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Pissa

The Beast, a strange magazine from Buffalo has drafted their 50 Most Loathsome People of 2004. Yeah, all the expected celebrities, pundants and political peoples are on the list and a few surprises. It’s hilarious, though, doling out punishment to each of the guilty.
My favourite:

13. Joan Rivers
Crimes: The most ghastly face science has managed to create without the use of chemical weapons. As a pioneer in facial reconstruction, she shows us that, in the future, every famous woman will gradually turn into a cross between a sickly geisha and the Joker. The red carpet fashion-cop shtick she does with her broken, spiritless daughter is such an obvious inferiority complex manifestation we almost feel sorry for them, until we remember they’re making millions of dollars for it.
Smoking Gun: The sheer, ugly self-hatred of a woman with that face, that voice, and that personality nitpicking Nicole Kidman.
Punishment: Face falls off into wet cement at Mann’s Chinese Theatre.

Snowpants

My Moms bought me a pair of shell pants, you know the expensive, rugged, outdoor type that makes that “fweep fweep fweep” sound as you walk. I normally wear them in the spring/fall as I bike in the rain/wet road conditions, but it’s cold enough out these days that I need the extra exterior protection. The problem is they aren’t very fashionable. I feel like I’m twelve again.. I rode my toboggan to work! Wanna go crazy carpeting later?
But I’m thankful when I wear them, especially when I wait outside in neg30deg weather for 20 minutes for the streetcar to come and then the streetcar subsequently breaks down and I need to wait another 20 for another one to come. Yes, very thankful.

iTuned Out?

One of my resolutions this year was to purchase the bulk of my music on line via iTunes or other similar mp3 download places like Bleep, iTunes, or Zunior… and yet I just found out that iTunes sampling rate is 128kps… which is satisfactory (like, the bare minimum ripping compression rate), but when a cd’s compression rate is actually over 1300kps, there’s a pretty big gap between. Zunior uses 192kps and Bleep uses 205kps (both with using LAME compression technology).
I think I need to rethink this. I dunno… does it really make a difference? I mean, I’m not a sound snob. I can’t really tell the difference between a 192kps mp3 and a wav file. Then again, I can really tell there’s a difference in some songs on my iPod, but I think that’s more the mastering of the cd (which can be produced at different volumes… or even take an old cd from the early 90’s compared to one of todays cd’s and it’s like the old cd is on “hush” mode).
I think I’ll try a few downloads from a few different places (when the money provides), but I think I’m going to keep with the cds for now (that way I can sample and resample at a compression rate I’m happy with until the on-line retail catches up).
It’s an insane amount of listening, even if you are being selective.

#^(!@*%

For the second year in a row I got a quotable quote in the Exclaim reader’s poll. It’s almost regrettable that it’s for the Arcade Fire. But I have to admit it’s a nice quote… and hell, yes, I still mean it.
The AF backlash is happening, overexposure at its worst. And it’s not the band’s fault, but the fans. Just think, if blogging was around in ‘98 we’d all be sick to shit of Neutral Milk Hotel and “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” too.
Meanwhile I keep recording on-line exclusive music…
this week’s CBC Radio3 zine showcases 101 (yes, one hundred and one) Concerts and Sessions recorded exclusively for CBC (and then rerecorded exclusively for me by way of my computer). Bands range from Death Cab For Cutie to Ted Leo, Buck 65 to Young and Sexy. It’s overwhelming, really.

February Doldrums Got You Down? DVD BABY!

What’s out (abridged from the special ed):
Feb 1
- The Brak Show vol 1 (It is I, cloneborg)
- Sealab 2021 vol 2 (BIZARRO!)
- Wonderfalls: The Complete Series
Feb 8
- The Fresh Prince of Bel Air: The Complete First Season (You know all the words to the theme song… you know you do, don’t try and deny it! I love this show.)
- The Greatest American Hero: Season One (Believe it or not..)
- Malcolm X: Special Edition
- Miami Vice: Season One (Michael Mann where he began, with Crockett and Tubbs… white suits, no socks, guns and lots of neon)
- Rocky III (the forecast… is paaaain. And some other Rocky stuff out the same day)
Feb 15
- Angel: Season Five (no more Buffy stuff on DVD ever! I made the geeks cry.)
- Donnie Darko: Director’s Cut (YESYESYESYES, they made me do it)
- Half Baked: Fully Baked Edition (Classic Dave Chappelle, see what Jon Stewart’s been talking about for the past four years)
- The Ice Pirates (oh, no way, I’ve not seen this since the mid-80’s)
Feb 22
- Cube Zero (wow, I didn’t even know there was another Cube movie, this one a prequel. I love these films!)
- Heat: Special Edition (if you don’t already own the old edition, you MUST own this one. One of the greatest movies ever)
and jumping ahead
April 05 - Primer. If there’s ever a movie screaming for repeated viewings and a commentary track…

Wash That Grey Right Outta Your Hair

Yeah, the grey hairs are becoming more numerous, but I don’t care.
I don’t.
I’m actually looking forward to my Reed Richards temples and eventual salt’n'pepper mixture.
I’ve just learned how to properly care for my hair, making it more managable than ever before. The trick is to get out of the daily wash-rinse-repeat cycle and instead opt for a shampooing once every 5 to 7 days.
Instead, using small amount of good conditioner on a daily basis and keeping my hair under a toque until I get to work. No “product” needed. Even when it’s at this annoying lenth it is now, I don’t have any trouble with it.
I just blogged about my hair…
oi.