Fave Albums of 2008

Glasvegas-Glasvegas
Flight of the Conchords-S/T
Duke Spirit-Neptune
M83-Saturdays=Youth
Orson-Culture Vultures
She & Him-Volume One
Sparks-Exotic Creatures of the Deep
Wolf Parade-At Mount Zoomer
Walkmen-You & Me
The Week that Was-S/T
Black Kids-Partie Traumatic
Dr.Dog-Fate
Fleet Foxes-S/T
Jakob Dylan-Seeing Things
Hold Steady-Stay Positive
Portishead-Third
Cut Copy-In Ghost Colours
Los Campesinos-We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed
Butch Walker-Sycamore Meadows
Oasis-Dig Out Your Soul
British Sea Power-Do You Like Rock Music
Okkervil River-The Stand-Ins
Sloan-Parallel Play
Blitzen Trapper-Furr
Justin Townes Earle-The Good Life
Raconteurs-Consolers of the Lonely
Gentleman Jesse-S/T
Last Shadow Puppets-The Age of Understatement
Futureheads-This is Not the World
Neon Neon-Stainless Style
Nada Surf-Lucky
School of Language-Sea From Shore
Goldfrapp-Seventh Tree
Hot Chip-Made in the Dark
Supergrass-Diamond Hoo Ha Man
Kills-Midnight Boom
Teenage Prayers-Everyone Thinks You're the Best
Drive By Truckers-Brighter Than Creation's Dark
Los Campesinos-Hold on Now Youngster
Robyn-Robyn
Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend
Elbow-The Seldom Seen Kid
James-Hey Ma!

Fave TV Shows of 2008

Though this year was plagued by the writer's strike (thus turning alot of folks off of TV), I continued to get my share of the boob tube. Here are some of my faves for FY 2008:



1. The Shield (best cop drama to grace the TV screen..the finale blew my mind..worthy of a multitude of Emmy's)

2. Mad Men (my good friend Jon turned me on to this show and boy, was he right. This is some of the finest writing and acting I have seen in ages..guess it doesn't hurt that one of the main writers was an established writer on the Sopranos).

3. How I Met Your Mother (I've been following this show from the beginning and am so thankful that other folks have joined on..thus making its ratings grow. If you have kids or have gone through the ritual of marriage, then this show will make you smile)

4. Big Bang Theory (this in combination with How I met Your Mother is probably the best comedy block on TV currently).

5. South Park (this show never grows old...Trey and Matt always find some new way to tackle a social issue or just make you shit yourself! From the Imaginationland episodes to Cartman fighting a girl to the High School Musical parody...it doesn't get any better).

6. Battlestar Galactica (I was new to this series this year and it probably didn't help that I started mid way through the next to last season. I've chosen to Tivo alot of the episodes and am enamored by the storyline. My wife hates the space that they take up on the Tivo).

7. Robot Chicken (yes another animated (well..really it's stop motion) TV show. If you grew up in the 80's and 90's..then the parodies of old TV shows using toys is brilliant. I even got my wife to watch this show and she laughs..alot. Everywhere from GI Joe, to Transformers to Rainbow Brite..nothing is safe or sacred)

8. The Office (This show just keeps getting better each season. The Dwight/Angela sexual tension this season is just hilarious. It doesn't matter how many times I watch the repeats...the show is always funny...one of the best British imports that the US has embraced and 'made its own.')

9. 30 Rock (Tina Fey could do no wrong this year. The silliness that is this show is just plain silly. I love how Tracy Jordan and Kenneth play off of one another. It would be awesome to sit through one of the writer's meetings for an episode and just listen to all off the wall ideas that get thrown around..would probably make my head spin).

10. Smallville (If it wasn't for the great writing since the beginning of the Fall season, I doubt this would have made the list. If you are a comic book fan, then this show just makes you smile. I'll be interested to see where they go with the Doomsday story and how they end the series come May)

Honorable/Guilty Pleasures
Grey's Anatomy
Desparate Housewives
Dirty Sexy Money
Heroes

Best Albums-Third Quarter 2008

Glasvegas-Glasvegas
Flight of the Conchords-S/T
Duke Spirit-Neptune
Jackie Greene-Giving up the Ghost
M83-Saturdays=Youth
Martina Topley Bird-The Blue God
Orson-Culture Vultures
Pepe Deluxe-Spare Time Machine
She & Him-Volume One
Sparks-Exotic Creatures of the Deep
Subways-All or Nothing
Switches-Lay Down the Law
Wolf Parade-At Mount Zoomer
Brian Wilson-That Lucky Old Sun
Primal Scream-Beautiful Future
Ron Sexsmith-Exit Strategy of the Soul
Spiritualized-Songs in A & E
Walkmen-You & Me
The Week that Was-S/T
Black Kids-Partie Traumatic
Dr.Dog-Fate
Paul Weller-22 Dreams
Fleet Foxes-S/T
Ladytron-Velocifero
Jakob Dylan-Seeing Things
Hold Steady-Stay Positive
Starling Electric-Clouded Staircase
Kings of Leon-Only By the Night
Dungen-4
Tricky-Knowle West Boy

Reissues:
Dennis Wilson-Pacific Ocean Blue
Billy Joel-The Stranger
The Replacements-Tim
The Replacements-Pleased to Meet Me
The Replacements-All Shook Down
The Replacements-Don't Tell a Soul
Robyn Hitchcock-Element of Light
Robyn Hitchcock-Fegmania!
The Coral-Singles Collection

Web Ditties-6/16/08

• Creature Creator Stan Winston dies- Ain't It Cool News
• Windows XP Era draws to a close- CNET
• Google's Billion Dollar Blunder (interesting way of looking at this)- CNET
• Will Firefox 3 set download record- CNET
• William Hurt to join Glenn Close on 'Damages'- Ain't It Cool News

Web Ditties-6/5/08

• Producers talk up the new season of Mad Men- E! Online
• Rainn Wilson answers Office questions- E! Online
• Scrubs the next Generation (I'm a huge fan, but not so sure about this idea. All I can say is that I hope that ABC gives more PR to Scrubs than NBC) - E! Online
• Clint Eastwood has his say on Spike Lee (finally someone tells it like it is..I'm so tired of listening to Spike's racist rants...and seriously, who really goes to his movies) - The Guardian
• Will Airlines start charging a Weight Fee? - CBS Chicago
• Amazon.com goes down for 2 hours (amazing to see how much just a few minutes offline can cost this company)- CNET

Web Ditties-5/31/08

• Radiohead and Prince at Odds over Pulled YouTube 'Creep' Cover- Pitchfork
• Teen Blames Drunk Driving Charge on Kiss with Drunk Boyfriend (Uhh, yeah. Another instance of a woman blaming her stupidity on a man)- Newsday
• Google gives a preview of new Android phone- Times Online
• Morrissey names new album 'Years of Refusal'- NME
• One of the last isolated tribes discovered in Brazil- BBC
• Was the alien video real or fake (more crazy folks around Boulder smoking the herb)- Rocky Mountain News

Web Ditties-5/27/08

• Windows Chief talks Windows 7 (well, I wouldn't really say that he really said anything about Windows 7...I think he more or less said that he wouldn't mention any details about the OS..funny)- CNET
• Is Apple considering a solar powered iPhone (appears that a patent has already been filed)- Times Online
• Vancouver couple arrested for putting their child up for sale on Craigslist- National Post
• Tarantino ready to start filming Inglorious Bastards (Tarantino and WWII...I wonder if they'll be any blood in this film??)- Ain't It Cool News
• Oprah's ratings tumble 7% (and all the men and the 2% of women who can think for themselves say in unison...Amen) - NY Times
• New Kobe video makes the rounds on the internet..hilarious

Cobra Commander's Day Off

I remember seeing these videos on VH-1's "I Love the 80's". This answers the question..what happen to Cobra Commander after the supposed dissolution of Cobra:

Web Ditties-5/6/08

• Rumors seem to point to Linked In purchase- Webware


• Craig Ferguson to take over for Letterman??- Times Online


• Lex Luthor to leave Smallville- E! Online


• Family Guy creator signs $100 million dollar deal- Reuters


• Pics of Dark Knight Villain Two-Face appear online (and are quickly pulled by the studio..good thing I grabbed it while I could).

New Dark Knight Trailer

This is the new Dark Knight trailer that was released at the front of Iron Man this weekend. I have to say that I am really looking forward to seeing this..it's been awhile since this has been the case. Heath Ledger is a far cry from Jack Nicholson's version of the Joker..needless to say.

Jimmy Kimmel vs. Matt Damon

I saw a re-run of this a few weeks back and came across it on YouTube. This skit from Jimmy Kimmel live with Sarah Silverman and Matt Damon is hilarious. I still get a kick out of it no matter how many times I see it.




Jimmy Kimmel's response to that clip was pretty damn funny too.

So You Think Laptop Encryption is Full-proof??

I am attending a technology conference this week and one of the speakers showed a very interesting video showing a study performed by some Princeton Univ. folks. This is very interesting and goes to show that even laptop encryption isn't full proof. Very interesting. I wonder why this hasn't gotten more press from the tech community??

Source: http://citp.princeton.edu/memory/

Abstract Contrary to popular assumption, DRAMs used in most modern computers retain their contents for seconds to minutes after power is lost, even at operating temperatures and even if removed from a motherboard. Although DRAMs become less reliable when they are not refreshed, they are not immediately erased, and their contents persist sufficiently for malicious (or forensic) acquisition of usable full-system memory images. We show that this phenomenon limits the ability of an operating system to protect cryptographic key material from an attacker with physical access. We use cold reboots to mount attacks on popular disk encryption systems — BitLocker, FileVault, dm-crypt, and TrueCrypt — using no special devices or materials. We experimentally characterize the extent and predictability of memory remanence and report that remanence times can be increased dramatically with simple techniques. We offer new algorithms for finding cryptographic keys in memory images and for correcting errors caused by bit decay. Though we discuss several strategies for partially mitigating these risks, we know of no simple remedy that would eliminate them.

Web Ditties-4/30/08

• Blockbuster going the retail path (so after bidding on a dying Circuit City without having the money, they are going outside of their boundaries..interesting)- CNET
• Apple going after low priced overseas iPod sales-Digital Music News
• Wal-Mart forcing record companies to drop CD prices ($5 CD's...makes you wish Wal-Mart had pushed their influence a few years ago..)- Digital Music News
• SEC goes after Google Board member (and ex Pixar CFO) for backdating-Digital Music News

Web Ditties-4/24/08

• Guillermo del Toro to direct 'The Hobbit' and sequel (so they did decide to break the Hobbit into two parts...it's called maximizing your profits..good ole' New Line..relying on these movies and the endless line Scary Movie sequels)- Yahoo!


• Apple's Latest Chip Gamble- CNET


• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (sounds like it's a done deal to replace Conan..to be announced on May 11) - Fox News
  
• New Dark Knight Poster released (see below):

New GI Joe Movie Pics

Though this doesn't come out to Summer 2009, pics are already starting to leak out on the net. I have to say that the only cool looking character is Snake Eyes. I sure hope this turns out good.

Web Ditties-4/22/08

• Hot Wheels Celebrates 40th Anniversary-CNET
• Masturbation may prevent Prostate Cancer (so what do the Catholics and Baptists think about it now??)- Yahoo!
• Are Van Damme and Lundgren Planning a Universal Soldier Sequel (this is the funniest news of the day..yes, money must be tight) - Ain't It Cool
• Family Guy creators sue 20th Century Fox- Hollywood Reporter
• David Chase Doesn't have interest in doing future TV shows (like a college coach going to the NFL...they don't last long before scurrying back to TV) - Hollywood Reporter
• Jimmy Fallon Still the Favorite to Replace Conan- Variety
• Volvo working on 'the uncrashable car' - CNET
• Mysterious red lights appear over Phoenix sky (someone's searching for Britney) - KTLA

2008 Best Albums..Thus Far

I finally got around to pulling a list of albums that have stood out thus far in 2008. Whether all of these will make the year end list is yet to be seen.

• Vampire Weekend-Vampire Weekend
• Elbow-The Seldom Seen Kid
• Star Spangles-Dirty Bomb (yes, this was released in 2007, but they were dropped from their label and didn't have any kind of PR push)
• Los Campesinos-Hold on Now Youngster
• Robyn-Robyn
• Gutter Twins-Saturnalia
• Black Mountain-In the Future
• Teenage Prayers-Everyone Thinks You're the Best
• Drive By Truckers-Brighter Than Creation's Dark
• Gnarls Barkley-The Odd Couple
• Black Keys-Attack and Release
• The Long Blondes-Couples
• Jason Falkner-I'm OK You're OK (Yes, another 2007 release, but it has yet to be released in the US..still only an expensive Japanese release)
• Gary Louris-Vagabonds
• Jason Collett-Here's to Being Here
• Supergrass-Diamond Hoo Ha Man
• Kills-Midnight Boom
• Charlatans-You Cross My Path
• Raconteurs-Consolers of the Lonely
• Neon Neon-Stainless Style
• Nada Surf-Lucky
• School of Language-Sea From Shore
• Goldfrapp-Seventh Tree
• Hot Chip-Made in the Dark
• REM-Accelerate

New Heath Ledger Joker Pics Released

I have to say that I'm really looking forward to the 'Dark Knight' this summer. This and the new Indiana Jones are likely gonna be the highlights of the summer movie season. Some new pics of Heath Ledger as the Joker have been showing up on the web the past 2 or 3 weeks, but naturally, Warner Bros. has been removing them very quickly. I assume that Warner Bros. gave in and just went with the flow considering they were released to an Australian newspaper. According to interviews with Michael Cane, he stated that "Jack (Nicholson) was like a really scary old, nasty uncle with a funny face,'' Caine said. ``Heath's like the most murderous psychopath you've ever seen on the screen." Rumors are also abound that Heath's performance may be nominated for an Oscar....wouldn't that be crazy.

Please Visit your Local Optometrist

Web Ditties-4/10/08

• Did Cheney Go Fishing with a Naked Woman? (it's either Photoshopped or someone was having fun...I just don't see what his spokeswoman is saying..LOL) - McClatchy
• $100 cup of coffee...made of fresh cat droppings (suprisingly, with the amount of money people shell out for Starbucks, I doubt too many would balk at this..) -- Dailymail
• Natalie Portman dating Devendra Banhart (yes, actresses are really attracted to hippies..this is proof..or else she's mistaking him for Chewbaca)-- NME
• Opera browser previewed for Google Android (developers are also encouraged to work and modify the code)- Download.com
• HP ships USB sticks with malware (what customer service!!) - CNET
• Amazon feels sorry for those suckers that bought HD-DVD players - CNET
• Australia in the process of installing a 5,500 mile internet connection- CNET
• U2 enter studio and prep reissues for July - Billboard