Rachelle's Reading List: Tuesday, January 25, 2011

by Rachelle Hruska · January 25, 2011

The White House has really caught the social media bug, Davos is insanely pricey, and Twitter has been blocked in Egypt. Some healthy foods are actually bad for you, and Michelle Obama's health initiative is actually moving forward. Plus, learn how to conduct a 20 min mtg, how to write a Victorian love letter, and what Prandtl-Glauert singularity is. Today's list is FULL!

1.Tonight's State of the Union address will be in enhanced mode! For the first time ever, Americans can choose an enhanced viewing experience for the President's Address. You'll be able to see charts, graphs and other content as the Pres delivers his speech! Sadly, it will not be in 3-D which would really be, like, revolutionary! [WhiteHouse.gov/sotu via Warren(not)G]

2. The NY Times is considering creating an "EZ Pass lane for leakers." Aka, options to create an in-house submission system that could make it easier for would-be leakers to provide large files to the paper. Aka WikiLeaks. [Yahoo]

Also: what we know about the NYT paywall so far. [Mashable]

3. Twitter is blocked in Egypt as protests turn violent. [Arabcrunch]

4. Davos is this week, and the price for entry is hefty! What is networking worth to you? Well, to brush shoulders with the likes of chief executives, government leaders and academics around the world in Switzerland? DealBook explores:

"Just to have the opportunity to be invited to Davos, you must be invited to be a member of the World Economic Forum, a Swiss nonprofit that was founded by Klaus Schwab, a German-born academic who managed to build a global conference in the snow.

There are several levels of membership: the basic level, which will get you one invitation to Davos, costs 50,000 Swiss francs, or about $52,000. The ticket itself is another 18,000 Swiss francs ($19,000), plus tax, bringing the total cost of membership and entrance fee to $71,000." [Dealbook]

5. A handwritten note from 10 year old Jack Kennedy to his father asking for a raise in his allowance. [Letters of Note via @GoldFolder]

6. The era of low-cost food is over. New study looks at the global food situation. [FT] Btw, worth subscribing to FT online.

7. Healthy foods that can make you fat. Think again before reaching for that granola today. [Cosmo]

8. Also, start looking for these new nutrition labels on your pre-packaged food! (left) Super slick, and super cool that our first lady, Michelle Obama is the reason. [NYT]

9. Speaking of Michelle Obama, and just in line with the extent that our White House has embraced social media in general...I can't stress how cool the White House flickr account is. Look at this delicious photo:

[First Lady Michelle Obama surprises visitors on a public tour in the Blue Room of the White House, Jan. 20, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)]

10. How to have a 20-minute meeting. How to encourage your peeps to get to their point already! [Ohours]

11. Pantone Cookies. Wait! These (left) are so cute! [NickMcglynn]

12. Users will not be able to opt out of having their actions on FB turned into ads & broadcasted on Facebook. The ubiquitous "like" button is currency for brands, and Facebook is giving them a new way to collect: an ad unit that shows up on the right-hand side of the screen it calls "sponsored stories." [Soup]

13. Google and Mozilla announce new privacy features. [NYT]

14. The Oscar nominations were today and Kurt Andersen thinks that there has perhaps never been a more correct set of nominations. [@kbandersen]

15. "What books should entrepreneurs read?" This was a great Quora question that Rachel Sklar just answered. Go find out what you should read before you begin your journey! [Quora]

16. How to write a Victorian Love Letter. Sweet! And, just in time for Valentine's Day. [HowAboutWe]

17. Yesterday, Rachel Sterne was officially named the city's Chief Digital Officer. Today, she's already making big headway, using Quora (a highly niche driven question and answer site) to ask those in the know "How can New York City use technology to serve citizens" Answers are coming in. [NYT] [Quora]

18. Gabrielle Giffords is using an iPad to communicate. [Politico]

19. Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan has to show up for jury duty just like the rest of us! [Naveen]

20. Anne Hathaway was named the next catwomen. Too bad for her, there will only be one:[Upperastside]

21. Mahalo 4.0 = Howcast + Quora + About.com. [SAI via @fromedome]

22. Why renting can be cheaper than owning, at least in NYC. [Trulia via BenjaminSte.in]

23. What other couples fight about. The average couple fights 312 times a year, and mostly on Thursdays at 8pm. This should make you feel better about your relationships. [Daily Mail]

24. Oh. I love this Tumblr....[Nerdboyfriend]

25. Kate Middleton gets her own nail polish! The glittery gray-blue shade has been named "No More Waity Katie" by the British cosmetic company "Butter London." [LDNFashion]

26. Love.Death.Magic. @preschoolgems is a gem of a Twitter. Check out the words of wisdom like today's "I saw a puddle in the shape of a heart and no one harmed me, so it was a good day."heh. [via @katiebakes]

27. David Smith, a model train enthusiast from New Jersey, has created the smallest functioning train set in the world. The tiny railway, 35,200 times smaller than its standard-sized counterpart, consists of a five-car train that moves through a tunnel on a circular track! [Atlantic]

28. Check out this report about the characteristics of Four Generations in the Workforce. FromThe Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, Traditionals....how do we all stack up? [BigCrush]

29. Prandtl-Glauert singularity. It's when air reaches transonic speeds. It looks like this. SICK. [Barrettgarese]

30. Love this flickr site of photos that transposes video game characters into real life settings, like this one of Hundred Hand Slap below: [Naveen]

31. A lesbian guide to New York nightlife. Writer M.J. Koury is posting live from GofG offices on Tues. Check out this great guide she did for [VelvetPark]

32. "Social Animal" How the sciences of human nature can help make sense of a life. [NewYorker], I too, had to re-read multiple parts of this article last night. [LaurenLeto]

33. Emails show Bear Stearns cheated clients out of billions. [TheAtlantic]

34. Will leave you with this photo I came across on Tumblr that I think is FANTASTIC! In place of any coverage from Paris Fashion Week (Leaving that to the Fashion Files)....it's titled "Perspective." [Texturism]