Archive for August, 2010
« Older Entries | Newer Entries »269 Reasons Why Wyclef Shouldn’t Run For President Of Haiti
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 6, 2010 by admin in Politics
Friday, August 6th, 2010Someone needs to tell Wyclef that Autotune doesn’t work on countries.
 Reason 269: This Hat |
How about every second of this video, which is basically an advertisement for a company that among other things tries to screw its own artists and sue its customers, and features the aging white master of third world exploitation famous for screwing pretty much every artist involved in the making of Graceland. Or maybe reason #268, which is that he may not qualify as a candidate anyway. I say this all in jest of course – who knows, maybe Wyclef as the president of Haiti is a great idea. Maybe the devastated island nation would actually benefit somehow from the excessive use of autotune. But joking aside, Wyclef as president of any nation sounds like a bad idea to me for the same reason that Bono, Bob Geldof, or Peter Gabriel as a nation’s leader sounds like a bad idea. No matter how much one may admire the artist or their philanthropic activities, they are still – at their core – people who made their living shilling corporate products in one of the most greed-driven and image conscious industries on the planet. What do YOU think? Is Wyclef as president a good idea? Read the rest of this entry »
Public Transit Gets Personal
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 5, 2010 by admin in Clean & Green
Thursday, August 5th, 2010Would you trade your car for this kind of personalized point to point mass transit?
 Okay. Maybe they’ll have to sex up the look a little. This DOES look kind of like an external hard drive for your Mac. |
As someone who for most of his adult life has thought of the personal automobile as one of the stupidest inventions in the history of mankind, I’m always looking for a convincing alternative to present to my oil-addicted car owner friends. It doesn’t help when clever Chinese engineers come up with creative but ultimately nutty ideas like huge rail-dependent “straddle buses” that cars can drive under (video below). And while the Commutapult is one creative idea for personal rapid transit, it’s perhaps a bit too rapid. Even if they do provide a stabilizer for your latte, as pictured here. In spite of the humor of that concept, the fact is that Personal Rapid Transit is probably the smartest, most viable idea out there that has any hope of replacing the automobile, or in some cases – like with the Synchrotrain concept – partially replacing it, while incorporating a sensible way for cars to ride piggyback. Personal Rapid Transit concepts are probably the only mass-transit ideas that have any hope of addressing that one big obstacle to public acceptance, i.e.: our ego-driven need to go where we want, when we want. There are a number of systems in various stages of planning and construction, and two systems actually in or near operation, one at Heathrow Airport and one in Morgantown, West Virginia. There are also arguments against the viability of these systems, but it seems fairly obvious to me that most who oppose the idea vehemently overlook what recent technology and innovative thinking can bring to the mix. What do you think? Would you give up your car to ride these things? Videos of various concepts below. Read the rest of this entry »
I M-M-M-M-Miss Max Headroom
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 4, 2010 by admin in Popular Media
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010But that’s okay. He’ll be back August 10th on DVD. Max Headroom rarely gets the credit he deserves for predicting soundbyte-driven talking heads like Glenn Beck or Keith Olbermann. Or for pretty much creating Jim Carey’s shtick.
You Biatch! You Stoleded My Link!*
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on August 3, 2010 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010Ever get a weird possessive feeling about the links you share? Me too. That’s because they’re ALL MINE. I just haven’t been sharing them. Help me name our new weekly “link dump” column.
I get depressed sometimes when I realize that my life is just a bunch of web links strung together with occasional real-life discussion, but mostly just connected by written commentary and link sharing on Facebook. It gets REALLY depressing when I find myself having an emotional response to someone sharing a link on their Facebook “wall” without crediting me, as if somehow it was MY link. Or if they get more comments in spite of posting it when it’s already a week old. “Stupid link sharing friend! I shared that link LAST WEEK!” This is one of the unfortunate side effects of maintaining a site like Dissociated Press. As I said to a friend once: “The Internet. I have seen it“. Out of the literally dozens of sources I comb regularly to bring you interesting stuff, I OMIT infinitely more than I share, because, well, they’re JUST LINKS. So I’ve finally decided to put this wasted pile of weekly links to use, with a regular “link dump” section. I just need a name for this new section on the site. “Linkdump” somehow doesn’t sound like something that would generate enthusiastic user engagement. So if you have an idea for a name, feel free to share. But enough delaying. On with delinking! Read the rest of this entry »
Lady Sovereign May Be Short, But Not On Sass & Raw Talent
[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 2, 2010 by admin in Music
Monday, August 2nd, 2010Never mind all the “British teenage lesbian rapper picked up by Def Jam” spin, and ignore her non-existent PR skills. Just have some fun with her tightly-produced Garage Grime.
Even though she’s been releasing material since 2004, you may have overlooked UK MC Lady Sovereign. That would be easy, she’s only 5’1″, a fact that she apparently has no discomfort with; her label is an EMI subsidiary called Midget Records. And while we’re at it, let’s get all the white British teenage lesbian rapper crap out of the way first thing. And don’t worry about her opinions on life either. Lady Sov probably needs a publicist or should let herself remain mysterious. She doesn’t work so well in an interview setting, so do yourself a favor and don’t bother watching or reading any interviews. Just listen to the music. She sort of proved her chops in 2005 anyway, when Jay-Z asked her for one on-the-spot freestyle before offering her a contract with Def Jam. Her 2006 release Public Warning was mostly synth and Eminem-style speed rap driven, but was punctuated with the occasional treated guitar or MIA-like whoops. 2009′s Jigsaw showed some maturing in her presentation; she almost kind of sings here and there, and comes across a little less like some punk out to prove herself. There’s still plenty of naivete, but that’s part of what makes it work. Lady Sovereign fills in a strange space between Die Antwoord, Robyn, MIA, Lily Allen, and Eminem, and if she manages to keep it together – she’s apparently a bit of a party monster – could turn out to be someone to keep an eye on. Vids below. Read the rest of this entry »