Blog Archive for September, 2006

OK, so this supposed onslaught of blogging that I promised has produced a whopping 3 new posts in the past couple weeks. Not exactly something you would describe as an “o-Rama” type of situation. “Blog-o-Slightly-More-Frequently-Than-Usual” would be more accurate.

As far as I can tell only like 5 people read this anyway, so I doubt there was a huge wave of disappointment rippling its way through the “blogosphere” when I failed to live up to that promise. If I’m wrong, please let me know. I’d be way more motivated to post new stuff if there was more of a response when I did. I do appreciate those of you who do comment, though, so keep it up if you’re enjoying the blog. Hopefully, something I post will incite a comment riot and we’ll all be better people for it.

In the meantime, (as I finally get to the god damned point) I thought it might be interesting to list some of the sites/blogs I read on a daily basis. If I’m not getting something done, these sites are most likely to blame. All of them have RSS feeds that I subscribe to with Bloglines.

» Digg
Back when there was a channel called TechTV, I used to watch this show called The Screen Savers. In one episode the host at the time, Kevin Rose, mentioned a new site he was working on called Digg. It was supposedly similar to Slashdot, which I was reading on a daily basis, so I checked it out. It was pretty minimal at the time, but seemed like a cool idea. Instead of having the people who run the site pick the news stories that get published, they let the users of the site do it themselves.

Since then Digg has become one of the most influential “social” news sites on the web. Appearing on the front page even for just 30 minutes can send 10s of thousands of people to your site, which more often than not will be crushed under the weight of the incoming traffic.

The main focus is on “tech” related news stories, but they’ve since brached out into other areas like entertainment, sports and world news.

» Boing Boing
One of the most (if not the most) popular blogs on the planet, it’s maintained by Cory Doctorow (author, activist, public speaker), Xeni Jardin (WIRED magazine), and some other people with impressive resumes who still somehow have time to post to their blog all day, every day.

» Signal vs. Noise
A design and usuability blog by 37 Signals, the creators of incredibly simple, yet useful products like Basecamp, Backpack and Writeboard.

» Coolfer
A New York City based blog about music and the music industry.

» Kottke.org
The weblog of Jason Kottke. Or as he puts it: “My wunderkammer. Wunderkammer is a German word meaning, roughly, ‘cabinet of wonders’ or ‘cabinet of curiousities’.” Another one of the most widely read blogs around. Generally there’s some really good stuff here, although not updated as frequently as some others.

» 43 Folders
A blog about personal productivity, focusing on the “Getting Things Done” methods of organization. I seem to have adopted the “Not Getting Things Done” method, although if I follow some of his advice, I might be able to turn things around.

» A List Apart
Explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices. If you make websites, you should be reading this site. Conveniently, the latest article is perfect for those who are new to ALA - The ALA Primer: A Guide for New Readers

» Apartment Therapy
A blog about apartment living. Even if you live in a house, a garage or even an underground missle silo, you’ll probably find something useful here.

» Copyranter
An advertising copywriter who apparently hates everything. Watch as he tears into all your favorite (and probably not so favorite) ad campaigns.

» Ars Technica
Tech news, product reviews and forums.

» Aurgasm
“Aurgasm brings to you an eclectic menagerie of aural pleasures. I scout out music you’ve never heard and deliver only the finest. Expect music curiously different, yet simply enjoyable.”

» Mike Davidson
Personal blog of the CEO of Newsvine.

» Bob Donlon’s Digital Video Blog
Not the catchiest of titles, but if you do any work with Adobe Premiere or After Effects there’s some good stuff here.

» Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools
“Cool tools really work. A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. I am chiefly interested in stuff that is extraordinary, better than similar products, little-known, and reliably useful for an individual or small group.”

» IndieHQ
A forum for bands, record labels and everyone else who is interested in independent music.

» Cool Hunting
Cool Hunting: finding things in the intersection of design, culture and technology that excite the imagination and inspire creativity.

» Giantmonster
One of the more random blogs I subscribe too. There doesn’t seem to be an overarching theme to the kinds of stuff they post… it’s all usually pretty weird though.

» FlickrBlog
The companion blog to Flickr, almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world.

» Idolatr
“When the internet came, we overthrew the pasty white tastemakers, the duplicitious music marketers and the manufactured pop idols. And then they all came back. This is Idolator. We’re so disappointed.”

» Michael Showalter’s Web Log
Do you know who Michael Showalter is? If you do, check out his “web log”. You’ll like it. If you don’t… well, you probably do, you just don’t know it. Most recently you may have seen him on the Comedy Central show Stella. That’s pretty unlikely though, since (apparently) not a lot of people watched that show. You might also know him from underappreciated films like Wet Hot American Summer and The Baxter. And if all else fails, you probably know him from the MTV show The State that aired for a couple years back in the early 90’s.

I’ll just stop there for now. That’s only a small part of my ridiculous list, but it’s mostly the good ones.

What sites do you check on a daily basis?

We’re big fans of comedy. You might not get that from our music as we usually come across as pretty serious. There’s not a lot of comedic interludes or “funny” lyrics on our albums. But outside of actually playing music, we don’t really take anything that seriously. It wouldn’t be unexpected to find one of us (usually Jay) trying to get someone to look at his balls while Andrew WK blasts over the van sound system. Actually, that’s pretty much a daily occurence.

Anyway, the point is, we enjoy some good comedy now and again. So, I figured I would pass on some news from the world of comedy that you may or may not be aware of:

» Bob Odenkirk, from Television’s “Mr. Show“, and probably one of the funniest people ever, is directing a movie. The movie is called The Brothers Solomon and it stars Will Arnett (Arrested Development) and Will Forte (SNL, Beerfest). The plot synopsis doesn’t really get me too excited:

A pair of well-meaning, but socially inept brothers try to find their perfect mates in order to provide their dying father with a grandchild.

But knowing Bob’s sense of humor, if he’s allowed to make this movie the way he wants to, I know it will be good. Unfortunately, movie studios love to find people who actually try to do something new and unique and piss all over their dreams. So keep your fingers crossed. Discussion with other comedy nerds about this movie here.

» David Cross, also from Television’s Mr. Show, is producing or directing (or something or other), and starring in, a new animated series called “Freak Show” for Comedy Central. Here’s the decription from the horrible Comedy Central website:

“Freak Show” follows the misadventures of the Freak Squad, a band of carnival oddities secretly employed by the Pentagon to execute low-priority missions. Need someone to read the meter at the embassy in a war-torn country? Freak Squad, assemble!

Members of the team include: Tuck and Benny, Siamese twins with the power to separate, The Bearded Clam, able to shoot blinding Bitch Juice, The World’s Tallest Nebraskan, who can shrink up to six inches, Primi, the premature baby with pinpoint projectile vomiting, and Log Cabin Republican, who transforms into Burly Bear.

You can find slightly more information at the shitty Comedy Central website for the show, or you can just take my word for it: This show might be funny (I mean who knows?), so watch it at least once (or twice if you have time).

Apparently the show will premiere late this year or in early 2007 according to aspecialthing.com. These shows need viewers (or else they get cancelled) so don’t forget to watch (and then tell everyone you know to watch). Otherwise we’re all dommed to a lifetime of “Everybody Loves Raymond’s Annoying Voice” and “Sitcom With A Gay Gay #12″

» The Office: Exclusive Webisodes
They’re like episodes only more embarrasing to say! You can watch 10 of them right now on the NBC website. The Office won the Emmy for Best Comedy Series, which normally doesn’t mean all that much, but in this case it’s well deserved. Maybe not as good as the originall BBC series, but still one of the best shows on right now.

» Comedians of Comedy Tour
There’s still a few dates left on this tour, including tommorow night (9/13) at the TLA in Philly. The show features Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn (once again from Mr Show… as if you couldn’t tell, one of our favorite shows ever), Eugene Mirman and Morgan Murphy. The lineup is slightly different depending on what show you’re going to so check the website before you go.

» Zach Galifianakis is the funniest guy you’ve never heard of. Unless you have heard of him. Then we’ll have to make a list and see who you think is funny, but I’m guessing he’ll still be somewhere near the top. Anyway, he wrote this and it’s funnier that what I just wrote.

We just posted some new photos from the Bodog Battle of the Bands Round 2 show at the North Star Bar in Philadelphia.

View this photoset »

All Photos by Steve Williams

More random bookmarks:

»50 ways to become a better designer

»King’s Quest III Remake. The classic PC game remade with more modern graphics and sound. Available for free download!

»700 Hobos. In the beginning, there were hoboes. Then, a notable non-historian wrote some lies about them in his wonderful and wholly inaccurate almanac. That man was John Hodgman. The book was The Areas of My Expertise. Amongst the lies was a comprehensive list of notable historical hobo names, numbering 700. After Hodgman read the list into a music flattening device, one Mr. Mark Frauenfelder of the Boing Boing teletyped a suggestion that 700 cartoonists volunteer to draw one hobo each as a public service or for no particular reason. And so it was, more or less, and here they are.

»Newshutch. It’s like a bag hutch. Except it’s for news.

»Gay Sausage. One of many amazing illustrations this guy does with “biro” pens. Apparently, that’s what the British call “ballpoint pens.” Whatever you call them, the stuff he does with them is pretty amazing.

Just to get a bunch of stuff out of the way, here’s some random links that don’t require much explanation:

» Akaine is mostly likely more talented than you. And she’s only 12 years old.

» Urban Counterfeiters. Companies like Urban Outfitters and H&M are stealing designs from independent artists and designers. Fuck that shit.

» Super-long and awesome interview with Louis C.K., stand-up comedian and star/creator of the new HBO show Lucky Louie. If you haven’t seen the show, definitely check it out.

» HEAD-ON! Apply directly to the forehead! Yeah. What the fuck is right. If you think about it though this commerical is genius. Interesting analysis here.

» It/ll Be Better Tomorrow. Documentary about the late Hubert Selby, Jr., author of “Requiem for a Dream“, “Last Exit to Brooklyn” and some other books that I haven’t read yet. View the trailer here.

» Love him or hate him (or just think he’s OK), Dane Cook is probably the most popular comedian in America right now. As this Wired article points out, it’s all about connecting with the fans. And he certainly knows how to do it.

» Sensitive Floor. An interactive video projection that reacts to the way people walk on it.

» Free Spirit Spheres. The sweetest treehouses ever. If I was gonna get a treehouse (and I just might do that someday), I’d have to go with one of these.

» Lords of the Ring. Short Film about the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. If you’re not a complete dork like me you can probably skip this one. Some of you might recognize the name CERN from the book Angels and Demons. Yes, it’s the same one.

Let’s face it: blogs are everywhere. Everyone and their grandmother has one. Since we’ve started this thing back up, posts have been few and far between. And most of them are just the podcast posts.

The plan has always been to keep this thing updated on a daily basis and give our fans a reason to come back to the site every day, and hopefully give everyone something to talk about. Obviously that hasn’t happened yet. I don’t want to promise anything because we all know where that leads, but for at least the next couple weeks we’ll be posting a little more frequently. Well, I will at least.

I’ve been bookmarking stuff like crazy over the past few months, with the intention of posting about it all here. A lot of it is probably stuff that you’ve seen already, if you’re the kind of person who’s always seeing the newest thing to make the rounds of the popular blogs and sites like Digg.com. But I took the time to save all of it, so I’m gonna post about it anyway. At some point hopefully I’ll get caught up and I’ll actually be posting about new stuff. We’ll see how it goes.

As with everything else we do, we love to get feedback. So if you’re a “regular” reader of the blog and you appreciate the more frequent posting, leave a comment and let us know.