March 27, 2004
DO U RSS?
This Wired article serves as a handy little introduction to RSS as written by Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing (if you're saying "huh?", by all means check it out). A couple of weeks ago, I decided to start an account at Bloglines to read the RSS feeds of my favorite weblogs. Although I initially didn't expect much, now spend a lot of my time there.Some blogs' RSS feeds only have a headline or excerpt on each post, which is annoying. Lots of bloggers probably do this on purpose, but I have a feeling most are simply not aware. For instance, Moveable Type defaults to showing a post's first 20 or so words in RSS feeds. A simple change can make them full posts.
One downside - RSS readings don't show up on a web page's referrals. A year ago, the number of referrals I got from other weblogs was about 30-40%, with the rest coming from search engines and other pages. Now search engine referrals take up 90% or more. It's either a result of RSS or dozens of people have abandoned this weblog. Hello? Helloooo?
March 26, 2004
Young American Miss
New mix: Smile, inspired by the 1975 cult comedy about a teen beauty pageant. Doing a mix around a movie was harder than I anticipated. Some of the songs were performed in the film (by different artists), some remind me of characters and situations, some of are just vaguely reminiscent of that time and place.
Another thing I listed at eBay - a trio of groovy drug awareness pamphlets from 1969. Ooh, the colors. Somebody please tell me what the fonts are on these!?!
Hissy Fit
Fitness Guru Simmons Cited For Slapping Fighter. Right here in my own backyard, too. I'm so proud!March 25, 2004
There Goes the Neighborhood
Suburban Maul - photos of McMansions that have been digitally altered with chain retailer signs. I don't know why I liked this, I just do.March 24, 2004
Pop Rocks
Probably not legal, definitely a whole lotta fun: Bubblegum Machine, weekly mp3s with a cheeky "if it's ever been on K-Tel or Ronco, it's in" philosophy. Via Pearls That Are His Eyes. Among many great songs, it has "I Am Woman" by Helen Reddy. No offense to "I Am Woman", but I would've picked "Delta Dawn" with its campy lyrical drama and overenthusiastic backup singers. I even put it on my next mix disc.
I Take This Bitch
The Great American Man-Dog Marriage Panic by Richard Goldstein. Funny editorial on right wing fears that gay marriage will open the floodgates for "the love that dare not speak, bark, mew, or quack its name. (Yes, some people are worked up over man-duck love.)"March 23, 2004
The Pitts
Has everybody seen the MTV train wreck known as I Want A Famous Face by now? Specifically the one with the pathetic twins who wanted to look like Brad Pitt? Oh. My. God. What deluded morons. All they needed was a good sized tube of Clearasil (personality transplants wouldn't hurt, either). In fact, I thought the brothers looked worse after their makeovers - weirdly feminine and fake.The worst part was that these guys were from Phoenix! Actually, it looks like the show was taped in nearby Scottsdale and Paradise Valley (at least that's where the Less Than Zero teen party was) - which is definitely not Phoenix. I recognized Rolf's hair salon. Rolf is a local celebrity, known for sculpting TV anchorwoman-like hairdos onto Scottdale's most prominent trophy wives. It figures he was there to give the Pittalikes girly blonde tresses.
This episode proves why we never venture over to that side of town. Most people there are all fakey-fakey and image concious and thinking they're stylish when they aren't. Blecch.
March 22, 2004
Cool, with a Twist of Lemon
Recipe for a mood lifter - go to this page and download the song "Summer Sun" by Koop. Swanky, jazzy, nifty and neat!Food for Thought
The always worthwhile Cup of Chicha posted two recent blog entries that I liked. One is about the Whitney Biennial and the other is on a particularly crappy issue of Marie Claire magazine.P.S. I hate spam comments.
March 20, 2004
Embryonic EW
An eBay auction: Entertainment Weekly issue #14 with the first Simpsons cover. Not just any copy, but my very own copy that I've saved since 1990. Gotta love the early, clunky Simpsons covered in the early, clunky EW. Bid on this and help support my budding career as an eBay seller.
It was a shock paging through this issue and seeing how different it was then. The overall look is sedate, subtle, high minded, kind of boring. Editorial content was geared toward upwardly mobile people in their 30s and 40s. Even so, I could tell why I devoured it from the first issue. To have an entertainment magazine based around opinions and discussion-worthy topics was novel and interesting. They were still working out the kinks in 1990, but by about '95 the mag was pretty much the way it is today. Glancing at the masthead, I noticed that only critics Owen Gleiberman and Ken Tucker are still working there. Interesting to note that two EW veterans - founding editor Jeff Jarvis and music critic Greg Sandow - now have weblogs.
March 18, 2004
Shell Sweet Shell
The L.A. Times has a good article on architect Wallace Neff's unusual "shell home" from the '40s. Another one details the current vogue for Neff homes (skip it if you don't want to be reminded of how Pia Zadora and her husband leveled Pickfair!).March 17, 2004
Wednesday Miscellenia
Today I went to the post office and had McDonalds for lunch. Exciting, no?
OK, I also spent some time online gathering links. First up is this way-cool Speak 'n Spell emulator (via Idle Type). I liked this arrow-shaped sign gallery. The evocative scene above comes from another gallery of IBM's vintage business fashions. Both come via J-Walk, who never ceases to amaze me with his prolific bloggitude. I also peeked at the Toho Tokusatsu movie poster gallery (via Dublog), which would be a lot better if the posters were bigger. Scrubbles reader Jeff pointed me to his page showing why John Kerry is hung like a horse, no comment needed.
Mercedes McCambridge recently died. She did the voice of the possessed Regan in The Exorcist. I'll remember her best for the fiesty cowgirls she played in Giant and Johnny Guitar, roles that made her into a sort of butch lesbian icon. She rocked in those movies. R.I.P.
Finally I have to mention The Koala Brothers, a kiddie show we stumbled onto. Insanely cute stop motion animation from England, although it looks very repetitive. It might be something like Rolie Polie Olie where if you've seen one episode, you've seen them all. I already have the Koala theme song tattoed on my cerebral cortex.
March 16, 2004
Things I Had No Idea Existed, Part XLVII
"That's right: there were a handful of records released in the late 70's and early 80's that contained computer programs as part of the audio. This is totally insane, and totally great." - blogger Adam Kempa (on of my early faves) delves into digital programs embedded in old records and casettes. I'm happy to discover that Adam is back in action.March 15, 2004
Impossible Mission
More retro videogames - the Game Show Network (or, should I say, GSN) will be showing Video Game Invasion, a two hour special on the history of videogaming. It will premiere this Sunday night.The new GSN logo, by the way, is an utterly generic misfire. Take a look --- Continue reading "Impossible Mission"
