Felicia and I spent the day bouncing around nearby Stevens Point to look for some pet stores and get out of the "city" for a day. Of course, of the two pet stores we had found, one had recently gone out of buisness and the other was in the process, with very much of the stuff in the store already sold. We did however find a Golden Corral, so the day wasn't a complete loss.
Our night fared much better as we finally got out to see Sasha Baren Cohen's "Borat" film.
Coming into the film, I had heard that it was the funniest movie ever, so I think my expectations were a little high. Not that I didn't laugh the entire time (I think I was crying during the wrestling part), but I was surprised how frighteningly honest the film turned out to be. Cohen somehow captures a sort of American pastime while giving us snapshots of what modern day America sadly is, stereotypes to truth and all. I still can't believe that two older people walked out on the film though. Well, after seeing the film...maybe I can. But it wasn't the film that drove them out as much as it was the shear inability to handle the truth. Like Jack says, "you can't handle the truth."
'Borat' Is Kazakh Paper's Film of the Year
ALMATY, Kazakhstan (Nov. 17) - In perhaps the most unlikely praise yet for the misogynistic, anti-Semitic and fictional Kazakh TV reporter Borat's new movie, a leading newspaper in the real Kazakhstan dubbed it "film of the year" on Friday.
British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's alter ego has been a public relations nightmare for the Central Asian state's leaders, sensitive to their country's image abroad and conscious that few in the West have heard of the vast steppe nation.
The offbeat comedy, which satirizes America but also pokes fun at a fictional Kazakhstan as a place where people drink fermented horse urine among other questionable practices, led the U.S. box office for two weeks after it opened.
The Kazakh government threatened Baron Cohen with "legal measures" last year, prompting the Jewish comedian to respond in character as Borat that he fully supported "his" government's decision to "sue this Jew."
Since then, the government has softened its stance, with officials saying they understand it is satire and not directed against Kazakhstan. But cinemas in Kazakhstan and neighboring Russia have both been adviced not to screen the "offensive" movie, part of which was shot in Romania...[READ MORE]
Related link: Borat owes me 97 dollars [Slate]
*HUMOR*
New Mobile-Device Purchase Makes Asshole More Versatile
NEW YORK—Since acquiring his BlackBerry 8703c mobile device last month, asshole Robert McClain, 29, has reported vastly increased versatility, mobility, and off-site task-reassignment efficiency. The Credit Suisse executive and total shit claimed the new technology has opened more doors and become an absolutely indispensable tool for surviving in the "cut-throat world of high finance."
McClain never lets his personal life get in the way of productivity.
"It's amazing—I can make quicker phone calls, send more e-mails, and surf the web faster than ever, without being tied down to the office," said the prick, who feels "disconnected from the world" if he does not have access to corporate communications for more than four minutes at any time throughout the day or night. "And it's great for managing my schedule. Earlier today I booked a weekend flight to Vegas, set up a squash match with my buddy who works over at McKinsey, and skimmed some of [secretary] Gina [Wallach]'s e-mail requests for maternity leave, all while in line waiting for my wheatgrass shake." [READ MORE at The Onion]
*Image courtesy of The Onion.
*MUSIC*
Jay-Z Versus the Sample Troll: The shady one-man corporation that's destroying hip-hop.
By Tim Wu
Last week, a mysterious company, Bridgeport Music Inc., sued hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, accusing him of breaking the law when he recorded his 2003 single "Justify My Thug." The song is an obvious nod to Madonna's "Justify My Love," but she is not the plaintiff. Instead, Bridgeport is suing because Jay-Z did something that is normal in hip-hop: sampling. He took a few notes, looped them in the background, and produced the tune. Bridgeport claims to own those notes, and is demanding a fortune in damages and a permanent ban on the distribution of the song.
Bridgeport is an unwelcome addition to the music world: the "sample troll." Similar to its cousins the patent trolls, Bridgeport and companies like it hold portfolios of old rights (sometimes accumulated in dubious fashion) and use lawsuits to extort money from successful music artists for routine sampling, no matter how minimal or unnoticeable. The sample trolls have already leveraged their position into millions in settlements and court damages, but that's not the real problem. The trolls are turning copyright into the foe rather than the friend of musical innovation. They are bad for everyone in the industry—including the major labels. The sample trolls need to be stopped, either by Congress or by court rulings that establish sampling as a boon, not a burden, to creativity.
Bridgeport is a one-man corporation formed in 1969 and owned by a former music producer named Armen Boladian. It has no employees and no reported assets other than copyrights. Technically, Bridgeport is a "catalog company." Most catalog companies are in the relatively quiet business of licensing rights for television commercials, cover songs, and selling sheet music to interested fans. But Bridgeport has figured out a far more lucrative business model—trolling for sampling cash...[READ MORE]
MySpace is sued by Universal Music
The record label accuses the social networking site of widespread piracy of songs and videos. The News Corp. unit calls the lawsuit unnecessary.
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer
Universal Music Group sued MySpace.com on Friday, alleging that the social networking site that bills itself as a source of "user generated" content instead trades on "user stolen" songs and music videos.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, described MySpace as a "vast virtual warehouse" of pirated works from some of the company's best-known artists, including Mariah Carey, Diana Krall and U2. Universal claims that "no intellectual property is safe" from the alleged copyright infringement, even unreleased albums such as Jay-Z's "Kingdom Come."
The dispute pits the world's largest music label against media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp., which acquired MySpace for $580 million in September 2005. Universal has embarked on an aggressive legal campaign against social networking sites since it reached an agreement last month to license its songs and music videos to YouTube Inc., now owned by Google Inc.
Since then, Santa Monica-based Universal has filed federal lawsuits against Grouper Networks Inc. and Bolt Inc. for permitting users to post without authorization hundreds of music videos from popular artists...[READ MORE]
Fall Out Boy post new single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race"
I've always been sort of a closet fan of Fall Out Boy, a guilty pleasure of mine that I'd rather not hype when I don't have to. If you're in the same boat, you can check out their brand new single, "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" from their upcoming Feb 6 release Infinity on High at Buzznet.
Review: Foo Fighters, Skin and Bones
A couple weeks ago I received the Foo Fighters Skin and Bones in the mail. Recorded during a 2006 acoustic tour, Skin and Bones suceeds in being a successful acoustic album for a number of reasons. Once you move past the lackluster "Razor," and "Over and Out," which open the album, you are treated to a beautiful rendition of one of my personal favorites, "Walking After You." The album picks up some true teeth after that with a version of "Marigold," which was originally a Nirvana B-side. "My Hero," one of the true classics of the album, proves that there are some songs which sound just as good, if not better, acoustic as they do with heavy distortion. I can't decide which version I like better, but they're both equally powerful in their own ways.
I could do without "Next Year," "Another Round," and "Big Me," which weigh down the middle of the album, although things quickly take a turn for the better with the inclusion of a more agressive version of "Cold Day in the Sun." "Skin and Bones," and "February Stars" are both delicately performed and worthy of inclusion, as is the deeply emotional "Times Like These."
Skin and Bones closes out with a throat-tearing rendition of "Best of You" that makes any true Foo Fighter fan love the work Grohl puts into every performance that much more. The last song on the album is undoubtably the best in all of the Foo Fighters catalog, as Skin and Bones ends like a firecracker with "Everlong." My only reservation is that Everlong sort of fades away prematurely...leaving you with a taste of unsatisfaction in your mouth. Whether its the fault of the track of the assembly of the album as a whole, it leaves me as Foo Fighters fan wanting just a little more. Regardless, it's an instant classic and a must have for any fan.
Sunday Morning Essential: Heatmiser, Cop and Speeder (1994)
1994's Cop and Speeder takes a few steps away from the hooky orientation of both the Yellow No. 5 EP and 1993's Dead Air -- the dark and only vaguely-indierock constructions is explores have the blues- and soul-based edge of bands like Afghan Whigs, lending a sense of depth and sophistication to the record that's occasionally preferable to the more punchy sound of other Heatmiser releases. ~ Nitsuh Abebe, All Music Guide
Heatmiser attains a powerful sense of mood on Cop and Speeder, especially in "Flame!" and "Antonio Carlos Jobim." Thanks to improved songwriting, the album finds the band beginning to emerge from its flat monochrome tones. The lyric sheet is unnecessary this time — the vocals are way up front. Except when he sounds like a ringer for Sebadoh's Lou Barlow, Gust is developing a more original vocal approach, while Smith has figured out how to integrate his seething whisper into a full-tilt rock band (even if he is saving his best tunes for his solo albums). Lashing out at a succession of failed loves (or is it just one?), the band purges with vehemence and a dark confessional candor that's not always attractive but undeniably honest, nailing it most effectively on "Busted Lip." - Trouser Press
Heatmiser - "Dissapearing Ink"
Heatmiser - "Bastard John"
Heatmiser - "Flame!"
Heatmiser - "Temper"
Heatmiser - "Why Did I Decide To Stay?"
Heatmiser - "Collect To NYC"
Heatmiser - "Hitting On The Waiter"
Heatmiser - "Busted Lip"
Heatmiser - "Antonio Carlos Jobim"
Heatmiser - "It's Not A Prop"
Heatmiser - "Something To Lose"
Heatmiser - "Sleeping Pill"
Heatmiser - "Trapdoor"
Heatmiser - "Nightcap"