Jake Davis aka Topiary 4august2011
Anonymous and LulzSec spokesman Davis was arrested by the police in the UK this week for several charges under the “Computer Misuse Act”.
His arrest was a warning to hackers that they will face jail time if caught. It’s clear that Davis was no sacrificial lamb. A “#freetopiary” campaign was initiated on twitter. Anonymous also released a statement to their would-be oppressors, “When injustice becomes law, rebellion becomes a duty,” with Davis no doubt calling the shots from his jail cell. Future attacks have been planned. Stay tuned.
Will Shortz 26july2011
Will Shortz is the most powerful man in puzzles. He is editor of the grande dame of puzzles, The New York Times crossword puzzle. Notably Shortz is the only person known to hold a college degree in enigmatology, the study of puzzles.
Shortz believes he develops personal relationship with “solvers” with whom he matches wits day after day. His fan base has expanded since introducing both Sudoko and KenKen, a numerical logic puzzle. Shortz may single handedly be responsible for the widespread popularity of puzzles in America.
Desirea Rodgers 12july2011
Rodgers is one of the cofounders of LOVE146, an organization that works to abolish child sex slavery and exploitation.
Human trafficking is reported to be a 32 billion dollar industry. It is estimated that 27 million people live in modern day slavery across the world, most of whom are young and female. Rodgers in tandem with LOVE146 works to put names and faces to these numbers. As “Chief Story Crusader” Rodgers uses words and images to depict the stories of slavery and the journey to freedom. LOVE146 is an inspiration and model for the difference that can be made one person and one idea at a time.
Rocky Agrawal 12july2011
Rocky Agrawal dared to be among the few to openly criticize Groupon, using none other than Techcrunch as his forum. Now he’s taking on Robert Scoble and other Silicon Valley celebrities who dominate social media.
Agrawal is no slouch. He uses his rich experience in internet product design and social networking to advise start-ups in this niche. He’s a vocal blogger both on his own site and as a guest blogger across tech and mainstream news sites. Agrawal wrote this week about how his entire Google+ feed has been dominated by Scoble, and how to experience the network aside from the early adapters who only talk about tech, blocking Scoble was a necessity. Take notice, Agrawal has established a new social networking “friends” standard.
Joe Posnanski 12july2011
Named one the best sports columnists in America, Joe Posnanski is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated. Posnanski’s writing is poetic. While bringing us the latest sporting news, Posnanski’s pieces wistfully bring to mind places and feelings that are nostalgically familiar. However Posnanski’s greatest work might be found on his blog, Joe Blogs, which mixes his musings on the world of sport with simple things that matter to him, like music.
In November 2010 Posnanski penned an entry entitled The Promise, an ode to a Bruce Springstein song of the same name. Posnanski writes about fathers and sons, dreams and reality, and gives us, the kids from that generation, an appreciation for what was had and lost through the anguish in Springsten’s lyrics.
Anonymous 16june2011
The hacktivist collective known as “Anonymous” is omnipresent.Their cyber attack campaigns have crippled multi-national companies and entire countries.
Although some alleged members have been arrested by foreign governments, the group has been, for the most part, able to operate outside of the law. Anonymous “hacks” computer code to right perceived wrongs or injustices and to promote a political or social ideology. Anonymous makes the point that they are or can be everywhere.
Alexis Tryon and Scott Carleton 16june2011
Tryon and Carleton have combined their fine art and technical talents in founding Artsicle, a Netflix like site that delivers art to your door for around $50 a month.
Currently based in NYC, Artsicle allows “everyman art lovers” to become collectors, while offering exposure to emerging artistic talent. Like Netflix, when you are ready for something new, just return what you have, and select a piece from the online gallery, which is cleverly organized by price, medium and size. Tryon and Carleton have created a niche art marketplace for those who might never have had the opportunity to hang original art in their homes, and provides a new platform for artistic presentation and commerce.
Cheryl Kilodavis 16june2011
In what has become an increasing cruel and intolerant world for kids, where differences are mocked and the meek are bullied, Cheryl Kilodavis wrote My Princess Boy in celebration of her son’s differences.
Five year old Dyson Kilodavis has an affinity for all things pink and sparkly. He gravitates towards what are considered “girly” things, for Halloween he dressed up as a Princess. Cheryl Kilodavis and her family made a decision to embrace Dyson for who he is, and have become outspoken advocates and a model for family’s with non-gender conforming children. Cheryl Kilodavis is also a founding member of the Acceptance Group Movement, which offers a safe place for Princess Boys and Strength Girls to express who they are in an atmosphere of love, understanding, and acceptance.
Adam Kokesh 02june2011
A former Marine, Kokesh realized the fool’s errand he was performing and found a new one - post modern civil disobedience.
Now he punks the police with the cameras rolling - often those of russian news network RT. Most recently he performed a dance at the Jefferson Memorial against a Judge’s orders and was tackled, or brutalized as the ruskies put it, by some park cops with even less natural rhythm than Kokesh himself.
Mick Ebeling 02june2011
Entrepreneur Mick Ebeling founded the ‘Not Impossible Foundation’, which aims to find creative solutions for real life problems.
Our ability to communicate with one another is something we take for granted. Not so for sufferers of ALS, as they are “locked in” and cannot speak, sign, or write. Mick Ebeling witnessed this travesty firsthand when he met graffiti artist Tempt, who is afflicted with ALS and unable to communicate with his family. Ebeling and his team got to work and develoepd the code and prototype for the “eyewriter” a free open source device which allows people like Tempt to draw using only their eyes. Now Tempt and many others like him are no longer imprisoned by their disease and free to commuicate with the world around them.
