Has Google hired a first grade text book designer to create its new icons?

Michael Lewis, the Zola, Marx and Proust of our age, hits another home run, writing about his high school baseball coach.

Arianna Huffington writes: “The blogosphere is now the most vital news source in our country. I’ve toiled in the world of books and syndicated column writing, but more liberating is the blogosphere, where the random thought is honored, and where passion reigns. While paid journalists often just follow a candidate around or sit in the White House press room and rehash a schedule, blogs break through the din of our 500 channel universe and the narrow conventional wisdom. For that the blogosphere has my undying gratitude.”

Strange things happen when people are the media.

Amy Langfield stands in line on Times Square for theater tix and makes a weird weird electronic connection with a college friend in LA. Imagine what happens when you combine Orkut with GPS.

“Secret” advertising on blogs? — Kos comments. Here’s a random $75 response.

Jeff Jarvis is leading a session on “the business of blogging” at the Harvard Bloggercon symposium this year.

My own view is that there’s going to be little “business of blogging” other than the flow of revenues to individuals and small groups of writers selling advertisers access their audiences. And, obviously, I believe the Blogads network — some of America’s smartest writers allied together — is helping make that happen.

I’ve been raving about blog advertising for nearly two years. I’m glad the Harvard poohbahs will finally get to hear about it.

Rick Bruner, who spells as bad as me, is rewarding readers who highlight his mistakes. Yes, yet another slash in the ongoing drawing and quartering of corporate media. “This may seem like a self-effacing bid for greater accountability, but in fact it’s a shameless attempt to build community, get some comments and compel people to actually read my posts closely,” writes Rick. Go pick some of Rick’s nits.

Taegan Goddard, proprieter of PoliticalWire has just launched an aggregator, updating hourly, pulling together headlines from blogs on the left and right.

Sometimes I see a blogad that blows me away. Only on blogs, I think. This is one of them:

“The legendary store Science Fiction, Mysteries, and More in lower Manhattan closed 3 years ago, and after being unable to find a new location, decided to liquidate everything. Over 4000 new paperbacks, available individually or in lots, all must go; this lot ends 4/15!”

The ad is running on the blogs of a pair of science fiction editors, a wife and husband team.

Author Virginia Postrel is selling blogads… go buy from her. Also, an inside tip: the traffic numbers for TAPPed don’t yet register the site’s full traffic, so the one week ads are underpriced. Buy an ad fast if you like good deals.