Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volumes I & II (1973 - 1985)

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Or

Order it here: Billy Joel Greatest Hits: Vol. 1-2 (2CD)

For the longest time, from before I was born, to the Atari 2600's last year in the limelight. Billy Joel had some good years. This post commemorates the best of that time period.

Sing us a song. We're in the mood for a melody. New Yorker. American. Inspired by the Beatles. Feel-good. Big shot. Blues. Pick me-up. Honesty. Women. Mythical uptown-women. The good songs I'd hear while in the car with my dad on the road before a day's hard work. Billy Joel inspires, soothes, and makes for good karaoka,ka,ka,ka,ka.... you ought ta know by now.

Keep Saying No to Smoking Cigarettes

Still going. Proud. No need for a new year's resolution. It's still tempting. I've gone
1 year and 2 weeks since I've quit smoking.

• At 1 pack / 3 days, that's 127 packs of cigarettes that I didn't smoke.
• At $4 / pack, that's $508 bucks I didn't spend.
• At losing 1 minute of my life / 1 cigarettes, that's 2,540 minutes of quality life saved. (hearsay statistic)
  

Christmas Eve Eve Morning Top 10 List

1. The Nipple Hair Moustache!
2. Words that sound offensive but aren't.
3. New Packaging Porn for Monopoly.
4. I recommend this list from Rubin Recommends.
5. Single-Malt Whiskey lovers, peep this.
6. Mac vs PC [cheese]
7. Round trip with the NASA Endeavor.
8. Streaking footage at UC-Berkeley.
9. Some environmental changes we may witness in our lifetime.
10. Cool stuff with trees.
    

MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

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MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Order it here for $9.99: MGMT - Oracular Spectacular

Digitally released on October '07, released in retail January '08, it's safe to say I'm a little late to the party. Seeing as I just discovered it - to it's fullness - last week.

I had heard "Time to Pretend," the first track, when going out but had no idea it was MGMT. Anyway after listening to the whole record there more to say about it than they're just another trendy indie band.

Some of the tracks like "Weekend Wars," "The Youth," and "Pieces of What" remind of me Wes Anderson films. Maybe some scene where the meaning is significantly higher than the action on the screen - if you know what I mean. Dramatic, introspective, but still respectable sounds, including acoustic guitars, vocal cacophonies, and a soundscape soothing keyboard.

The singles are "Time to Pretend" and "Electric Feel." I had discarded both before my download last week. It was actually triggered by a discussion I was having with a coworker. He's 23 and I'm 29, and he had this - man you're too old and don't know whats good anymore attitude. So I decided to check it out and validate he or I, and I admit, he was right, this is pretty good stuff. The songs are a feel-good fun-time and are much less shallow than originally perceived to be.

Somehow this record also fits into this holiday time period. I recommend MGMT - Oracular Spectacular.

Tim McMahon's Rockin' Christmas V

A good friend of mine, Tim McMahon, whom I met when I lived in Gainesville, FL, at UF, makes a Christmas music record every year. It's a compilation with music from different influences. Without fail he has come through with new tunes not used in previous records (to my knowledge). These are easy to listen with friends & family, or at a Christmas party and easlily allows you to engage in the mayhem that the holidays bring on. Here is the record. This is his fifth installment, that's five years of unique holiday records.

The Main Record
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The Playlist
The Sonics - Santa Claus
Deerhoof - Holy Night
John Maus - This IS the Beat
Troy Hess - Christmas on the Moon
Daniel Johnston - Rock Around the Christmas Tree
Asobi Seksu - Merry Christmas
Angry Johnny & The Killbillies - 6 Bullets for Christmas
Beat Happening - Christmas
Wild billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire - Christmas Hell
The Legendary Tigerman - Fuck Christmas, I Got the Blues
Beulah - Santa Kissed Me
The Legendary Pink Dots - Frosty
The Free Design - Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)
Pizzicato 5 - From Party to Party
Sy Mann - Tijuana Christmas
Hasil Adkins - Santa Claus Boogie
Native Tongue - Do You Hear What I Hear?
The White Stripes - Candy Cane Children
Big Star - Jesus Christ
Jimi Hendrix - Auld Lang Syne

This year he also added a surprise disc which I haven't even checked out yet. This is the second time he implements this supplement. It's full of some really old songs best enjoyed on a dark and silent night.

The Surprise Supplement
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Enjoy!
(FYI people - for some reason Tim made the record in .m4a files)

The Muslims (self titled record)

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The Muslims - The Muslims

Wow. It's been a while. I mean, it's been a while since I've posted in the mood that I'm feeling right now: tired from the workday, getting sick, opting to blog for the goodness of blogging and actually having something to share with the reader, music searcher, blogger, Internet Cobra, etc.

I'm not sure how I fell onto this record - there goes that storyline. I can tell you that it's good if you want to hear a raw, garage, modern rock band that can propagate good vibes towards acting like a ninny, playing air drums and guitars, or simply rocking out while in the car. (Most of my music appreciation happens in the car.) Anyhow, I know the band's from San Diego and, no, I'm not sure or care if any of them are Muslims.

There are garage, early punk and pop-punk influences. There are the revolutionary Bob Dylan influences. This shouldn't enable any conclusions since many records have these things in common. It was just my first honest association.

The sexiest video I've seen in a long time...

Beyoncé is pure sexiness.

Better quality here.

Deerhunter - Microcastle

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Deerhunter - Microcastle

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Deerhunter - Microcastle

I enjoy this record. It's a new sound to me. I enjoy it and like a friend of mine on facebook simply stated, we should all find happiness through music. Or at a minimum, attempt to jam to it. This record is a part of that experience. I encourage anyone to download it.

Just a short history, the band started in 2001. They may be named after an old drama called "The Deer Hunter" with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep or that may just be a coincidence. At this point I don't care enough to find validate this.

Tonight it's 62 degrees out. The Miami Heat lost to the Toronto Raptors. 2008 is close to it's death and so be it.

The title track surprised me around time stamp 2:25. The slowly vanishing heartbeat suddenly gets a kicky snare and suddenly your head ticks and tocks, left and right. Insert dance here.

Microcastle is either terribly boring or wicked awesome at a live show, the venue and the crowd would easily be variables in the enjoyment of the live experience. Sometimes when I listen to it I think I'm hearing noises from a vast hall. That's the experience for half the record. Not to be frowned upon anyway. There's some value in remembering childhood memories where something holds a holy or omnipotent awe. Like Notre Damn in Montreal for instance.

The other half has some trendy/catchy dance beats. Like Never Stops and Nothing Ever Happened - these are definitely upbeat bootyswaying tracks. I'm not mad at these tracks. They keep the gas in the car chugging. They keep the heartbeat alive and protect the sanctity of youth. The dance beats/lyrics reminded of something that Blur is likely to produce. Listening to Deerhunter made me write this post. The vocals can sound like Sonic Youth, Blur or Belle & Sebastian during some moments. I know they're all very different bands but those are the closest bands I could come up with.

My Ol' Dual-Suspension Mongoose SX 6.7 is for Sale

Checkout the reviews from mtbr.com here.

Product Summary:

Dual-suspension bikes allow anyone to ride longer and stronger on the mountain, but they're more of a luxury than a necessity for the first-time rider. However, this year(1999) finds many dualies, like the SX, slumming at unimaginably low prices, which make them extremely attractive first-time buys.

Strengths: An RST 281 fork with two inches of travel in front, three inches of travel in back, a journeyman 24-speed Alivio drivetrain with fingertip shifters, toe clips and a stunning brushed-metal aluminum frame.

Weaknesses: As you improve, you'll wish you had an extra inch of travel up front to match the suspension in back.

Bottom line: The SX is a great buy for the serious first-timer. As a bonus, it's the world's most beautiful budget bouncer. Take it anywhere to bring out its ugly side ($679).

My Take:

I bought it for $449 in 2000 brand new. Since then I’ve barely used it. It’s seen the most use in the last two years where I’ve begun taking it to Oleta State River Park and Amelia Earhart Park for their single track trails. I also used it at the Bike Miami ride and used it to vote for change in the 2008 election.

It’s available for sale now for $250 or best offer.

I will probably be upgrading to a Trek Mountain Hardtail 6000, (hi-res pic here). What I would like to buy is a full-suspension Trek FUEL EX 8, (hi-res pic here in rootbeer/white). I decided on Trek because of their brand name, their designs, and quality components. If anyone has any suggestions otherwise, please send them my way. See you in the trails.

Alienware M17 Notebook - ATI CrossFireX and Intel Quad Core in a 17-inch Notebook

So friggin' cool. Alienware's first notebook with ATI CrossFireX™ graphics and Intel® quad core technology... the Alienware M17 Notebook. Way to kick off the post Halloween season. What can HP, Voodoo, or Apple do to compete? Maybe those brands are raising a white flag and admitting defeat in the mobile high-performance gaming segment. Which notebook would you get this holiday season?

This is also the first Alienware notebook with:

• a 1066MHz FSB (front side bus) - Intel Montevinia platform for notebooks
  
• ESATA port - up to 300Mbps storage transfers
  
• fingerprint reader - Biometric Security
  
• 64-bit Windows Vista™ - up to 4GB of DDR3 1,066MHz RAM!
  

It also has the ultra-sweet soft black-touch cabinet previously exclusive to the Area-51® m9750. It has the 1920x1200p display option, HDMI 1.3b output for high definition gaming/media output, and RAID hard drives option.

It even starts at $1,399. Very tempting.

Jesu - Why We Are Not Perfect

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Jesu - Why We Are Not Perfect

Jesu has been around for about 5 years and each album actually holds some uniqueness to it.  Some records are quite heavy and toy with the metal and drone genres.  Why We Are Not Perfect is their latest release and is a 5 track EP.  This one however seems like what-you-would-get if you mixed Isis with Boards of Canada, baked the  mix at 375º F and glazed with ambient marmalade on top.  Tasty?  Not for most, but you'll have to try.  When I added it to my mp3 library I notieced the Genre label of 'doom avantgarde' and was somewhat discouraged because I think thats cheesy.  After listening anyway it redeemed itself as appropriate. 

The title track and farewell are the coolest ones in my opinion.

Mostly instrumental with some soft lyrics here and there - this is best enoyed during long walks on the beach or just hanging out in bed, your living room, or car.  

Saturday Morning Top 10!

It's been a while. I haven't done this in months. My inspiration comes from being wide awake. Somehow I am. Last night I went to a friend of mine's birthday dinner. We dined at a hidden gem I had never known till 12 hours ago. Actually I can't believe it - I just found that they, in fact, have a web page, Jesus, how have I never known of this place?.

My first time having Korean food. My metaphor to describe it comes out to - teppanyaki BBQ with kimchee - which translates to delicious in my books. Anyhow we had plenty of Mutsu-OH (my favorite cold junmai sake)and Sapporo. After dinner there was a 3 hour Karaoke session that drove all the restaurant's customers out. Perfect.

This morning Miami is like an excited, wet, and young vagina - angry, hot, wet, and keeps you in.

Now it's 8am or so, I'm up. Now the list:

• Bill O'Reilly lays the smack down once again!
• Palin's daughter has the right idea.
• Giant penis crop circles exist.
• Best ground based image of Jupiter ever.
• Cheeseburgers with grilled cheese sandwiches as the bun - here.
• I need to go here someday.
• Iron Man Ultimate Two-Disc Edition Blu-ray disc, to buy or not to buy - that is the question.
• I bought this shirt and this shirt - I need new t-shirts.
• Imagine Havana Before Castro...checkout some photos(these are not related to the previous link).
• A translation that is not so good.
• Florida is weird - then again denial of sex can be tough.
• Hotties from the Olympics - pics here.
• This site is dope - www.behance.net

Ok so there's more than ten...

Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

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Girl Talk - Feed the Animals

I'm posting this primarily by request.  When I first heard this album it seemed like a good idea.  Then I could see how it would annoy the shit out of someone.  Now I understand it as a record that given the right circumstances (driving like a zombie or behaving beligerently) depending on the circumstances it could be a good time.

This record is made by ONE GUY with a bunch of records.  He's a weird ass white dude majoring in biomedical engineering.  The style of this music is called "mashup" samples from all kinds of artists and creates a somewhat cohesive track - I've heard its a ton of fun when live.  A friend of mine told me he sets up in the middle of a dance floor and everyoen dances around him.  His mixing table is level with the floor so people are literally standing right next to him. It's quite popular right now among many circles. 

The National - Alligator

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The National - Alligator

The very first time I heard The National, I can't remember but, I dismissed them quick. They seemed like your typical '00s whinny band. Even after that experience when I saw them open up for Arcade Fire in Radio City Music Hall in New York City which I have to say is the venue where music sounds the best so far, in my experiences. (I'm obviously a fan of Arcade Fire)

Anyhow, now my best friend tells me, "...dude checkout All The Wine from Alligator..," so I gave it a spin and I was able to finish the track. I think he liked the lyrics where the guy says "I'm a perfect piece of ass," still I can't explain what he liked about that. Sometimes I think he's confused about his sexuality - but thats for another post. This is their third album of 4, and was released in 2005.

Anyhow I appreciated the monologue type story telling lyrics and the music itself was somewhat catchy and introspective - reminded me of memories from the early '00s and that I need to keep living. So I kept listening to see if there was more to have.

Then I gave this other song Karen a shot. Again, it was another introspective, sad, somewhat whinny song. Now, I know I keep using the word whinny but I honestly believe that after a few minutes of listening you can hear some real substance behind it all. This song could've been in "Garden State." Maybe you'll get it if you use that example and put it in that context.

Anyway, this weekend I enjoyed this album while driving. Some may call it blasphemous but some tracks like City Middle sound like something off a Lou Reed record, like Transformer.

Note to self: You're 29 and the Fall is here.

The Fall is here. I live in Miami so I'm lucky if the temperature drops below 75° at night. Still, I haven't always been in Miami during the Fall, I'm familiar with changing seasons and different kinds of weather. It's actually 81° and mostly cloudy right now and as I drove from the bank I was just thinking how cool those ads for outdoor gear is where you see a bunch of kids standing near a pick-up truck wearing any combination of beanies, vests, boots, flannels, scarves with a cobalt mountain in the background and some kind of determined look in their face like they're about to multiply or turn into gremlins. I don't have any particular ad in mind, but most of you know the archetypes, scenery, and themes.

I don't want to be a gremlin but it'd be cool to see some snow this Winter.

Nuns and Pornography

Checkout this awesome photo my friend Alex took while in Medellin, Columbia. I wonder what these two ladies of the cloth think and feel about this.

Some thoughts on Obama's campaign and Decision '08

Thought I'd rant a bit...It can be argued that this campaign has done nothing but focus on a theme about change. I mean that outside of the actual printed materials that say CHANGE. Like an excellent written essay or manuscript should do, all of the marketing channels being used really engulf the concept of change. This speech reinforces that and I believe that it successfully deposits that theme into people's minds when they think about Obama.

Whether he is successful or not in improving where we are challenged he would definitely put us in a direction that is 'different' and potentially open new opportunities and challenges we have not seen before; ultimately making for a new, modern, more interesting America.

I don't think he will be able to fix our problems during his term(s) if elected, but I do believe that he is capable of setting us off in a new direction. This concept does not frighten me very much. I think it can't really get worse.

McCain although a hero, a great American, seems to me that his methods would be extremely traditional and is less likely to think outside the box. I don't think this would drive sufficient success to improve the lives of the common joes and janes. I also don't believe that because a man serves in war that we should feel inclined to elect him as president, and many people whom I've spoken to use that as a point of argument.

Lastly, I truly hope that the concept of religion does not become a point of argument the people focus on. Whether Obama is Christian or Muslim should not be a deciding factor for anyone. In the months to come I do see this as a potential target for the McCain campaign. We should not be basing our decision for President on what faith our leaders follow. There is no correlation between that and what a Great American President is, in my opinion.

Beck - Modern Guilt

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Beck - Modern Guilt

This is the El Perdedor's latest installment. Pop, alternative, postmodern...those are just words. I believe Beck is one of the most original musicians of our time. Some of his tracks belong in a danceparty and some of them are the excellent choice for an introspective journey into the Self. This album continues to carry that torch.

Alienware Launches Back to School 2008

Another year, another dollar? Another year, another fragger! Another year, another student with a kick ass gaming notebook sent to college to earn degrees, get good grades, and get laid! PWND!

Alienware's PC Gaming Season is put to rest with the launch of a Back to School campaign for 2008 it seems. Low and behold all systems now carry Free Shipping. (I can hear the readers going opening new tabs fleeing to www.alienware.com/backtoschool) This is actually very pleasing since it's usually about one Benjamin note to get a system shipped with peripherals. I'm not sure where they made that calculation from but hey free is free.

There are other deals if you're looking for some, they have three bundles with savings that are under $100 but its still a deal I guess.

1. Mobility bundle - an Alienware Orion backpack and 160GB portable USB HDD
   
2. Blogger bundle - Microsoft's Office 2007 Home 7 Student edition + Adobe Premiere Elements and Adobe Photoshop Elements
3. Media bundle - Klipsch Promedia 2.1 THX speakers + Alienware Ozma5 headphones

So the bundle savings aren't anywhere as good as the free shipping but I guess everything counts when you add it up. It would've been cool if I would have all of this Alienware gear when I was in school. Maybe I would've had better grades, maybe I would have never graduated...it's hard to tell...

Blogosphere Behavior (Funny)

This is hilarious. I found this video after checking out my work friend's blog at http://airbourneinforums.blogspot.com/.



Even though this cracked me up I can't believe how true a lot of these things are. I'm not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing but I'm certain the topic is open for discussion in many English classes in high schools and colleges right now.

McCain Caught Lying? McCain for president! - not

When Al Gore's presidency was turned over to President Bush, the nation was amazed. It was an incredible moment in American history. Who would've thought they'd see the announcing of a new president and almost immediately witness a revocation of that victory?

Anyhow, I think that after watching this video and thinking about all of the word of mouth regarding the upcoming election, looking at Google Trends' data, and observing the media's coverage, the world would be more shocked about a McCain victory than they were about the 2000 election.

Check this out.

R.I.P. George Carlin (1937-2008)

George Carlin passed away. My condolences to his family. It's amazing how certain celebrities and comedians have the talent to seem invincible or immortal while on screen or on stage. I think I'd relate this with expressing one's humanity publicly without hesitation or reservation. George Carlin is one of those people.


One of his most popular skits.



Pictured here as the host for Saturday Night Live in 1975.

He passed of a heart faliure. He was 71.

Real Life-Size Cylon Centurions -- for Hire

Hear ye', hear ye', to all the Battlestar Gallactica fans that have always wanted their own personal toaster, now you can own a full-sized hand-crafted replica of a Cylon centurion. Buy one , I dare you...

Ok, they're not for hire, but you can own one that frackin' freaks people out. It stands accurately at 7 feet tall, weighs 300 pounds, and has a red LED electric visor with the creepy hum. The body is made of 100% fiberglass with aluminum accents. Anyone would crap their pants if they ever saw this in your house for the first time. How much? $7,900 with a non-refundable deposit of $3,950. Delivery takes 8-12 weeks. How cool would you be though?

I've recently taken a fiendish addiction to this show. I'm on Season 3 Episode 4 as of this post. The season finale for Season 4 just happened last week. Please, no spoilers in any comments. If you haven't heard of Battlestar Galactica check it out here.

Spend an Evening With Saddle Creek

Checkout this great video where all the great bands from Saddle Creek show and tell us their story.

Spend An Evening With Saddle Creek from Plexifilm on Vimeo.

I think I've seen all of these bands live at one point or another. This reminds me of the late 90's/early 00's when music really started to change for me. Between sophomore year of college and while I was at UF and even sporadically since then. My favorite Saddle Creek band is still Cursive.

Wolfparade "At Mount Zoomer"

I feel the need to write something about music. It's been a while since I've reviewed any albums or offered a download.

Today I'm offering up Wolfparade's At Mount Zoomer. I've had the record for a few days and I'm not sure why I felt a need to download it or give it the many chances that I have to date.

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Wolfparade - At Mount Zoomer

Wolfparade is a Canadian band, signed to the American label known as Sub Pop Records. Many bands come from Sub Pop Records. Some young. Some old. I mean, like them or not, you have bands like Nirvana, Afghan Wigs, Soundgarden, and L7. Then there's The Shins, David Cross, The Postal Service, The Rapture, Iron and Wine and so on...

So their is obviously something ticking there. Now the record feels young. Some tracks sound like what you would imagine is a scene where people dance zombified with what could be confused for a disregard for everything or a deep moment before the epiphany they have always been waiting for. Some songs that resemble an attempt to a drama, a far cry to something tragic, carry a tune where someone else could giggle to. It sounds sophomoric during some tracks. Musically, they don't try to be very technical. Their main concentration seems to be a responsibility to cater to a typical young emotion.

The music's color varies through the record. Theres a track called "Fine Young Cannibals" where the music and lyrics try to be something close to provocative. What I mean by that is that there's these catchy slow striking guitar chords and while the singer tells a story the listener is being taken for a ride. It's like watching a movie where you have a king chase queen clip. But done bad.

Kissing the Beehive is my favorite song on the record. If you're patient you may see something worthwhile about it too. It turns out I think the meat in this song happens towards the second half. I think what pulled me to the song was it's title, the fact that it's 10 minutes long, and the fact that it's the last song. There's nothing wrong with intentionally creating a final, epic, track. I enjoy the transitions and the acceleration of emotion they try to convey as the song develops. The title is great anyway. It's obviously a reference to an entity carrying the attributes of a beehive or maybe a beehive hairdo. The literal meaning is pretty fracked up.

Don't get me wrong I do enjoy the album but I can't talk about this particular record without being tough on it. There's something left to be desired of with grand ol' Wolfparade.

Anyway...

How different are the Leica C-Lux 2 vs. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX series cameras?

So I thought I'd do a little more research on the camera thing. It turns out Leica's C-Lux 2 compact camera is very similar to the Panasonic's Lumix FX series. I'd want to conclude that one of the two is a rebranding of the other camera with some minor cosmetic details. The fact that Leica decided to enable this platform and brand it as their own makes me more comfortable about getting the less pricey Panasonic. (The difference in price is around $100 and the feature set is less than) Check out the two cameras here:

They look the same!

I have no doubt they come from the same manufacturer both cameras leverages the same platform but are simply branded differently to make a few extra bucks off of the Leica fans.

Still the tolerance to quality on the lens should be the same since both are Leica made. I'm not mad at the Lumix design. If fact, how does the saying go? Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

The Leica was released way earlier than this particular Lumix. Maybe the save the newer designs for Leica cameras and then a few months the design is available for the Lumix series.

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35A digital camera?

Ok, I have narrowed down my list of cameras to two Panasonic Lumix choices there's the DMC-FX33 and the DMC-FX35. I used to have the Panasonic Lumix FX9 until my car was broken into one night in my new and shady neighborhood. That was a few months ago and I haven't had a digital camera since. It's funny how digital cameras are typically things many people become anxious about when they don't have one. I need it most when it's not around. After they get one, it becomes a forgotten object unless they're working with photography or shoot pictures as a hobby.

I use cameras as a hobby. For blogging, personal record keeping, memorabilia, for storing good memories and having something to laugh at and even share once in a while.

I've chosen to go with the Panasonic Lumix series because of their Leica wide angle lens among other features. This series also has a fast shutter speed and a greater than 3x optical zoom which many cameras don't or just make the cut. It is also light and easy to use. The interface is actually easy to work with and there are some lite manual options available. I had considered the Canon Powershot SD1100 but the specifications of this camera imply that a better photograph will be captured with the Lumix...and here it is:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35A - Panasonic's Site.
Compared to the FX33A, it's the "New!" model and has the advantage of 10MP vs 8MP, a 230K vs 205K: brighter screen, is capable of 720p HD videos, has a 4x optical zoom (compared to 3.6x), has a wider 25mm lens (v.s. 28mm), and is slightly smaller/lighter. It's actually $85 more expensive. Do these improvements merit the $85 upsell?

As a marketing person I cant' believe how susceptible I am being to this upsell. It's a difference of 85 bucks ($204 vs $289). I have actually been monitoring these prices and the DMC-FX35A has had a steady price for months. On the other hand the FX-33A is being discontinued and the pricing has been getting better. Which has more value? Maybe next paycheck I will test the waters and make a decision.

Help Save the Everglades Today!

Imagine that. Signing a quick petition online to reduce the urban sprawl that is hurting the Everglades.

The Everglades is a 5,000 year old geologic and ecological formation that is the home of most of South Florida's wildlife. It also functions as a gigantic filter that cleans up our lakes, rivers, and provides clean water. Have you ever heard of Zephyrhills? Now you know where the water comes from. The Everglades is part of the water system that includes the Okeechobee river where most of the water we drink comes from in South Floria.

You can Sign This Petition and make a statement. You can do something important today.

I need a new digital camera.

I think people's lives can be improved provided they have a camera from which to capture things in time and space. After my car was vandalized and violated, my old Lumix is now in the hands of a street walking degenerate.

I now have put together a small list form which I must choose. If anyone has any opinions please share.

Help Me Choose a Camera

Change is good.

At this rate things will never be the same. I'll be turning 29 in September. The end of my twenties. Sure lots of people say that the 30s are really cool. But who are those people? Don't get me wrong I appreciate change. My head nods when people say "change is good" or "embrace change." I don't have a problem.

The funny thing is that change can occur for several reasons. Humor me while I create this subset of reasons:

• time
• A decision is made
• chance

We're all way too familiar with time so I won't spend any time on that one - with time your fountain soda will get full and your crows feet will get large. There's also chance, which is what happens when it starts raining, you get a flat tire, and whatever you were going to do next is now in the hands of time or an outside force. What I find most interesting is change by making a decision. Here time and chance are completely uninvolved. Like if I quit my job and went on a 6 week walkabout with some friends in South America. That would make for change by decision and would specifically address a behavior not likely once into the 30s or so I'm lead to believe.

So I have no choice but to train myself to welcome the upcoming time frame, it's implications, joys and consequences.

How Bread was made in the 80s.

This video is hilarious. It's amazing to see how people did things in the 80s. I hope you enjoy the laugh.

$100 Kobe Beef Cheesesteak

I'm really not sure if this is delicious, gross, or just wrong. I'm not even sure how I found this video but I couldn't resist sharing it. They've taken super rare and expensive kobe beef, maine lobster, and truffle shavings to make what they call the perfect cheese steak sandwich and it goes for $100.





Would you eat this? It sounds interesting but nevermind what it's made out of. What about paying $100 for a cheese steak?

Landing Page Optimization

Wow, so it's lunch time, I'm at work, and I wondering about the fact that there are a gazillion web sites out there and they all want you to do something. Sign up here, click here, buy this, join today, etc.

Still not all landing pages are created equal. There are three main goals to every online activity.

• Acquisition
• Conversion
• Retention

So every online marketeer has three task they need to do well on. The first one, acquisition, is the ability to get people to come to your event. It's getting them in the door. It's showing them your campaign for the first time. Your best shot is at launch or during a time frame that is specific to the campaign. You create a plan and hope to get the highest yield out of your acquisition strategy. In other words you want to get the greatest number of impressions possible.

The next challenge is called conversion. It's a percentage. It's a division problem it's the number of people who took the desired action / the total number of impressions. Imagine, you have a safillion amount of users coming to your site. Some close the page right away. Some read a little and close. Others click one level deep and occasionally you get people to do what you wanted. The challenge here is getting the right words, images, and layout to match the type of user you have attracted from your previous acquisition strategy.

The last of the three is called retention. You, as a monetary entity want to retain as many users as possible to keep your campaign going and achieving more conversion. Your ability to retain also shows how much your users trust your campaign, product, or brand. This is a key item in what will propagate your campaign, product, or brand to the next level. It prepares you for your next campaign, product or brand.

So those things said. We have three key goals. What boggles us must be the fact that there is no example of a perfect landing page. If there is, I would like to see it. Proof or no proof. I would be thoroughly impressed if someone could show me a landing page I would have otherwise never had heard of and become converted. Is there a recipe for this type of success?

Bill O'Reily is a jerk - hilarious!

I can't believe what a jerk this guy is... I think it's hilarious to see people turn into complete assholes.

Here's a direct link to this video.

Amazing video piece by artist Blu

Everyone, take a look at this insane video of series of pieces created by the artist known as Blu. I can't begin to understand how long something like this would take... I'm jealous of people with this level of passion and commitment.



Check out his site for even more cool stuff at:
http://www.blublu.org/

Today's Not-So-Top 10

Here we have it folks. Just a quick ten piece for our amusement.

Today's list:

1. How to get sex.
2. Buy me one of these. Still I'd be happy with one of these.
3. Dogs can be better athletes than you.
4. I would like to make hash browns today.
5. Ever wondered what a baby hare looks like?
6. I've always tried to get a good escalator subway shot. This one's pretty good.
7. We need more glove molds.
8. Fun list of post secrets.
9. Can someone give me the price of this item?
10. The state of the housing market. Lord of the Rings or SanFran?

Incredible / Identical Batman(1989) & Dark Knight(2008) Trailers

It's amazing to see how both the trailers for Batman (1989) and the Dark Knight (2008) follow the same storyboard almost to the tee. It's somewhat of a cop out but its also kinda cool. Needless to say I can't wait to see the Dark Knight.

Here is a link to the site that I first found the video and article.

heyedgar: One of the Greatest Beings I've Ever Met

This post is a tribute to a special friend of mine. I'm at work right now and don't have time to give a full descriptive exposition on my experience with Edgar Gonzalez so instead I will share a few of his own original quotes that were posted on a site communicating a memorial tennis tournament dedicated to him.

In Edgar's words:

You are #1 in every book I've ever written!!!

It would be a good life that I lived if I spent it bragging about my friends.

That's what you gotta learn: science isn't something done in class or in books or with lab coats. Science is a form of inquiry and experiment and notation. It includes kissing and stars and moons so bright they gauge your eyeballs out.

I think all you need in order to play squash, and I mean to play it well, is an ability to smile!

Thank you for being in the world.

Until then keep your feet on the ground while you reach for the stars,
Edgar

He will not be forgotten.

The Dark Knight: Bootleg Trailer 2

So fucking cool! Shown at select theaters as a viral marketing campaign.
Link to page here.

The Concept of Meetings: this made me laugh instantly [PIC]

The truth is I think meetings can be helpful and can increase productivity - I'm an optimist as you can see. I would say there is a sliding scale ranging from "A Waste of Time and Health" to "Development of Revolutionary Decisions & Direction." Most of the time they fall in between.

Anyhow, I thought you workfolk out there would appreciate this.

The Walkmen - Leonard Cohen Covers

Previously unreleased. 4 tracks. One of which is a rarity from a 1973 live album called Live Songs. Link here.

Tracks

1. The Old Revolution
2. Lady Midnight
3. Tonight Will Be Fine
4. Passing Through
   

The new wallpaper.

I've been carrying a rather old design for a few weeks and its time for a change. Here is my latest wallpaper.

What's wrong with the world?

I need to share short list of items... First this YouTube video. I can't believe people get this produced or have someone buy into it. Is it ridiculous or genius?



This piece of news ha to be the most absolutely alarming news in quite a long time. This is some insane story about a father who kept his daughter locked up for over 20 years and repeatedly raped her. The details are gruesome.

On the polar opposite side you have events like the Coney Island Mermaid Day.

Lastly, the "coolest" bit for this post. Feast your eyes on this dope video put out by her majesty of swans. Wanderlust.

Avicultural Curse

Jeez. It's not even 9am yet and oddities have begun. This morning while driving to work I was the murderer of a brown crow. I was driving south on 142 ave and I saw the bird swoop in front of my car and for a split second it hovered in front of me. It stared me in the eye and suddenly, as if it were tired, it gave up flying and it thudded against my windshield. I can vividly see it in my mind's eye. I looked back but there was no trace of the brown swooper. How freaking weird.

Thought that was weird? I've single-handedly killed about 4 birds while driving (that I can remember). What does this mean? Is this the normal frequency for bird vehicular homicide??

Just saw Lucas after many many years...

2AM. Monday morning. I'm on the couch watching Lucas.

Where do I begin? How about some background. It was released in 1986. The world had just been introduced to Nintendo. The Bangles, Prince, INXS, Berlin, OMD, Stevie Nicks and Bon Jovi just to name a few of the other influences in pop culture. Not that everything hinges on that and I don't want to rathole this post.

The cast was a young one. Corey Haim, Kerri Greene, Charlie Sheen, Winona Ryder, and Jeremy Piven all starred here. The movie, in case you haven't seen it, is about a 14 year old nerdy kid (Corey Haim) who meets Maggie (Kerri Greene) and falls in love with her. He is driven by science and love and their correlation. It's funny, whatever makes him feel insecure he relates to superficiality - says, "thats superficial," "my parents are supeficial," "football players are superficial," etc. When school starts, she's the new girl and meets several people among them Cappie (Charlie Sheen) who plays for the school football team. Maggie and Cappie fall in love and Lucas is heartbroken and does whatever he can to impress her. After he understands they are together it no longer becomes about them too but about him proving himself to the school. So at a football game where the school is losing he goes out into the field after harrassing the coach.

This is the epic scene in the movie. He is left wide open near the goal. He catches the ball but drops it, there is a fumble, the opposing team takes the ball and he grabs on to the runningback for several yards. There is a tackle and he is severely wounded. The whole school is like OMGWTF and he is sent to the hospital. When he returns to school he finds a football jacket inside his locker and when he turns around everyone cheers him on. All the while everyone made fun of him, doubted him, and his devoutful moment of courage wins him a campus wide cheer in the middle of the hall way right in front of his locker. THE END.

Anyhow, I felt a responsiblity to post. The movie inspired me because I remembered what I felt like when i was that old. I remembered my own tribulations as a teenager and what great things I've experienced since. The scenery in the movie reminded me of my time in Gainesville, FL at UF. The train tracks. The importance of the football team. Driving in the middle of the night on dark roads. White people. Going to parties, etc. This also made me remember of times where I was more inspired in life than I am today - moments where I was actively pursuing higher education with a goal I could pride myself too. The moments I've found most inspiring is when I'm travelling. My first time in Boston was inspiring. Travelling to New York proved there would always be new goals. Seeing Spain showed me life can be simple and simplicities can also satisfy. Gallivanting in Italy showed me many beautiful things I never thought I would see, and in the presence of love simultaneously. Indulging in England showed me how great a musical experience can be, and how strong and precious certain relationships can be. So I guess you'd say I travel for education. My college graduation was good but lacked somethign and I can't put my finger on it right now... Today I am employed and feel that the volume of education that I'm receiving has narrowed. Not to say that I don't enjoy what I do, but that obviously there is a more stimulating and appealing life that I am not engaged in. I suppose this is a reminder to myself to keep breathing, mind my backbone, and never give up.

What's sad is that present day movies don't deliver the emotions films like these did. Granted they were different times and we were different people. Heck, I was 7 years old. Needless to say, I still think that an inspiring honest film is left to be desired within today's releases. I am hopeful however...

I should go to bed. This is becoming a rant. Anyway, this is also a feeling I haven' felt in years: waking up in the middle of the night and watching a movie to its entirety and being floored. I think the last movie I felt that with was House of Spirits. Anyway, goodnight.

Playing the Mario Brothers theme with an RC car and carefully arranged bottles

Nuff said!

The Walkmen and Spoon in Ft. Lauderdale Concert - Miami, FL - April 16, 2008

So I bought my tickets weeks ago after a good friend of mine sent the alerting email. I have to say that it's been months since I've listened to either of these bands. i didn't know what to expect. I mean I'm 28 years old now. I think the first time I saw the Walkmen was about five years ago. I was 23. Being 23 and being 28 are two totally !@#$&*. I saw some old friends, some dear, some disdained.

Anyhow, we got there just as the opening band, White Rabbit, was playing. I was pleasantly surprised with them. I believe there were five members in the band and I could see how their music fits in a place where the Walkmen and Spoon are headlining. (Until I arrived, I didn't know which the headlining band was.)

The venue was Revolution which was once known as The Chili Pepper which was once known as The Edge. I've seen many bands here: Pennywise, NOFX, KMFDM, Bad Religion, and several others but those were the most memorable times that I can remember right now. I've seen people walk out with bloody noses. I've seen people jump off the second floor. I myself have been backstage during an act and have stage dived on numerous occassions. The place is very different now. Sure it still has its intimate corners and carries sound very well. It also almost guarantees a good viewing experience from most spots. My biggest gripe was all the Camel cigarettes advertising. It was over the top. There are "art pieces" for Camel cigarettes everywhere. I couldn't believe it when I placed my Stella on a display that had Camel paraphenelia beneath it just so that I could tie my shoe. As I tied my shoe the Camel promoter guys said to me, "hey does this look like a coaster to you?" I couldn't fucking believe it. Anyhow, I felt bad for all the kids who don't know a less commercialized concert like I do.

The Walkmen sounded tired and the only thing they told the crowd was they stayed at a shitty hotel called "The Premier" in Ft. Lauderdale. I think this was the trigger of their sluggish performance. The singer looked like he was trying really hard and I appreciate that, I think we all do. The drummer was also enjoying himself it seemed, but the rest of the band was a little tired.

The best part anyway was was during a silent moment I yelled "Rue the Day" which is one of my favorite songs from their first album and they closed their set with it. They also said "this is for the gentlemen in the front with the request." I was joyed, I was surprised, I was amused, I am thankful.

The Walkmen have three records that I'm aware of. Their first one is my favorite.

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Walkmen - Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Now Gone

I've decided to leave Spoon out of this review. Or actually, fine. Here's my review. They have some catchy tunes. I really enjoy how they use the bass and keyboard as a leading instruments - that really sets their mood. The vocals are what is expected but also deserved and complements the music well as intended. They're also older and uglier than I imagined. Anyhow, my favorite Spoon record is a tie between "Girls Can Tell" and "Gimme Fiction." They're a Chicago born band which makes me think if I live in Chicago I'd hear more music that is derivative of their sound. Is that a bullshit assumption? I hope so. Actually you would expect it so. Chicago is well known for being a city full of art, culture, wind, and segregated neighborhoods or well defined boundaires of neighborhoods. Hey no jab at the city. It's one of my favorites.

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Spoon - Girls Can Tell

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Spoon - Gimme Fiction

The Best Whiskey I Know -- Glenmorangie Single Malt Whiskey

Now it's 8 hours, 2 Advil Gelcaps, and 1 Pint of Brita filetered water later... I've waken up feeling like a highlander (or whatever that means).

This post is a tribute to the 10 year old single highland malt scotch whiskey -- Glenmorangie. I first discovered this malt at a liquor store when looking for something to bring to a friend's party where we were all asked to dress fancy and bring drink or food. Since then I purchased it last summer when travelling to Toronto, and just last night at the club I had two doubles.

THE FLAVOR is unlike any other whiskey that I've tried. They don't call it a "malt scotch" for nothing. The flavor itself has the weight of a malt syrup - but I wouldn't say its a sweet liquor. It goes down as quick as gasoline but. I know that sounds terrible but I can't describe how quickly and easily it goes down. No hesitation and no struggle.


Right now, this is my favorite whiskey. Now i'm going back to sleep. The headache anyway is due to lack of water -- not that its a bad drink.

Ok. I'm out.

Fungi killing ants, bad dreams, and my balance going shallow...

I woke up in the middle of the night after a bad dream. I'm not sure I want to discuss it here. Basically it involved one of my family members getting hurt. That kind of dream is no fun and I can't get to bed since.

I noticed I had a text from my bank with an alert that my balance was below a specified amount I had once specified. So i went online to check it out. Then I logged into my gmail and found that my best friend had sent me this email. I saw the video and it spooked me out. The direction makes it very dark. So alongsie my dream, my balance, and being awake at 4:57am, this is kinda weird.

Seal Hunting

WARNING: This may be difficult for sensitive people to watch.

A friend of a friend was given the opportunity to document this to generate awareness.
This is just messed up. IMO, there is no need to be in that business.

LCD Sound System - Sound of Silver

I discovered this record after surfing myspace profiles for a couple hours. I began to hear some of these tracks at the local clubs. It wasn't "the jam," people weren't spinning on the floor. I bet no one had even rendered a first drop drop of sweat while this was playing. Thats funny. Who the hell says your time at a club can be measured by how long it takes you to sweat. I just think thats bizarre.

Anyhow, I really like two songs on this record: Someone Great and All My Friends. To my luck the tracks are sequential ones. All My Friends was the first track that stuck to me because it reminded me of The Who's Baba O'Riley(you can listen to it here). LCDS's Wiki classifies them as "dance punk," I don't entirely agree with that but they are definitely something you can consider dancing to and I wouldn't be surprised if these tracks appeared on the next coming of age film or some hip new TV show. I can see how some can see that as degrading - not intentional. All My Friends has depth in some ways, at least a personal one to me.

It's not entirely clear to me what is on the cover art. If anyone knows, please share below.

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LCD Sound System - Sound of Silver

The Pope has a pretty badass background.

Forwarded from reddit.com

16 weeks of not smoking.

Check out this Tobacco Free Florida site. It's helping spread awareness. There's a YouTube video in there with some scary facts, check it out.

For shits and giggles I decided to count one more time and today marks 16 weeks. Thats 112 days. Imagine I would have smoked on average 5 cigarettes a day. That would add up to 560 cigarettes since I've quit. I would have needed to buy 28 packs to fulfill this quantity. At an average of $4 a pack, I have thus far saved $112.

More importantly, they say that each cigarette that you smoke is an hour of your life that you have removed. I'm not sure how truthful that is, but if its correct that means I have saved 560 hours. Thats 23 days of my life.

No matter how much money I make or save, I can never make up time. If the correlation is each cigarette is one minute, then thats 560 minutes which is almost 9.5 hours. Thats still a good chunk of time.

This is extremely encouraging. My weight has not suffered either. They say you eat more. I still weigh the same. Maybe the working out ha to do with it. Anyhow, this is just a journal entry for myself. A reminder.

The Viagra from Nicaragua

My best friend is Nicaraguan and he decided to visit his dad whom he hadn't seen in many many years. Now that he's a grown man I guess his dad wanted to show him what being a man was all about. I leave this to you the viewer... :D

Albero

I kinda just crashed into this name this morning (over a Google Talk status from an undisclosed buddy). I Google'd the name and found a bunch of cool stuff. Check these out.

• Persia
• Nice snow capped tree
• Interesting award-winning Italian movie
• Albero sounds like arbol -- I guess it's a tree thing. ;-)

Who likes trees? Raise your hand!

Earth Hour

On March 29th at 8PM turn your lights off for one whole hour. Millions of people around the world will do the same to make a statement about climate change and the environment.

www.earthhour.org

Saturday's Top 10

Behold, Saturday and the first weekend of Spring. Have an umbrella. Although when May comes around make sure to be outside for the first shower. My mom always said this brings good luck!

The list, and btw readers, this is the order that I find them, not a personal ranking system. This time I got carried away past 10 -- consider it making up for lack of attention to the blog and loss of frequency in posting.

1. Mike Giant "Kundalini" (Boobs, Serpents, the Written Word all in Sharpie)
2. Their's still hope for you old schoolers. Save Polaroid.
3. I would like a new phone.
4. I would like a point and click new camera or a medium format DSLR.
5. Am I the only person who thinks its weird to take your laptop to a bar?
6. Eating before and after excercise.
   
7. Cool site with Hubble space photos and here's a large cat's eye nebula photo.
   
8. Custom Moleskins!
9. First person to buy me this belt gets upgraded to thoughtful friend status.
10. Pretty girls.
11. A collection of last suppers.
12. What's amazing is that every comment on this page is that of priase. I found it to be rather gross. I can however see how it's interesting to behave this way and have the ability to do so at this age without your family getting in the way I mean WTF!
13. First shots of Snake Eyes on the upcoming GI Joe flick.

Crystal Castles

For some this is the new cutting-edge "thrash" dance piece. I call it the next background music applicable for several scenarios, film, or something to bob your head and relax - maybe with some lunch - maybe while you balance your checkbook or drive early in the morning with no desire to put your brain past first gear. Oh yeah, they're Toronto based for those of you who think thats important.

I have to mention their execution in 8-bit Atari/Nintendo sounds. Yeah they're in here. Run away if this brings you to regurgitation. Some people have hate and some people have a great fondness for the classic sound that once upon a time made days go faster and more enjoyable. The former however feel it bastardizes the 8-bit days or just dont' care. I can dig it. The only other performer that has implemented this where I enjoyed it I think was Beck in some bootleg album he has which maybe I'll post about later on (especially if anyone asks for it).

My favorite song in here and that keeps me listening is called "Magic Spells." It reminds me of Boards of Canada for some reason. I'd love to hear about it if anyone agrees with this correlation.

Enjoy this.

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Crystal Castles

Boris - Smile

First of all, I really enjoy this band. Most of their work, maybe all of it. I'm sure of that actually.

Boris is a Japanese band that sings in Japanese and plays in badass. Their portfolio of work contains records that can happily put me to sleep or build up something more visceral...(see: Akuma No Uta, Dronevil, Mabuta No Ura). In the same light they can wake me up and make me with their encouraging methods in particular as from their stoner metal album Heavy Rocks.

Smile is a little different with more vocals and more non-traditional sounds. It almost pushes them towards something smelling like what a noobish alternative metal band would want to do. It's almost like they're on the edge. They almost lost me on a few tracks to be honest. Their's an element of rawness from some of those other records I mentioned that is missing. At the same time theirs a distinct degree of honesty in the music for this one and I give them credit for that. To me this means they have balls.

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Boris - Smile