Archive for February, 2009

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Derail Your Travel Plans With Amtrak

[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 9, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion

Monday, February 9th, 2009

Now with added pirate goodness!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Monday Demotivators (our tips and tricks for avoiding work on Monday) to talk about a potential real-world Monday Demotivator: Amtrak. If you’re traveling from Detroit or Ann Arbor to Chicago (which I will be), a seemingly logical  choice would be to take the train. Ironically though, in a country whose history is inextricably entwined with trains and stories about them, one of the most regularly traveled corridors is also notoriously one of the worst. On top of an on-time record of about 28%, and recent delays as long as 13 hours, now we have to be on the lookout for pirates. Yes, you read that right. Arrgh, matey. Until we have the long-dreamed of maglevs criss-crossing the country, train travel in the states remains a bit like it was in the beginning. A great cross-country adventure frought with peril. Say a prayer for me…

TV on the Radio – Dear Science

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on February 8, 2009 by admin in Music

Sunday, February 8th, 2009

I take back everything bad I ever said about TV on the Radio, which was very little anyway. My first exposure to them was their 2006 release Return to Cookie Mountain. I kept trying to like it, but could never get past the feeling that I was listening to a lost mid-seventies Peter Gabriel solo [...]

I take back everything bad I ever said about TV on the Radio, which was very little anyway. My first exposure to them was their 2006 release Return to Cookie Mountain. I kept trying to like it, but could never get past the feeling that I was listening to a lost mid-seventies Peter Gabriel solo album, and the slightly off-key falsetto vocals throughout the recording would make me cringe a bit at times. I always imagined they would be fantastic live, but never really fell in love with the material. Their 2008 release Dear Science has changed all that. In spite of the fact that the first two tunes almost always leave me on the verge of tears, I’ve been playing it daily for about a week now. The vocals have all seemed to find their place, the production is polished but not to the point of being annoyingly slick, and the lyrics…man. I wish I had written the words to “Halfway Home”, for instance. Well-metered moody pop ambiguity at it’s best. And then they follow up with the almost sunny but somehow bittersweet “Crying”. Sorry, I’d say more, but I’m getting all weepy again. L.A. Record has an interesting interview with bassist Gerard Smith in which he touches on some interesting points about being a “person of color” while being perceived as “black” while playing “white music”. Just open your ears and stay color blind; this is an amazing release. The clip featured here is the video for “Golden Age”.

Is Barack Obama Just Another Puppet?

[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 7, 2009 by admin in Politics

Saturday, February 7th, 2009

No. He’s a Bad-ass action figure!

My political cynicism keeps me wondering if Barack Obama is just an incredible orator (is he gonna Barack all day, or is he gonna bite?), but I can’t tell you how happy I am that we’ve gone from a puppet president to an action president. Although you can dress up the magnetic Obama fridge magnet for a change of clothes you can believe in, and pose the silly six inch Obama to your heart’s content, only the 1:6 scale Obama Action Figure can put on a war face and kick some ass. Although pictured here with a Katana, that link to Amazon only mentions “2 Different Obama Heads, American Flag on pole, Stool, Suit with 2 different ties, shirt, shoes and socks, a Microphone & Watch”. No mention either of a “kotatsu accessory kit” for him to lounge in, as pictured here. And speaking of change, this action figure will set you back some, at about US$77.00. For those tougher foreign policy issues, you might want to also pick up the Hillary Clinton Nutcracker.

MTV Raises Programming IQ With “How’s Your News?”

[ 2 Comments ]Posted on February 6, 2009 by admin in Popular Media

Friday, February 6th, 2009

If I’d known this crew was covering the Grammies, I might’ve actually tuned in this year…

Tired of the vain stupidity of the typical entertainment or news show hosts employed by major networks? Shake up your perception of television news with MTV’s new program How’s Your News?, hosted by people with disabilities. I have a sister with Down Syndrome (probably one of the nicer people I know) and I’m a bit of a ‘tard myself, so it’s refreshing to see a program like this. The potential for appearing to be exploitive is incredibly high, but as one of the creators (Matt Stone, of South Park fame) has been quick to point out: “We weren’t worried about being associated with them, we were worried about them being associated with us“. If I’d known this crew was covering the Grammies, I might’ve actually tuned in this year (see clip featured at left). After years of MTV basing most of their programming on “normally abled” people who act like retards, it’s a bold and dicey move (and probably a step up in quality) to air a show like this. Inspired by the 1999 film How’s Your News?, the program debuts Sunday, February 8. See the MTV trailer here. I’d love to see the “Where’s Your News?” crew cover “disability rockers” Heavy Load.

This Twit Won’t Twitter

[ 3 Comments ]Posted on February 5, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture

Thursday, February 5th, 2009

I’ve created sample accounts on over thirty social networking sites as research for clients, which is why I’ve watched the recent explosion on Facebook of users over forty with considerable amusement*. I remember well the feeling I got when, as an 18-year-old, I went from being so far on the fringe of pop culture that [...]

I’ve created sample accounts on over thirty social networking sites as research for clients, which is why I’ve watched the recent explosion on Facebook of users over forty with considerable amusement*. I remember well the feeling I got when, as an 18-year-old, I went from being so far on the fringe of pop culture that there wasn’t a name for it, to suddenly being called “Punk” by “normal” people. Just about as soon as I got used to the idea that maybe I WAS punk, everyone suddenly started taking the worst aspects of whatever I was and basing whole music genres and movies on it. Before I knew it, my friends and I had gotten normal just to avoid the creepy older people that were mimicking us. This must be a little bit like what it feels like to be an 18-24 year old MySpace or FaceBook user the past few years. First they had to watch the oldsters creep in on MySpace, pimping out their pages like high-schoolers. Recently MySpace feels like 4am at a 30-year high school reunion; only the socially inept and drunk late-comers are still hanging around. Facebook should be suffering a similar fate by mid-year, leaving kids to Twitter desperately in a difficult economy. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see new text message pricing plans that gouge these users. I for one don’t see myself opening my mobile device up to this kind of shenanigans, causing the return of the nearly-extinct fail whale (pictured here). Maybe I’ll take up knitting and join Ravelry. Any suggestions for where to go with my social networking addiction?

*Confession: I’ve used Facebook addictively the last few weeks myself.

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