November 2008
October 2008
Halloween Candy Code →
bg5000:
Like Hobo Code but, you know, for kids. I love the one for Werther’s Originals.
It’s not just the content, but the extent of the execution. Angus Beef!
Here's that RS article about David Foster Wallace →
It’s online now if you haven’t read it already. It’s very good.
"You're all Joe the plumber!" →
McCain cannot catch a break.
A sentence I'll be saying a lot over the next...
“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go watch the puppycam.” (via)
lastbutnotleast:
So I was just reading this Esquire article on White racists who support Obama, and I wonder, does Godwin’s Law have a corresponding thing on the White Supremacist sites? Do they compare each other to Barney Frank, or what?
Yanni sprung to mind, but I guess that doesn’t make sense, strictly speaking.
The BoingBoing Effect (clapclap version) →
I have finally, finally updated the blog. It’s an explanation and expansion of the idea I wrote about on Idolator on Monday. The ending is rambling, but does sum up my ideas about the music biz right now fairly well.
VETERANS STADIUM IS THE HIPPEST PLACE IN TOWN →
perpetua:
This is a terrific essay by Nick Sylvester. He’s primarily writing about his mixed feelings about Philadelphia, which is where he’s from.
This is very good. I particularly liked the part about growing up in a family that didn’t care about sports. One of the interesting experiences of my post-collegiate years (you know, when you stop doing all the rebellious things you did in...
maura: ok maura: do you want to see how sad the world is me: …maybe? maura: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/15072.html maura: i mean maura: fail chasing fail me: it would be awesome if rick ross produced it though maura: ahahahhahahahaaaha maura: omg me: they could do a “we are the world” with minor celebrities, like him and brooke hogan and like that me: oh, the...
Hey look, Marnie Stern covered "Don't Stop... →
perpetua:
When I interviewed her she told me that she never learned how to play anyone else’s songs, so this is kind of a big deal. And you know, against all odds, she makes the song sound new and cool! If anyone was gonna pull that off, it’d be her.
You guys! Seriously. Makes the song radder.
Zogby.Com has discovered time travel
catbird:
They seem to have the technology to pull in a website design directly from 1996 into today.
They’re based out of Utica. In Utica, 1996 is cutting-edge.
Language Log: Forget framing — it's hypnosis! →
tristanjay7:
At the web site of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (“A Voice for Private Physicians Since 1943″), there’s an unsigned “News of the Day” item dated October 25, 2008, under the title “Oratory — or hypnotic induction?”. This article’s disturbing message is indicated by the rhetorical questions in its opening sentences:
Is Barack Obama a brilliant orator,...
Is McCaind done in Florida, Ohio, & Pennsylvania? →
election08:
Florida:
Looking at all Florida likely voters, men go to McCain 49 - 44 percent. Women back Obama 50 - 42 percent. The Republican leads 53 - 40 percent among white voters, 72 - 21 percent among evangelical Christians and 53 - 42 percent among Catholics. The Democrat leads 75 - 20 percent among Jews and 56 - 39 percent among voters 18 - 34 years old. Voters 35 to 54 split 46 - 46...
I seem to have broken my recent resolution not to... →
Prove it
“Other sectors of the music business are doing quite well, thank-you. People are still flocking to live shows. Almost anyone can shoot and video and there have never been so many outlets for showing them. Merchandise sales are up and online stores extend their value beyond the live show. A large musical middle class is emerging that is not constrained by the major label industrial...
Denny's Blogstar Menu →
I would probaly eat mine without the ranch dressing, double-frying, and sweet stuff. (Though it does address a long-standing argument Rachel and I have about the compatability of bacon and whipped cream; I feel like they are separated by enough steps in this recipe that it would TOTALLY WORK.) I would definitely eat Todd’s, though if I was smart, I would eat it in two or three sittings.
Huh
There’s a store that sells wands. (My roommate already has one, but cannot find it.)
Linguistics
Who started saying “throw [x] under the bus” first—reality show contestents or political journalists?
Nickelback "Something In Your Mouth" →
perpetua:
As in, “You’d look so much cuter with something in your mouth.” This new Nickelback song is totally horrible, yet better than anything they’ve ever done before, and kinda fascinating in the way that it’s basically like an Electric Six song parodying stupid macho sexuality played totally straight and irony-free. (Via Maura)
True, though not so different thematically from...
Kanye’s ex-girlfriend went to Newhouse. (She has a Class Note in the new issue of the alumni magazine which strangley makes no mention of Mr. West.) So that’s what all the horrendously-dressed sorority girls around campus are dreaming of!
N.B. since she graduated in 2003, that would make her 22 when she was dating Kanye.
“Listening Post’s Eliot Van Buskirk tackled the other issues with his own...”
– Scott Thrill, professional blogger.
How Quickly Is The Music Industry Shrinking? →
I wanted to look at the rate of music biz companies failing or instituting large-scale layoffs, so I went through 5 years of Billboard Bulletin and summarized my findings in chart form. I do love me some charts. In sum: we haven’t hit bottom yet, scary as that is.
Not to diminish an assasination plot or anything
But look, here was their plan:
”Both individuals stated they would dress in all-white tuxedos and wear top hats during the assassination attempt,” the court complaint states.
Admittedly my experience with killing people is limited, but any plan whose most concrete detail concerns wardrobe can’t be too close to execution.
I feel about this the same way I feel about a lot of...
The BoingBoing Effect →
The more academic version: audiences that flock to a site for its value-neutral content pick up a comorbid ideology and may or may not be actually backed up by the content being posted. This applies pretty strongly to Tumblr.
The Future of Music
maura: “For much of CMJ, the large-scale music business might as well have been on another planet. Money is tight. Although overall attendance (including musicians) was up 5 percent from last year, there were surprisingly few exhibitors at convention booths in the Skirball Center at New York University, where CMJ’s panel discussions were held. The bands lugging their amplifiers around the...
Sarah Palin is Right - NYT →
This attempt to defend Sarah Palin’s conception of the role of the Vice President is a little like attempting to drive around a stopped car and swerving wildly to the left, hitting an old man walking by the side of the street. Which is too bad, because I agree with the general point. Dick Cheney’s issue with claiming legislative power for the VP is that he was doing so to avoid laws...
Pee Ay No Way
Oh, hold on you guys, I need to update my Fuck You, Pennsylvania list. New addition in bold.
Relationships broken up by Pennsylvania: 1 Cars destroyed successfully by Pennsylvania: 1 Cars destroyed unsuccessfully by Pennsylvania: 1
Which is to say that I hit a deer in the middle of nowheresville Pennsylvania while driving by myself. I’m OK, the car’s OK, the deer probably has a...
There is no situation for which Destiny's Child's...
Discuss!
“His name was Jimmy Carter, the year was 1976, and he won. His presidency helps...”
– 1976 Is Back by Mark Moyar on National Review Online (via mikehudack)
It’s probably not worth refuting something written by the author of Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, 1954-1965. (Though the consensus is that Carter’s failure was caused not by his policies but by the way he tried...
I can't imagine why the people in my program think...
Fellow Student: (reading) “What does a baby do to a woman’s body?” Me: It eats her from the inside. Fellow Student: [nervous laugh]
“I’m fortunate enough that this is not happening to me right now (I love you,...”
– Player Piano Party: SOURPUSS
Amanda may be lucky, but I haven’t been so fortunate lately. So yes, obviously, I cosign on this.
(via perpetua)
Here’s a brief guide to getting paid, from a guy who spent a year or so not paying people. The main point: you have to be so annoying to people...
Holy shit you guys
There’s actually a band called Crystal Antlers! Are they touring with Wolf Castles?
Stylista = so awesome.
Of course, Chris Rovzar is right—this makes Elle look really bad. Not because everyone is bitchy, but because they don’t seem to do any actual work in the office, and everyone’s LARPing “snooty fashion person” unconvincingly. But hey, you don’t watch fashion reality shows for the authenticity! The people, though, are fantastic. They’re somehow the...
That goes double for titters.
pterodactyls:
What about chortles? I’m a chortler.
How do you represent that textually? All I can think of is “ho ho ho,” which could be misinterpreted. I used to use “heh” a lot, but I got self-conscious.
No taxes? →
jeffmiller:
Two points in response. (1) I thought it was clear from the context that I’m talking about the federal government. There is no federal sales tax. (2) Presumably, Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes are reserved for Social Security and Medicare. New government programs shouldn’t be funded from these taxes. Thus, new government programs will be essentially free for the...
