12 September 2009

THREE YEARS APPENDIX FREE!


To celebrate my third year without an appendix, I'm bringing you KNIGHTS OF CYDONIA. I caught this video late one night in the hospital. It was early morning, maybe 3am, and I the nurse had just taken my temperature and replaced my pain killer.

10 September 2009

Nuggets of wisdom from BIKESNOBNYC

"One of life's greatest challenges is finding a balance between adhering to your own beliefs and imposing them on others. "

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/

BEATLES Rock Band arrives in the nick of time...



Somehow between DEAR PRUDENCE and HERE COMES THE SUN I missed Joe Wilson's outburst. Man, I would've loved to have seen that live (because it affirms what I think of people like Joe Wilson) but I was hanging out on the rooftop of Abbey Road Studios.


The game is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Live action blends with stylized animation seamlessly. The menus have been streamlined, so getting straight to gameplay is much easier than on Rock Band 2. No bands to be created or bandmates to dress. No instruments to buy. Heidi and I halfway through the set at the Cavern Club within a half hour of opening the beautiful box. The Hofner looks amazing. Target had George's Rickenbacker on the shelf, but I felt guilty enough for dropping $250 on the game to begin with, so it'll have to wait. I expect it looks amazing as well. The drums are a nice upgrade from the other Rock Band drums. The differences aren't as noticeable as the details on the bass, but who cares? The drums are just going to get abused anyway.


The music is great. Song choice left a little to be desired, but I know the rest will be coming soon. I played for a few hours and got to the end of the Ed Sullivan Theater on story mode before jumping into Quickplay to play HERE COMES THE SUN a few times.


It's an amazing game. Nothing new here as far as gameplay goes. But we knew there wouldn't be, right? I get the impression that people who planned on getting were going to get it regardless. I'm still curious to see what sales figures for the special edition will be like.


Can't wait for Rock Band parties to resume when the weather cools. When I show off my mad drumming skills I'm doing it to try to get a little more love for Ringo.








09 September 2009

Amazon Accuses Someone Else of Monopolizing Bookselling

Amazon Accuses Someone Else of Monopolizing Bookselling

September 2, 2009. Amazon made it official today, filing a brief in the Google case claiming that someone else might gain a monopoly in bookselling. It seems we're compelled to state the obvious:

Amazon's hypocrisy is breathtaking. It dominates online bookselling and the fledgling e-book industry. At this moment it's trying to cement its control of the e-book industry by routinely selling e-books at a loss. It won't do that forever, of course. Eventually, when enough readers are locked in to its Kindle, everyone in the industry expects Amazon to squeeze publishers and authors. The results could be devastating for the economics of authorship.

Amazon apparently fears that Google could upend its plans. Amazon needn't worry, really: this agreement is about out-of-print books. Its lock on the online distribution of in-print books, unfortunately, seems secure.

The settlement would make millions of out-of-print books available to readers again, and Google would get no exclusive rights under the agreement. The agreement opens new markets, and that's a good thing for readers and authors. It offers to make millions upon millions of out-of-print books available for free online viewing at 16,500 public library buildings and more than 4,000 colleges and universities, and that's a great thing for readers, students and scholars. The public has an overwhelming interest in having this settlement approved.


http://authorsguild.org/advocacy/articles/amazon-accuses-someone-else-of-monopolizing.html

08 September 2009

Twin Six Shirt of the Month!


Got the email on the 6th, checked the site today and it was sold out. Looked pretty sweet too. Have to be a little quicker in October.

Ordered a few things from them. It's a small operation, but I like how they do business. Haven't seen a lot of cycling stuff that looks better than this.

http://www.twinsix.com/