb or mapping data per day #rhok #
• OH: “I’m with the UN, I don’t have a budget.” #rhok #
• learning about The World Bank’s CAPRA initiative in Central America #rhok #
• sponsors making us hope lunch comes soon #rhok #
• lightning talks now at Random Hacks of Kindness in Mountain View #rhok #
• I’m at Hacker Dojo (140 S Whisman Rd, at Ferry Morse Way, SF) w/ 2 others. http://bit.ly/2KHDXO #
• my itinerary between now and Wed night is possibly my craziest ever – not counting time spent in China of course #
• figured out a way to go to both Random Hacks of Kindness in Mountain View AND #JoshuaTreeTweetup over the next 3 days #
• going to shorten my #JTtweetup trip to just the weekend so I can do Fri at a hackathon #
• at Coffee Cat with the little, had to get out of the house #
• about to commit to one crazy itinerary for the next three days – hopefully it all works out #
• Threatened Voices is an amazing site and app http://bit.ly/3vMxsm #
• just got totally surprised when I was reading about a company in Africa and realized I know one of the developers #smallworld #
• nevermind, @christinelu @NiuB he is @Shawei and he apparently doesn’t use it #
• leaving for #JTtweetup in about 24 hours, gear is already packed – can’t wait to meet everyone #
• Dollhouse has been cancelled, will run the 13 episodes this year – having a show on Fox is brutal http://bit.ly/1L7jqD #
• New Inside Facebook post: “Clorox Fan Page Offering $50,000 In Grants For Local Kids Programs” http://bit.ly/13RA8Z #
• My grandfather was a WWII vet – he and his 3 brothers all fought in the war – only one other brother came back #VeteransDay #
• New Stir Fried China post: “Expect China’s Citizenry to Embrace Obama” http://bit.ly/49FL2s #
• “Expect China’s Citizenry to Embrace Obama” http://bit.ly/49FL2s #
• looking for any feedback from China peeps on what you think so far about my Stir Fried China blog = stirfriedchina.com thx! #
• need to do two tweets from now on when sharing links with peeps in China, as bit.ly is not working for most now #GFW #
• “Expect China’s Citizenry to Embrace Obama” – StirFriedChina.com/expect-china-to-embrace-obama #
• “Expect China’s Citizenry to Embrace Obama” http://bit.ly/49FL2s #
• I’ve decided to open up my following limit to 450 (had it capped at 400 for awhile), if all goes well, may go to 500 #
• I think that Youk should have gotten the Tenth Gold Glove for his work at the corners this year #RedSox #
• I have a feeling we’re at about T-5 minutes before Fail Whale because of the expanded almighty Retweet Feature rollout #
• certainly the downside of the almighty Retweet Feature is that you can’t amend anything to the retweet – less awe #
• quick, someone retweet something so I can be awed by the almighty Retweet Feature, then retweet that retweet for more awe #
• weird, Mashable throws parties? RT @brett: Mashable – Announcing MashBash SXSWi 2010: Call For Sponsors – http://bit.ly/47XF0l #
• just read the Politico piece “Is China headed toward collapse?” http://bit.ly/2HFceC … yes they have a lot of concrete :-/ #
• morning ‘o SEO #
• looking for some link juice / exchange for my newish China blog, any CN bloggers want to do some exchanging? http://bit.ly/35wgkt #
• “Obama in China, What to Expect – Part 1″ new Stir Fried China blog post http://bit.ly/JpxNc (in case you missed it earlier) #
• couldn’t stay asleep so up pretty darn early for me, but at least I can get some work done while the baby sleeps #
• “Obama in China, What to Expect – Part 1″ new Stir Fried China blog post http://bit.ly/JpxNc (in case you missed it earlier) #
• “Obama in China, What to Expect – Part 1″ new Stir Fried China blog post http://bit.ly/JpxNc #
• wow, the Sesame Street Google icon right now seriously kicks ass – so glad the Big G gave the Big SS so much 40th anniv. love #
• I’m at/in UCSB #
• just set my tweets to private, running an few week experiment with @bsimi to see if it makes Twitter better or worse #
• when through my followers and reported spam yesterday as well as followed people I already thought I was following #slowsunday #
• just a few days until #JTtweetup – really excited, though I’m woefully out of climbing shape ;-( #

• just read “The rail thread that links Europe” http://bit.ly/2N26hB #
• a new health (insurance) world – next stop is overhauling how healthcare itself works, but this is pretty big baby step #
• really wanted to go to SF Data Camp today, but I’ve been too sick ;-( #
• Obama’s half brother lives in Shenzhen, China, has for 7 years http://bit.ly/r6Cyp #
• working on a post about Obama’s China trip #
• watching Penn St v OSU while tweaking some WP blogs #
• well, Iowa finally lost – they were fun to watch, but they were threading the needle the whole season #
• watching The Breeder’s Cup after brunch of pancakes #
• browsing for a convertible bed for my toddler, which is harder than it sounds #
• good night and good luck #
• how bad is the air in Beijing? I just saw a raccoon here in Santa Barbara put on a gas mask, that’s how bad. #
• Watching “Othello” – Iago is by far my favorite Shakespeare character – how about you? #
• seems like “2012″ is going to be the ultimate Roland Emmerich movie – take that as you will #
• “The US Commerce Dept has imposed anti-dumping tariffs of up to 99% on imports of Chinese tubular goods” http://bit.ly/1tdf9H #
• from the BBC: “Hitler house sale alarms locals” http://bit.ly/3nKExD #
• basically they say “you must be perfect – and if you are don’t expect us to treat you well or compensate you well, because why would we?” #
• wow, I just read the most rude job posting for a high-level professional position I’ve probably ever seen #
• 8 years of war and 10% unemployment are certainly widening cracks in our society, we need to pull it together people #
• I realize that I have 10 Brizzly invites – anyone want one? #
• Chaoyang District (in Beijing) is offering cash bonuses of $29,000 to attract overseas professionals http://bit.ly/2N6Xsf #
• RT @elizadushku: Boston Red Sox 2010 – not sure what you mean by this, but hells ya nonetheless! #
• no “Retweet feature” yet for me…now only if I had a desktop client that could do that… #
• I’ve been watching the quite strange “I’m Not There” most of the afternoon – haven’t decided whether it’s just weird or great #
• RT @drew: My cancer bit the big one. Everyone elses cancer better watch out, we’re coming for you. nothing to say but CONGRATS! #
• day 6 of being sick has been the worst even though good things are happening #
• cool news – I’ll be attending #supernovahub next month in SF with @gapingvoid @arielwaldman @cheeky_geeky et al! #
• would love to go to @supernovahub as everyone raved about last year’s conference, but #funemployment & $2K events don’t mix #
• remember remember the 5th of November #
• RT @briansolis Social Media Influencers are not Traditional Influencers http://bit.ly/1LIBKC #
• the pictures that lite.Facebook.com uses for their “Send us feedback!” are really creeping me out #
• TV makeup artists must make a killing in these days of HDTV and aging sitcom stars #
• RT @google: Introducing Google Commerce Search: Find holiday gifts faster http://bit.ly/14gBVt – Wed 9:30pm PST announcement… #
• at least it was a more entertaining Series than recent years #onlypositivethingIwilltakeawayunlessthereisamiracleagainstRivera #
• reading up on Droid – not that I’ll probably be getting one – but still #
• I think I’ll write a new post comparing FB Connect and Google Friend Connect now that GFC has been updated #
• was going to make the trip up to SF tomorrow for the weekend, but I’m still too sick – maybe in a few weeks #
• today is a research day – at least until the baseball game starts #
• watching #rethink, Le Web and having a Hulu in China conversation with @kevinkclee makes me feel like flying over an ocean #
• very interesting – Hulu is hiring in Beijing http://bit.ly/3Ev9YV #
• I hope Pedro throws a no-hitter tomorrow night and Utley hits 4 homeruns on four pitches #worldseries #
• local ABC station keeps cutting out HD of “V” to show “united school district” voting results – #Idontcarestopinterruptingshowkthxgoodbye #
• watching “V” – I have to say that I miss the days of the 2 hour series premier (not sure if this one is or not, but they are a dying breed) #
• new profile pic thanks to @thekenyeung http://bit.ly/315Q4u #
• brought my 15 month old to her first movie ever this morning at 10am – Where The Wild Things Are. We had a blast. #
• Inside Facebook post: “Some Top Chocolate Maker’s Facebook Pages Are Sweeter Than Others” http://bit.ly/3UdcXW #
• still fighting this bug that I got from my little one – I can see now why she was so miserable #
• RT @gapingvoid: Wow. My book, #IGNOREEVERYBODY is on Amazon’s Top 10 business books of 2009 list: http://bit.ly/2RIFNm congrats! #
• still sick, but too much to do to just lay on the couch and watch movies (until Transformers 2 arrives this afternoon that is) #