The Open Road Blog

Fizz, Cartagram and Planetary are neat tools by Bloom, a company that is pairing visualization tools with elements of game design. Fizz lets you see your Facebook or Twitter feed develop via big or small bubbles, indicating people and updates, and swarming hives. Cartagram displays instagram photos in a map layout. While Bloom's cool projects are news from earlier in 2011, the update is that Planetary, which looks the neatest, will be available on Monday. It is described as "an all-new, stunningly beautiful way to explore your music collection." They have some examples with Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto, ...

Every industry has its own awards show that celebrates the pinnacle of achievement in its respective artform. The Oscars. The Grammys. The Tonys. And in the world of crime writing, it is the Edgars®. Few awards in any medium have the history and tradition of the Edgars®, with recipients and nominees who have influenced literature and our larger culture to staggering degrees. Named after the great Edgar Allen Poe, the Edgar® awards are given out every spring, and winning or simply being nominated places the recipient into the rarified air that few occupy. The award itself, a handsome bust of ...