http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Tue, 28 Sep 2004 02:08:00 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/09/28/020800.php Brendan CreecyI just purchased U2's new single, "Vertigo" from iTunes (link goes to iTunes music store). It's pretty amazing. I've heard many people lately saying that they don't like U2's newer music, some even saying everything post-Joshua Tree is rubbish. I would have to disagree, but if you're in this camp, "Vertigo" will be music to your ears. It definitely hearkens back to the War era of the group, maybe with a little bit of a garage sound thrown in. I love it. The bass line is very catchy, The Edge does an excellent job on the guitar, and Bono lets the lyrics flow. If this is even a hint of what the rest of the new album sounds like, fans and semi-fans alike should be quite excited. Music20361@blogcritics.org Tue, 28 Sep 2004 02:08:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/09/19/094705.php Brendan CreecyU2 - Interference.comI've been kind of out of the loop on U2 news lately, so I was glad to hear that their new album is on the way this fall. The title is "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." Sounds good to me. It was previously reported that the title of their new album would be "Vertigo," but that is actually the title of the first single. We'll probably be hearing a lot more about this in the coming months. Music19996@blogcritics.org Sun, 19 Sep 2004 09:47:05 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/09/18/115206.php Brendan CreecyIn a follow-up to Jeremy Chrysler's post last week about the inaccuracies of the polls since they do not call people with cell phones, I posted this over at my site:Newsday.com: Jimmy BreslinApparently, pollsters don't call cell phones. There are 169 million cell phone users in the U.S. A large chunk of these users are younger people (voters) who don't have a land line. I'm pretty sure if this is true that this would make the polls grossly inaccurate. I can name at least 10 of my close friends who no longer have a land line. We'll see where this goes. If anyone has more info, feel free to post. I found this article over at the Electoral Vote predictor. Maybe they'll have more information in the coming days. The author of the site is saying that if this information is correct, the polls aren't accurate and therefore the information he gives on his site is not accurate. Politics19968@blogcritics.org Sat, 18 Sep 2004 11:52:06 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/09/18/043824.php Brendan CreecyHello from China! It's a pleasure to be a part of the Blogcritics team. Living in China has been great for many reasons, but one of the biggest has been the abundance of DVDs. One of my first purchases was Zatoichi, a film by Takeshi Kitano. I had heard many good things about the movie and I am a fan of the television series and previous films. Kitano proves himself once again as an Auteur. He wrote, directed, edited, and starred in this film. Like many of Kitano's other films, Zatoichi is quite violent. One of my initial complaints about the film was that the blood was very fake looking thanks to the CGI. According to the IMDB page, Kitano did this intentionally, wanting to "soften the shock to the audience" due to the high body count. Kitano told the CGI artist he wanted the blood to "look like flowers blossoming across the screen." That makes sense to me. Some might be quick to label this film as a standard Japanese gore-fest, but Kitano did so much more than that. Yes, the violence is there, but there is also much beauty in the film. The scenery is beautiful and well shot. Music plays a key role. One of my favorite scenes was a sequence that used a group of farmers as a percussion section, a la Stomp. This could easily have come off as cheesy, but it was executed very well. Kitano breathes new life into this timeless tale. I highly recommend it.As I said, I'm happy to be a part of the Blogcritics team. I'm looking for suggestions on Asian films to watch and review, so feel free to comment with your favorites or any films you might be curious about. Video19960@blogcritics.org Sat, 18 Sep 2004 04:38:24 EDT