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| Sunday, March 21st, 2010 |
lolitaray
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8:13p |
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def_fr0g_42
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11:25a |
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT DRIVES WOMEN WILD
 ITEM: The head of the International Actors' Federation says that media companies trying to fight copyright infringement must stop calling the infringers “pirates” because it’s too sexy. "We should change the word piracy," she said at a press conference. "To me, piracy is something adventurous, it makes you think about Johnny Depp. We all want to be a bit like Johnny Depp. But we're talking about a criminal act. We're talking about making it impossible to make a living from what you do." Maybe they should call them copyrapists? Anyway, sure. Picking the right name for yr enemy is important if yr going to win hearts and minds. Because look what happens when you call them sexy names and suddenly everyone thinks downloading movies and uploading stuff on YouTube is okay: 2009 box office receipts up 10% from 2008 and 30% from 2005 More people going to the movies and more going more often, with the 10% who go once or more a month accounting for half of all ticket sales 31 films grossed over $100 million each. [Sources here and here] See, if it wasn’t for piracy copyrape, those numbers would be, like a million times higher. Can’t you see sexy pirates are killing Hollywood? Give up the booty, This is dF Current Mood:  blankCurrent Music: Madonna, "Forbidden Love" |
def_fr0g_42
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10:31a |
DESTROY ALL BOYS
I’m not a big fan of Hot Chip. But their latest music video is f***ing awesome. Summary: boy band killed in front of their fans by bald guy who FIRES LASERS OUT OF HIS MOUTH. The action kicks in at the 1:50 mark or so. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted someone to do this to Backstreet Boys.
VIEWING TIP: Hot Chip are not a boy band. That’s not them performing the song. (They’re in the audience, though.) Let it out, This is dF Current Mood: blahCurrent Music: See above |
def_fr0g_42
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10:10a |
PUT SOME MEAT ON THEM BONES, WOMAN!
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1969, women had to gain weight to be considered sexy.  Via RetroSpace, which makes a valid observation: A lot of the women we consider sex symbol icons of yesteryear (Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield, Betty Paige, etc.) would be considered straight up FAT today. All I can add is: That’s a goddamn shame, Jim. No skinny chix, This is dF Current Mood:  awakeCurrent Music: The Yardbirds, "For Your Love" |
| Saturday, March 20th, 2010 |
rhye
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6:26p |
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bedsitter23
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4:41p |
7 Things
1. I never can say if I would have done anything different. I surely needed 7 years of college. Would a couple of years of community college have helped? Maybe. Would getting in the job force sooner have helped? Probably. Still, things have worked out probably as close to intended. College was a great time in my life, and my only regret is I didn't get to stretch it the whole decade. A famous shirt is "SIU- the best 5 or 6 years of your life". Still, the concept of the professional student may be going away. 2. Still spending time on archive.org, the live music compendium. (There's hours and hours of video footage, but I am a music guy). I am getting into Dub is a Weapon. They actually don't have much officially released, so the live stuff is the bulk of their work. I don't listen to a lot of dub or reggae (and when i do, it is stuff that Joe Strummer name-checked), but these guys work for me. Plus, they double as Lee 'Scratch' Perry's backing band, so if they're good enough for him, they're good enough for me. I think they will do well with those with rock ears, and like bands like the Clash, the Specials, and Bad Brains. 3. More bowling stuff. Another good week with a high score of a 154, a game that started out with 3 strikes in a row, and a must-hit spare in the tenth frame. 4. After hitting a high in the lower -or mid-60s on Thursday, we got about an inch and a half of snow on Friday. It should melt quick, but you can't beat that for weather unpredictably. 5. Like everyone I did NCAA brackets. I had Georgetown in my 'elite 8', so we will see if the rest of my picks are good enough. I always enjoy this time of year as I usually get together with a couple of friends and watch a bunch of games (that is the plan again this year). Oh, and I still like college football better. Can't argue with these. 6. Have I ever mentioned that one of my favorite things about the weekend is C-Span's Book TV. Yeah, I'm a nerd. 7. I would do a disservice by not mentioning Jon Stewart doing his take on Glenn Beck (you can see it here). I think it goes on too long, and it's more clever than actual laugh-out-loud funny. Still, I am posting it here where I think it will be appreciated. Current Music: Monster Magnet - 4-Way Diablo |
brokebackslash
[ bagel1 ]
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6:48p |
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| Sunday, March 21st, 2010 |
def_fr0g_42
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1:05a |
I’M READING AS FAST AS I CAN: MARCH 2010 EDITION
 By popular demand, more book reports. Because I want to make sure you get yr money's worth from this blog.
JUST FINISHED
The Quiet American by Graham GreeneI’ve never read Greene before, but I may have to do so again. This story of the Saigon love triangle between Fowler the cynical aging British journalist and Pyle the young naive American economic attache is pretty gripping stuff. Fowler and Pyle are very well defined characters, and it’s hard not to read the political aspects of the book – the First Indochina War between France and the Viet Minh and the first dabblings of American involvement to resolve it with a ‘Third Force’ championing democracy – without thinking of the full-fledged war that followed, and much of America’s ideologically fueled foreign policy failures since then. Recommended if yr not a card-carrying member of the Tea Party or the John Birch Society, cos otherwise yr going to hate it just for suggesting that America did more harm than good in Indochina. JUST STARTED
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David SedarisFinally, after years of everyone telling me how hilarious David Sedaris is – and eleven years after my best friend recommended this specific book (which I took seriously since she doesn’t read a whole lot of books) – I’ve taken the plunge. And I have to say, a couple of essays into it, I’m starting to see what all the fuss has been about. Let’s see if he can sustain that for the rest of the book. RECENT TITLES
The Toyminator by Robert RankinSequel to The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse, in which private eye Eddie Bear and his comedy sidekick Jack are down and out in Toy City despite having saved it in the previous book. This time the plot involves spontaneous combustion, evil chickens and 1950s Hollywood, and Rankin finally writes the Terminator tribute he’s been hinting at since the mid-90s. Good fun as usual, though if Rankin’s humor didn’t appeal before, this will not change yr mind.
Bad Science by Ben GoldacreIn which Goldacre expands on his regular Guardian column exposing dodgy science claims, most of them related to homeopathy, New Age treatments and media scares over flu jabs. There’s a lot of good information on how people pass off bad research for science as a way to make them look like experts. The main downside is Goldacre, who injects himself into the story way too often to the point where he looks like he’s settling old scores, which gets annoying to the point of distraction. The Sign Of Four by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleThe second Sherlock Holmes novel, featuring Holmes’ cocaine habit, a locked-room mystery and a treasure hunt. Better than the first in that Doyle gives you a few clues to try and piece together the mystery, but still flawed in that it relies on the criminal to unrealistically cop to the whole plot. Also, the side story of Watson and Mary Morstan seems like tacked-on Victorian romantic guff. Still a good read, though. The Spider: Robot Titans Of Gotham by Norvell PageClassic pulp action from The Spider, who was Batman before there was Batman, with millionaire Richard Wentworth leading a double life as the vigilante The Spider, heroically fighting giant killer robots and vampire kings. This book collects two Spider novels plus one novel featuring the Skull Killer, another pulp hero that only lasted for two stories. It’s not hard to see why – the characters are half-assed and the writing is sloppy. The Spider novels are much better – heroically cheesy melodramatic stuff, and very silly in retrospect, but credit to Page, who knew his way around an action scene. Modesty Blaise: Dragon’s Claw by Peter O’DonnellI’m a fan of the comics, and I read a number of the novels ages ago, but not all of them. This is one of the later novels, in which Modesty and Willie Garvin, now semi-retired, are pitted against three eccentric killers on a secret island base. It’s a bit weak on plotting, and shows that eccentricities alone (as well as tons of gratuitous sex) don’t make for compelling villains, but once the real showdown starts and Modesty/Willie kick into action, it’s good stuff. Too bad you have to wait until the final third of the book for it. No lack of Modesty, This is dF Current Mood:  tiredCurrent Music: AC/DC, "For Those About To Rock, We Salute You" |
| Saturday, March 20th, 2010 |
bedsitter23
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11:24a |
There's More To Life than Books You Know....
The Book of Guys- Garrison Keillor I've learned to love Keillor over the years. I used to put them in that category of things with new age music and Nancy Pelosi, of Liberal things that are as annoying as Conservatives have made them out to be. In recent years, (largely due to articles that have been shared on social newssites) I have read and really enjoyed his work. I have even come around to his NPR radio show. Reviews on Amazon of this book give it mixed- but generally positive reviews- with two recurring themes, it's weird and it's misogynistic. It is a bit weird in that it doesn't resemble the work Keillor is known for (it's not Lake Wobegon Days) but having read Keillor's short stories and commentaries, the voice is uniquely his. The misogynistic comment doesn't acknowledge the context of the book. The book was written in the early 90s in the era of (and as an obvious response to) the heyday of Robert Bly and the mythopoetic men's movement. If you find this book misogynistic, (like that other literary masterpiece that was written around the same time, Joe Bob Briggs' Iron Joe Bob), then you don't get it. Having said that, Keillor does capture the male psyche. These are stories that capture those conversations that take place in offices, locker rooms (and most regularly) in bars. He understands what men of all ages worry about, and captures it here in humorous context. Though I wouldn't normally link them, it's apparent in this book especially that Keillor's work is in the same ballpark as my other favorite writers Dave Barry and PJ O'Rourke. I am hesitant to recommend this to everyone, and it probably isn't his best work, but I liked it. It's a collection of short stories about men. More specifically, those fictional archetypes-there's Dionysus turning 50, Casey at the Bat (from the opposing team's point of view), Zeus coming to terms with the women's lib, A Pecos Bill-type character coping with becoming a 'sensitive male' (how 90s), and potshots at hypocritical evangelists and trash talk show hosts. Sure, not every one works, but the format keeps the book flowing. Some of you will like it better than others, but all should take heed of Keillor's warning on page one "Book reading is a solitary and sedentary pursuit and those who do are cautioned that a book should be used as an integral part of a well-rounded life, including a daily regimen of rigorous physical exercise, rewarding personal relationships, and a sensible low-fat diet". Current Music: Morrissey- Swords |
bedsitter23
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9:48a |
In all the tributes to Alex Chilton to hit the internet, I realize that I did forget my favorite Chilton song. It is off of Third/Sister Lovers, and is on the shortlist of bleakest songs of all time. So, while I would normally post upbeat music on a Saturday morning, I realize that some weekends are made for not leaving the house. |
def_fr0g_42
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3:53p |
IRAQ: THE LOST YEARS
In case some of you missed it, here’s what happened seven years ago Friday (March 19).  Here’s how that went, if yr wondering. I don't know about you, but I like that question mark where Bush’s picture is supposed to be. SPECIAL COMMENTARY: I mention this because apparently a lot of people missed it. Which is ironic, considering how much popular support the Bush Posse actually had for the war. 4400 dead US soldiers, 100,000 dead Iraqi civilians and $3 trillion later, you’d think everyone who supported it would have the common courtesy to remember the goddamn day it started. But then I gather that many of the same people think the war ended when Bush said it did on May 1, 2003, so it’s technically ancient history, and who bothers to remember that? Or maybe I’m thinking of the people who think the Iraq war started on 9/11/01, not 3/19/03. That could be it. Anyway, happy anniversary, armchair warmongers. Hope yr war is everything you dreamed it would be. Shock’n’awe, This is dF Current Mood:  cynicalCurrent Music: Frank Zappa, "For The Young Sophisticate" |
brokebackslash
[ red2blue ]
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10:19a |
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def_fr0g_42
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11:10a |
MY STEWARDESS KNOWS KUNG FU
ITEM: The Association of Flight Attendants is lobbying the US Congress to implement more stringent in-flight security measures that include mandatory hand-to-hand combat training for all crew members. Which would make a great early 70s sexploitation film, wouldn't it? Of course it would..  It sounds funny, of course, but it’s actually a good idea. Most of the kinds of terrorist attacks they’re likely to face could be thwarted by someone who knows how to fight and subdue someone. It’s how Richard Reid and Mr SizzlePants were stopped, anyway. And it arguably might have stopped at least a couple of the 9/11 planes. It would certainly save more lives than the things we currently do – ban liquids, inspect shoes, force everyone to sit for the last hour of the flight, etc. That said, the AFA is lobbying Congress for a few other things: - Equip flight attendants with portable communications devices so they can speak to the pilots during emergencies.
- Standardize the size of carry-on luggage so that flight attendants can look for suspicious passengers instead of struggling with oversized bags.
- Shut down onboard wireless Internet during high-threat periods to prevent terrorists from communicating with collaborators on the ground.
The first one is sensible. The second is probably not realistic. And the third is close to useless as a security measure. For a start, a “high-threat period” could mean anything (and under the Bush admin, frequently did). Airlines have already been slow to enable Wi-Fi on planes just from the cost factors alone – they're not going to install it just to be told by the DHS to shut it off for the next three months because we're at Code Orange. More importantly, not a single airplane terror attack has ever relied on someone on the plane communicating with someone on the ground via an Internet connection to pull it off, and I can’t think of a feasible plan that would make use of it, or at least one where disabling the Wi-Fi would foil the entire plan. What's the point of inconveniencing passengers to guard against a possible attack that is already implausible, let alone statistically unlikely? The combat training is a good idea, though. Of course, once that happens, the trade-off is that we’re ultimately going to see a news story of some flight attendant enforcing the “fasten yr seat belt” sign a little too vigorously. Or punching out imams for praying or something. FUN FACT: China’s Sichuan Airlines started doing this four years ago. Taste my fist, This is dF Current Mood: awakeCurrent Music: The Beatles, "For No One" |
def_fr0g_42
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10:39a |
#9 HOWARD JONES DREAM
And now, Thomas Dolby – whom you may remember from the 1980s – relays possibly the greatest celebrity dream ever:
Last night I dreamed I hired Howard Jones for a keyboard session at a big studio (Abbey Rd? Real World?) We were getting ready for him and setting up all my old keyboards—the Fairlight, the PPG. I was worried because they had been in storage for so long. Someone came in and said ‘Howard’s juicers are here–where should be put them?’ (For some reason I knew his ‘juicers’ were not electric blenders, they were people to make his fruit juice.) I hooked up the PPG Wave 2.2 and played a chord. It was a long backwards sample that I could not make out. Then I looked at its little LED screen and all the text was back to front. At first I thought this was because its patches were garbled after all this time. Then I realised it does that when you play a backwards sample—it’s a little German in-joke.
Eventually Howard arrived. He was very friendly and looked great, in fact just like 1983. But we were both wearing identical green corduroy jackets. This was embarassing but being English neither of us felt able to mention it. Then I woke up.
FUN FACT: These days, Dolby is also a high-tech businessman. He’s founded a number of start-ups like Beatnik, which makes audio engines for mobile devices (which is what makes the MP3s on yr mobile phone sound decent) I know this because the magazine I work for covers stuff like this. I’m hoping this will someday enable me to actually meet him. If not, I’ll settle for Dave Dederer of The Presidents Of The United States Of America (whom you may remember from the 1990s) – he's vice president of business development at Melodeo, which runs a mobile music service called nuTsie. Dream on, This is dF Current Mood:  amusedCurrent Music: Thomas Dolby, "She Blinded Me With Science" |
| Friday, March 19th, 2010 |
brokebackslash
[ cowboygal2010 ]
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7:26p |
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| Saturday, March 20th, 2010 |
def_fr0g_42
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1:01a |
YOUTUBE SURVIVOR SERIES #78: ALL HAT, NO RABBIT
For no other reason than that this popped up on the iPod this afternoon and I thought you should hear it too. Because Warren Zevon really was genius, you know. Step right up, This is dF Current Mood:  nostalgicCurrent Music: See above |
| Friday, March 19th, 2010 |
brokebackslash
[ fuzzy_carpet ]
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11:34a |
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def_fr0g_42
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2:06p |
A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF REVISIONIST HISTORY
Like some of you, I’ve been following the Texas textbook story. And to be honest, the reason I haven’t posted anything on it is because I’ve been waiting for Jon Stewart to do my heavy lifting for me. It’s also worth pointing out that a lot of this isn’t new. History has always been whatever historians and the People In Charge say it is, and has always had a point of view. We’ve always had liberal historians and conservative historians and other historians of varying stripes. Or, as G.K. Chesterton put it, “There is no history; there are only historians.” Historian history interests me greatly, you know. I once spent a semester studying how different historian trends have fallen in and out of favor over the last 200+ years. Which is why the Texas Textbook Saga, at face value, seems like another version of the same thing. The difference, of course, is that the decisions are being made by evangelical dentists, not historians. (Hell, the majority of the board aren’t even teachers.) And that matters primarily because people in the same ideological camp as Don McLeroy have been increasingly active in constructing their own alt-reality where even facts (rather than yr opinion of them) are open to debate, whether it’s how men and dinosaurs co-existed, no domestic terror attacks happened when Bush was president, or the healthcare reform bill calls for mandatory death panels. And why not, Jim? You have to expect that in an age where you can get all yr news information from “unbiased” sources like Fox News, MSNBC, Red State and Buzzflash to keep yr worldview well fed and unchanged. Even the Bible is available in liberal and conservative flavors now. School textbooks were going to be dragged into this sooner or later. Which, in itself, will make for fascinating history lessons 50 years from now ... provided the textbooks bother to mention it. Not that it will matter – by 2059 "education" will be a simple matter of yr parental unit downloading the "right" reality library software into yr onboard brain. Just you wait. Class dismissed, This is dF Current Mood: cynicalCurrent Music: Metallica, "Enter Sandman" |
| Thursday, March 18th, 2010 |
brokebackslash
[ cwby30 ]
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10:19p |
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brokebackslash
[ bronctastic ]
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9:32p |
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| Friday, March 19th, 2010 |
def_fr0g_42
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11:38a |
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def_fr0g_42
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10:28a |
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT YR INSANE
I watch movies. I have opinions. You read them. Or not. I post them anyway. Viva la bloggery! Shutter IslandIt’s not often you’ll hear me say such things, but this is one of those few times where the film version of a book turns out to be an improvement of the book ... at least for me. I read Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island a couple of years ago, and was generally not that impressed. Lehane is a decent writer, but the central twist to the story of US Marshal Teddy Daniels investigating the disappearance of a deranged patient from a remote mental hospital was not only a bit of a cliche, but also not all that convincing. But I was willing to take a chance on the film verson if only because Martin Scorsese is one of my all-time favorite film directors (albeit not one with a spotless track record, but still ...). For some reason, Scorsese’s take works a lot better for me. I can’t say too much without giving it away, but Scorsese is great at ratcheting up the suspense as Daniels’ investigation is stymied at every turn and the sinister truth emerges – which is all the more remarkable given that (1) Scorsese pretty much sticks to the original story (apart from the location, which I think they changed for no real reason other than it lets Leo DiCaprio keep using the Boston accent he deployed in The Departed), and (2) I already knew that story, so I knew the twist going in (which also means I don’t know how obvious the twist might seem to people who didn’t read the book). Anyway, the downside, as I said, is that the twist is pretty cliched by now, so whether you see it coming or not, it’s not particularly all that surprising. But if the secret isn’t the story’s originality but how you tell it, Scorsese tells it well. It’s hardly the greatest Scorsese film ever, but it’s still worth watching. It’s also pretty unsettling, especially if seeing dead children onscreen bothers you, which is bound to put a lot of people off. So be warned. The madcap laughs, This is dF Current Mood: awakeCurrent Music: The Sisters Of Mercy, "Flood" |
| Thursday, March 18th, 2010 |
bedsitter23
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9:21p |
If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?
I figure I should say a few words about Alex Chilton, who just passed away. DefFrog has said it as good as anyone. It's an interesting career. Chilton had a #1 single as a teenager (The Box Tops "The Letter" as in "My baby, she wrote me...") With Big Star, he put albums that constantly show up on "Greatest of all time.." lists. In the late 70s, he produced the first Cramps singles and the Gravest Hits ep, which is for my money, some of the best sounds ever collected on record. The 80s was a lost decade, where Alex did odd jobs like washing dishes, and then saw his career resurrected as cult icon. It is a career of the highest highs and lowest lows. At the end of the day, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the guy. The guy can take credit for inspiring The Replacements (who wore the Chilton badge proudly), REM, Teenage Fanclub, and a thousand power-pop bands. He also played in the sadly-too-obscure Tav Falco's Panther Burns. So, I can't say anything bad about Chilton. He's an important figure in 20th Century music. Still, I never got too excited about Big Star. The generation I grew up with canonized him. For me personally (ever the Anglophile), I could never understand the acclaim for Big Star, when I found Badfinger to the the much-better (and lesser loved) band. Also, the biggest thing that ever moved me out of the Big Star tree of music was Chris Bell's gorgeous (and total bummer of an) album I am the Cosmos.So, I give Chilton credit as an influence, for his role as producer, and though most of it isn't for me, his "September Gurls" is about as perfect of a pop moment as has ever been. |
brokebackslash
[ camillar ]
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6:17p |
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brokebackslash
[ bagel1 ]
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9:54p |
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