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June 29, 2006
All Up On Da Blog
An early baby name favorite is Samuel. We'd call him Sam. Middle name? No idea.
I'm wondering how much MySpace affects potential Chattablogs traffic. Diversity and numbers seem lower than ever around here, and I'm wondering if the urge to cavort with 14 year-old girls is just too overwhelming. I have a MySpace page, but I don't do much with it.
11 in a row for the Red Sox. And they did it by pounding Pedro on his first trip back, no less.
My dad sent me another stack of New Haven Advocates. Thanks, dad.
Production on the OTOH DVD is nearing the homestretch. 99 percent of the clips for the main video are in place. All that's left is color/audio tweaking, menu creation and commentary recording. While it won't (obviously) be done this month as planned, it should be done in July with time to spare. Woo-hoo!
As I excise many of the VHS tapes from my house, I have no started making DVDs of the complete collection of taped episodes of Chris Elliott's Get a Life that I obtained from a guy on the Web a few years back. Yes, an acquired taste, I know, but I just flat-out love that show.
I hate the word "hipster." (Just thought I'd mention it.)
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CURRENT DIVERSIONS:
LISTENING: Aloha - Some Echoes
READING: New Haven Advocate back issues
WATCHING: YouTube for clips like this...
Posted by colrus at 11:22 AM | TrackBack
June 27, 2006
NBC's "The Office" 20-Second Promo Contest
NBC and YouTube are taking entries through July 21 for a 20-second promo contest for NBC's "The Office." They provide moving graphics and theme music, you provide the rest. (No footage from the show can be used.) The promo will be shown on NBC in August.
I think I'm going to enter.
Posted by colrus at 04:34 PM | TrackBack
June 23, 2006
Prepare to Have Your Head Rocked Right Off
This evening, at the quaint, little, FREE AND AWESOME MUSIC SERIES WE HAVE EACH YEAR AT MILLER PLAZA, Austin's own Junior Brown will be exhibiting skills that made me ask once long ago, and I quote, "Holy crap! Who is that?"
If you at all value virtuosity in your musicians -- and are the least bit intrigued in hearing someone well-versed in both old school country and Hendrix-esque guitar pyrotechnics -- I encourage you check out the show.
Junior goes on at 8 p.m. The opening act starts at 7.
And, oh yeah, did I mention it's free?
Here's a Gap ad Junior and his wife appeared in during the '90s:
Posted by colrus at 02:27 PM | TrackBack
June 22, 2006
Devo doing "Satisfaction" on SNL
I'm sorry, but this clip is pretty much perfect -- right down to the Fred Willard (with Red Sox jacket) intro.
Posted by colrus at 01:59 AM | TrackBack
June 19, 2006
Find the Kos of Freedom
Yes, I believe in blogging as an important tool for public discourse and information exchange. But Matt Labash's piece on the recent YearlyKos Convention was quite entertaining.
Kos doesn't even like doing media. When you see him chatting with the New York Times (which reported he had a media coach) or going on Meet the Press or doing a photo shoot in the halls of the Riviera, sure, he looks like he's kind of enjoying it. But reluctantly. He said as much on his blog the other day. He said, "The media glare is not something I crave." And I think he means it. After all, he said it in a diary entry that was facetiously titled "It's all about me." It was 1,100 words long, painstakingly analyzed his media coverage, and was all about him.
Posted by colrus at 02:34 PM | TrackBack
June 15, 2006
It's (Gonna Be) a Boy!
This is an ultrasound of our soon-to-be-born SON.
He is very healthy and we are VERY, VERY happy.
Of course, EVERYBODY expected a girl, so we haven't given much thought to any boy names.
So...
I am officially taking suggestions.
Feel free to post as many as you can think of below.
In case you're wondering, Melissa said no to Nat King Colrus.
Posted by colrus at 10:39 AM | TrackBack
June 11, 2006
A Homey from Back in the Day
Tim and his girlfriend Patty came to Chattanooga this weekend. Melissa and I took them on the obligatory Sweet Basil/Clumpie's/Walnut Street Bridge/Art District tour while catching up on old times. We also caught a few notes of Riverbend at the UnumProvident stage.
Tim and Melissa and I went to high school together in Madison, Connecticut. Tim and I graduated in 1992. (Melissa graduated the year after.) While we've managed to stay in touch over the years, Tim and I hadn't seen each other since the fall of 1995 when we went to see Phish at the New Haven Coliseum during one of his breaks from the Air Force.
Tim and I were quite odd while in high school. For example: One Friday night, for no reason, the two of us (and our friend Mike) drove from my house in Madison to the Vince Lombardi rest stop in New Jersey -- some two-plus hours away. We ate some burgers and drove home. I still don't know why we went.
We also spent a few days in NYC during Spring Break one year, spending a night at a comedy club and an afternoon at the Museum of Broadcasting, which features free access to virtually every TV show and commercial ever aired.
Also amongst our stops while walking around the city was the World Trade Center. I think we used the bathroom before leaving after deciding an elevator ride to the observation deck was just too expensive. We eventually took the train home from Grand Central.
Good times.
Patty was nice and we had fun evening. Hopefully it won't be another 11 years before we see each other again.
Posted by colrus at 02:57 AM | TrackBack
June 09, 2006
Bush's Poll Numbers Might Be Low, But Bush Doesn't Care Because Bush Can't Run for President Again and other fun facts...
Zarqawi was killed. Call me old fashioned, but when a terrorist leader who murders innocent people (including his own countrymen) is taken out, my first instinct is to smile.
I know, I know... WE are the real terrorists, and I mustn't let my excitement on this occasion of our military's success cloud my moral outrage. I must be outraged at all times and, when I am not outraged, I must argue with others -- who are also outraged -- as to the best methods to show our collective outrage and take this country back from those who don't seem quite so outraged.
Politics. The upcoming elections should be interesting. While the Democrats are still trying to find themselves, the Republicans are looking for the lowest common denominator issue (gay marriage? dang, didn't work...) to rally their base -- a base that, obviously, isn't fooled by this manuever.
Both major political parties are perpetually guilty of this fakey tactic, a tactic which I firmly believe shows that both care far more about gaining/regaining/keeping power than they do -- despite their platitudes otherwise -- about the country as a whole.
If there was some kind of pledge I could sign vowing to never to join either as long as I live, I'd sign it today. I'll be polite (well, mostly), and am willing to listen to anybody's ideas, but I have NEVER, EVER so loved being politically independent in my entire life.
I don't know why you sent me the copy of Oxford American, but thank you. It's a good issue, and it's always nice to get surprises in the mail.
Work continues on the OTOH DVD. The next editing session at the Lazy Bear bunker will take place next Tuesday. I am working on a few segments at home in the meantime, including the music video for "The East Ridge Song." I'd offer it up to Bailes as a campaign theme, but I think it would prove counterproductive. I enhanced the audio (read: added slight reverb) yesterday, and may (due to repeated requests) make the mp3 available for download next week.
The idea of a viewing party to celebrate the DVD's "release" is being bandied about right now. Maybe just a "friends and family" of the show kind of thing. Maybe we can even get Megs to sing his Valentine's Day song. I'm still shooting for a late June completion date. We're getting close to completion.
Posted by colrus at 01:26 AM | TrackBack
You Gave Me a Bad Tip
Contemporary Christian recording artist Phil Driscoll was convicted on three counts of tax evasion today.
I waited on Mr. Driscoll once while I worked at 212 Market. He gave me a terrible tip.
Posted by colrus at 12:33 AM | TrackBack
June 08, 2006
Dixie Chick Audiences: Long Time Gone
So, it seems ticket sales are down for the Dixie Chicks this year. I don't know what to say except that, like Natalie, America is also not ready to make nice.
Posted by colrus at 03:24 PM | TrackBack
June 07, 2006
Mp3-for-All
Here are some links to some mp3s that you might like:
From The Sugarplastic's stellar, out-of-print 1996 Geffen release, Bang! The Earth Goes Round:
...and the song that made me fall in love with the band:
(Thanks to I'm Guess I'm Floating for posting these.)
From Yo La Tengo's upcoming full-length, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass:
From King Crimson's August 5, 1982 show at Place de Nations in Montreal:
"Neurotica" (One my faves from '80s era Crimson material.)
From Mike Keneally's August 5, 2000 show in San Diego:
"Mexican Radio" (Great, though somewhat lo-fi, cover of the Wall of Voodoo hit.)
Posted by colrus at 11:00 PM | TrackBack
Lord T. and Eloise: Aristocratic Rap Drops in M-Town
This is Maurice Eloise XIII. His true identity must remain anonymous for now, but let's just say that he's a former co-worker of mine who is now part of an aristocratic rap duo (maybe the first-ever?) from Memphis called Lord T. and Eloise.
And I thought my side projects were out there...
Click here to visit their site and hear some of their work.
Amazing. Simply amazing.
Posted by colrus at 12:22 PM | TrackBack
June 06, 2006
Judge Rules Bloggers Not Liable for Libelous Commenters
From Law.com:
Bloggers cannot be hit with libel suits on the basis of anonymous postings on their Web sites because federal law grants them immunity by explicitly stating that they cannot be treated as the "publisher" of such comments, a federal judge has ruled.In his 22-page opinion in DiMeo v. Max, U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell held that the pre-emption clause of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act -- a provision that remains intact despite court rulings that struck down some of its key provisions -- effectively "overrides the traditional treatment of publishers under statutory and common law."
Posted by colrus at 09:14 AM | TrackBack
Oh, the Fun!
It's so great to be back in the blogosphere. I've been so busy lately that I've been neglecting my carefully crafted Web persona. But no more! I -- of the overly dramatic blog header at the top of the page -- am back to reel off some more crazed thoughts before I forget them.
Bill Hobbs dug my citizen journalism piece. Though I'm not convinced he would have even read it if he wasn't quoted in it.
The new John Stossel book is quite good. Despite the opinions of the gentleman who E-mailed me (unsolicited) to tell me that Stossel is a pathological liar. To each his own, I suppose.
Did you know that hate speech is recognized as such in virtually every conceivable situation EXCEPT when the targets of said hate speech are conservative Christians? To hate them these days, you see, is socially acceptable. And often politically advantageous. It's also regularly viewed, in a sick way, as "tolerance." Wanna watch a diehard liberal's head explode? Accuse them of hate speech. Even better, call the ACLU on them.
The arrest of SEVENTEEN TERRORISTS (HELLO!!!) in Canada has led to investigations in seven other countries, including Great Britain, where "no fewer than 1,200 Islamist terrorists are biding their time within British suburbs." No comment. That's just a lot of terrorists.
All but one of my nieces and nephews are now over 21 years of age. My niece Joy turned 21 last week. (Happy Birthday, Girlfriend!!!) It's very odd being the uncle of more than person who can legally drink. What's even weirder is that I've been an uncle since 1980.
I just successfully, for the first time in my life, rearranged our linen closet. My wife will be thrilled, as my lack of talent in the "folding things" department is quite legendary. While it doesn't look perfect, it looks A LOT better than it did. Besides, I had to do SOMETHING while the Red Sox were getting pounded at Yankee Stadium.
I am in simplification mode these days. I'm wanting to sell, throw away or give away anything I don't really need. With the baby coming, I feel like it would be wise to have more room to breathe -- no matter where it is we wind up living.
Tonight, for example, I spent an hour going through ALL of my CDs and filled up yet ANOTHER bag of stuff to take to McKay's. I just don't need all this stuff. And we could use a few extra bucks in the vacation fund.
I don't know. This simplification process, I guess, is part of a bigger shift in my life. I've noticed that my interest in pop culture wanes more and more each day. My wants have changed. I'm sick of living for me. I'm not amused by the same things I once was, I don't laugh at the same jokes I used to and I find myself increasingly interested in taking creative risks. I need to take advantage of my willingness to be bold and seek out opportunities to rock the boat.
Posted by colrus at 01:13 AM | TrackBack