Gawker
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crash this bash
Disinvite your favorite reporter from the Google holiday party
It's becoming a holiday tradition: Google announces a holiday party for Silicon Valley reporters at its Mountain View headquarters, and Valleywag's invite gets mysteriously lost in Gmail's ever-canny spam filters. The invitation for the December 8 event, held again at the Googleplex's Cafe Slice, is nontransferable, so we can't accept any pass-along invites, alas. More » -
crash this bash
Castro residents disguise party as participatory democracy
Out: Halloween. In: Celebration and/or Protest. The fun starts at sunset, at Castro and 18th in the cool gray City of Love. Sweaterbear and I may or may not be there, but either way I love this town. Don't forget to take your four-hour "voting" break today. More » -
crash this bash
Party GOP-style with Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina
We don't know if our tipster was drunk or if the event got relocated after we wrote about it, but Lead21's election-night viewing party, which we had heard was due to be held at the house of Facebook board member Peter Thiel, is now taking place at Jones, a sports bar and steakhouse in San Francisco near Thiel's Marina-district mansion. (The rationale for the locale: Jones has more televisions for watching the results.) Thiel is a major player in Lead21, and has hosted previous election-night parties for San Francisco's Republican minority, we're told, but he may skip this one because of his travel plans. Still, if you want to get a gander of guests of honor Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, the tech CEOs turned McCain advisors, show up at Jones starting at 5 p.m. The bar remains open to the public during the event, so you're not technically crashing. (Photo by AP/Dharapak) -
crash this bash
Guide to sneaking into tonight's Cisco Developers Conference party
A reader writes in with a handy guide to crashing a party Cisco is putting on as part of its developers conference. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by NorthBeach: This post should be titled 'Find the Sausagefest' more » | Other threads
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team party crash
Live from the Girl Geek Dinner
Our correspondent Melissa Gira and former contributor Megan McCarthy have successfully infiltrated the controversial Girl Geek Dinner, and pictures will be plentiful if this first photograph is any indication. Updates as they come in via SMS. More » -
crash this bash
You're invited to Michael and Xochi Birch's Bebo farewell party
Bebo founders Michael and Xochi Birch cashed out in the nine figures with the social network's $850 million purchase by AOL. According to the invite for their farewell party, they'll be retiring to a humble, quiet cabin (which, in the Bay Area housing market, should set them back a million or two). What they aren't spending their windfall on? More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Big John: not reinvesting the windfall in another startup? more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Marissa Mayer holding "Sex and the City" party tonight
At this very moment, a guest tells me, Google executive Marissa Mayer is throwing a "Blahnikfest" to celebrate her birthday and the premiere of Sex and the CIty. She's rented out a theater at San Francisco's downtown Century multiplex for her friends. Is Mayer our Carrie Bradshaw? Quite possibly, though Mayer's Four Seasons penthouse is more fabulous than the Sex and the City scribe. Like the heroine, she's found love in the hunky form of Zachary Bogue — her Mr. Big, though Mayer's the one with the far more impressive resume. She turns 33 today, as we've noted, and while she normally skips birthday parties during odd years — a "quirk," she says — Bogue was out of town today. The party features cakes the exact size and shape of Bradshaw's preferred shoes, made by Shinmin Li, the owner of the Mayer-backed I Dream of Cake bakery, as well as cupcakes flown in from New York's Magnolia Bakery. The invite: More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by raincoaster: @Julia Allison: Translation: invite me next time! I'll bring cupcakes with more SATC cred! more » | Other threads
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d6 live coverage
Security ejects Valleywag from D6 conference
CARLSBAD, CA — I wasn't just eighty-sixed, folks. No, I was eight-D6'd. There I was, charming my way through the crowd at the Wall Street Journal's D6 conference — why hello, Sir Howard Stringer of Sony! Oh, was that Steve Case? — when a woman announced herself as "in-house security" and informed me that "the client" had asked that I be shown the door. "The client" being Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg, the conference organizers, and "the door" actually just the way to the hotel bar, where I'm having a lovely fruity beverage. And Swisher and Mossberg were too late with the bum rush. I'd already been working my camera for hours. While Bill Gates bores attendees with a preview of Windows Seven, Microsoft's latest attempt to annoy the majority of computer users, you can enjoy the snapshots I took. Among the nerdspotting: Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Max Levchin of Slide. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by TomNocera: When all was said and done, what holds up is the fact that the coverage of D6 by Owen Thomas... more » | Other threads
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party report
Inside the Facebook Prom
It's true: Facebook held a prom for its employees in San Francisco last night at the Metreon. The shopping mall-cineplex's fourth floor was tastefully decorated with white flowers, and the gathered Facebookers were dressed up — and so youthful, you might think it was an actual prom, save for the booze being poured at the open bars. (Ubiquitous photographee Julia Allison, who was invited, did not attend, staying in New York for a book party instead.) Why throw a prom? Facebook is going all-out for prom season this year, with a tie-in to Sony's Prom Night and a prom-dress partnership with Sears. Why not reward employees working on prom marketing campaigns with a throwback prom of their own? More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by random_play: @raincoaster: Way to call the tune! Ooh, and it makes me wonder... more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Google's fight for the right to party like sagging, middle-aged rockers
Google has asked San Francisco for permission to host a "picnic-style dinner" for 1,400 sales employees on June 11. What's really pathetic: Google wants its salespeople to boogie down after hours to the sounds of U2 and Journey. Not the actual U2 and Journey, mind you, but cover bands. Neighbors aren't charmed, and not just by having their backyards used at the set for lightly inebriated lip dubs of "Don't Stop Believing." But the people who bring in Google's billions should ask why, if Larry Page is such pals with Bono, he wasn't able to deliver the real thing for their park-wide party.
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Comment by BartKela: Oh, I almost forgot to mention: as a Google shareholder, I prefer that they save a few bucks by getting... more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
"Love 2.0" tonight, but not for girls who like boys who do girls like they're boys
Engage, the latest hookup site to spin itself as a social experience, doesn't want bisexual people. New users are prompted to decide if they want to be shown the profiles of eligible men, or women, only. Bisexuality may have gone out of style in the '70s, but what if you're just slutty? Even Facebook allows for wanting boys and girls at the same time. Maybe someone can offer the Engage crew a demo at their Love 2.0 pickup party tonight.
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Comment by LAS: Facebook, hell. Adult FriendFinder is how old? Old school, fer shure. And *they* have a more sophisticated code. more » | Other threads
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epic fail
Pay Per Post pawn's party-crash ploy played out
After the line to get into PureVolume Ranch hit capacity around 2 a.m., the RVIP Lounge played host to a raucously geeky afterparty. As we idled outside the Hilton, this fellow from Pay Per Post, a company even Arrington thinks is evil, tried — and failed — to board. Party maestro Jonathan Grubb denied him. The grounds? Part of the fun of owning an RV is that you can decide who not to share it with. The dude's response, after pouting that he "wasn't interested in [Grubb's] RV anyway"? Slinking out of his Pay Per Post t-shirt and attempt to sneak in later. I snapped this photo of him hovering in the doorway, mid-fail, for your pleasure.
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Comment by standupformyfriends: Honestly, I was there with Travis and he simply wanted to enjoy the night and hang with some fellow colleagues... more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Spill a beer at XYZ tonight
I forget what Joel Sacks does, but he's fun at parties. Swing by XYZ after 6 p.m. tonight and say goodbye to the man before he leaves town for someplace where he can live down that beer-spilling incident.
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By Paul BoutinComment by Jeremy: Joel is the walking epitome of a West Coast version of Mad Men. Sorry I was too jetlagged to make it. more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
MySpace "developer" party tonight
We don't consider MySpace's new widget specs a platform. And we don't think the people who hack together interactive MySpace page decorations qualify as developers. But we agree on this much: MySpace knows how to throw a party. The MySpace Developer Platform launch is at 625 2nd Street, at 6:30 p.m. Other sites are giving away exclusive invites, but we're just issuing a license to crash. Tell them Valleywag sent you, and give Tom our love.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Benoit: When I want to see useful apps, I go on kongregate.com more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Sending off Megan McCarthy at Moose's today
Herb Caen's typewriter is gone from Moose's, but the recently remodeled North Beach hangout still hosts the beloved columnist's spirit, I'm convinced. So I picked the spot for drinks in honor of Megan "Leggy" McCarthy, our party correspondent who's headed to some print rag in SoMa. (In Soviet Russia, Wired gets you!) Drinking starts at 4 p.m. Drunk blogging starts at 4:15 p.m. RSVP on Facebook, or just show up with a juicy piece of gossip dripping from your lips.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Vernier: Caen's typewriter was still there the last time I looked a few weeks ago. more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Facebook to rent out Bay Meadows for holiday bash
Here's an invite that certainly wasn't shared with me on Facebook: The social network is having its holiday party tomorrow evening at Bay Meadows. Bay Meadows? The San Mateo venue strikes me as about as far as you can get from the hot startup's still edgy self-image, defined by the commissioned graffiti on its walls. A racetrack clubhouse is where it's spending some of the $300 million it just raised from Microsoft and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing. Perhaps Facebook's employees are aging even faster than we thought.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Owen Thomas: @fatbastard: Thank you for describing precisely why I've never been there. more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Ask.com holiday party tonight at the Independent
Barry Diller likes to talk up how New Yorky his Manhattan-headquartered IAC is, but in fact, his most important online businesses are based in California, like Ask.com. San Francisco-area IAC workers are having their holiday party tonight at the Independent, 628 Divisadero St. "Bonus points to anyone who videos themselves gaining entry as Vimeo staff wearing their best American Apparel hoodie and art-skool glasses," says a Grinch of a tipster.
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By Owen ThomasComment by lucifugus: Personally, I'd rather go to The Independent tomorrow night: Von Iva is rocking the house. more » | Other threads
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valleywag calendar
Googleplex events
Your plans tonight: Talk money, social graphs, or Belgian beers. Or, crash a press-only bash at the Googleplex. All in tonight's Valleywag Calendar. More »
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Comment by robinwauters: Wow a Belgian beer bar in SF. The only think that kept me from visiting the city was the fact... more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Bebo betrays Google, buys bloggers breakfast
Social network Bebo, which, like Hillary Clinton is more popular in the U.K. than at home, is hosting a breakfast Wednesday morning at the Metreon's second-floor Action Theater for an event at which they promise to announce "news that will impact the developer community and Bebo's 40 million users worldwide." That smells like a platform announcement to me! But, wait, isn't Bebo part of Google's OpenSocial consortium? Coffee, croissants, and controversy. Eminently worth an 8 a.m. wakeup call. -
crash this bash
Google parties in a house divided
We hear that Google's Christmas party, which was held at a pier in San Francisco last year, will be at Shoreline Amphitheatre this year, a short hop from the Googleplex. Want to attend? There's still a chance. Last year, your best bet to get a date to the Google bash was by trolling Craigslist. This year? We suggest you use Facebook's ad-targeting system to aim your message directly at Google employees. "siliconsallywag," whose ad is shown here, has already beaten us to the punch. If you want to follow her lead, you've got not one but two shots at it. More »
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Comment by lucifugus: The poor blighters are going to freeze their fannies out there. more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Top-secret Valleywag gathering exposed!
We've reported on everyone else's holiday gatherings. It's only fair to spill about our own, don't you think? It's tonight at Valleywag uberspecial correspondent Paul Boutin's impressive sky-palace. The dress code is "rockstar," so expect Paul to be wearing his Armani sunglasses, Owen's hair to be extra pointy, and Nick Douglas to be in a suit and tie. You want in? IM me with a story I can use for my last hurrah before I shuffle off this bloggy coil and move to a respectable publication. Cheers! -
crash this bash
Kevin Rose's busy holiday agenda
Miss your chance to catch the Digg Christmas dinner yesterday? Turns out Digg founder Kevin Rose will host another holiday bash tonight, this one for the folks at Revision3, his other startup. "They're having 2 of them. A Rev3 and a Digg," one source says. So what, Revision3 gets the leftovers? -
crash this bash
Yahoo's Christmas Party will be super retro
We hear that Yahoo is hosting its holiday party tomorrow night at the San Mateo Expo Center, conveniently near the Bay Meadows racetrack, where Yahoos might have better luck cashing in than with their stock options. Last year's entertainment was American Idol reject Chris Daughtry. This year? More » -
crash this bash
Digg party tonight, but where?
We love a challenge. Supposedly Digg, Kevin Rose's news-discussion site, is having a party in San Francisco tonight. But we haven't pinned down the location. What is this, some top-secret rave? If you find out where it is, or just want to send in a report from the scene afterwards, drop us a line.
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By Owen ThomasComment by Owen Thomas: @leahculver: And here I thought you knew what excites us. more » | Other threads
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valleywag calendar
Tonight, celebrate Wikipedia, replicants, and videobloggers in an orgy of self-congratulation.
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crash this bash
Google's holiday party
Did you get your pass to the Google Holiday Party? We understand. Email can be so unreliable. A helpful tipster saved us the trouble of digging through our Gmail spam filter to find our invitation. Don't know if we'll crash the December 12 event at the Googleplex. If it's like past parties, expect a room full of tiresomely cheery Google flacks and a drive-by appearance by Larry and Sergey. If you do get any founder face time, watch out: They'll likely bore you to tears with an explanation of why they call Web applets "gadgets" instead of "widgets." Not that you could use any of that conversation anyway, since the event is "off the record." Still want to go? After the jump, the full detail of the exclusive holiday soiree. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by FlakJack: I'd almost be tempted to go, just to see what crime against couture Marissa Meyer commits in honor of the... more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Fake Steve to meet other Steve
Options, the parody Steve Jobs novel, has totally surprised those of us who expected a throwaway. It's 248 mostly hilarious pages, with a tight story line and a protagonist who evolves credibly. You can read my enthusiastic review in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, where it's the business book of the week. But more important is this teaser email from Kepler's Books in Menlo Park, where author Dan Lyons will appear Thursday evening. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by Paul Boutin: Nah just talkin to myself. Slow day. more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
The Lobby leaks out
David Hornik tried so hard to have his conference kept from the prying eyes of bloggers. He put a password on the juiciest bits of the offical website, like the attendee list. We got our hands on it anyway. And, as commenter EastofWest pointed out, there was a plea to keep the entire gathering off the record. Not going to happen. Proof is above, a video shot by AllThingsD's Kara Swisher. On tape are attendees including Kevin Rose and Jay Adelson of Digg, on the plane and at the hotel. (By the way, Rose's new haircut looks worse in motion than you'd imagine.) More inside reports to come.
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Comment by scoobydoo: @sample032: Yeah, damn them. All rested and relaxed after a 6 hour flight spent sleeping, drinking free booze and enjoying... more » | Other threads
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By Owen ThomasComment by Owen Thomas: @googoobaby: Something about how Google is there for you at every stage of your life, including holding your hair while... more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Om Malik stays in (and out of) the picture
A double birthday party for GigaOm biz-blogger Om Malik (pictured with operations manager Joey Wan) and Spark PR founder Donna Sokolsky fogged up the glass patio walls at Jack Falstaff on Friday. I happened to be at the bar, hoping to catch dreamy god-mayor Gavin Newsom doing paperwork again. After the jump, the best overheards. More » -
geeks gone wild
John Perry Barlow's bacchanal on Clayton Street
John Perry Barlow, pictured, the former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, cofounder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and one-time roommate of Valley bad boy Sean Parker, threw a party Saturday as a benefit for The Center for Sex & Culture. It's too bad this invitation arrived late, because the party sounded like a doozy, with the promised attendance of "Famous porn stars, infamous porn stars, and miscellaneous sluts." Does anyone who went have a report? And pictures please? The long, insane, and hilarious invitation after the jump. More »
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Comment by GinaMuchava: Sounds like this was a doozy. Btw, Toad Hall is EFF co-founder & Barlow's legal sugardaddy John Gilmore's palatial pad.... more » | Other threads
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to do
Coming up on the Valleywag calendar
- Friday: Anyone heading to Facebook board member Peter Thiel's posh VIP gathering Friday night? Let us know how it goes.
- Saturday: The Singularity Summit takes place at the Palace of Fine Arts' theater. Be there to hear about the wonderful world of machine learning and how to shape artificial intelligence to avoid a future full of robot attacks. [Singularity Institute]
- Tuesday: Federated Media's Conversational Marketing Summit is Tuesday and Wednesday at the Presidio. [Federated Media]
- Wednesday: Stirr is back with another "Founders' Hacks" event, this time up in the city. Schlep your way to Mighty in Potrero Hill to hear founders from Lookery, Vadver, and OoogaLabs try and say their companies names without looking foolish. [Eventbrite]
- Don Clark of the Wall Street Journal heads up an evening of rock music at the Rockit Room, as a fundraiser for the Girls for a Change charity. [Upcoming]
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crash this bash
Uncov needs cash to crash TechCrunch20 conference
The crew from Uncov, the sarcastic self-styled anti-TechCrunch, wants to attend TechCrunch20. That, of course, is the conference where TechCrunch editor Michael Arrington will bless us with 20 demonstrations of the hottest new startups. Uncov's editors say they want to ask the hard questions we all suspect won't be posed to Arrington's handpicked favorites. But attendance, alas, isn't free. Each ticket costs $2,495. So the "bunch of poor startup founders who write a marginally popular blog that doesn't have any advertising on it" are having a hard time making ends meet. If you don't want Uncov absent at the TechCrunch20 "jerkoff," you can make a donation. So far, they have raised a whopping $185! So they need your support. More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by ChiefCynic: So where the other guys would just drop the "e," you guys drop the "e" AND the "r." F'in brilliant. more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Crash this Bash: Yahoo with me baby
Yahoo announces their Web 2.0 Summit party, for con guests only. (We'll see if it's crashable.) More » -
ubisoft
Video: The Master Crasher slips into Ubisoft's Splinter Cell party
How to crash a bash: More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Magister: Pretty Girl + Video Game = Promotion is as Pretty Girl + New Car = Bundy Bounce more » | Other threads
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facebook
Crash this shooting: Get in Facebook's secret movie
Facebook posted a flyer for NYU users on its web site, reading: More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by FreeRadicalX: It's 'cause a Facebook employee is an NYU film student ;) more » | Other threads
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crash this bash
Loose Wires: Crash a VC party tonight
- Sources say venture capital firm Bridgescale is throwing a party for over 100 people at the Quadrus conference center on Sand Hill Road.
- Note to Alleywag applicants: We found writers for Friday and Sunday, thanks!
- Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sells a chunk of his share in Dreamworks Animation, giving the New York Post a chance to drag up the worst possible photo of him (shown here), even worse than the shot of Yahoo CEO Terry Semel they rant the other day. Really, are they paying a kid with a camphone to sneak into meetings with these execs, or are they just blowing up 16x16 images? [New York Post]
- By the way, if you haven't been watching Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder is spending his days saving the world from AIDS. In other news, Mac fanboys still call him a devil because he built a crappy operating system. [Sci-Tech Today]
- Another Microsoft exec leaves to "spend more time with his family." Can we get a new alibi already, or has no one in tech actually learned to spend time with their families before they get unpopular at work and are shoved into retirement? [Register]
- No tech mogul for prez — Nextel cofounder and former Virginia governor Mark Warner announced today he won't enter the '08 race. [Washington Post]
- Dear Motley Fool: Shut up and eat your Grand Slam. [Motley Fool]
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By Nick DouglasComment by David Quiec: Paul Allen = Uncle Fester http://www.addamsfamily.com/addams04/fester/img031c.jpg more » | Other threads
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apple
Invite swap: Trade you my TechCrunch dinner for your Apple event
Valleywag has an invitation to spare and one to beg. The spare isn't quite an invite to the Future of Web Apps summit, but to a related dinner on the 14th at TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington's Atherton home. Say what you will about the man, he's hospitable (just ask his two live-ins). And you could sup with tech notables like WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg, Dogster founder Ted Rheingold, Odeo founder Evan Williams, and Yahoo researcher (and plasticbag.org blogger) Tom Coates. The invitation is probably not transferable, but we'll see if we can beg the organizers to let you in. More » -
techcrunch
How a biker-vlogger snuck into the CrunchFest
Sarah Meyers' video proved that this weekend's TechCrunch bash in Menlo Park really was a hoity-toity invite-only affair. But how exactly did this interloping vlogger get into the party, and how was she kicked out? We asked her. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Jeremy: I guess August thinks of us as hooligans that need to be watched? I did find it funny that there... more » | Other threads
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techcrunch
Streak this soiree: $200 bounty for TechCrunch party streaker
Authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel got halfway naked at the last Bay Area TechCrunch party. Now someone calling himself "Silicon Valley Guy" offers a bounty for a photo of a streaker at the next bash. More »
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By Nick DouglasComment by Lorenzo: 2.0 Streaker thoughts:1) streaker female I'd chip in $1002) male streaker: I think $200 is generous3) Michael streaking? I'd pay... more » | Other threads
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Thu Jul 9
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