Friday, November 23, 2007

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Rest in Peace Demonoid

I wanted to give a quick shout out to Demonoid.com that was shut down this week. This site was like a Google of safe bittorrents for folks who wanted to sample music, movies, or software before they purchased them. It didn't have links to any porn sites or anything illegal and most of it's links were safe from viruses. 

Sadly, it was threatened with lawsuits and shuttered. Goodbye demonoid. I'm sure someone will pick up your slack, hopefully without the porn banners.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

TRAPPED!

I don't ever remember this happening in California, maybe because I usually lived in apartments. But in Kansas City, when winter comes, mice start seeking food and shelter in your house. When we got our first mice a couple years ago, I looked into mouse traps and asked around. Most mouse traps are pretty awful things. Lots of people have stories of finding half-alive squealing mice with their faces glued to the glue trap. Then you have to throw it away and/or kill it. Sad!

So first I tried to build my own live trap. That did not work.

Then I found a live trap for sale online. It works perfectly! You open the door, put some food in, they walk in, it shuts (usually). So I whole-heartedly endorse live traps for mice. Here's a picture of the little guy I caught last night.


Then you just take them to a park, open the door, and off they run! Although I admit one time I didn't check the trap for a few days, and a mouse had been in the trap long enough that he died :-(

Monday, October 29, 2007

MySpace vs. Facebook

I never got very into MySpace. You go to someone's page, hear a song, see their wallpaper and pictures, maybe read a blog post. But most people have their pages so tweaked out its hard to find or read anything. And there's just nothing to do there. People just leave dumb comments, etc.

But I just got on Facebook. SOOOOO much cooler. Very clean, easy to find stuff. Little notifications of what your friends are doing, with lots of hyperlinks.

And the BEST is the applications. There's this great music one called iLike. Has a cool music game. AND gives you updates if bands you like are coming in concert. That's a major killer app to me.

Not sure if you need an invitation to get in, but let me know if you want one.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

SoCal on Fire


The fires that have engulfed all 7 counties in Southern California has taken a toll on my psyche. Has the fires affected me? Not personally. My home is nowhere near any of the fires. None of my family or friends have lost their homes in the fire. The worse thing has been breathing ashes for the last several days.

What the fire has done to me is smack me back to reality that we, as human beings, are at the mercy of Mother Nature. No matter how much we push, pull, twist, and bend her, she always snaps back and we always get our "world" rocked. So many lives have been turned upside down by these fires. Homes lost. Lives lost. Businesses lost. It's terrible to think about, but what happens when all the proof that you existed and did something in your time on Earth gets burnt to a crisp?

Check out this picture, which hit me the most. An amazing example of the fury and beauty of Mother Nature and the visual reality, at least for me, that we're just a small drop in the bucket that's called Earth.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Congressional Gold Medal


I thought this was an event worth noting. Next Wednesday the 17th the Dalai Lama will be in Washington D.C. to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. I don't know if the ceremony will be on TV (CSPAN maybe?) or if it will get any press at all, but the "after party" will be on a Web cast starting at 11:00 am Eastern time. For some reason, you have to register for the Webcast, but you can register for the Webcast here

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Dave Zirin = genius

Dave Zirin is a sports columnist and the author of several books. But he's not a normal sports columnist. He writes about the intersections of sports and politics. As he points out, some people think that sports stars should just keep their mouths shut about politics. But it is impossible to separate sports from politics. Politics affects every part of our lives, whether people know it or not. And sports is also a big part of American culture, so its inevitable that sports and politics are constantly influencing each other.

His books talk about many classic political sports stories:
-- Jackie Robinson (and Roberto Clemente) fighting for integration in baseball, and the country as a whole
-- Muhammad Ali being banned from boxing in the U.S. for refusing to fight in Vietnam
-- the Black Panthers on the podium at the Olympics (and all the athletes who supported them that didn't get as much press)
-- the many swindles where rich team owners convince taxpayers to pay for stadiums at which they can't afford to attend the events
-- Barry Bonds and the steroids debate

These are just a few examples. If you're into sports or politics, and especially if you're interested in both, then definitely read his books "What's my name fool" and "Welcome to the Terrordome", available on his site at http://www.edgeofsports.com/

Monday, October 1, 2007

KANYE WEST SKIT ON SNL

Funny clip from SNL.

Public Service Announcement

If you're like me, you hate telemarketing calls. I especially hate when I get those calls on my cellphone. With an industry so hated, wouldn't you think that telemarketing companies would've figured something else out by now? Thank God for the Fed's "Do Not Call Registry". If you don't want to be called, go to the link (donotcall.gov) and sign up your phone numbers.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

R - A - D - I - O



Check this out. http://www.kkfi.org/streaming.php. This is my boy's radio show that comes on weekly from the heartland of the nation, Missouri. However, if you're into NASCAR and expect to hear some Garth, this probably's not your cup of tea.

SHOUT OUT TO DJ EB! PLAY THAT KANYE "FLASHING LIGHTS". YOU'LL DIG IT!

http://ebarrblog.blogspot.com/

Thursday, September 20, 2007

NFL injuries

I've read a couple good stories this week about the retired NFL
players fighting for better disability benefits. One story was from
ESPN and the other from our local free paper, The Pitch (I like this one better).

It sucks that there are soooooo many injuries in football. I never gave it as much thought before I started playing fantasy football (FF). FF forces you to pay a ridiculous amount of attention to which players are hurt and which aren't. I really don't want to care that much about rich athletes, or take pleasure when the opponent's player is hurt, but I can't help it. FF is fun, and its my guilty pleasure (at least one of them).

So despite all the pads and safety rules, football is still a dangerous sport. Some people say that they don't like to watch boxing because its too brutal, but football is just as bad! Guys get concussions all the time. Hardly anyone, it seems, makes it through a whole season without an injury. And so many guys are so messed up by the end of their career that they can barely walk. It just seems less brutal than boxing because you don't see any blood. Usually.

So from the sounds of it, I think the league could probably do a lot better at taking care of the former players. Yes, the players are rich, and many (but not all) could probably afford the surgeries. But the owners are even richer, and they're not risking their bodies, so let them chip in some more cash for the cause. I'm rooting for the players in this battle. Its a lot better of a cause for a players' union than trying to forbid a salary cap, that's for sure.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

50 Cent v. Kanye West - The GloGlobe Review



This is the 1st music review for the blog and it comes at an exciting time in music and in hip-hop. The past week saw the release of both 50 Cent's and Kanye West's 3rd albums, "Curtis" and "Graduation" respectively. This was also exciting because this will probably be one of the last times that physical CD sales will approach the numbers that these two disks have this past week. Reports are that Kanye West outdistanced 50 Cent by 200,000 units, 800,000 for "Graduation" to 600,000 for "Curtis". These numbers are impressive, especially since iTunes and music pirates have struck a deathblow to CD sales. I personally bought both of the albums when they came out. This was my 1st non-online purchase of music all year. Crazy how things change so fast, but no tears are shed for these artists. Ringtones make even the one-hit wonders rich and concert tickets require a 2nd mortgage now, so keep downloading them tunes. Eventually, the songs will be advertisements for the other revenue streams anyway, like radio and tv is today.

Now for the reviews: It's hard to review these two albums against each other. Yes, they're both rap/hip-hop albums, but that's too general of a category to place these albums in. 50 Cent is a pure gangsta rapper. Cursing up a storm, talking about getting money and hoes, flexing his lyrical muscles. Kanye West is a psuedo-backpack rapper on a more positive vibe, i.e. Talib Kwali, or A Tribe Called Quest. I say "psuedo-backpack" because Kanye is more about being introspective about his feelings and how those feelings make him act the way he does. Also, artistically, 50 Cent just raps while Kanye West also produces the bulk of his tracks.

While both albums were good, I give the edge to Kanye West's "Graduation". Kanye pushes himself musically and lyrically with this album. Being his third collection, he really has become one of the better writers in the game. Breaking in as a producer on the classic Jay-Z album "The Blueprint", he has already proven to be a force as a producer. Now, the rhymes that coincide with his beats are awesome. "...The devil wears Prada, Adam & Eve wears nada, I'm in between, but way more fresher, with way less effort..." is one of many lyrical gems that laces the album. Plus, the production is not your typical hiphop beats. These are musical masterpieces with strings, violins, piano mixed with basslines and samples of classic songs, like Michael Jackson's "PYT". It gets 3.5 out of 4 (4 being as good as "Thriller").

"Curtis" is a good collection with some great moments, but gets boring with the same themes of being a hard ass brotha in the hood (even though he's made a reported $100-$400 million from his investment in Vitamin Water). The albums best moments come when 50 Cent teams up with Justin Timberlake & Timbaland on "Ayo Technology", Dr. Dre on "Come & Go" and Mary J. Blige on "All of Me". You can't just give 60% of an effort, especially when you've sold 20 million copies of your 1st 2 disks. So, it gets 2.75 out of 4 (4 being as good as "The Chronic").

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Who's Yo Daddy


This is some funny stuff from my sister Leslie. I like #5 personally. Enjoy folks. (Fire Dorrell).

1. Regarding the identity of the father of my twins, child A was
fathered by Jim Munson. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of
child B, but I believe that he was conceived on the same night.

2. I am unsure, as to the identity of the father of my child as I was
being sick out of a window when taken unexpectedly from behind. I can
provide you with a list of names of men that I think were at the party
if this helps.

3. I do not know the name of the father of my little girl. She was
conceived at a party at 3600 East Grand Boulevard where I had
unprotected sex with a man I met that night. I do remember that the sex
was so good that I fainted. If you do manage to track down the father,
can you send me his phone number? Thanks.

4. I don't know the identity of the father of my daughter. He drives a
BMW that now has a hole made by my stiletto in one of the door panels.
Perhaps you can contact BMW service stations in this area and see if
he's had it replaced.

5. I have never had sex with a man. I am still a Virginian. I am
awaiting a letter from the Pope confirming that my son's conception was
ejaculate and that he is the Saver risen again.

6. I cannot tell you the name of child A's dad as he informs me that to
do so would blow his cover and that would have cataclysmic implications
for the economy. I am torn between doing right by you and right by the
country. Please advise.

7. I do not know who the father of my child was as all blacks look the
same to me.

8. Peter Smith is the father of child A. If you do catch up with him,
can you ask him what he did with my AC/DC CDs? Child B who was also
borned at the same time...well, I don't have clue.

9. From the dates it seems that my daughter was conceived at Disney
World; maybe it really is the Magic Kingdom.

10. So much about that night is a blur. The only thing that I remember
for sure is Delia Smith did a program about eggs earlier in the evening.
If I had stayed in and watched more TV rather than going to the party
at 8956 Miller Ave, mine might have remained unfertilized.

11. I am unsure as to the identity of the father of my baby, after all,
like when you eat a can of beans you can't be sure which one made you
fart.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

That Sux 4 Portland


Saw that Greg Oden is out for the season and I felt bad for the cat. There's enough pressure being the number 1 pick in the NBA draft and the savior of a team in a very basketball depressed town like Portland. But Portland also has the curse of Sam Bowie, the very injured big man who was chosen before the GOAT (#23)(and after Hakeem the Dream), and Oden was going to break this curse. Also, he was going to be the face of the revived TrailBlazers and complete their transformation from being the "JailBlazers". Guess not, at least for now. What's worse is that Oden will come back (he's only 19), but if Kevin Durant, the only true freshman EVER to sweep all of the major college basketball awards in one season, becomes the next coming of even Ray Allen, Oden will never be able to shake the tag of being a bust (Kwame Brown anyone?) unless he puts up wins and stats. Wins maybe, but stats are not his forte. He'll score in double-digits, but I doubt he'll ever average 20 points in a season. His best years will look like this: 17 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 apg, 5 blks. Good stats. Not great. Probably not good enough to shake the bust tag.

Hello from GloGlobe

GloGlobe in da house! GloGlobe in da houssseee!
GloGlobe in da house! GloGlobe in da houssseee!
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Welcome to whoever might be reading this (even though I probably know you pretty well if you're reading this). This blog is meant for nothing in particular be riffing on what I/you feel like riffing on. I myself seem to have stayed stuck in my late '80's - early '90's pulp fiction and now that everyone who makes creative decisions in mass media is my age, I'm loving me some tv, movies, music, books, whatever's made for mass consumption.

So, I'll have opinions. Hopefully, you'll have opinions. We'll have opinions!!!!!

GloGlobe in da house! GloGlobe in da houssseee!
GloGlobe in da house! GloGlobe in da houssseee!
Go GloGlobe! Go GloGlobe! Go GloGlobe! Go GloGlobe!
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