Popped Hip

A New Blog

2008-05-02T12:58:00.003-05:00

Hey there,

It's probably pretty clear, given the lack of posting over the last 12 months, that I'm not as dedicated to Popped Hip as I once was.

Because of this, I started a new blog. It's called Two Notes Ahead, and you can find it over at http://twonotesahead.wordpress.com. I'm blogging about the future of the music business, a topic about which I can bring you both news-related posts and insight.

Please click over; I really think you'll enjoy it!

Thanks, and all the best.

What Do I Care About, And Why Should You?

2007-11-12T02:51:00.000-05:00

I care about my family. I care about my friends. I care about myself.

I care about my grades. I care about the Lit. I care about the Follies. I care about everything else I do at school.

I care about complete strangers being mistreated; in wartorn foreign countries and on your local street corner.

But most of all, I care about music. It's one of those very few things in this world that has the power to change a person, a "scene", and the global climate -- all at once. It's an art form that, used properly, has shown itself to transcend minor personal quarrels and major societal issues. It has such immense power to heal, and we should all think deeply about how to use it right.

I see where music is going. I try, fail, and try again to develop new models that will help people create new music, sell what they have, and share their interests. I've discovered the first step.

You should care about music because it hasn't reached its full potential yet... And I'm the guy to get it there. Help me help the world.

Aidan Nulman says I Care.

I Just Got Back

2007-08-12T03:40:00.001-05:00

From Wolfe Island Music Fest. After a late start to the day (and missing a number of the opening bands), I literally just stepped out of the car after a 2 and a half hour drive back to Toronto from Kingston.

All of the acts I managed to catch were awesome. Seriously, the lineup was solid... Walking in to witness the lovely Basia Bulat finishing her set, I got to see full acts from Born Ruffians (definitely the best surprise of the event... I had heard good things, but I was thoroughly impressed), Weeping Tile (back together for a NON-Christmas show???), Apostle of Hustle (I expected to have fun for these guys, but they almost beat out Born Ruffians for their sheer creativity and likability), and Holy Fuck (always a pleasure to see live, especially when they're just jamming for the majority of the set... their last song worked SO well).

Meanwhile, the reason why I'm posting this (and it's probably quite incoherent, as my eyes/mind/fingers are beginning to falter more rapidly with each passing second) is because of Wolf Parade. I know that they've more or less fallen off the radar these past few months, especially with the successes of both Sunset Rubdown and The Handsome Furs. But what I didn't realize is that they are, in fact, still together and going strong.

For the past 10 months, Wolf Parade has been busy writing what I'm not afraid to say is likely the best music to come from the Canadian scene. Ever. I wish I could say more, but I was just stuck at that show, jumping around, giddy like a schoolgirl, with a shit-eating grin on my face. Each new song they played was better than the last -- all culminating in a 12-minute long masterpiece to close the show (they didn't need to do that encore...) that I wouldn't have traded for This Heart's On Fire, You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son, and Modern World (three of their favourites that weren't played).

Okay, this post was significantly longer than I intended. I'm gonna go to sleep now, and I'll link things in the morning. A post about my run-in, drinking, and discussions with Craig, Franz, and Tad from The Hold Steady will be coming shortly.

I Miss Blogging

2007-07-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

And am working on a new concept/something new to do with this. More info as it comes along. Meanwhile, what have you been up to this summer? I've been:

- working full-time
- taking summer courses
- working on writing music
- organizing a couple of events for my college's Orientation
- doing student council stuff

Anyway, if you have any suggestions or words of wisdom, feel free to leave them. I love reading comments! You can also email me... I'm pretty sure my address is somewhere around here?

Mmmmm...usic

2007-06-18T07:04:00.000-05:00

I know I've been a ba-a-a-a-a-ad widdle boy when it comes to updating this baby, but I'll try harder still. Anyway, as luck will have it, I woke up early this morning -- earlier than I needed to, at least. I now have 25 minutes or so before I actually need to leave my building to get to work (I still owe you photos of the new room...), so I'm going to rattle off a list of notable bands that I found hidden in my iTunes yesterday on the train while trying to trim the 42-odd gigabyte library.

The list shall go like this: Artist (Album) -- Three word description.

The Gun Club (Fire of Love) -- Old school rock.
The Lucksmiths (The Green Bicycle Case) -- Poppy Australian dingos.
khonnor (handwriting) -- Experimental... Still sane!
Heavenly (Heavenly vs. Satan) -- Twee's finest, re-released.
Hello Stranger (Hello Stranger) -- The new Metric?
Velcro Stars (Hiroshima's Revenge) -- Revenge = sooooo sweet.
Masked Superstar (Honey Holiday) -- Low fidelity hotness.
Hopewell (Hopewell & The Birds of Appetite) -- Not stupid psychedelia.
Woods (How To Survive In The Woods) -- Unpolished, pretty folk.
The Finches (Human Like A House) -- Powerful female folk.
el-p (I'll Sleep When You're Dead) -- Expect less? Def-Jux!

...

Oh, crap. Gotta run. I might be late after all!

I'm Back With Two Videos, Pt.2 of 2

2007-06-08T09:27:00.001-05:00

Oh man, this is a BRILLIANTLY amazing ad. Seriously, if I say any more, it gives away the punchline.

I'm glad that XXXXX thought of this; I've never seen anything this fresh for XXXXX.

I'm Back With Two Videos, Pt.1 of 2

2007-06-08T09:25:00.001-05:00

Found on Wired, while browsing at work (Yes, it's part of what I've been asked to do right now).

I heart indie rock, and awesomely amazing stories. Kudos to dimitrifrazao for making me laugh and care about Loop, an animated timbre.

Something's Coming...

2007-05-29T11:03:00.001-05:00

Soon. I promise!

1 Down, 3 To Go

2007-04-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

Apparently, daily blogging doesn't mix well with exam cramming. Who'd'a thunk it. Anyway, instead of promising to write daily in this period of HOLY CRAP-ness, I will instead write at least every day that I finish an exam.

This post comes to you care of my residence don Jordan (aka Jor-Don). Take Away Shows is a series of live, one-shot concerts in various "unusual, urban environment[s]" produced by Blogotheque.

I've checked out the Andrew Bird performances and the Arcade Fire behemoth in my post-eco-exam catharsis; I plan on watching some more during other study breaks. In any case, these two alone would make a worthy post; the idea itself is absolutely fantastic and amazingly executed. Kudos to you, Vincent Moon et al.!

Wish me luck on Psych this Wednesday...

Resurfacing, Yea Or Nay?

2007-04-16T23:07:00.000-05:00

*Hanging my head in shame*

Okay, I've been gone for the past few days. I'm sorry, I've been incredibly busy, and trust me -- it hurts knowing that I'm failing at one of my personal objectives.

Anyway, in light of this lack of postage, some interesting things I've found these past few days while almost hiding from the intar-webs:

DIABETES... CURED!
Lost in the sea of Virginia Tech (sad news) and Anna Nicole (sadly news) was this interesting item, about 14 out of 15 individuals cured of diabetes -- 11 of which are still apparently insulin-self-producing.

Interesting Art Sale
A flyer for this appeared on my desk (at work) the other day. After looking into it, I decided that it's definitely worth a post. I've never heard of picture prints being sold this way before: 100 tickets are sold to an exhibit, 100 prints are given out with the order of choice being determined essentially by raffle. Check their "Events" section for more details.

Anyway, must be off... work (and more regular postings?) tomorrow!

Farewell, Kurt Vonnegut

2007-04-12T11:35:00.000-05:00

Time to re-re-re-re-...-read Cat's Cradle and/or Slaughterhouse Five... Or anything else by Messr. V.

God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut.

Back And Sleazy

2007-04-11T23:40:00.000-05:00

I figured that, amidst all this "real" news of Belinda Stronach leaving federal politics, the Art Brut album semi-leakage, and Friday's release of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters, it may be wise to instead go with what everybody seems to be caring about these days: Anna-Anna-Anna-Anna Anna Nicole.

You know that movie that Jack and Joseph Nasser have been trying to get off the ground, all about the infamous shouldn't-be-famous celeb? Well, it seems as if they've found their star.

Willa Ford. Singer of pop hits such as 2001's "I Wanna Be Bad". Star on "Dancing With the Stars". And, obviously, former Playmate.

That's it for today. More "normal-like" posts resume demain.

Terminate Radio Silence

2007-04-10T19:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry about these past few days, everyone. My internet went down for a little and has only regained stable access now; I've also been so incredibly busy with work. Regular updates resume tomorrow, I promise.

In the meantime, if anyone has any leads as to how I can play Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego (Deluxe Edition) or Wallabee Jack and the Binga Burra Stone on my Powerbook G4 (not Intel), I will be eternally grateful. Especially the Wallabee Jack game... I can barely find any record of it even existing online.

You Can't Photoshop Your Personality, But You Can Come Pretty Darn Close

2007-04-04T23:35:00.000-05:00

The inspiration for today's title comes from one of my favourite webcomics, Diesel Sweeties. Learn it. Live it. Love it.

Australian company RelevanceNow has recently announced their newest product: software that can emulate a human personality. MyCyberTwin has both a free and premium service that allows users to input personal data and have an online avatar of their personality that can chat with friends and other web-folks.

I've created one already, and I've tested him out. MCT seems to be pretty cool, though more time than it's worth. In any case, I'll finish training it within the week (I promise! I'm crazy-busy!) and link/embed it then. In the meantime, if you're really that interested, it shouldn't be hard to find.

Speaking of crazy busy-ness, I'm aware that I haven't posted this week's TT yet. It's coming, I promise!

The Lord Works In Mysterious Ways

2007-04-03T23:54:00.000-05:00

And it appears as if this way is an evangelist YouTube knockoff.

'Nuff said.

Rock Out With Your Xbox Out

2007-04-03T23:37:00.000-05:00

I'm glad those video game peoples over at Harmonix have decided to recognize that music -- in this case, the rock genre -- is comprised of more instrumentation than solely guitar and vocals. I guess it's because of this that they have announced the production of "Rock Band", their newest project.

That's right: the makers of smash hit (and incredibly addictive) game Guitar Hero are making a new one that supports multiple instruments. Imagine the online co-op possibilities! Or collaborations with DDR for back-up support.

Now, to less nerdy endeavours.

Music And Comedy And Tech! (Oh My!)

2007-04-03T01:44:00.000-05:00

Courtesy of The Star Online. Turns out that this particular Monday isn't that slow!

1. The Flaming Lips are now producing a Broadway musical based on their epic (and absolutely fantastic. Seriously, if you haven't heard the album I'm about to name yet, crawl out from under your rock and try that monolith thing everybody's been touching) album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. This has been around the blogosphere for a little while now, but it somehow passed under my radar; in any case, it would be tragic if those evil robots win. So get out to the show when it finally arrives! (As if their live show wasn't enough of a high-budget production already)

2. As my affiliations with Just For Laughs and the comedy world are pretty deep-rooted (to say the least!), it may not surprise you that I'm particularly interested in Comedy Central's launch of the "Crash Course In Comedy" series. A number of "comedy instructional videos" have been posted already, and more are on their way.

3. Okay, so I totally ignored Steve Jobs' open letter to the recording industry a little while ago for a particular reason: even with a heavy-hitting mogul (by the way, what's with the "industry-shaker's" terribly designed bio page?) behind a cause, it ain't worth jack until the ball starts rolling. That is why I'm pleased to announce that EMI has officially lifted the DRM requirement on their music distribution through the iTunes Music Store , and will also be provided higher quality tracks for a premium. Still no Beatles, though.

Why Do These Exist? (short answer: Why do YOU exist?)

2007-04-02T02:21:00.000-05:00

Because of my preparation for the insanity of a History essay combined with some talking-with-a-friend about a problem, this post will be short, moderately non-sensical, and is 2 hours and 20 minutes late. In any case, check out these "humorous units of measurement", care of Wikipedia.

So, so useless. Yet for some reason, incredibly amusing. Notables include the Missy Elliot, the Smoot, the Millirubbia, The Hobo Power, the Helen, and the MegaFonzie.

Does it make me a bad person if I scowled at the offensiveness and existence of The Hitler, but laughed at its sheer absurdity and impracticality? Possibly. Please don't judge.

I Went To The Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

2007-03-31T23:08:00.000-05:00

Who says that the zoo is mainly a family attraction? I went to the Toronto Zoo today with a number of friends, and I had a fantastic day.

Seriously. The insane variety of the animals was amazing, the layout was expansive, but not so much that you dreaded walking from place to place, and the weather was -- albeit a tad cold -- very nice. We saw "Safari Simulators" (which I can only guess were wagons for parents to pull their kids around in), one of my friends started commenting on the "blue" favour apparent in her cotton candy, and a baby orangutan was posing for us:

But that wasn't even the best part. You see, as a child, I never really watched the Discovery Channel to actually witness what The Bloodhound Gang and Eminem sing about. Which is why today's sights have made such a lasting impression on me.

I wish I had a video (or at least a picture) of this, but I saw two Siberian Tigers about to get it on. Seriously. The guy mounted the girl, and just as my friend got her camera out, the girl showed her disinterest and knocked him off. So he walks away moaning while she rolls playfully and tiger-seductively on her back, and he ends up taking out his needs on a wooden pole. Following this, he goes to the other end of the area to sleep, and, a few minutes later, the girl gets up to sniff the pole, possibly checking out what she missed.

I'm glad he at least understood that "No Means No".

My Second Deadly Sin

2007-03-30T22:54:00.000-05:00

That's right, I fall victim to Gluttony. Though not in the contemporary sense -- while I do enjoys me some food, I'm far worse off in another category: shoes.

I have more shoes than pretty much any guy I know, and my collection rivals the best in my residence. 11 pairs currently call Whitney Hall home, plus shower shoes. I have, in no particular order, a pair of Dolce and Gabbana denim and suede shoes (previously owned by Elton John), a pair of white snakeskin Versaces (also pre-owned by the Rocket Man), a pair of yellow Adidas Mr. Happy shoes, a nice white pair of Lugz, traditional-like brown Converse (not those high-tops that are generic. The cool ones.), crazy Reebok Fireflys, two pairs of Aldo shoes (one white, one brown), brown Nike flip flops, Muckers (I don't know which kind) from Clarks for the colder weather, and the latest additions (which are the inspiration for today's New-dity): Creative Recreation "Cesario Lo"s in Premium Brown/Lime.

If you haven't heard of Creative Recreation yet, it's cool. They're a fairly recent startup that have been slowly but surely building cred. Their designs are a nice blend of traditional running shoes and other comfortable footwear with the more formal dress-shoe look. Some colour schemes are really subdued, while others -- like the one I have for my pair -- are a calm-yet-in-your-face look.

My other favourites from the CR collection: Fall's Fidels in Navy Gingham, and Spring's Cesariolo Prime in BW Herringbone.

And They Say Mail's Going The Way Of The Dinosaur

2007-03-29T23:31:00.000-05:00

Seriously, what I just discovered (see left) makes me want to write a letter right now. And mail it. To you.

Brought to you by the marketing team of the USPS: Sending the mail process even further into the future than e-mail did (it's a helluva lot better than chain)

Yay! News From Beijing!

2007-03-28T23:33:00.000-05:00

The Beijing Olympics, that is. Apparently, they're sponsoring what I think has the potential to be a really hilarious game!

Now, even I find it odd that I haven't blogged once yet regarding the "new"-ness of the Nintendo Wii or the Game Boy DS. They're both revolutionary game systems that don't play by the rules of the industry they live in. And now, with news that two of the superstars from my gaming childhood (and one of my favourite dorm-room time wasters, what with my possession of an old-school Genesis and all) are teaming up in a game that's going for gold, well...

Colour me impressed.

Tuesday's Tunes 10: Week of Mar 26

2007-03-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

Today seems to be a day of laughable releases (I'm not even joking here). Please don't buy any of these unless you have a tween child. And even then, do you really want to subject them to the torture (not to mention completely pop-culture-dictated) musical taste that are the following albums?

I'm not trying to be biased here. I'm simply being the Michael Moore to the music industry's Republican government. (Wow, that probably came out a lot more political than I intended. I am, in fact, a moderate conservative. I do believe, however, that the American Republican party's use of propaganda and false promises is terrible, which is what I was trying to imply with the previous statement.)

Good Charlotte -- Good Morning Revival

Hahahahahahaha! HA! Ha. Ha? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Wow. After lyrics like "Girls don't like boys, girls like cars and money", do they really expect us/me to take them seriously?

Macy Gray -- Big

Apparently, she has released two albums since her debut (and highly critically/commercially succesful) effort, neither of them have had much, if any, impact. Sorry, Macy, but until I hear something with the power and freshness of "I Try" again -- and yes, I really did like that song -- I'm not going to get my hopes up.

Kaiser Chiefs -- Yours Truly Angry Mob

Okay, I wasn't impressed with their debut, and AllMusic claims this to be "frustratingly mediocre". I claim this as enough evidence for my Nelson-Muntz-esque "HA HA" about this album.

Jennifer Lopez -- Como Ama Una Mujer

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Elton John -- Rocket Man: Number Ones

Apparently, this is the first single-disc "Greatest" collection of his for North America. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is close enough for me, and with the addition of Honky Chateau and (the first track from) Madman Across The Water, my collection is complete enough. Yours, however, may not be. If that's the case, do everyone a favour and pick this one up while shopping for your latest diamond-studded sports jerseys and fantastically flamboyant spectacles.

HELL WEEK!

2007-03-27T23:49:00.000-05:00

Eep! Sorry, I've been busy lately. Eco test yesterday, History presentation this morning, and Psych test this evening. Here's what I wanted to show you yesterday:

Daily Dose Of Imagery. It's a pretty sweet photo blog (thanks, Liz!), based on sights around the city I now call home. And it's really nice! And different every day! Seriously. Check it out.

Now, on to today's post...

THIS IS SUNDAY'S POST

2007-03-25T16:38:00.000-05:00

The other one is technically Sunday, but I call it a delayed Saturday. I also just realized that I never gave you those election results: I won! It was a hard fight, though... My opponent was excellent, and I find it very soothing to think that, had the results been the opposite, I would be just as confident in the future of the LCA commission as I am right now.

Anyway, here's some more mobile-like news for you: I just found out about a company (apparently decently prevalent in the US) called TellMe. They were recently bought out by Microsoft in a deal announced March 14 and effective in the "second quarter of 2007".

TellMe is an incredibly innovative company, harnessing the power of phones and modern computing to incorporate voice control into many useful applications. They power a number of 411 services, an information service (which provides you with recent stock, news, movies, or other information), and voice dialing services. The deal with Microsoft is attempting to challenge Google for dominance of the mobile search market.

I can see this as being just as heated a battle as my election, with a similar result: as much as I generally dislike Microsoft, either winning party will likely do an equally great job!

Wii All Use Phones

2007-03-25T16:26:00.000-05:00

I got back last night and figured that you'd appreciate some sort of intelligible post, not just a random word mash-up created by a moderately tipsy and fully exhausted human being. Thusly, the delay.

What I found yesterday was a really neat article on ZDNet about motion-sensors coming to wireless phones. Within all the tech-talk about accelerometers, gyroscopes, and this high-tech "Starbucks" thing that I've been hearing so much lately lies a really cool, and potentially limitless, technology.

You've seen it already in the iPhone's specs: the phone's display will rotate pictures according to the orientation of the phone in space; the display will shut itself off when the phone is lifted to your ear. Meanwhile, people are talking about including this technology to allow people to use their phones as compasses when reading directions, to stabilize the camera lenses -- increasing the quality of your 3 megapixel camera-phone's shots -- and scroll through menus by moving or tilting the phone.

My favourite feature, as useless as it is, is pretty much the most awesome thing I've ever heard of in the mobile world (keep your eyes on this post, dad): the Samsung SCH-S310, available only in Asia since 2005, allows its users to dial by literally drawing out the numbers in the air!

Friday's News

2007-03-24T02:41:00.000-05:00

Care of Saturday. Sorry about this, now that I've made up for the delayed TT, I figure I should at least post some new stuff I discovered while browsing the 'Fork today:

- Spoon has released details about their new album! Check it out on Pitchfork, there's a tracklist and some tour details. I've really got to get on Merge's mailing list...

- Does it come as any surprise to you that The Arcade Fire have been chosen to headline a part of a David Bowie-organized festival? Me neither.

- Speaking of upcoming albums, The White Stripes have officially announced some info regarding Icky Thump. Reported by Pitchfork (discovered through CMJ) and subsequently confirmed, there are now some track names, some tour info, and news about the album's instrumentation. WTF IT INCLUDES BAGPIPES WTF?

- Happy Happy Birthday To Me has a sweet lineup of bands confirmed for their upcoming limited run 7" singles club, including the likes of Of Montreal, Apples In Stereo, and Gunther (moustache and all). Fine, that last one was a joke; read more from my source. My pre-order has been submitted already, I really hope I'm within the first 150!

Okay, enough news-leeching. Tomorrow/today I'll have something not news-based for you, promise.

Tuesday's Tunes 9: Week of Mar 19 -- That One That Was Really Late

2007-03-24T01:59:00.000-05:00

As much as I hate to post this "Friday" post late, I'm at home and have had very topsy-turvy day. Blogging (and Facebook) can be so cathartic!

Here are six new releases that are (or are supposed to be) pretty sweet:

LCD Soundsystem -- Sound Of Silver

James Murphy is back with a new album. I'm definitely not a fan of the first track -- it almost put me off of SOS entirely -- but if you get past it (and it's really not all that bad), you're in for a treat. North American Scum, Us v. Them, and New York I Love You are all out of this world. As a whole, I actually like this better than the original self-titled!

Ted Leo & The Pharmacists -- Living With The Living

Chalk up disappointment #2 from Ted Leo over the past 12 months. After seeing him perform at Pitchfork, I was kind of put off. Then again, I was far away enough to not get good sound or an intense crowd around me, so that could have been it. This album, on the other hand, doesn't live up to the glory days of Hearts of Oak, the track Biomusicology (off Tyranny of Distance), or my personal favourite, Shake The Sheets.

Modest Mouse -- We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

I was kind of surprised when I heard from Justin that he didn't enjoy the album. While it's no Good News (pun semi-intended), March Into the Sea is an opening track that I appreciate even more now that my love for shanty-rock has developed via The Decemberists and The Captain & Me. Spitting Venom is also a really nice track. You can totally hear the Johnny Marr-infused sound; I (unlike some others) don't find it all that disappointing.

Andrew Bird -- Armchair Apocrypha

In the interest of brevity (and a lack of words to form a concise description of this album), Armchair Apocrypha is a fantastically written, melodic piece of work. Another "great success" from the Bird-Man.

I'm From Barcelona -- Let Me Introduce My Friends

Okay, so this one's been out for a bit. The new US version, with bonus tracks, has just come out though! In case you haven't listened to them yet, they're a really pretty-sounding indie pop band. The lyrics, unfortunately, often don't match the musical integrity of the songs.

El-P -- I'll Sleep When You're Dead

Haven't listened to this one yet, but I'm a big fan of most Def-Jux material. It's on the "to-listen" playlist, and I'm expecting more of the same. Hopefully it won't be a bad case of it!

What The Hell?

2007-03-22T19:37:00.000-05:00

As I anxiously anticipate this evening's election results, I can't help but wander over to a site that my roommate and I check occasionally to have a few laughs. And I just realized I haven't shared it with you yet!

Drinking For Two is a hilarious blog, written by "j" from Montreal, and part of the Rudius Media lineup (which features the likes of Devil Monkey and Tucker Max among its ranks). j writes random thoughts that are part Mitch Hedberg, part Seinfeldian humour. A vast majority of them are absolutely brilliant; one of my favourites deals with the horrifying air piranha.

Check this guy out, he's absolutely brilliant. In that innocent, observational kind of way. Not E = MC squared type. Though he very well might be?

Grrrr...

2007-03-21T23:29:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I've been faltering like this lately. The campaign trail, along with everything else in my life, is keeping me pretty far away from my computer these past couple of days. Things should be back to normal tomorrow evening, but may be a little wonky until I get back from my visit home this weekend.

No worries, though. I have something for you tonight; yesterday's Tuesday's Tunes will be here by the end of the week (I'd rather not rush it tonight as there are more than 5 albums I'm including). Today's find is Newmindspace.

While at a presentation earlier today, I had the pleasure of listening to Kevin Bracken speak about his creation with Lori Kufner. Newmindspace is a group that promotes "interactive public art", looking to take back public spaces in metropolitan areas and use them creatively. If you've heard of the NYC pillow fight or Toronto capture the flag events (which had cult followings and tons of participants), you've been hearing about what these guys do.

I'm really impressed with the time and effort these two put in to make our cities more vibrant, and I'm really looking forward to the next Toronto (or Montreal, for that matter) event. They've even released documents -- called Metro-Morphosis -- so that other cities can use their ideas and expertise!

That's Right. I'm A Role Model.

2007-03-19T23:15:00.000-05:00

After a few months of laughing at me and throwing a couple of cool things my way, it seems as if Justin, that best friend of mine I've referenced quite frequently, has started his own blog. Say hello to the new kid on the block (who, incidentally, is two years older than me), So Overdone.

Justin's going to be writing daily about music -- now I need to make sure that my material doesn't overlap his!

Excellent Extensions

2007-03-18T21:15:00.000-05:00

I've got two Firefox extensions for you today. One provided by my academecially-minded mother, the other from my privacy-loving roommate.

My mom recently emailed me with a useful tool for writing papers and generating citations. It appears as if Noodle Tools is going the way of the caveman with the introduction of Zotero, an extension that works as a free research tool. It will gather, organize, and scan all online research you do for a paper, as well as generate citations in what appears to (or will soon) be a number of citation styles. More importantly, they're implementing such advanced features as bibliography sharing, Microsoft Word integration, and even recommendations.

Unfortunately, most online resources (except for peer-reviewed articles, I guess) aren't accepted by my university, and thusly Zotero won't be as useful as I wish it would be. Meh, I can't have my cake and eat it too!

The second extension is far less nerdy; it's actually more of a convenient tool. For those of you who don't have Youtube accounts, or just generally accounts at sites which require non-paid registration to access some of the content, BugMeNot provides an anonymous login which allows you to access the material. No more filling out forms just to reach those "mature" videos! On Youtube, of course...

Turning Your Annual Checkup Around

2007-03-17T22:56:00.000-05:00

It seems like Reputation Defender has slowly turned my attention towards libel and misrepresentation on the internet. While scouring for some other "helpful" services like RD, I came across a complaint about RateMDs, a site where users can rate and comment on their physicians. A doctor was upset at being misrepresented on the website, but this post won't even try to enter that argument right now.

In a world which is experiencing a shortage of health care professionals, this site is a breath of fresh air. There are so many places where you can find opinions about various products (both necessary and excessive), but none (to the best of my knowledge) that allow you to research how to best take care of your most valuable "commodity", your health and livelihood.

I do, however, browse RateMDs with severe skepticism. Everyone knows that a single, highly charged experience can sway an opinion easily; the reviews here are likely subject to that as well. Instead, if I end up needing it, I plan to use it like Rate My Professors: as a roadmap to either re-inforce prior choices or to provide the foundation for further research.

In any case, enjoy!

Mmm... Busy-ness...

2007-03-17T22:44:00.000-05:00

Sorry about those two missed days. Anyway, what was new on Thursday (and technically Friday, but I digress) was the launch of my campaign for Literary & Creative Arts commissioner for my college's student council, the UC Lit. Check out two of my posters!

A.S.S.M.A.N. is the acronym for my Facebook group in support of my campaign: the Association of Students Supporting Mr. Aidan Nulman (for LCA Commissioner). Join up if you have Facebook/it allows you, and come out and vote if you're a UC student this Thursday!

If you're not able to participate in the election, I'll fill you in this Thursday evening with the results.

P.S. New post will come tonight (Saturday), but consider the other make-up post (I guess Friday's?) on its way this coming week.

No Big News

2007-03-14T23:54:00.000-05:00

StumbleUpon just opened a similar service for videos. It is (imaginatively!) called StumbleVideo. Check it out?

Tuesday's Tunes 8: Week of Mar 12

2007-03-13T18:43:00.000-05:00

I'm so sorry to come to you like this today. I read over AllMusic's new release e-mail and am only seeing one thing worth highlighting (in my opinion), and I'm not even familiar with it.

The Fratellis -- Costello Music

I only just heard about The Fratellis; a friend told me about them on Friday. I don't watch a lot of TV on TV anymore, which provides a pretty good reason why I wasn't familiar with their track Flathead (the latest iPod anthem). Flathead is an overall good song, much like the rest of the album is reputed to be (I haven't listened yet), but, to be honest, I'm not expecting much depth or replay-ability out of these guys. They are, after all, an iPod rock band, much like Jet, Steriogram, The Caesars, and The Vines were. And how often do you still listen to those guys?

I'd like to highlight the post I made last night (or, technically, earlier today) in case you haven't read it yet. It really irks me when companies, faced with criticism, respond with a red herring and expect things not to get worse. I'm already preparing for Round 3.

Reputation Defender, Round Two

2007-03-13T00:13:00.000-05:00

Here, for your enjoyment, is an email I received today from a Reputation Defender representative.

Dear Aidan,

In light of your recent posting about ReputationDefender, we wanted to
direct you to some additional information about our work, in case you’re
interested. The Washington Post recently covered an incident involving
some of our pro bono clients:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030602705_2.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030902154.html

As the articles explain, female law students’ pictures were posted,
without permission, in a “most appealing contest.” The “contest”
website linked viewers to offensive, and even threatening, threads on a
discussion board, some of which also included the women’s names and
contract information. Our clients’ requests to remove their photographs
and personal contact information were ignored and mocked on the
discussion board. Unfortunately, as this incident demonstrates, our
online reputations are not always within our control, or linked to
truth.

Thanks,

RDBlogger
Reputationdefender.com

--
RDBlogger
info@reputationdefender.com

I think I should clarify my stance on this issue: I'm in full support of people eliminating misrepresentation, slander, libel, and other attacks on their person and reputation (after all, they kind of are illegal). It seems to me as if this was the main problem highlighted in the case RD Defender so kindly brings up: photographs taken of the girl(s) by possible stalkers, incitement by board members to stalk the girl(s) further and continue taking pictures, as well as slander and defamation of the girl(s) with the claims that they had sexually transmitted diseases.

The above problems are already illegal and probably contentious enough to bring up in court. I mean, if Reputation Defender can encourage such hardline protectors of the American first amendment as the Washington Post article highlights to remove the offending posts (which they apparently have yet to do), there is surely some sort of legal ground they stand on.

What I still believe is wrong is the fact that Reputation Defender profits off of people's desire to remove these illegal postings as well as other regrettable portions of peoples' lives. Yes, I'm aware that the case was pro bono, but website administrators facing tougher laws concerning the removal of legally offensive items would also come at little to no charge. If the charge is still too much of a burden for one to take on, it can potentially be diluted through a class action suit or other more imaginative means. Moreover, we don't know how many of their other cases were pro bono, nor how many were motivated simply by a denial of one's past.

That, dear readers, is the problem I am trying to address. Not that people are being defamed, slandered, and possibly even stalked because of online postings (that's a whole other story), but instead that Reputation Defender is attempting to profit off of these cases as well as other less altruistic ones. They say it themselves on their front page: "11.5 per cent [of employers] look through social-networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Xanga for the profiles of job candidates" -- and they provide the services to find and delete unappealing cases.

They charge upwards of $9.95 per month for updated search reports, with a minimum charge of $81.35. Not to mention the $29.95 surcharge for actually destroying each item... Imagine what a little honesty, or some legal knowledge backed with tougher internet-defamation laws (or at least a precedent or two) could save you.

All The Points That Are Fit To Plot

2007-03-12T22:47:00.000-05:00

While at work today, I was asked to check out this new online service called Swivel. It's so cool, I'm upset that I had other stuff to work on that prevented me from exploring even further than I already had.

Swivel is, as the creators more or less put it, the next step for spreadsheets. Whereas programs like Excel and its wannabe clones were "word processors for data" (according to Dan Bricklin, the creator of the spreadsheet), Swivel is a "web site for data".

And oh my, it is. Currently in the preview stage, Swivel already has a variety of cool features: the abilities to input data and make your own graph, to compare one set of data to another, to add to a pre-existing data set, as well as some cool graph-customization tools. Currently, Swivel only supports publicly available information, meaning it won't keep any submitted data private. Meanwhile, they're working towards a fee-based system with which users can compare their private statistics to the freely available ones compiled in the database.

And now, for your enjoyment, one of their graphs. Check out more by clicking here.

Dress For Excess

2007-03-11T22:41:00.000-05:00

Wow. Just when I thought people couldn't be more paranoid/greedy/excessive than they already are, I come across this article on Engadget. That's right: a keyless remote-controlled cabinet lock.

I can't find the product's listing on Smallbone Devizes' website, but I've found an alternate source backing up the existence of this product. Seriously, I don't understand why anyone would pay $650 (US) to protect their cabinets.

There is no way in hell that a greedy roommate or whomever else could run up a tab amounting to $650 worth of foodstuffs without being confronted; any more valuable items that would be worth stealing should probably be kept out of the hands (or eyes) of said thiefs-to-be. Or even locked away in a cheaper -- yet still as effective -- solution.

In my opinion, this device is a terribly gaudy solution to a virtually non-existent (or at least not-worth-it) problem.

A Fantastic Film

2007-03-10T23:33:00.000-05:00

For those of you who know me well, I'm a pretty big fan of classic cinema. Show me a film noir with Lorre (and maybe Greenstreet, too) or the timeless Hollywood couple of Bogart and Bacall, a good silent film either featuring Chaplin or directed by Lubitsch, or even hilariously odd movies from the not-too-distant past like Network or How To Get Ahead In Advertising and I'll love it. I'm not usually that way with more recent releases; I tend to pick and choose the diamonds in the rough (a la Brick).

Meanwhile, I just checked out 300 today, and I really enjoyed it. I found it well-paced with fairly good acting, and the battle scenes were just fantastic. What surprised me the most, however, is how the story didn't rely primarily on the battle taking place (like another recent movie did). Instead, it was surprisingly deep, showing parts of the psychological battle between the Spartans and Lord Xerxes, the unspoken-yet-present love of the royal couple, and the slowly succesful attempt to modernize a society based on tradition.

Seriously, a really enjoyable film here. If you want the full effect of it, you may want to check it out on IMAX instead of the normal big-screen... Or even worse, a download.

Like That Bunny With The Pocketwatch

2007-03-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm late. Wanna fight about it? I went to bed super-early last night so I could wake up and snowboard today. Yes, snowboard in Ontario. It wasn't that great, but it was nice to go with friends!

Anyway, yesterday's discovery is something that I'm appalled at: a service that a friend of mine (I SWEAR) found in Cosmo. It's called Reputation Defender, and it pretty much lives up to its name, I guess. The online service scours the web for embarrassing information about/photos of you, in case a potential loved one, or (worse?) a future employer may come across it. They then take every step possible to remove it from the public, or quasi-public, domain it's in.

Reputation Defender really irks me, as I'm a firm believer in being open and honest about what's done. I mean, sure, a white lie about how close you are to a place, or even whether something looks good on a friend/loved one is one thing. When, on the other hand, you're so ashamed of an incident or a piece of information from the past that you actively seek to delete it from others' radar, I find that just a bit disturbing.

After all, a great way to get to know someone is by learning what they've done in the past, and how they've grown and matured since then. Reputation Defender just removes all of this learning opportunity and instead replaces it with a false ideal of who someone really is.

If it's going to be important for one's future, it's probably bound to come up sooner or later, online service or not.

A Quick Note On Bluenotes

2007-03-08T20:37:00.000-05:00

Not to take away from my prior post, but today's official "new" thing is an issue that was brought to my attention by a friend reading The Varsity, U of T's student newspaper.

Approximately one month ago, Bluenotes took the slogan for the CFS' (Canadian Federation of Students) widely known (at least among students) "No Means No" anti-date rape campaign and bastardized it into a highly offensive t-shirt. The Bluenotes shirt in question, instead of proclaiming "NO MEANS NO", had writing across the front saying "NO MEANS aNOther drink".

Now, obviously, the CFS was angry about this; not only did it rip off the copyright (albeit in terms of "parody") for the program's logo, but it also promoted the dangerous behaviour they are trying so hard to prevent.

Luckily, Bluenotes' president, Michael Roden, quickly apologized when this was made a public issue. More importantly, he offered to have Bluenotes assist the CFS in re-designing the program's logo, and to sell CFS approved "No Means No" shirts in Bluenotes stores across Canada with proceeds going to women's charities.

An example of new gone bad -- gone good.

CollaboWrite!

2007-03-08T20:08:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the lack of postage yesterday. I meant to be self-indulgent and write about the new thing I launched, but instead got sidetracked by a calculus assignment that kept me up until 8:30 this morning. Anyway, here's what I wanted to talk about yesterday:

I just started up this program for my college called CollaboWrite, and I think it's pretty cool (not to, you know, toot my own horn or anything). At its heart is a collaborative writing project, where fellow students can continue a long-form narrative that has been worked on by their peers. What makes it "bigger" than the one story is its inclusiveness.

Instead of providing a service for only those who wish to write a linear story, I've ensured the availability of two separate binders: one for shorter writing pieces (filled with loose leaf paper), and the other for anything else that can be done with a pen on a piece of paper (filled with white paper). Moreover, its use isn't restricted to University College alone; anyone at U of T can participate at no cost.

Also, if this quarter-semester's pilot run is even moderately succesful, it's my goal to use the inclusivity and variety of the pieces in order to publish a book -- at no profit to be made to my student government, the UC Lit, who sponsors the program -- through Lulu.com.

Tell me what you think! And if you're on Facebook, join the group!

Tuesday's Tunes 7: Week of Mar 5

2007-03-06T23:36:00.000-05:00

Lucky you! Double-postage this Tuesday. Here are some new releases of note this week (and there are quite a few):

Arcade Fire -- Neon Bible

Oh man. I totally blogged about this as soon as it leaked -- and even prior! I'm so glad this is finally out; I'm going to wait until I see them again this May to pick up the CD, or I may just pick it up on vinyl if Rotate This manages to hold a copy long enough for me to get there. In spite of the album meant to be heard as a whole (and in fact being greater than the sum of its parts), notable tracks include Keep The Car Running, Intervention, and (Antichrist Television Blues) -- yes, parentheses included.

Air -- Pocket Symphony

Much more mellow than Talkie Walkie, their last release, Air's latest offering is possibly their best since Moon Safari. Reaching what may actually be the happy balance between experimental and accessible, Pocket Symphony has pleased not only my ears, but many of my friends' and acquaintances' ears among others. It's too bad I've been discovering (see bottom) so many other new bands; this would have otherwise had more than the three plays I've given it thus far.

!!! -- Myth Takes

After only hearing of !!! recently (through Stereogum, in fact), I was incredibly pleased with Myth Takes. It's really hard to peg these guys down; genres that come to mind are pop, punk, electro, experimental, mild avant-garde, and rock. I mean, sure, you can call them "experimental electro pop-punk", but it really doesn't do !!! justice. Whatever they are to you, this album is really good.

Apostle Of Hustle -- National Anthem Of Nowhere

I mentioned this a little while ago, but now that it's been widely released, I feel like such a great Canadian indie rock album deserves another plug.

The Stooges -- The Weirdness

I haven't heard this one yet, but I feel as if it's my duty to pass on and reformulate what's being said about it: Iggy Pop was great in his day, but this album sullies the reputation The Stooges had made for themselves in the heyday of '70s punk. Sorry, Big I.

As I mentioned above, I feel as if I should quickly mention a few bands that have been distracting me lately. If they continue to do so, I may just write a longer post! Say hello to Cloud Cult, Love Like Fire, and Georgie James.

"That's What I Call 360 Degrees... Of Flavour."

2007-03-06T23:14:00.000-05:00

The title for this post is a quote from Anderson Cooper 360 himself. No, he wasn't talking about some new high-class American restaurant, nor a delicious Iraqi food he may have come across during his coverage of the war. Instead, Mr. 360 was reporting about a new ice cream flavour produced by Ben & Jerry's.

That's right. Ben & Jerry's "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream". The ice cream was not what speculators had originally expected, namely "a patriotic mix of strawberry, blueberry, and vanilla flavours". Instead, purchasers of fine (and moderately over-priced) ice cream will experience the goodness that is "vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel".

With proceeds going to charity, who could pass up a scoop or two of what will likely become a modern day Americana legend?

Here's the official press release, for those of you who just must know more.

Gentlemen, They Can Rebuild It. They Have The Technology.

2007-03-05T23:46:00.000-05:00

Today's post comes in light of recent news announced by Adobe. They have announced the "release" date for Creative Suite 3; the revolution cometh on March 27th.

For those of you out of the loop, Adobe's CS2 and its applications have set the benchmark for all professional design and publishing tools. Not to say that they didn't have groundbreaking, fantastic apps before, but you get the picture.

Today's announcement is big news. CS2, in spite of its (fairly minor, in my opinion) faults, was a great suite... I'm really looking forward to seeing what they've added, fixed, integrated, and removed! And then, you know, potentially getting a copy when it's shipped later in Spring '07.

Heaven Is A Place On Earth

2007-03-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

What does the Belinda Carlisle song that titles this post, China In Your Hand by T'Pau, and Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley all have in common? They were at the top of the charts on the day I was born.

How do I know this? Simple: a convenient and fun little tool provided by This Day In Music. The site is pretty cool, I guess, but not anything substantial. Most of the features are simple enough, made redundant by Wikipedia or some other more frequented site. Meanwhile, the "Birthday Number One" is a pretty funky tool!

I actually asked one of my friends what he thought of the Genesis song Invisible Touch, knowing that he hates Genesis. It was pretty funny, actually -- in a way, I made him rue the day he was born.

Life Is Too Short To Refrain From Eating Jam Out Of The Jar

2007-03-03T23:29:00.000-05:00

It is also too short to spend days as I did today: the vast majority of it was consumed by my sleep. For this reason, I decided to educate myself and find something new about sleep to share with you all.

I came across a blog called Snoozester, dedicated to posting (albeit not regularly) about this nightly ritual of ours. While browsing some old posts, I came across a link to a WebMD article concerning all those different types of mattresses you see advertised on television.

To summarize, in case you don't want/have time to read a longer article, the article says that there is no single "best mattress" available. WebMD also says that firmer mattresses are not, in fact, always better.

Two things they do seem to support are the claims made by "memory foam" and those "heat and massage" mattresses. The former "conforms to near-perfect pressure, weight distribution, and support", the latter changes blood circulation to alleviate symptoms of various problems (although simply applying heat and vibration in any circumstance would do the same).

It Was You Who Taught Me How To Write These Kinds Of Equations

2007-03-02T22:30:00.000-05:00

Today was a pretty slow day for me; I still, however, managed to find a very odd and disturbing news piece. For your enjoyment, here's some news straight from Berlin.

It appears that, while writing an exam, a student with impaired bladder control was forced to pee in a bottle in front of 120 students. All because a couple of professors/teaching assistants/exam supervisors at the University of Freiburg refused to accompany him to the bathroom. It's a shame that people can still be this selfish.

Luckily, at least the University recognizes it as such. Deputy Head Karl-Reinhard Volz wrote a formal apology, stating that the supervisors' behavior was unjustified and "lacking in any normal human sensitivity".

Thanks, Reuters!

The More You Discover...

2007-03-02T01:16:00.000-05:00

The less you know. It's funny; since I started this blog, I've been coming across various things that I feel I should know about, but surprisingly don't. Today, woxy.com joins the likes of Richard Branson news, The World/Inferno Friendship Society, and Newsmap as something I found that makes me feel as if I've been living in a cave.

The latest incarnation of woxy (or 97x -- Bam! -- The future of rock and roll, as Dustin Hoffman puts it in Rain Man) was born on July 16th, 2004. After selling the rights to the 97.7FM broadcast frequency on January 16 of the same year, Doug and Linda Balogh brought the radio station they had owned and revamped for 21 years to the digital age.

After developing a name for themselves as one of the best "Alternative and Modern Rock" stations in the world -- listeners from the UK were tuning in to the simulcast webcasts back in the glory days of 33.6k dial-up -- WOXY felt confident in the destruction of its semi-tangible radio presence. Retaining the rights to basically everything formerly WOXY (as I said before, only the frequency it formerly broadcast on was actually sold), they pioneered the internet radio revolution as arguably the first major station to broadcast solely online.

As much as I disagree with some of the results of the PLUG Independent Music Awards, I'm confident (after listening to some webcast-and-lounge-series action) that woxy.com deserved its wins in the "Podcast of the Year" and "Internet Radio Station of the Year" categories. And thusly, le blogged!

Tuesday's Tunes 6: Week of Feb 26

2007-02-28T23:24:00.000-05:00

This week, brought to you by the letter W! You know, 'cuz I'm only writing this on Wednesday... I've only actually heard one of the albums on today's list; the others haven't had considerable hype in my circles.

Dean & Britta -- Back Numbers

This is a tricky album to write a mini-review for. It's so intensely melodic, and the recently married Dean (Wareham) and Britta (Phillips), formerly of Luna "fame", have incredibly soft voices. Britta is just fantastic when she belts out "you turned my head around" in the song of the same name. Unfortunately, it suffers from the terrible monotony that affects far too many indie pop albums. Their earlier EP (Words You Used To Say), surprisingly, was spared of this affliction.

Dalek -- Abandoned Language

I haven't heard this yet, but the Faust vs. Dalek album, Derbe Respect Alder was interesting at best. Maybe this is worth a listen. The album, however, is touted as "Underground Rap, Alternative Rap, Electronica, Left Field Hip-Hop", so it's probably not for everyone.

My Teenage Stride -- Ears Like Golden Bats

While I can't say anything about the album, the band is pretty impressive. Essentially a four-piece, there's no question that they owe their success to multi-instrumentalist Jebediah Smith. After learning guitar at age 14, followed by bass, piano, and drums, Smith began writing and recording his own songs. For the third album, he added a drummer (Whitmoyer), a bassist (Logan), and another guitarist (Abbe) to round out the lineup. I'm curious to see how this album differs from the older material!

And that's it for today. More tomorrow! Same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel.

Sorry, folks...

2007-02-27T23:46:00.000-05:00

...But today's really not a good day for blogging. I'm not in the best of moods, so I'll just leave you with an image showing what I was doing that get me un-wallowed enough to write this post:

That's right. Some old school NES action right there. The dinosaur boss in the 4th level still got the best of me -- stupid invisible platforms.

Today's Tuesday's Tunes will be brought to you by tomorrow. I just can't bring myself to re-listen to that new Dean & Britta album at the moment so that I can properly describe their awesomeness.

Do You Realize?

2007-02-26T23:53:00.000-05:00

To start the week off on a good note, I present to you a post written on its intended date. It's also about a really cool website!

Earlier today, I came across Atmosphere Optics, a site dedcated to describing and explaining naturally occurring visual phenomena. Boasting categories such as Rays & Shadows, Water Droplets, and Rainbows, Les Cowley takes on nature, one mystery after another.

Wow, that description sounded like some sort of cheesy movie about a "middle-aged cop who plays by his own rules" or something. Anyway, some of the phenomena he writes about are quite cool; I think that the discovery of what's going on around us is a very interesting subject to explore!

And The Winner Is

2007-02-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

Since all good trilogies come in threes, I figure I'd close this tardy weekend with a superbly tardy post. Or at least that's what I'd like to think.

I, unlike many others, did not spend yesterday evening watching the Oscars; I feel as if the importance of this award show, along with many others, has slowly waned. It's been years since I could actually see a "Best Picture" winner actually standing the test of time. The most recent example of this is 1988's Rain Man, which was a fantastic movie, while the best example would have to be Casablanca from 1942.

Instead, I was looking -- as I did for most of this weekend -- at something old. Some of you may already know about archive.org, the Internet Archive. Originally made famous for its Wayback Machine, an online archive featuring older versions of websites (check out Apple in 1997 or Google's 1998 Beta), they've been adding more and more features since the novelty of old sites wore off for me.

What impressed me the most last night is their Live Music Archive. Seriously, I downloaded 5 live Mountain Goats show recordings within minutes, all recommended to me by the message board I spoke of a little while ago. Featuring more than 30,000 recordings from past live shows, archive.org's Live Music Archive has material from the Mountain Goats (obviously), Harry And The Potters, Animal Collective, and many more.

If you want Mountain Goats material, I highly recommend these three recordings.

What Else Is New?

2007-02-25T04:12:00.000-05:00

Keeping with yesterday's themes of tardiness and underappreciated "novelty" for some, I'm going to be self-centered and post about something very dear to my heart that people are continuously fascinated with.

I went snowboarding today for the first time since January 2nd and, all things considered, the Quebec conditions were actually quite good. Aside from the whole "I-love-snowboarding" experience, there is always one other thing that both amazes and pleases me when I'm on a mountain: the people I ride up a chair with who comment on my snowboard.

You see, I'm one of the rare alpine board riders. Called "the bastard child of skis and snowboards" by some, alpines are ridden in hard boots (virtually ski boots) with a very aggressive stance. On the first ride up today, my chairmates were asking about the board and I responded with enthusiasm.

I love alpine riding, and you should too. Seriously, if you ever get the chance/muster up the courage, check out setups at either Bombers (if you're from the States) or YYZ Canuck (Canadian store). Bombers even has forums and tips for riders, both experienced and not.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, a photo of me carving on my board:

Justin Doesn't Know That Fiona And Me Do It In My Van Every Sunday

2007-02-24T01:59:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to notice a trend: every time I return home, my posts come late. I'm really sorry about this, but I just generally have so much to do and so many people to see that I'm surprised I even manage to still rub one out nightly.

Today's isn't about something new that I found, but something that instead came up in a conversation with my friend Justin (who gave me the fodder for these posts). I forget exactly what the conversation was about, but I mentioned GEMM. He looked at me as if I was some sort of nutjob.

GEMM is an online flea market of sorts for music retailers around the world. It's incredibly easy to use, has virtually every recording you will ever want, and even offers filters such as "vinyl only", "CD only", "T-shirts only", and even the age of the title's first listing date. The insane amount and sheer quality of the search features make GEMM one of the few websites which I can browse without becoming a three-minute man.

I'm not kidding when I say that you can find almost anything you may ever want or need on this site; it managed to match me with three separate retailers while I was looking for a rare Hives EP (from back when I was really into The Hives). With GEMM, you get both quality and quantity.

I really hope somebody points out the little subtleties I've tactically inserted into every paragraph of this post.

Cleanliness Is Next To Godliness

2007-02-22T22:08:00.000-05:00

And thusly, I'm much more comfortable doing anything in a clean environment. Seriously, if a pusher ever comes up to me, offering a free sample of heroin, I'd be much more likely to take him up on the offer if he was dressed in a suit, meeting me in Bloor-Yorkville than if he was some random hobo on the streets of Cracktown (all right, the latter region doesn't actually exist; nor does my desire to try heroin).

This is why I'm happy a friend showed me PubToilets.com, a site where users review various pubs -- and the toilets. Most (I'm not going to say all, as I haven't checked every single one) reviews even feature pictures of the crappers, so you can know what you're getting into before you get into the hard stuff.

I do have two qualms with the site, though:

1) Their pub reviews are exactly what they say they are. By that, I mean that the reviews often focus as much, if not more so, on the pubs themselves as they do on the toilets. It would be incredibly interesting and useful if the reviews focused solely on the upkeep and state of the crappers instead.
2) All the material on the site is about pubs located in jolly ol' England. So unless I'm planning a trip across the pond, this isn't going to be particularly useful.

Oh well. Perhaps I'll start up my own version meself (says I whilst looking up interesting domain names)!

P.S. Yet again, I find myself with something to add after the main post. I've found The Bathroom Diaries, more or less what I was describing with numbers 1 and 2 up there, and yet I still find the site lacking. It's too hard to use, and I find that it emphasizes luxury far too much. Now, to return to WhoIs records...

Put Your Money Where Her Mouth Is

2007-02-21T23:48:00.000-05:00

No, this isn't another dirty item-of-the-day, instead it's just my dirty mind. Still, whoever's making ads should know better than to use a slogan with sexual connotations for a campaign supporting starving children. Without any further ado, I give you a new ad I saw today:

What boggles my mind even more than the terrible choice of slogan is why this just popped up in my rez today, nearly a week after the dates advertised. Here's to adding another flop to the annals of new!
------
P.S. I've been listening to that High Llamas album I mentioned yesterday; it's okay. A nice piece of indie pop with some obvious nods to Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, but nothing spectacular. Maybe it'll grow on me?

Tuesday's Tunes 5: Week of Feb 19

2007-02-20T22:38:00.000-05:00

Okay, either I haven't been keeping up with advances of new releases, or today's crop of albums only has one good new release. Personally, I think it's a nice mix of both.

Explosions In The Sky -- All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone

Here is a nice album by Explosions In The Sky. It is new. It just came out this week. It sounds very pleasant, with a typical instrumental post-rock (if you're confused, see Do Make Say Think or Godspeed You Black Emperor!) "storyline" being weaved by the instruments. It also sounds, when you cut through the crap, like their last album (which was very good as well), The Rescue. This isn't a bad thing; All Of A Sudden... is a good album. I was just hoping for more, I guess?

Arab Strap -- Ten Years Of Tears

Yup, they re-issued last year's Arab Strap retirement album. Again, it's a good album, made even better by the fact that it's not a typical "Best Of" retrospective, but instead a compilation of rarities, B-sides, and tracks that meant something to Moffat and Middleton. But why so soon?

The High Llamas -- Can Cladders

As my roommate and I have been playing a ton of Beach Boys and Brian Wilson this past week, it was nice to get the push to look into the High Llamas. While I haven't heard the album (see above), reviews tout them as a band that channels Brian Wilson. I'm optimistic -- while their last release, Beet, Maize & Corn, wasn't received very well, a bunch of their past ones (like Gideon Gaye or Hawaii) are apparently very good.

Oh No Not Stereo -- Oh No Not Stereo

To be frank, I just liked the album cover. They're said to sound like Sugarcult, Third Eye Blind, American Hi-Fi, and The All-American Rejects, so they might be a safe bet if you've got a tween son/daughter who enjoys alt-rock. I, unfortunately, do not fall into that category.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding cynical; I'm just waiting for more good music to come along!

WARNING: OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT WITHIN

2007-02-19T23:54:00.000-05:00

Read the title. It's a disclaimer. This will link to objectionable content, you need not click on any links nor read below this paragraph.
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Okay. Now, hopefully that's enough warning. The last of the three Mountain Goats-related posts is a search engine I came upon (no pun intended) while reading Last Plane To Jakarta, which I mentioned in the first post of today's series. This hilarious search tool is Booble.

Now, if you didn't put two and two (read: the disclaimer and the engine's name) together, Booble touts itself as "the adult search engine". I'm a bit too busy (this time, the pun was intended) to check this out right now, but if any of you have comments, feel free to leave them!

P.S. On Darnielle's advice, I looked up "You Gotta Love It" (in quotation marks) and got to a hilarious no-search-results page, claiming that I may be on to "a new porn craze [they] are yet to catalogue". Fantastic!

Mountain Goats Part 2

2007-02-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note, as I'm dubbing today Mountain Goats day, that the new incarnation of the Mountain Goats website is up. I must say, it's less pretty than the last. What it lacks for in aesthetics, though, it makes up for in forum-age. So now I (and hopefully at least 20% of you readers) will be able to nerd it up with other dedicated fans.

Another interesting tidbit that I discovered is that his many "Going To" and "Alpha" songs are thematically linked. Now, while it may seem obvious (after all, he has nearly 10 Alphas and well over 15 Goings) that they're a series, I must point out that, until the 8th listen, I don't pay attention to song names unless I'm actually critiquing an album, and even the lyrics and themes are often sacrificed in my brain for the good of the overall sound.

You can laugh at me now; the last MG-related post of the day will be coming shortly.

Videos!

2007-02-19T00:55:00.000-05:00

Those of you who know me well know that I absolutely adore The Mountain Goats. Seriously, I consider almost everything John Darnielle has ever done musically as gold (and I have more than 400 songs of his -- from only his Mountain Goats work). I've actually jumped for joy in Montreal streets when a friend text messaged me to tell me that I got her hooked on a song of his.

Why am I telling you this? Well, while I was checking out a hilariously terrible attempt by conservatives to replicate The Daily Show on YouTube (see Exhibit A and Exhibit B), I saw in the sidebar a link to a video of a live Mountain Goats performance. For those of you that love JD's work, check out this short clip live at Amoeba records. For those of you that don't, well, check it out at your leisure; more importantly, get your hands on a copy of either Tallahassee or The Sunset Tree as soon as humanly possible.

Okay, so it's nothing like experiencing him live at Pitchfork Music Festival in the blazing Chicago sun, but it still brought back memories. I also just realized that I'm not linking to his blog and blog/webzine in the sidebar. I'm'a get right on that.

Hot Friendly Group Of Music

2007-02-18T23:27:00.000-05:00

A friend just turned me on to The World/Inferno Friendship Society, a band he just found through Last.fm. After a bit of research, the link to his (and my) musical tastes reared its pretty little head: Franz Nicolay, keyboardist for The Hold Steady, is a member of the band. What I'm more surprised of, though, is how long this band has been around (especially with its constantly-rotating lineup).

My musical tastes have followed a more or less linear progression since Grade 3 with only a few short-lived major detours: popular alternative in 1996 led to pop-punk in 1998/99, followed by a deeper interest in the punk scene in 2003 and the discovery of indie rock and indie pop scenes in 2005. With that basic timeline in mind, it's quite odd that I hadn't discovered TW/IFS at any point after their inception in 1997.

They're reputed to be a punk/ska/gospel band; that description smacks you in the face with a raw fish within the first minute of "Zen And The Art Of Breaking Everything In This Room", the first track off 2002's Just The Best Party. At some times, it even seems like they're channeling a more klezmer/Balkan/Captain And Me sound, too.

Anyway, notable tracks of theirs include "I Wouldn't Want To Live In A World Without Grudges" and "Stay On The Charming Side Of Drunk", both off the aforementioned album. If you're checking out their newest release, 2006's Red-Eyed Soul, I suggest "Brother Of The Mayor Of Bridgewater" and "The Devil's Ball".

In Other News

2007-02-18T03:57:00.000-05:00

27 Heaven, of which I blogged about in late January, received a standing ovation at a sold-out performance in Dallas. Thanks for letting me know, Ian; send my best to the rest of the cast and crew!

P.S. I'm overjoyed to hear that 27 has been following the "to-be-an-immense-hit" path, and I'm looking forward to seeing it in the near future in New York. As you should be, too. (New York is a great city, isn't it?)

If Both Utilities Are Owned, Rent Is 10 Times Amount Shown On Dice

2007-02-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

I was kind of hesitant to post about this yesterday for two reasons: first, I hadn't tried it yet; second, I didn't want to put up a second utility I found through friends/reading IGIF. Meanwhile, I actually checked Peel out this evening, and I must say, it's a lovely program.

Peel is an MP3 Blog Reader for Macs, and it's got a fantastically simple interface. In fact, the designers tried to emulate iTunes (with which it integrates) in every way possible. It comes pre-loaded with three MP3 Blog subscriptions (Fluxblog, Music For Robots, and Said The Gramophone); more can be added through a dialog box accessible by the click of a button or the tap of a keyboard-shortcut.

My one problem with Peel thus far (and it is in its beta, so perhaps this will be addressed soon enough) is its integration with iTunes. While it can automatically add your downloaded songs to your Music Library, I feel like a more direct connection -- such as a plugin or visualizer based extension -- may accomplish the job in an even simpler fashion. It would also clear the clutter in your dock and CMD-Tab application switcher.

The integration isn't a big deal, though. This program has gotten me so geared up that I actually browsed around looking for new MP3 blogs to listen to. There's the obvious choices of Stereogum (which doesn't seem to work with it, actually) and IGIF, but I've actually looked more extensively into great ones like Hedonist Masses and have started to browse Teaching Indie Kids To Dance; I'm looking forward to checking out some more!

Come On Baby, Light My Fire

2007-02-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I found this today off an ad above my email, and I'm just shocked and appalled that this exists.

Anyway, this site/web-store is worth at least a laugh, if not two. I hate to ruin the surprise, but if you're actually wary, please read the next paragraph in reverse.

Terrible hilariously utterly it's and. Objects flashing with store a it's.

One More Time

2007-02-16T03:48:00.000-05:00

I could have written this earlier this morning/yesterday evening, but I was finishing my Don applications for the next school year. That's right -- I'm applying to be a Don for University College, part of University of Toronto.

Anyway, this latest finding comes straight from my good friend Justin once again: earlier this evening, he pointed me to TVU Networks, a streaming broadband television provider. TVU Networks' software grants you access to a number of channels from all around the world. It includes such major American networks as Cartoon Network, ESPN, and ABC, but it also provides content from CCTV 5 (the Chinese sports network), as well as a number of user-provided networks.

I could probably come up with a more in-depth list of channels or a better review of the program if it weren't for TVU Networks' biggest flaw thus far: no Mac support. Enjoy it if you have a PC!

Romanticism Times Ten

2007-02-14T23:59:00.000-05:00

Today, I've got something romantic for you folks. You know, not because it's any sort of... day... of romance... or... yeah.

Anyway, I read about autostereograms in my psych textbook today and decided to look up the specifics on Wikipedia. If you're not familiar with the scientific term, they're more commonly known as Magic Eye images. Why are they romantic? Because I say so. I mean, come on! Hidden messages!

It was quite interesting, though; the science behind them is pretty cool. I'm not even going to attempt to re-explain it, but if you're at all interested, check it out over on the Wikipedia.

P.S. The animated one is really cool.

Tuesday's Tunes 4: Week of Feb 12

2007-02-13T23:30:00.000-05:00

I've never seen a better argument for good music's romanticism than this: virtually nothing that I would consider both "good" and "new" has come out this week. Instead, there are a ton of re-releases and soundtracks, including:

Pirates of the Caribbean -- Swashbuckling Sea Songs

No, I'm not joking. Boasting such classics as "The Legend of Davy Jones", "Yo, Ho, Ho (And A Bottle Of Rum)", and "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me)", this Disney singalong is bound to be a classic. I think I seriously might buy this just to hear what the track "The First Mate Is A Monkey" is all about... Perhaps something to do with Micky Dolenz?

Dr. Who -- Original Television Soundtrack

Oh my... Here comes an old idea (albeit a good one) that reached a level of success in its recent re-incarnation being repackaged in a different format. It's like the square root of new: an irrational concept.

Sting -- The Journey And The Labyrinth: The Music Of John Dowland

The only thing that seems weirder than this album's concept is the inclusion of Robert Johnson's "Hellhound On My Trail". I mean, at least the insertion of Sting's "Message In A Bottle" has some sort of relation!

Ella Fitzgerald -- The Very Best Of The Cole Porter Songbook & The Very Best Of The Rodgers And Hart Songbook

Finally, some re-issue/compilations I approve of. Originally recorded in the 1950s (and only 6 months apart), this material was culled from Ella's highly influential multiple-disc recordings. I'm going to admit that I haven't heard them, but to be frank, Ms. Fitzgerald has never steered me wrong in the past.

This is all I'm writing tonight, as I'm kind of beat after a psych test. I told you these one-post Tuesdays might happen.

P.S. I'm listening to the album Panic When You Find It by Young And Sexy. It's some really nice sounding alternative indie pop, kind of in the vein of Stars. Just thought I should mention, while on the topic of music and all.

It's Not Who You Know, It's...

2007-02-12T23:35:00.000-05:00

Wow. Today, while at work, I was flipping through Profit magazine (a sub-par Canadian Fortune wannabe) and came across yet another online community-based service. Jigsaw is what I'm going to begin calling a Wikidex: an online community-driven Rolodex with user-generated and user-moderated content. The only difference between it and most wikis, however, are the stringent requirements placed on its users; account holders must add or correct 25 contacts monthly to maintain a free membership, otherwise they have to be prepared to fork over $25/month for access. Moreover, each contact card must be "purchased" through their points system.

The ethics behind this are obviously questionable: on one hand, Jigsaw can benefit companies (especially smaller ones) by exposing them to new business partners, whether they're the contact-ees or the contact-ers. The other side of the picture may outweigh those potential benefits: the site divulges direct line contact information for a number of high-powered executives (they seem to have on average a minimum of 100 contacts for each of the Fortune 500), violating the privacy and corporate structure they "need" to hide behind in order to work effectively. Not to mention the burdens placed on users for access!

While you (and I) may not end up using Jigsaw, it is at the very least a service that brings a new set of privacy ethics into the world-wide web.

A Picture Perfect World

2007-02-11T23:24:00.000-05:00

I heart the interweb. After returning to my room in Toronto (and assembling my newly acquired Megazooka), I decided to browse, in search of something I haven't yet seen. And preferably something that I'd enjoy.

Much like the Newsmap of my blogging days of yore, Montage-a-google makes sense of one of Google's services in a graphic manner. That, though, is where the similarity ends. Montage-a-google creates a montage of images that result from any given Google search, allowing you to see a pretty picture of whatever you're looking for.

There's also a spin-off game site, developed by the same guy (Grant Robinson), Guess-the-google. It's essentially Montage in reverse: a montage is generated for you, and you have to come up with the word for it.

Not very useful, but quite cool. I like the idea of harnessing the most powerful/popular search engine to develop snapshots of searches! A couple of experiments have yielded some pretty snazzy results: check out 9/11, montage, and my name.

Beer, Beer, Beer, Buh-Buh-Buh Beer, Beer, Beer...

2007-02-10T21:17:00.000-05:00

The reason why yesterday's post was so late was because I was on a mission, seeking information and experience for today's. Simply put, I was sampling beers.

You see, after leaving the concert, I went with my friend Megam to the Depanneur Paradis De La Biere (in case you're from Montreal and want to head by, it's on Laurier, corner of Esplanade). They have an excellent and insane variety of beers there, so we went nuts. Since they were all quite new to me, and will likely be for most (if not all) of you, here's a quick rundown of the seven different bottles we purchased:

Ginger
I didn't really like this one, but it was drinkable. One of our friends told us that it tasted like sushi, since the ginger flavour is very prevalent.

Blackberry
It's quite odd: I like blackberries more than raspberries because of their more pronounced flavour, and I was expecting the same to be typical of beer. Meanwhile, I much prefer raspberry beers to this; the taste was far too subtle.

Maple
I actually liked this one quite a bit: the taste was subtle, and it went down nice and easy. It's a lot like a standard microbrewed honey beer, except with maple flavours. A bit too subtle, but what are you gonna do?

Pumpkin (La Trouille)
The clear winner of the night, I'm definitely going to buy this one again. It's amazing how pumpkin flavours can work so well in coffees and beers. The taste was strong, but not overpoweringly so, and it just... worked.

Bitburger
Do NOT get this beer, ever. It smells like skunk, and tastes like it too. (Note: apparently, people all over the world love this beer. Maybe we just had a bad batch, or an expired bottle?)

Honey (Brune au Miel, I believe?)
I love honey beers from microbreweries, so I thought this was a sure bet. But noooooo, we actually ended up pouring it down the sink. It wasn't as bad as the Bitburger was, though.

El Lapino
We actually didn't get around to tasting this one... We were kind of tired by 2:30 AM, and didn't want to get terribly drunk. Looks like it was a good thing, too; reviews are terrible.

Back to semi-standard fare tomorrow, I expect.

Don't Worry, Get Off Atkins

2007-02-10T04:29:00.000-05:00

Yes, late again. And I could talk about the Arcade Fire concert I attended tonight, but my opinion would not be new nor shocking. They're an incredible band, and, quite frankly, the live experience is worth way more than the 1000% markup that scalpers were charging.

Anyway, tonight's post (attribute it to yesterday's date, I beg of you!) is a new computer game in the vein of Nintendo's Brain Age software. It uses a phenomenon observed by social psychologists in order to (hopefully) raise the user's self-esteem and lower their stress levels.

The site plainly says that there has been no direct causal link proven between gameplay and the desired result. Meanwhile, there have bapparently een studies showing a decent correlation between the two.

I actually found Mind Habits minutes after posting yesterday's post, but only thought of it as particularly cool after a night's sleep and a subsequent bus-conversation with my best friend. We chatted about extroverts, introverts, racism, and inducing clinical psychiatric illness (temporarily) on various subjects. Fun times, i f you ask me, those public psych talks!

I'm Late, Tough Sh*t

2007-02-09T01:25:00.000-05:00

I was at work virtually all day, then as soon as I left I hopped on a train back home and only just settled in and busted out the laptop. I've really got to stop apologizing for this; it's what I get for signing up for a blog service that I'm altogether happy with -- in spite of its lack of delayed posting. Delayed wouldn't work for the purpose of this project anyway.

I'm glad I returned home today, though, because otherwise I would have been searching the interweb franticly for today's subject. Instead, it turns out that my dad left material ripe for the pickings on my bedside table. And it's a new product that is literally a piece of sh*t.

Okay, fine. Not quite. But it's still a terribly odd novelty concept: hand made cappucino-scented soap that looks like something fresh out of a rectum. Now, I really don't understand what would make anyone buy this over some other novelty crap (yes, pun intended) or any other soaps for that matter. Let alone with its outrageous price tag of $7.99 US per pile. At least domestic (read: American) shipping is included.

This is one of those kinds of products that I need to see every now and again to remind myself: new isn't necessarily good.

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!

2007-02-08T01:07:00.000-05:00

God, I'm sorry about the second late post this week, but I've had an insanely hectic day. Responsibilities with student government tied me up for upwards of 4 hours, my weekly calculus assignment, catching up on some highly necessary Z's, etc. But I still have something for you. Don't start doubting my dedication to this project!

Anyway, today I bring you a volunteer organization; I've actually been looking at these types of things quite a bit lately. Best Buddies' goal is to "enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for one-to-one friendships and integrated employment".

A friend of mine is actually involved in this program (which is how I found out about BB in the first place), and she just raves about it whenever she can. The people involved with it -- on both sides -- tend to become very attached to their new friends, and it seems to become less of a "volunteering" act and more like hanging out with a friend you don't spend a lot of time with.

Over the past 17 years, Best Buddies has grown from an organization that affects only their local communities to one that works with over 1300 different chapters worldwide. Impressive, no?

Tuesday's Tunes 3: Week of Feb 5

2007-02-06T22:42:00.000-05:00

Wow. This week there's a ton of fantastic releases, and some laughable ones. Come see!

The Apples In Stereo -- New Magnetic Wonder

I was kind of wary when this leaked, as I still wasn't a fan of the latest release/leak from co-Elephant Six veterans Of Montreal. Meanwhile, I've listened to it, and just... wow. The two bands have taken completely different paths; by all means, neither of them have affected the material negatively. This is more of the style you would expect from a more classic Apples In Stereo release, with even a touch of Cherry Peel/Satanic Panic era Of Montreal. Thumbs up for New Magnetic Wonder!

Peter, Bjorn, & John -- Writer's Block

Mmmmm... Writer's Block. It's funny how one song can make an album. Peter, Bjorn & John have put out an above-average recording, but without the track Young Folks, Writer's wouldn't have lasted this long in my frequently purged music library. That track is so good, it's ridiculous (it was ranked by Pitchfork as the 5th best song of 2006!).

Apostle Of Hustle -- National Anthem Of Nowhere

I haven't had this one long enough to listen to multiple times, but let's just say that when I listened to this Broken Social Scene side-band's latest, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As has virtually everybody else to lay their ears on this baby. It probably won't break any records (pun intended), but it's still a great album in its own right.

Deerhunter -- Cryptograms

I haven't heard this one yet, but apparently those who have received an advance are loving it. Their 2005 self-titled was an impressive piece of music in and of itself, but the band that touts themselves as a fusion of ambient and minimalist music with the klang and propulsion of garage rock seems to have struck a musical nerve with this new release.

Loney, Dear -- Loney, Noir

The second Swedish-pop album in this post, Loney, Dear's debut album is reflective of what the genre has become: light, airy, sensitive, and comforting. There are no particular problems with Loney, Noir if you don't go into the experience expecting something particularly deep, intriguing, or different. If you're in that kind of mood, you'd probably be better off listening to Peter, Bjorn & John, Jens Lekman, or I'm From Barcelona... or maybe even Abba. (Please don't get the wrong impression, I liked this album; I didn't love it as much as the latest releases from the aforementioned artists. Except for Abba.)

Bloc Party -- A Weekend In The City

BWAHAHAHAHA. Honestly, Silent Alarm was okay, at best. And then the remix album? I don't understand how anyone could give these guys an ounce of respect, unless they put out something of Sufjan's Illinois caliber (which totally made up for Enjoy Your Rabbit, if you ask me).

Fall Out Boy -- Infinity On High

See above. Take out the remix album comment. Multiply by a very large number that's up to your discretion. So long as it's large. Very, very large.

Not Just For Knowledge Anymore

2007-02-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

These are SO cool. I came across this gallery of book sculptures via Applegeeks, and was just so struck by the sheer beauty and range of complexity of each of the pieces that I felt compelled to share them with you all.

Created by Su Blackwell, a 31 year old British artist, these "book-cut sculptures" reflect the artists' interpretation of books she picked up in second-hand shops. I don't fashion myself an art critic, but these pieces are absolutely gorgeous, original, and offer an artists' imaginative interpretation of some classic -- and other not-so-classic -- stories.

My, my! They're purrrrdy.

I Read The News Today, Oh Boy!

2007-02-06T03:52:00.000-05:00

No, this post is not about the Boston Mooninite-Bomb debacle (yes, I heard of it very early; no, I wasn't impressed -- which is why I didn't post about it). Instead, check out what I read today, after being referred by the feed within my Gmail.

Virtually anyone that knows me well is aware that I deeply respect and admire Richard Branson, not only for his astoundingly succesful career and life choices, but also because of his dedication to his values. Which is why I found it even more impressive that he plans to donate approximately 3 billion dollars towards a cause that can severely cut into one of his most lucrative Virgin divisions' profits.

I know this article is dated November '06, but I hadn't even heard whispers of a rumour about this (and I generally keep my eye out for Branson/Virgin-related news). Just goes to show you that either:

a) This didn't get nearly enough media coverage as it should have, or
b) I don't read Forbes.com regularly.
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P.S. Sorry about the tardiness, I was over at a friends' place studying for most of the night!

Write Again!

2007-02-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

I've been really into online collaborative writing lately, which led to my stumbling upon One Sentence. Like Oneword, which I blogged about lately, One Sentence is a site where people can share stories, emotions, and just generally their thoughts in an open environment.

Unlike the other sites, however, One Sentence does not give a source of inspiration; writers are supposed to base their "one sentence stories" on their lives, or just generally what they're thinking at that moment. Take, for example, a post by DJ Detonator:

A mix of anxiety and euphoria exploded within me the moment I placed the needle on the record.

Users/readers can then rate others' postings with a "Yay!" or a "Boo."

I'm actually really liking reading through the archives. And once I get struck by "the inspiration", you'll definitely see a one sentence story from me.

Why Can't We Be Friends?

2007-02-03T18:58:00.000-05:00

Today, instead of preparing for Fireball, I had signed up for a leadership conference/seminar type of thing. I unfortunately didn't see the scheduling conflict at first, and I feel kind of bad about my absence for the preparations, but I justify my lack-of-help for the event with the fact that I set some stuff up last night and will be cleaning through most of tomorrow.

Anyway, the seminar, offered by St. Stephen's House (a Toronto-based social service agency), was very interesting, which is why I thought I would post about it. Conflict resolution is not by any means a new science, but I have never realized how useful it can be. Especially as a student.

Take, for example, a fight between two roommates. Something as paltry as a fight over dirty dishes could very easily result in long-lasting bad blood between the two parties. Meanwhile, the use of some simple techniques could drastically change the results of the situation.

I'm not saying that conflict resolution courses or workshops are necessary to maintain good relationships, but today's seminar has definitely allowed me to see the shortcomings of "traditional" knowledge and acknowledge the benefits of a slightly modified system.

I really don't want to come off as preachy here, but if you ever interact with other people, conflict resolution techniques are definitely a good tool to keep in your trusty utility belt.

Mooching Ain't Easy

2007-02-02T23:18:00.000-05:00

Yet another website for you today, guys. I can't believe I have the time to find this stuff... I've been working 14+ hour days for the past little while, and it's not going to be letting up any time soon.

Today, it's BookMooch, a global online book trading site. Unlike a lot of other "trading" sites out there, this one is actually very interesting. Instead of pairing up two potential traders, BookMooch has a more communal aspect to it. When sending out a book, the giver receives a number of points (depending on the two users' locations). These points can then be cashed in for requests.

Like pretty much any classified/trading site, users can post what they have and what they wish to receive. Members also get their own personal profile, complete with ratings and feedback (just like how the eBay does it!).

BookMooch isn't really a spectacular or life-changing site (like Couch Surfing and Threadless were), but I can see myself using it when spring cleaning. I probably won't "buy" books with it, though; I'll probably end up donating my points to one of the numerous charities they co-operate with.

Stupid course readings taking up all of my pleasure time!

Search That Tune!

2007-02-01T23:43:00.000-05:00

In an email edition of the Toronto Star, I caught wind of this new service (still in beta) called Midomi. Midomi allows you to hum, sing, or potentially whistle part of a song into a microphone, and it will name the tune for you.

This will come in terribly handy when I've got that song stuck in my head, but the name just simply isn't coming.

Anyway, I can't try it out because my laptop doesn't have a microphone. Anyone care to try this out and tell me how it goes?

Wasting Money To Make Money

2007-01-31T22:36:00.000-05:00

I got an interesting email from my dad today, pointing me to Floogle. He claimed that it was a blog featuring a lot of the "information" you can pay to download off eBay. It turned out to be some sort of game developer's site or whatnot.

Meanwhile, after a little bit of research, I came across the site he meant to send me: Floodle. I'm not entirely certain as to where he found out about this, but my best guess is that he was reading Jason Alexander's blog, specifically the post about the Floo' from just over a week ago.

Anyway, it's quite intriguing... On Floodle, you can find out about the useful (Unlock your DVD player make it multiregion), the mundane (20 Wonderful Vintage Crochet Patterns), the probably-not-real-from-this-source (HOW TO STOP SMOKING FOREVER), and the just plain weird (SCOUBIDOU Mega Guide eBook SCOOBIES SCOOBY).

Kind of funny when you think about the people that actually buy this stuff, no?

MusiCalendar Abilities Be Damned!

2007-01-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

My best friend IMed me today while I was at work with this cool new finding, which I can only assume he found out about through Stereogum (who, incidentally, read about it on IGIF). For those of you who haven't read the posts on those two, what I'm talking about is iConcertCal.

iConcertCal is what I believe to be the greatest add-on for iTunes since the likes of Audioscrobbler/Last.fm (and the next-gen iLike). It searches your music catalog for artists' names, and then, after you input a city, cross-references the artist list with local show listings. All of its findings are then subsequently shown in nifty calendar format, like so:

I mean, sure, you can manually go concert-hunting through the likes of Stillepost, Pollstar, or even your local newspaper and whatnot... But iCC just makes everything so easy and consolidated-like! Now if I could only be in town and not exam-swamped for that A Flock Of Seagulls show in April...

Tuesday's Tunes 2: Week of Jan 29

2007-01-30T23:23:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned last week, I'll be dedicating at least one post every Tuesday to the week's new notable albums (or at the very least, the ones I've enjoyed). This week, I've got three and a mention for you:

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah -- Some Loud Thunder

You can read more of my impressions from back when I first got the advance, but I basically found this to be a bit lackluster for The Clap... Anyway, the CD itself came out today, so you can hold it in your hands without an iPod or other digital music playing device.

Lily Allen -- Alright, Still

To be perfectly honest, I didn't realize this wasn't out yet until I read it in my weekly "these-are-the-CDs-out-today" email from AMG. Anyone who would be remotely interested in Lily has likely already found out about her through Myspace, on the radio, or on TV (Grey's Anatomy played at least one of her songs at least once), but the full album is finally "here", I guess. It's a really solid pop LP, with such notable tracks as Smile, LDN, and Knock 'Em Out. It's no wonder this girl's demos rocketed her to indie pop starlet virtually overnight.

Busdriver -- Roadkill Overcoat

Man, I love this guy. Busdriver is pretty much the most capable rapper I've heard in ages, spitting rhymes so fast he makes everyone else look like they're your grandmother driving an old-school Zephyr. He's also great because when you take your mental faculties and focus them on catching what he's saying, he's not just rapping about them "bitches and hos", all his "bling" or even that "fat dope he smoked on the co'ner wit all them fine biddies who be all up in his thang like wiggidy-whack, yo".

Shawn Lee & The Ping Pong Orchestra -- Voices And Choices

I've never heard of these guys (though apparently they had a 2005 release), but their name looked cool. I'm checking them out tonight/very soon. If you're adventurous enough, you should too! Otherwise... I guess I'll post about them if the album's that good.

That's it for this week... Another post should follow in about 20 minutes/half an hour!

Arsonist Hates Bubble Bobble

2007-01-29T23:48:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned yesterday, and in complete disregard to the reader who cared enough to post a quasi-flame of a comment hiding behind a lack of identity, I'm writing about my impressions of the new Arcade Fire album. Neon Bible leaked onto the blogosphere-and-beyond early this Sunday to the best of my knowledge, but perhaps at some point on Saturday, as a collection of individual tracks. That means, by the way, that the copy I (and you may) have has not been mastered, lending to some drastic sonic differences between the songs.

The album is very different than Funeral, and with good reason. Funeral was written in the wake of the deaths of many people close to Arcade Fire's members; Neon Bible has been written over the course of many years. The former had a very somber and depressing tone to it, even in the energetic songs and the other highs of the album. The latter, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: Neon Bible's songs, even when slow and sad (like the title track and Bad Waves/Bad Vibrations), always show some happy, or at least hopeful, undertones.

All things considered, it's a change. Not necessarily for the better, not necessarily for the worse (in fact, many people I've seen blogging/commenting on the album thus far are having mixed reactions). The reason why I've decided to blog about this, however, is that it's definitely not just a re-hash of Funeral, which is what's been becoming more and more common as sophomore releases these days.

I'm really looking forward to seeing them on the 9th (sorry, just had to gloat there for a sec). Songs like Keep The Car Running, Intervention and (Antichrist Television Blues) have the potential to be fantastic live experiences.

And for those of you who care/are interested enough, I'm quite confident about how I did on the eco test I mentioned hier.

In With The Old, And Out With Some News

2007-01-28T23:57:00.000-05:00

Phew! Just made it... I've spent most of today studying for tomorrow's Economics test. That doesn't mean that I'm arriving empty handed, though! In fact, today I'm cheating a bit...

While further browsing OneWord (from yesterday), I found Mothballer, a site whose owners find old photos lying on the streets or in second-hand shops and upload them for public viewing.

The idea behind it is pretty heartwarming: these pictures were once adored, probably displayed proudly for others to see; now they're in places that people wouldn't want to look. Mothballer attempts not only to trace the photo back to its original owners (if they're tech-savvy enough... pictures must be at least around 30 years old to be eligible!), but also to breathe life back into the images, allowing others to purchase the shots themselves in digital or hard-copy form.

In any case, while this might not be a particularly practical site, it's definitely something you don't see every day, and an initiative that I support whole-heartedly. I love it when people re-create or re-use the old... Maybe that's why I annexed a bunch of my dad's record collection for my place in Toronto!

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In other news, I have come across a copy of the new Arcade Fire album, Neon Bible. I'm not going to post it, out of respect for the band, but a review will be on its way tomorrow, once I listen to it in its entirety.

One Word To Rule Them All, One Word To Find Them...

2007-01-27T23:26:00.000-05:00

I got back this afternoon from the overnight, and passed out from sheer exhaustion. Seriously, I must have slept at most two hours last night, followed by an hour on the bus and about five or six this afternoon. I'm good now, but today's been pretty lazy.

Because of that, though, my originality, imagination, and vocabulary are/were waning. How do I know this? Simple: today's discovery.

I came across Oneword, an online community/collaborative writing project. The concept is quite simple: people go to the site, choose to write, and have one minute to put down whatever they can spew about the word of the day. There are also sister sites, if one word is too little to spark the creative juices (which I fared much better on, by the way): Poetc, where you fill in the next line of a poem, and Onecaption, where you write a caption for the picture of the day.

I can't find much information about these sites, but if my deductive skills are apt enough, they were created by Brian Kessler, a musician/photographer/cool-site-creator. In any case, kudos to the creator -- these have been added to my list of daily sites to check, along with a few blogs and online comics!

I'm Late!

2007-01-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

But I really wanted to post this. This is probably the funniest thing to happen to the beverage industry since... well... New Coke.

Complementing yesterday's post regarding 27 Heaven, I just got wind of a Jimi Hendrix-themed soda. Beverage Concepts is marketing this as the Hendrix Liquid Experience.

I hate to leave this post so bare-bones and short, but I've got to run for a house overnight with my rez. More regular posties will be coming shortly, I promise!

Lucky Number (Twenty-)Seven

2007-01-25T23:29:00.000-05:00

It seems like there's a new "hep" play in town... I just heard about 27 Heaven, set to hit off-Broadway this March. Created by a NY Times bestselling author/filmmaker, and written by a Concordia graduate, 27 Heaven follows the afterlife of Kur(d)t Cobain, seeing him interact with fellow dead-at-27 rockers Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison. Apparently, the three already-dead "J"s have spent their 25+ years in heaven developing as people, and Kur(d)t is torn as to whether he should join them or simply take the elevator to the basement and shred some mad licks, yo.

As with many smaller budget, independent productions, 27 Heaven could be an immense hit -- or a terrible flop. Still, with a small American tour under its belt, one would think that those in charge would cancel the off-Broadway performances if 27 was a total bust.

Timmy The Tug Boat Is So Passe

2007-01-24T20:58:00.000-05:00

Check out what I found today: A series of pictures detailing one of the craziest tugboats I've ever seen.

Whether this is real or not is for you to decide... I still haven't made up my mind. Nonetheless, that's a pretty fantastic set of pictures.

NEW FEATURE!

2007-01-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, as the minutes fade on this Tuesday, I've decided to start a new weekly feature in this blog. As you may already know, Tuesday is when all of the new albums come out every week. Thusly, I've decided that I will mark this day with a celebration of what has come out (if it's a good week), or a condemnation of what has/hasn't (if it's not). This weekly feature might be my "something new" for some Tuesdays, it might not for others. But it will be here.

Anyway, I decided to do so because today is a great day in the music world: some of the albums I've been listening to since they've leaked (such as Of Montreal's Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? and The Shins' Wincing The Night Away) and some of the others I've only recently... acquired... (like Deerhoof's Friend Opportunity and Menomena's Friend And Foe) have been officially released today.

Mini reviews for all!

Of Montreal -- Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?

Overall, I find this to be a good album. The sound isn't even close to OM from back in the day. As an album, it holds together less than Cherry Peel or Satanic Panic did, but it's definitely got some kick to it. What keeps this on repeat for me are the tracks Bunny Ain't No Kind Of Rider and She's A Rejector. It definitely grows on you, so don't just write it off after a listen or two.

The Shins -- Wincing The Night Away

I really wasn't impressed. The first three tracks -- in particular the lead, Sleeping Lessons -- catch you and lull you into the impression that this will deliver something comparable to their last two releases, but that's not the case. As of Phantom Limb, I realized that the album wasn't really going much of anywhere, so I pretty much stopped caring.

Menomena -- Friend And Foe

I've actually had this one for a while, but never really got around to listening it (I think the disappointment from Under An Hour made me hesitant to check it out). I've heard the album once thus far, and I liked it superficially, but I wasn't actually paying attention to it since I was studying at the time. Meanwhile, I know that the lead track, Muscle N' Flo, is very good, as my friend played it for me in the car, and he swears that the rest of the album is at the very least respectable. If I remember, I might post a real review of this as a comment once I listen to it for reals.

Deerhoof -- Friend Opportunity

I'm actually not the biggest Deerhoof fan, but apparently this album is insanely good. I enjoyed The Runners Four, but not enough for it to survive multiple purges of my music library in the name of my laptop's precious hard drive space. I've heard, though, that this is not only their most easily accessible album to date, but that it's also very wildly experimental. I'm looking forward to checking out the 10 tracks this weekend, and again, I'll post a comment if I deem it necessary.

A Classy Saucy Puppet Show

2007-01-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

This evening, I checked out the debut performance of Cabaret U-Mano, a new show over at Toronto's Diesel Playhouse. Created by SOMA International, produced by Realisations.net, and presented by Jeffrey Latimer Productions as well as the Toronto Star (and a number of other smaller sponsors), Cabaret U-Mano claims to feature "wickedly playful puppets in a seductive musical revue" (see below).

While the concept may seem a bit odd, or even creepy (see above), the execution is far from it. The show is a magical experience: the marionettes and puppeteers blend together almost seamlessly, incorporating each other in the acts, and the puppets manage to come alive before your very eyes. By the third song, I had suspended my disbelief and was drawn in to the cartoon world of U-Mano.

This is definitely not for everyone. But for those of you who are adventurous enough, have a vivid imagination, or are just looking for something to "spice up your life", I would definitely recommend checking out Cabaret U-Mano. I've basically grown up with the entertainment industry, and I've got to say: I have never seen anything like this.

Here's Something You Don't See Every Day

2007-01-22T23:40:00.000-05:00

Following yesterday's post on something that wouldn't technically be classified as new, I came across an article on Reuters that caught my eye. The headline reads "Phone thief repents after 21 text messages".

If you don't feel like reading the whole article, here's the gist of it: A man stole a woman's phone and purse. After sending a series of desperate-ish text messages, the phone and purse were returned to the woman with an apologetic letter.

Now, I don't know about you, but this is something very new and out of the ordinary to me. And I definitely consider it a story worth sharing.

Sorry, And Here's Why!

2007-01-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

Oh man, I am exhausted. I just spent the weekend at The Briars with a bunch of people my age(-ish) for this think tank/innovation session facilitated by D-Code, working at least 10 hours a day, and either sleeping or attempting to "unwind" for the other 14. Thusly, I unfortunately did NOT have time for posting (especially because the wireless there kept fritzing out on me)!

Anyway, one of the things I discovered this weekend, with more to come as extra posts later this week, is a creative process called the Do-It Yourself Lobotomy, in particular the 100 MPH Thinking and Intergalactic Thinking techniques.

Developed by Tom Monahan, apparently one of the foremost creative thinking coaches in North America (if not the world), this process lends to the development of not only standard-ish ideas, but out-of-the-box and totally outlandish ones as well. It's also more fun than a barrel full of kiwifruit.

I don't want to reveal too much about it, but if you're interested, you can buy The Do-It Yourself Lobotomy (in book form) from Amazon. You can also check out Monahan's blog, hosted by his company Before & After.

Once again, I'm sorry about the brief and un-forewarned hiatus, but I will definitely be making it up through this coming week.

A Compendium Of Goodness!

2007-01-17T23:20:00.000-05:00

A friend recently pointed me to Alluc, an online collection of user-submitted links to publicly hosted video files. This site/service attempts to make sense of the insane amount of video on this here intarweb, and actually does a fairly good job.

Granted, there are a few problems. Links aren't immediately removed when the hosting service (a la YouTube or Dailymotion) removes copyrighted material. The categories' contents aren't necessarily as vast and comprehensive as a simple YouTube search. Meanwhile, the idea of consolidating the information, thus making it easier to manage, is very well implemented by the guys at -- and community behind -- Alluc.

Check out their selection of clips/episodes from an old favourite of mine, Ghostwriter! Now if only they had Batman...

Clap Your Hands Say Meh...

2007-01-16T22:49:00.000-05:00

The new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! album was released online today via Insound, and will be available as a hard-copy purchase as of January 30th. Unfortunately, after giving it an intense listen, I must say that it hasn't struck me like their debut release did.

What this album does, however, is provide a solid sophomore album. Their music (on the most part) shows sincere effort at musical growth and exploration, with quite a few successes. The tracks, with the notable exception of the first, flow into each other with ease; there is a lot of jazz-y and blues-y experimentation (particularly on Love Song No. 7, Goodbye to the Mother & the Cover, Yankee Go Home, and Underwater You & Me).

In spite of this, Some Loud Thunder is lacking what we've come to expect from The Clap. The self-titled release had a ton of energy, was uplifting even when it was depressing, and each song was a potential hit; all these qualities are lacking from the new material. Even Satan Said Dance, what's being hailed as the biggest hit of SLT, is messily compiled out of a catchy beat, some old-style harmonies, and what sounds like randomly chosen NES blips.

Don't get me wrong -- this is a good album, and is worth at the very least a streamed listen. I was just expecting more from a band that broke all sorts of "Top 10" lists with a self-released CD a year and a half ago.

Here's hoping that CYHSY was trying to throw non-believers off their trail with this album, just like they do with their opening tracks, and that their third will see the band returning to what they do best.

Having The Word Be Easy On The Eyes

2007-01-15T21:08:00.000-05:00

Today's post is about a service that -- much like Musicovery did -- tries to make sense of a wide selection of offerings through a visual map. Unlike Musicovery, however, Marcos Weskamp's NewsMap has been around for a while.

Launched in March 2004, NewsMap was mentioned in 4 prominent online news sources and shared through 5 online services within a month of its e-birth. After that, it seems to have fallen off people's radar.

What NewsMap is, essentially, is a visual map of Google's News Aggregator. The stories which are more prominently covered (and thusly have more related articles) take up more space on the map, and those with less relations tend to be smaller. The stories are colour-coded according to their news category, and then according to how recent they are.

Users can limit their viewing selections by news category as well as by country. NewsMap also offers a "squarified" view which comes default, in lieu of the more typical "standard" one.

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, get on it! It's a fun, easy, and fast way to make sense of what the biggest stories affecting our respective nations -- or even our planet -- are at the moment. You might end up finding a surprise, too: as of this post, Robbie Tobeck, the center for the Seattle Seahawks, and his retirement have more related articles than the House's vote to advance a bill resulting in lower costs for prescription drugs.

A French Success? (I Was Shocked Too...)

2007-01-14T23:15:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered the re-incarnation of fake-French pop group Les Sans Culottes. After a sort of "coup d'etat" against one of their members who was leading the band in a direction they did not wish to go, the band found themselves fighting an uphill battle for the trademark of their former name.

As "Jean-Luc Retard" (real name: Dan Crane) put it in an article on Slate Magazine, "in the true spirit of France [they] surrendered." Instead of paying further legal fees, the former Sans Culottes (sans the dissenting member, of course) found themselves creating a new band, Nous Non Plus.

These guys play fantastically fun and catchy pop. Claiming to hail from France yet live in Brooklyn, Nous Non Plus write most of their songs in French. What allows them to surpass the language barrier is the simple fact that they're playful: one song, called Lawnmower Boy, is actually about what its title suggests. The chorus goes "Je suis un garcon. J'aime tondre le gazon," which, for those of you who don't know French, translates literally to "I am a boy. I like to mow the lawn."

The trivial nature of their songs may naturally put off some potential listeners. If you're not too offended by the idea, however, this band of posers is well worth the listen. And, if you are, they still have a highly entertaining blog!

Why I Love Shrinkage

2007-01-14T22:24:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know me: I'm a BIG Facebook addict. Why is this of general concern, though?

Well, anyone who's ever used Facebook knows that, unlike other social networking sites, you're not allowed to use HTML to edit pages/posts. What this creates is a nice, common, and simple layout that can't be abused by 12-year old pop culture whores. The drawback, however, is that when you want to share a link, you need to post it in its entirety... and you might get stuck with a huge URL (like http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/37756/Im_From_Barcelona_Let_Me_Introduce_My_Friends).

That's where today's (well, technically, yesterday's) find comes in. TinyURL has a system designed to shorten long URLs and create a permanent (read: non-expiring) short-link for it. The example above was shortened to http://tinyurl.com/y4kzkl. Easier on the eyes, ain't it?

Try it for yourself!