It's the new drive-in

I know, I know - two posts in one day - try to contain your excitement. But the topics are sufficiently different to merit separate headings.

Yesterday I went to Blockbuster Video - the first time I have gone to a video rental store in almost two years. Since I subscribed to Netflix, I really haven't rented any videos that weren't mailed to me. Besides the fact that they completely changed their rate structure, I was really taken by the fact that they were now renting a ton of DVDs of films that never saw a theatrical release. And not just a few sprinkled in here and there. I mean a large percentage of their titles were direct to video - mostly cheaply made horror and action films. Wow. I had no idea such idea such fine films even existed. I'm blanking on most of the titles, unfortunately. People must rent them, though.

The thing is, some of these films really do make it to the theaters. Like "The Condemned" (an adrenaline charged action-thriller!). Or who could forget "DOA: Dead or Alive" (it's based on a video game AND it's got chicks with swords - how can you go wrong?). Seriously, though, for each of this type of movie there were probably two that had never made it to the multiplex. It's like a whole new world of schlok I was unaware of.

Number What?

I don't usually follow college football too closely, but my grad alma mater Illinois upset the number one team in the country (Ohio State) yesterday afternoon. Which is pretty awesome. But apparently the Illini quarterback is a guy with the name Juice Williams. Uh oh. We all know what happened to the last football star named Juice.

Hooray for OCA!

The Open Content Alliance is getting some ink in the New York Times. Score one for actual open access to information!

Head made of Radios

I'm currently downloading the pay-what-you-want new album from Radiohead. I think their decision to distribute their album themselves, on their own website, for a user-chosen price is a fascinating idea. There have been complaints about the less-than-CD-quality audio compression of the download. I'm not sure this will make a difference. There is as yet no perfect solution for digital music distribution, where everyone walks away happy - and I mean everyone. A model where bands and labels make some money, and consumers don't feel ripped off? Pie in the sky, at this point. Labels aren't (and probably won't be) content with making just some money, and as for us consumers, well...

I can only speak for myself. I'm still willing to pay for music, but only up to a point. If you must know, I chose to pay four pounds for the album download. A fee of 45 pence was tacked on (credit card companies have to take their cut, of course) - that converts to just over $9 total. Which is about as much as new CDs should cost. I think $8-10 for a new CD is ideal. Why is the actual cost twice that much?

Of course, there's the question of whether the music is any good in the first place. I'll know in about 10 more minutes.

Get over it

I don't know if you guys read Tom Friedman's columns in the New York Times. I agree with much of what he has to say, even though a lot of people on the left like to trash him for his allegedly pro-outsourcing, pro-globalization, pro-seal-clubbing book "The World Is Flat" (I haven't read the book, so I can't say for sure what his stance is on seal clubbing). But his latest column really made me want to stand up and cheer. Jeez. Let's not lose sight of what we're all about. Bad stuff happens to good people sometimes. It's no reason to go Rambo.

What are you smiling about?

Tomorrow is allegedly the 25th birthday of the ASCII smiley-face. When I read about this I initially scoffed, but the story of its birth is actually pretty interesting. The idea was to communicate attempted humor/sarcasm to prevent other nerds from responding to your BBS post with diatribes. So the smiley face really did benefit society. And aren't you glad this

:-)

Won out over this?

\__/

That second one just looks like a soup bowl.

I really did learn something there

Did you know that Cornell is one of only about a dozen universities and colleges that still requires students to pass a swimming test? It's true!

I honestly can't remember taking a swim test there, but since it happens during orientation week, I very well may have been pushed or hurled into standing water. Since I got back out, they allowed me to stay and complete my degree.

Spend your hard-earned pesos

It's not often I endorse products. Not after the Roman's Polka-Dancing Shoes debacle of 1999. But I encourage you to check this out: Hip Hop Hoodios has released an EP called "Viva La Guantanamera" - if you plunk down your dough for a download (it's a digital only EP), they'll donate part of the proceeds to Amnesty International's Guantanamo Bay prisoners fund.

You can find this EP available for download at iTunes (boo!), eMusic (yay!), and Rhapsody (huh?). You can also buy it through something called Calabash Music (what the...?)

DO IT!

Making the most of summer vacay

A while back I thought I would put in for three days of vacation in early August. Then I forgot all about it until last week. So I had to find something to do. I spent last weekend visiting my family and my baby niece, who is a little bit bigger and a lot more animated then when I last saw her. I also went down to New York to hang out on Monday and Tuesday of this week. At the Upright Citizens Brigade theater on Monday night, there was a free late stand-up show. The headliner: Demetri Martin, who is great. It was a treat to see him, even if he was just trying out new material at a free late night show, and not clad all in white and playing the guitar.

Nature is way cool

On the drive in to work this morning, I spotted what looked to be a mink hopping around off to the side of the road near a marshy area. At least I think it was a mink - some sort of semiaquatic mustelid, at least. Sadly, I couldn't snap any photos, having only my cameraphone and driving with other cars behind me. RIT's campus is very near the Genesee River, and parts of it used to be wetland. Anyways, I thought it was cool and I'm sharing this mundane detail with you - now he's blogging!

We need to get better

In an attempt to escape the heat last night, I went to see Michael Moore's new movie. OK, so let me start with the usual Moore disclaimers: yes, the end of the film is a big stage-y set piece that's probably the weakest and most egotistical part of the movie, but overall Mike's message is loud and clear. And really, I didn't need much more persuading. Our health care system is tremendously dysfunctional, and we need to do something to bring it in line with that of every other industrialized nation's. Call me a liberal; I don't care. This issue transcends all partisan labels (or ought to), because for the vast majority of us, it's our own personal security and well-being that is on the line.

But I was most struck by something Mike said in the voiceover about 3/4 of the way through the film: what kind of people are we? Obviously he is trying to convince his viewers that we deserve better (not hating on America, as his critics will no doubt claim). Of course, we all can ask ourselves that same question and even answer it, to an extent. Americans are good people, among the best anywhere. We're good people with a bad government. Not a bad system of government, an actual bad, reckless, pathological government - and unfortunately, those assholes represent us to the rest of the world right now. There's a lot of healing, rehabilitation and recovery that needs to happen within our government before anything will change in the health care system. We need to elect a healthy government, for starters.

What have I done?

You know me - I rarely make impulse purchases, being a good practical guy. But today while in Target I bought The Yellow Album, a CD of songs from Spongebob Squarepants cartoons. Yeah. Explain that one. I think the heat and humidity are frying my brain. Target did not have either the new Wilco or the new White Stripes album, so I guess I just didn't want to go home empty-handed (or with something more than dish soap and cat litter, at least).

But it does have the Ripped Pants song on it!

Controlled destruction

How did I spend my mid-week, rainy Independence Day holiday, you ask? Two words:

Mythbusters. Marathon.

My initial plan was to grill up a nice steak, too, but the weather precluded that. Plan B involved going back to Wegmans and purchasing some hot dogs, which can easily be cooked until charred and blistered on the stove top.

Happy 231st birthday, America. You don't look a day over 112 (mostly because we seem to have returned to Gilded Age style politics).

Don't believe the propaganda

We're not all this weak-willed.

One time I broke a book just to hear it snap.

Welcome Hailey

Well, here she is - my niece Hailey was born on Thursday, June 14. I got the chance to drop by and introduce myself a day later. We're all very happy to have a new family member! Babies, cats - what else could I possibly post photos of to cheese up this place even more?

Ugly American alert!

HAY CANADA I'M IN UR BASEBALL STADIUM WATCHIN UR GAMES

I just returned from my lengthy and driving-intensive vacation (want to buy me some carbon offsets?). Here I am in Toronto checking out a Blue Jays game. I also spent time on Memorial Day in Boston, catching up with some friends from library school who promised they would read my blog. I also attended one of three weddings I've been invited to last weekend, so let me issue a blanket statement wishing everyone a life full of happiness and ridiculous friends like me. That should cover all bases - hey, that ties things together nicely.

Happy 300th birthday Linnaeus

From Wired:

"Biological classification may seem like an esoteric problem better left to librarians than field researchers"

Hey, I have training in both areas - pick me! Pick me!

It is a cruel irony

Watch this video (it's also up on YouTube if you don't want to download it) about copyright and fair use. It's brilliant, funny, and sticks it to Disney (who richly deserves it for getting copyright-paranoid in the first place).

Well, that takes some of the sting out of the Sabres' loss.

GAAAHH!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Ah, that clean mountain air

I visited the Adirondacks for hangouts with friends this past weekend, and had a great time. Not least because the weather was near perfect, and I got to snap some purty pictures like the one shown above (that one was taken just west of Saranac Lake).

Incidentally, I've posted this picture not just because it came out rather nice, but because I also wanted to inform you that I've set up a Flickr account, which I've begun to mess around with. I still have the Picasa Web Albums going (see links area to the right), but it's so much easier to link to photos hosted on Flickr. There are good things about Picasa too, though. Hmm, Flickr is run by Yahoo, while Picasa is a Google product. Yahoo vs. Google.

They will fight eternally.