2011-Best of Albums Mid-Year

As of June 2011, the best albums I've heard this year are as follows:

James Blake-Self titled
Drive By Truckers- Go Go Boots
The Kills-Blood Pressures
Dodos-No Color
Mountain Goats-All Eternals Deck
PJ Harvey-Let England Shake
Raveonettes-Raven in the Grave
Antlers-Burst Apart
Ringo Deathstarr-Colour Trip
Brown Recluse-Evening Tapestry
Kurt Vile-Smoke Ring for My Halo
Ron Sexsmith-Long Player, Late Bloomer
Smith Westerns-Dye It Blonde
Arctic Monkeys-Suck It and See
Tennis-Cape Dory
Destroyer-Kaputt
Lykke Lii-Wounded Rhymes
Cut Copy-Zonoscope
Pains of Being Pure at Heart-Belong
Peter Bjorn & John-Gimme Some
Wild Beasts-Smother
Sloan-The Double Cross
Elbow-Build a Rocket Boys
Tune Yards-w h o k i l l
Fleet Foxes-Helplessness Blues
I Am From Barcelona-Forever Today
Cults-Cults
Gang Gang Dance-Eye Contact
Foo Fighters-Wasting Light
Beastie Boys-Hot Sauce Committee Part 2


Reissues:
Ride-Nowhere
Pete Yorn-Life on a Chain
Primal Scream-Screamadelica
Pearl Jam-VS and Vitalogy
Suede-Suede
Suede-Dog Man Star
The Jayhawks-Hollywood Town Hall
The Jayhawks-Tomorrow the Green Grass
Nick Lowe-Labour of Lust
The Radio Department-Passive Aggressive

Top TV Shows for 2010

These were my picks for top TV shows of 2010

1. Mad Men
2. The Walking Dead
3. Smallville
4. Community
5. The Big Bang Theory
6. How I Met Your Mother
7. 30 Rock
8. Justified
9. Caprica
10. Parenthood
11. Rubicon
12. Damages
13. Men of a Certain Age
14. The Event
15. Batman: The Brave and the Bold

2010 Music-Best of Reissues

The best Album Reissues of 2010..in no particular order:

The Rolling Stones-Exile on Main Street
Paul McCartney & Wings-Band on the Run
Weezer-Pinkerton
Morrissey-Bona Drag
Jimi Hendrix-Are You Experienced?
Jimi Hendrix-Electric Ladyland
Jimi Hendrix-Axis Bold as Love
The Cure-Disintegration
Orange Juice-Coals to Newcastle
Suede-Best Of
Galaxie 500-Today
Galaxie 500-On Fire
Galaxie 500-This Is Our Music
Iggy & The Stooges-Raw Power
The Doves-Best Of
Bruce Springsteen-The Promise/Darkness on the Edge of Town
The Jam-Sound Affects
David Bowie-Station to Station
Miles Davis-Bitches Brew

2010-Best of Music

My picks for best albums of 2010...in no particular order:

Gaslight Anthem-American Slang
Belle & Sebastian-Write About Love
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti-Before Today
Sleigh Bells-Treats
Teenage Fanclub-Shadows
Robyn-Body Talk
Black Keys-Brothers
Flying Lotus-Cosmogramma
LCD Soundsystem-This is Happening
Apples in Stereo-Travelers in Space & Time
Caribou-Swim
Dr. Dog-Shame, Shame
Yeasayer-Odd Blood
Harlem-Hippies
Jesse Malin & St. Mark's Social-Love It to Life
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings-I Learned the Hard Way
Tame Impala-Innerspeaker
The National-High Violet
Broken Social Scene-Forgiveness Rock Record
Crystal Castles-Crystal Castles
Delorean-Subiza
Morning Benders-Big Echo
Liars-Sisterworld
Local Natives-Gorilla Manor
Hot Chip-One Life Stand
Beach House-Teen Dream
Surfer Blood-Astro Coast
Vampire Weekend-Contra
Titus Andronicus-Monitor
Kanye West-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Glasser-Ring
Arcade Fire-The Suburbs
New Pornographers-Together
Ash-A-Z Vol. 1
Elvis Costello-National Ransom
Free Energy-Stuck on Nothing
Black Mountain-Wilderness Heart
Best Coast-Crazy for You
Justin Townes Earle-Harlem River Blues
Deerhunter-Halcyon Digest
Twin Shadow-Forget
The Walkmen-Lisbon
The Radio Dept-Clinging to a Scheme
Sufjan Stevens-Age of Adz
Girls-Broken Dreams Club EP
Josh Ritter-So Runs the World Away
Jakob Dylan-Women and Country
Gorillaz-Plastic Beach
Josh Rouse-El Turista
These New Puritans-Hidden

Best Albums & Reissues-2009

In no specific order:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs-It’s Blitz

Wilco-The Album

Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Pains of Being Pure at Heart-S/T

Girls-Album

Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion

Metric-Fantasies

Passion Pit-Manners

Grizzly Bear-Veckatimest

Horrors-Primary Colours

La Roux-S/T

Annie-Don’t Stop

AC Newman-Get Guilty

Dirty Projectors-Bitte Orca

The Big Pink-A Brief History of Love

Discovery-LP

XX-XX

Bat for Lashes-Two Suns

Arctic Monkeys-Humbug

Fever Ray-S/T

Rhett Miller-S/T

Prodigy-Invaders Must Die

The Elms-The Great American Midrange

Gomez-A New Tide

Mando Diao-Give Me Fire

Wild Beasts-Two Dancers

Pearl Jam-Backspacer

Mew-No More Stories are Told

Tinted Windows-S/T

Sondre Lerche-Heartbeat Radio

Joe Henry-Blood from Stars

Junior boys-Begone Dull Care

Circulatory System-Signal Morning

Roman Candle-Oh Tall Tree in the Ear

Clientele-Bonfires on the Heath

Dan Deacon-Bromst

Brakes-Touchdown

John Doe and the Sadies-Country Club

We Were Promised Jetpacks-These Four Walls

Sunset Rubdown-Dragonslayer

Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears-Tell’em What Your Name Is!

Idlewild-Post Electric Blues

Harlem Shakes-Technicolor Health

Dinosaur Jr.-Farm

Julian Casablancas-Phrazes for the Yount

Maccabees-Wall of Arms

Dan Auerbach-Keep It Hit

Flaming Lips-Embryonic

Jarvis Cocker-Further Complications

Kasabian-West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Cribs-Ignore the Ignorant

Richard Swift-Atlantic Ocean

Neon Indian-Psychic Chasms

Reissues

Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath and Master of Reality

U2-Joshua Tree

Nick Lowe-Quiet Please:The New Best of Nick Lowe

Nick Lowe-Brentford Trilogy

Nirvana-Live at Reading

Pearl Jam-Ten

The Who-The Who Sell Out

Beatles-Stereo Box Set

Monks-Black Monk Time

REM-Reckoning

Rolling Stones-Sticky Fingers, Tattoo You, Black and Blue, Some Girls, Goats Head Soup, It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll

Stone Roses-The Stone Roses

Apples in Stereo-#1 Hits Explosion

Big Star-Keep An Eye On the Sky

Feelies-Crazy Rhythms and The Good Earth

FY 2009 Best of Television

Of course, everyone has their own opinion, but the following are my picks for best television shows for 2009 (in no certain order, though I will say, Mad Men does take the cake for me this year):

1. Mad Men
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. The Big Bang Theory
4. Damages
5. Battlestar Galactica
6. Smallville
7. Batman: The Brave & the Bold
8. Big Love
9. Robot Chicken
10. South Park
11. 30 Rock
12. Men of a Certain Age
13. Scrubs

2009 Mid-Year Best of Albums

As of July 2009

Albums:

Gomez-A New Tide
Mando Diao-Give Me Fire!
Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus 3-Goodnight Oslo
Super Furry Animals-Dark Days/Light Years
Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Juan MacLean-The Future Will Come
Junior Boys-Begone Dull Care
The Rakes-Klang
The Horrors-Primary Colours
AC Newman-Get Guilty
Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
John Doe and the Sadies-Country Club
Tinted Windows-Tinted Windows
Brakes-Touchdown
Dan Deacon-Bromst
Peter Bjorn and John-Living Thing
Yeah Yeah Yeahs-It's Blitz!
Maccabees-Wall of Arms
Franz Ferdinand-Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Titus Andronicus-Airing of Grievances
Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears-Tell'Em What Your Name Is!
John Wesley Harding-Who Was Changed & Who was Dead
Justin Townes Earle-Midnight at the Movies
Wilco-Wilco (The Album)
Passion Pit-Manners
Rhett Miller-Rhett Miller
The Doves-Kingdom of Rust
Roman Candle-Oh Tall Tree in the Ear
Jarvis Cocker-Further Complications
Patterson Hood-Murdering Oscar

Reissues and Best-Of Albums:

Pearl Jam-Ten
Miles Davis-Sketches of Spain
The Who-The Who Sell Out
Black Sabbath-Paranoid
Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath-Master or Reality
Nick Lowe-Quiet Please: The New Best of Nick Lowe
Dukes of the Stratosphere-25 O'Clock
Dukes of the Stratosphere-Psonic Psunspot
Rolling Stones-Sticky Fingers
Rolling Stones-Tattoo You
Rolling Stones-It's Only Rock 'N Roll
Rolling Stones-Some Girls
REM-Reckoning

Best Reissues of 2008

U2-Boy
U2-War
U2-October
The Replacements-Tim
The Replacements-Pleased to Meet Me
The Replacements-Let It Be
The Replacements-Don't Tell A Soul
The Replacements-Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash
The Replacements-Hootenanny
New Order-Power, Corruption, & Lies
New Order-Technique
New Order-Movement
New Order-Low-Life
New Order-Brotherhood
Cat Stevens-Tea for the Tillerman
Love-Forever Changes
REM-Murmur
Billy Joel-The Stranger
David Bowie-Live in Santa Monica '72
Dennis Wilson-Pacific Ocean Blue
Johnny Cash-At Folsom Prison
The Coral-Singles Collection
The Smiths-The Sound of the Smiths
Pavement-Brighten the Corners
Jesus and Mary Chain-The Power of Negative Thinking
Jesus and Mary Chain-Psychocandy
Jesus and Mary Chain-Darklands
Jesus and Mary Chain-Honey's Dead
Jesus and Mary Chain-Automatic
Robyn Hitchcock-Element of Light
Robyn Hitchcock-Fegmania!
Happy Mondays-Pills 'n' Thrills
Happy Mondays-Bummed
Nick Lowe-Jesus of Cool

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.