You know what else I like?
The new Amazon MP3 Music Downloads thingy, that’s what. Prices are roughly similar to iTunes Music Store and there’s no DRM whatsoever.
Hotness on a bun. (Y’know… As far as buying music goes. I still say buy directly from the artist if at all possible.)
The boss at Yahoo! Music agrees:
But now, eight years later, Amazon’s finally done what was clearly the right solution in 1999. Music in the format that people actually want it in, with a Web-based experience that’s simple and works with any device. I bought tracks from Amazon (Kevin Drew
and No Age), downloaded them, sync’d them to my new iPod Nano, and had them playing in my home audio system (Control 4) in less than five minutes. PRAISE JESUS. It only took 8 years.
8 years. How much opportunity have we lost in those 8 years? How much naivety and hubris did we have when we said, “if we build it they will come�? What did we spend? And what did we gain? We certainly didn’t gain mass user adoption or trust, two prerequisites to success on the Internet.
I’m also still a big fan of Amazon Unbox with its $4 “rentals” that download straight to my TiVo.
That’s sexy, too.
Well, really there’s not much to report.
The drive to Vegas went quickly and easily. We literally did nothing in Vegas — In fact, we we most excited by the fact that the Luxor has two Starbucks. Party animals we are not.
The second leg of the drive into Los Feliz also went without a hitch. From then on it was just the usual sort of “hang out with Chris, Kate, and Chowda” sort of scene. Highlights as I remember them:
- Best of all, we got lots of quality time with Scot & Matt. We love those kids. You might recognize Scot. Thanks to both him and Kate, I have a Bacon Number of 3!
- Casa Bianca has the best sausage pizza I have ever consumed. I am curious as to whether it’s the sausage or the pizza. I cheese pie trial needs to happen someday.
- The Museum of Jurassic Technology is supremely weird. A must see if you’re in LA (and like weirdness).
- Friday poker: In spite of playing like an idiot (and in doing so, pissing Scot off a bit when I rivered and ace to beat his pocket kings), I managed to finish in second place. I had a chance to do better than that, but Matt’s crazy enough that I shouldn’t have tried to scare him out of a pot by going all-in with ace-high.
- Saturday was Chris’ birthday cookout/party in which Chris ended up doing all the cooking… *shrug* Staggering amounts of Guinness were consumed, and I got to see some of my favorite people.
- The Wife and I hiked up to Griffith Observatory a couple times. It’s a steep little hill, let me tell you!
- Lots of dining out, but not as disastrous as usual. Though, we totally had to hit Tito’s Tacos.
The drive back was fairly ordinary except for a crazy huge moon we saw rising over the Utah desert.
Today, when I came back into work, I found a strange Japanese swan phallus thingy on my desk. Thanks to Miracle Ed, I now get the reference, but nobody here has owned up to actually putting it on my desk…
Random, unrelated crap follows … Continue reading ‘Trip Report and Other Junk’
Bear Grylls is a big faker.
This video rocks.
This in no way means I’ll stop watching the show. If anything, it adds a new dimension: Spot Bear’s safety equipment!
Have I mentioned my man-crush on Henry Rollins? I have, haven’t I?
When you hear a Stooges track or a Buzzcocks track or a Ramones track or a track by the Fall, or what have you, in a car ad, some people, whenever that happens, I get a letter saying “What a sellout.” And I say “no man, we’ve arrived.” The person making that ad grew up on that music. You’re no longer confined to interstitial, instrumental music, you’re gonna get Iggy Pop and the Teddy Bears singing I’m a punk rocker to sell a car. What would you rather hear? Some wanky keyboard or Iggy and the Teddy Bears? I know which one I’d rather hear, and I just hope they get paid quickly and double scale, because it’s about time.
Russell Simmons was pure gold on his show’s last episode, too.
Executive Summary: The Simpsons Movie was immensely enjoyable. You should go see it, even if you don’t watch the TV show anymore.
(Some of the stuff I talk about after the jump could be considered spoilers, I guess…) Continue reading ‘Bart’s Junk’
Last year I got super obsessed with the Survivorman series, which features a somewhat whiny, absolutely Canadian, but ever-resourceful Les Stroud in the seemingly unlikely role of lone survivor. And he really seems to be alone, too. At least he makes a big deal about carrying his cameras and such. Good TV, I tell you. (Wikipedia)
Then along came Bear Grylls on Man vs. Wild with his somewhat curious good looks, British accent, and willingness to get buck naked on TV. Yep. I love that one, too. Lots. I don’t care if he has a camera crew or even if it’s partly fake. Nowhere else will you see someone jump into a Scottish peet bog over his head wearing nowt but a pair of blue boxers. He’s also the only person I’ve ever seen drink pee on basic cable. (Wikipedia)
Now I’ve seen all of the reruns of both shows, and I’m wanting more. I wonder if this is one of those passing things like my FoodTV obsession.
…
Side note: Bear may be a faker, but the director of that This Is England skinhead movie mentioned here earlier may be more real than anyone anticipated.
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