Dec 31 2006
I'm thinking maybe I should see a doctor - it's been 3 days and I still feel like crap. In the meantime, have a peaceful, happy, and prosperous new year. Cheers, mates! Now let's dance! C'mon, … S…. A…. F…. E….
Dec 30 2006
During my three day stint with stomach flu (from which I'm just now recovering), I had a whole bunch of "down time." Due to the combination of my fever and low blood sugar, any attempt at reading made my head spin at intolerable speeds.
As a result, I was left only with the option of watching my 55″ TV, which didn't cause my head to spin at such an intolerable pace. However, I bought my TV before I knew the contents of the Miami basic cable market. As aptly described by Votar:
Thanks to COMCAST Cable, the bulk of the bandwidth available for basic cable service in South Florida is dominated by variety shows populated with old hispanic men in bee costumes and skinny hispanic underage dancing girls dressed like prostitutes.
For that reason, I gave up on Miami television about 2 years ago. Instead, I order from Netflix copious amounts of movies, television shows, and virtually anything else on DVD other than "Sabado Gigante." The catch to this plan is that I must leave my couch to insert and remove said DVD's. This is typically not a problem, however I was not really capable of moving more that 2 inches at a time yesterday.
Solution, my friend and neighbor is away on vacation, so I crashed on his couch for about 20 hours watching and sleeping through what felt like every movie and discovery channel special ever produced.
(There's a point to this, I swear…)
The 2 movies that I was semi-conscious through were Serenity (it's the law, I had to stay awake for that), and for some reason, The Chronicles of Narnia. With Narnia, I was in and out throughout the movie (my sincere apologies to the family of C.S. Lewis), but I woke up just in time for the end credits.
As I have mentioned before, I am a fan of Kevin Smith. (trust me, I'm going somewhere with this …)
At the end of his movie Dogma, Alanis Morissette gave both a cameo appearance (portraying God) and an accompanying song for the film's end credits, called "Still." "Still" is a great song in its own right, however, Alanis also wrote and performed a song for the end credits of Narnia.
Turns out, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for the song. I stumbled across a performance of the song that she gave on Jay Leno. It's not a video, per se. However, the lyrics reach into the fabric of the movie (as did those of "Still"); it's a great showcase for her voice; and she, as always, looks spectacular (even with blond hair).
Alanis Morissette – Wunderkind
Once again, YouTube has removed this original video — taken from a goddamn television show — for alleged copyright infringement. Don't they realize this simply reduces public exposure, and therefore … their profit margins? Whatever. Just for consistency, and in case anyone ever reads this buried post, I'm replacing it with a homemade video of the same song. Sans Alanis.
P.S. Even with a lingering fever and low blood sugar, I still made it out into the water today to surf for a bit (it was chest high and it's Miami Beach, c'mon!)
Dec 30 2006
I'm not sure how they do this, but it's a good piece of programming!
When you move the mouse around, the avatar's eyes follow the pointer. When you write something in the left space and then click on "Say it," she says it! You can also change persons doing the talking and the language they speak.
Technology, it's wonderful!
Dec 30 2006
Dec 30 2006
As you may recall, when President Bush's invasion of Iraq, codenamed "Operation Iraqi Freedom", officially began on March 20, 2003, the three (3) stated objectives were "to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction (WMD's), to end Saddam Hussein's support for terrorism, and to free the Iraqi people" (emphasis supplied).
Well, we all know about the non-existent WMD's (via BBC), and that Hussein had no ties to Al-Qaeda (via WaPo).
Now, it seems that the death toll from "Operation Iraqi Freedom" may, in fact, be more than in 25 years of Saddam brutality.
Several weeks ago, research published in the respected medical journal, The Lancet (pdf file), suggests that an estimated 655,000 Iraqis may have died since the 2003 Iraqi invasion. The survey compared mortality rates before and after the war from 47 randomly chosen areas in Iraq. The overall fatality figure is far higher than estimates by official sources or the number of deaths reported in the media and by other lobby or academic groups. (via BBC News)
Strike three? Not so fast.
Earlier today Saddam Hussein was executed by the Iraqi government. The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days.
President Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas that bringing Saddam to justice "is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."
The irony and the hubris is incredible.
At this point, U.S. soldiers continue to be killed in droves, with December being the deadliest month in Iraq for U.S. troops. (via Yahoo). Who here thinks that number is going to go down because Hussein was executed?
I shed no tears for Saddam Hussein, but the taking of one despicable life is rarely justification for the almost guaranteed loss of many other innocent ones.
UPDATE: This is another interesting analysis of the execution by Josh Marshall over at the Talking Points Memo — "I just find it embarrassing. This is what we're reduced to, what the president has reduced us to. This is the best we can do. Hang Saddam Hussein because there's nothing else this president can get right."
Dec 28 2006
In honor of the stomach flu that ambushed me this afternoon, I'm posting A.C. Newman's "Miracle Drug." It's not the actual video. In fact, I'm not sure what the fuck it is. But considering the room is spinning - it'll have to do.
Dec 28 2006
Entangled on the huge morass of the annual "year-end reviews" is this snippet from Tony Hung at The Blog Herald, discussing the phenomena of online video that has occurred over the past year. He notes that:
While privacy advocates complain that making everyone a video publisher is a quick ticket to privacy disasters, I think the flip side is that it creates a sense of accountability on behalf of people who need it the most — politicians. And they need to be aware that you can’t change the nature of this ‘reality’ any more either. More than blog postings, viral video has the potential to circle the world many times over, and its just in its infancy.
However, the phenomena does not live in a vacuum. And what sounds good in theory does not always present itself in the real world. Just look at what has occurred with respect to YouTube's own internal policies since being purchased earlier this year. Not everyone is Craig Newmark, including me.
As an attorney, one of the biggest issues I see with this type of public hosting of proprietary media is the one the RIAA has been facing for years - the unauthorized use and/or copying of content that has been made public (in this case, on YouTube and others) under a proprietary license. In other words, the price for posting your videos for the world to see is that you essentially lose your rights to capitalize on that video, if possible (unless you chose to remove it). It's a double-edged sword.
It will be interesting to see if the full force of the "digital rights management" measures, such as those the recording industry has pushed for, will eventually make their way into the arena of "user-generated" media as well. For now, most users seem content to simply get their voice heard, but how long will that last when those same users attempt to make money off of their content?
Don't get me wrong, I think there can be, and NEEDS needs to be, a happy balance struck between getting paid for practicing your craft while allowing your fans the ability to enjoy same relatively unfettered. If not, we'll continue to be stuck in the shallow end of the "arts" gene pool - with Britteny, Kevin and Jessica.
If anyone knows anything more about this issue, please let me know. I'm curious to see if anyone has already addressed the matter in further detail.
Dec 28 2006
Dec 27 2006
For anyone without electricity … well, you're not reading this anyway, so I'll move on.
Okay, for anyone else still playing along, chances are that you've at least heard of Gnarls Barkley, a "group" essentially comprised of DJ/producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) and rapper/singer Cee-Lo Green (Thomas Callaway). They released their first album, St. Elsewhere, in April 2006 and have been pretty-much everywhere ever since. They were nominated for a Grammy, they won Best Song for "Crazy" and the Future Sounds award at MTV's European Music Awards, and they're one of the trippiest psychedelic pop, hip-hop, soul, rock "groups" that have come out lately.
In my opinion, they fully acknowledge the ridiculous "carnival-like" nature the music scene has taken on and, as such, don't seem to take themselves too seriously. To wit, they have a propensity to appear in costume. For each live performance, as well as for photo shoots and interviews, they dress in a different set of themed costumes. When performing live, they often open with a cover suited to their particular costume. For example, when they appeared as chefs in San Francisco, they opened with a cover of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf."
Or they could just be a bunch of loonies.
Anyway, although I typically shy away from remakes and covers (especially if they're of punk icons like the Violent Femmes), this is one of the few I actually like. Mostly because the video is really, REALLY, REEHEAL-LY trippy (and it's one of the only videos I can remember referencing David Fincher's classic sex scene from "Fight Club").
Gone Daddy Gone - Gnarls Barkley
Dec 27 2006
As you may recall, last week the L.A. Times reported that, after years of diligent work by the U.S. government to eradicate drugs, the No. 1 cash crop in America is … wait for it … Marijuana. (via L.A. Times and William K. Wolfrum)
Now the kicker. A study says 94 percent of all euro bank notes currently in Spain have traces of cocaine on them because of their use in drug trafficking. This follows a 2003 survey found that most Euro bank notes in Germany showed similar traces of the narcotic, and a 1999 report in London found that 99 percent of all 5-Pound notes had cocaine traces. (via UPI and Crooks and Liars)
Now I guess the real question for New Years Ever is: "Do I relax here in the U.S. and eat a truckload of Twinkies watching Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' for the 100th time, or do I go to Europe and stay up partying for 3 days straight?"
I know, it's a conundrum.
Dec 26 2006
Arctic Monkeys is an indie/punk band from Sheffield, England, that carries a sound quality well beyond their relative youth. They have achieved some recent success only through fan-made demo tapes and online file-sharing, with fans singing along at gigs of songs which had never been officially released (think Clap Your Hands Say Yeah).
Although the band initially resisted signing to a record label, they eventually signed to independent label Domino Records, releasing their first album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not earlier this year.
The album charted at number one and broke the record for the largest first week sales of a debut album in UK history. The band subsequently won several major music awards. They have also been awarded Album of the Year in a variety of music forums.
Given their reluctance for self-promotion, most of their best songs are available on video only via live performances.
UPDATE: I wasn't aware of this when I posted this yesterday, but in the latest issue of Time Magazine (where I was named person of the year, thank you very little), this Album was named the number one of the year. Go figure.
Arctic Monkeys - From The Ritz To The Rubble (Live)
Dec 26 2006
An Iraqi appeals court today upheld Saddam Hussein's death sentence for crimes against humanity. The Appeals Court ruled that Hussein should be hanged within 30 days. Via Reuters:
"The appeal court has approved the death sentence. They (the government) has the right to choose the date starting from tomorrow up to 30 days. After 30 days it will be an obligation to implement the sentence," the head of the Iraqi High Tribunal, Aref Abdul-Razzaq al-Shahin, told a news conference.
Saddam, 69, was sentenced to death on Nov. 5 for crimes against humanity over the killings of 148 Shi'ites from the town of Dujail after he escaped assassination there in 1982.
Saddam's half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and former judge Awad al-Bander also received the death penalty for their part in the incident. The court also rejected their appeals.
The court recommended toughening the sentence on former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, who had been sentenced to life in prison over the Dujail killings, saying he should also be executed.
"Amnesty International is very disappointed about this decision," a spokeswoman for the human rights organization said.
"We are against the death penalty as a matter of principle but particularly in this case because it comes after a flawed trial."
Saddam's chief defense counsel Khalil al-Dulaimi told Reuters from Amman: "If they dare implement the sentence it will be a catastrophe for the region and will only deepen the sectarian infighting." (emphasis supplied)
As Hussain's attorney, al-Dulaimi may be saying this in an attempt to obtain a reduced penalty or some other sort of reprieve for his client. However, given the current state of affairs in the region, there is also some validity to his point. Other commentators have also pointed out that the entire region is dangerously close to an full-on sectarian blow-out. Hussain's death could be just the factor that tips the region into overall chaos.
I wonder if the Bush Administration factored this little nugget into their post-invasion "plan" as well. What a jackass.
Dec 26 2006
I’m going to start looking for a real job again.
I’d prefer to do something outside of the law (over the 10 years I practiced, I did all types of law – from real estate to corporate to litigation). However, lately I have been reminded that, despite my contempt with much of the practice of law, it may still be possible to get a legal job that may not turn my stomach and/or ruin me financially. Unfortunately, at this point, all I know is that I don't think I can continue as a strict "entrepreneur," nor do I want to go back to the traditional practice of law.
That being said, I’m starting to become a real advocate of the whole “blogging community” idea. As aptly noted by my new blog-acquaintance Cooqy: “Blogging in isolation is rather pointless.”
Indeed. The number of people I have met – in the past month alone – by way of blogs, either mine or theirs, has been awesome.
And they have been most gracious.
Upon rethinking my position on employment, I've had offers of guidance and/or assistance from several of these new acquaintances. For example, Stephanie Green over at The Dishalicious kindly suggested that I consider looking into positions with the ADL, EPA or ACLU, all of whom do great work. She also suggested attempting to integrate my desire to read/write/edit with my legal experience, perhaps as a literary agent or libel lawyer (getting to read books all day!)
These are all great ideas I probably would not have thought of on my own. And I’m looking for more. If anyone else has any ideas, I would be eternally grateful for any comments, suggestions, or connections (ahem) you may have in this regard.
But who knows, there's already been one Hunter S. Thomson, and the world needs its janitors too.
Dec 26 2006
I've not been much of a fan of most organized sports ever since I turned in my football pads for surfboards, skateboards, and snowboards about 20 years ago. That being said, having grown up in Philadelphia, I still have a place in my heart for Philly sports teams – but only when they’re winning.
Please don’t take that the wrong way, that form of “fandom” is a long-standing tradition with Philly fans.
I remember once when I was a kid, at a game where Mike Schmidt hit 3 home runs, he was actually booed off the field after striking out in the 9th inning. I also remember the team had to suspend for several years the service of beer at The Vet (Stadium) after a particularly ugly “bat night” event (where they give away free bats to the first 1000 visitors or so). After that, they set up a free-standing courtroom in the stadium to handle any "issues" that came up during games. Nice, huh?
Anywho, back to the subject at hand – not that I’ve watched one game this season, but it turns out that yesterday the Eagles beat one of their traditional rivals, the Cowboys. As noted by Yahoo Sports, the Eagles denied Dallas the division crown and wrapped up a playoff berth of their own with a dominating 23-7 victory over the Cowboys in Irving, Texas.
Yea! Way to go – good job getting to the Playoffs! Don’t fuck it up.
Dec 26 2006
A rational basis for cooperation — and why social integration is critical to make it work. (via David Schraub)
Dec 25 2006
Last night, the Cuban/Bolivian family of one of my best friends very, VERY graciously invited me into their home to celebrate "Noche Buena" (Christmas Eve). It was very nice - they have a great and loving family and were, as always, extremely kind. They tried to speak in English as much as possible since, although I have lived in Miami for 7 years, I STILL do not speak fluent Spanish (that joke is especially for Chez over at Deus Ex Malcontent, if he happens to stop by). They also made a point of asking if I, having been raised Jewish, wanted to eat anything other than the "requisite" pork served at Noche Buena (beleive me, their worries were misplaced).
So, with nothing else to do today but to digest, I took a drive down to Marathon Key. It's down at Mile Marker 60 or so (about 60 miles outside of Key West). Despite my various prosternations about Miami, that nice relaxing drive - coupled with the beautiful bright turquoise blue waters of the keys - was a very good showcase of the benefits of South Florida. Nothing like a great weekend to fuck with your head and make you reconsider your decision to leave the State.
Although the video is trippy as fuck, the song itself captures much of the feel of today's drive down to the Keys.
FC Kahuna - Hayling
P.S. As an aside, I will say that an even better use of this song may have been at the beginning of the movie "Layer Cake," which if you have not seen yet, I suggest you do as soon as possible. It is possibly one of the slickest "gangster dramas" (if you can call it that) that's ever been made. If you're interested, that opening scene itself is, of course, posted on YouTube as well - right here - but don't watch the second half, as it contains the closing "spoiler" sequence.
Dec 25 2006
Paul Boutin at Valley Wag continues his "Silicon Valley Users Guide," urging you to skip the year-end recaps and predictions for 2007 in favor of boning up on "these four tech/biz insiders whose blogs you don't read, but should say you do. All four are way more successful than you. Each posts faster than you can read."
Read the full story here.
I, of course, read them all … (Ahem)
Dec 25 2006
If things weren't go bad enough, predictably, it turns out that the United States' so-called "liberation" of Iraqi women has made them less free than they were under the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussain, with abduction, rape, and "honor" killings now a daily reality. Almost four years into the Bush Administration's ill-fated adventure in Iraq, Iraqi women are worse off than they were under the Baathist regime in a country where, for decades, the freedoms and rights enjoyed by Iraqi women were the envy of women in most other countries of the Middle East.
The Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) recently issued a frightening report documenting the growing practice of public executions of women by Shia Militia. I have no glib comments in response to this story. Just absolute disgust of the Bush Administration and the others that have caused this to happen, and allow it to continue on a daily basis unfettered.
Read the entire story at AlterNet.
Dec 24 2006
Since I didn't post anything yesterday, and I'm home for a few minutes this evening, I thought I'd make up for it by adding an extra one today. It's not Christmasy, but fuck it, it's my site and I can do what I want with relative impunity.
I noticed that my taste in music (as reflected here, at least) has been edging towards the more punk and rock extremes in the past several days. As such, I thought I'd mix it up a video from, what I think, is a very underrated group from the height of the tripnotica scene of the late 1990's/early 2000's - "Supreme Beings of Leisure" (SBL).
SBL was formed from the remains of the band Oversoul 7 in 1998 when they signed to Palm Pictures. The release of their first album sold over 250,000 units with very little promotional touring. Instead, SBL opted using the internet to market and promote the album, being the first band to ever do a "Virtual Internet Tour", and among the very first to use Flash animation for their videos. For that reason, some credit SBL as the first true Internet Band of the new millenia. After the release of the debut album, the band decided to split.
However, in 2006, SBL started writing new material and are currently recording their third release, which is due to release in early 2007. It should be interesting to see if they, like Zero 7, will be able to evolve from strict trip-hop and downbeat to something that can survive in the current musical landscape.
Supreme Beings of Leisure - Strangelove Addiction
Dec 24 2006
In the holiday spirit, enjoy The Kinks performing Father Christmas in this 1977 Christmas concert from London.
Dec 24 2006
I was just reviewing my site content over the past week and I noticed that I’ve sort of been “phoning it in” during that time. I know it’s the week before Christmas, but that really shouldn’t make a difference considering that I was raised Jewish, and I really don’t have anything else of substance going on these days.
Given that realization, I was planning on working out my draft of the “Grass is Greener” theme from Friday. I also wanted to write something in response to the advise I saw on a site last week advising against the reliance on “blog communities” to drive traffic.
However …
I am, at this point, closer to 40 than 30. And although I take care of myself, I am only now starting to learn that there are several things that I cannot, and should not, be doing at this age on a Friday night. One such activity is drinking and smoking heavily until 5:00 a.m. A second is climbing fences in order to sneak into a club where I know the doormen, for no other reason than it seems like a good idea at the time. A third, which I’m sure nobody really wants to know, is having hot-wings and beer at 6:00 a.m. when someone else my age ought instead be having oatmeal and coffee. Participating in any or all of the above activities will lead, inevitably, to a horrible, horrible Saturday. Just a friendly reminder for anyone out there considering that course of action – and, more importantly, to myself if I ever happen to read this post before I EVER consider doing that again.
Moving on, yesterday I was planning to write something about the topic of “cross-linking” of blogs and the whole “blog community” phenomenon, especially in light of the recent advise I saw about how joining such communities is not conducive towards gaining site traffic. But that was sheer fantasy. I wanted to write something about it today as well, which is what I was planning when I first starting writing this about 10 minutes ago. Apparently, that also is not to be, considering I am getting dizzy while typing this. As such, I’m going to summarize my point and basically steal content which I would have otherwise paraphrased.
I agree that there may be some validity to the point of not joining blog directories. However, I also think there may be some benefit in doing so. Especially considering the best of those directories are morphing into something other than simply “link-sharing” programs. One such directory is MyBlogLog.com, which I joined only recently and believe contains some interesting possibilities.
From Cooqy.com, which itself I stumbled upon through My Blog Log, comes this analysis:
Blogging in isolation is rather pointless. MyBlogLog’s “reader widget” makes you feel you are not blogging alone, by providing tangible proof that someone cares enough to visit your blog postings. It’s also fun from the point of view of leaving my mark on other people’s blogs…my own “Kilroy Was Here” or “Sign of Zorro” mark. Both bloggers and readers can benefit.
MyBlogLog has the two key ingredients for success nowadays…social components and widgets. According to this post, they are experiencing accelerated growth across all metrics. The widget growth in particular is what caught my eye…widgets are a key component to viral adoption on the Internet. It’s funny that MyBlogLog is reporting a doubling of widget growth month-over-month, because that is similar to Cooqy’s growth for the last three months as well. Coincidence? Or is there a mathematical formula in action that describes widget propagation?
Sometimes when a company creates their product/service and releases it to the world, the utility of their creation cannot be fully appreciated. I believe this is the case with MyBlogLog, in the sense that their name and focus seems to be exclusively on bloggers. I feel that MyBlogLog is more like a socialization engine for any and all web pages. Sort of like a MySpace without walls.
I had those same thoughts when I first went to My Blog Log. It may be a service that is greater than the sum of it’s parts (and definitely its name). The integration of the widgets and the socializing potentially makes My Blog Log (which Cooqy aptly notes is a horrible name that does not fully describe the services possible) much more than a “directory.” It would be a means towards achieving a true online social community which, through the use of widgets would (unlike MySpace) be mostly contained on the individual websites of the users. This obviously would allow for more diverse content, accessibility, etc.
And while the service is now directed only towards bloggers, it could just as easily be geared for others, including those in the online business community – with all the possibilities that would entail.
That being said, I'm going back to bed.
Dec 22 2006
I've been asked where in the world is the break that's posted above as my main site header. That is from a place in French Polynesia known as "Tuamotu". French Polynesia is composed of hundreds of islands and atolls. The remote Tuamotu Archipelago to the north east of Tahiti is not a common destination because of its remoteness and lack of tourist facilities. Nonetheless, it is home to some of the best, uncrowded surf spots to be found anywhere.
This photo was taken in 2005 during one of the large northerly swells, using a panoramic camera. It is among the many, many, maaaaaany absolutely stunning photos contained in the portfolio of Tim McKenna, probably the best surf and outdoor photographer in the world.
If you are seeking a true vision of paradise, I urge you to look at Mr. McKenna's portfolio. His photos are some of the most compelling evidence that paradise does exist on Earth. His sense of color, shading, blocking and, of course, the subject matter often defy description.
Some of his photos bring tears to my eyes. Like this one of Teahupoo (pronounced "Cho-poo"), probably the most beautiful wave in the world.
Dec 22 2006
I was in the middle of writing this long diatribe about how the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and yadda yadda. It seems to be a recurring theme I’ve been noticing of late - in movies, music, work, everywhere. So I thought I'd do a post on it, both in terms of my latest personal confrontation and also as a general topic.
It's gonna have to wait. Although I want to post a portion of what I've written, just so I don't forget the general theme.
One of the main reasons I left the practice of law was that I sought the freedom to design something that was all mine, as well as the ecstasy of building something from the ground up. With law, I never got that. Not truly. I always felt wedged in to a long-existing legal system, my creativity limited to writing and arguing briefs, and my ability to free-form and guide a business bound by the confines of the traditional law firm model. Moreover, I had always working for others, either in the form of mid-size or larger law firms – firms that had also been long established before I was ever conceived. I always wanted to leave my own mark, or at least play a greater role in assisting someone else to do so. Someone other than a fucking money broker, which is essentially all that a lawyer is.
Yeah, here’s where that whole “grass is always green” theme picks back up.
I could be wrong (I usually am), but I think I may hate doing this freelance shit. I miss the structure of going to work every day for 10-12 hours. I miss the pre-existing standards and boilerplate verbiage. I miss pulling a regular paycheck. I miss … conformity.
I’m doing some thinking, and I may make some changes at the turn of the New Year. We'll see…
Anyway, I had to put the "Kaibash" on my initially intended long post.
In particular, one of my best friends just returned for the holidays from Singapore, where he’s been for the past couple months working. Then he’s leaving to the French Alps in a few days, and then London for New Years. Which means that we have some drinking to catch up on this weekend.
In his honor, I’m gonna post this punk rock classic (I forgot how talented Mick Jones is; maybe I'll put up something from Big Audio Dynamite next week).
The Clash - London Calling (sound edited, sorta)
Dec 22 2006
Considering the fact that most of my "side projects" are not really bringing in any substantial income right now, I am actually considering going back to work as an attorney - if nothing else, probably just part-time. I shudder at the idea, but like I said, none of the projects I've tried to implement over the past six (6) months seem to be coming to fruition as of yet.
Regardless, in the interim, I will keep plugging away - quite literally. This time, I'm posting a site link and a "coupon" prepared by my partner over at Wish Upon A Stove. I personally think it's a great idea, my friend is a gourmet chef and he's taken to posting "learn to cook" videos online as a preface to starting his own online culinary school. The guy taught at one of the big schools in California and from what I understand, there's nothing you can learn there that you can't learn by watching videos and a small bit of personal guidance (much like sex, I suppose).
I've been told that, if you're a foodie (a term I never even heard about until earlier this year), it's like nirvana.
Dec 22 2006
The Daily Show: "If we're not winning OR losing the war in Iraq, are we at least covering the spread?"
I love how Jon Stewart and the writers of the show picked up on the fact that Bush held his press conference in "The Indian Treaty Room," cause there's NO way a President could lie in THAT room.
Dec 21 2006
For anyone here in the U.S. who thinks Coldplay, Radiohead, Keane and the others of their ilk are the most original and creative musical groups to come out of the U.K. in the last 20 years, don't forget that Travis, the indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland, paved the way for them all.
Although this probably isn't their most popular or creative song, it's one of my favorites.
Dec 21 2006
If you're not familiar with the site, PSFK is a collaborative trend spotting resource for business professionals and trend watchers of marketing and consumer trends and business ideas. The site is run by Piers Fawkes and Simon King with a team of contributors in Europe, Canada, the US and Asia. They report on innovations and new business concepts for researchers and marketing managers.
It really is an outstanding information source for up and coming trends and business models.
Lately, they have been running a series entitled "Trends in 2007." It's interesting because it's part of a collaborative effort, obtaining commentary from both inside and outside their collective. They are requesting users to submit their own predictions via YouTube with the tag psfk2007.
Some of the viewer submitted ideas have nothing to do directly with business or marketing trends (i.e., immigration reform). Others, like the latest submissions predicting an upsurge in "Psychedelia & Green Fuel" are at least somewhat more pragmatic. There are, however, some very interesting submissions like this one concerning widgets; and more are sure to follow.
You can view the existing predictions, and add your own, right here.
UPDATE: Although I'm not sure if this falls under the category of PSFK's "Trend Search," I came across this video interview of David Gensler, and just wanted to post directly for future reference. Gensler is a designer and strategist, co-founder of The KDU, SVSV, and publisher of "The Royal Magazine." Great stuff regarding the relationship between, and interaction of, design, function and marketing.
Dec 21 2006
Okay, I told myself that, but for the most dire of circumstances (by "dire" I mean being awake, and by "circumstances" I mean being bored), I would avoid posting anything about celebrity gossip. For that reason, I have shied away from the horror show that is Britteny Spears, among others.
However, this is absolutely awesome!! This transcends gossip and reaches into the realm of prurient entertainment - my forte.
If you haven't been keeping up, there has been a little "feud" developing over the past couple days between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump. That feud has now passed from the sublime to the hysterical.
It began yesterday on The View, when O'Donnell launched into a rant chiding Trump for allowing Miss USA to keep her crown, despite the underage beauty queen's admission that she had been drinking and snorting her way through the New York club scene. O'Donnell called Trump a “snake-oil salesman”, accused him of being an adulterer, announced that Trump had gone bankrupt several times over, and threw in a little “Miss America Can Kick Miss USA’s Ass” in for good measure.
Well, the Donald couldn't just sit back and take that, could he? Of course not. Trump’s response on Entertainment Tonight should pocket him a Grammy Award. Without ruining the surprise, you MUST check it out over at Best Week Ever, where they're providing play-by-play on the whole sordid affair.
From there, if possible, it just gets worse. This morning on The View, Rosie gave her official "response". As aptly noted by the guys at Best Week Ever: "Warning: It’s ugly. Really, really ugly."
Rosie Vs. Donald, Part III: Rosie Strikes Back. (via Best Week Ever)
I can't wait to see what's next. Your move, Mr. Trump.
Dec 21 2006
Dec 20 2006
Considering the surfing theme I've given this blog, I suppose I'd be remiss if I failed to include Sublime among one of the first videos posted to the site.
"Borrowing" from Wikipedia (as usual), Sublime was a 90's band from Long Beach, California, whose music combined a mix of reggae, dub, ska, punk, and hip hop. The band consisted of three members: Brad Nowell (vocals and guitar), Bud Gaugh (drums), and Eric Wilson (bass guitar). The band initially obtained wide exposed throughout Southern California (especially the surf scene, which I was in at the time). They eventually achieved mainstream success with their self-titled third album in 1996.
Before achieving such success, however, Nowell descended into what he described as a two-year heroin "experiment." He claimed that his heroin use was justified, since it aided with his artistic creativity, thereby increasing the likelihood that his material would attract the attention of a major label.
Upon reaching the success he sought, Nowell attempted detoxification and drug rehabilitation several times - unsuccessfully. He eventually died of a heroin overdose shortly before the release of that third album. Although that album achieved posthumous success, the band broke up soon after Nowell's death.
If was a loss on many levels, but mainly because Nowell left behind a wife and infant son.
One of my favorite songs of theirs is Badfish, the video for which I think accurately captures the essence of their music and the time period.
Dec 20 2006
The January 2007 issue of Harper’s (the cover art is a photograph of a rubber duckie) has an article by Chalmers Johnson entitled “Republic or Empire: A National Intelligence Estimate on the United States.” It’s not online and won’t be for awhile, but Barbara O'Brien has a good analysis here. An excerpt:
In the article, Chalmers discusses “military Keynesianism,” in which “the flow of the nation’s wealth — from taxpayers and (increasingly) foreign lenders through the government to military contractors and (decreasingly) back to the taxpayers.” As a result, “the domestic economy requires sustained military ambition in order to avoid recession or collapse.”
(via The Mahablog)
Dec 20 2006
As I’ve noted elsewhere ad nauseum, and if it’s not abundantly obvious from my rhetoric and grammar, I used to practice law. My apologies, but I still can’t help trying to work as many words as possible into my text simply because it usually leads towards more billable hours.
That being said, I’ve spent the past 6 months working my way back into the online world, in terms of internet marketing and sales, search engine optimization, website design, and, of course, blogging. I’ve not gone into the industry completely blind, and I have been consulting with several friends who have been involved in one or several of the aforementioned industries for some time. That does not, for fuck sake, mean that I have any clue as to what I’m doing – in any of them.
For this reason, it’s always nice to come across some clues that people have been kind enough to randomly drop on the internet without requiring me to provide a (dummy) g-mail account, my name, address, blood type and first born – ostensibly for allowing the viewing of said information rather than allowing them to later bombard me with spam notices of their “indispensable” seminars.
One of the many reasons I decided to start a personal blog (other than allowing me the opportunity to post nudie pictures, of course) was to provide myself with a quick and easy personal resource for any links, commentaries, suggestions, guides, etc. that may further assist me in my efforts.
While it may be simplistic, I am classifying such resources – for now – under the general category of “internet marketing.” That will probably soon change given the number of links and resources I may find.
To start it off, I came across this link clarifying Google’s recent decision to disallow the placement of images next to Adsense ads to increase clickthrough rates. In short - they don’t want it. The remainder of the explanation is here and here. Good to know, considering my friend, who has been in the industry for years, was himself unclear about the issue. Thanks, although I think Google's reasoning is a bit silly.
The second point, taken from that same site, is of greater import to me personally, given that I have been focusing much of my time during the past month to building out several blog sites with some friends. The gent over at Connected Internet just posted an article entitled “The Dos And Don’ts For Driving Traffic To A New Website.” Although the title is self-explanatory, I'll also mention his following blurb:
In my view there are certain actions and steps that can be taken for driving traffic to a website, which are only useful or worthwhile at certain stages in its life cycle. For example, the benefits for a larger and more established site which already has a significant number of links from participating in a link exchange program, will be minimal.
Over, the last year or so, I’ve managed to turn this site into a reasonably trafficked site. Below I’ve listed what I consider to be The Dos and Don’ts For Driving Traffic To a New Website, where the payback from certain actions will be greater than for larger sites.
Although the author writes in (necessary) generalizations, it’s a good resource and should be referred to from time to time. Personally, the most interesting piece of advise he gives is "Don’t Waste Time With Blog Directories." I have been told by many others the opposite up until now, but he has a good point - Feedburner already pings the various services, so anything else would be somewhat superfluous.
Dec 20 2006
I'm in the middle of a couple projects today, and I had to drive one of my buddies to and from his periodontal surgeon where he got his front tooth replaced (I still think he should have made it gold … with spinners). As such, my time is short but I still wanted to kill some time without writing a huge big-to-do.
The solution? Post a video that made me piss my pants the first time I saw it back in the late 1800's. If nobody remembers, the video is based upon text taken from the opening scene of the English version of the Japanese video game "Zero Wing." While the translation was err … let's just say "incorrect," the incorrectly translated phrase itself stood out as particularly humorous. From there, a huge number of altered pictures, GIF animations, and Flash animations (in addition to photos of actual sightings) were added, making the video that stands today.
Personally, I think the classics are timeless.
Dec 20 2006
Dec 19 2006
As I’ve written previously, both before and after the resurrection of this blog (the before’s being infinitely more difficult to read, as they were completely deleted), I very much enjoy the writings of Chez over at Deus Ex Malcontent.
Ironically enough, it turns out that he used to work with my sister when they both worked at a television station here in Miami in the late 1990's.
Despite the anemic number of people – mainly consisting of friends and family – even aware of this site, I still hesitate to write about him or my sister publicly. I hesitate to discuss Chez because I don’t really know him personally; my sister, because she has since moved on to the “private sector” where she would, I think, shudder at the idea of even the mention of her name in a public forum (as it were). However, Chez has disclosed more about himself on his blog than I would know about him otherwise, and my sister held herself out to the public as an on-air personality for more years than I can recall (which, in her defense, is not saying much). Moreover, I just read Chez’s latest commentary (here) and wanted to respond, if not only to him directly, then also so I may justify to myself at a later time some of my own actions and commentary.
By chance, I was recently discussing with my sister my latest mid-life crisis. We spoke of my abandonment of the practice of law and my attempt to move on to others things, this blog being one of them. I happened to bring up Chez’s blog as an inspiration of both the type of outlet in which I wanted to refine my skills, and of the style of writing I eventually hope to achieve. At this point, my sister told me she used to work with Chez here in Florida, wh