BESTSALVIA.INFO

Good morning Washington. It's the birthday of Ezra Klein (have you seen him on "Hardball" lately?!?) and Mark Leibovich. Oh, and Ghostface Killah, too. (UPDATE: Mike Allen's Playbook tells us that it's Dana Perino's birthday)

Quickly navigate Morning Reading List:

REVOLVING DOOR | NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE MEDIA | MAGAZINES | RADIO | NEWS NOTES | JOBS

You think Hillary will drop out of the race in a matter of weeks.

Today's "Angry Journalist" rant of the day: "As an editor, I am sorry if I don't jump for joy every time you turn in a 400 word piece of crap that we will have to use to fill space but we might not need it. If you wanted to impress me you would get off of Youtube, Facebook, Myspace, ESPN, and Drudge and start putting in work to hone your chops. So either wait your turn to get cover something interesting or writing something extraordinary. Either way it is up to you."

REVOLVING DOOR

A release announced, "ALM today announced that David L. Brown, editor in chief of Legal Times, will expand his responsibilities to also serve as publisher of the newspaper and Web site, Washington's leading sources of legal news. In this new position, Brown will oversee all business affairs at the paper, as well as coverage of the region's legal business, lobbying, and Capitol Hill. Brown replaces Ann Pelham, publisher of the newspaper since 1998, who is retiring from Legal Times and taking a sabbatical from journalism."

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NEWSPAPERS

MediaBloodhound reports, "Media Matters posted a piece this afternoon about how the right-wing Washington Times today 'quoted [an] Indiana man saying Obama is 'a Muslim' without noting the assertion is false.' ... An additional search, however, reveals the decidedly more credible Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and Baltimore Sun also reported the same scene without pointing out the man's claim was false."

The Pew Weekly News Interest Index shows, "The latest round of news about Barack Obama and his former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright dominated campaign news coverage last week. Wright's comments are by far the biggest political event of the campaign to date: fully 62% say they have heard a lot or a little about Rev. Wright's recent speeches. Most Americans (59%) think that news organizations have overcovered the Wright controversy. About two-thirds of Democrats (66%) and nearly as many independents (59%) say that news organizations have devoted too much coverage to Wright’s recent speeches. But as many as half of Republicans agree that Wright's comments have received too much coverage."

Mixed Media reports, "Rupert Murdoch must be as confident of winning Newsday as he claims to be. Why else would he be ceding the New York tabloid circulation war when victory is so tantalizingly close? In yesterday's News Corp. earnings call, Murdoch made a surprise announcement that the New York Post will increase its cover price from 25 cents to 50 cents."

Boston Globe's Kevin Cullenwrites, "Some years ago, when Toni Locy was a reporter for this newspaper, she wrote stories documenting that some members of the Boston Police Department weren't doing their jobs very well. The cops were furious and some put a picket line up outside the Globe. In our business, that's a compliment. And for all their huffing and puffing, the department ended up adopting reforms that Locy suggested were needed. Locy was always a good, tough-nosed journalist, always in high heels and high spirits. She is now in danger of becoming a very broke and incarcerated journalist. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., named Reggie Walton wants to bankrupt her and throw her in jail because she won't give up her sources."

Gawker writes, "Why The Times Should Abandon The News-Opinion Divide"

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TV

An ABC release announced, "According to Nielsen Media Research for Sunday, May 4, 2008, ABC News' 'This Week with George Stephanopoulos' outperformed CBS' 'Face the Nation' among total viewers. This is the tenth week in a row and 22nd time this season 'This Week' beat 'Face' in total viewers. Compared to the same week last year “This Week” grew a significant 20% among total viewers and 17% among the key Adults 25-54 demographic. Season to date, 'This Week' grew among Adults 25-54 and experienced the greatest growth among total viewers compared to the other Sunday discussion programs. Week to week, 'This Week' increased 15% among total viewers and 14% among A25-54."

A NBC release announced, "According to Nielsen Media Research data, 'Meet the Press with Tim Russert' was the most-watched Sunday morning public affairs program, winning the week ending Sunday, May 4, 2008 in all categories. On Sunday, the Russert-moderated program was No. 1, averaging 4.346 million total viewers"

"Discovery's Quarterly Revenue Rises 12 Percent"

Washington Post reports, "The switch to digital broadcasting, the biggest change for the television industry since color TV, will get a trial run in September in Wilmington, N.C. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin plans to announce today that the agency will run the test of the transition to digital to work out the kinks before most of the country's broadcasters stop transmitting traditional analog signals and upgrade to digital-only programming."

The New York Observer reports, "On Monday, MSNBC kicked off The New York Times Special Primary Edition, a new irregularly recurring daytime political show hosted by John Harwood in which Times scribes chew over news from the campaign trail. So how did the show's premier do? Not great! According to Nielsen data, 'The New York Times Special Primary Edition,' finished fourth among cable news networks in the 2 P.M. time slot."

Eat The Press reports, "SNL Launches 'SNL Politics'"

The Philadelphia Inquirer has Gwen Ifill, "Journalism pioneer talks about politics, race, herself"

"Is 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' a news program? Stewart and his producers say that answer is no, but in a survey last year the comedian showed up as one the most admired journalists in America. To offer some light on what exactly viewers get from the program, a new Project for Excellence in Journalism study analyzes a year of content of The Daily Show and compares what it finds to what appeared in the mainstream media during the same time period."

AdAge.com reports, "Adults Spend Slightly More Than Half Their Media Hours With TV"

PBS reports, "This year, media analysts have viewed much of the 2008 primary season through the prism of race. A panel of experts discusses the way the media have covered the issue of race so far this election season." Check out the transcript here.

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ONLINE MEDIA

TechCrunch and The Washington Post have teamed up. Check it out here.

Reuters reports, "Rupert Murdoch said on Wednesday stress in the U.S. economy is squeezing advertising budgets, adding that News Corp's Fox Interactive Media would miss an ambitious $1 billion annual revenue goal by 10 percent."

Beet.TV reports, "YouTube in "HD" is Coming to Your Living Room Soon"

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MAGAZINES

TNR has compiled the full archives for Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain.

The New York Times reports, "A former editor of People magazine had some hard-and-fast rules: young is better than old, pretty is better than ugly, television is better than music, music is better than movies, movies are better than sports. And anything is better than politics. Apparently that rule does not apply to the high-drama presidential campaign of 2008, judging by the unprecedented number of pages in People and other celebrity magazines devoted to coverage of the presidential candidates, along with their spouses, children, BlackBerries, wardrobes, iPods and travel Bibles."

The Deal.com reports, "Norman Pearlstine, a senior advisor at the Carlyle Group and former editor in chief of Time Inc., spoke at the 2008 Leadership in Media Forum on Wednesday morning about the future of newspapers and magazines. 'There are still plenty of reasons for owning a newspaper,' Pearlstine said. 'They remain viable business; they can be profitable; but they won't have the kinds of margins that they [had before the Internet].' However the industry is no longer for everyone: 'Owning a newspaper is for the rich guy that didn't get a football team,' he joked."

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RADIO

"Losses and Static for Radio One"

Business Week reports, "The FCC is under pressure to force stiffer restrictions on the satellite radio providers but Sirius and XM have very little leeway"

A release announced, "BlogTalkRadio (www.blogtalkradio.com), the first citizen broadcasting network, and AOL News (news.aol.com), have created a daily online talk radio show focusing on AOL News' Hot Seat question of the day. The show, called AOL Hot Seat Question of the Day, will be available to listeners on BlogTalkRadio, (www.blogtalkradio.com/AOL-Hot-Seat), and AOL's Political Machine blog, (news.aol.com/political-machine). BlogTalkRadio's Media Lizzy will host the daily program along with a Political Machine Hot Seat blogger of the day. Listeners can call in and join the conversation."

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NEWS NOTES

Mark your calendars for "I Want Media's first-ever discussion forum, The Future of Media, at New York University on June 4." For more details, click here.

BtoB reports, "CEOs of business media companies discussed challenges facing the industry and how they are adapting their business models during a roundtable discussion Tuesday at American Business Media's 2008 Spring Meeting."

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JOBS

Northern Virginia Daily is looking for a Copy editor/page designer.

Politico is looking for a Web Producer.

Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is looking for an Assistant Web Editor.

Spitfire Strategies is looking for an Account Executive.

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Hat Tips: DCRTV, TVNewser, IWantMedia, Romenesko, MediaBistro, JournalismJobs, JournalismNext

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

Up a Paddle - Episode 34 - Take That, Captain Planet!

Site News
- My personal voice recorder has arrived.  The next episode will have spliced in stuff I recorded on it.  Still working out the kinks.
- I am going to update the polls once again.

Random Fact:
A cat has 32 muscles in its ear

News
Funimation aquires One Piece.  
More actors for Speed Racer.
Yatterman, Gatchaman live action movies announced
Gedo Senki dvd details announced  
Shia LaBeouf confirmed for Indy 4.
Also, Mummy III announced.
More details on Nights: Journey into Dreams.
From the makers of Guitar Hero - Rock Band
Guitar Hero II conspiracy - Have to buy extra songs in 3 packs
Guitar Hero III announced for Fall 2007 for Playstation 2, PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Capcom held Capcom Gamer's Day.  

Sega Saturn games coming to Gametap
Xbox 360 Keyboard attachment announced.  
Wii Opera Browser's final version released
PS3 20 GB Model Phased out

Random Fact
The milk of a hippopotamus is bright pink.

Releases
Two weeks ago
Air Gear Vol. #2
Case Closed: Case 3 Vol. #1
Ergo Proxy Vol. #3
I Shall Never Return
Inu Yasha Vol. #52 - Assuming each disc is $20 (low estimate), that's $1040. Wow  
Kodocha Vol. #12
Kyo Kara Maoh! Season 2 Vol. #3
Maburaho Complete Collection
Moon Phase Vol. #5
My-Hime Vol. #7
Pokemon Movie 9: Pokemon Ranger & Temple of the Sea
Viewtiful Joe Vol. #08

Last Week
Kurau: Phantom Memory Vol. #1
Papuwa Vol. #5
Zatch Bell Vol. #9

This week
.hack//Roots Vol. #1
Ai Yori Aoshi/Ai Yori Aoshi-Enishi Complete Set
Cutey Honey: The Movie
Elemental Gelade Vol. #6
Gatekeepers/Gatekeepers 21 Complete Set
Human Crossing Box Set
Le Chevalier D'Eon Vol. #2
Noein Vol. #3
Paniponi Dash Vol. #3
Paradise Kiss Vol. #3
Peach Girl Vol. #1
Solty Rei Vol. #3

Random Fact
Disney's Snow White was originally drawn as a blonde.

Special - The Little Brother Challenge

Random Fact
The average women eats 20kg of lipstick in her life.

Review
Origin: Spirits of the Past
Wikipedia Entry
ANN Entry

Next episode is the Spring Preview.  If the fall preview episode is any example, expect the next episode in June.

Promos Played
Weekly Anime Review
The Ninja Consultant's Podcast
Anime Pacific

Contact Info
Email: Upapaddle@gmail.com
Website: http://upapaddle.com
Blog: http://kentcer.com  
   
Song  
Ukyo Kuonji by TV's Kyle.

Thanks for listening!

How is it possible that Kanye West teamed up with John Mayer to write one of the realist ghetto love songs since “Song Cry” by Jay Z? Seriously “Bittersweet” might come off as a song about domestic drama to the untrained ear but it’s the absolute truth about love or caring about someone so much and it spinning out of control. I’ve been listening to it straight for the last 48 hours and there is so much feeling behind the words. So you know a song hits you when it makes you think about current and past relationships. Listen to it twice then get at me.

The thing this song makes me think of is passion with a capital P. Or the lack of it here in the DC area. In my opinion people are afraid to argue and don’t do it enough, especially in the beginning of getting to know someone and working out the kinks. Most of the time if we’re seeing someone and they don’t behave the way we want them to or treat us a certain way instead of talking or even god forbid arguing it out people next it and move on. Especially from my stand point when you date older women, they don’t have time to waste and work through “the kinks” (tick tock). Sometimes they do like you and are afraid of the relationship not happening so they become passive aggressive not letting you know when you do something wrong, leading to Cingular dating moments.

I picture these people who want the “picture perfect” relationship (without the blood, sweat and tears) that leads to marriage never arguing or fighting and I see a passionless union. Feelings are like murdered bodies in shallow graves, nothing stays buried forever. So when people aren’t saying how they really feel even about the little things it all adds up and explodes. Could you imagine being in one of those marriages on the American Beauty tip, where the husband comes home and the wife goes

“Hi honey how was your day” really means “I hate you, you miserable prick. Youre sucking the life out of me and I wish you would just fucking die already. I’m so glad I’m fucking your best friend Tim.”

He replies,

“Great dear, same old same old” really means ” Woman you haven’t touched my penis in years so I’m having an affair with my younger hotter secretary and If you serve this tofu and rice one more fucking time, I’ll lovingly smother you in your sleep with a pillow then the kids which I’ve always though look too much like Tim”

So maybe she’s a dime piece and likes to drink and get into trouble like she’s a housemate on Bad Girls Club.

Maybe he’s a player who’s deepest emotional conversation with a girl in the last year was “bend over and touch your toes”.

All I know is this, in this city, you’re lucky if you find someone who likes you enough to have it out with you. When two attractive people who both have options fight but try to talk and work through problems then that’s real. I mean some of you girls will sit there and blog to a bunch of strangers about a problem or miscommunication you’re having with a guy you like or a crush. Instead of telling a bunch of people who don’t matter you’re confusion here’s a thought…. WHY DON’T YOU TELL HIM! Imagine that, communicating clearly with someone you’re interested in. But that would cause drama? I guess it’s healthier to stay up and bitch about if he’s really interested or what he means when he says this or does that. Next time try this

Pick up the phone or e mail him and say……

“What the fuck is going on, are you interested or not, do you want this or not because I’m confused and I want to get things straight”

Or not because God knows I need good reading material at work. What Roissy wrote on Love is Gospel. I try not to leave the bar without talking to the girl I’ve been checking out all night, I try not to leave the club without dancing with that dime that’s been shaking it, and I’ll never walk away from something worth fighting for without saying exactly what’s in my heart.

hiya and welcome to PoshGirl If you don't quite get my name, "posh" is Smart and fashionable! I like the better things in life, fine clothes, wines, and lots of sex hahahaha! As a posh girl I like keeping up with all the sexy trends and thats what my I am all about. You might find me in the mood for a little bit of kink. If you treat me nice, we can have a whole lotta fun. I have some crazy toys you will love to see me put up twat, homemade hehe. If you are wanting someone a little bit from the norm hook up with me...

Come and see more now!

I've *almost* gotten my Christmas shopping all done. La Hermana is proving difficult, as she does. I finally resorted to calling her today to ask her what she wants, and she was all, 'I don't know...you don't have to get me anything!' yeah, we all know how that would end up. SIGH.

anyways! Christmas music post!


some of these songs are really dirty. REALLY dirty.

• AC/DC - "Mistress for Christmas"


• Bob & Doug Mackenzie - "12 Days of Christmas"


• Descendents - "Christmas Vacation"


• Eartha Kitt - "Santa Baby"


• Henry Rollins - "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"(The first time I heard this, all I could think was, '...this really shouldn't be this hot.')


• Judy Garland - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"


• Louis Armstrong - "'Zat You, Santa Claus?"


• Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "That Time of Year"


• Mojo Nixon - "Christmas Christmas"


• Pansy Division - "Homo Christmas"


• Reverend Horton Heat - "Frosty the Snowman"


• Reverend Horton Heat - "Santa Bring My Baby Back"


• Run DMC - "Christmas in Hollis"


• South Park - "Christmas Time in Hell"


• South Park - "Merry Fucking Christmas"


• South Park - "O Holy Night"


• South Park - "The Lonely Jew on Christmas"


• The 4-Skins - "Merry Christmas Everybody"


• The Business - "Step Into Christmas"


• The Dickies - "Silent Night"


• The Kinks - "Father Christmas"


• The Pogues - "Fairytale of New York"


• The Pretenders - "2000 Miles"


• The Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"


• The Vandals - "Oi to the World"


• The Waitresses - "Christmas Wrapping"


• The Yobs - "Another Christmas"


• The Yobs - "C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S"


• U2 - "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"


• UK Subs - "Hey Santa"


• Wham! - "Last Christmas"

download the zip file

If you take any of these, let me know what you think! My favorites are "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", "Home Christmas", "Father Christmas", and, of course, "Fairytale of New York".

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good laptop chillpad? Mine is dying - which reminds: FUCK YOU, TARGUS. Your products are fucking shitty. This is the third one I've bought in the past year. It's really fucking ridiculous.

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There’s a new mix from Melbourne’s Faux Pas at the webzine Research & Development.

i tried to put together a pretty straight listening mix, not much in the way of home studio beatmatch trickery, just a bunch of songs i like, put together in some order that i hope is pleasing.

J Dilla - E=MC2 (feat. Common)
Davy DMX - The DMX Will Rock
Black Moth Super Rainbow - Rollerdisco
Emperors of Blefuscu - Savage Customs
The Books - Ghost Train Digest
Skeletons & the Kings of All Cities - Hay W’Happens
Agitation Free - Ala Tul (Faux Pas edit)
Charles Magnante - El Cumbanchero
Homelife - Seedpod
Made in Sweden - Little Cloud
The Sylvers - I’ll Never Be Ashamed
The Kinks - People Take Pictures of Each Other
Roger Roger - Sounds Industrial 2
Pyrolator - Die Haut der Frau
Nino Ferrer - Looking For You (Faux Pas edit)
Cleptoclectics - Interstellar Taste Lapse
Curtis Mayfield - Trippin Out (Cassetteboy edit)
Augustus Pablo - Stop Them Jah
Wings - Letting Go

DOWNLOAD: Faux Pas - Listening Mix (from r-n-d.net)

It’s a great mix, but what’s even cooler is that Tim’s giving it a blow by blow breakdown on his blog.

ShearwaterPalo Santo Remastered, Expanded (Matador)

The release of Palo Santo in 2006 marked Jonathan Meiburg's emergence from the shadow of the 'O' into full light. The songs are dense, revealing themselves slowly and carefully amidst moments of reflective sincerity and emotional cacophony with equal precision. Shearwater's sound is difficult to pin down, but the songs are always centered around Meiburg's unfaltering voice, a dark but lilting instrument that narrows the gap between fragility and power with ease. The remastered reissue of Palo Santo is a welcome revision for familiar fans, and will likely serve as a proper introduction to the songs for newcomers, thanks to Matador's involvement and John Golden's remastering. The double CD offers new versions of some of the songs, a bonus disc with outtakes and demos, and stunning artwork that confirms our suspicion that buying CDs will never go out of style.

Shearwater "Red Sea, Black Sea" (new version, mp3)
Shearwater MySpace
Shearwater Official
Buy Online from Waterloo

Blonde Redhead23 (4AD)

It's hard to discuss 23 without mentioning how far Blonde Redhead has come musically in the last twelve years, and it's worth noting because the development has been a fairly interesting one. The traditional Sonic Youth comparison still stands in many respects, since the common thread between all of the band's transformations is their noisy, damaged art sort of vibe. On 23, however, the noise is less dissonant and more cohesive. The album plays well with the band's comfort zone with ample use of feedback, multi-tracked vocals and cinematic layers. If they've refined their sound, it's because they're tightening the belt on their universe, not creating a new one.

Blonde Redhead Official
23's Website
Blonde Redhead MySpace
Blonde Redhead "23" (YouTube)
Buy Online from Waterloo

Bright EyesCassadaga (Saddle Creek)

Though we typically try to reserve well-tempered judgment and thorough, proper reviews for non-NRT pieces, occasionally we find ourselves unable to keep from discussing the arguable intrigues of the albums we feature here. That being said, we stand before you confounded: this is the seventh Bright Eyes record? Really?Cassadaga is like Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach: there's no joke-stone left unturned, we've got the point, but somehow we know there's going to be a part 6. While we praise Blonde Redhead for taking a tried and true formula and fostering it into a polished revision of its former self, the same doesn't seem to hold true for Oberst's syllogisms. It's impossible to convince the listener that the album finds him more mature and worldly in his 27 year old skin when the themes are plucked from bad MySpace poetry and dressed in pretense. Production-wise, Cassadaga succeeds, with producer Mike Mogis helping disguise the fact that Oberst's novellas made into songs demean the music by unjustifiably taking priority.

Bright Eyes Official
Bright Eyes MySpace
Bright Eyes "Four Winds" (YouTube)
Buy Online from Waterloo

Army of Me: Citizen (Doghouse)
The Bastard Fairies: Memento Mori (Adrenaline)
Billy Martin/John Medeski: Mago (Amulet)
blessthefall: His Last Walk (Record Collection)
Blonde Redhead: 23 (4AD)
The Book of Knots: Traineater (Anti)
Bravez Team Hyphy: All Systems Go (Stand up Ent / Green)
Bright Eyes: Cassadaga (Saddle Creek)
Brother Ali: Undisputed Truth (Rhymesayers)
Busy Bee: Running Thangs (Traffic Ent.)
Christopher O'Riley: Second Grace: Music of Nick Drake (World Village)
Cloud Cult: Meaning of 8 (Rebel Group)
Cocorosie: Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn (Touch & Go)
Copy: Hair Guitar (Audio Dregs)
David S. Ware: Renunciation (Aum Fidelity)
DJ Tiesto: Elements of Life (Ultra)
The Flying Luttenbachers: Destroy All Music Revisited (Skin Graft)
From Autumn to Ashes: Holding a Wolf by the Ears (Vagrant)
Guster: Satellite (Reprise / Wea)
I Monster: Neveroddoreven (Vice)
Jana Hunter: There's No Home (Gnomonsong)
King Crimson: Collectable King Crimson, Vol. 2 Live in Bath 1981 (Inner Knot)
The Kinks: Celluloid Heroes (Koch)
Laura Veirs: Saltbreakers (Nonesuch)
Lesbians on Ecstasy: We Know You Know (Alien8 Recording)
Limbeck: Limbeck (Doghouse)
Listenable: Uncanny Valley (Listenable)
Love of Diagrams: Mosaic (Matador)
Madlib: Other Side: Los Angeles (DeAf Dumb & Blind)
Mark Farina: House of Om (Om)
Menomena: Wet and Rusting EP (Film Guerrero)
Mystery Jets: Diamonds in the Dark (Dim Mak)
Nekromantix: Life Is a Grave & I Dig It (Hellcat)
Nico: Frozen Borderline: 1968-1970 (WEA International)
Original Soundtrack: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theate (William Street)
Panthers: Trick (Vice)
Qua: Forgetabout (Mush)
Qua: Painting Monsters on Clouds (Mush)
The Queers: Grow Up [Bonus Tracks] (Asian Man)
Rappin 4-Tay: That's What You Thought (SMC Recordings)
Rosebuds: Night of the Furies (Merge)
Scott Miller & the Commonwealth: Reconstruction (Sugar Hill)
Shearwater: Palo Santo [Expanded Edition] (Matador)
Silverchair: Young Modern (EMI)
Snoop Dogg: Presents the Big Squeeze [Clean] (Koch)
Stiff Little Fingers: Live in Aberdeen (1979) (Caroline)
Various Artists: Ed Rec, Vol. 2 (Vice)
Wax Poetic: Brasil (Nublu)
William Parker & Hamid Drake: Volume 2: Summer Snow (Aum Fidelity)
XBXRX: Wars (Polyvinyl)
Xiu Xiu: Remixed & Covered (5 Rue Christine)

On the January 18 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, while playing the song "Living on a Thin Line" by the Kinks, Michael Savage claimed that "there's no England now" because "[t]he soccer thug[s]" who defeated Hitler "[are] gone." Savage asserted: "The soccer thug has been beaten down by the lesbian/homosexual mafia in England." Savage added: "The very men who could defend the lesbians and homosexuals have been beaten down by them in the West, all part of the gigantic global psychosis."

As Media Matters for America has documented (here, here, here, and here), Savage frequently smears gays and lesbians, recently calling homosexuality "the dance of death" and regarding it as the "seminal issue of our time."

From the January 18 edition of The Savage Nation:

SAVAGE: Yeah, play it again. No, there's no England now. Men in wing-tipped shoes with wing-tipped souls. The soccer thug who fought Hitler -- who beat Hitler to a pulp, they're gone. The soccer thug has been beaten down by the lesbian/homosexual mafia in England. The very men who could defend the lesbians and homosexuals have been beaten down by them in the West, all part of the gigantic global psychosis. Don't you dare say a word about anything, unless it goes through our filter. We know what's best for our country because we're better than you, we're cleaner than you, we're smarter than you, we have more money than you, we don't have nasty little -- ugly, dirty children like you, we're not filthy breeders like you. We're smart, we're smart. Go to break.

1. Psychedelic Horseshit, Magic Flowers Droned (Siltbreeze)
The most sincere record of the year. Despite it’s pasted-together ambiance, Magic Flowers Droned is a meticulously-crafted manifesto against the mundane, the disposable, and the transparent. Mr. Whitehurst is at once the most detail-oriented and haphazard person I know.


2. Panda Bear, Person Pitch (Paw Tracks)
Beautiful and uplifting without overstatement, Noah Lennox has trumped every dream-pop or collage-work record over the last fifteen years, including his own band’s best work, with Person Pitch. The most forward-looking album of 2007.

3. Blues Control, Puff (Woodsist)
True postmodern psychedelia. Guitar, keys, some pedals and a Walkman are all this duo need to create a 21st Century Atlantis. It’s like the bong is taking hits from you.

4. Justice - † (Vice/Ed Banger)
The Ed Banger hype finally culminates stateside with this French duo’s debut. House grooves, hi-jacked funk, disco strings, a Devo video sample…this is a rare dance record that will stand the test of time.

5. Pink Reason - Cleaning the Mirror (Siltbreeze)
Primal screams from Kevin DuBroux, the Midwest’s finest post-hardcore singer/songwriter (don’t call him that to his face). Rumors that he might end the PR book have me bummed.
Stream:Pink Reason


6. Los Llamarada, The Exploding Now (S-S)
Never-wave jams outta Monterrey, Mexico. This one climbed up my list as ‘07 rolled along, its scuzzy vibes finally able to penetrate my dense skull.

7. Times New Viking - The Paisley Reich (Siltbreeze)
I would probably put this in my top two or three if a) it were a tad longer, b) the drummer wasn’t my brother and c) they didn’t have the album of the year ‘08 coming out in a little more than a month. Still, a huge piece in the TNV puzzle and the most bang out of fifteen minutes ever.


8. Burial, Untrue (Hyperdub)
As big a breakthrough for dubstep you’ll see in the US, Burial takes a dated artform (minimal breaks) and somehow makes it vital again.


9. Shocking Pinks, Shocking Pinks (Astralwerks/DFA)
Not quite your older brother’s Kiwi Pop. DFA compiles the best from Nick Harte’s two Flying Nun albums to make this domestic long-player. Love the live feel of these recordings.
MP3:Second Hand Girl


10. Der TPK, Harmful Emotions (Siltbreeze)
Read my full review of this here.

11. Sword Heaven, Entrance (Load)
Read my donewaiting.com review of Entrancehere.

12. R. Kelly - Double Up (Jive)
I wish Kels would serialize “Real Talk” like he did “Trapped in the Closet”. And isn’t it time he got his own reality show?
MP3:Real Talk

13. The Field, From Here We Go Sublime (Kompakt)
A human pulse for adderall-fueled robots. Warmth + repetition = ecstasy.
MP3:Everyday


14. Sonic Chicken 4, Sonic Chicken 4 (In the Red)
SC4 are a French group that play spirited garage in the VU/Kinks vein. Fun stuff, I’m really kicking myself for missing not one but two shows in Columbus this Fall.
Link:Sonic Chicken 4 live on Cherry Blossom Clinic


15. Group Doueh, Guitar Music From the Western Sahara (Sublime Frequencies)Sublime Frequencies’ first foray into new, album-length releases, Guitar Music showcases Doueh’s virtuosic string talents. This is their first official release outside of Morocco and deserves a much wider edition than its 1000 copy, vinyl-only run.
Link:About Dakhla, Morocco

So The Darjeeling Limited was everything I’d hoped it would be. A charming and beautiful film with not a second of wasted celluloid. I found myself enjoying this film a little more than The Life Aquatic on first viewing, and I’ve found that film gets better and better with every viewing, this bodes well for Darjeeling. I’m actually already planning when I’ll go see it again. Great move including the Hotel Chevalier short at the beginning as well.

On first viewing I’d rate this film third in Wes Anderson’s ouvre, between Rushmore and Bottle Rocket.

So in the spirit of celebration, here’s a round-up of some of the W.A. and The Darjeeling Limited content I was able to find on the web…

• Onion A/V Club Interview with Wes Anderson
• Darjeeling content on NPR
• MySpaceTV’s “Artist on Artist” with Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson
• Wes Anderson on Charlie Rose
• Wes Anderson and Adrien Brody on AMC’s Shootout
• NYT Anatomy Of A Scene: The Darjeeling Limited
• NYT review of The Darjeeling Limited
• Ain’t It Cool interview with Jason and Wes confirming the Criterion edition of Bottle Rocket
• Roger Ebert review of The Darjeeling Limited
• Terry Gross interviews Wes and Jason on NPR’s Fresh Air
• Hotel Chevalier free download on iTunes
• NYT: The Life Obsessive With Wes Anderson

DOWNLOAD: The Kinks “Strangers” (from The Darjeeling Limited OST)

You may have seen a bunch of noisetodayarounddates& Windows Server2008.  Seeing it is my group's job to shepherd the release out the door, I thought I would enter the fray.  This is kinda the non story of the year because our launch date is exactly the same as it was before – it’s not like people who have got the product before then…

                                                                                                                          

My bottom line is no one will remember if something shipped a month late vs. if the quality is not up to scratch.  I don't think this is a worry for this release. Regardless of anything else, we'll take as much time as we're allowed to, to get a release out.  If we get the opportunity to wait a month & see if the feedback spikes with people running systems in production over Christmas, I'll take it every time.  It's not like anyone actually deploys over Christmas - in fact every time I have that discussion with people in our IT group they laugh at me.  That, however, may be their normal reaction to my brilliant ideas….

 

Beta 3 has been the quietest beta I have ever been involved with. Ever. Less issues coming in, less problems coming up, no really weird thing that just surprise us. Yes, every beta has bugs & we’ve gotten a bunch - but there just are less than I have ever seen with the sorts of deployments & real world scenarios we know are going on.  In fact the biggest issue was the fact that the local Administrator password was set to <blank>.  That was horrible experience & luckily the overwhelming negative feedback got us to turn the people who needed to and we fixed that a while ago with the CTP.

 

I counted the "ship-it" things in my office today (see the postscript) & I guess I have been involved with around 40 prerelease releases (betas, release candidate, etc )- I don't really count ctps because we used to do them all the time before marketing put a name on them - if I were to, I'd have to triple this number. 

 

I have a story about how in Windows 2000 I said a bad word to a bunch of Aussie press who were over here while saying basically it doesn’t matter if it is late vs. if it is not up to scratch. The bad word eventually got printed in a story in the Sydney Morning Herald& my mother wasn’t exactly happy.  There is a much longer version to be told over a Hendricks& Tonic – has to have a slice of cucumber, thanks.

 

So, how do i actually know people are using it?  In the WS08 Server Manager, betas are configured, by default, to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) – this means we get some data – roles installed, uptime, etc from each machine. Below is a screen shot of where this is enabled in the server manager  (full disclosure – the screenshot was this Mondays build on my laptop).  

 

Seeing I am the Privacy lead for the Server & Tools Business I now will link the Privacy Policy so people don’t think we’re doing bad stuff with this data.  Actually, it doesn’t matter people - will think we’re using it to work out the kinks in the "sharks with laser beams" project. You can opt out of the CEIP & the default for shipping products is off. However, it does give us some info on what’s happening to the system, & we have been able to make decisions to make the system better. Between the TAP (Technology Adoption Program)  & the IIS Go Live program there are over 5,000 servers in production on Beta 3. Good example is this little website called Microsoft.com – here is the Netcraft link - it is the #10 site on the net. We look at the data coming back – crashes, uptime, bugs, newsgroup discussion every week in our review meeting (Alex also runs a daily Ship room where things are looked at in excruciating detail).  I wish we’d had this stuff in previous releases – it is so much better & deeper than anything we’ve ever seen before.

 

Some time. I'll talk about the problems we've been having putting laser beams on sharks. Oh, dang...

 

/iain

 

p.s. When Microsoft releases a product, you get a little sticky badge for your Ship It award. The Ship-it was a big slab of Lucite that could be very bad if you dropped it on your foot (its the one on the right)- the new improved version is a piece of glass attached to a piece of metal - i preferred the old ones.  I took a photo of my 2 (they gave me a 3^rd – in the background) – because I don’t stick all of them on, I guess my count is out of whack in their database.

If you can't read it, here are the releases I really was involved in (sometimes you get one for being peripherally involved):

·         MS Mail 3.2 (April 17, 1993)

·         MS Mail 3.5 (June 14, 1995)

·         Exchange Server 4.0 (March 13, 1996)

·         Exchange Server 5.0 (February 27, 1997)

·         Exchange Server 5.5 (November 5, 1997)

·         Windows 2000 (December 15, 1999)

·         Windows XP (August 24, 2001)

·         Windows Server 2003 (March 26, 2003)

·         Windows Server 2003 R2 (December 6, 2005)

stalking the promiscuous teenagers of my mind.
For your consideration: another curious collection of thoughts, reactions, and observations that didn't make it into a full-length post this week. So they're sort of like all the pretty young actresses who didn't get the lead role, lining up to get a little bit of screen time before they're dispatched, one-by-one, at the merciless hands of the hockey-masked killer. But without all the bad dialogue and skimpy costumes... • That's right, folks. For only the second time in its two-and-a-half year history, Notes From a Friday Afternoon falls on a Friday the 13th. I survived the last one, and I'm happy to be around the sequel. Of course, so was Alice Hardy, the sole survivor of the original Friday the 13th. And we all know what happened to her.• Remember when you were a little kid, and some other, snotty little kid would call you a name or make fun of you at school or on the playground, and it would hurt your feelings, so you'd go home and tell your Mom about it, and your Mom would remind you that the best thing you could do would be to just ignore it and forget about it, because that other kid was just showing how mean and stupid he was, and that what he said didn't matter and wasn't important and couldn't really hurt you anyway? Do you remember that? Apparently no one at Rutgers does.• Nor, apparently, does anyone at Rutgers have the same senses of wisdom and perspective that Mr. Evans, my 11th grade Honors Trigonometry teacher, had. Whenever a student would try to tease or insult or verbally spar with him, Mr. Evans would fix his gaze and smile and say, You'll forgive me if I'm not bothered by what you said, but I'm considering the source. Mr. Evans -- who had no hair, and who was not a ho -- would have heard what that idiot Imus said, laughed one of his great, low-rattling laughs, and moved on to something, anything, that was actually worth his time. • We would all do well to follow his lead the next time -- and you know there's going to be a next time -- some flappy mouthed mo(ron) says something equally stupid.• Sometime this week, when I was watching but not paying attention, the Today Show must have officially changed its name to the Three Straight Hours of Don Imus and The Nappy-Headed Hos Show. If NBC really wants me to believe its newfound sense of social and cultural responsibility, it will cancel that show next. • There's a great piece of reporting, buried beneath an unfortunate piece of headline writing, on the front page of this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Dennis Roddy does a damned fine job of fair and balanced reporting, detailing a particularly messy and still unresolved dispute over legal wranglings and campaign contributions. It's difficult to know what to make of it all -- though I have my suspicions -- and the beauty of the reporting is that, suspicions or not, it's still equally hard to know what to make of it when you're finished. The facts are there. The conclusions are not. (You know, just like they're supposed to do it over on Fox.) With facts and quotations and caution and context in abundance, and with a storytelling rhythm that is integral both to the fairness and the lucidity of the piece, Dennis delivers the goods with his usual and enviable distinction. • For a long time I thought that, hands and steering wheels down, the worst drivers in the city were minivan drivers. And, yeah, they're still pretty bad. But if the last few, harrowing months I've spent on the roads and parking lots of the East End are any indication, they've officially surrendered that title to Honda Pilot drivers. People of Pittsburgh, I urge you: if you see one coming, just pull over to the side of the road, say a simple prayer, and wait until it passes. Especially if you're within a mile of Whole Foods.• This week's TWM Great Idea, Poor Execution Award goes to the new Chips Ahoy Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. (They're a mouthful in name, if not in taste.) They could -- and should -- have been delicious. But neither the oatmeal nor the chocolate chips really register. They're distressingly bland. And thus greatly disappointing. • Unbelievable cover on this week's Sports Illustrated. Simply unbelievable. Unsung, virtually unknown pro Zach Johnson plays the final round and tournament of his life -- playing on Sunday with the added pressure of being chased by Tiger Woods -- to win the Masters in dramatic, maybe even spectacular, fashion. And he gets a one-and-a-half-inch square photo box, superimposed over a 73-square-inch photo of Tiger breaking his four-iron while trying to shoot around a tree. Perhaps because SI felt that Tiger doesn't just doesn't get enough media exposure.• The next time Tiger wins a major, it will be interesting to see if the SI cover-shot goes to someone who choked while trying to catch him on the back nine. Somehow I doubt that it will. • It's not often that I disparage Sports Illustrated, and even less often that I praise ESPN The Magazine, so the odds are pretty slim that I would do both in the same week. And yet here we are. So. For a nice feature and a truly fine piece of writing, check out Eric Adelson's profile of new-Penguin and NHL-veteran Gary Roberts in this week's issue. It has a lot to say about age and wisdom and the challenges of playing in the NHL playoffs. And it says them with just enough -- which is to say, not very much -- of that magazine's typical hipper-than-thou prose style. • I'd planned to write a piece this week about why the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez Grindhouse collaboration so resoundingly tanked at the box office. Then I'd planned to write a note or two today, giving at least the nub of the gist of the argument. But Entertainment Weekly's Mark Harris beat me to it. His accurate, eloquent assessment gets it just about exactly right. And in far more detail than I would have bothered to muster on a project that, from the start, had self-indulgent flop written all over it.• And finally, a little tease for tomorrow's post: tune in to see and read -- and no doubt argue about -- what madness ensues when two passionate, opinionated writers and music fans, deciding that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has too damned many inductees, try to turn that bloated, indulgent box set of a roster into a lean, mean, 25-performers, 5-influences, humdinger of a double album. (The Beatles? The Stones? The Kinks? The Who? Led Zeppelin? Two of those bands don't survive the final cut.) Until then...

As a great man once said about being in the spotlight.

“… You should too, if you knew, what this game would do to you. Been in this shit since ninety-two. Look at all the bullshit I’ve been through. So called beef with you know who, fcuked a few female stars or two….”

(B.I.G)

Wow, I don’t even know where to begin. I seriously didn’t think I’d make it this long. It seems like every day another old school blogger that has been in the game (bloggers way better than myself) retires. Here I am, two years deep in it. Things have grown and changed so much from my old blog. I’ve also seen so many changes in the DC blog community.

I remember back in the day when everything was so new, chaotic, and unapologetic. Every morning at work I waited for DC Cookie to put up masturbatory pics of her nights out on the town. Kathryn would bitch about guys or something, Circle V would mix it up on whatever her drunk mind desired, and things would get bloody on Roosh’s comment section.

Now everything feels safe and diluted. It’s all about feelings, introspection / self reflection, and being nice at all times. God forbid anyone thinks you’re mean or a bitch. I feel like the last of dying breed, people who know that your blog isn’t here for you to sell out for to get hits, it’s here to rage against the machine with. To call bullshit on society and celebrities as you see fit. Not be the “Marcia fucking Brady of the Upper East Side”

How the hell am I still here? I guess it helps that when I started I was 24. Everyone already knows that the first 10 months no one read my blog, except for my close friends. I’m glad because it gave me a chance to just observe and not fall into the traps I see so many other bloggers fall into.

I try not to do the “dear diary” posts. I don’t write super deep personal/ depression posts every single day for sympathy. I try not to write that much about current relationships. I was out of work for a month and half and didn’t feel the need to let the whole internets know. It’s about saving something for yourself and holding back until your ready. I try and change the content daily. From dating, to nights out, to movies and music, to whatever I feel like.

I honestly feel like all twelve of my readers and I are a family. You guys know when you stop over here at the empire, you’re going to get horrific spelling/ grammar but funny jokes. This blog is rated Hell. Those that have been long time readers know to take everything I say with a grain of salt and as a joke. But then there are always the Anon haters. I’ve never understood the point. This comment left on one of my posts basically sums up my confusion about Anon haters.

“I have to say…. I’ve read your blog for a little while now, and honestly…. it sucks.

seriously…. you need new material and you really need to learn how to be funny.“

I’m still shocked and honored that this crappy meaningless blog moves people enough to hate but keep reading, and on top of that take time out of their busy lives to leave a comment. Thanks guy.

I’ll just leave you guys with this. This blog, all a blogs are just a snapshot into a persons life at a certain point and how (at that point) they view the world around them. Right now I’m just your typical 26 year old who dates hot chicks but bangs mudturtles in the between time. I’ve been known to black out in seedy VIP booths next to coked up Persian women with fake breast implants. One day I’ll look back on all this like a yearbook and remember you guys signed my crack.

Seriously though thank you to everyone who checks in every day (when they get a chance) and an even bigger thanks to everyone who takes time out to comment, you know I always try to hit you back (ladies from the back). Shout out to my best man and future Godfather to my half sleepy head, illegitimate kids. Also one love to all the peeps I hangout with off the blog or call/ e mail regularly. Year three I’ll try to stop being lazy and push a little bit harder. Let you guys in a little, come from a different angle.

Always remember there’s the real me and then there’s VK…. Don’t read too deep into everything that’s written here. Sometimes you have to step back and see the bigger picture.

But you know I’ve always got to push the envelope because if not me then whom. If I should die tomorrow though or get arrested for having sex with an underage hermaphrodite, know that I never did it for the hits or the links on Wonkette or DC blogs. It was always for the love, a little for the drugs, but all about the bloopies and you guys.

P.S If I’m still doing this at 30, put a bullet in my head.

P.SS Will work out kinks so don’t start complaining yet.

P.SSS Special thanx to the fan who posed for the new header

* Changes by DC’s own “Army of Me”