The Clock

Uh-Oh, part II: Visiting Hours

2012-02-11T21:05:00.006-05:00

Uh-Oh

2012-02-11T15:55:00.002-05:00

Megaupload Busted

2012-02-09T12:08:00.006-05:00

Say what you will about file-"sharing" sites, but this kingpin is an indefensible douche bag. From Rollingstone.com:

Possibly the biggest anti-piracy bust of all time took place on January 20th, when a global sting operation led by the FBI and the Department of Justice brought down the file-sharing giant Megaupload – and arrested its founder, the 38-year-old German hacker and playboy Kim Dotcom.
...
Born Kim Schmitz, Dotcom was arrested in Auckland, New Zealand, where he lived in what is reportedly the country's most expensive private home. Six other Megaupload executives were also arrested. The crew is charged with "criminal copyright infringement and money-laundering on a massive scale" – an estimated $500 million of pirated content, with a combined $175 million in income. (Megaupload claimed to have 50 million daily visits and four percent of the Internet's total traffic.) Authorities seized Dotcom's mansion and 18 luxury cars, including a 2008 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé with a GOD license plate.
...

In related news, also from Rollingstone.com:

Swedish Government Recognizes File-Sharing Faith as a Religion

The Church of Kopimism, a new faith focused on file-sharing, has been officially recognized as a religion by the Swedish government. The church developed from the Young Pirates, a young movement of the Pirate Party in Sweden, who have pushed for the free flow of information online.

The Church takes its name from an online movement in which a Kopimi logo - phonetically, "copy me" - can be placed on a website if the site runner is willing to have their information copied and shared by others.
...

We Is Makin Cat-u-ccino

2012-02-09T07:30:00.007-05:00

Baristi Little Bear and Badger
...

Helpless

2012-02-06T15:21:00.003-05:00

Neil Young doesn't look long for this world, but his voice and harmonica still shine in this match-made-in-heaven pairing with Arcade Fire from October's Bridge School Benefit concert.

Watching the River Flow

2012-02-06T15:13:00.002-05:00

The Rolling Stones (w/ Bill Wyman) help cover Dylan on Ben Waters' tribute to Ian Stewart, Boogie 4 Stu

Catching Up w/ Rolling Stone Magazine

2012-02-06T13:10:00.004-05:00

The last couple of issues I read, from December, were particularly good. Unfortunately, RS has become pretty stingy w/ online access. (Solicit yr local library for back issues, or email me for an online password.) Here's some of the cream:

>Santiago's Brain is ostensibly about the failure of our education system to foster the development of exceptionally-gifted children, but focuses upon one child who successfully side-stepped it. Here's a poorly formatted "reprint".

>A profile of (the Roots' musical genius) Questlove. His OCD is manifest in ways I think rocky could appreciate:

His idea of a fun weekend is digitizing a few dozen of his 77,000 LPs. (He keeps them at a house in Philadelphia that he spent the past eight years converting into a massive library.) "I've eased up in the last two years," he says. "But between '97 and 2006, the least I spent was probably $50,000 a year... between $2,500 and $4,000 per trip."

>A revealing profile of Louis C.K.

>Scorsese on 3D film-making:

I've wanted to direct a 3D movie since I saw House of Wax in 1953... If I could go back in time, I'd shoot Taxi Driver in 3D. Bob DeNiro in the mirror as Travis Bickle. Imagine how intimidating. "You talking to me? You talking to me?" Amazing possibilities.

Finally, food for thought:

Kinetic Sculpture

2012-02-05T15:21:00.002-05:00

From http://www.artcom.de/en/projects/project/detail/kinetic-sculpture/ :

The Kinetic Sculpture is a metaphorical translation of the process of form-finding in art and design.

714 metal spheres, hanging from thin steel wires attached to individually-controlled stepper motors and covering the area of six square meters, animate a seven minute long mechatronic narrative. In the beginning, moving chaotically, then evolving to several competing forms that eventually resolve to the finished object, the kinetic sculpture creates an artistic visualisation of the process of form-finding in different variations.

...

Mammoth Mania II: Revenge of the Bone Geeks

2012-01-31T12:36:00.004-05:00

As I'd reported previously (see Mammoth Mania! ), in 2010 Snowmass Village was the location for a major paleontological find. The incident is featured in an hour-long Nova episode, "Ice Age Death Trap", and airs tomorrow evening, Wednesday, February 01. From PBS.org:

In a race against developers in the Rocky Mountains, archeologists uncover a unique fossil site packed with astonishingly well-preserved bones of mammoths, mastodons, and other giant extinct beasts. The discovery opens a highly focused window on the vanished world of the Ice Age in North America.

The trailer plays like a promo for Ice Road Truckers, not a dignified scientific expedition, but I'm hoping there'll be some legit science... and that they didn't uncover that hobo's body.

PROJECT IMAGIN8ION / Life in a Day

2012-01-30T06:57:00.006-05:00

I regard the phenomenon of crowd-sourcing (e.g., wikis, online reviews, product-support forums, and other user-generated product) with a cynical eye; it smacks of exploitation, and thus I always feel a little guilty when I find the results useful or entertaining - which is almost daily. Here are a couple of examples that I'm in the midst of enjoying:

PROJECT IMAGIN8ION: Camera-maker Canon and film-director Ron Howard held a photo contest, ostensibly to provide ideas for a short film. I'm a little vague on the details, as the contest ended before I'd heard of it, but the submitted photos are amazing. Check out the above link if you have some free time.

On a similar note, have you seen the film Life in a Day? From IMDB:

What do you get when you ask the people of the world to chronicle a single day in their lives? You get 80,000 submissions, 4500 hours of footage, from 192 countries. Kevin Macdonald has taken this raw material, all shot on July 24, 2010, and created a 90-minute paean to what it means to be human in the world today.

I watched about half of it the other night, streamed from NETFLIX, before getting too tired to continue, but what I saw was impressive, with a Powaqqatsi / Koyaanisqatsi vibe.

Lisa Hannigan

2012-01-28T13:15:00.002-05:00

Irish "folkie" wins Feral Boy's paleolithic heart:

Indie | An Unlikely Coincidence

2012-01-26T16:47:00.001-05:00

From n+1 magazine, a great piece on the rise of Pitchfork and the decline of "indie" rock; can the two really be this closely linked?
---
In London and Paris, Rocky was often spotted relaxin' with a copy of Maps and Legends, Michael Chabon's collection of essays on the pleasures of genre fiction and comic books. That's right, Rocky -- not Stoner, who was stuck with the ill-considered choice of Moby-Dick. (Rex Otto filled his down time with The Mentalist.) It seemed an unlikely choice of reading for Rocky. Then I saw the following in the Onion AV Club:

…Little has been revealed about (Michael Chabon’s forthcoming novel) Telegraph Avenue, which follows two families around the San Francisco Bay area, where Chabon lives, but he’s remarked in interviews that the book was just an excuse to spend a lot of time researching in record stores. The author of The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay taking on the world of music and obsessive music collectors seems like a natural match. (Fall 2012)

---

WIRED, 2012 January

2012-01-25T13:43:00.010-05:00

I'm not a "gamer," nor active in the social-networking scene, but I found this tale of social-network video-gaming, and the plight of one ironic game-maker, interesting: The Curse of Cow Clicker

'Other gamers may think FarmVille is shallow, but the average player is happy to play it,' he says. 'Two and a Half Men is the most popular show on television. Very few people would argue that it’s as good as Mad Men, but do the people watching Two and a Half Men sit around saying, oh, woe is me? At some point, you’re just an elitist fuck.'

Members of the Clock know that I'm a bit of a pain when it comes to dining out due to my constantly-evolving dietary tenets. (Feral Boy wants to eat the foods that will best allow him to continue living a feral lifestyle.) But contradicting medical studies have frequently stymied my efforts to understand diet and its effects upon health. Here's a Hume-ian deconstruction of modern medicine, and why almost all hope of understanding is lost: Trial and Errors
...

Flight of the (Very Impatient) Bumblebee

2012-01-21T19:42:00.004-05:00

Bonus guitar porn:

Six-hands

No-hands

No-arms

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5secondfilms.com

2012-01-21T19:16:00.002-05:00

5secondfilms.com
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Happy Birthday, Rex!

2012-01-15T10:11:00.009-05:00

(Only 48? Really?)

Rex chooses to spend his birthday in Aspen, Feral Boy puts on fireworks display.

Rushmore Redux?

2012-01-13T16:38:00.003-05:00

Iceland 2012 June-July

2012-01-08T10:10:00.004-05:00

From the desk of Feral Boy & Friday:

Our last trip to Iceland, 10 full days on the ground, was far too short. (It was necessarily truncated due to our commitment to the Deep Blues Fest in MN.) The brevity of the visit forced us to choose between two different, and mutually exclusive, itineraries, both of which would be somewhat challenging; through circumstances of fate, we ultimately ended up exploring the southern coast and backpacking the famous Laugevegur Trail. It was a fantastic journey, but it left us longing to return in order to explore the fjords of the north-west coast.

Icelandair is offering direct-to-Reykjavic flights out of Denver beginning this spring, and we've decided to take advantage of this; tickets were bought this morning for a three-week journey. The details are still TBD, but will most likely approximate the ad hoc itinerary I had dreamed up three years ago: exploring the fjords and remote fishing villages of the Northwest - a journey of long bus rides, light-aircraft hops, and ocean-going vessel transport, ultimately arriving to a remote trailhead, and then trekking back to civilization over the course of several days. Info about the region is readily available, but here's a good place to start:
West Fjords
Time allowing, there will be further exploration of the North Coast. As this travel window straddles the solstice, the sun will set for only an hour or two each day.

Here's the flight info in case you'd like to join us:

French Style

2012-01-05T01:28:00.004-05:00

When I was buying this record, I had to explain to the store clerk that these were the parents of Charlotte Gainsbourg. If it's possible to conceive a child just by singing a duet together, this would be the song.

Last Year's Models

2012-01-03T22:11:00.000-05:00

Stoner’s 2011 favorites:

Hot Sauce Committee Volume Two, Beastie Boys: Running wild like the rats in Taco Bell. Originally recorded for the 1964 World’s Fair in NYC, but only released this year. Back to the future.

Runner-up: Several Shades of Why, J. Mascis or Last Summer, Eleanor Friedberger

Single/Video: “Bizness,” by tune-yards (thanks, Feral Boy)

Runner-up: “Black Up” by Shabazz Palaces

Jazz Album: Novela, Tony Malaby

Non-Fiction: Shock Value, by Jason Zinoman…A brief history of American horror films of the seventies. Tobe Hooper, John Carpenter, and Brian DePalma tackle “the monster problem.”

Runner-up: How Did You Get This Number, by Sloane Crosley

Fiction: The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach…Life on and off the baseball team at a lovingly-rendered Midwest liberal arts college.

Pulp fiction: Quarry’s Ex, by Max Allan Collins

The Trip: In most current comedy, you are invited to hang out with people you would never choose to spend any time with in life. The Trip is a welcome reprieve from that.

Runners-up: Attack The Block, Daddy Longlegs, Midnight In Paris

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T22:36:00.002-05:00

The morning-after Bloody Mary.

...

Huge Falls That weren't Fatal

2011-12-27T15:35:00.002-05:00

from WIRED (June 2011).

220 feet: Leap Off a Bridge
While on a class trip this past March, 17-year-old Luhe Vilagomez jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge—just for kicks. Unlike 98 percent of those who make that plunge, he lived (to brag about it). A surfer picked him up, and they paddled to shore together.

9,500 feet: Parachute Fail
In 1991, skydiver Jill Shields fell to earth when her parachute failed to deploy. She landed on wet ground, where rescuers found her conscious and able to talk. She left a foot-deep impression in the mud.

12,000 feet: Double Parachute Fail
Michael Holmes, a resident of Jersey, England, was skydiving in New Zealand in 2006 when both his main chute and backup failed to deploy. He crashed into a dense thicket of blackberry bushes, sustaining only a punctured lung and a broken ankle.

22,000 feet: Fighter Plane Ditch
In 1943, Alan Magee, a WWII Air Force gunner, jumped out of his plunging B-17 without a chute. Losing consciousness, he crashed through the skylight of France’s St. Nazaire train station. He had a broken leg and ankle, a nearly severed right arm, and 28 wounds from the glass.

33,330 feet: Commercial Jet Crash
Vesna Vulović, a Serbian flight attendant, holds the Guinness world record for the longest fall. She plummeted in a piece of fuselage when a 1972 flight she was on exploded in midair. Vulović suffered a fractured skull, two broken legs, three broken vertebrae, and a broken pelvis but eventually recovered fully.

500px

2011-12-25T14:52:00.003-05:00

500px
...

Heavy Petty-ing

2011-12-23T18:55:00.004-05:00

Feral Boy finds hot sailor-on-sailor action in Virginia Beach
~~hardening~~ heartening.

Happy Birthday, FB!

2011-12-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

Damn! I's late again

Post #950

2011-12-18T10:38:00.000-05:00

Your ~~parents~~ audiophile friends are right, modern music is getting louder and more repetitive

Adam Sherwin, The Independent, Saturday, 17 December 2011

Hit songs are getting louder and rhythmically more repetitive, according to a scientific study of chart music, which concludes that pop's golden era was actually the often-maligned 1980s.

A research team from the University of Bristol's Intelligent Systems Laboratory in the Faculty of Engineering set out to predict the popularity of a song by using state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms.

The team examined the UK Top 40 Singles Chart over the past 50 years and sought to identify the distinguishing features of songs which made the top five, compared to those which stumbled outside the top 30.

The researchers used musical features such as tempo, time signature, song duration and loudness. They also computed detailed summaries of the songs such as harmonic simplicity, how simple the chord sequence is, and "non-harmonicity" – how "noisy" a song is.

By weighting the most significant 23 audio features, the team, led by Dr Tijl de Bie, produced a catchy equation for a potential hit: (w1 x f1) + (w2 X f2) + ... + (w23 X f23). How good is this equation? They claim it can predict with an accuracy of 60 per cent if a song will make it to the top 5, or if it will never reach above position 30 on the UK Top 40 Singles Chart.

The team discovered several trends which may explain why the singles chart, dominated today by R&B/dance collaborations, has been described as the least diverse it has ever been.

(cont. in Comments)

"subtle, detailed, and rapturously entertaining mayhem"

2011-12-15T20:33:00.001-05:00

A summary of two terrible ideas for saving the music industry (as proposed by virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier, in his often-interesting book You Are Not A Gadget).

I have to admit that my love for the music of The Bad Plus is difficult to separate from my love for pianist Ethan Iverson's blog Do The Math, by my estimate one of the very best things online. It doesn't help matters that he reads the same crime novelists I do. When he loses me with musical erudition, I have our shared enthusiasm (mania) for Thomas Perry to fall back on.

Another reason why purchasing those Oyster Cards was a good idea: the cool secret game we didn't realize we were playing.

***

Are those...Colts' colors?

2011-12-13T17:59:00.000-05:00

Steve Guttenberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame yesterday. Congratulations, "Eddie"!

London Shots

2011-12-06T01:52:00.006-05:00

Rex and Stoner discussing zombie movies in Picadilly Circus

Dinner with the very British Paul Settles and Stoner's favorite shirt from the David Byrne Emporium

Paranormal activities in the Tower of London. Can the Mentalist figure out what's going on?

Royal Consequences

2011-12-05T13:36:00.002-05:00

We didn't make any donations after the Crown Jewels tour and this happens. It turns out those donation boxes were sincere appeals to the public from the royal family.

Guess Which One Costs More

2011-12-05T00:00:00.002-05:00

See comment for the answer

The end of MUSIC?

2011-12-03T05:17:00.004-05:00

Hey Rocky, throw away those expensive speakers! Now you can listen to music through any object in the house. Watch Commercial

http://www.buybeatblaster.com/

Follow-up

2011-11-28T17:13:00.000-05:00

Who's up for Paris? Oscar Wilde's grave is open for business in two days.

Also, Rocky: in an odd coincidence, Ken Russell has died.

***

Americans in Paris

2011-11-21T22:02:00.003-05:00

Rex and Stoner discussing the epistemological problems of a recent episode of the The Mentalist.

at Harry's

2011-11-16T15:24:00.001-05:00

Time to brush up on your French

2011-11-01T01:17:00.004-04:00

The Coen Brothers segment from the excellent Paris je t'aime:

The final scene and credits from Paris je t'aime featuring a lovely Feist song:

Until Now, My Time Online Has Been A Waste

2011-10-16T13:06:00.001-04:00

"Back of My Hand," The Jags (1979)

Sign of the Times, Part II

2011-10-14T18:00:00.002-04:00

Some context for the previous post: The message itself is from a handmade sign spotted at an Occupy Wall Street rally. I found the ineloquent wording surprisingly adept at capturing how messed up our system is right now. The success of know-nothing, corporatist conservatives in pushing us back to the 19th century, if not the Middle Ages, is especially dismaying (read the Jane Kramer article in the latest New Yorker on the influence of one wealthy conservative activist has on the politics of North Carolina and ultimately the lives of North Carolinians). Shit is fucked up, indeed. This sour mood has been magnified personally by my slog through Denis Johnson’s Vietnam War novel, Tree of Smoke. I’m not sure if it’s a great, or even a good, novel, regardless of the gold “National Book Award” stamp on the front cover. What it is is a literary quagmire full of pointless dialogue, opaque characters, and thickets of gnarled sentences and half-sentences. Yet I can’t seem to extricate myself from the book (now 500-some pages into it) despite it affecting my sleep and putting me in a foul mood. In that sense, I feel like one of the characters in the novel who decides to re-enlist for a second tour in Vietnam without any explanation, despite the hellishness of his first tour. The book does not illuminate the subject or the characters. Instead, it pulls the reader into the confusion felt by the characters and the incomprehensibility of their predicament. In other words, you really feel that shit is fucked up and bullshit. I’m really looking forward to reading that baseball novel, but not until I finish my tour of duty.

Sign of the Times

2011-10-12T16:09:00.001-04:00

Courtesy of a reader at the Daily Dish

Toro!

2011-10-09T14:24:00.002-04:00

Read in the Denver Post:
MADRID — A Spanish bullfighter is likely to suffer facial paralysis and lose the sight in one eye after a terrifying goring, the hospital treating him said Saturday. Television images showed the moment when the bull's left horn ripped into Juan Jose Padilla's lower jaw to emerge beside his eyeball. Padilla is in a stable condition and recovering from a five-hour operation to repair his face, the statement from the Miguel Servet Hospital said.

Bonus goring from last year:

Tom Waits

2011-10-09T13:15:00.001-04:00

You’re the head on the spear
You’re the nail on the cross
You’re the fly in my beer
You’re the key that got lost
You’re the letter from Jesus on the bathroom wall
You’re mother superior in only a bra
You’re the same kind of bad as me

Lucas Santtana

2011-10-09T11:50:00.001-04:00

1980s Icons Grow Up

2011-10-09T09:11:00.008-04:00

Psychic who led officials on failed search won't face charges

2011-10-08T08:38:00.004-04:00

Read in the Denver Post:

HOUSTON — Authorities will not file charges against a woman who claimed to be a psychic and sent the local sheriff's department, the FBI and the Texas Rangers on a hunt for dozens of bodies she said were buried at a home northeast of Houston.Liberty County sheriff's Capt. Rex Evans says the woman will not be charged because she did not act with malice or criminal intent.

No word yet on my lawsuit against Jean Dixon.
...

We Are But Lazy Honkies (rocky excepted, of course)

2011-10-08T08:08:00.006-04:00

By John Ingold
The Denver Post

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit on behalf of three fired white workers against the owners of a Craig hotel the agency alleges discriminated against them. The lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Denver, claims the owners of the Hampton Inn franchise in Craig fired the workers because they are white and "it was their impression that such workers are lazy," the case filing states. "[I]n their opinion Hispanics worked harder," the lawsuit alleges.
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According to the complaint, the hotel hired the three workers — Wendy Buckley, Ashlee Flannery and Dewetta McKnight — shortly before it opened in 2009 to work in the laundry and housekeeping departments. All three workers were fired later that year and replaced by Latino employees. By the end of the year, all workers in the laundry and housekeeping departments were Latinos, according to the complaint.
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P. J. Harvey

2011-10-04T13:20:00.000-04:00

Missives

2011-09-30T13:33:00.001-04:00

Rex: You asked about this place once or twice. I've eaten there twice now (a breakfast and a hamburger) and I'm still undecided, but I like the sign.

Rocky: Did you know that Phineas Newborn, Jr. did not pronounce his name like the protagonist of "Around The World In Eighty Days" but rather as "Fine-ass"? I did not either.

Marquis: Don't worry, we can catch "Warrior" at the Penn...or in Roppongi...

Feral Boy: Your free "vision package" should arrive shortly!

***

What If... Salvador Dali Designed Clocks

2011-09-28T15:03:00.004-04:00

Do you love Jesus?

Do you love dolphins?

Here's the perfect clock for you!

Feral Boy May Not Be a Paranoid Crazy After All

2011-09-23T12:38:00.002-04:00

Man can't live by bread alone, because it will kill you.

New Direction(s)

2011-09-21T17:07:00.000-04:00

I started a new blog because I needed somewhere to post a piece I wrote about the demise of Borders, and my old blog wasn't it. Then I started writing a longish piece about baseball, and that wasn't Zero-Sum World material either. So I'm retiring Zero-Sum World for the time being. (If Detroit Noir 2 happens, it'll be back.) In the meantime, I'm linking to the new blog under Diversions. For now, it's called New Directions, but that'll probably change. I was thinking, Hey, writing longer pieces about a variety of things -- it's a new direction, like a jazz album circa 1960! But it's also, a friend pointed out today, the name of the "group" on the TV show Glee -- which explains the traffic to my blog, but is also unfortunate. So we'll see.

I've written about Borders and the movie Drive. The baseball thing is still in draft.

The New Normal TV Shows

2011-09-19T00:26:00.008-04:00

From the NPR website:

The nation's poverty rate rose last year to 15.1 percent, the highest level in 17 years, according to new data from the Census Bureau. The agency's latest poverty report, released Tuesday, shows that 46 million people were poor and that the median income dropped last year by more than two percent to about $49,445.

TV writers are already adjusting to the times and creating shows for the fastest growing demographic group in the country, i.e., poor people, such as Two Broke Girls, described in Wikipedia thusly:

Set in New York City, the series chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their twenties—Max (Kat Dennings), who comes from a poor working-class family, and Caroline (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now down on her luck—working together at a Brooklyn restaurant. The two become fast friends and build their dream of one day opening a cupcake shop (for which they need to raise $250,000), although they can barely afford anything with the pay they receive at work, and must continually find ways to make ends meet.

Which led me to think of some more promising TV series pilots for the times:

Homeless in Seattle - A reality show modeled after Survivor follows 12 homeless people camped out at Steinbrueck Park in downtown Seattle. The homeless contestants go through challenges, e.g., putting together a dinner menu out of food scraps salvaged from dumpsters (think Top Chef, except it's really Bottom Chef!). At the end of each episode, one contestant is voted outta the park. At the end of the series, the last surviving homeless person wins a prize--free psychiatric care for life.

My Indentured Servant - A sit-com about Charles, a down-in-his-luck black man, who, after losing his decent-paying construction job, agrees to become the indentured servant of a daffy billionaire as a last desperate way of keeping his family from living on the street. The comedy ensues as the audience is "in the know" that the wise-cracking Charles is so much smarter than his bumbling boss. (Note to self: Charles should come across as an adult Gary Coleman [playful!], but be careful not to cross the line into Benson territory [bitter!]) The first episode ends with a touching scene in which Charles convinces his son, who's embarrassed about his dad's new "job", that it's "cool" to be an indentured servant.

G.S.I. America - The acronym stands for God Squad Investigations. The show is a crime drama about evangelical vigilantes, er, sleuths, who re-investigate closed cases that were solved by specious methods, e.g., use of a psychic (witchcraft) or science (unproven "theories"). The reliance on scripture and signs from God, which the heathen authorities are blind to, lead the investigators to a different conclusion to each case. Every episode ends in a suprise death penalty for someone who almost got away with a heinous crime, preferably a scary-looking black male, but every once in a while to a gay-looking white man to keep it fair and balanced. Viewers will be satisfied after every episode for the heaping serving of Justice!

Liz Taylor

2011-09-03T11:03:00.003-04:00

Summit 2011, Part 1

2011-08-28T19:49:00.000-04:00

The tenor of the Summit is prophesied.

At The Movies

2011-08-16T14:26:00.000-04:00

The Trip, with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves -- two middle-aged long-time friends alternately cracking up and annoying one another during an endless-seeming road trip -- is really fucking funny, and a worthy update of My Dinner With Andre, with a lighter touch. Of course, it probably helps to see the movie under the same circumstances as I did (see above: “two middle-aged” etc.)…but here’s a bit of it:

It can’t be coincidence that the two movies to have the lengthiest first-run this year, Insidious and Bridesmaids, both feature Rose Byrne.

She was also in Troy, with Brad Pitt, and I remain dumbfounded she wasn’t cast as Helen.

***

I think Leslie Mann is this generation’s Gene Wilder.

***

Learning From Iran

2011-08-15T14:56:00.003-04:00

You've probably read news stories on how Iran and other repressive regimes have blocked internet and cell phone access to quell public protests. Well its happening in my back yard. Of course the magnitude and stakes aren't as high, but the tactics are the same.

...

Requiescat in pace

2011-08-13T18:47:00.002-04:00

Everyone associated with Borders will have their own marker for the beginning of the end, but, for those who remember it, the decline began with the decision to do away with the book test, famously handed to anyone who asked for a job application. Here's the version I took in 1994.

The New Spilka's Hotel, Utica NY

2011-08-11T16:50:00.001-04:00

Fun time in upstate New York and the Berkshires. Visited 3 universities and 4 cineplexes.

Random Thoughts From Rocky With Love

2011-08-05T18:37:00.004-04:00

Why hasn't anyone written a graphic novel of Peanuts characters as grown-ups? (Are you reading this, Michael Chabon?) It would go straight to the top of my reading list. (If it's already been done, please let me know.)

When you smell a fart, does that mean molecules that came out of someone's butt have just entered your nose? I think it does. The thought makes me a little ill.

When did we start calling the filthy rich "job creators"? Is it because saying "I'm opposed to raising taxes on the filthy rich" makes you sound stupid and immoral?

...

Tinker, Tailor...

2011-08-02T08:47:00.000-04:00

Don't get me wrong: I've enjoyed the comic book movies this summer, truly I have. But this trailer makes me wish the season was over.

Any other le Carre fans among us? If so, doesn't Oldman seem more ideally suited to play Karla than Smiley?

Something "New"

2011-07-20T10:38:00.000-04:00

Is this an example of the post-book world which Borders failed to include in the business plan that led to its demise? They should have sold iPad apps? Of course. From The New Yorker:

In 1947, Jack Kerouac took the first of three trips that would inform “On the Road,” the 1957 novel that defined the Beat movement. Recently, Penguin reissued the book as an “amplified edition,” and the app includes pages from Kerouac’s travel journals, letters between Kerouac and his editors, interactive maps of the 1947, 1949, and 1950 trips, rare photos, documentary Beat footage, and reproductions of the the original draft. There aren’t any other apps in the pipeline, says Christopher Russell, the project’s editorial director, though Penguin recently has released enhanced e-book editions of other backlist titles; “On the Road” is available for iPad only, and costs $16.99.

Deep Blues 2011

2011-07-19T07:44:00.000-04:00

Time Wasting Stuff

2011-07-17T01:13:00.003-04:00

If you like kaleidoscopes and Stereolab like rocky does, watch this video on full screen. Probably good on drugs too.

"Forever Marilyn"

2011-07-16T23:48:00.003-04:00

I bet Joe DiMaggio never wore a gas mask.

From the Denver Post:

Nick Valenza helps to put some finishing touches on ''Forever Marilyn'', a sculpture by Seward Johnson, on July 14, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The stainless steel and aluminum sculpture which stands 26 feet tall and weighs 34,000 pounds will be unveiled tomorrow and remain on display in Chicago through the spring of 2012. The sculpture was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene in the 1955 movie Seven Year Itch. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

FDR Anticipates the Teabaggers

2011-07-14T14:17:00.000-04:00

Group promises to burn books if library closes

2011-07-13T15:30:00.000-04:00

from the Detroit News today:

Troy —It's an odd way to support a library tax — threaten a book-burning party if the measure fails.

But some lawn signs popping up around Troy are doing just that, prompting questions and criticism of the group behind the effort.

The signs started appearing in city neighborhoods earlier this month. A line on the signs indicates they were paid for by an organization called Safeguarding American Families (SAFE).

The group registered with the county on June 20 as a ballot question committee and supporter of the Aug. 2 millage. A box indicating opposition appeared to be scribbled out after it was checked.

"We don't know what's going on," said Aileen Bittner, acting city clerk. "We're aware of the group. We're watching it because of the topic. It's a bit unusual."

Residents will vote on a 0.7-mill tax levy that would provide dedicated funding to the library for five years. If the millage fails, the library will close on Aug. 5.

SAFE promises a book-burning party the same day the library would close. In addition to yard signs, SAFE has T-shirts, mugs and a Facebook page dedicated to the campaign.

Some think the site is satire, but creators of the Book Burning Party page claim otherwise.

"Our agenda's pretty simple," states a posting from the Facebook page creator. "We want the library to close so we can have a book burning party. What's not to get?"

Officials for the group could not be reached for comment.

Deborah DeBacker, committee member of Troy Citizens United, an anti-tax group, said she doesn't support the millage, but she doesn't support book-burning either.

"We have nothing to do with this. We think it's disgusting," DeBacker said. "We want to keep the library open. We just want to do it without additional taxes."

The Troy City Council cut funding for the library and its nature museum in May 2010, saying the city was facing a projected $2.2 million budget deficit and could not afford to operate the library from the general fund.

Residents twice voted down similar proposals last year. Organizers convinced the city to again put the issue on the ballot.

Ellen Hodorek, spokeswoman for Save Troy, the organization spearheading the campaign to save the library, said the idea of burning books is "outrageous."

"We don't know what to think. We're hoping it's just satire," Hodorek said. "Bottom line, if people want to save the library, they'll get out and vote yes."

****

Do you think these are kids? I believe it is, and I think they're brilliant. They certainly melted Deborah DeBacker's brain. The kids are alright.

Happy Birthday, Stoner!

2011-07-02T11:42:00.001-04:00

***

Special Offer for Clock Members

2011-07-01T01:34:00.003-04:00

When I first heard of Kurt Vile, I totally dismissed him as a poseur based on his name, a cutesy play on the name of the German composer. Later I discovered it was his birth name. I then felt sorry for him and decided to give him a chance. You can too. For a free download of his latest album go to www.matadorrecords.com/mp3promotion.php

UPC: 744861093817
Secret Code: SMOKEV8T7RR58

There are 2 free downloads left with the above code. You can check out the sample below, as well as others found on YouTube, to see if you want to download the album. It's slackerrific!

Stoner leaves his virtual heart in Tokyo

2011-06-28T21:49:00.004-04:00

Stoner has left Tokyo. I promised him the full "Lost in Translation" experience, and I feel I delivered -- from ignoring him as he lounged around our shared apartment in his underwear to a karaoke version of "More than This."

The news is probably his to share, but I felt I should report back to the group on a troubling obsession that flared up with the amorphous performing collective AKB 48. Link follows.

The first step is admitting you have a problem. With underage cyborgs. We are here for you, man.

Well, maybe not me, but the others probably.

http://gizmodo.com/5814813/can-you-fall-in-love-with-this-beautiful-girl

Wonders of the Internet

2011-06-24T02:51:00.001-04:00

Animals being dicks. Too good not to share.

Clapton and Marsalis Play "Layla"

2011-06-23T14:17:00.003-04:00

***

Colorado Crime

2011-06-23T13:32:00.004-04:00

Thankfully, here in Snowmass Village I am distanced from the ravages of urban crime, as found in Colorado's larger cities. Cases in point:

I pita the fool that messes with me....

A woman arrested after a pita-throwing incident said Wednesday she disputes the Boulder Police Department's version of events.

Boulder police arrested [the] woman on an outstanding warrant after she was accused of chucking her pita sandwich at a cab driver in a fit of anger. She brought attention to herself when she threw her food at the cab driver, splattering tzatziki sauce on his face and in his beard and making a mess of his cab, according to a police report. Witnesses told police she was angry that he wouldn't allow her to have food in his cab. The cab driver opted against filing charges against Lane.

Lane told the Camera that, after a few drinks with friends, she stopped to get a gyro and then went to get a cab. As she was entering the cab, the driver yelled that she couldn't bring her food inside the taxi.

When she exited, Lane said, she made the mistake of using an expletive, which prompted the driver to get out of his cab and snatch the gyro out of her hand. She said she doesn't remember what happened next, but her friends saw the driver throw the pita at her.
http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_18270747
http://www.dailycamera.com/boulder-county-news/ci_18284202#ixzz1Q7dJfcFp

Boulder Cops Seek Yoga-Fest Toilet Lurker

Boulder police are looking for a tall young man who escaped capture while "covered in feces" after he contorted himself inside a portable toilet at the Hanuman Yoga Festival on Friday.

A woman had gone inside to use the toilet when she suspected someone was hiding in the well-used bowl beneath a tarp, police said Tuesday. A security officer waited outside until a shirtless, shoeless man came out stained with human waste. When the officer tried to stop him, he made a run for it and got away.

Witnesses told police he might be a local transient who uses the name Sky. He is described as white, about 20 years old, between 6 feet 4 inches and 6 feet 8 inches tall with a thin build and short, dark hair. Witnesses said he had cuts on his back and legs and was wearing leather bracelets on each wrist.

Boulder police spokeswoman Kim Kobel told the Daily Camera that police are not sure how he was able to squeeze into the tank or what he was doing there. He is being sought on charges of criminal attempt to make unlawful sexual contact.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_18326586?utm_medium=facebook

Bonus, non-Colorado, crime:

Amish Man Accused of Sexting Girl, 12

An Amish man who sent hundreds of sexually charged text messages to a 12-year-old girl was arrested last week when he drove a horse and buggy to an Indiana restaurant where he had arranged a rendezvous with the child, according to police.

Yoder’s contact with the girl began with a random text sent to her phone. When the child’s parents learned of their daughter’s contact with Yoder, they took control of her phone and continued communicating with Yoder, who sent about 600 texts, as well as nude photos and explicit videos to the girl. In one text, Yoder told the girl that, “the proposed sex act would happen inside the buggy,” according to a Connersville Police Department report.

The parents then contacted the police, and officers took over the sting operation. After arranging the Wednesday night meeting, cops staking out the Takehome restaurant reported seeing “the outline of a carriage type buggy pulled by one horse and what appeared to be one occupant.”

Happy Birthday, rocky!

2011-06-23T11:33:00.003-04:00

***

Big Freedia

2011-06-23T11:25:00.001-04:00

***

Bird Has Big Plans

2011-06-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

More Deep Blues

2011-06-10T02:40:00.002-04:00

I think Feral Boy posted about this festival earlier. It's practically the same line-up as past Deep Blues and outdoors! Anyone still interested?

Link to the festival website.

Travel Tip

2011-06-09T12:24:00.003-04:00

Stoner, don't forget to pack a tin-foil hat with ear flaps for your trip to Japan. This may not be a good sign.

Springtime in the Rockies

2011-06-05T14:24:00.005-04:00

It's been unusually cold and wet in Colorado this spring, with precipitation approaching decades-old record levels. And while the weather this last week has been very pleasant, and the snow at my elevation is all but gone, I thought I'd post a couple of photos of the crime (of nature) scene: the first taken from my yard just three weeks ago, on a day that we'd eventually receive about twelve inches of new snow, and a recent photo of the plowed section of Trail Ridge Road, in Rocky Mountain National Park, taken by Sam Noblett, of the Loveland Reporter Herald.

Best Coast?

2011-06-04T13:16:00.000-04:00

Blue Ribbon Bacon Tour! In Keystone, CO, June 24-26

2011-06-04T12:04:00.006-04:00

Cancel your other plans and book a flight to Colorado for "access to over 3,000 pounds of delicious bacon and bacon inspired treats from a variety of bacon purveyors. The weekend-long event will also feature the BRBF’s famous bacon lecture series delivered by some of the nation’s most brilliant bacon minds."

Mark Mathews, Executive Director of KNC, explains, “The Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival is highly regarded as the leader in providing bacon enthusiasts with the opportunity to explore and express their love for bacon in a fun, imaginative and supportive atmosphere. We’re excited about this new partnership and can’t wait to play host to thousands of bacon lovers from across the mountain states.”

Brooks Reynolds, co-founder of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival, adds, “As far as I’m concerned, if you haven’t sampled a variety of bacon at 9,000 feet above sea level, you haven’t lived.”

In response to the announcement, bacon aficionado Neil Pederson of Golden, CO was overwhelmed with emotion, “If words could only describe how I’m feeling right now. As a native Iowan, I miss the many different types of bacon available at local meat lockers and pig farms. At times, I long for an applewood smoked bacon from a pure bred Duroc pig. Or a few slices of dry-cured bacon from a true Berkshire breed. A tear comes to my eye, just thinking about the opportunity that lies before me. OHHHH, BACON!”

A limited number of Blue Ribbon Bacon Packages are available for $30 online now, while supplies last. Click here to buy your tickets. The package entitles the holder to admission to the three-day event, a commemorative hat, a free beer, a beer koozie, bacon samples at the Bacon Showcase, live music, and bacon educational lectures.
***

Smokin OPs

2011-06-04T08:50:00.001-04:00

Memorable Senior Pranks.

Nematodes From Hell.

Undeclared GOP Candidates.

27b/6

2011-05-30T15:09:00.004-04:00

27b/6

From: anton@function4sports.com
Date: Thursday 20 January 2011 11.14am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Advertisement

I received the attached advertisement from a friend who follows you on twitter or something. If this was some kind of joke I fail to see the humor. We had over 5000 calls asking for free snowboards and I know you are responsible.

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 20 January 2011 12.26pm
To: anton@function4sports.com
Subject: Re: Advertisement

Dear Anton,
Thank you for your email. I have been called many things while staying in the US, including 'foggot' and 'youreonthewrongsideoftheroadmoron', but having recently seen my first snowfall and immediately heading out to spend several hundred dollars on snowsurfing equipment, I hardly think the label 'responsible' is justified.
Contrary to popular belief, there is not a lot of snow in Australia and I recently discovered two facts;
1. Snow is cold and;
2. Coming from a climate where the coldest winter demands only complaining slightly less about how hot it is, I am ill-equipped for fact 1.
Unfortunately, these discoveries were made half way up a ski-lift while dressed in jeans, a long sleeved t-shirt and soaking wet rental boots in minus twelve degree weather. Reaching the summit and finding myself unable to feel my extremities or bend back into a standing position, I simply rolled off the lift chair and slid down the embankment on my side before coming to a stop helped by a small group of children. After assuring the parents that kids get nose bleeds all the time and it was probably more to do with the altitude than my left elbow, I decided to forego that morning's activities, walk down the hill, and sit in my vehicle with the heater on while researching local snow-apparel shops on my iPhone.
Arriving at your store a short time later, I explained to a salesperson that I required warm clothing and "a pair of waterproof gloves for use in the snow." Based on his brand recommendation and assurance that they would perform in the manner required, I purchased a pair of 180's snow gloves, along with several other items of snow related clothing, and ventured back to the slopes.
Assuming the gloves would be waterproof for use in the snow (possibly due to being told "these are waterproof gloves for use in the snow") I was surprised to find they became soaked within seconds and bled black ink down my sleeves and all over the front of my jacket.
Returning to the store immediately, brandishing both the result and receipt, I politely stated that I was not seeking compensation for the ruined jacket, just simply wished to exchange the gloves for a pair not designed to destroy everything they come into contact with.
I was told, "Fuck off. You've worn them."
Being that customer service is arguably a company's most valuable asset, I assumed you would appreciate all the free marketing and promotional help you could get.
Regards, David.

From: anton@function4sports.com
Date: Thursday 20 January 2011 4.18pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Advertisement

You bought gloves and ruined them and then you want to exchange them for a diffent pair? No store does that. You cant return something already worn. You have no idea about running a business. If I was working that day I would have told you to fuck off too. Dont be surprised if you get a call from the police. Are you going to pay for the extra staff I had to put on to take all the phone calls?

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 20 January 2011 5.06pm
To: anton@function4sports.com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

Dear Anton,
I would actually be more surprised if the local constabulary hasn't got me on speed dial by now. And, going by the adage 'You get what you pay for' in regards to the level of expertise and customer service skills your staff display, I doubt the wages for 'extra staff you had to put on' would exceed the $44 I paid for the pair of destructogloves.
The three staff members working the day I purchased the gloves, who I will refer to as Fatty, Tatooey and Fuzzy for identification purposes, seemed rather annoyed by my interruption of their 'sitting in a chair looking cool' time. Fuzzy seemed the most inconvenienced but that is understandable what with having to deal with inappropriate questions such as, "Do you sell waterproof gloves for use in the snow?" in a snow-sports shop. Although intending to also purchase board, bindings and boots that day in order to avoid dealing with rental-shop queues that make the Perestroika bread lines look like a couple of friends standing around having a chat, I did not wish to infringe any further on Fuzzy's prime duties of growing an awesome beard and showing a rash to Fatty and Tatooey. Although Tattooey provided him with a diagnosis of "dude, dont' pick it, let it scab" that could only stem from several years in medical school, Fatty was less than impressed and only gave it a mild glance and noncommittal grunt before going back to playing Angry Birds.
I should probably be thankful that your staff were too occupied with having their earlobes stretched by Tonka-truck tyres and wearing pants around their knees to sell me a snowsurfingboard made of sugar or goggles made of bees.
While I may not have your experience running a business, I am pretty sure that if I owned a shop that sold chairs and you entered and said to me, "Hello shopkeeper, I am looking for something to sit on" and I replied "Sure, this one should suit your needs perfectly, it is made for sitting on" and you purchased the chair, took it home, sat on it, and it exploded, taking out previously purchased furniture with it, you would probably drive back to my shop and say, "Excuse me, I bought this chair an hour ago, used it in the manner you recommended, and it exploded - I am not asking for compensation for my other furniture but would like to exchange it for a non-exploding chair that performs in the manner originally described." Responding with anything other than "I do apologise, here's a replacement" would certainly come as a surprise to you and I doubt "Fuck off, you sat in it" would mean I'd see you, Fatty, Tattoey and Fuzzy at my premises the following week shopping for cushions.
Also, quick question. Having seen the publicity photo of you with your staff, I realise you probably use a child's board but what length would you recommend for a normal sized human? What would be ideal is a really wide snowsurfingboard with handles that I can lay down on. Or one with a seat and steering wheel. Perhaps with some kind of caterpillar tread based wheel system and a motor so that you can ride it up the hill instead of having to take the ski-lift. That thing is dangerous.
Regards, David.

From: anton@function4sports.com
Date: Friday 21 January 2011 11.04am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

Its snowboarding not snowsurfing and 5"8 isn't short dickwad. I doubt my staff acted in that way but if they did then it is probably because we get hundreds of weekend warriors in here during ski season and we like to know if they are serious or just window shopping before we waste hours helping them. I'm sick of noobs like you who dont know what they want or shit about snowboarding coming in wasting our time. If I refunded money or exchanged gear to every looser who had a problem with their gloves, I’d be broke.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 21 January 2011 2.17pm
To: anton@function4sports.com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

Dear Anton,
Yes, I am pretty sure if I ran a snowboardsurfing shop the last thing I would want is people new to the sport mistakenly entering my premises with the intention of exchanging goods for money. What a bunch of 'loosers'. You should probably have that on your front door instead of the welcome sign. Otherwise, people might read the word 'welcome' and mistakenly think they are welcome.
Perhaps you could incorporate a sign similar to the 'You must be this tall to ride' kind displayed at carnivals, but amend it to 'You must be this cool to enter' with a big red arrow pointing to photos of Fatty, Tattooey and Fuzzy.
Also, I apologise. While the average male height of 5"9 statistically means anything under is considered short, my question was without diminutive intention. I'm sure there are many advantages to being so small. Target carries an excellent range of boys clothing at competitive prices and a lower centre of gravity should, once helped up onto the ski-lift, allow you to snowboardsurf with greater stability. If I were small, I would buy a cat and ride it.
I do object to the label 'noob' though. Thirty minutes of watching instructional Youtube videos have to count for something. One of them showed a squirrel water-skiing which is pretty much the same thing so how hard can it be? I am at least twice as intelligent as a squirrel and I once covered almost the entire distance of a slip'n'slide in a standing position so the basic skill set is there. I expect to be doing steezy jumps within the first hour and Olivers by lunch.
When I was nine I attempted to jump my new Standish 12 Selectaspeed racing bike across a creek. Building a ramp from timber removed from an adjoining playground fort, I calculated that a speed of 150mph, based on a previous evening's episode of Knight Rider, would see me safely over the fifteen metre gap. Having also seen episodes of Dukes of Hazzard where they jump bridges and the nose of the General Lee crumples a bit, I strategically placed a pile of leaves on the estimated landing point to soften the impact. In front of an expectant crowd consisting of two kids from the playground and a dog, I rode to the top of a hill, donned my father's welding mask and gloves (safety first) and began the descent. Overcoming momentary speed wobble somewhere around eleventh gear, I believe I would have made it had the dog not run in front of me at the last moment, causing me to veer and miss the ramp by about four metres. Approximately half way over the creek and realising my trajectory was not going to make the distance, I attempted to pull the bike upwards, a midair bunny hop if you will, resulting in the handlebars separating from the frame.
Somehow, while my bike dropped into the creek, my body managed to make it to the far bank and roll several times before coming to a halt. Jumping to my feet and exclaiming "I'm ok" to my horrified audience, one of them pointed and I looked down to discover a rib poking out of my chest as a red stain slowly spread outwards ruining my Return of the Jedi t-shirt. I also discovered that the dog had, minutes before my approach, defecated in my landing spot. Which for some reason seemed more horrifying to me than the protruding rib at the time. Accepting the loss of Chewbacca and two Ewoks but attempting to remove my shirt before the bloodstain reached Luke, it caught hard on the rib and I blacked out from the pain. During the ambulance ride, I regained consciousness long enough to overhear one of the medics state, "Three broken ribs and a left... is that dog shit?"
While recovering in hospital, my father took the bike back to the shop it was purchased from, showed the defective handlebar bolt and described the accident - admittedly omitting the parts about the ramp, creek and dog poo. They replaced it with a new bike and threw in a helmet as way of apology. That store is where I bought my offspring's first, second and third bike twenty years later.
Regards, David.

From: anton@function4sports.com
Date: Friday 21 January 2011 3.37pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

Its ollie not oliver. You really dont have a fucking clue do you. You bought gloves without doing your research first and WORE them and fucked them up and then tried to return them even though we have a sign that says returns are at our discretion. Just because you dont get it doesnt make you right. I intend to call my lawyer about your stupid advertisement. You are banned from my store and I'm blocking your email address. I'm too busy making 40 grand a week from noobs like you to read your bullshit.
Enjoy your gloves dickwad.

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 21 January 2011 3.51pm
To: anton@function4sports.com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

Dear Anton,
I assumed Ollie is short for Oliver just as Anton is short for a normal sized human. While I appreciate your well wishes in regards to the gloves, I have already replaced them with a pair of black North Face 'Montanas' (for approximately half the price I paid for your 'alarmed squid' squishmittens) from another snowsurfing business named Freestyle who were also happy to recommend and fit a selection of boards, bindings and boots. You should check them out. They have a lot of good stuff there and I can't recommend them enough. Ask for Justin.
Regards, David.

From: anton@function4sports.com
Date: Friday 21 January 2011 4.09pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

I hope you break your fucking neck in a fall noob.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 24 January 2011 9.20am
To: anton@function4sports.com
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Advertisement

Netherlands Off Stoner's 'To-Do' List

2011-05-29T15:31:00.000-04:00

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch government on Friday said it would start banning tourists from buying cannabis from "coffee shops" and impose restrictions on Dutch customers by the end of the year.

The Netherlands is well known for having one of Europe's most liberal soft drug policies that has made its cannabis shops a popular tourist attraction, particularly in Amsterdam.

Backed by the far-right party of anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders, the coalition government that came into power last year announced plans to curb drug tourism as part of a nationwide program to promote health and fight crime.

"In order to tackle the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drug trafficking, the open-door policy of coffee shops will end," the Dutch health and justice ministers wrote in a letter to the country's parliament on Friday.

Under the new rules, only Dutch residents will be able to sign up as members of cannabis shops.

Dutch customers will have to sign up for at least a year's membership and each shop would be expected to have only up to 1,500 members, a justice ministry spokesman said.

The policy will roll out in the southern provinces of Limburg, Noord Brabant and Zeeland by the end of the year and the rest of the country next year, the spokesman said.

Amsterdam, home to about 220 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in its red light district. Some officials have resisted the measures, saying they will push the soft drug trade underground.

Some Dutch border towns including Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners.

(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Gilbert Kreijger; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Outtakes from "Bridesmaids"

2011-05-29T09:10:00.002-04:00

Bridesmaids Outtakes - watch more funny videos

Alternate Universes

2011-05-29T01:50:00.003-04:00

Here's Radiohead rehearsing for their next big gig at the Allendale High School Prom.

Maeklong Market, Thailand

2011-05-28T21:13:00.002-04:00

Mexican Pointy Boots

2011-05-28T06:58:00.001-04:00

A New Form of Life

2011-05-27T21:24:00.000-04:00

"Any questions?"

"Yes. - How do you kill them?"

Ligers!

2011-05-26T07:38:00.008-04:00

Deb: What's a liger?
Napoleon Dynamite: It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.

Dog: What hath God wrought?

The backstory

Hey, Dreamcrusher!

2011-05-24T14:48:00.001-04:00

This sounds like a case for rocky "Dreamcrusher" dennis---

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

A favorite moment from the new Beastie Boys album:

2011-05-23T21:06:00.000-04:00

MCA: "The pump don't work cuz the vandals took the handles."

Mike D: "Stop singin' that song!"

***

Compressed Knowledge

2011-05-22T09:36:00.003-04:00

Finally! Read an entire book (sic) during the post- lift-off, pre- wifi-altitude portion of the flight!

Weather Forecast

2011-05-20T19:42:00.003-04:00

Hope this doesn't spoil your weekend plans:

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All is not a Japanese punk band

2011-05-20T08:12:00.000-04:00

The video for "Earl" (as mentioned in the May 23 New Yorker article):

"EARL" | Earl Sweatshirt | OFWGKTA from AG Rojas on Vimeo.

Why Isn't Mickey Rourke in More, Better, Movies?

2011-05-18T13:37:00.007-04:00

Edit: "Why Isn't Mickey Rourke in Better Movies?" (See: "More")

I've been a fan of Mickey Rourke's work since first seeing him in Diner. (Jesus, has it really been 29 years since that film was released?) Yes, he's seemingly bat-shit insane, has a reputation of being hard to work with, and has chosen to be in some awful movies, but, if nothing else, his performance is almost always the best thing in those otherwise lousy films. Why not bigger, better, roles? Well, here's a somewhat humorous tidbit that I stumbled upon at NYMag.com that may offer one explanation:

When we spotted Mickey Rourke leaning against a wall at the after-party for a screening of Scream 4 at the Mondrian Soho's Mister H last night, we made a beeline for the man. Was he there because he loves horror movies? Or to support the night’s celebrity headliner, 50 Cent, who he co-starred with in the unreleased 13? Nope, he wasn't there to do either. Rourke isn't a big fan of horror, and he's even less of a fan of 13, which he described as a "terrible" movie. Also "terrible" according to Rourke: Passion Play, his movie with Megan Fox, an actress he previously described as "the most talented" he'd ever worked with. Once you get Rourke talking candidly, he can't be stopped. Enjoy the brutal honesty.

Let’s start with horror movies: You a fan?
Depends.

On what?
If there’s nothing else to watch. I came here to see Harvey. I don’t know nothing about the movie.

What about 50 Cent? He’s hosting.
I haven’t seen him.

You guys are in a movie together, right?
A really bad movie, yeah.

What?! Is it out?
No, it’s so bad it can’t get out.

Tell me why you made it.
For the money.

But you think the movie’s bad.
Terrible.

Why?
You have to watch it.

What about your movie with Megan Fox and Bill Murray?
Terrible. Another terrible movie. But, you know, in your career and all the movies you make, you’re going to make dozens of terrible ones.

You called Megan Fox, like, one of the best actresses of all time.
That I worked with [smirk].

That movie’s getting limited release.
That’s because it’s not very good.

I know a good movie we can talk about: your rugby movie.
That’ll be a great movie. We start shooting February.

***

Point Lobos, California

2011-05-17T00:22:00.003-04:00

Bill Hicks vs. David Letterman, a Definitive Overview

2011-05-14T20:48:00.005-04:00

Plus, a bonus comment from YouTube uploader saprissa30:

1 9 9 4
♣♣WORST YEAR EVER♣♣
You don`t belive me
Charles Bukoski die
Kurt Cobain die
Bill Hicks Die
Justin Bieber born

How to Beat High Airfares

2011-05-10T18:26:00.001-04:00

This occurred to me before when looking at flights, but I lost patience or fretted about winding up on the no-fly list or something.

(from the New York Times)

By NATE SILVER

Air travel remains a necessity, even as it gets ever more expensive. First, the cost of flights, which fell throughout most of the 2000s relative to inflation, is climbing once again thanks to higher fuel prices. And then there are the added fees for everything from checked baggage to those vile croissanwiches.

Well, there’s a way to save some of that money. It’s called “hidden-city ticketing,” but before I explain how to execute the maneuver, you’re going to need some background. Passengers flying to or from airports that are dominated by a single carrier — like Memphis, Newark or Dallas/Fort Worth — pay fares 20 or 30 percent higher than at non-hub airports. The prices are even more inflated when you’re flying from a smaller city with a limited number of flights. A nonstop one-way ticket from Des Moines to Dallas/Fort Worth is $375 on American Airlines, for example — more than the $335 Delta will charge you to fly from Miami to Anchorage.

But what happens when you’re interested in flying American from Des Moines to Los Angeles, which hosts a more competitive airport? That flight is only about half the price ($186), despite its being more than double the distance. Now, here’s the trick: American flights from Des Moines to L.A. have a layover in Dallas. If you want to travel to Dallas, the best way to get a reasonable fare is to book the flight to Los Angeles instead, and simply get off the plane at Dallas.

Making a habit of this certainly won’t endear you to the airlines. Most of them — the major exception being free-spirited Southwest Airlines — expressly forbid it in their ticketing rules. But those rules don’t carry the force of law, and most travel lawyers say that their recourse is limited. They could probably preclude you from flying with them in the future, but their case for demanding penalties is weak, and the risk of detection is low if you don’t book these kinds of routes more often than a couple of times per carrier per year. Just remember these tips for successfully executing the phantom flight trick:

1. Look to employ the switcheroo when your final destination is at a hub airport dominated by just one or two carriers, like Atlanta, Cleveland, Salt Lake City, Charlotte, Detroit, Cincinnati or Chicago O’Hare, all of which have overpriced tickets.

2. When you’re traveling to one of those cities, you should search for phantom flights into airports that are more competitive — New York, Miami, Las Vegas and Boston are good examples. Search engines like Kayak.com will allow you to select your routing through your desired layover airport.

3. Book your itinerary as a set of two one-way flights, rather than as a round trip. If you miss any segment of your itinerary, the airline will usually cancel the rest of it.

4. Don’t check your bags, because they’ll find their way to the final destination listed on your itinerary. And get to your gate early, lest the overhead bins fill up.

5. Don’t lie if you get caught — travel lawyers agree that misstating your intentions could leave you facing fraud charges. Instead, proudly state that you’re doing your part to help the airlines understand the inefficiencies in their pricing structures, and that you’re bringing exorbitant fares more in line with the free market.

Minneapolis v. San Francisco

2011-05-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

The Daily Show - Minneapolis Is the New Gay
Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Robert Nighthawk

2011-05-09T09:16:00.002-04:00

...was referred to in the previously linked-to Dale Beavers article (see The True Story of This Mother...)

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