Archive for 2009

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RockMelt: A New Browser? A Planet Vaporizing Death Ray?

[ 3 Comments ]Posted on August 18, 2009 by admin in Technology

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

I know the answer, but if I told you, I’d have to kill you.

The mysterious new startup RockMelt is creating more of a subdued hum than an actual buzz with their mysterious press leakage. Is it a browser? A social networking tool? A planet-vaporizing death ray? The most informed guess so far is that it’s an all new browser built from the ground up to more effectively take advantage of social networking and the social web. The fact that Marc Andreessen (creator of Netscape Navigator) has invested in the company has fueled speculation that it’s some kind of all-around Firefox/Google Chrome/IE Killer. But why would Andreessen back a new browser, especially in light of remarks like those of Xoogler-turned-venture capitalist Salman Ullah (say that name out loud for a good laugh) in this Esquire piece a while back in which, when told that the next pitch he was going to hear was for a browser, he said “Tell them to go fuck themselves…what value do I get as an end user? Why would I install a new browser?” Well, there’s a lot of quiet speculation that it’s just an irrational expression of Andreessen’s frustration with ultimately losing the Browser Wars to the Evil Forces In Redmond. But if the anger is directed at Microsoft, Google, or Mozilla, why does the RockMelt logo so closely resemble an exploding-Earth version of the .Mac logo? Read the rest of this entry »

New Release From Swiss Band Yello Due October 2, 2009

[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 17, 2009 by admin in Music

Monday, August 17th, 2009

You may know of them because of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Twix commercials, but Yello has been around since the late 70′s.

Some of you may only know of the band Yello from the use of their song Oh Yeah (original video below) in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Twix commercials, but the duo has been churning out innovative music since the late 70′s, and have gleefully prostituted themselves more than Moby during that time (see a long list of placements here) You might think you’ll know what to expect when you throw on a recording by a Swiss band comprised of two guys named Dieter and Boris, but the band Yello has always managed to skirt expectation just enough to keep their sample-based sound fresh over nearly three decades. Part of the reason their music holds up is that although they use sampling extensively, they don’t sample other people’s music, they sample their own and edit it into elaborate compositions. They also maintain production values on par with say, Trevor Horn or Quincy Jones, and program with the sophistication of Kraftwerk. I personally can’t wait to hear their new collection “Touch”, slated for release October 2, but I guess I’ll have to; although the track “You Better Hide” will premiere in the Swiss science fiction movie Cargo (see an early look at the movie here if you speak Swiss) on September 24th, there are otherwise no pre-releases or leaks available as of this writing. For more interesting background on Yello, visit their refreshingly functional Flash-driven site or Planet Origo.  A new Yello release? O-o-o-o-h Yeah…. Read the rest of this entry »

What Would Jesus Do About Health Care In America?

[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 16, 2009 by admin in Politics

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

And when will the Democratic Party learn that it’s not about principles, it’s about media control?


See More At Jesus’ General

The answer to that will probably remain open to speculation. If you don’t believe in Jesus, you’ll probably say “Nothing. He’s dead, if he ever existed“. If you do believe in Jesus though, I’d hazard to guess that you’d agree that he’d say something like “Let’s stop all these wars and heal some sick people with the money we save“, unlike the Christian Right (Why do they call them that anyway? They never are.) which continues to believe in torture and war while attacking the idea of saving lives. On a more personal and practical level though, I’d like to address this Obama fellow, and his handling of the continued irrational ranting of the far right. Hey White House staff! Did you learn NOTHING from the last eight years? Somebody let me at that Napoleonic twit Rahm Emanuel. I’ll kick his midget ass six ways to Sunday and start a new media blitz where the White House DOESN’T moronically defend itself from the psychotic ramblings of a bunch of health and insurance industry funded astroturfers. FRAME THE DEBATE Mr. Obama. Don’t even directly address the idiocy that extreme conservatives and the health/insurance industries spew. Keep talking about change, and MAKE IT HAPPEN. If you keep up the ignorant and ineffective tendency to chomp on every piece of insane spin-bait they throw your way, your agenda remains doomed. Which I wouldn’t mind, except I thought when I voted you guys in that your agenda had something to do with our agenda. I also thought you were smarter than this. Is it too late to take my vote back? Unfortunately, this is not a battle over principles, it’s a battle over the media, and the current administration is losing. Routinely. C’mon you guys, you’re smarter than this. President Obama has more intelligence in his pinky than a county full of red state values voters. Let it show.

No Need To Get Graphic

[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 15, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Or is there? These handy infographics of Aircrashes and dead Twitter users could save your life and your time.


Statistics Of The “Social Media Revolution”

If you want to die on your next flight, take an Aeroflot DC-9 from the United States to Russia in August, and make sure to get a seat in First Class. At least that’s what this interesting chart suggests. Sometimes an infographic can say so much more than words, which makes the fact that I’m writing about it a little ironic (see infographic below). As I’ve pointed out before, 78.6% of all statistics mentioned in casual conversation are inaccurate. But I still find infographics and flowcharts fascinating. How else could you really wrap your mind around what a million dollars looks like ? This set of graphics, for instance, speaks volumes about how projects really evolve, and in a way that almost every guilty party involved would probably find amusing. And in spite of all the hype about Twitter (including the info in the clip at left) this set of graphics quickly puts things in perspective. The GOP/Dem debates about war and health care that I recently mentioned in this piece can also be summed up more quickly with two photos and some simple copy. What I’d really find interesting though, is if someone made an interactive graphic of how people from a broad set of  demographics use their time throught the day. Oh wait. Never mind. Have any interesting infographics of your own to share? Read the rest of this entry »

Growing Up In England Must Be Creepy

[ 2 Comments ]Posted on August 14, 2009 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Which is why you should Always Keep Ahold of Nurse, For Fear of Finding Something Worse


The Girl Who Didnt Dress Bright

The unpleasant treatment of children in Dickensian tales is almost understandable; the stories were written in times that were, well, Dickensian. But what is it about British culture that warrants morbid PSA’s with dead children, and inspires entire Pink Floyd double albums with songs like We Don’t Need No Education? Or more recently, the Tales of the Road children’s safety campaign  created by the Leo Burnett agency. If you’re a fan of Tim Burton you’ll love the ads; they seem to be based on a weird amalgam of the “Big Eye” art of Margaret Keane, the poetry of Hilaire Belloc, and the macabre tone of Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies. My favorite is probably The Girl Who Didnt Dress Bright, perhaps more for the name than anything else. You can see the rest on the UK Department for Transport’s YouTube channel, and on their main web site you can even play brutal hit and run games like Make Me Cross. And remember: No pudding ’til you’ve eaten your meat. Read the rest of this entry »

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