CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html dir="ltr" lang="en-US"> <head><script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/bundle-playback.js?v=HxkREWBo" charset="utf-8"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/wombat.js?v=txqj7nKC" charset="utf-8"></script> <script>window.RufflePlayer=window.RufflePlayer||{};window.RufflePlayer.config={"autoplay":"on","unmuteOverlay":"hidden"};</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/_static/js/ruffle/ruffle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> __wm.init("https://web.archive.org/web"); __wm.wombat("http://ma.tt/2010/09/","20110824171241","https://web.archive.org/","web","/_static/", "1314205961"); </script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/banner-styles.css?v=S1zqJCYt" /> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/_static/css/iconochive.css?v=3PDvdIFv" />  <script type="text/javascript">var _sf_startpt=(new Date()).getTime()</script> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"/> <title>September — 2010 — Matt Mullenweg</title> <link rel="icon" type="image/vnd.microsoft.icon" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/favicon.png"/> <link rel="profile" href="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml/vocab"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241cs_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/style.css?37" type="text/css" media="screen"/> <link rel="pingback" href="http://ma.tt/blog/xmlrpc.php"/> <link rel="prefetch" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/subhover.png"/>   <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Matt Mullenweg » Feed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/feed/"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Matt Mullenweg » Comments Feed" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/comments/feed/"/> <link rel="stylesheet" id="sharedaddy-css" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241cs_/http://ma.tt/blog-content/plugins/jetpack/modules/sharedaddy/sharing.css?ver=3.3-aortic-dissection" type="text/css" media="all"/> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://s.ma.tt/blog/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.js?ver=1.6.1"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://platform.twitter.com/anywhere.js?id=mNXz7Zi8DGjWMBqUJf5ZbA&v=1"></script> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://ma.tt/blog/xmlrpc.php?rsd"/> <link rel="index" title="Matt Mullenweg" href="http://ma.tt/"/> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 3.3-aortic-dissection"/> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://s.ma.tt/photos/suggest.js"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241cs_/http://s.ma.tt/photos/suggest.css"/> <script type="text/javascript">  </script> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/mattbio.png"/> <link rel="image_src" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/mattbio.png"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Matt Mullenweg is one of PC World's Top 50 People on the Web, Inc.com's 30 under 30, and Business Week's 25 Most Influential People on the Web."/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Matt Mullenweg"/> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="108620355851699"/> <link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="http://s.ma.tt/blog/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml"/> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://s.gravatar.com/js/gprofiles.js?ver=e"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://use.typekit.com/ojg6nbj.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript">try{Typekit.load();}catch(e){}</script> </head> <body class="archive date"> <header> <div class="header-link-wrapper"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/" class="header-link"></a></div> <nav> <div class="menu-header"> <ul id="menu-main-menu" class="menu"> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-home "><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/">Home</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type "><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/about/">About</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type "><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/themes/">Themes</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type "><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/gallery/">Gallery</a></li> <li class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type "><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/contact/">Contact</a></li> </ul></div> <div class="subscribe-wrap"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/feed/" id="sublink"></a></div> <div id="search-wrap"><form role="search" method="get" id="searchform" action="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/"> <div> <input type="text" value="SEARCH..." name="s" id="s"/> <input type="image" id="searchsubmit" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/searchicon.gif" alt="Search"/> </div> </form></div><script type="text/javascript"> jQuery(document).ready(function() { defaultValue = jQuery('#searchform #s').val(); jQuery('#searchform #s').focus(function() { if( this.value == defaultValue ) { jQuery(this).val(""); } }); jQuery('#searchform #s').blur(function() { if( this.value == "" ) { jQuery(this).val(defaultValue); } }); }); </script></nav> </header> <div id="container"> <section> <article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-30T23:21:21+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">30</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35765 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides tag-meta entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Email Load" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/email-load/#comments"> <span class="count">26</span> </a> <p>I added a new feature <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/contact/">to the contact page</a> that shows you how high (or low) my email queues are, which update once a minute. If the levels are lower, it probably means I’ll get back to your sooner.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-29T16:04:14+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">29</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35758 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides tag-grist tag-non-profit entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Seattle, Grist, Philippines" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/seattle-grist-philippines/#comments"> <span class="count">18</span> </a> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://grist.org/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-35762" title="Grist" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/files/2010/09/grist.gif" alt="" width="109" height="108"/></a>After a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://matt.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/stairway/">lovely weekend in New York</a> I headed <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://matt.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/your-smile-is-contagious/">straight to Seattle</a>, but not because of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/msn-spaces-closing-becomes-wp-com/">the Microsoft announcement</a> like many people thought, but to attend a meeting for <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://grist.org/">Grist</a>, an environmental non-profit (with a sense of humor) whose board of directors I just joined. In addition to being a <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.grist.org/about/staff">great organization</a> to be involved with that has <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.grist.org/article/food-do-you-have-the-balls-to-really-change-the-food-system">funny but important coverage</a>, I hope to learn a lot more about the non-profit world and apply it to the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpressfoundation.org/">WordPress Foundation</a>. Tonight I leave for the Philippines where I’ll attend and speak at a WordCamp in Manila. I’m looking forward to the end of the year when things slow down.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-27T10:27:33+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">27</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35754 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on MSN Spaces Closing, becomes WP.com" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/msn-spaces-closing-becomes-wp-com/#comments"> <span class="count">98</span> </a> <p>As <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/windows-live-blogging/">just announced on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt</a>, Windows Live (formerly MSN) Spaces is shutting down and migrating their 30m+ users to WordPress.com. Four years ago I was fairly worried as every internet giant (Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, Google) had a hosted blogging service. Now only Blogger remains, and is firmly in our sights. I’ve been impressed with Microsoft’s regard for their users in providing a solid upgrade and migration path with a really smooth experience, which I think is in strong contrast to Yahoo’s 360 or AOL’s Journals. Given that this effectively doubles WordPress’s user base, there is a lot of work to be done still, but I’m excited by the challenge. <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley"/> See also: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_live/b/windowslive/archive/2010/09/27/wordpress-com-and-windows-live-partnering-together-and-providing-an-upgrade-for-30-million-windows-live-spaces-customers.aspx">official Windows Live post</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/welcome-windows-live-spaces-bloggers/">official WP.com post</a>, and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.techmeme.com/100927/p36#a100927p36">30+ other articles covering this on Techmeme</a>.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-23T11:47:14+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">23</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35752 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-quote entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Zuckerberg on Social" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/zuckerberg-on-social/#comments"> <span class="count">6</span> </a> <div class="blockquote"><blockquote><p>One thing that I think is really important — that I think is context for this, is that I generally think that most other companies now are undervaluing how important social integration is. So even the companies that are starting to come around to thinking, ‘oh maybe we should do some social stuff’, I still think a lot of them are only thinking about it on a surface layer, where it’s like “OK, I have my product, maybe I’ll add two or three social features and we’ll check that box”. That’s not what social is.</p> <p>Social – you have to design it in from the ground up. These experiences, like what Zynga is doing or what a company like Quora is doing, I think that they have just a really good social integration. They’ve designed their whole product around the idea that your friends will be here with you. Everyone has a real identity for themselves. And those are fundamental building blocks.</p></blockquote></div> <p>From TechCrunch’s <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/22/zuckerberg-interview-facebook-phone/">Interview With Mark Zuckerberg On The “Facebook Phone”</a>.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="post-35748 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides tag-audrey-capital entry-content"> <div class="single-dashed"></div> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Chartbeat" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/chartbeat/#comments"> <span class="count">2</span> </a> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://chartbeat.com/">Chartbeat</a> is a cool real-time analytics service I’ve been enjoying using for a while, especially from the iPhone app. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20100922/real-time-web-analytics-startup-chartbeat-tallies-up-more-investors/?mod=ATD_rss">As just announced yesterday on AllThingsD, I’ve joined their latest round of funding</a> and I’m looking forward to see what they do next.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-21T07:47:11+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">21</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35743 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on iPad vs Kindle" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/ipad-vs-kindle/#comments"> <span class="count">32</span> </a> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://txfx.net/2010/09/14/ipad-vs-kindle/">iPad vs Kindle by Mark Jaquith</a>. I endorse this blog post. It matches my experience exactly.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="post-35741 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides entry-content"> <div class="single-dashed"></div> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Social Network Detective" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/social-network-detective/#comments"> <span class="count">7</span> </a> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.salon.com/life/life_stories/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2010/09/20/tracked_down_my_thief">My relentless pursuit of the guy who robbed me</a>. “A thief broke into my car. I used Craigslist, a dating site, MySpace and a fast food joint to track him down.”</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-09T15:11:58+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">9</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35726 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-automattic category-essays category-open-source category-wordpress tag-trademark tag-wordpress-foundation entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on A New Home for the WordPress Trademark" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/wordpress-trademark/#comments"> <span class="count">103</span> </a> <h2 class="entry-title"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/wordpress-trademark/">A New Home for the WordPress Trademark</a></h2> <p class="entry-filed">Filed under: <span class="entry-categories"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/category/automattic/" title="View all posts in Automattic" rel="category tag">Automattic</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/category/essays/" title="View all posts in Essays" rel="category tag">Essays</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/category/open-source/" title="View all posts in Open Source" rel="category tag">Open Source</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/category/wordpress/" title="View all posts in WordPress" rel="category tag">WordPress</a></span></p> <p class="entry-tagged"><span class="entry-tags">Tags: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/tag/trademark/" rel="tag">Trademark</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/tag/wordpress-foundation/" rel="tag">WordPress Foundation</a></span></p> <div class="double-dashed"></div> <p>As I write this, I’m on my way to Seaside, Florida to see <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://automattic.com/about/">60+ Automatticians</a> at our yearly meetup. More than sixty… that number astounds me! Automattic has grown so far beyond what I originally imagined and every day I’m amazed by my colleagues and the things they create. Today we’re growing in another way: <strong>Automattic has transferred the WordPress trademark to the </strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpressfoundation.org/"><strong>WordPress Foundation</strong></a><strong>, the non-profit dedicated to promoting and ensuring access to WordPress and related open source projects in perpetuity.</strong> This means that the most central piece of WordPress’s identity, its name, is now fully independent from any company.</p> <p>This is a really big deal.</p> <p>I want to recognize and applaud the courage and foresight of Automattic’s board, investors, and legal counsel who made this possible: <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://vcmike.wordpress.com/">Mike Hirshland</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.trueventures.com/phil/">Phil Black</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://about.me/tonyconrad">Tony Conrad</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://toni.org/">Toni Schneider</a>, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.gunder.com/">Gunderson Dettmer</a>. I’d also like to thank <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.mattbartus.com/">Matt Bartus</a> of Dorsey & Whitney for their counsel on the Foundation side. The WordPress brand has grown immeasurably in the past 5 years and it’s not often you see a for-profit company donate one of their most valuable core assets and give up control. However, I know in my heart that this is the right thing for the entire WordPress community, and they followed me on that. It wasn’t easy, but things worth doing seldom are.</p> <p>When Automattic registered the WordPress trademark back in 2006, we were a small startup of a few people: a business founded largely to enable us to work on WordPress full-time instead of hacking around our day jobs. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2008/01/act-two/">A lot has changed since then</a> — somehow along the way we ended up with <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.quantcast.com/p-18-mFEk4J448M">an audience of a quarter billion people</a> — but a lot has stayed the same. We’re still a group of people in love with WordPress and free/open source software and we’re lucky to have figured out a way to contribute to the world and flourish as a business while doing it.</p> <p>Automattic might not always be under my influence, so from the beginning I envisioned a structure where for-profit, non-profit, and not-just-for-profit could coexist and balance each other out. It’s important for me to know that WordPress will be protected and that the brand will continue to be a beacon of open source freedom regardless of whether any company is as benevolent as Automattic has been thus far. It’s important to me to know that we’ve done the right thing. Hopefully, it’s important to you, too, and you’ll continue your support of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>, the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpressfoundation.org/">WordPress Foundation</a>, and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://automattic.com/">Automattic’s products and services</a>. We couldn’t do it without you!</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-07T00:02:38+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">7</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35554 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides tag-apple tag-ipad tag-israel entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Israeli Security Hates iPad" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/isreali-security-hates-ipad/#comments"> <span class="count">59</span> </a> <p>I had a pretty interesting experience going through security at Ben Gurion airport — I almost didn’t make it through. I had heard the airport security in Israel was different but I had no idea. They spent about an hour asking questions, turning on (and taking apart) every piece of the 20+ electronic items I travel with, with particular attention and questions around my iPad. They took it out of the Apple case, turned it on, scanned it, took it away for 10 minutes to scan somewhere else, asked if anyone else in Israel had used it, when I last used it, asked when I got it, and ultimately said that their “technology team” had not cleared it for carry-on and they would need to pack it in a special box, wrap it, tape it, and check it directly with Continental (I couldn’t touch it or the box except to put some WP stickers on so I could identify it later). Wowza! My Sony PC, though, is safe to fly with. No wonder I saw so few Apple products at WordCamp. <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley"/> </p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-06T00:00:03+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">6</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35656 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-gallery entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Exploring Jerusalem with Barry" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/exploring-jerusalem-with-barry/#comments"> <span class="count">7</span> </a> <div class="img-container"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/exploring-jerusalem-with-barry/"> <img width="250" height="166" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/files/2010/09/MCM_1824-250x166.jpg" class="attachment-matt2010-gallery-thumbnail" alt="MCM_1824" title="MCM_1824"/> </a> </div> <h2 class="entry-title"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/exploring-jerusalem-with-barry/">Exploring Jerusalem with Barry</a></h2> <div class="img-text"> <p>Amazing lunch at Mahaneyuda, exploring the Old City and Jerusalem in general with <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://barry.wordpress.com/">Barry</a>.</p> <p>This album contains <strong>65 items</strong>.</p> </div> <br style="clear:both;"/><br/><br/> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-05T00:00:32+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">5</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35557 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-gallery entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on WordCamp Jerusalem and Dinner" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/wordcamp-jerusalem-and-dinner/#comments"> <span class="count">2</span> </a> <div class="img-container"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/wordcamp-jerusalem-and-dinner/"> <img width="250" height="163" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/files/2010/09/MCM_1599-250x163.jpg" class="attachment-matt2010-gallery-thumbnail" alt="MCM_1599" title="MCM_1599"/> </a> </div> <h2 class="entry-title"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/wordcamp-jerusalem-and-dinner/">WordCamp Jerusalem and Dinner</a></h2> <div class="img-text"> <p>A few snaps from WordCamp Jerusalem, drinks at Inbal, more drinks at Mamilla, and dinner at Zuni, and some break dancers and soldiers in front of the wall to the Old City.</p> <p>This album contains <strong>96 items</strong>.</p> </div> <br style="clear:both;"/><br/><br/> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-02T21:09:09+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">2</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35548 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-personal entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Only in New York" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/only-in-new-york/#comments"> <span class="count">26</span> </a> <h2 class="entry-title"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/only-in-new-york/">Only in New York</a></h2> <p class="entry-filed">Filed under: <span class="entry-categories"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/category/personal/" title="View all posts in Personal" rel="category tag">Personal</a></span></p> <p class="entry-tagged"><span class="entry-tags"></span></p> <div class="double-dashed"></div> <p><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://s.ma.tt/files/2010/09/PedroPortraitII.jpg"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-35552" title="Pedro Martinez" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/files/2010/09/PedroPortraitII-479x708.jpg" alt="" width="172" height="255"/></a>Last night around 10:15 decided to head out for dinner, and somewhat randomly picked the Cuban restaurant <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://guantanameranyc.com/">Guantanamera</a> because it was nearby. Sat down in a booth near the bar, facing the band, and ordered <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://matt.wordpress.com/2010/09/02/mojitos/">some mojitos</a>. Over the din of the other diners I thought “hey this house band isn’t half bad.”</p> <p>Within a few minutes of listening it became very apparent that beyond “not half bad” they were actually really remarkable. What a treat! Ordered a steak and sank in, letting the music (and mojito) flow over me. A half hour later a lady from one of the front tables got up to sing with the band — which isn’t always a good thing. They started on <cite>The Man I Love</cite> and it was sublime. The song started out as a ballad but then they kicked it up to a fast afro-Cuban beat, and the singer scatted over the beats for a good 4-5 minutes. It turns out it was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.janissiegel.com/">Janis Siegel</a> of the <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.tmtfanclub.com/janis.html">Manhattan Transfer</a>! I felt particularly fortunate as I had been bummed to miss the Manhattan Transfer show at the Montréal Jazz Festival in June, but here, of all the most random places, was one of my favorite members performing at a small family joint in Midtown West.</p> <p>Janis sat down after one song but a string of similarly talented musicians came in and out of the band until the restaurant started to close down. I didn’t recognize any of them but the music was <em>so good</em>. <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" class="wp-smiley"/> </p> <p>There was a recording device above the band that was collected by a fellow who I caught up with outside the restaurant as he was hailing a taxi. His name was Paul Siegel and he’s the co-president of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.hudsonmusic.com/">Hudson Music</a> which is a music education group (with a website powered by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>). I learned the percussionist leader of the house band was <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.myspace.com/pedromartinezproject">Pedro Martínez</a> and Paul follows and records him several times a week at different venues. Apparently Guantanamera is a long-time musician hang-out where even folks like Eric Clapton sat in with the band.</p> <p>Only in New York.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> <div class="post-35546 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides entry-content"> <div class="single-dashed"></div> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Chic & Geek Interview" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/chic-geek-interview/#comments"> <span class="count">6</span> </a> <p>On the new Chic & Geek website (no relation to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://chicmeetsgeek.com/">Chic Meets Geek events</a>) I was invited to do a “Questionnaire de Proust” style interview which <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.chicandgeek.com/little-help-from-friends/matt-mullenweg-chic-and-geek/">has just been published in French</a>. Lots of little tidbits that I’ve never talked about before. (<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.chicandgeek.com/little-help-from-friends/matt-mullenweg-chic-and-geek-english-version/">Translation here</a>.)</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article><article> <div class="datedot"> <abbr class="published" title="2010-09-01T11:44:44+00:00"> <span class="month">Sep</span><br/> <span class="day">1</span> </abbr> </div> <div class="post-35544 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-asides entry-content"> <a class="entry-comment-count" title="Comments on Upcoming WordCamps" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/upcoming-wordcamps/#comments"> <span class="count">21</span> </a> <p>I really enjoyed attending WordCamps in Houston, Savannah, and Salt Lake City the past few weeks. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://central.wordcamp.org/">You can always find upcoming WordCamps here</a>, and I’m currently planning on attending Jerusalem (this Sunday), Portland (September 18-19), and Philippines (October 2). I’m looking forward to meeting more of the WordPress community and also answering your questions in the Town Hall sessions.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> </div> </article> </section> <aside> <ul> <li class="widget-container about-box"> <div id="mattbio"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/frame1.png"/> </div> <h3 class="widget-title">Matt Mullenweg</h3> <p class="text">is one of PC World's Top 50 People on the Web, Inc.com's 30 under 30, and Business Week's 25 Most Influential People on the Web. He’s on <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://twitter.com/photomatt">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://facebook.com/matt.mullenweg">Facebook</a>.</p> <p><a class="link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/about/">More ></a></p> </li> <li class="widget-container random-photo"> <h3 class="widget-title">Random Photo</h3> <div style="width:187px; height: 124px; background-image:url(https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/files/2008/03/mat_2789jpg-200x150c.jpg)" class="randsidebar"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2008/03/17-gallery/mat_2789/#image"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/frame1.png" width="196" height="141"/> </a> </div> <br/> <p><a class="link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/random-photos/">More Random ></a></p> </li> <li class="widget-container twitter-photomatt"> <h3 class="widget-title">@photomatt</h3> <div id="twitter_update_list"></div> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/js/twitter.js?37"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/user_timeline.json?callback=twitterCallback2&screen_name=photomatt&count=3&include_rts=1"></script> <br/> <p><a class="link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://twitter.com/photomatt/">Follow me on Twitter ></a></p> </li> <li class="widget-container recent-essays"> <h3 class="widget-title">Recent Essays</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/11/one-point-oh/">1.0 Is the Loneliest Number </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/wordpress-trademark/">A New Home for the WordPress Trademark </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/06/headers-of-twenty-ten/">The Headers of Twenty Ten </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/02/i-miss-school/">I Miss School </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2009/08/starting-a-bank/">Starting a Bank </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2009/08/kill-your-community/">6 Steps to Kill Your Community </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2009/07/headphone-recommendations/">Best Headphone Recommendations </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2009/07/not-lonely-at-all/">Not Lonely at All </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2009/06/the-way-i-work-annotated/">The Way I Work, annotated </a><br/> <div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2009/05/how-p2-changed-automattic/">How P2 Changed Automattic </a><br/> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="widget-container projects"> <h3 class="widget-title">Projects</h3> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241im_/http://s.ma.tt/blog-content/themes/matt2010/images/projectslogos.png" usemap="#projectsmap"/> <map name="projectsmap"> <area shape="rect" coords="0,0,188,24" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://automattic.com/" alt="Automattic"/> <area shape="rect" coords="0,31,54,90" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpress.org/" alt="WordPress.org"/> <area shape="rect" coords="63,31,122,90" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpress.com/" alt="WordPress.com"/> <area shape="rect" coords="131,31,188,90" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://gravatar.com/" alt="Gravatar"/> <area shape="rect" coords="0,96,144,137" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://buddypress.org/" alt="BuddyPress"/> <area shape="rect" coords="0,145,106,189" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://bbpress.org/" alt="bbPress"/> <area shape="rect" coords="0,190,177,230" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://intensedebate.com/" alt="Intense Debate"/> <area shape="rect" coords="0,234,99,271" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://akismet.com/" alt="Akismet"/> <area shape="rect" coords="0,273,149,318" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://polldaddy.com/" alt="Polldaddy"/> </map> </li> <li class="widget-container archives"> <h3 class="widget-title">Archives</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/08/" title="August 2011">August 2011</a> (7)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/07/" title="July 2011">July 2011</a> (24)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/06/" title="June 2011">June 2011</a> (19)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/05/" title="May 2011">May 2011</a> (11)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/04/" title="April 2011">April 2011</a> (5)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/03/" title="March 2011">March 2011</a> (9)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/02/" title="February 2011">February 2011</a> (8)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2011/01/" title="January 2011">January 2011</a> (7)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/12/" title="December 2010">December 2010</a> (20)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/11/" title="November 2010">November 2010</a> (22)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/10/" title="October 2010">October 2010</a> (13)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/2010/09/" title="September 2010">September 2010</a> (14)<div class="single-dashed"></div></li> </ul> <p><a class="link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://ma.tt/archives/">More Archives ></a></p> </li> <li class="widget-container see-also"> <h3 class="widget-title">See Also...</h3> <ul> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.facebook.com/matt.mullenweg" rel="nofollow">Me on Facebook</a><br/><div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a class="rss" rel="nofollow" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://matt.wordpress.com/feed/">RSS</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://matt.wordpress.com/" rel="nofollow">Mobile Blog (what I eat)</a><br/><div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li><a class="rss" rel="nofolow" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/13479.rss">RSS</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://twitter.com/photomatt">Me on Twitter</a><br/><div class="single-dashed"></div></li> <li> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.ohloh.net/accounts/photomatt" rel="nofollow">Ohloh</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </aside> </div> <br style="clear:both;"/> <footer> <div id="footer-wrap"> <br style="clear:both;"/> <p id="footer-text"> This page took 0.409 seconds of computer labor to produce.<br/> This blog was formerly known as Photo Matt, and lived at photomatt.net.<br/> Proudly powered by <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://wordpress.org/">WordPress</a>.<br/> Also powered by ramen noodles, XFN, Ping-O-Matic, and love.<br/> <br/> Copyright © 1984–2011 Matt Mullenweg. </p> <p id="footer-inspired"> Inspired by the art<br/> of <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/">Roy Lichtenstein</a> </p> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://s.gravatar.com/js/gprofiles.js?w&ver=3.3-aortic-dissection"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var WPGroHo = {"my_hash":""}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://ma.tt/blog-content/plugins/jetpack/modules/wpgroho.js?ver=3.3-aortic-dissection"></script> <div style="display:none"> </div> <script src="https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241js_/http://stats.wordpress.com/e-201134.js" type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript"> st_go({v:'ext',j:'1',blog:'1047865',post:'0'}); var load_cmc = function(){linktracker_init(1047865,0,2);}; if ( typeof addLoadEvent != 'undefined' ) addLoadEvent(load_cmc); else load_cmc(); </script> <script type="text/javascript"> var _sf_async_config={uid:174,domain:"ma.tt"}; (function(){ function loadChartbeat() { window._sf_endpt=(new Date()).getTime(); var e = document.createElement('script'); e.setAttribute('language', 'javascript'); e.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); e.setAttribute('src', (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://web.archive.org/web/20110824171241/https://s3.amazonaws.com/" : "http://") + "static.chartbeat.com/js/chartbeat.js"); document.body.appendChild(e); } var oldonload = window.onload; window.onload = (typeof window.onload != 'function') ? loadChartbeat : function() { oldonload(); loadChartbeat(); }; })(); </script> </footer> </body> </html>