Heading out of town for a pumpkin-carving party this weekend... While I continue my period of sparse updates, here are some sites I enjoy that you might find interesting (if you aren't already reading them):

Medley whim & vinegar rc3 daily kottke.org

Lake Effect jjg.net RobotWisdom Hack the Planet

My other favorites (and midwestern compatriots) Windowseat and The BradLands are on the quiet side lately too, but check 'em out anyway if you haven't been.

I'm still in the "unconvinced" column regarding joining and writing for epinions.com, though not for the reasons others have put forth so far. Once I solidify my train of thought more, I'll elaborate.

But a little food for thought while I'm here: is epinions being "the next Amazon" something they or their customers should even want?

I like several things about Amazon, but in light of their dilution of their own site's focus (what happened to 'Earth's biggest bookstore'?) and their blockhead lawsuits, I wouldn't look to them as something to emulate in any category except perhaps e-commerce website design. (For example: gee, somehow they still get by with no Javascript. Imagine that. Anybody who tells you you need Javascript to be a good, useful or popular site, laugh at.)

I had no idea there were this many dogs-playing-poker-or-what-have-you paintings out there (and these are just the ones accessible to the vendor...there are apparently more in private collections). (via Lake Effect via Ethel)

I gave to my local public radio station last week because my rising interest in contributing and the declining level of effort it takes to do so finally intersected. When an organization lets you give online with a credit card, everything else is just a light. No, sorry, I mean every other method seems a chore by comparison. There.

Non-profit organizations that get themselves web-contribution-enabled should trumpet that fact everywhere they can; people like me who are online much of the time and are the least bit inclined to help them out will do so much more often if it's as easy as just making a stop at another URL.

Don't forget, it's a fine time of year to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas. Though I think the movie hits a brick wall every time Sally starts lamenting how she and Jack are never to be together, the visual inventiveness and brilliant Danny Elfman soundtrack lift it above all such problems and make the movie a sheer joy. 8/10.

Last week's Sports Night (ABC, Tuesdays, 8:30 Central) made me smile. All those vocal TV critic people are right, it's a surprisingly good show.

No NYPD Blue for almost three more months? Sheesh!

• 'NYPD Blue' To Return To ABC Lineup In January [Yahoo News]
  "NYPD Blue" had been scheduled to begin its seventh season Nov. 9 in the 10 p.m. Tuesday time slot it has occupied since its 1993 premiere.
  
  Bochco said his series may have trouble reestablishing its audience after a hiatus of several months, but "once we go on the air, we're going to stay on the air, and that's going to allow audiences to rely on our presence and plug into whatever story lines there are" while other shows go into reruns.

That's it for now. See you in November.