CAR JUST HIT ME as I was crossing street. Van carrying old people. Driver didn’t see me. Van struck my head. #

I punched door. Driver and passengers stared at me. Time slowed way down. I gestured for driver to pull over.#

Asked woman on street if I was bleeding. She said no. Told van driver to leave. He got out, walked over, insisted on seeing if I was ok. #

Black man, about 60. Told him I was good, merry Christmas. Shook his hand twice, nearly hugged him. Glad to be alive. #

Two hours later:

In ER with friend, getting checked after accident. #

No concussion, no spinal or brain injury, I’m very lucky. #

P.S. Having some back and arm pain today, nothing unexpected according to what the E.R. doc told me. Overwhelming feeling remains gratitude at being alive, although the feeling is more tempered now, not as giddy as it was immediately following the accident.

Filed under: experience, glamorous, Live tweeted macho invincibility, Zeldman

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GET YOUR STANDARDS ON! John Rainsford, working with your humble narrator, has crafted a sweet collection of limited edition products, designed to let you show your love and support for web standards.

What are you waiting for? Shop Web Standards now.

And we thank you.

Filed under: Design, Standards, Zeldman

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SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST Interactive (“SXSWi” or simply “South by” to its friends) has somewhat brazenly announced that I will be the first inductee in its new Hall of Fame. The induction will take place during the 2012 Interactive Awards presentation in March of next year. There will be flowers and virgins. Well, flowers.

SXSW Interactive features five days of compelling presentations from the brightest minds in emerging technology. Founded in 1995—the same year I started this website—the Austin, TX-based interactive festival attracts tens of thousands annually.

I hope this announcement will not negatively affect attendance.

Filed under: Acclaim, SXSW, Zeldman

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OCTOBER brings the smells of burning leaves, the warmth of hot cider, and much speaking for yours truly:

On October 12, I’ll deliver the keynote address at Do It With Drupal 2011 at the Marriott Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn Heights, sharing the stage with the likes of Josh Clark, Angela Byron, and Jeff Robbins.

Then it’s off to beautiful Richmond, Virginia on the 13th for EdUI 2011, the conference for web professionals who serve institutions of learning, where I’ll keynote again and join such leaders as Margot Bloomstein, Brian Fling, Kyle Soucy, and Siva Vaidhyanathan.

October 24–26 will find me in America’s capital for An Event Apart DC: three days of design, code, and content with a veritable constellation of web design stars, including a one-day learning session on Accessible Web Design led by Derek Featherstone of Further Ahead.

You can follow my speaking schedule or, better yet, come see me! I’ll keep a light in the window for you.

Filed under: An Event Apart, Announcements, events, speaking, Zeldman

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FROM 1996 TO 1999, I interviewed movie stars and web designers. Between 1998 and 1999, I published my favorite interviews in this little site. Then I stopped.

Here it is, just as it was — frames, buttons, cheesy JavaScript effects and all: The 15 Minutes Project.

Filed under: My Back Pages, Web Design, Web Design History, Zeldman, zeldman.com

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A STATE of emergency has been declared, but it’s a magical day in New York City. Any grownup who can do so is playing hooky to bask in the perfect sun and gentle breeze. Death, damage, and flooding are expected. We’re preparing for days, maybe weeks without power or water. Any fool could make a fortune selling flashlights today. But while we go through the motions of buying flashlights and stockpiling bottled water, somehow on this blue-sky golden day the threat seems unreal.

You’re a draftee during wartime and it’s your last night before shipping overseas. You’re on the porch, kissing your girl’s neck, but in 48 hours you’ll be smelling blood and gunpowder. The nearness of war makes your girl feel unreal, but your girl’s hair and perfume make the war seem like some strange practical joke.

So today in New York: a glorious Autumn day we glide through without quite seeing, because our minds are in Hollywood disaster movie mode, our carless bodies weighed down with water bottles and flashlights. It’s like that clear blue sky ten years ago, minutes before Hell flew out of it.

Filed under: cities, glamorous, New York City, Weather, Zeldman

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Jeffrey Zeldman – The Medium Comes of Age from Codeworks Ltd on Vimeo.

Filed under: CSS3, Design, mobile, The Profession, Touchscreen, Typekit, Typography, User Experience, UX, W3C, Web Design, Web Design History, Web Standards, webfonts, webkit, Working, Zeldman

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LISTENING to Coltrane. Taking a break after assembling American Girl doll bunk beds. The tuxedo cat has appropriated Ava’s American Girl doll tent as his personal summer house. Ava is making up a song about wishing on a star. End of summer. Happy.

Filed under: family, glamorous, Zeldman

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GOOD MORNING! I’ve added some nifty external links to my About page. Enjoy.

Filed under: links, Zeldman

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IN THIS ENJOYABLE interview, beautifully conducted by Lullabot’s Jeff and Jared, we discuss the history of web standards; how SEO sells accessibility; the art of collaboration; the three major inflection points of design on the web; mobile, responsive, and adaptive web design; and much more.

Podcast 95: Who is Jeffrey Zeldman? | Lullabot.

Filed under: podcasts, Web Design, Web Design History, Web Standards, Zeldman

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