Good Bands Choose Their Favorite Songs of the Year

Stereogum has published a pretty comprehensive list of great songs and albums from 2008. The cool part is the list comes from members of some of the great bands of 2008. A musicians on musicians list instead of the typical critical assessment of the year past. Read it here and enjoy! (So much to download!)

Your Unfaithful Servant

Playwright Harold Pinter Dead at 78

From the BBC a short obituary on the amazing playwright here. Your one of a kind style will be missed.

New: Flight of the Conchords Premiere Online

For all you Flight of the Conchords fans you can catch the season premiere right now:

Bye Bye Polaroid!

A little remembrance of the passing of Polaroid to come here. Polaroid will stop making the film in February. I heard that third parties will still make it, which is good news for photo nerds everywhere.

Unfaithfully Yours

New Lily Allen Song/Video: 'The Fear'

Stereogum pointed me to this. I like it a lot. Enjoy!



Your Unfaithful Servant

Some Details on Middle Cyclone, Neko Case's Next

Pitchfork gave us some additional details today on Neko Case's forthcoming solo record 'Middle Cyclone' including the tracklisting and complete list of contributors.

Enjoy it here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Anti-Viral: Mosquitoes and their Immune System

Why don't mosquitoes become infected with the viruses that they carry? I grew up hearing/assuming that they were just buddies. Maybe the viruses did something for them or maybe the virus didn't act upon mosquito cells for some reason. Well turns out the younger me was wrong.

Apparently mosquitoes have a very pronounced immune reaction to the viruses that actually slices the viruses into harmless pieces. When a mosquito infects a human it is because she hasn't completely eradicated the virus from its system.

The SciAm article goes on to describe some potential uses for this knowledge. One: mosquitoes can me genetically modified to suppress immune response thus killing the mosquito before it can infect a human. Two: use knowledge of the mechanism of immune response to viruses in mosquitoes to craft human therapies.

Read more details here.

Unfaithfully Yours

Lance Armstrong Confirms He Will Ride in Tour

Lance has confirmed that he will ride in both the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia this year. However, he may be riding in a support role in at least the Tour. I find it hard to believe he won't push to be the team leader, but he has some VERY stiff competition on that team, so regardless he may end up helping someone else win the race. We'll see. Read the details here.

This will definitely bring back attention to the Tour in the States. What effect it has on the rest of the cycling world I am too ignorant to suggest.

Your Unfaithful Servant

For the True Believers Will Never Die

Cool article from SciAm. No need to age any lonnger. Phew!

Read here.

David Snoring

This isn't a new clip, but I thought it should be shared with a wider audience. It is also hard to track this clip down by searching, so it will save me from ever having to do that again.

Enjoys the not-so-soothing sounds of David's drunken snoring:

Auto-Tune Vocals and Current Pop Music

Monica pointed me to a recent New Yorker piece covering auto-tune technology and modern pop music. Kanye West's new album '808's and Heartbreak' uses it on every song and the same goes for most of T-Pain's songs. Read the article here.

Enjoy the read!

Your Unfaithful Servant

Corky (Chris Burke) and his Band

In honor of the fact that I share a birthday with Chris Burke, and happened to stumble upon this while watching a youtube video of the opening of the show 'Life Goes on', here we have footage of Chris "Corky" Burke 'Celebrate'ing...

How Bleach Works

Read it here (from SciAm).

Your Unfaithful Servant

Lakers Keep Rolling

Latest victim: the Hornets.

Unfaithfully Yours

Cafe Tacuba Up For Six Latin Grammys Tonight

Just read that Cafe Tacuba is getting a lot of attention for Sino. Two tracks 'Volver a comenzar' y 'Esta Vez' are up for awards as is the album. This is going down in Houston tonight, and then I assume they are going to fly to San Francisco for the show on Friday. I guess Sino came out about a year ago, and must have missed the cutoff for consideration for last year's Grammys.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Keith Olbermann Is Awesome

Please pass this on (as encouraged by the Courage Campaign).

Thanks!

Your Unfaithful Servant

'Henri', A Short Film About a Cat

Monica turned me onto this video and I thought it was great. Check it out:



Unfaithfully Yours

New Grizzly Bear Record Details

Check out Stereogum, here, for more details.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Obama Victory Slideshow

Coworker Stacy directed me to a slideshow of magazine/newspaper covers from around the globe announcing Obama's victory last week. Check out the slideshow here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Ben Harper's New Band 'Relentless7'

Don't worry, the Innocent Criminals and Ben are still tight, but for now Ben needs some new guys to get the juices flowing. Read an interview with Ben Harper here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Racism in the No on Prop 8 Camp

Coworker Rebecca pointed me to an article on the racism that is starting to rear its head in the No on Prop 8 group, based in part on the largely 'Yes' vote seen in the black and latino electorate on Nov. 4. Read the details here.

Unfaithfully Yours

Please Sign the Pledge to Repeal Prop 8

Please go to the Courage Campaign at your soonest convenience and sign your pledge to help repeal one of the most disheartening propositions to ever make it to a California ballot. Bigotry and establishment of second class citizenship for some of our greatest citizens can't be tolerated. Hopefully this prop will be but a brief blip on the canvas of history, overshadowed by the much stronger statement of repeal.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Blind Melon Fires Singer and Cancels Tour

Bad news for Blind Melon fans, but the band has been forced to cancel their upcoming U.S. tour because they have parted ways with their singer of the last two years, Travis. You can read the band's lengthy statement here. The good news is that the core of the band sounds like they still intend to move forward. While Travis' voice could really sound like Shannon's at times, his songwriting was unquestionably weaker, so in some ways this may be good news.

Unfaithfully Yours

The Empress of African Song, Miriam Makeba, Dies

Sad news to be read here. Miriam Makeba was one of the first African musicians to crossover to rest-of-world success. In the United States it was through her song 'Pata Pata' which can be heard in the YouTube video below. RIP Miriam Makeba. She died of a heart attack, collapsing on stage just after finishing 'Pata Pata' during a concert in Italy. She was 76. Enjoy the song!

Your Unfaithful Servant

Chinese Dynasties and the Importance of Rainfall

Some analysis of historical rainfall variation (in stalagmites) has suggested that droughts in China were directly linked to the fall of its dynasties.

The link of climate to political unrest is not surprising to me, and brings into even sharper focus our need to counteract in whatever ways we can the major climatological changes that our globe is starting to experience.

Unfaithfully Yours

Brain Scans and Their Limitations

Check it out here.

Appropriate reading material given where I work.

Unfaithfully Yours

Mormon Church Facing Fervent Protests

In the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, protesters have taken to the streets outside of Mormon temples across the state. Plans are even in place to go to the seat of the church in Salt Lake City.

Serves them right.

Your Unfaithful Servant

'Jenny's Superstitious' -- Killers/Stevie Wonder Mashup

Check this out here. I liked it. Basically Stevie's vocals over the Killers' music. I am a huge Stevie fan, so I am a sucker for him singing anything. I am growing to really like the Killers, too, but their lyrics will always remain silly.

And while we are on the topic of Stevie, I thought I would share this old clip that my bassist turned me onto. It is Stevie covering the Carpenters, on live tv, using a talk box. Beautiful stuff (sadly it is only part of the performance).



Unfaithfully Yours

Star Wars Arrives to CNN

Check out the hologram:

Star Wars: A Capella

Obama's Grandmother Passes a Day Before the Election

Read more here.

Unfaithfully Yours

Bruno at it Again

Sacha Baron Cohen is up to more wacky hijinks as he continues filming his next picture, this time starring gay fashionista 'Bruno'.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Iverson to the Pistons

Big NBA News: The Nuggets have traded Allen Iverson to the Detroit Pistons for Chauncey "Don't Call Me Gardener" Billups, Antonio McDyess, and a young prospect. Read more here.

10-year-old Plays a Great 'Teen Spirit'

This is kid pretty great. Check it out below (from Stereogum). After the video finishes you will notice a series of videos he has done for additional songs for which he has created new arrangements like 'With or Without You' and 'More Than Words'. He is very talented.

Sarah Palin Prank Called

Sarah Palin pranked by Canadian DJs. Sad but not shocking:



Your Unfaithful Servant

Civilization -- Awesome

Check out this awesome excerpt from a video exhibit currently running in Los Angeles by artist Marco Brambilla. It is a continuous video loop covering hell, earth, and heaven. I think of Dante and Paradise Lost when I see this.

Google Gives Money to Change the World

Google has this really awesome project it is sponsoring. They are offering 10 million dollars, split equally between 5 winners of a contest to create world changing inventions and technologies. You don't even have to have a prototype or any detailed design specs, just a freat idea that Google hopes the winnings can help grow into viability.

Learn more about it here. The submission period has already passed (that was quick) but voting begins in January so be sure to check back with the site then and help select the winners.

Unfaithfully Yours

McCain Deserving of Expulsion from Senate?

TNR has done a very exciting piece highlighting McCain's tendency toward self-serving behavior, quite in contrast to the "America first" attitude he likes to claim on the campaign trail.

The article shows damning evidence to suggest that McCain was responsible for leaks to the press of the protected proceedings of the ethics committee in violation of Senate ethics rules and in direct contradiction of his sworn testimony. These violations are actually so severe as to potentially warrant expulsion from the Senate.

That this spoiled navy brat is even in the running for president speaks very poorly of the electorate.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Bats are Dying

This just makes me sad :-(. Poor bats...

Unfaithfully Yours

Put Your Menomena Worries to Rest

Good news to the Menomena fans who may have gotten some mixed messages from their stage banter at the last San Francisco show. The band isn't breaking up, or at least not before these two shows next month (from their MySpace page):

Upcoming Shows
Nov 23 2008 8:00P
The Doug Fir PORTLAND!, Oregon
Nov 29 2008 8:00P
The Loft Honolulu!, Hawaii

Phew!!

Unfaithfully Yours

Zach Condon Speaks to Pitchfork

An interesting interview with Zach Condon here. He talks about a new Beirut EP out soon (backed with an EP from Condon solo project Realpeople). New tour in the new year as well. He sounds in much better spirits than the last time we saw him live.

Your Unfaithful Servant

The Beatles Coming to Rock Band

By the end of 2009, you can be the proud owner of a Beatles-themed Rock Band release described as covering music from all eras of the band. Read more at Rolling Stone.

Palin Lies, Part 50

To read what Palin is saying, go here.

To read the thorough rebuttal from Harper's, go here.

They are saying these things without any research or choosing to ignore the verifiable facts and say them anyway. It is such a bad way to go down. Go down with your head held high, not slinging mud and lies.

Unfaithfully Yours

Russell Brand Quits BBC Radio Show

After being introduced to most Americans at the recent MTV Video Music Awards, Russell Brand has chosen to leave his popular BBC radio show after an ill-conceived gag involving comedic actor Andrew Sachs (Manuel from 'Fawlty Towers') went into unfunny territory.

Unfaithfully Yours

Joaquin Phoenix Quitting Acting?

Check out this video of Joaquin Phoenix, clearly high, telling an E! reporter that he is quitting acting to pursue music full-time. Next stop the sidewalk in front of the Viper Room?

New Harry Potter Teaser Trailer

Your Unfaithful Servant

Lost Season 5 Preview

Lost season 5 is fast approaching and to whet your appetite here is a preview trailer for the new season:



Also check out some first class analysis here.

(Thanks AVClub)

Your Unfaithful Servant

Groban Sings 'Disarm'

I just thought this was funny in its earnestness (from Rolling Stone):

Josh Groban Sings 'Disarm' with the Smashing Pumpkins at the Bridge School Benefit

Red State Blue State

Matt Taibi has delivered another great piece at RS. This election has the potential to change politics forever. Here's to hoping! Check it out here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Putting Lipstick on a Pig is Expensive!

The highest paid employee of the McCain campaign for the first two months of October? Palin's makeup specialist. Check out more here. The wonders will never cease.

Story comes courtesy of my darling correspondent, Shayrenee.

Exasperated and Unfaithfully Yours

No, Your Dog Doesn't Like Your Singing!

A short bit from SciAm about why dogs (and other mammals) don't like music. Actually, it is more about pitch recognition in mammals, which is in turn tied to music perception.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Japanese Woman Murders Virtual Ex-Husband

This is just funny (and sad).

Your Unfaithful Servant

Mark Cuban's Bailout Sleuth

I heard about the new Mark Cuban funded blog, Bailout Sleuth, from a recent Planet Money podcast. Basically, Mark Cuban has hired several investigative reporters with money from his own pocket to keep the government honest. And already his team has uncovered shady practices before the bailout is even fully underway. Check out his blog for more. Seems like a good place to check in at regularly.

Your Unfaithful Servant

New Inarritu Film on the Way Starring Bardem

Read more here (from Variety).

Unfaithfully Yours

Al-Qaeda Supports McCain

No surprise, but Al-Qaeda is behind a McCain-Palin presidency. For reasons that are obvious to anyone with sense Obama is dangerous to their goals of new recruitment. Furthermore, by ending the occupation of Iraq he will save the U.S. billions of dollars thus helping to further stabilize our economy. You may not be able to blow America off the map, but you can bleed it dry.

Additional coverage of the reaction of the McCain campaign here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Mormons Against Gay Marriage

Andrew Sullivan has a nice blog entry about the financiers behind the pro Prop 8 campaign (and other similar initiatives on ballots this November): The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints aka the Mormon church. They have provided 40% of the funding for these campaigns. Frightening and saddening.

Your Unfaithful Servant

'Eternal Sunshine' Not Science Fiction Any Longer

Researchers have been able to knock out specific memories in mice. Read more here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

William Friedkin Takes it to the Right

Read the article here. McCarthyism will never die in this country.

Unfaithfully Yours

Joe the Plumber Springs Many Leaks

I stole the title of the post from the article's title. I thought it was too good to not acknowledge. Basically the guy isn't even a plumber and doesn't pay his taxes. Funny stuff.

From reader, David.

Unfaithfully Yours

David Foster Wallace Profile

Rolling Stone has done an interesting piece on former RS contributor David Foster Wallace. Those close to him participate in painting a portrait of the painfully intelligent and troubled man.

This is just a short excerpt... I look forward to reading the whole thing.

Also, a Q & A with the author of the article. This actually has more content then the article.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Rolling Stone Interviews Obama

Read it here.

Enjoy!

Unfaithfully Yours

McCain Stands Up to Palin and Advisers

Not surprising given Palin's apparent bigotry (covered yesterday), she, along with several key advisers, has been lobbying McCain to wage full out war on Obama's connection to Reverend Wright. McCain has consistently refused because he does not want to be seen as a racist. Palin has no qualms about that.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Hear the New Cure Album in its Entirety

Stereogum has put together a series of YouTube clips from a recent free Cure concert in Rome. The show covered the entire new album. Check it out.

A couple of embedded clips to check out directly from To Bed Without Dinner.





Currently I am having audio issues with the clips. Hopefully, those won't creep into your listening experience.

Your Unfaithful Servant

'Wall Street' Sequel?

A sequel to Wall Street is in the works entitled 'Money Never Sleeps'. Apparently, Michael Douglas is interested if he likes the script. Could be okay, but I won't hold my breath.

Devin Harris Schooled

'Nuf said. Check it out:

McCain Needs to Stand Up to the Kooks

A short essay on McCain's need to separate himself from the right wing nut jobs tarnishing his recent campaign rallies.

Palin Unsupportive of Minority Issues

According to this piece from the Nation, Palin has a very poor record with Alaskan African-Americans denying employment to blacks for staff positions and impeding the participation of black business owners in the application process for oil and pipeline contracts. Frightening bigotry.

Bush Administration Shaping PBS Programming

The Bush administration is apparently threatening PBS with significant budget cuts because of programming counter to Bush's interests. PBS appears to have gotten the message and is not agreeing to show a new documentary on torture. Luckily some affiliates are choosing to run it on their own.

Serotonin and SIDS

Scientists have found a relationship between a malfunctioning serotonin feedback system and early death in mice, suggesting some relationship with human SIDS. Nothing conclusive yet, but it is nice to know that they might be getting a better handle on this tragic syndrome.

Unfaithfully Yours

The NSA and Eavesdropping

A distressing interview from Democracy Now! with James Bamford, author of 'The Shadow Factory'. I first heard news of this as part of the ABC News interview which I happened to stumble upon last week. This interview gives more details on the international eavesdropping operation.

'Nattura': New Collaboration Between Bjork and Yorke

You can have a listen to Bjork's new song 'Nattura' below. The track is a collaboration between Bjork and Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Enjoy!



Your Unfaithful Servant

Dreamworks Heading Back to Universal

So, it is official, Dreamworks will be distributed by Universal, reestablishing a relationship between Spielberg and Universal that goes back to the days of 'Jaws'.

No Breeder's Cup Classic Showdown: Big Brown Retires

Sad news for racing fans, but Big Brown is being retired as a result of a foot injury sustained in a 6 furlong workout. Career earnings record holder, Curlin, will have to challenge lesser horses when he goes for the 1 1/4 mile Classic later this month. This race was setting up to be one of the great showdowns of the last twenty years. Instead, it stands as a reminder of the sad state of the sport, where injuries are becoming more popular than the races.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Creativity and Youth: We're Not Dead Yet!

A wonderful bit from the New Yorker about our (false) assumptions on the relationship between precocity and creative brilliance. Enjoy!

Unfaithfully Yours

Palin Continues to Distort the Truth

Apparently, Palin is lying to the public about the contents of a report released Friday that found her guilty of abuse of power in breaching the Alaskan state ethics code. She claims the report found her guilty of no wrongdoing, however, as the fact check from the Post will tell you that is far from true.

Wasilla's Greatest

From new reader, Stacy, a great segment from the Daily Show: a field report from Wasilla.

Intolerance on the Rise in India

Apparently, Hindu on Christian crime is on the rise across several states in India. Indian christians are being threatened with removal from villages, destruction of their homes and churches, and even death if they do not agree to convert to Hinduism. The NYT article does a much better job than I can of getting into the deep-rooted issues at play here. Pleas read.

The Story of Biden

The New Yorker has done a nice piece on Joe Biden that gives some insights into the courting process that Obama went through to secure Biden. Obama was very interested in having Biden in the administration in some capacity, be it Secretary of State or Vice President. Good read. Check it out here.

Bruno Detained

I heard about Bruno crashing the Milan fashion show, but I hadn't seen any footage 'til now. Behold:

New Hemorrhagic Fever Appears in South Africa

A new form of hemorrhagic fever has appeared in South Africa. So far, a tour guide and the paramedic and nurse who treated her have died. One hundred ten people are under observation because of potential infection. The victims tested negative for all known forms of hemorrhagic fever native to the area. Scary.

Unfaithfully Yours

Female Sharks Can Reproduce Asexually

I find asexual reproduction interesting, so I thought I would share this story describing a virgin birth of a captive shark in Virginia. This is the second known case following a virgin pregnancy in a hammerhead shark in an Omaha aquarium.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Obama's Father

I haven't read any of Barack Obama's writing, but this TNR article makes his 'Dream of My Father' sound potentially compelling. The author recounts Obama's father's decline and eventual death in closing summary. I had no idea Obama's father was such a seedy guy. Very interesting. Makes me like him even more.

Unfaithfully Yours

Have Teen, Will Travel

Have a troubled teen? Drop them off in Nebraska.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Rovian Politics and the McCain Campaign

Rolling Stone has another exciting (and depressing) piece on Karl Rove's role in the McCain campaign.

I like Taibbi's counter to suggestions of Rove's 'brilliance': "It doesn't take brains to compare a triple-amputee war veteran to Osama bin Laden; you just have to be a mean, rotten cocksucker."

Sums it up pretty concisely.

Your Unfaithful Servant

A Little More on America's Sweetheart Sarah Palin

TNR's 'Barracuda'.

Enjoy!

Your Unfaithful Servant

Keating and McCain

Get the details of the relationship between John McCain and Charles Keating here. How this guy is still in politics after something so shady, and running for president no less, is hard to believe.

Site brought to my attention by Ms. She-Rene.

Unfaithfully Yours

Musicians Use More of Their Brains :-)

Just thought this was amusing to point out since I am a musician. The study actually appears to use classical musicians as the research group, so the results may not be quite as true as for an unwashed folk-rock guy, but I like to imagine them to be equally true for me :-).

Your Unfaithful Servant

Parasites -- More Important than You Might Think

An intriguing article on the role of parasites in ecosystems, and the ways that researchers are having to reconsider interspecies relationships therein.

Abel Gance's 'La Fin du Monde' -- Americanized

Abel Gance's 'La Fin du Monde' can be seen below in its altered American version 'The End of the World'. Huge chunks of this version contain footage, apparently shot and edited by Gance, but not ultimately included in his director's version of the film. Interesting as an historical artifact and pretty neat to watch regardless.

Palin's Cheat Sheet

Watch Sarah Palin study her talking points in order to answer several debate questions. Supposedly, the candidates were allowed only blank pieces of paper and a pen onstage to take extemporaneous notes. Considering how little her responses often had to do with either the questions or Joe Biden's responses, I find that a little hard to swallow that Palin was not employing a talking point cheat sheet on the stage. Possibly she just really quickly jotted down every slogan and factoid she could cull from memory and utilized that throughout the debate, but it seems unlikely.

Check out the video here:

No on Proposition 8

Tried to post a frame that allows you to register to support 'No on Proposition 8', but it wasn't working. So just go to the website and register.

Advances in Synthetic Gecko-like Adhesion

Researchers at UC Berkeley have developed a synthetic adhesive that mimics the type of adhesion that geckos use to scamper up walls. As my friends know, I have been talking about the application of this synthetic adhesive to eyeglasses for people who have small nose bridges. After reading this article I am even more convinced about its application in this setting as the adhesion is unidirectional (this is why a gecko can detach itself from the surface it is climbing to take its next step). In the context of eyeglasses, this would mean the adhesion is active when placed down upon the face, but could be removed by lifting the glasses from one's face.

UC Berkeley is just in our backyard boys. We could possibly establish a relationship with the researchers and use exclusively license their technology for use in glasses.

Your Unfaithful Servant

The Real McCain

Rolling Stone, despite what some might assert, actually does a fine job of covering politics and has for decades. Case in point is their new cover story on John McCain. It has plenty of dirty details on the man who will do anything to become commander-in-chief. Read it here.

Your Unfaithful Servant (happily back from a long break from blogging)

Cool Remix and Video of Radiohead's 'Nude'

My friend Saba pointed me toward this video. Check it out below:


Big Ideas (don't get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

Conservatives Show a Stronger Startle Response

Research published in today's 'Science' shows that social conservatives have a statistically stronger startle response than liberals. This would explain in part why peddling fear to Republicans is so effective.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Palin's Yahoo Account Compromised

Palin's use of private email addresses to circumvent public oversight of her political maneuvering has had an unintended consequence: someone broke into her yahoo mail account. It is unknown if the individual found any embarrassing details or not.

While I don't advocate breaking into anyone's email, as I was a victim of the same thing once, I do say it serves politicians right for this unapologetic affront to government of, for, and by the people. Use government email addresses for government business. When it is necessary to share this information with the public, do so. A politician should never engage in politics he/she is not proud of and that includes there government emails.

Unfaithfully Yours

A Brief History of Palin

The Nation has run a great, succinct little summation of Sarah Palin's many shortcomings and poor decision making while mayor and governor in Alaska.

Reading this article should make anyone frightened of her. John McCain totally sold his soul for this election. I wouldn't be surprised if the man is terminally ill as this has the scent of desperation of the highest order. He really wants to be able to put 'President of the United States of America' on his tombstone, even if it means losing all honor and decency in the process. It is a sad time in America.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Henry Selick Meets Neil Gaiman in 'Coraline'

I had heard about this awhile back and kind of forgot about it, but I am now super excited about Henry Selick's ('Nightmare Before Christmas', 'James and the Giant Peach', 'Monkeybone') new stop-motion film, 'Coraline', based upon Neil Gaiman's novella.

Check out the teaser trailer below:



And several featurettes below:











Unfaithfully Yours

McCain Helped Create the Blackberry

In news that brings to mind a gaffe by the Gore campaign in '00, a McCain representative claimed that John McCain helped create the Blackberry. I bet RIM is quaking in its boots in anticipation of the lawsuit McCain will surely be bringing to court to secure his overdue royalties.

At least he didn't go as far as taking credit for the whole internet cuz that really caused the Republicans' panties to bunch back in 2000. I am sure they will be equally mad about McCain taking undue responsibility in 2008.

Gotta love hypocrisy and double standards.

Sent to me by resident handyman (and lover of my mother), David.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Palin's Energy 'Experience'

A hilarious fabrication that the McCain-Palin campaign continue to foist upon the public. When will the public refuse to accept lies from their public officials? We are becoming a very stupid nation. That this race is still even in question is beyond pathetic.

Wallace and the 'Cure' that Killed Him

A brief bit from the Atlantic about the relationship between creating art and surviving depression in specific reference to David Foster Wallace. The author suggests that Wallace's work may have been missing key elements that allow for the transformation of depression into art that functions as effective treatment.

Unfaithfully Yours

Oil, Corruption, and Alaskan Politics

The New Yorker has a great piece on Alaskan politics and the rampant corruption that defines politics in the state.

In time Palin's involvement in such corruption will surely come out. You don't go from being mayor of Wasilla to governor without accepting lots of money from people who want things in return. And in Alaska those people are all oilmen.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Robert Smith Is Angry

A new Cure 5-song remix EP entitled 'Hypnagogic States' has been released to Britain's iTunes store. The only problem: the download is priced at 8 pounds when one can download the individual tracks for a reasonable 79 pence each. That made Robert Smith plenty angry and he let the label know it. Read the profanity-laced email he sent to the label here.

Tina Fey as Palin

As many of us have noted, Tina Fey and Sarah Palin look separated at birth. Their resemblance ws not lost on SNL writers who opened the new season with a sketch starring Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, and Amy Poehler reprising her role as Hillary Clinton. Read more here.

Palin on Palin

Read old Sarah Palin contradicting new Sarah Palin. If you didn't think she was misrepresenting herself before now you know.

Your Unfaithful Servant

David Foster Wallace Hangs HImself

Sad news from my hometown of Claremont, California: David Foster Wallace hanged himself in his Claremont home on Friday, September 12th. He was on sabbatical this semester after teaching creative writing at my alma mater, Pomona College, for the past six years. He was 46.

This is the second suicide in the past 11 years for Pomona College's English department. Professor Brian Stonehill died just weeks before I began at Pomona in August 1997. Officially, Brian died in an automobile accident. The automobile part is accurate, however the 'accident' from all indications was not accidental: Brian drove his car down a local mountain road at high speed into a giant boulder that lay at roadside.

I never thought Claremont was that depressing...

Also, please check out this commencement address that Wallace gave at Kenyon College a few years back. It is pretty great (stolen from AVClub). He even makes reference to suicide.

R.I.P. guys.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Yankee's Stadium -- 10 Times More Expensive

According to a brief interview from Democracy Now! the land used for the new Yankee Stadium was assessed at over ten times the value of the land that surrounds the stadium ($275 per square foot versus $25 per square foot). The article gives more details on why and on the investigations currently (or nearly) underway into this fleecing.

Newly Discovered Alzheimer's Gene

Scientists have discovered a new Alzheimer's Disease gene (quoted from SciAm):

"A newly identified genetic mutation increases the risk for the most common form of Alzheimer’s disease—the second major gene to be linked to the neurodegenerative disorder. The mutation occurs in the so-called CALHM1 gene, which controls calcium concentrations in nerve cells. Researchers observed that mutant CALHM1 led to increased accumulation of amyloid beta plaques, the sticky protein clumps characteristic of the disease. In the U.S.

Alzheimer’s affects one in 20 adults aged 65 to 74; carrying one defective copy of CALHM1 escalates the risk to one in 14 (and to one in 10 for those carrying two defective copies). The mutation also leads to an earlier age of onset. Reporting in the June 27 Cell, lead author Philippe Marambaud of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, N.Y., states that the CALHM1 gene—along with the first Alzheimer’s gene, APOE, discovered 15 years ago—will be important in screening for the disease."

I couldn't find a more comprehensive article on it on SciAm, but if I run across something I will post it here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Tina Fey for VP

From faithful reader, She-Rene (aka shayrenee)

Your Unfaithful Servant

Matt Damon on Palin

I think that Matt Damon's politics and mine can't be too far apart. Check out his take down of Sarah Palin in an AP interview conducted recently.

Palin (Michael) for President!

His name was the first I thought of when I heard who the VP nom would be. The video makes a strong case for his candidacy ;-) :

Palin Lies

Just another example of how difficult it is to make a silk purse from a sow's ear. Like modern day alchemists Republicans will keep trying to turn tarnished metals into gold, and let's all hope they fail miserably.

Story brought to my attention by reluctant reader (and roommate) David.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Language and the Macaque Brain

Research into macaque language processing shows strong parallels with human language processing suggesting an earlier evolution of the brain structures involved. Interesting read if you have any interesting in neurolinguistics.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Not Just for You: Animals Get STDs

So, turns out animals infected with STDs are far more common than I ever thought. Be careful next time you get a little too close to Fido.

Unfaithfully Yours

Lots of Palin

From TNR:

'The Invisible Woman'

'Washington Diarist'

'Why Palin Scares Me'

From Mother Jones:

Wasilla Rape Victims Forced to Pay for Own Forensics

Never Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Story

Palin: Advocate for Abstinence?

Mining V Environment

From dedicated reader She-Rene:

Not Everyone in Wasilla Loves Her

These are all small scale stories that continue to add to the portrait of a woman frightening in her politics and inexperience. A change indeed... for the worse if that is imaginable.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Sarah Palin and the Wasilla Church of God

This comes straight from Democracy Now! Frightening. McCain has sold his soul in this campaign and Sarah Palin is but one small part of that crooked deal.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Unconventional Football

An undermanned high school football team has taken an unusual approach to competing with larger schools in their league: replace linemen with receivers.

Pretty neato.

From reader Monica.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Lance Armstrong Returns to the Tour

Lance will ride for Astana next season and race in five races including Amgen's Tour of California and the big daddy of them all, the Tour de France.

I wonder how he will do. Could be exciting.

Also some bonus coverage of his recent performance in the Leadville Trail 100. He came in a very close second.

Some video from the event:



Your Unfaithful Servant

Aronofsky's 'The Wrestler'

Here is some interview footage and film clips from Aronofsky's Venice Film Festival winner for Best Picture, 'The Wrestler' starring Mickey Rourke. Apparently the soundtrack will be filled with '80s cock-rock standards.

Check it out. Looks promising.



And this:



Your Unfaithful Servant

In the Interest of Equal Programming Time I Bring You:

Obama's 10 worst ideas.

Phish Reunites!

It has been 4 years since Phish went on hiatus. The wait is over. For the first time since 2004, a fully reunited Phish played together in front of an audience (at a wedding for a former manager).

Check out a clip of them playing Hoist's 'Julius' in full wedding attire below:

Olbermann Removed as MSNBC Political Anchor

After his refreshingly candid and, *gasp*, intelligent commentary during the conventions, MSNBC has pulled the cowardly move of removing Keith Olbermann (and Chris Matthews) from the anchor spot on MSNBCs upcoming debate coverage.

It was so refreshing to hear Olbermann openly call out contributors on their partisan b.s. He also did fine analysis on the weaknesses of both the Republican and Democratic platforms.

Olbermann is witty and insightful. He is no liberal lapdog. His politics are more characterized by critical thinking and dare I say cynicism. He is great counterprogramming for the "journalism" of Fox News.

It is a sad day when Fox is allowed to run with its partisan agendas without any interference while MSNBC is muzzling intelligent commentary out of fear of right-wing attack dogs.

What a country.

Your Unfaithful Servant

A Sad, Confused Year for Feminism

TNR has a short piece on how Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin's candidacies did much to confuse American feminism. I tend to agree.

Unfaithfully Yours

Is Hipsterdom a Cultural Dead End?

This article makes the case that it is. I think that the article does a good job of digging into the reasons that many of us have trouble abiding hipsterdom.

Brought to my attention by faithful reader Dabu.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Christopher Hitchens Waterboarded

Christopher Hitchens consented to be a guinea pig for a waterboarding demonstration and the results were captured in this Vanity Fair video. Sadism knows no bounds in the Bush administration.

You can also read his piece from the August issue: 'Believe Me, It's Torture.'

Your Unfaithful Servant

Cindy McCain: No Liberal Elitist

In case you wondered how much Cindy McCain's outfit for the RNC would run you on the street Vanity Fair has your answer. Down with the rich liberal elite, indeed!

Woebegone...

Your Unfaithful Servant

Palin's National Guard Experience Misrepresented

How about this for commander-in-chief experience? I know I will sleep soundly at night knowing that Sarah Palin is a heartbeat away from commanding our military.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Del Toro Signs on for a Hundred New Projects

Guillermo del Toro is going to be a busy boy for the next decade. Couldn't make me happier. His artistic vision is singular and always intriguing.

Unfaithfully Yours

Palin Against Big Oil? Think Again

Do you know where the proceeds from opening up protected lands in Alaska go? Big Oil, of course. But more surprising is another group of beneficiaries: every man, woman, and child in Alaska (if they have lived in the state more than one year). The state constitution of Alaska stipulates that the revenues derived from selling and leasing public lands and resources are to be shared equally between all Alaskan citizens.

Just last year Alaskans received dividend checks of $1600 for their complicity in the exploitation of their state's natural resources. In other words, rising oil company profits and rising oil prices are desirable politically and economically in Alaska. They aren't against Big Oil, rather they have more to gain from continued reliance on oil in the United States and abroad than residents of any other state in the union.

While we are drowning in the consequences of continued reliance on oil from sources domestic and international, residents of Alaska are salivating at the potential of complete and profound exploitation of all of their natural resources. It means money in the bank and food on the table, while for all the rest of us it means quite the opposite.

Why would someone in Alaska want to protect ANWAR? That doesn't get them a penny more in their dividend check at the end of the year. Just look at Palin's immediate family: there are 5 children, 1 soon-to-be-born grandchild, Palin and her husband. That is 8*$1600, or $12,800, a year for their family and that is without the large-scale expansion in drilling that Palin and McCain support.

Unbelievable profiteering on the misfortune of the masses. Not to mention a cynical view on protecting the natural beauty and ecological integrity of their own home.

Your Saddened Unfaithful Servant

McCain Cancels Interview with Larry King

John McCain has backed out of his appearance on Larry King because of an interview that aired last night on CNN. Campbell Brown took a no nonsense, but by no means over the line, approach to an interview regular CNN contributor and McCain campaign operative Tucker Bounds. In the interview she pressed Bounds on the qualifications of Republican VP-nominee Palin. Bounds, possibly expecting the kind of softball question appropriate to a fluff piece, was unable to field some of Brown's simpler questions about the achievements and experience of the VP. Rather he wanted to try to shoehorn in his rote talking points. You can see the comedy below.

I think more than desiring punishment of CNN, McCain is actually frightened to come onto a network that won't only pitch softballs. A network that still strains to achieve some semblance of real journalism.

It is clear that Palin was a choice improperly vetted and selected to try to one-up Obama and his amazing speech on the final night of the DNC. Her record in no way stands up to serious scrutiny and any event that is not properly buffered with promises of no tough questions will no longer be considered by the McCain campain because there is no substance upon which to defend their VP. They hope that their thin claims of executive experience (e.g., PTA president, Wasilla City Council member, mayor, and manager, etc.) and her supposed reformer status will be enough to carry them through the election.

Good luck.

Your Unfaithful Servant

For Your Viewing Pleasure: 'No End in Sight'

For those of you who haven't had a chance to catch the stirring Iraq War documentary, 'No End in Sight', you can watch the video free of charge and legally on YouTube. The film's director has made it freely available in the run up to the election starting on Labor Day and running through November 5th. You can check it out in the embedded stream below.

Please pass this along to any interested citizen as it could in some small way make the difference between more of the same and an opportunity for something better come election time. Notice I didn't say a guarantee, but at least Obama gives us a fighting chance which is far more than can be expected from McCain.

Unfaithfully Yours

Watchmen -- The Legal Arguments

For those of you who crave more news on the legal entanglements complicating the release of 'Watchmen' in March, please read this article. We will see how this pans out, but after reading this I feel that if Warners is being honest in its filings, that Fox has little to stand on in the case. This is good news for all of us who hope to be watching this film at full-length come March.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Palin's Future Son-in-Law a Future Felon?

"Alaska statutory rape laws declare that anyone who is 18 years old or older who has sex with a person who is 16 or 17, or who is at least three years younger than the offender, can be charged with sexual abuse in the third degree. This is also a felony." This info comes from an article here that goes into a lot of detail on the statutory rape laws of Alaska.

I bring this up because it is directly related to what I learned about the father of Palin's grandchild. According to this article Palin's future son-in-law, Levi Johnston, is 18 years of age. Palin's daughter, Bristol, is only 17 at present. The couple has been together for more than one year.

You can do the math. Unless the statute has recently changed in Alaska, Levi Johnston would be a felon by definition. As with all of us, he is entitled to a speedy and fair trial and I would hope that proceedings are planned for the near future. As any right winger will tell you, you can't allow people to skirt the law or else society will collapse.

I assume that Palin is a tough-on-crime governor and she will be the first to call for his immediate arrest and prosecution. I believe in this great woman to do the right thing.

Sarcastically and Unfaithfully Yours

Counter Programming

So, McCain made his choice for VP: An inexperienced woman from Alaska. The choice is so transparent. She sounds particularly awful. Should be fun.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Did the United States Orchestrate the Georgian Conflict??

Vladimir Putin came out today and accused the United States of orchestrating the war in Georgia.  According to Putin the United States had men on the ground in Georgia at the start of the conflict.  These men were attempting to train military personnel in the pursuit of a seizure of the autonomous region of South Ossetia.  He further contends that the United States were inciting this conflict for the purposes of increasing the political footing for John McCain as he runs for the presidency.

I think this is a shockingly bold move by the Bush Administration, if the accusations prove true.  The scenario reminds me of the film 'Wag the Dog' in that the administration has chosen settings like Georgia and South Ossetia for this to play out.  

Ask the average American to tell you where Georgia is on a map he couldn't do it.  So, the conflict raging between Georgia and the baddies of yesteryear, Russia, has the ring of indistinctness -- it promotes generalized fear of a life without United States military intervention.  People don't even know where it is on a globe, but with Russia involved in the war you raise the alarm bells for the people 40+.  

These people remember the Cold War.  They remember how close we came to nuclear war with Russia and Cuba.  By inserting ourselves into the region and facilitating military action, we have awoken a dormant fear of Russia.  All of a sudden these Cold War survivors are reminded that Russia may once again become a danger to our interests around the world. 

What other than diplomacy can we deploy to fend off Russia?  The military, of course.  These are the humorless thoughts of many.  And given the general reputation of liberals and Obama's relative lack of experience in Washington, McCain becomes a more urgent selection for President for those on the fence or undecided.  

Invoke generalized fear and be sure to include the need for military action.  This is the recipe for the Bush Administration.  This is what they are willing to offer McCain to help swing him the election.  It is the last faint machination of Dick Cheney in a last gasp effort to achieve one more small bit of ground on the road to neoconservatism.  It is bold in its application to a purer level of election manipulation, but certainly well below the bar set by Bush and Cheney in 2002-2004.   

I don't think that Vladimir Putin is spreading lies to exonerate Russia.  I think he is telling us a truer description of what lead to this mini war with Georgia.  Honestly, if that accusation held no water, what good would it ultimately do Putin and Russia?  Only if it has teeth and is verifiable to some extent would he even come out and say it.  What does he have to gain from looking foolish on the world's stage?  

This is why I fear that the Bush Administration has indeed encouraged the negative developments in South Ossetia.

It is indeed time for a change.  

Congratulations, Barack Obama, on a speech for the ages.  You are a candidate that comes along once or twice in a lifetime.  Enjoy the ride and best of luck.  

Your Unfaithful Servant

Batman Flags

For the first time since its release, 'The Dark Knight' has failed to surpass the million dollar mark for single-day ticket revenues. It is well ahead of Titanic in terms of total earnings at this same point in the release cycle, however Titanic was able to sustain a million dollars or more for a staggering 101 straight days WITH cheaper tickets.

Read more here.

Watch Out Jen!

HIV infection rate is three times as high in New York compared to the nation according to this.  Watch out, Jen!

More on the Power of Cannabinoids

SciAm reports that research has shown that several non-psychotropic and psychotropic cannabinoids found in marijuana can kill bacteria, including resistant strains. Hopefully, the research on cannabinoids both endogenic and exogenic will bring about a sea change in national opinion in the coming years.

Unfaithfully Yours

Outfoxed: Complete

A buddy pointed me toward this Google video version of the documentary 'Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism'. I haven't seen much yet, but it sounds interesting (and frightening).

Your Unfaithful Servant

'Miseducation': An Oral History

For anyone who has enjoyed 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill' Rolling Stone has put together an oral history of the album's production.

Check it out.

Unfaithfully Yours

The Machinations of Obama

You know, I had forgotten about Obama's primetime speech in '04's Democratic National Convention until I stumbled upon this New Republic article. He knew that a prime time slot would be important to creating the national recognition required to grow a presidential movement.

Barack might be a guy with a fresh vision for the country, but he is at the same time one of the shrewdest politicians to come along in years. He is a proud man with an undeniable thirst for career advancement.

It's hard to root for someone so firmly entrenched in the joys and sorrows of Washington, but in this election the American people have no choice. If everything is just an act with politicians, you have to vote for politicians whose acts are most palatable.

Your Unfaithful Servant

See: Cannabinoids Are Good For You

A naturally occurring cannabinoid has been shown to protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, and stroke.

The take home message: cannabinoids aren't neurodegenerative, but instead neuroprotective. Keep that in mind, folks.

Unfaithfully Yours

It's All in the Eyes of the Beholder

An article plus slideshow of eye illusions from SciAm. Pretty trippy to see how much knowing the direction of another's gaze affects our own visual perception.

Check it out.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Forgot your compass? Consult a Cow

If you are ever lost and need to get your bearings (and happen to be near a cow pasture), just look to a cow for guidance. Using aerial photos of grazing herds from around the world it was shown that cows stand in line with the north-south magnetic plane far more often than chance would suggest. I am not sure why this is important to cows. I would suggest that this might be vestigial, but who knows.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Malthus Revisited

Here is a thoughtful article considering the possibility that the Malthusian predictions we all learned in history class might actually be more prescient than modern economics and sociology had us believe.

One thing is for sure: I will be very hungry if there is a food shortage and you don't want to see me hungry.

Unfaithfully Yours

Strahan to Return?

According to news reports Michael Strahan would consider returning to the NFL after an offseason of retirement if the Giants present him with a serious offer. I doubt he is in NFL shape right now, so I wouldn't expect to see him playing serious minutes with the team, even if he signed today, until a few weeks into the season. Should be interesting.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Kaine Unable to Serve

An article about Obams's second favorite VP candidate.

Watchmen -- The Saga Continues...

Here is an EW Hollywood Insider story on 'Watchmen'. It has Kevin Smith's take on the film (he loves it) and some insight into the magnitude of the potential legal settlement with Fox. There is even talk that in order to recoup more money that Zak Snyder might need to cut his 145 minute film down even more to accommodate more showings per day.

Also if you haven't checked it out DC is offering a free download of the first chapter of 'Watchmen' on iTunes. But this isn't just some pdf of the comic, this is an 'action comic' (something between a comic and an animated film version of that comic). Pretty neat. Apparently, DC wants to create 'action comics' for several of their properties in the future.

Unfaithfully Yours

You Have to Fight for Your Right...

To Clone... (Unless you are a Sith lord).

Cool story about human cloning here.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Microsoft's Photosynth

I am not the world's biggest Microsoft fan, but this software sounds interesting. Photosynth is a creation of Microsoft's Live Labs research and product line. Photosynth allows you to take a collection of 2D photos of the same item or location and turn them into a 3D navigable rendering of the item or environment in question. For people who love photography and interactivity it sounds pretty awesome.

Official Site

Short SciAm article

Download Page

Enjoy!

Your Unfaithful Servant

The Way of the World

Ron Suskind's new book 'The Way of the World' exposes the White House's involvement in the fabrication of evidence drawing connections between Iraq, 9/11, and al Qaeda amongst many other frightening revelations.

You can read a lengthy interview with Ron Suskind conducted by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman.

Also, a short blog entry from Mother Jones here.

Explosive stuff. Upon the Bush Administration's close, I anticipate a cascade of revelations far more sinister and ignoble than what we are hearing now. This is just the tip of the iceberg (as if that is any surprise).

Your Unfaithful Servant

Wait... How Many Homes Do I Own?

In yet another age and wealth related gaffe, John McCain was unable to provide a number when asked how many homes he and his wife own. Seriously.

Sadly...

Your Unfaithful Servant

R.I.P. Gene Upshaw

Head of the NFLPA, Gene Upshaw, has passed away at the age of 63 from pancreatic cancer.

He was a pretty steady guy who I think managed to navigate the path between league needs and player needs pretty effectively. However, many felt that he was too close to the league and consequently he did receive his share of criticism over the years. Bryant Gumbel got in some hot water awhile back when he stated on his 'Real Sports' show that everyone knew that Upshaw was the owners' lapdog.

More on Upshaw the NFLPA head and the HOF player here.

Unfaithfully Yours

U.S. Softball Perfect No More

After barely getting by Japan earlier in the week, the U.S. Women's Softball team fell short today losing to Japan in the gold medal match 3-1. This is the first time the U.S. Women's team has lost since 2000.

More details here.

Oh well. The sport is leaving the Olympics just when there is a real rivalry beginning to brew. Maybe in eight years it will still be alive.

On a brighter note the U.S. Women's Futbol (soccer) team has won another gold by beating Brazil 1-0 in a match in which they were totally outplayed.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Organic Better? Think Again

According to a study out of the University of Copenhagen there are no nutritional differences between organic (no pesticides) and non-organic (grown with the help of pesticides) crops in terms of nutrients and trace elements.

Who'da thunk it?

Your Unfaithful Servant

Biden as VP?

So lots of signs are pointing to Joseph Biden (Deleware) as Obama's running mate. Supposedly Obama and his VP will be campaigning together on Saturday, so we should know then for sure.

Here is a blog from the New Republic that goes into some details on why Biden is suspected as the VP nom and what he can contribute to the Obama campaign.

Your Unfaithful Servant

New Miyazaki!

'Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea', the new film from Hayao Miyazaki has almost eclipsed 100 million dollars in Japan after its first month of release making it one of the most successful Japanese films ever (still behind Miyazaki's 'Spirited Away').

Read more

Few films have the power to make me more excited than a new Miyazaki. Bring on the American release!

More on 'Ponyo'.

Your Unfaithful Servant

How do I smell? Sexy?

The Power of Smell (which I have seized and will never relinquish) is far reaching. Don't believe me, read the article.

Unfaithfully Yours

Are you a chimera?

Read here if you don't know what a chimera is.

Then, listen to a 'Radiolab' episode from a few months back about human genetics. Very interesting stuff.

(or if you want to stream it or read the brief intro to the episode here is the Radiolab page)

The Real Kafka

Hey there folks! A small offering:

The Real Kafka

A short Q and A with a Kafka expert and novelist. Kafka has always been more myth than man in in my education, so it is nice to read someone debunking much of the myth and focusing instead purely on his colossal prose achievements.

More later...

Your Unfaithful Servant

Bigfoot Redux

Given my interest, you can expect to see more on this topic as it comes out. In keeping here is a little SciAm article/interview about the hoax.

"It's comical"

Man On Wire

I want to see 'Man on Wire'. 

Philippe Petit is the man famous for illegally walking a tightrope stretched between the Twin Towers.  The film documents his struggles and eventual success.  

Philippe Petit Bio

LeRoi Moore Dies

Just wanted to link to this in case you hadn't seen it.  

LeRoi Moore Passes

He had a nice feel and added so much emotion and depth to DM's songs.  The tracks that he didn't appear on always felt thin to me.  

Bigfoot a hoax?

Men who will settle for notoriety over fame.

Of course the Bigfoot "carcass" was a hoax. Despite the many prayers of cryptozoologists everywhere, information is leaking out that we must all still wait in anticipation of conclusive evidence for Sasquatch.

Here is a story from CNN:

No Bigfoot

From the first time I read this story I was completely convinced that it was a pure fabrication by a few attention starved yokels from nowhere. I think my educated guess has been borne out by the personality and disposition of the men who have claimed the discovery. Apparently no one told them about the advanced state of science.

I find it hilarious that these guys held a press conference last week and announced some preliminary DNA analysis results from the body of the alleged Bigfoot. What did they find? That the DNA samples were a mixture of human and possum DNA. And they had the guts to claim that was a sample from the beast himself?

The conjecture offered up for the presence of possum DNA in the human DNA sample was that the DNA was taken from a stomach sample. Wouldn't that be a curious place to take a tissue sample for DNA typing? It is like some sort of roadside swindle on a peculiar stretch of Alabama highway . Who does this group think their audience is? It is so funny.

I can just imagine these guys grabbing some fresh roadkill possum and a bit of hair off one of the morons perpetrating the hoax, which they then proceed to rub together in hopes of creating some sort of hybrid DNA. That will definitely trick the scientists.

To me this episode represents a huge storytelling opportunity. There is just so much internal tension for each character. Each wants to be famous, wants to be known, wants to be respected, wants to matter. But each lives in the middle of nowhere and knows none of the opportunities afforded by scholarship. They fix cars and farm equipment or they run convenience stores or pump gas or drink 5 days a week and work 2. These are men who are in no position to achieve the success and fame they desire.

So how does the conversation begin in which one of these men proposes faking a Sasquatch corpse? How do they think that they will avoid scrutiny from the scientific community? How can they believe that this will lead to anything but disgrace? Who came up with the idea of rubbing some cells from a possum together with their own to create compelling evidence?

The topic seems so ripe with character possibilities. Deeply flawed and ignorant men who nevertheless have the dreams of kings, but who are too dumb to realize why they will never become kings in this society. Or at least not before they agree on this silly hoax.

The story should not lack sympathy. These men never asked to be dropped into the world they have known. They just didn't have the luck or will to overcome that kind of start.

Why use a rubber suit? Man, not only are they stupid but they are lazy. They couldn't be bothered to construct their fake corpse out of something less obviously manufactured.

I love when in the story above they test the fur/hair of the creature and it melts down into a small ball gathered at the base of the shaft. Of course, this is very uncharacteristic of human hair (or fur for that matter), but very consistent with a synthetic hair substitute. These guys are probably witnessing this happen and not thinking it poses any sort of threat to the veracity of their claim. I love it.

The conversation where these guys finally agree to admit their fraud? Priceless.

If I knew where to begin I would start writing this tonight.

If you have any comments or ideas feel free to share them.

Thanks a ton!

Your Unfaithful Servant

Claremont Is Really Coming Up in the World!

So, I happened upon this little article about the long-in-arriving Bill Maher documentary on religious extremism called 'Religulous'.  I welcome almost any attack on the right, but given the way Bill Maher usually handles things (reductive, smug) I fear it may not work as well as it could, but I digress.

The really cool part is that the film had it's U.S. premiere screening in my hometown of Claremont, CA where a 5 screen Laemmle arthouse theater was erected in a recently developed area of the downtown called 'Village West' (because it is on the west side of the main street through the 'Village' aka Downtown Claremont). In any case, as part of Oscar qualification a documentary has to have had at least one week of regular screenings in Los Angeles County and Manhattan before Aug. 31, 2008. Well, lucky for us Claremont is the easternmost town in Los Angeles County (just barely avoiding belonging to the dreaded county of San Bernardino ;) ). Anyway, enough text. Here is the article:

Religulous

Free Will, Determinism, and Morality

SciAm has yet another interesting read about free will vs. determinism. This topic excites me, so expect to see more from me in this regard (hopefully linking to articles with more depth and philosophical heft).

Check it out:

Free Will Vs. Determinism

Your Unfaithful Servant

What is Rich?

As many have heard both McCain and Obama described how much one has to earn per annum to be considered "rich" in his book. The figure presented by McCain was absolutely shocking -- 5 MILLION! Mother Jones covers it with a nice graph and a brief discussion that follows it:

Are you RICH?

Please discuss in the comments section, Thanks!

Your Unfaithful Servant

Fincher and 'The Goon'

This news item dates back to the 3rd of July, but I didn't get wind of it until earlier in the week. Apparently, David Fincher has optioned the cool comic book series 'The Goon' with intentions of making a CG-animated film adaptation.

Story from Cinematical

Official Site

Wikipedia entry for 'The Goon'

I am so happy to hear about this. Fincher's last film 'Zodiac' has turned into one of my favorite character films ever. I didn't love it at first (in fact She-Rene and I slept through portions of it on a late Friday showing). But since I got the dvd I have watched it several times and each time I feel more drawn into the obsessions of the lead characters. So, as long as Fincher avoids a 'Panic Room' on this project, it should be great.

Unfaithfully Yours

P.S., File this under tangential connection: the following link concerns the fate of the Watchmen film adaptation set for release next year; apparently, Fox contends it still owns the rights and that WB has no business making the film. See the details below:

Watchmen in Peril?!?

Dead Zones

I wonder if this phenomenon of oceanic dead zones could be related to the squid bloom Julie talked about (from my favorite news source CNN ;) ):

Gulf 'Dead Zone'

Heartbreak

For those of you who don't download the 'This American Life' podcast or stream it, this week's show is all about the emotional contradictions of break-ups. Everyone has had them, and I think the episode deals with the topic thoughtfully:

Heartbreak

I can attest to the power of emotional contradiction in songwriting. I enjoy that a good chunk of the episode relates to the desire to channel these feelings into music and it includes an interview with Phil Collins himself!

Your Unfaithful Servant

Quantum Entanglement and Killer T-cells

I read two brief articles in Scientific American yesterday that I thought were quite exciting.

The first concerns quantum entanglement, which is basically the idea that quantum particles occur in linked pairs; if you attempt to measure or detect one particle in the pair you will cause a potentially instantaneous change in the partner particle. The notion that you can effect a nearly instantaneous change (at least 10,000 times faster than the speed of light) through interaction with one particle across indeterminate distances is amazing. Read the like for a better description of the phenomenon:

Quantum Entanglement

The second article is on a new antibody treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The drug binds to T-cells and and to cancer cells simultaneously and directs the killing action of the T-cell toward the attached cancer cell. Read more detail at the link below:

Killer T-cells and Cancer

"Allow me to break the ice."

Because I will always find this amusing (and I never want to search for it on youtube again):

Os Mutantes! A Minha Menina!

I wanted to share a youtube grab of a new McDonald's commercial called 'Victory'. The commercial isn't anything special -- just some kids playing soccer. What is really neat is the use of Os Mutantes' classic 'A Minha Menina' as the only soundtrack to the commercial. She-Rene and I were just discussing the first Os Mutantes album the other day and saying how so many of the tunes on the record have real cinematic potential. So, someone must have agreed with us (too bad it was for McDonald's). Check out the video below.

Unfaithfully Yours, as always. Enjoy!

Just a little something

I hope everyone is having a beautiful day. I am sadly saying goodbye to two friends at work who are moving on to greener pastures in Pennsylvania and Lyon, France. I will miss them, but I hope to celebrate what they mean to me throughout the day today over lunch and happy hour following.

Write more soon.

Your Unfaithful Servant

Half-Blood Post

http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1591779/20080729/story.jhtml

New Potter trailer! 'Nuf said.

---

I think I might start posting occasional observational comics, crudely drawn, of course. Again, in the interest of getting something out of myself creatively.

Of course I should be writing songs, but beggars can't be choosers. I am not sure what the block has been in terms of my songwriting since being here, but I know I did write quite a bit while I was visiting my parents. Even in the past, it was concerts that made me finish new songs.

It's like being back in college: final exam tomorrow -- time to study. It is so frustrating that my self-discipline is in such a fragile state. The blog is part of rehab. Methadone for the creative soul.

Just checking in.

Your Unfaithful Servant

A year and five days

It has been slightly longer than a year since I last posted. Hard to believe. I have undoubtedly placed too much pressure on myself when it comes to this blog. So, I am going to make an effort to just put something up here each day. One word a day at least (realistically every few days).

I read an interview with Jeff Smith (of Bone fame) yesterday. Reading about his creative process and relative success left me wanting. I came away from the article with a sense of the depth of my creative constipation. I need a glycerin suppository for the creative mind. The blog is just an attempt to get something out of myself. Maybe I can say something amusing or make a cogent point now and then.

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I changed my desktop picture to a lol-dog pug dressed up like Batman. One lip slightly upturned to reveal a few teeth. Head cocked slightly sideways. Teary eyes reflecting the overcast sky above the park to which he has undoubtedly been dragged for display to snickering canus domesticus from the neighborhood whose mothers only made them wear t-shirts or leashes. In other words, the face of pure incredulity: "Why, mom, why have you put this costume on me and paraded me in front of my friends?"

This desktop image will not change soon...

Unfaithfully yours, as always.