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Saturday, December 07, 2002

Top Ten, Round III

I have twice before essayed to offer proof that weblogs and other tiny online sources insidiously yet inexorably are taking over the world. Ok, so maybe this only is proof they're taking over my brain, but that's a start, isn't it? Especially if I'm still blogging through The Cold That Ate Southern California, Work and The Holidays -- which are subject to no judicial extension of which I am aware. Regardless, here are my current Top Ten Signs Of A Microcontent Obsession: 1. Your RSS is not valid. Once this bothered you. Now you revel in it. [0xBADFEED via Dave] 2. Your blog is sick of globetrotting for you; now it sends you globetrotting for it. 3. You are familiar with the Meg and Jason story. 4. You are familiar with Doc's daughter's profession. 5. You sleep better at night if you check here first. 6. You have given presentations to your co-workers about the uses and benefits of weblogs. 7. You never much *cared* about traffic, but there are similarities between the way you covet your Technorati page and the way a pirate covets dubloons. 8. You are cramming for exams -- and still blogging. 9. You are grinding on a brief -- and still blogging. 10. Weblogs are integral to your holiday shopping strategy.

posted by Denise at 5:49 AM
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Friday, December 06, 2002

Scuttle, Scuttle

Fast Company: 2002 is the year of the cockroach.

posted by Denise at 1:15 PM
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Gateway: Alienable Rights

Well, there's this, from Gateway:
Gateway believes: You should have the right to make copies for your own use of any CD you've purchased legally - so you can listen to it in different locations and have a backup if something happens to your original copy. You should have the right to enjoy legally acquired music in any format you want - like converting CD tracks to MP3 files to take with you on a portable or car MP3 player. You have the right to download music from the Internet that you've paid for or that's been made available for download by the artist or record label.
And then there's this, from today's L.A. Times (reg. req.):
[A] new line of PCs launching today from Gateway Inc. will be stocked with digital copies of hit songs. ... The preloaded music would be wrapped in electronic locks to deter piracy, trigger royalty payments and set limits on playback. In Gateway's case, those locks prevent people from moving songs to portable devices or copying them onto CDs unless they pay an additional fee of about $1 a song.
More on Gateway's deal to ship PCs preloaded with up to 2,000 songs from Pressplay (for an additional $150), from c | net News.com and PC World. The Gateway/Pressplay model also takes a page from the legal world's fee-based online services (and, I gather, the drug trade): get 'em started for free, get 'em hooked, get 'em paying.

posted by Denise at 6:24 AM
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Wednesday, December 04, 2002

Kelly Update

The question of whether the 9th Circuit will grant rehearing in the Kelly v. Arriba Soft linking decision (PDF via FindLaw, registration required; more here) remains an open one. Briefing on the issue is ongoing; you may access a copy of the current docket here.

posted by Denise at 3:31 PM
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Tuesday, December 03, 2002

Ignominious

Science Friday's annual broadcast of the Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, from the Annals of Improbable Research, is up (Real Audio). "We'll hear about a computer-based dog-to-human language translation device and what belly button lint actually is." And more; these consistently are a hoot.

posted by Denise at 9:59 AM
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On Your Mark, Get Set: Shop

(**cough -- sniff ** warning: site may be contagious...) Some geeky gift guides and ideas, for your holiday browsing pleasure: Extreme Tech. (Check out the 3 Gigabyte compact flash cards.) PC Magazine. (I like their idea of a Netflix gift certificate or subscription.) Tech TV. (Both Extreme Tech and The Screen Savers like these Zip Zap cars.) For The Latest on The Latest, I'm digging both Mobile Burn and Gizmodo. Ultimate mobile-meister gift pairing: the Sony Ericsson P800 Phone/PDA (out in January) and the Jabra BT200 Freespeak Bluetooth headset. The headset is sub-$100, comfortable, clear, holds a charge well, and you just can't beat being freed from the phone. For the truly obsessed, there's Think Geek from OSDN, the folks who bring us Slashdot. (I'm a sucker for the t-shirts, even if I do lack the geek cred to carry them off in public.) Finally, giving diamonds stiff competition for Girl's Best Friend: The Ars Technica GOD BOX. Build this with loving care for your special someone -- while you're at it, be sure to trick out the case -- and a Happy New Year is practically guaranteed. (That is, unless she's a Mac gal. Then go Powerbook with all the trimmings.)

posted by Denise at 7:36 AM
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Monday, December 02, 2002

Pass The Bee Pollen

I'm rapidly becoming sick as a dog, in addition to being continually busy at work. A quick follow-up for anyone interested in the Stones post from yesterday: Another IORR member in attendance posted a second review of Saturday night's show on their site. Since these folks seem to be covering the whole tour (no; I don't know where to submit the job application for this), and appear particularly impressed with Saturday's show, I'm concluding the MGM Grand Garden Arena and The Rolling Stones go together like Sunday mornings and Bakersfield. Not to despair if you didn't make it last weekend -- IORR says the Stones will be ending the U.S. tour at this venue on February 8, 2003. I'd say that one's gonna sizzle.

posted by Denise at 3:37 PM
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Sunday, December 01, 2002

Tumbling Dice

Once again, IORR (It's Only Rock n' Roll, The Rolling Stones Fan Club of Europe) provides a great blow-by-blow of last night's show, along with the full set list. Here's my own take on the highlights.
  • Best moment: first moment. Kieth Richards striding out from a darkened center stage, blasting the opening chords of Street Fighting Man as he came on.
  • Best use of the back- and over-stage video monitors: hard to say, because the monitors consistently are a great addition to the show. They're performance art, a live-action music video with cameras capturing angles you least expect, projecting in turns to an enormous full screen or split perspectives. I liked the Ronnie Wood cam, a small, cylindrical affair strapped to the neck of Ronnie's axe during If You Can't Rock Me. As Ronnie ranged the stage, the camera flashed a fret's eye view of his riffs and the rest of the band. During Wild Horses, an L.A. freeway traffic scene -- fourteen lanes across -- topped the stage, with white headlights streaming down and right, red taillights snaking up and left, and the right front quadrant dominated by a "billboard" of Mick intoning this classic. Finally, during Honkey Tonk Women, an exclusively g-string-and-thigh-boot clad avatar of male fantasy had some interesting interactions with the familiar Stones Tongue. Let's just say she gets hers in the end.
  • Best move: to the "B-stage," for Mannish Boy, Only Rock n' Roll and Brown Sugar. Think Elvis Presly '68 comeback special. Square platform, audience level, minimum of amps and gadgets. Playing to all sides, pick-flicking gleefully into the crowd, twenty feet away from our seats just behind and right of the soundboard. **Bliss**
  • Best showman: a surprise pick here, Ronnie Wood. He non-stop flirted with the crowd. His enthusiasm was palpable. You expect this -- and more -- from Mick so to see Ronnie having so much fun was a kick.
  • Best snapshot: Ronnie and Kieth proving they can still puff and play.
  • Best Jagger wardrobe change: this requires some context. I don't know if these are at all the shows, but I doubt it (?) because they're not sold at the concession stands with the official tour merchandise. Someone in the MGM Grand was selling lighted "Tongue" pins that flashed, blue and red. In the darkened arena, this was a great effect as you saw them blinking all over the crowd. It took forever for the band to transition from the B-stage for the encore. Just as the crowd noise was cresting, twin rows of flickering blue/red lights emerged from the darkness of the main stage, coming forward. Mick had rounded up twenty or so of these things and pinned them down the button lines of his shirt.
  • Best people watching (husband's contribution): the five women in front of us were indistinguishable from Kate Hudson in "Almost Famous." And extremely friendly with one another.
  • Most "Wha'?" moment (husband's contribution): Would they really leave a verse out of Sympathy For The Devil? "I shouted out, who killed the Kennedys..."
  • Most effective post-show consumption of Red Bull: cut with soda, on ice. Mixing this stuff with vodka makes very little sense, and drinking it straight is not an option.

    • posted by Denise at 10:13 AM
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