Archive for October, 2009

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There’s More To Muse Than A Radiohead Cover Band

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on October 6, 2009 by admin in Music

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

If you’ve dismissed Muse as a Radiohead clone like I did, give them another try. Just don’t bother listening to them as mp3′s on your iPod.

I made the mistake back in 2003 of glossing over the band Muse because of their shameless Radiohead-ness. At the time, listening to Muse when Radiohead existed felt like listening to Coldplay when there’s a U2 around. Except I actually like Radiohead. All of which, in spite of being the perception of the music press in general, is incredibly unfair. In a way I’m glad I glossed over Muse like did, because after finally exhausting all the Radiohead in existence, it’s like there’s a back-catalogue to explore. Except when you finally give Muse a chance, you realize there are layers and layers and layers, and the comparison to Radiohead becomes incredibly inaccurate. My re-Muse-ment began when I saw the video for their new tune Uprising featured here (which seems, alas, to only be available at MTV.com. Apologies in advance for the commercials). In spite of the tune’s over-the-top “anthem for the common man” theme, I found myself nodding along with it, and ended up watching the video for Supermassive Black Hole from their 2006 release Black Holes And Revelations. I was sunk at this point, as I decided to dig back into my music collection. Starting with 2003′s Absolution, I almost wrote them off again. The first track – Apocalypse Please – is so Radiohead-esque that I was sure my resistance was legit. But I slowly realized it was actually just a good way Read the rest of this entry »

Outrage Outs Hypocritical Gay Politicians

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on October 5, 2009 by admin in Popular Media

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Should politicians that are publicly anti-gay while privately gay be outed? Where’s your righteous indignation? I dunno, but your Outrage is on HBO this week.

I missed Outrage when it hit theaters in May, so I’ll be trying to crash a friend’s place this evening to catch it on HBO. The idea of a movie created specifically to out politicians that are publicly anti-gay while privately being gay hits some dynamic chords for me. Conversations about issues related to gay rights are usually a little more nuanced in my circles. I’m not sure I’m behind government approval of gay marriage, for example, but that’s because I’m not sure I believe in government PERIOD. Otherwise, I vehemently support a person’s right to marry whomever they like, regardless of gender, or even species — as long as the other species is consenting. In this case though, it’s a little more cut-and-dried for me. The idea here is exposing politicians’ hypocrisy, not their sex lives, right? How can that be wrong? Well, I wonder how a filmmaker shooting a film like this chooses their “targets”, and what their methodology is in general. But hell. Once they’ve got the goods, it’s a no-brainer, right? They’re just exposing lying politicians, right? As Rep. Barney Frank (whom I previously had no idea was openly gay) puts it: “There is a right to privacy, there’s no right to hypocrisy.” If you’ve read this far, you may be curious as to just who the film exposes. The list includes Florida governor Charlie Crist, who was once a likely pick as John McCain’s running mate; David Dreier, who was once a leading Republican candidate for House majority leader; Ken Mehlman, George Bush’s campaign manager during the 2004 election and former RNC chairman; former New York City mayor Ed Koch; the now-retired Read the rest of this entry »

Forget That Mac Tablet – The Microsoft Courier Is Coming

[ 3 Comments ]Posted on October 4, 2009 by admin in Technology

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

All you fascist Mac-Addicted zombies are gonna be jealous when I have my cool gizmo before you have yours.

My interest in the ultimate iThingy, innovative laptop concepts, and the much-rumoured Mac Tablet borders on an unhealthy obsession. If somebody would just go ahead and MAKE one of the darn things, I’d be the first sucka in line to buy one. And now, I’m in real danger, because the Microsoft Courier may just beat the Mac tablet to market. I mean, when you’re talking about imaginary magic fairy gizmos, anything can happen, right? The impending Microsoft answer to the Mac hoopla is actually pretty intriguing. Watch the video below to see exactly how cool an imaginary Microsoft product can be. I’m just left wondering how a device that small can possibly run a Windows operating system. It must have a pretend fairy-powered CPU too. And since it’s a startlingly clever concept considering its Redmond origins, rabid PC-hating MacFreaks of course had to immediately dig up this video from 1988 showing that Apple was “already there”. Well, thank God Apple didn’t go there; if I had to look at and listen to that little bowtie-wearing dork in the video every day I’d stop using computers altogether. He’s more annoying than “Microsoft Bob” or “Clippy”. Well, maybe not Clippy. And just one last thought (swiped from Microsoft’s grinning robots or the Brotherhood of the Mac. Which is worse? ) to all you Mac-fixated zombies out there who are going to claim in advance that the Courier couldn’t possibly compare to a Mac Tablet: “Go back to your house. I know, you’ve got an iHouse. The walls are brushed aluminum. There’s a glowing Apple logo on the roof. And you love it there. You absolute MONSTER.” Read the rest of this entry »

Procrastination Is Like Masturbation*

[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 3, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture

Saturday, October 3rd, 2009

It feels fine while you’re doing it, but in the end you realize you just effed yourself.

Help. I’ve recently become the person I detest: a Procrastinator. Generally, I’m one of the more organized, productive, and on-schedule people you’ll meet. I like feeling peaceful, and I feel peaceful when things are complete and in order. Feeling on top of things also keeps one ready to accept new opportunities, and to me, that’s what life is all about. New experience, learning, and growth. So how, oh how and why did this happen to me? Well, as a friend pointed out recently, when it comes to procrastination, “why” is over-rated. The fact is, the problem is immediately solved by simply DOING things. Duh. But if you’re having trouble getting out of the weeds, it might help to know why. This Psychology Today piece explains a lot of things about procrastinators, including the three basic types: “Arousal Types”, who wait ’til the last minute for the euphoric rush. “Avoider Types”, who may be avoiding fear of failure or even fear of success, and “Decisional Types”, who avoid making a decision to absolve themselves of responsibility for the outcome. I in fact have had a more neurotic version recently, which combines the Arousal and Avoider types with social/media overload and a devious unconscious plot to undermine my self-esteem. I know better than to excessively try to multitask (check out this NPR piece if you think you’re good at it), but it’s almost unavoidable with today’s prevalence of texting, voice phones, Facebook, e-mail, and real life. One thing I didn’t know though, was that multitasking is actually muddling and generally wrecking our brains. Also worthy of note is that strangely, Read the rest of this entry »

Getting Men Involved In Breast Cancer Awareness Month: SAVE THE BOOBS!

[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 2, 2009 by admin in Holidays

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Generally, men are more concerned with women’s breasts than anybody else, so a Canadian non-profit is calling them out on it.


This is not a gratuitous use of breast
imagery. Watch the video below.

Who couldn’t love breasts? They’re beautiful, functional, and plentiful (if you count manboobs, more than half the human race has them). That’s why we should all do our part to (ahem) support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The Canadian organization Rethink Breast Cancer is taking the mildly edgy approach of finally calling men out on this one. Men: if you love breasts so much, Save The Boobs! While cancer is no laughing matter, it’s nice to see there are people out there who can care with a sense of humor. On a more serious note though, when you make decisions about exactly how to support breast cancer treatment and awareness, remember that simply buying pink breast cancer awareness products isn’t necessarily a positive move. Not only do many large companies engage in pinkwashing, but the money you donate doesn’t always end up where you think it will. Stick to obviously credible organizations like the National Breast Cancer Foundation or American Cancer Society, and maybe take a look at Health.com’s Where the Money Goes: A Breast Cancer Donation Guide. We’ll be doing our best to keep you abreast of further developments throughout the month. Read the rest of this entry »

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