Kottu Print: Make Suggestions


The Sunday Leader wants to run another Kottu insert this, wait for it… Sunday. I have to lay it out and submit tomorrow, so I’m mentioning the stuff I’m considering here. People ask what the selection process is and, in the end, it’s basically me. Be that as it may, I try to be judicious. The criteria is basically stuff that seems popular or otherwise gets my attention. So this is what’s up for print.

Photos

I’m selecting the photos from this search. It looks for anything with the word ‘Lanka’ under a Creative Commons License, uploaded within the last month. So far what’s caught my eye is this panorama of St. Clair’s Falls, this photo of a tourist in Habarana, this studio looking shot of cinnamon sticks, this photo of a fisherman, this jumping water, this dude in a boat, this burning flame. I also like the stuff this photo blogger U4j10 has been doing, may ask him. Tell me if you have any more suggestions. They just have to be CC licensed or with available permission from the photographer.

Posts

There’s a fair amount of discussion about how Sarath Fonseka is being treated, from killromeoproject and Halik among others. That might do for a page, with the comments and discussion. The Puppeteer ran last time, but I think here description of a Hooker On A Bus is really excellent. What Lesbians Do In Bed is an interesting and attention-getting poem. Gypsy’s Grace is a piece of short fiction that seems to be climbing. The 1/10th is an interesting poem about junkies by St. Fallen. Cerno’s Elephant Watching Makes Me Feel Dirty is a bit old but I think worth reproducing. BailaMan has been doing consistently good stuff, would like to select a piece from him.

That’s about all I can think of for now, but please suggest stuff. It’s getting sent off tomorrow, so speak now or hold your peace.

RSS feed | Trackback URI

21 Comments »

Comment by St. Fallen
2009-10-14 16:12:43

woah… you’re gonna put me in print?
*builds shrine*

 
Comment by St. Fallen
2009-10-14 16:15:14

http://abdulhalik.wordpress.com/2009/10/14/why-superwoman-shouldnt-wear-tights/
this post from Halik might be better, methinks
and use killromeo’s post on Sarath, including the comments.

 
Comment by St. Fallen
2009-10-14 16:38:28

and also
if you’re using my poem
could you include Rice Pudding’s comment?
something that should be read…

 
Comment by Gypsy
2009-10-14 16:44:56

Thanks Indi.
I think this one’s pretty thought-provoking too: http://aappathachchiya.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/sex-education-more-sex/

 
Comment by Whimsical
2009-10-14 17:20:11

I like the picture selections, but I suppose I would prefer pics that have a hint of Sri Lanka in them. For example the jumping water one is too generic (for my liking). I like the burning flame one cos it’s a pic of a common oil lamp.

On another note, I doubt the Sunday Leader would publish anything written by Bailaman… it just doesn’t fit into their editorial line.

Comment by indi
2009-10-14 18:16:03

I’ve written pro-government stuff for the Leader. It’s pretty free and there’s no editorial line that’s enforced

 
Comment by Anne
2009-10-15 10:08:17

@ whim – Agree with you on the one about water

@ Indi, if you are considering UJ40
http://u4j10.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/waiting/

and super selection on Dude in boat :)

 
 
Comment by TimesEye
2009-10-14 17:23:57

how about some of my photos :-) too http://www.timeseye.net/search/label/photography

 
Comment by Chavie
2009-10-14 17:31:15

I think this one by Cerno is also a gem: http://cerno.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/unhuman-guest-post/

 
Comment by SahaSamvada
 
 
Comment by Tharindu
2009-10-14 22:52:03

Indi,Let me know if you fancy any.Cheers

 
Comment by The Puppeteer
2009-10-15 02:32:52

Cool, thanks. I tend to publish post without proof reading so I think I’ll edit the typos now if it isn’t too late… :P

 
Comment by Anne
2009-10-15 02:53:19

Indi,

This guy always presents a very interesting read .

http://rajaratarala.blogspot.com/
An intriguing take on eating habits in rural Sri Lanka

I guess it is possible always to have some kind of ranking system.

 
Comment by Neesha
 
Comment by Santhoshi
2009-10-15 13:16:07

I second anne on rajaratalas post!

 
Comment by Jerry
2009-10-16 08:05:40

Nice to see it picking up steam!

 
Comment by deshan
2009-10-17 23:58:59

Why not have some readable content on the front page in addition to some photographs? Something similar in structure to the front page of this blog – extracts of the content inside? If this blog had only pictures on the lead page to lure me to the content, I doubt I’d read as much of it. Also, you have a funny-shaped head. That is all.

 
2009-11-19 09:52:41

[...] those keen to see their nominated post in print, the only immediate option is indi’s kottu supplement on the Sunday Leader. Assuming of course your nomination gets his attention AND earns an editorial grunt of approval by [...]

 
Comment by Dicky Athugala
2009-11-20 10:04:49

Hi Indi,
My comment’s might offend you … but I really cannot figure out the real reason behind a Blog being printed and suplimented with a newspaper for at least two reasons.
*On this age, peolple are being asked to use paper (any form) sparingly which leads to conserve trees and everyone knows the aftereffects of the deforestations.
*the trend of nook and kindle (the e-book readers) are fast catching up which will make even the paper-backs be a reare commodity.
With the known financial difficulties of the leader publication, it’s hard to beleve that your blog with colorful pictures being printed as a tabloid and distributed freely by same without a positive business proposition.
I feel that there’s a very long due hidden agenda with financeial powerhouse backup.
Dicky..

 
Comment by indi
2009-11-24 11:07:57

There is a trend towards new media in the west, but print media is still very strong in Sri Lanka and the developing world. Booming, in fact. I think the two have a lot to gain from each other, and I hope there is a positive business proposition involved.

 
Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

email indi AT indi.ca.


Recent Comments


The Military State Of Mind:
  • jcnars: @rubbish, you hit the coin. Indi seems to have sold his soul of late. Sucking up to the govt. like a pro. @girigor, talking loud doesn't always means talking sense. We are in a period between wars, if: a) nuts like you don't STFU and b) china is allowed a naval base in SL....
  • Girigoris the One: Tamils are being mistreated, Sinhalese should understand blah blah blah Yoy say "But for the sinhalese people, they find it good that the armed forces are around because almost all of them are sinhalese and past experience shows they will favour their own people, sadly." Tell me when the LTTE was around, did they even allow normal Sinhalese peeps to walk in to their area freely? Where were you then? Did you complain to the LTTE why...
  • myil selvan: dear indi, You as a Canadian sinhalese may find it hard to comprehend the nature of militarization. But for the sinhalese people, they find it good that the armed forces are around because almost all of them are sinhalese and past experience shows they will favour their own people, sadly. But for the Tamil people, they see it as an occupying force not interested in their welfare but only in holding real-estate. The coming days, months are...
The Last Jail Of The Last King:
  • prasad: I remember it being octagon shaped. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me....
  • Jack Point: Rather appropriate that the cell is in the Ceylinco premises. Perhaps their former chairman should occupy that rather than the cell in Welikada?...
  • Shammi: Thanks for spying out these little gems. I think there were two wives with him at the time of his capture and incarceration. Have you seen the bit of the old fortifications of Colombo left within the premises of the Commercial Bank building in Fort? Beware of the suspicious security guard there!...
Did Little Children Create God?:
  • Shammi: It's funny the way most of the stories and rituals in the bible have so much in common with legends of more ancient pagan civilizations. Bits of the tales of Gilgamesh, Dionysus et al are mirrored in the descriptioons of Noah, Moses, Jesus, the Holy Trinity and the holy family etc., even a trace of Solomon reflected in Mahoshada of the jataka tales. They could've been a little more creative at least. I think I'm...
  • Whacko: the question is why we stop asking these questions when we are adults...
  • Kids Say: No, little children didn't create god - insecure and ignorant people did. Believing in and worshipping a magical invisible creature in the sky gives a lot of people comfort and security. That said, little children can be wonderfully creative. Have you seen the show "Kids Say the Darndest Things"? (You can watch clips of the show on youtube). This sounds like something from that show: Christianity is the belief that a cosmic Jewish zombie who...
The Colombo Lighthouse, Chaitya Road:
  • magerata: Never been there, thanks Indi, will make an effort next time....
  • Chavie: I think we should thank Racially-stereotyping tards like you for making it all possible....
Othello:
  • Electra: Actually race has little to do with what Othello is actually about. Of course it does make an appearance here and there, but it's possible that the race theme has been slightly over-analysed (as is most of Shakespeare's work) by later interpreters. However - it deals with the equally potent themes of jealousy, obsession, paranoia, the idea of masculinity. To me those are the things that makes Othello a truly remarkable account of what is...

Related Posts


Kottu Print 2

There's another 'issue' of Kottu Print deep in the Sunday Leader today (Review section). Have a look I suppose. There has been some debate about the selection criteria for the articles. I suppose what it comes down to in the end it that I choose. I am not particularly fond of control, but I can't think of a simpler way. I pay attention to stuff that gets a lot of clicks (cause I don't have

Kottu Print, Demo

I talked about this ages ago. Ran into some money issues with an insert but we're doing a test run tomorrow in one of the sections of the Sunday Leader. The 'Review' section I believe, there's a sample of Kottu in the middle. Not hyping it too much, the images may be upside down and the thing may be on fire, I dunno. Things often get befuddled on the way to the printer. This is

Kottu Print

I've got this idea to do a print version of Kottu. Basically, take the top 10 or 15 posts each week and publish them (with basic editing). The Sunday Leader will distribute it and it's fairly trivial to lay out (unless someone wants to do that). All the bloggers will be properly credited and paid, which may perhaps set an example for the papers randomly stealing stuff. Say, about Rs. 750 per full pager, perhaps

On Kottu (What Next?)

I'm reluctant to post this. Kottu has always sorta been self-supporting. The server bills have gone up in the past year, but not dramatically. The code is a mess, but it works. As Notorious B.I.G. said, 'mo money mo problems' and Kottu has avoided that. However, the community has sorta stabilized at a certain size. Bigger is not necessarily better, but I think it might be better for Sri Lanka and us if blogging began

Kottu Cleanup

Kottu has been in dire need of an upgrade and I did something. It's now cleaner, if anything. The functionality isn't improved as much as I like, but hopefully the focus is on the core functions now. The noticeable changes are a new theme, visible stats, and a few new plugins. Underneath the admin interface is more powerful and there's a feature that serves a light version to mobile phones and PDAs. There are a