!!!, Doug Fir, 8/29/08

For those of you who slept on Myth Takes because you couldn't figure out how to search for Chk Chk Chk in Soulseek: this is your last warning. A year later and that record is still the jam. And the material is even better live with the accompaniment of Nic Offer's infectious booty-shaking.

I don't know that many republicans

but these people look like gopers to me. white trash ones. look at that kid on the left. she's saying, 'waaa i want more chicken and waffles!' and cindy the cripple on the right. yikes.

Thinking back to the projects...

I love how all the speeches so far at the Democratic National Convention reduce the South Side of Chicago to some generic representation of the economic woes befalling America.

"He chose to go to Chicago. The South Side. There he met men and women who had lost their jobs. Their neighborhood was devastated when the local steel plant closed. Their dreams deferred. Their dignity shattered. Their self-esteem gone."

As if the 1993 closing of South Works was the principal problem plaguing Hyde Park.

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If you haven't seen it, it's new to you

Old and long, but funny.

Anything besides tennis balls come in a three pack?

Three blogs I find humorous most of the time.

Cake Wrecks

Toothpaste for Dinner

Indexed

Enjoy.

LeBron James was eight years old

and iPods didnt exist. Neither did Dancing With The Stars. Was the world a better place?

Exclusive: Cindy McCain Not Unbreakable

2004

2007

2008

?

Indoor Swimming at the Space Station

That 400-meter swimming relay was something else.

On a side note, I love how Guitar Hero has become the humanizing bridge in Olympic coverage between athlete and viewer.

"Sure Michael Phelps has a grueling workout schedule and consumes 10,000 calories a day and leads a myopically driven solitary life, but he plays Guitar Hero, just like you!"

Games Mark Should Be Playing II

It's like Puzzle Quest. But for the iPhone. And did I mention it's free?

This is the first game that had me seriously question Nintendo's future as the dominant force in the portable game market.

A thought about genius...

If I were a genius, I could invent a computer that didn't break.

Of course, if I was really a genius, I would invent a computer that breaks.

Do You Shuffle?

I used to hate the shuffle function on my ipod.

I would imagine there are many others who use shuffle way more than I do, but I must admit I have enjoyed "shuffle all songs" on my ipod recently. See, right around finals last semester my car decided it didn't really like third gear and it just wasn't going to let me use it anymore. Or, more accurately, if I tried to use it such an attempt would be protested loudly and violently. I had recently acquired a 1980's era road bike and, since summer was upon me, and I was feeling a certain combination of environmental consciousness, anti-establishment rebellion, and bank account emptiness, I decided I would forgo fixing the Jeep and use my legs and pedals (and public transit) to get around until I got too sick of it, or it got too cold.

There's a lot more I could say about biking in SLC, but I guess that's a different post. . . . The point is there are times, especially when I'm riding my bike, that I like to shuffle. (Always with only the right ear bud in, which is a loss for stereo, but a gain for safety.) I like not knowing what song is coming next. I like being surprised by the quality of a track that I had overlooked or forgotten about. I even like the variety of hearing a different artist for every song.

There are, of course, trade-offs. Shuffle feels lazy and indecisive to me. Worse, if a song comes on that I don't want to listen to I can't just change it while I'm riding. There is something more satisfying to me about the experience of listening to an album from start to finish. (But is it the right time to appreciate your music when you're trying to navigate the awful potholes of Utah roads and dodge oblivious Utah drivers?)

Anyway, as I've had a bit of a change of heart on this subject I've wondered where others come down in the debate to shuffle or not to shuffle. So do you?

He rides across the nation, The thoroughbred of sin

In case you haven't seen it... Joss Whedon has created another brilliant musical. Of course, this one uses entirely new characters and is a wholly online "show." And stars Neil Patrick Harris (gotta love that Doogie) and Nathan Fillion.

Although the New York Times, perhaps predictably, argues that this show isn't going to change the world. (We'll see.) There is that Whedon creativity that defies your expectations enough to make you think, "Wow."

The three acts of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog were put up on the web over a week. But now you can watch the whole thing on hulu.com. You should watch it as soon as you can.

Your retro career melted, indeed.

Hello The Faint. It's me.

I know you are performing tonight in Portland, but I just don't have the heart to go anymore.

I have already seen you twice now in as many years. On the same tour. Promoting the same interminably inchoate songs.

Sure dancing to Blank-Wave Arcade and Danse Macabre songs is a blast. And "Paranoiattack" is pretty banging (although I never understood why "Desperate Guys" received the most applause).

But the new songs are bad. Like "Birth" bad.

The first time I heard them live was vaguely tolerable because I could pretend they were works in progress. The second time had me increasingly worried.

But now that your new album is out with its terrible, terrible spelling, my worst fears have come true. Even a Digital Ash in a Digital Urn followup would have been preferable because I would have at least had somebody else to blame.

Please take a moment to consider the following song titles: "Forever Growing Centipedes" and "Fish In A Womb". This should have been some clue you were barking up the wrong lyrical tree.

Seriously though. No hard feelings. I just can no longer support and encourage you while you make poor music choices.

Scene from a North Carolina airport.

Unfortunately, the sign neglected to mention that the server could only allow 150 connections at any given time.

And that all 150 of those connections were constantly being used by the surrounding trailer park.