Music

• AOL Radio - listen to all kinds of radio stations, local and otherwise.  I enjoy the “Brand New Indie” station. 
• Pandora - type in an artist or song and listen to an ad hoc radio station of similar music. 
• iTunes - now you can download or stream free (audio and video) podcasts right from the iPhone. 

Twitter

• TwitterFon - I like this one the best because I find it to be easy to use and quick.  Nice search feature too.
• Twinkle -  First app that effectively integrated “nearby” tweets.  You can adjust the “mile radius” which is nifty.  Has some cool extras, for example, turn the screen sideways and you get a cool realtime map of recent public tweets.
• Twittervision - Nice realtime map of recent public tweets.  Can translate tweets from other countries.

Games

• Tap Tap Revenge - guitar hero-like game.
• iBowl - fun use of the accelerometer.
• Tris - touch screen Tetris. 

Other

I learned from a recent article by Roger Ebert that the director of the opening ceremonies, Zhang Yimou, is also a successful film director.  His more recent films include Hero and House of the Flying Daggers.  Not only did he have a $300 million budget to work with, but over 2,000 unpaid volunteers helped make the event possible.  Who needs technology when you’ve got people?

Speaking of unpaid volunteers, North Korea’s Arirang Festival and its “mass games” are now underway.  The scale is simply unbelievable–120,000 performers in all.  And in case your looking for a last minute summer vacation, the country is now encouraging foreign tourists (constant surveillance included at no extra charge).  For those of you unable to make it, check out this photo gallery from the Guardian.

A former schoolmate of mine, Hudson Spivey, has started an interesting new blog entitled, “Confronting Scarcity.”  As the title suggests, Hudson’s site is more focused on the causes and solutions to issues such as over-population and dwindling global food and water supplies rather than the more media saturated theme of global warming and carbon emissions.

Hudson “confronts” this challenging subject with a blend of historical perspective, agricultural insight, nightmare visions, and an appetite for grand themes and radical changes.  A sort of Chuck Palahniuk for the ecologically minded.

As stated in the article, Euripides play Helen of Troy makes clear how the Greeks preferred their statues:

If only I could shed my beauty and assume an uglier aspect
The way you would wipe color off a statue.

After you finish reading about the statues, check out the excellent feature about the restoration efforts currently underway on the Parthenon and the subsequent insights into the architectural processes those efforts have helped surface.

My vocal part was recorded on a PC microphone so its quite amazing the magic Sean was able to work with it. My dream of becoming a techno god has now been fulfilled. Hopefully, you will find the tune is in accordance with the proud tradition of my other collaborative hit song, namely Glenn Knights (inside reference for the die hard fans; you know who you are, I love you guys!). Put it on repeat.

Maybe I’ll explain the lyrics later, but for now you can post your theory in the comments.

About the song

I feel that all the great artists have pushed for their own unique sound, so I’ve tried to do the same. The main focus of this song is the piano, which I’m not a stranger to. I tried to extract the melody from my imagination without much interference from anything, resulting in what I deem as my “pure-self sound”. When I produce, I always seem to naturally produce laidback themes with a cooler edge to them but am torn over my love of happy hardcore music. This causes me to alter my songs to sound more like what I like to listen to rather than what naturally comes out. The strangest thing is that I don’t have a single chillout song in my massive music library.

The song’s name is the name of a good friend just as the song itself is a close friend of mine. Naming a song is much like naming a child — I feel that it is harder to give it a name than it is to make it (totally not sexual). Nomenclature is a very interesting thing so I’ve decided to experiment in it (instead of the cliche names of happy hardcore - almost all of them have the word “love, angle, high, flying, etc…” in them). As much as I enjoyed writing this song, however, I leave the verdict to the listener - Which sounds better, the chillout or the happy hardcore?

P.S. I also have some songs with a harder edge that are in the works as well as a trance song, so keep an ear out for them.

Eventually, his minimalist computing experiment crumbled as Windows became increasingly less stable with its pillars of normalcy toppled. Years later now, I use some simple tricks that echo this bygone experiment to help me quickly access my most relevant programs, files, and web pages without so much as the click of a mouse. Call it laziness under the guise of efficiency.

Now if you’ll excuse a divergent style change, below is a “how to” for those interested in some of the techniques:

Launching anything you want from the “Run” command line
Prereq: Use shortcut “Windows key + R” to quickly bring up Run.

The default directory for the Run command line is the C:\Windows or C:\WINNT directory. Anything you put in this directory can be called directly from the run line by name. For example, copy a shortcut to Firefox into your Windows directory and rename it “ff” (or whatever you want to call it). Now you can launch Firefox simply by typing “ff” at Run.

To direct Firefox to a specific web page when launched, right click on the shortcut you created and click properties. On the “shortcut” tab, append the web address to the end of the “Target” field. For example: “C:\Firefox\Firefox.exe” http://www.google.com
You can type in multiple web addresses at the end and it will launch them all.

You can also create shortcuts to folders or other files in the same manner. For example, when I type in “music” it brings up my music folder.

Roll your own shortcut key
I stumbled across this one mostly by accident. It only works for items on your desktop or on your quick launch bar. Right click on your item of choice (must be a shortcut) and choose properties. On the “shortcut” tab, enter a letter or number into the “shortcut key”. If you enter “E” for example, it will create a shortcut key of “Ctrl + Alt + E”. You can also use the number pad which saves you from having to enter the “Ctrl + Alt” (must have NumLock on). Launch away!

Sean’s latest work branches out into more varied styles and sounds and shows increased attention in his post-production tweaks. I also asked him for some album art of sorts and he provided the sketch included to the left.

In other news, one of his earlier songs, “Creative Burst,” was used in this YouTube video.

This is just another rousing example of the kind of talent farm we run here at ModernBizzle.com. Readers, please be kind and don’t take down the DailyKos’ servers too hard with the subsequent massive traffic spike.

The musical genius of Jens Lekman {slate.com} - I love his new album.

Helvetica DVD {uncrate.com} - Excellent documentary for those who take their fonts (too) seriously.

Even Free Can’t Compete With Music Piracy {techcrunch.com} - Discusses stats on piracy of Radiohead’s new album.

• Neon Bible flash video [via Pitchfork]

[link to part 1 --embedded above]
[link to part 2]
[link to part 3]

Here’s a little from Momus’ blog on the legendary Factory non-contract contract:

…this is why it infuriates me when people say (as some have, even on the day he died) that Tony was a bad businessman. He was an amazing — and influential — businessman. Or should we say “anti-businessman”? His contract was a verbal one based on trust. He split profits with the band 50/50.

…Blue Monday’s lozenge-cut sleeve cost so much to print that the label actually lost more money the more copies they printed. But even that isn’t bad business. It’s an investment in mystique, and a bold statement that lavish elegance counts more than profit. “Some make money, others make history,” is how Tony put it.

Also, read about Factory’s hilarious method of cataloging everything with a number,  for example FAC 83 for the 1-year anniversary party for their club The Haçienda (FAC 51).  I’m thinking of instituting this system at my office.

I also had a chance to listen to episodes of Fresh Air featuring creators and writers of the show.  One of the interviews is with writer/producer ED Burns who draws on his experience as a homicide detective and later a school teacher to create the show’s stark realism.   The other is an earlier, shorter, but also insightful interview with creator/producer David Simon and writer George Pelecanos.

Travel
We still haven’t settled on a good honeymoon location. We will be traveling in mid-November so the weather is the main issue. The initial plan was Italy however it gets a bit cold and rainy there during that time of year. Maybe the Bahamas or Mexico would be nice. We’re hoping for a that perfect cocktail of relaxation and interesting things to see and do.

iPhone
Even if you aren’t interested in technology at all you’ve surely been bombarded with the TV ads every other commercial break. To a regular follower of the tech industry, the device is a powerful specter haunting the entire tech consciousness.

Driving by a local AT&T store at the mall, I convinced my fiancee to stop in with me so I could try one out. Despite the marketing barrage, endless reviews, walk-throughs, and the inevitable backlash, using the iPhone for the first time was a dazzling experience.

Productivity
One thing I never learned in school is how to effectively manage my daily work flow such that nothing falls through the cracks. As I take on more responsibilities, the number of commitments and things to keep track of is constantly growing.

I’ve picked up David Allen’s book Getting Things Done after seeing his methods referenced by several people. David is all about capturing your thoughts in a trusted external system: “the mind is for having ideas, not for holding them.” As a result, my “to do list on crack” is coming along quite nicely.

I’ve also enjoyed Tim Ferris’ The 4-Hour Workweek which recommends more drastic measures such as not reading the news, outsourcing your day-to-day tasks, and traveling the world with your remote office.

Podcasting
Yes, I’m a new media junkie: podcasts probably consume more of my entertainment attention than TV or movies. This week I’m excited to see my favorite tech podcaster Steve Gillmor launched his new video project, Bad Sinatra. I’ll share more of my favorite podcasts, tech and otherwise, with you in a future post.

Slavoj Zizek’s also has a related short essay entitled Give Iranian Nukes a Chance.

Here’s an interesting excerpt in which the protagonist, Amory Blaine, “interviews” himself:

Q.-What would be the test of corruption?

A.-Becoming really insincere–calling myself “not such a bad fellow,” thinking I regretted my lost youth when I only envy the delights of losing it. Youth is like having a big plate of candy. Sentimentalists think they want to be in the pure, simple state they were in before they ate the candy. They don’t. They just want the fun of eating it all over again. The matron doesn’t want to repeat her girlhood–she wants to repeat her honeymoon. I don’t want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again.

What do you think? Is the Internet “the birth of a new public sphere” or the creation of further “isolated milieux”?

If you are interested in further reading on the topic try contrasting these two bloggers: cluetrain manifesto co-creator and Internet Illuminati Doc Searls against the more dystopian flavor of Nick Carr.

Other featured ModernBizzle essays available here.

The Virtual Cybernet of Democratic free Speech (support our troops)
by Matthew Bunn

The Internet, as should be cliche by now, exercises a centrifugal
effect in communication. There is a give-and-take as communication
becomes de-professionalized and we all get the ability to speak out
publicly. The Internet has been likened to a restoration of ’salon
culture,’ which was the Enlightenment forum for open communication and
debate that was supposed to supplant coercion and authority as the
means of making decisions as a community.

Since we all love democracy, we should greet the extension of a form
of ‘communications democracy’ like the Internet as a blessing. Only
the exclusion of vast segments of the undereducated and underpaid
hinders the creation of an open forum of debate where the blogger-next-
door replaces the corporately-controlled journalism of the ‘mainstream
media.’

As one can tell, I am deeply suspicious of the neo-liberalism of
technophilic Internet enthusiasts. And yet here I am in the ethereal
print of a now-hackneyed ‘cyberspace.’ I don’t believe that if we
could just wire everyone up and let them hash it out in debate, free
from the bogeyman of censorship, that we could ‘democratize’ much of
anything. The traditional explanation for the failure of the media to
properly function as a force for democratization is its corporate
control and commercialization. As newspapers and television news
departments struggle for advertising revenue, so the argument goes,
they sacrifice the kinds of objectivity that make for a vital public
debate.

The fallacy of this argument lies in viewing advertising and commerce
as a deforming element in an otherwise pristine view of power-free
communication. Advertising is shot through our entire social reality.
Advertising is our table of ranks, no less real than noble privilege
or totalitarian techniques of repression. It is not the product of
elites, but instead the manifest dreams of our entire culture. We
cannot escape from it, because, I think that to struggle against
consumerist society is itself a commodified, advertising-friendly
form of rebellion. Censorship and social control collapses when
society becomes so entrenched that it loses all but token elements of
repression. Radical change becomes impossible when it becomes a
clothing style.

As the Internet affects communication, we should notice rather than
the birth of a new public sphere, instead an increased development of
isolated milieux, furthering political atomization. The Internet
develops textual allusion to its apex through the hyperlink, of
course, which allows pages to range across domains and authors,
dissolving the significance of authorship as a savvy reader compares
opinions of authors quickly and effectively. Of course, the aura of
authorship survives, but merely as a form of advertising itself–”Read
this because it has the brand name of this or that author.” Political
viewpoints will develop and arise of course, but cannot reach the all-
embracing vision of liberalism or socialism. I believe the reason for
this lack of universality is its lack of prestige in the post-
totalitarian world and more its lack of monopoly on public discourse.

Who has any vision nowadays other than religious fundamentalists, the
last idealists whose return to the religious wars of the 16th and 17th
centuries may yet portend a grand exhaustion, or even a new
Enlightenment?

What then can come of this form of communication? Essentially, why am
I writing? Nothing more than pure entertainment, the proper end of
commercialized media. That, in and of itself, is a politically radical
idea in an age of Christian zealotry.

Despite my skepticism, I looked through Tim’s site¹ in a little more detail and stumbled upon his amazingly simple explanation of speed reading that actually works for me. I was so surprised with the discovery I wanted to keep it to myself–fortunately for patrons of the ModernBizzle the feeling eventually wore off.

This is an excerpt from the Low-Information Diet “manifesto” on changethis.com:

Reading isn’t a linear process but a series of jumps (saccades) and independent snapshots (fixations). To feel both, put the tip of your index finger on one closed eye and slowly trace a straight horizontal line on a wall with the other.

Reading speed increases to the extent that you reduce the number and duration of fixations per line. That is the verifiable science of speed reading in one sentence.

The process is simple. First, draw a vertical line down the center of five text pages, then draw two additional vertical lines to either side of each center line. Practice fixating only at the points where these vertical lines intersect the horizontal lines of text, then progress to unmarked pages of text. By training peripheral vision and consolidating eye movement, you will be reading at least three-times faster than before.

Download the pdf and go to page 13 to see an example of the “lines” he is talking about.

1. Tim’s site regularly refreshes the page for some reason. To increase pageview count? ↩

In order to better balance this attention-deficit on my behalf, I want to share something that I think might be of direct interest to Thor. One of Thor’s reservations about using a feed reader was losing the various unique experience each individual site may offer.

One way to keep this experience while still leveraging the benefit of RSS is the “Next Bookmark” offered in Google Reader. Just click the custom bookmark link and it will take you directly to the website of the next unread item from your Google Reader list marking it read in the process. Find the link for yours under “settings” and then “goodies.”

I imagine you could even share your “next” button. Here’s mine: drag this NEXT>> link to your bookmark bar and surf my small corner of the web.
Update: no, you can’t share your “next” button after all. Makes sense from a security perspective:  you are what you read.