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 Sat, 26 Feb 2005 16:03:41 EST 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/2005/02/26/160341.php Jim Carruthers"Google Hacks, Second Edition" is a particularly useful book for many BlogCritics. It provides a how-to approach to doing useful, interesting, and somewhat silly things with Google, the syntax, scripting, the API, GMail and Adwords. With its spare interface, many people overlook a lot of what Google can do.For many BlogCritics, the most useful sections will probably be using Google search syntax, incorporating Google CGI scripts into your site, and learning how to make most effective use of AdWords and Pagerank. Much of the advice in this section comes down to common sense, create good content, and the web will find it. The section on localizing content, and providing searches relevant to your blog are really helpful at solving problems, which is often overlooked in many computer books.As with other O'Reilly books, this is a useful resource, however, since it deals with Google and the web, many of the hacks have a limited life-span. You can get more information about this book at O'Reilly, which also includes the source code for many of the scripts used in the book. Sci/Tech26035@blogcritics.org Sat, 26 Feb 2005 16:03:41 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/25/193618.php Jim CarruthersThere was a time you'd be watching "Wonderfalls" right now. But it didn't happen, because broadcast television isn't about bringing interesting programming to an audience, but about selling an audience to advertisers.And "Wonderfalls" doesn't have a lot good to say about sheer, grasping commerce or at least the mouth-breathers who assistant-manage it.The series is now available on DVD thanks in large part to their net-enabled fanbase at www.savewonderfalls.com. The three-disc set in a nice slip-case features all 13 'sodes which were shot and in the order they were intended in what is a clear arc.The series is a magic-realism story set in a Niagara Falls which doesn't exist. While the story is told in NF, USA, the series was shot in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Toronto, Canada, with a largely Canadian cast.The set includes commentaries on six 'sodes, plus a "making of", "visual effects doc" and the music video of the theme song by Andy Partridge.The commentaries are really illuminating about how a teevee series gets to be made with details such as dialogue scenes which are weeks and hundreds of kilometres apart."Wonderfalls" is one of those series which probably was too good for teevee, and a certain indication that DVD sets like this are a strong commercial alternative to declining networks.The three discs include 13 'sodes in widescreen, and you can spend many hours just freeze-framing Caroline Dhavernas' incredibly expressive face (oh, is that just me? well, nevermind).If you are into dead-pan humour, magic-realism, and a romantic story which isn't at all mushy, this is the best souvenir of Niagara Falls you can get. Video26010@blogcritics.org Fri, 25 Feb 2005 19:36:18 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/21/175125.php Jim Carruthers "That power of conviction is a hard thing for any writer to sustain, and especially so once he becomes aware of it. ...It is not just a writer's crisis, but they are the most obvious victims because the function of art is supposedly to bring order out of chaos, a tall order even when the chaos is static, and a superhuman task in a time when chaos is multiplying." Hunter S. Thompson, "What lured Hemingway to Ketchum?"I was surprised at how affected I was at this news, seeing it on the front page of the newspaper this morning. HST inspired me to do many crazy things as a young man, and inspired me to write. He revealed the man behind the curtain in the sausage factory which passes for journalism in NorthAm. For the last decade he has been a puppet show, yet a potent reminder at how irrelevant journalism has become, a plastic shell which seems to convey information, like settling for the mask is enough.At some point over the last 30 years, journalism became divorced from writing, and in the last five years, as the chaos has increased, become even more meaningless. There's plenty of information, but no writing, no insight, no meaning.Saying journalism has lost something is like saying soap operas lost a talent when Brando died or what jingle writers lost with Warren Zevon. But at least there is still the writing. We have ways to make you talk / You won't like at all / If you can't run, walk / If you can't walk crawl / But don't look down / It's a long fall / -- You're A Whole Different Person When You're Scared (written by Warren Zevon & Hunter S. Thompson) Books25811@blogcritics.org Mon, 21 Feb 2005 17:51:25 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/20/171142.php Jim CarruthersIn the music industry, the term "artist" is often flung around to provide the illusion of depth to what is an artificially flavored and colored product. After more than 30 years, The Residents are one of the few who really deserve to be called artists.The Residents have made art using music, electronics, theatre, experimental film, computer graphics and animation, video games, and some rare public performances. "Icky Flix" is a DVD retrospective of their career with 17 video clips being re-released. But that's not all, their home base of The Cryptic Corporation wanted more, so The Residents recorded new music for all of the pieces and includes 4 new videos, and videos adapted from their CD-Roms.Each track includes the option of the original recording or the new version, plus information about each track. With a running time of over three hours, this is both an excellent introduction to The Residents and a must-have for their cult and great value.Includes: The Third Reich 'N' Roll Constantinople One Minute Movies Kick A Picnic Songs For Swinging Larvae He Also Serves This Is A Man's Man's World Harry The Head The Gingerbread Man (Concentrate) Jelly Jack the Boneless Boy Just For You (Disfigured Night pt 7) Stars and Stripes Forever Where Is She? Burn Baby Burn Hello Skinny Bad Day on the Midway (Concentrate) Vileness Fats (Concentrate) Video25753@blogcritics.org Sun, 20 Feb 2005 17:11:42 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/16/225706.php Jim CarruthersI don't care that much about hockey, especially the business of the NHL, but I'm watching "The National", and you got an interview with #99, Wayne Gretsky, and he looks likes a hostage being interviewed by Pastor Mansbridge, and right after the interview feed, you got Don Cherry and Mansbridge talking about how beat up Gretsky looked and sounded. And they were being nice, he looked abused.Pathetic. Maybe they should send Walter in to settle all this foolishness. Sports25613@blogcritics.org Wed, 16 Feb 2005 22:57:06 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/13/002318.php Jim CarruthersRegarding tonight's SNL performance, does Pat Benetar look amazing or what?!Hell is for children indeed... Video25442@blogcritics.org Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:23:18 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/08/173751.php Jim CarruthersIt loses a lot in translation, but former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien admitted he treasured the balls of both Bill Clinton and G.W. Bush, among others.Okay, they were golf balls, and he was trying to justify spending public money on golf balls with his name on them.But you really need to hear the testimony to get the full fark of it (the CBC has the audio, but it's 30 minutes but, you really need to hear it for the full funny). The list included two American presidents named Bush, former President Bill Clinton, and former Vice President Al Gore. The final ball was a gift from the law firm Ogilvie Renault, which employs former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Gomery commission counsel Bernard Roy and Gomery's daughter. Politics25275@blogcritics.org Tue, 8 Feb 2005 17:37:51 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/07/181337.php Jim CarruthersOkay, even though it's implied in the fine print on the copyright page, chances are, you won't void your warranty using anything in this book. So, if you're worried about waking up naked in the zoo, go ahead and read it. And if you want to wake up naked in the zoo, you don't need this book."Mind Hacks" by Tom Stafford and Matt Webb is a look at cognitive psychology, and like other "Hacks" books looks at the boundaries of what the system can do. Right from the start, they dispel the model of the brain and mind as a computer, with a great example, pour a beer into a human, pour a beer into a computer, which is still working?. The brain isn't a computer, but it does have particular modes of operation which we aren't consciously aware of, starting with the "blind spot".The book gives an introduction of what we know about the basic function of the brain and nervous system, and moves on to various tests and examples of where the boundaries are in our perception. Obviously since it is a book, it mostly focuses on visual, attention, memory and perception issues. If this becomes a best-seller, perhaps O'Reilly will issue a special edition with a vanilla cookie.This edition is a great example of how O'Reilly is moving beyond programmers, anybody who is involved in user experience would do well to read this book: graphic designers, copy writers, marketing people, bloggers, and so on. It is a great introduction to a very complex topic, entertaining and smoothly written. And you just may find out that half of everything you think you know is wrong, and yes, they tell you how you may fix it.The book is laden with links to examples and exercises, to get you started, go to http://hacks.oreilly.com Sci/Tech25237@blogcritics.org Mon, 7 Feb 2005 18:13:37 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/26/173131.php Jim CarruthersIt is a well known fact there are certain people who are sex on a stick, who, with a mere whisper could persuade you to burn down everything you have for one hot moment. Marianne Faithfull is one of those people, and she is living proof of concept.Her most recent album, "Before The Poison" is the latest addition to Anti Records being one of the greatest record labels of the 21st century by releasing albums from some of the greatest artists from the last one.What highlights this album is that Faithfull is recording songs from Nick Cave and P.J. Harvey, two songwriters inspired by Marianne Faithfull. This is one of those albums which you hear once, and you know you've heard a really good performance.On the official site, there is a insightful epk of the making of this album. Music24744@blogcritics.org Wed, 26 Jan 2005 17:31:31 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/01/24/185225.php Jim Carruthers"Wonderfalls" was one of the series discarded last year by Fox in their "non-scripted" search for instant ratings gratification. A critical favourite, the show earned a devoted following, based in part from the involvement of Tim Minear in BtVS and Angel. The show had a good cast, witty, sharp writing and much portions of the funny, the one thing the show didn't have was good ratings or a good time slot, and was deleted after four broadcasts. While it has been broadcast internationally, such as on Vision TV cable channel in Canada, the DVD offers many extras.Since then teevee studios have discovered the cream of DVD. Thirteen episodes were made for "Wonderfalls", and next week all of them, plus commentaries and extras will be available on a DVD box set.Fortunately, the creators of the series hedged their bets by writing an arc, and somewhat of a resolution over the eps with a couple of "floater" shows. The show centres around Jaye, a young woman (played by the wonderfully expressive Carolyne Dhavernas) who starts to get cryptic directions from inanimate animal figures. And she works in a tourist gift shop in Niagara Falls, surrounded by cute animal figures.Like "The Family Guy", "Firefly" and made for cable series such as "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Wonderfalls" is another addition to alternate distribution of television shows.You can find out more about the set here. Video24636@blogcritics.org Mon, 24 Jan 2005 18:52:25 EST