Blogcritics Author: Cale Corbett

Review: Amazon Kindle - Books Were Just A 'Gateway Drug'!

Cale Corbett — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 06:14:47 EDT

Built-in wireless (called Whispernet) downloading is also free with purchase of the Kindle.
For those who may not know what the Amazon Kindle is, it is, in short, an eBook (electronic book) reader. eBooks provide users with the same content as dead-tree versions (with some exceptions on illustrations and footnotes, depending on the conversion). The Kindle, which sells for $359.00 on Amazon, is one of many such readers on the market....

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, 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.

Jonathan Coulter - The Nerd Folker

Cale Corbett — Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:18:16 EST

Oh man, I am buying a CD from this guy. You can listen to a couple of songs from his new album "Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow" in high-quality Quicktime streaming on his site jonathancoulter.com. After you have listened to the tracks, go ahead and buy a CD right from Jonathan himself. You know you will.The melody on his song "Millionaire Girlfriend" (from Smoking Monkey) sounds a lot like Dan Fogelberg and his lyrics are a cleaner version of the witty stuff you'd hear from Stephen Lynch.Dig deeper into his songs (also available on iTunes) and you will find even more wit and catchy pop hooks. You also find the occasionally well-placed naughty word. If you are fans of Barenaked Ladies, Stephen Lynch, and even Weird Al, then I suggest that you download his songs immediately and tell your friends.Standouts for me are:1. First of May 2. Christmas Is Interesting 3. Millionaire GirlfriendI emailed Jonathan last night and let him know that I was going to be posting a review of his songs on Blogcritics. That's when he informed me that due to massive exposure by Boing Boing, his hosting provider shut downloads off for the day yesterday. So when you do go to his site, tread lightly, mmm k?

Omaha. It's icky. A lot.

Cale Corbett — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:42:13 EDT

I cannot take credit for the origin of this catchy little blog entry title, but I can take credit (or blame) for the following contents:Omaha, somewhere in middle America (my apologies to the Counting Crows). For those fans of mine who are not familiar with it, let me paint you a picture. OK, get ready, here it is. Think overgrown cowtown festooned with "buy here pay here" car lots, constant road construction, frigid Antarctic winters, sticky Louisiana-like summers, beautiful autumns that last all of 15 minutes. There are about 20 jobs in the town that aren't either insurance or telemarketing company executives or low-paying "Would you like to Biggie size that" jobs. If you are a 25-45 year old technology professional, just keep driving. That's what I did. I spent almost 15 years of my life in Omaha after being dragged there by Uncle Sam during my Air Force days. It was small, quiet, fairly safe and an easy place to raise a kid or two. If you are looking for excitement, career advancement or direct flights to anywhere I would suggest that you keep driving. A dear friend of ours pestered and cajoled my wife and me absolutely buggy until we finally gave in and decided to pull up our roots (not that many really) and move west. Oh! I almost forgot one thing. Omaha has a great view of...wait for it...wait for it...Iowa! That's right. No mountains, no water (excepting the sewage-laden Missouri river), no breath-taking valleys or vistas. Just Council-fricking-Bluffs, Iowa.

Surly In A Hurry

Cale Corbett — Wed, 18 Aug 2004 22:38:17 EDT

So here I am in Salt Lake City, home of the world's largest Mormon (I am sure that is true, but no I haven't really checked.) Not too far from the Temple downtown is a small, mom and pop Indian food joint called "Curry In A Hurry." Well, I walk into this joint for the first time in my life because I hear from a few IT peers that they have the best curry on this side of town. One of the proprietors of this place - we shall call her Sushma - was standing behind the register with a perturbed look on her face. I figured after I said hello, flashed my Hollywood smile and began to order she would brighten up (or at least fake it for my benefit). I couldn't have been more wrong. By the looks of her, Sushma has had a continuous string of bad days since about April 3, 1965 or so. My questions about the menu were met with mostly monosyllabic grunts and finger-pointing at the menu. Never a smile, never a friendly gesture of any kind.How was the food, you ask? Well, I had the tandoori chicken, curry potatoes and rice with more curry sauce. The food was passable, reasonably tasty but not as complex as I am used to in a good curry sauce. I will probably be researching other Indian food joints in town before I go back.

Katie Melua - Call Off The Search

Cale Corbett — Mon, 28 Jun 2004 23:42:38 EDT

If you are searching for a talented, but rather soulless, clone of Norah Jones with influences from Ella Fitzgerald to Diana Krall, call off the search.If you want some sort of *feeling* with your jazz-pop keep on going. I listened to her album 3 times. I kept telling myself, "She sings really well, but she isn't grabbing me." The first time I heard Norah Jones, I was giddy. The first time I heard Dianna Krall, my pulse raced. Of course, the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald nearly makes me pass out. Katie Melua just makes me yawn.Highlights of the album:The Closest Thing to Crazy Blame It On The Moon

Jarhead

Cale Corbett — Mon, 21 Jun 2004 11:02:14 EDT

This book is a chronicle of one Marine's time spent in Saudi Arabia and Iraq during the First Gulf War in 1990-1991. First off, when you got to Amazon and research whether or not you wish to buy this book do NOT pay any attention to the reviews there. The bulk of them come from people questioning whether or not he was a good Marine or a "sh@tbird" (a perjorative term used by Marines to describe those who are not as "ate up" as they think they should be).I am a veteran of the First Gulf War who served in the United States Air Force. I was far enough back in the rear and late enough in the conflict that I did not face any combat or any real serious threat to my life other than driving in downtown Riyadh. In hindsight, I find out now that we might have been in more danger from domestic terrorists than we knew then, but that's not really the point.Anthony Swofford gives HIS account of his actions, his feelings, his surroundings and his memories of the conflict. Did he embellish one or two stories? Perhaps, but don't we all when we recount something that happened to us almost a decade and a half ago?If you want a riveting tale that reads very quickly and provides you an insight into the war you might not have from personal experience, pick it up.Even as a REMF (rear echelon mother f*cker) who didn't carry a gun during the war, I can certainly admit to being scared, confused, angst-ridden, and lonely during my months in the Desert. Swofford's book definitely took me back.

Bill O'Reilly's Attempt At Digital Revisionism

Cale Corbett — Wed, 9 Jun 2004 00:57:09 EDT

Bill O'Reilly trying to bury his Fresh Air (npr.org) interview. In October of last year, Terry Gross conducted an awesome interview with notorious GOP shill Bill O'Reilly. Now, O'Reilly, Mr. No Spin Zone himself, is withholding permission for NPR to air portions of the interview. A few days after the interview, he lambasted Ms. Gross and accused her of not interviewing him fairly.If you have any friends who care one whit about the world around them, cajole them daily until they listen to the interview. You want to hear a grown man storm out of a studio like a whiny child whose mother tells him he can't have Cap'n Crunch?

Lenny Kravitz - Baptism

Cale Corbett — Sun, 6 Jun 2004 15:55:38 EDT

Are you a fan of Lenny's early work like "Mama Said" and "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" If so, go pick up "Baptism." The standout tracks on the disc to me are "Minister of Rock 'n' Roll", "SistaMamaLover", and "Flash." These are the heaviest tracks of the album and the ones that sound the most like his earlier music. There is something comforting about the familiarity of the album. One of the guys I work with said, "I have heard this before and I like it." I agree and didn't feel that way about "5" or "Lenny", his two most recent efforts.