Wifi.
We've always had a sort of willfull ignorance about Middle East politics. We figure that there is so much background information to get straight before any present conflicts can be fully understood. And we feel most of the sources that discuss the issues today either do not put the current issues into any kind of historical context, or they have an agenda that is not explicitly disclosed.
So we meakly throw up our hands and stay out of Discussions About the Middle East Conflict.
But we came across a story yesterday that blew our minds. According to this Salon article, the internet in the Middle East has suffered an outage because a cable carried by a submarine was cut.
W?
T?
F?
Granted, in the U.S., we have awesome politicians like Ted Stevens who sit and lecture us about how the internet is not a dump truck, but rather a series of tubes.
And we sit back and laugh.
But in the Middle East ... they ... what? We do not understand this. Their internet is hooked up by submarine? Do they actually plug their internet cable into the bottom of the ocean, and the submarine just acts as an intermediary? We have no idea what is going on here, but this is as concerete a reason as we've ever seen that the Middle East Issue Will Not, In Fact, Ever Be Solved.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
(01.30.08) Recommends:
The track "Stranger" by Sunny Day Sets Fire (IAMSOUND, 2008).
We've been listening to this track on our way to work all week. We live less than eight miles from where we work. But often times it takes us 45 minutes to travel such a distance. Which normally annoys us to an unhealthy degree. But this week -- we'll we've just put this track on repeat and enjoyed it. It reminds us of The Apples in Stereo. We think the two could easily combine forces to create a psychedelic indie rock super group called Sunny Day Sets Fire to Apples in Stereo.
But anyway. If it can put us at ease in traffic, for the sake of our future children, we would like scientists to take a look at this song and figure out how it does it.
Sunny Day Sets Fire -- Stranger -- mp3.
We've been listening to this track on our way to work all week. We live less than eight miles from where we work. But often times it takes us 45 minutes to travel such a distance. Which normally annoys us to an unhealthy degree. But this week -- we'll we've just put this track on repeat and enjoyed it. It reminds us of The Apples in Stereo. We think the two could easily combine forces to create a psychedelic indie rock super group called Sunny Day Sets Fire to Apples in Stereo.
But anyway. If it can put us at ease in traffic, for the sake of our future children, we would like scientists to take a look at this song and figure out how it does it.
Sunny Day Sets Fire -- Stranger -- mp3.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
(01.29.08) Recommends:
Google Alerts.
It's been a while since we've last blogged. And the absence can probably be blamed on us getting smart through Google Alerts. We like dumping knowledge on your head, but sometimes it takes a while to cultivate our garden, yo. Google is trying to solve this time problem, though. And outside of searching say, the Lexis Nexis news database, Google Alerts are one of the best ways to quickly get up to speed on particular issues of our time (and at any rate, it's certainly much cheaper than Lexis Nexis). Need to learn about ISPs engaged in DNS redirection?[1] Going to a cocktail party where you're expected to be familiar with Collateralized Debt Obligations?[2] Don't know where to turn? Well, You're in luck. Simply go to Google Alerts, type in your search term, and Google will notify you every time there are new Google results on the term. You can have the alerts emailed to you once a day, once a week, or as they happen.
It might sound dorky now. But trust us. You'll try it and soon find yourself making up topics that you're certain you must track minute-by-minute. But use your newfound knowledge wisely. Because on one hand, You'll probably become unbearable on dates and at cocktail parties. On the other hand, You'll be so addicted to getting your Google Alerts that you'll probably never leave the house for dates and cocktail parties.
Keeping you in the house and off the streets away from us normal folks: we deserve no blame and accept no credit.
Both go to Google Alerts.
--
[1]Why?
[2]No really? Who are you? We think you might need a new hobby or something.
It's been a while since we've last blogged. And the absence can probably be blamed on us getting smart through Google Alerts. We like dumping knowledge on your head, but sometimes it takes a while to cultivate our garden, yo. Google is trying to solve this time problem, though. And outside of searching say, the Lexis Nexis news database, Google Alerts are one of the best ways to quickly get up to speed on particular issues of our time (and at any rate, it's certainly much cheaper than Lexis Nexis). Need to learn about ISPs engaged in DNS redirection?[1] Going to a cocktail party where you're expected to be familiar with Collateralized Debt Obligations?[2] Don't know where to turn? Well, You're in luck. Simply go to Google Alerts, type in your search term, and Google will notify you every time there are new Google results on the term. You can have the alerts emailed to you once a day, once a week, or as they happen.
It might sound dorky now. But trust us. You'll try it and soon find yourself making up topics that you're certain you must track minute-by-minute. But use your newfound knowledge wisely. Because on one hand, You'll probably become unbearable on dates and at cocktail parties. On the other hand, You'll be so addicted to getting your Google Alerts that you'll probably never leave the house for dates and cocktail parties.
Keeping you in the house and off the streets away from us normal folks: we deserve no blame and accept no credit.
Both go to Google Alerts.
--
[1]Why?
[2]No really? Who are you? We think you might need a new hobby or something.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
(01.19.08) Recommends:
Replacing Negative Campaigning With Dueling.
So two more caucuses were decided today. Or, one caucus and one primary. There's a difference in there somewhere, but we still haven't figured it out.
Anyway. What happens next is each candidate spins the results; e.g., Barack Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in Nevada, but has announced that he received more national
delegates in Nevada than Mrs. Clinton. Nobody is actually sure whether he's right or not, because nobody actually knows how these primary/caucus things work. We only know they were invented by Al Gore.
Anyway again. What happens after the spinning is the candidates go back to either flat out attacks on the other side, or thinly-veiled attacks on the other side. Sometimes the candidates themselves do the attacking. Sometimes other people do the attacking on behalf of the candidates.
Wait. Let's back up. The "attacking" is only verbal, metaphorical. And that, we believe, is just lazy. As such, we propose: dueling. Seriously, think about this. The candidates do all this huffing and puffing, they express outrage! at the attacks and indignation! at the attacks. They say attacks ruin! politics and the people! are ready for change! Sometimes they even start press conferences denouncing negative ads by playing a negative ad that they say will never be shown.
It's really all ridiculous and high school. Therefore, if the candidates want us to believe that they actually believe in what they're saying, they can prove it to us by agreeing to pick up a gun, walking in opposite directions between five and ten paces, and then turning around and firing! The one left standing, we'll back up and vote for. The other one: s/he's dead and therefore ineligible for office [1].
If it was good enough for Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, it should be good enough for this year's crops of candidates.
[1] Of course, this technically isn't true. John Ashcroft lost the 2000 U.S. Senate election in Missouri to Mel Carnahan, who was dead at the time. We're willing to overlook technicalities if it will make political dueling fashionable again.
So two more caucuses were decided today. Or, one caucus and one primary. There's a difference in there somewhere, but we still haven't figured it out.
Anyway. What happens next is each candidate spins the results; e.g., Barack Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in Nevada, but has announced that he received more national
delegates in Nevada than Mrs. Clinton. Nobody is actually sure whether he's right or not, because nobody actually knows how these primary/caucus things work. We only know they were invented by Al Gore.
Anyway again. What happens after the spinning is the candidates go back to either flat out attacks on the other side, or thinly-veiled attacks on the other side. Sometimes the candidates themselves do the attacking. Sometimes other people do the attacking on behalf of the candidates.
Wait. Let's back up. The "attacking" is only verbal, metaphorical. And that, we believe, is just lazy. As such, we propose: dueling. Seriously, think about this. The candidates do all this huffing and puffing, they express outrage! at the attacks and indignation! at the attacks. They say attacks ruin! politics and the people! are ready for change! Sometimes they even start press conferences denouncing negative ads by playing a negative ad that they say will never be shown.
It's really all ridiculous and high school. Therefore, if the candidates want us to believe that they actually believe in what they're saying, they can prove it to us by agreeing to pick up a gun, walking in opposite directions between five and ten paces, and then turning around and firing! The one left standing, we'll back up and vote for. The other one: s/he's dead and therefore ineligible for office [1].
If it was good enough for Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, it should be good enough for this year's crops of candidates.
[1] Of course, this technically isn't true. John Ashcroft lost the 2000 U.S. Senate election in Missouri to Mel Carnahan, who was dead at the time. We're willing to overlook technicalities if it will make political dueling fashionable again.
Friday, January 18, 2008
(01.18.08) Recommends:
Oliver Future.
So, other than Season Four of Project Runway, we've been pretty bored with popular culture lately. But this week we came across something that made us feel hopeful again. They're Oliver Future and they're another LA-based band. We know we've been way too LA-centric lately, but this is different. They don't come off as a band trying to capture a Silver Lake sound or anything. It's more like a mixture of Elefant and, we dunno, maybe the keyboards of The Unicorns. So maybe a slightly more earnest version of the Deadly Syndrome. Is that what we're saying? We're not really sure at this point.
But anyway. They're playing at blah blah blah bar in Los Angeles on blah blah blah. It'll be blah blah blah. Yet, you'll be blah blah blah that you went!
So, other than Season Four of Project Runway, we've been pretty bored with popular culture lately. But this week we came across something that made us feel hopeful again. They're Oliver Future and they're another LA-based band. We know we've been way too LA-centric lately, but this is different. They don't come off as a band trying to capture a Silver Lake sound or anything. It's more like a mixture of Elefant and, we dunno, maybe the keyboards of The Unicorns. So maybe a slightly more earnest version of the Deadly Syndrome. Is that what we're saying? We're not really sure at this point.
But anyway. They're playing at blah blah blah bar in Los Angeles on blah blah blah. It'll be blah blah blah. Yet, you'll be blah blah blah that you went!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
(01.15.08) Recommends:
Slate's Explainer.
It has been years since we've been a regular reader of Slate. But on the advice of a Fellow Blogger we started reading it again. And the thing that has kept our attention all week (we know it's only Tuesday, but stay with us) is the Explainer feature. One problem we have with modern media coverage is the amount of assumed knowledge present in so many stories. The value of the Explainer, then, is to take a current event and explain some part of it that is glossed over in other coverage. The stories are all over the map, from the strange Roger Clemens saga (explanation of types and purposes of immunity) to the New Hampshire primaries (explanation of why Obama and Clinton walked away with the same number of delegates even though Clinton won the primary).
We love the premise of this feature and are hopeful that the internet and its vast space (combined with bloggers and the competition they offer for readership) will encourage tradional media outlets to cut down on assumed knowledge and start giving edible background on stories.
It has been years since we've been a regular reader of Slate. But on the advice of a Fellow Blogger we started reading it again. And the thing that has kept our attention all week (we know it's only Tuesday, but stay with us) is the Explainer feature. One problem we have with modern media coverage is the amount of assumed knowledge present in so many stories. The value of the Explainer, then, is to take a current event and explain some part of it that is glossed over in other coverage. The stories are all over the map, from the strange Roger Clemens saga (explanation of types and purposes of immunity) to the New Hampshire primaries (explanation of why Obama and Clinton walked away with the same number of delegates even though Clinton won the primary).
We love the premise of this feature and are hopeful that the internet and its vast space (combined with bloggers and the competition they offer for readership) will encourage tradional media outlets to cut down on assumed knowledge and start giving edible background on stories.
Friday, January 11, 2008
(01.11.08) Recommends:
Intrade.com
Intrade is the prediction market that nobody can stop talking about, and during this election season it will become the place to watch. It called Obama's Iowa victory, and it became clear Obama was going to lose NH very early (although, in the interest of full disclosure, it had Obama at 95% chance of winning NH at the start of the day; but by the first precinct reporting, it dropped him to under 30% -- presumably because people with exit polls began trading). Intrade is really great. It's like working on Wall Street, what with all the fancy charts and graphs, but it predicts things that seem much more interesting to us than the price of stocks. Our main beef with the site is that it has no market on predicting the winner of Project Runway Season 4. Inexplicably -- and perhaps against our better judgment -- we've become obsessed with PRS4. And equally inexplicably, you cannot (yet!) trade the winner on intrade.
Intrade is the prediction market that nobody can stop talking about, and during this election season it will become the place to watch. It called Obama's Iowa victory, and it became clear Obama was going to lose NH very early (although, in the interest of full disclosure, it had Obama at 95% chance of winning NH at the start of the day; but by the first precinct reporting, it dropped him to under 30% -- presumably because people with exit polls began trading). Intrade is really great. It's like working on Wall Street, what with all the fancy charts and graphs, but it predicts things that seem much more interesting to us than the price of stocks. Our main beef with the site is that it has no market on predicting the winner of Project Runway Season 4. Inexplicably -- and perhaps against our better judgment -- we've become obsessed with PRS4. And equally inexplicably, you cannot (yet!) trade the winner on intrade.
Friday, January 04, 2008
(01.04.08) Recommends:
Music Business Friday.
Today we're presenting three articles that have been bandied about this week by Young Hollywood's Emerging, Influential &/or Intoxicated [But Mainly Intoxicated (Or, At Least Post-Holidays Hungover)]. Actually, we just presume these links have been bandied about between these people, as we technically cannot get any of these groups to return our phone calls, text messages, or emails.
First up is David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars from Wired Magazine. If you've seen David Byrne in the last several years there's a chance you've seen him work a Power Point presentation. We're not kidding about this; dude has mad .ppt skillz. This article isn't a power point, but it's still got that graphic-designer-gone-boardroom look that only people like David Byrne can pull off: cool charts, bulleted lists, numbered lists, embedded interviews. Particularly recommended is listening to the interview with Mac McCaughan of Merge Records. The music business seems to be in good hands when you hear people like Mcaughan speak.
Next, we've got U.S. Album Sales Fell 9.5% in 2007 from the NY Times via the AP. This article is probably going to be reported as another sign the music industry is on its death bed, but frankly, it doesn't have enough analysis to tell us much. Album sales are down 9.5% from '06. Sales of digital tracks are up 45% from '06. Apparently, sales of albums in "traditional format" are actually down 15%, but the way the numbers are tracked, every ten digital tracks sold equates to one "album" sold which brings us to the 9.5% number. But then, overall music purchases, including albums, singles, digital tracks and music videos, are up 14% from '06. So we think this article actually says the music industry is far from dead. It's just trying to figure out its future. And isn't that what we're all trying to do?
Finally, we've got a rumor about Jay Z starting a record label with Apple. Our gut tells us that there is no way this rumor is true. We can't imagine the Justice Department going for it, or other labels going for it, or even Jay Z going for it, really (it's our understanding that he pulled his latest album from iTunes because he felt it should be experienced as a full album and not as single tracks. Whether this is true or not, we think it's a fair enough point. Books aren't available by the chapter, right?). But it's out there. And we're only spreading it because we love the theory behind the rumor -- the merger of people who understand technology and people who understand music. It's the natural way forward, but it increasingly seems that neither side wants to listen to the other.
Today we're presenting three articles that have been bandied about this week by Young Hollywood's Emerging, Influential &/or Intoxicated [But Mainly Intoxicated (Or, At Least Post-Holidays Hungover)]. Actually, we just presume these links have been bandied about between these people, as we technically cannot get any of these groups to return our phone calls, text messages, or emails.
First up is David Byrne's Survival Strategies for Emerging Artists — and Megastars from Wired Magazine. If you've seen David Byrne in the last several years there's a chance you've seen him work a Power Point presentation. We're not kidding about this; dude has mad .ppt skillz. This article isn't a power point, but it's still got that graphic-designer-gone-boardroom look that only people like David Byrne can pull off: cool charts, bulleted lists, numbered lists, embedded interviews. Particularly recommended is listening to the interview with Mac McCaughan of Merge Records. The music business seems to be in good hands when you hear people like Mcaughan speak.
Next, we've got U.S. Album Sales Fell 9.5% in 2007 from the NY Times via the AP. This article is probably going to be reported as another sign the music industry is on its death bed, but frankly, it doesn't have enough analysis to tell us much. Album sales are down 9.5% from '06. Sales of digital tracks are up 45% from '06. Apparently, sales of albums in "traditional format" are actually down 15%, but the way the numbers are tracked, every ten digital tracks sold equates to one "album" sold which brings us to the 9.5% number. But then, overall music purchases, including albums, singles, digital tracks and music videos, are up 14% from '06. So we think this article actually says the music industry is far from dead. It's just trying to figure out its future. And isn't that what we're all trying to do?
Finally, we've got a rumor about Jay Z starting a record label with Apple. Our gut tells us that there is no way this rumor is true. We can't imagine the Justice Department going for it, or other labels going for it, or even Jay Z going for it, really (it's our understanding that he pulled his latest album from iTunes because he felt it should be experienced as a full album and not as single tracks. Whether this is true or not, we think it's a fair enough point. Books aren't available by the chapter, right?). But it's out there. And we're only spreading it because we love the theory behind the rumor -- the merger of people who understand technology and people who understand music. It's the natural way forward, but it increasingly seems that neither side wants to listen to the other.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
(01.03.08) Recommends:
Radio Free Silver Lake 2008 Mix.
Since we made our Southern California plunge, we've been heavily dependent on the internet to help us get our bearings. There are many local blogs that purport to have their finger to the pulse of some part of LA. But there is only one we believe: Radio Free Silver Lake. If you live in LA and want to know about the best up and coming bands: Radio Free Silver Lake. If you live in LA and want to know about the best places to see live music: Radio Free Silver Lake. If you live outside of LA but are interested in where music will be in six to eighteen months: Radio Free Silver Lake.
It's a blog that does the dirty work so the rest of us can walk around like we know what we're talking about. And they're giving us a jump start on 2008 with their Radio Free Silver Lake 2008 Mix, a collection of 25 local bands. Download this. Burn this. People will think you, too, know what you're talking about.
Since we made our Southern California plunge, we've been heavily dependent on the internet to help us get our bearings. There are many local blogs that purport to have their finger to the pulse of some part of LA. But there is only one we believe: Radio Free Silver Lake. If you live in LA and want to know about the best up and coming bands: Radio Free Silver Lake. If you live in LA and want to know about the best places to see live music: Radio Free Silver Lake. If you live outside of LA but are interested in where music will be in six to eighteen months: Radio Free Silver Lake.
It's a blog that does the dirty work so the rest of us can walk around like we know what we're talking about. And they're giving us a jump start on 2008 with their Radio Free Silver Lake 2008 Mix, a collection of 25 local bands. Download this. Burn this. People will think you, too, know what you're talking about.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
(01.02.08) Recommends:
First Fridays at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
Okay, probably every city in the country has some version of First Fridays. Standard protocol is to take the first Friday of the month, throw in some booze, throw in some kind of art or other cultural offering, and boom, First Fridays.
We're fans of First Fridays, though we've seen certain cities misplay them enough times to be somewhat cautious about the label. However. This Friday LA's Natural History Museum has put together a First Fridays event with a few twists -- and this thing promises to be something really cool.
First of all, it takes place at the Natural History Museum, and anybody in LA who has talked to us over the past several weeks will tell you we've been itching to go to this museum. The theme of the evening is "Discovery in the Age of Mammals: Building Brains and Making Minds." Such a topic brings with it guided tours by Anthropology PhDs and lectures from Neuroscience professors. Readers will recall that we really like Neuroscientists around here.
After getting your learn on, the museum hands the keys off to various bands and DJs, the highlight of which is Seawolf (he used to be in Irving, another blog favorite.
Here's Seawolf's video for "The Garden You Planted." It's our favorite track off of the 2007 EP "Get to the River Before it Runs to Low."
Okay, probably every city in the country has some version of First Fridays. Standard protocol is to take the first Friday of the month, throw in some booze, throw in some kind of art or other cultural offering, and boom, First Fridays.
We're fans of First Fridays, though we've seen certain cities misplay them enough times to be somewhat cautious about the label. However. This Friday LA's Natural History Museum has put together a First Fridays event with a few twists -- and this thing promises to be something really cool.
First of all, it takes place at the Natural History Museum, and anybody in LA who has talked to us over the past several weeks will tell you we've been itching to go to this museum. The theme of the evening is "Discovery in the Age of Mammals: Building Brains and Making Minds." Such a topic brings with it guided tours by Anthropology PhDs and lectures from Neuroscience professors. Readers will recall that we really like Neuroscientists around here.
After getting your learn on, the museum hands the keys off to various bands and DJs, the highlight of which is Seawolf (he used to be in Irving, another blog favorite.
Here's Seawolf's video for "The Garden You Planted." It's our favorite track off of the 2007 EP "Get to the River Before it Runs to Low."
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
(01.01.08) Recommends:
Seven Songs Released in 2007 That 2008 Will Have A Difficult Time Topping (Listed Alphabetically, By Artist Name).
- Arcade Fire: Intervention (from "Neon Bible").
- Beirut: Elephant Gun (from the "Lon Gisland" EP).
- Andrew Bird: Fiery Crash (from "Armchair Apocrypha").
- Of Montreal: The Past Is A Grotesque Animal (from "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?").
- Okkervil River: Unless It's Kicks (from "The Stage Names").
- The Shins: Sleeping Lessons (from "Wincing The Night Away").
- Sunset Rubdown: Up On Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days (from "Random Spirit Lover").
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
(12.26.07) Recommends:
The track "Blue Eleanor" by Old Canes.
One of the many reasons that we love our inbox is that, here we sit, the day after Christmas, and it's still giving us little gifts. And one of the many reasons we love blogging is we get people -- friends and strangers alike, and sometimes even strangers who become friends -- who send recommendations our way.
So today, our love of inboxes, and blogs, and friends, and recommendations all came together, and the result, predictably, is pretty effing cool. Today a friend sent us along this track and we've been swimming in it all morning. We know little about the band or the album from which this track comes, but when the holiday season starts calming down a little -- starting tomorrow for us, unfortunately -- we're gonna figure this out. What we know now is that Old Canes come from Lawrence, KS and the album came out in July 2004. If our calculations are correct, this means we had already left the KC metro area for California and therefore can feel a little less bad about not knowing about this sooner.
One of the many reasons that we love our inbox is that, here we sit, the day after Christmas, and it's still giving us little gifts. And one of the many reasons we love blogging is we get people -- friends and strangers alike, and sometimes even strangers who become friends -- who send recommendations our way.
So today, our love of inboxes, and blogs, and friends, and recommendations all came together, and the result, predictably, is pretty effing cool. Today a friend sent us along this track and we've been swimming in it all morning. We know little about the band or the album from which this track comes, but when the holiday season starts calming down a little -- starting tomorrow for us, unfortunately -- we're gonna figure this out. What we know now is that Old Canes come from Lawrence, KS and the album came out in July 2004. If our calculations are correct, this means we had already left the KC metro area for California and therefore can feel a little less bad about not knowing about this sooner.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
(12.25.07) Recommends:
A Survey!
This is our second installment of A Survey! Last time's game is here. Today we're asking: do we like Portfolio, Conde Nast's new business magazine, or does it annoy us?
The Pros:
This is our second installment of A Survey! Last time's game is here. Today we're asking: do we like Portfolio, Conde Nast's new business magazine, or does it annoy us?
The Pros:
- As we mentioned last time we blogged about the magazine, Michael Lewis is a contributing editor. And today, we gave a family member a Michael Lewis book for Christmas. We've gone this for about 19 Christmas' in a row. If, god forbid, Michael Lewis stops writing books, our family members will likely stop receiving gifts.
- The stories are short and are informal.
- There is a humor present in the stories -- stories that are more or less about serious subjects -- that you rarely find in other mainstream periodicals.
The Cons:
- The shortness and informality seem to almost border on the flippant. This worries us.
- The shortness also prevents any in-depth analysis. We know this seems like a preposterous thing to even have to mention -- how could shorts things contain in-depth analysis? Two words: James Surowiecki. His pieces in the New Yorker are never longer than one page (plus, there's also a cartoon in the middle, so it's actually less than one full page). And we always feel like we walk away with a grasp on whatever topic he explores after that one page. We were hoping Portfolio would be a magazine full of Surowiecki-esque pieces. We're not hopeful it's reached such heights.
So, Survey Time, boys and girls. Go out and read the magazine, and let us know what you think. Does this magazine have the chance to be a must-read, always-on-our-coffee-table magazine? Or does it just annoy us?
Sunday, December 23, 2007
(12.23.07) Recommends:
The Megabus.
We don't think we've mentioned the Megabus before, but we would be remiss if we allowed 2007 to fall away into the record books without first shining our light on what surely is one of the Top Three Modes of Transportation in the United States.
The setup: Megabus is a "low cost, daily, express bus service in the US." The system was first described to us was thusly: It could take a rider from St. Louis, MO to Kansas City, MO for $1. This is roughly 300 miles. Even assuming you have a 10-gallon gas tank and get 30 miles a gallon, such a trip would cost $30.
We studied Economics in college and even went on to work professionally in the field. Yet, we have no idea how this Megabus system possibly works. How and why it works escapes us. But works, we know, it does.
Here's how we know: after hearing fanciful tales of such civilized travel from family members in (the Middle of) America, we tried the thing out on the West Coast.
San Jose. To Los Angeles. For $10.
No kidding.
As far as we can tell there are no catches to this system (other than, you know, it might go bankrupt at any second). The buses are new and big and comfortable. The drivers are reasonable. There is one stop, approximately 30 minutes in length (at least this is so for the SJ-->LA leg). The company, if it advertises at all, only advertises online and tickets can only be purchased online, so rather than getting sketchballs like on Greyhound, you get a bunch of people who look like they're being shipped off to Hipster Bandcamp. And we can be down with that.
This seems like a system too good to stay this pure for very long. So, if you live in or near a city served by Megabus, make 2K8 the year you try it.
Note: More background info found here.
We don't think we've mentioned the Megabus before, but we would be remiss if we allowed 2007 to fall away into the record books without first shining our light on what surely is one of the Top Three Modes of Transportation in the United States.
The setup: Megabus is a "low cost, daily, express bus service in the US." The system was first described to us was thusly: It could take a rider from St. Louis, MO to Kansas City, MO for $1. This is roughly 300 miles. Even assuming you have a 10-gallon gas tank and get 30 miles a gallon, such a trip would cost $30.
We studied Economics in college and even went on to work professionally in the field. Yet, we have no idea how this Megabus system possibly works. How and why it works escapes us. But works, we know, it does.
Here's how we know: after hearing fanciful tales of such civilized travel from family members in (the Middle of) America, we tried the thing out on the West Coast.
San Jose. To Los Angeles. For $10.
No kidding.
As far as we can tell there are no catches to this system (other than, you know, it might go bankrupt at any second). The buses are new and big and comfortable. The drivers are reasonable. There is one stop, approximately 30 minutes in length (at least this is so for the SJ-->LA leg). The company, if it advertises at all, only advertises online and tickets can only be purchased online, so rather than getting sketchballs like on Greyhound, you get a bunch of people who look like they're being shipped off to Hipster Bandcamp. And we can be down with that.
This seems like a system too good to stay this pure for very long. So, if you live in or near a city served by Megabus, make 2K8 the year you try it.
Note: More background info found here.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
(12.19.07) Recommends:
"Movin' to Virginia" by Split Lip Rayfield.
The last time we checked in, we had found ourselves in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For a while there, we were pretty sure we were never getting out of the Old Dominion State. Alas, we finally arrived home this morning, but not until the ungodly hour of 4am. Our time in VA reminded us of one of the first SLR songs we recall hearing.
Slip Lip Rayfield -- Movin' to Virginia -- mp3.
The last time we checked in, we had found ourselves in the Commonwealth of Virginia. For a while there, we were pretty sure we were never getting out of the Old Dominion State. Alas, we finally arrived home this morning, but not until the ungodly hour of 4am. Our time in VA reminded us of one of the first SLR songs we recall hearing.
Slip Lip Rayfield -- Movin' to Virginia -- mp3.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
(12.15.07) Recommends:
December in Los Angeles.
We grew up fortified by long Midwestern winters, but our time in California has apparently softened us. We were unexpectedly called away to the East Coast this week and here we sit inside, wrapped in layers, heat on full blast, as the rain slowly turns to sleet out our windows. Oh winter in the 20166 area code, we won't be sad when we leave you behind.
We grew up fortified by long Midwestern winters, but our time in California has apparently softened us. We were unexpectedly called away to the East Coast this week and here we sit inside, wrapped in layers, heat on full blast, as the rain slowly turns to sleet out our windows. Oh winter in the 20166 area code, we won't be sad when we leave you behind.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
(12.13.07) Recommends:
Not Misrepresenting Your Capacity To Provide The Masses With Pinball.
Okay, maybe we're not being fair here. Because Power House (1714 N Highland Ave, in case anybody googles this while conducting due diligence on places to play pinball in Los Angeles) never actually directly represented to us that we could play pinball there. But, come on. Please read their citysearch reviews. Using the find function on your web browser search for "pinball." You will come upon this result:
In reasonable reliance upon such representations you will show up at Power House. Pockets full of quarters. Hearts full of optimism. And you will be: denied. Because: there is no pinball. Anywhere.
Power House, how we love thee for only having PBR on tap. But we hate that you do not have pinball. Please remedy this because we'd really love to come back into your Christmas-light-decorated and Kansas-hoodie-approving bosom.
But we swear to you that it will never happen until we can play pinball.
Okay, maybe we're not being fair here. Because Power House (1714 N Highland Ave, in case anybody googles this while conducting due diligence on places to play pinball in Los Angeles) never actually directly represented to us that we could play pinball there. But, come on. Please read their citysearch reviews. Using the find function on your web browser search for "pinball." You will come upon this result:
The wise-cracking bartender, stiff cocktails, classic rock-filled jukebox, darts and pinball games will keep you busy, while the rowdy barroom banter will keep you alert.
In reasonable reliance upon such representations you will show up at Power House. Pockets full of quarters. Hearts full of optimism. And you will be: denied. Because: there is no pinball. Anywhere.
Power House, how we love thee for only having PBR on tap. But we hate that you do not have pinball. Please remedy this because we'd really love to come back into your Christmas-light-decorated and Kansas-hoodie-approving bosom.
But we swear to you that it will never happen until we can play pinball.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
(12.12.07) Recommends:
Goodreads.
So just the other day we were telling, ahem, a certain someone about how the first thing we did when we moved to Los Angeles was get a library card from our neighborhood library. And then today we get an invitation to join Goodreads.
From the website:
A social network for book nerds. Cool, right? We've been busy filling and rating our virtual bookshelf all evening. The drill is, you find a book, then you rate it, and give it a tag. The tags are like "have read," "to read," etc. Right now the tags are limited and we can think of a few that are needed.
1. Book That I Have On My Shelf That Will Never Be Finished. I would give this tag to "Guns, Germs and Steel." At the beginning of every month for the past decade we have told ourselves that this would be the month that we would finally pick up GGS and finish it. Then we get to another chapter that starts with another indigenous tribe coming up with another modification to the sunflower seed that permanently sets civilization on another path from which we will never recover and we realize that we are simply not smart enough to ever finish this book. We did enjoy learning that Zebras have never been tamed, though.
2. Book That I Have On My Bookshelf To Impress People Who Look At My Bookshelf. While "Infinite Jest" isn't actually on our bookshelf -- primarily for the fact that it is too heavy for us to actually lift and place on our bookshelf -- it would certainly be more likely to get this tag from us than either "Have Read" or "To Read." We can actually envision the evening, fueled by one too many Diet Dr. Pepper's -- because it tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper -- when we tag this as "Have Read." We would only give it a marginal rating b/c too high of a rating would probably cause somebody to ask us details about the book. But we used "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men" as a test drive for "Infinite Jest" and after the second story -- which is three sentences that go on for a staggering four pages -- we realized that Wallace, whose genius is beyond reproach, exists on a plane that we can never cohabitate.
3. Book That I Have On My Bookshelf That I "Loaned" From a Friend. We have (at least) two right now. The Hip Librarian loaned us two before we skipped town including one by Miranda July, which we were very excited about but upon reading found more or less a big disappointment (query: will we be brave enough to actually admit this on Goodreads?). Technically, these books have moved from the bookshelf to the desk to a bubble mailer on the desk. We move slowly and methodically and with an abundance of caution. No, but really: we are lazy beyond any reasonable measure and for this we apologize profusely.
Those are the three big categories that come to mind now. But we're sure you can come up with more. Let us here 'em.
End note: One thing that we feel is worth mentioning (just so you don't send us email telling us this and somehow blaming us for it). The site has a blog and many posts are written by the founder Otis. And Otis kinda comes off like a blowhard in nearly every blog post. It's a bit remarkable, really. But I guess he is competing with Tom and Mark Zuckerwhateverthefuck. This is Web 2.0, my homeslices. Get used to the view.
So just the other day we were telling, ahem, a certain someone about how the first thing we did when we moved to Los Angeles was get a library card from our neighborhood library. And then today we get an invitation to join Goodreads.
From the website:
Goodreads is a free website that allows you to see what your friends are reading. You can add and review books that you are currently reading, going to read, or already read. You can also read reviews by people who aren't in your friend network.
A social network for book nerds. Cool, right? We've been busy filling and rating our virtual bookshelf all evening. The drill is, you find a book, then you rate it, and give it a tag. The tags are like "have read," "to read," etc. Right now the tags are limited and we can think of a few that are needed.
1. Book That I Have On My Shelf That Will Never Be Finished. I would give this tag to "Guns, Germs and Steel." At the beginning of every month for the past decade we have told ourselves that this would be the month that we would finally pick up GGS and finish it. Then we get to another chapter that starts with another indigenous tribe coming up with another modification to the sunflower seed that permanently sets civilization on another path from which we will never recover and we realize that we are simply not smart enough to ever finish this book. We did enjoy learning that Zebras have never been tamed, though.
2. Book That I Have On My Bookshelf To Impress People Who Look At My Bookshelf. While "Infinite Jest" isn't actually on our bookshelf -- primarily for the fact that it is too heavy for us to actually lift and place on our bookshelf -- it would certainly be more likely to get this tag from us than either "Have Read" or "To Read." We can actually envision the evening, fueled by one too many Diet Dr. Pepper's -- because it tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper -- when we tag this as "Have Read." We would only give it a marginal rating b/c too high of a rating would probably cause somebody to ask us details about the book. But we used "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men" as a test drive for "Infinite Jest" and after the second story -- which is three sentences that go on for a staggering four pages -- we realized that Wallace, whose genius is beyond reproach, exists on a plane that we can never cohabitate.
3. Book That I Have On My Bookshelf That I "Loaned" From a Friend. We have (at least) two right now. The Hip Librarian loaned us two before we skipped town including one by Miranda July, which we were very excited about but upon reading found more or less a big disappointment (query: will we be brave enough to actually admit this on Goodreads?). Technically, these books have moved from the bookshelf to the desk to a bubble mailer on the desk. We move slowly and methodically and with an abundance of caution. No, but really: we are lazy beyond any reasonable measure and for this we apologize profusely.
Those are the three big categories that come to mind now. But we're sure you can come up with more. Let us here 'em.
End note: One thing that we feel is worth mentioning (just so you don't send us email telling us this and somehow blaming us for it). The site has a blog and many posts are written by the founder Otis. And Otis kinda comes off like a blowhard in nearly every blog post. It's a bit remarkable, really. But I guess he is competing with Tom and Mark Zuckerwhateverthefuck. This is Web 2.0, my homeslices. Get used to the view.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
(12.11.07) Recommends:
I'm Not There.
The first thing to know is that we are not sophisticated viewers of movies. When we think of movies, we think of being home for the holidays and seeing one or two with the family. Think big, holiday-season, Hollywood blockbusters. So, with movies we're like a music fan who pretty much only listens to very mainstream major label releases. Now that we have properly raised our insufficiencies as a movie critic, here are some thoughts:
The first thing to know is that we are not sophisticated viewers of movies. When we think of movies, we think of being home for the holidays and seeing one or two with the family. Think big, holiday-season, Hollywood blockbusters. So, with movies we're like a music fan who pretty much only listens to very mainstream major label releases. Now that we have properly raised our insufficiencies as a movie critic, here are some thoughts:
- We liked this movie. It was non-linear and the director was obviously playing with the form and these are things that we appreciate. Since our experience with movies are the very conventional types, a movie like this gets us excited because we get proud of ourself for stretching our movie-consuming boundaries. People who are sophisticated movie goers, we have no idea how they are reacting to this movie. But we thought it was cool in that abstract style of many Bob Dylan songs.
- Despite our constrained knowledge of good cinema, even we could recognize that Cate Blanchett put on an incredible performance -- it deserves the phrase "tour de force" an absurd title seemingly only used to describe movie performances -- as jittery-drug-era Dylan. I'll try to frame her performance with a music analogy. You know how some band will cover another band's song, and the cover verison casts the original in a new light, and shows us something new about the old song? Usually it shows you -- or reminds you -- just how brilliant the original song and band were, because the antecedent song was universal, could be taken and adapted to a different style and still be so strong. Think Yo La Tengo covering the Beach Boys' "Little Honda." Or Matthew Ward covering Daniel Johnston's "To Go Home." This was Blanchett's performance. You can go to youtube and watch these interviews of Dylan in that era. And when we watch we seem him seething with anger and mockery and disdain. But Blanchett adds this layer of feminine emotion and vulnerability that you don't think of watching the interviews, but now realize simply had to have been present in the original Dylan. Blanchett, at the least, will be nominated for major awards for this.
- We feel more comfortable discussing music rather than movies. Someday, perhaps, there will be a Rhapsody of movies. But until then. We thought the two stars of the soundtrack (aside from the Dylan originals that were used; those are the stars of any soundtrack they'd ever be in) were Stephen Malkmus and Mason Jennings. It seems more or less implausible that this is a coincidence since they both share characteristics with Dylan: Malkmus the absurdly talented wordsmith (also note that one of the versions of Dylan was from Stockton, CA home of Malkmus/Pavement); Jennings, the thoughtful Minnesota songwriter.
Monday, December 10, 2007
(12.10.07) Recommends:
The Soundtrack to Juno.
So we saw Juno last night. According to Wikipedia -- and if it's on Wikipedia, my goodness, that's good enough for us -- Juno is the story of "a teenager who discovers she's pregnant by her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). She then tries to give the child to a promising, suburban couple, Vanessa and Mark (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), but everything goes wrong." It opened in limited release Dec. 05 and opens nationwide Dec. 25. Most likely it will take the country by storm.
Two things that readers of this blog will notice immediately about the movie:
We imagine Anyone Else But You will be the song most closely associated with the movie.
So we saw Juno last night. According to Wikipedia -- and if it's on Wikipedia, my goodness, that's good enough for us -- Juno is the story of "a teenager who discovers she's pregnant by her best friend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera). She then tries to give the child to a promising, suburban couple, Vanessa and Mark (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), but everything goes wrong." It opened in limited release Dec. 05 and opens nationwide Dec. 25. Most likely it will take the country by storm.
Two things that readers of this blog will notice immediately about the movie:
- It name-drops McSweeney's. Really.
- It has a killer soundtrack. Some will even go so far as to call it "quirky."
We imagine Anyone Else But You will be the song most closely associated with the movie.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
