Headlines from Next Year

Why wait for the tragically predictable?


Apple drops the price of new iTablet by 25%, angering those who spent a week camped outside malls a month earlier in order to be the first to own them.

Sean Hannity demands DNA sample from Barack Obama to prove that he is human. Also questions whether the president is really over 35 and from planet Earth.

Microsoft assures users that upcoming release of SP1 will correct most issues with Windows 7.

Footballer placed on good behaviour bond for urinating in public says, “I just want to put it behind me and get on with my life."

Obama insists that despite the initial delay, Guantanamo Bay will be closed by January 2011.

Sarah Palin supporters blame “personal attacks by the TV ratings system” for the cancellation of her Fox News talk show.

The word “hashtag” added to Oxford English Dictionary.

CNN launches new flagship program, “Stuff we found on the internet.”

Owners of BitTorrent website abunchofthieves.com tell court “Who us? Steal? Never!”

Dick Cheney claims that thinking critical thoughts about him will cause the ground to open and swallow you up.

New social networking site moodring.com allows users to express themselves purely by colour.

Rock band says they hope to tour Australia “possibly next year.”

New Sacha Baron Cohen film to feature outrageous character who confuses unsuspecting Americans.

Administration backpedals on Iraq withdrawal date.

Speculation mounts about Abbott’s future as Liberal leader.

New online game Third Life allows socially awkward Second Life avatars to live out their fantasies.

Accusations of bribery and corruption in Olympic bidding process.

Local council attempts to create physical space inspired by online networking models. Working title for the project is “a park.”

Strawberry Fields Radio - Episode 75

After a week off work, I've felt the creative energy rushing back and it was nice to be able to do an end-of-year show.

Episode 75

Strawberry Fields Radio

GIMME SOME TRUTH, The Making of John Lennon's Imagine Album (1986/2000)

We can be grateful that John Lennon filmed just about everything he did. With very little in the way of narration, this fly-on-the-wall program is a fascinating insight into the birth of a classic.

It's hard to tell whether the film is shown chronologically or if it has been recut. What's clear is that there is an olive branch to Paul in the way the film has been edited. There is bitterness and derision towards Paul before and during the recording of How Do You Sleep? but immediately afterwards, they show John explaining to a bewildered fan who wandered onto the property that Carry That Weight was actually Paul's song, “but he was talking about all of us.”

We also get an interesting look into how Yoko earned her producer's credit. Her suggestions range from the insipid (“let's try and give them the right one”) to quite perceptive. She says, quite rightly, that there is too much improvisation in the early takes of How Do You Sleep? and that it should be a steady groove.

The music is remixed in Dolby 5.1 and while the film has plenty of music, it does make you long for a full length surround mix of the album – especially I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier and Gimme Some Truth.

With lots of mumbling and crosstalk, the subtitles become very handy – although there are times when even they give up and just say, “unintelligible.”

The bonus feature is the complete interview given to a journalist by John and Yoko about young people and sexuality. It's relevant to the documentary because it was the interview was done at the same time and excepts from it are used in the main feature. There's also a complete discography.

Highlight: John and George doing a take of Oh My Love.
Feature: * * * * *
Extras: * * *
Audio: Dolby Stereo, Dolby 5.1

Thinking of Linking

Around the time I started this 'blog, I created accounts at Digg and StumbleUpon too and over the year, I've alternated between whichever was the least annoying to use at the time. There are now about 200 of these 'social bookmarking' services.  I don't get what's social about it, unless they were expecting people to say, "Hey! You liked that wedding video too? Let's be buddies!" but I haven't seen that happen.  I've used them mainly for pages I want to put aside to read later since I often use three different computers in a day.  Some of them I've only just come back to now, but I thought I'd post them there to give you an idea of some of the things I've been reading over the year.  I could have just linked to my Digg and StumbleUpon profiles, but the interfaces of both are so annoying that I wouldn't wish them on you, and I find it handier to have them all here in one spot anyway.

If anyone is thinking they can build up a profile from this list, good luck with that!  Don't go thinking, "Aha! He visited Huffington Post!  I knew he was a screaming leftie!"  Most of them came from RSS feeds.  I don't necessarily endorse or support all of the views on this list.  They're simply some articles I found interesting during the year.  You might find them interesting too.  If not, I won't be doing it again for another year.

News and Politics - Australia:
Sam the Koala
Turnbull’s stimulus suicide
Is it wrong to want fame?
Blokes make cars, women make clothes … guess who wins
Neo-Liberal Meltdown
Jetstar fined $148k for breaking airport curfew
Code of silence: the murky mix of stars, sex and sports writers
Film and TV legend Charles 'Bud' Tingwell dies
Murdoch slams BBC dominance  
(Are you shitting me?)
A few words on diplomacy with China
Dust storm from space
Father Bob fighting forced retirement
Robes of office not in Costello’s size
Why AFACT v iiNet is important
Get off yr lzy butt, stupid gvt. Yr interfering w/ AWSMNESS!
Malcolm Turnbull talks straight on climate change
Balibo killings were 'rational', says former Indonesian army colonel
Is it time to cut and run from Afghanistan?
Bernard Keane’s guide to writing to Ministers
The 2009 Crikey Arsehat Awards
Father Bob on Mary MacKillop

News and Politics - US:
Who's Keeping Burger King Workers Below the Poverty Line?
CNBC Editor: The People Are Revolting!
Rick Santelli's Offensive Rant Against the Housing Bailout
The death-penalty debate needs more information
Billionaires for Teabagging!
Cringely: How to End the Recession
Will Obama back 'truth commission' to probe Bush practices?
It's Patriotic To Criticize: How our generals got so mediocre.
Rick Santelli's rant was a preplanned right-wing scam to torpedo Obama's economic agenda
RNC's Steele attacks Rush. Apology forthcoming....   
(they were right!)
Limbaugh's Dirty Little Secret of Radio "Success"
No happy ending yet, 30 years after mom set baby on fire
Teabagging Michelle Malkin
America's poor are its most generous givers
Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet
Commentary: What’s up with Dick Cheney?
Barack Obama: he’s bringing dignity back
What Cheney knew — and why it’s a test for Obama
Harry Shearer: Why the Birthers?
Republican Death Trip
In America, Crazy Is a Preexisting Condition - Birthers, Town Hall Hecklers and the Return of Right-Wing Rage 
Those crazy ole Republicans aren’t funny anymore 
Racist? Me?... But, I Was Only Joking 
d r i f t g l a s s: Like A Virgin 
Harolds Left: 9-12s Underbelly 
Dear Time Magazine: About that subscription renewal ... 
Caroline Myss: Republicans and the Art of Racism 
Fear was no excuse to condone torture
How Ayn Rand Became an American Icon
Obama predicts execution for 9/11 suspect  
(We're going to try him, convict him and kill him. Does that sound like a fair trial?)
Leaving the Right - The Daily Dish


News and Politics - World:
Taleban announce Swat ceasefire
Russian advice: More troops won't help in Afghanistan
Witnesses to Moscow's Afghan war
Iraq Shoe-Thrower Jailed for 3 Years Tibetan monk 'shot' while on fire
This is what real media bias looks like
President of Guinea-Bissau assassinated
Bob Ellis: The economic consequences of George, Gordon and Milton
Bob Ellis: Massacre of the innocents
Slumdog stars 'to get new homes'  
(Great! Now what about everyone else?)
Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran’s 2009 Presidential Election
Row over Afghan wife-starving law
Gauguin 'cut off Van Gogh's ear'
Chinese massacre film stirs debate
Brussels, home of Tintin and the EU
Challenge: Why did Arafat Receive a Nobel Prize, and Not Reagan?
Top 25 Censored Stories for 2010
The False US Friends of the “Iranian People” (An Open Letter to Charles Krauthammer)


Science and Technology:
Why Google’s Software Update Tool Is Evil
Why I hate Facebook
Dark Energy to Erase Big Bang's Fading Signal
Understanding Depression
Is Crowdsourcing Evil? The Design Community Weighs In
How to Make a Presentation Like Al Gore
April 1, 2004: Gmail Hits Webmail G-Spot
7 (Crazy) Civilian Uses for Nuclear Bombs
Hit save before dot-com becomes dot-gone
A Mac user's take on the Windows 7 user interface
Going bananas for energy in Africa
The Hidden Cost of a Solar Power Plant
Gold nanotubes boost DVD storage
The high costs of running YouTube.
Google Blog: Money scams
How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live
iPhone Jailbreaking Could Crash Cellphone Towers, Apple Claims
Unsung heroes save net from chaos
Earth's Climate Outside 'Safe Operating Space'
Electric Hand Dryers vs. Paper Towels
Death knell looms for southern bell frog   
(How quickly things can change)
Better the broken Windows than life with the Mac monks
Create a Virtual Machine of your Existing Computer
Oct. 28, 1793: Whitney’s Cotton Gin Patent Not Worth Much
Defending some “fancy pants arguments”
Microsoft may help News Corp. delist sites  
(The worst news source removed from the best search engine? I call that they best of both worlds)
10 Years After Y2K -- Stories From the IT Battlegrounds
Climate Change for Idiots
Fast is best for Band-Aid removal: scientists  
(Surely a candidate for an Ig Nobel Prize)
Why there's no sign of a climate conspiracy in hacked emails

Music:
A Future Cup Of Urine How much are you willing to pay for a cup of piss?
'Intimidation' behind Oasis split  
(I think Noel had been carrying him for too long anyway)
Bruce Cockburn gets a rocket launcher
Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick on Abbey Road
My $62.47 Royalty Statement: How Major Labels Cook the Books with Digital Downloads

Animals:
Like a pig in...  
Brutality in Egyptian pig cull 
Racehorse's health restored 1 year after hellish descent
Chimp-Made Toolkit Most Complex Ever Found
Chimps stand silent to mourn friend

Humour and Satire:
Calvin explains the economic crisis
Chance of people believing an outrageous statement
Rush Limbaugh: Voice of the People
Too Big to Fail
Political Correctness
Cartels
Farnarkeling
60-Year-Old Hippie Pitied By 40-Year-Old Punk
The best London Underground Tube map pastiches
Yamaha CEO Pleased With Current Production Of Jet Skis, Alto Saxophones, Snowmobiles, Power Generators, Scooters, Golf Carts
A Retort to Carly Simon Regarding Her Charges of Vanity.
Easter Island
Cat Congress Mired In Sunbeam
Ode To Party-First Republicans
O Capn,my Capn
Dogbert tweets
Also explains climate-change 'sceptics'
The sky is falling ... oh wait. It's just an apocalyptic asteriod
Beatles 3000
Climate Summit

Miscellaneous:
The Saddest Bear of All
The full fonty: why type nerds went mental over IKEA
Yotels
The mechanics of tipping in the USA
Why Nice Guys Should Finish First — but Don't
Lack of computer skills foils many job-seekers
"I could care less" vs. "I couldn't care less" The Question Ends Here  
(Everyone should know this)
Soda Bread
A Walk Through Time

A disclosure:

Over the next couple of days, I will be editing all links that pertain to music or DVDs and changing them to  Amazon links.  Previously, I had used a mix of various online stores that I’ve had good experiences with, usually going with whichever one had the best price or the clearest picture.  My reason for changing them is because I have just signed up with Amazon Associates.  I am not supposed to announce this, so instead, I am quietly disclosing it.  I know I could probably go ahead and do this without anyone noticing, but I’d notice and I wouldn’t want to be keeping anything from you. 

Basically, how it works is that if anyone clicks on an Amazon link from this site and that same session results in a sale, I get a small percentage in kickback.  That being the case, I will be amazed if I make more than 50 cents out of this, but in the unlikely event that I do generate traffic and sales, then I might as well wet my beak.

I will not be posting links any more or less than I always have.  I’ve only ever posted them for the reader’s information.  If I ever start blatantly suggesting that you go on over to the good folks at Amazon, then you will know I have turned and you should delete me from your bookmarks.  I could also put search boxes and promotions in the sidebar, but that’s not my style.  Having said that, I’ve never had anything against ads on ’blogs.  Google ads are pretty unobtrusive and if I enjoy a ’blog that has ads, I usually click on them no matter what they are.  It’s easy to open the links in a new tab, let them load, then close them a minute or so later.  It costs nothing and if it puts a couple of cents in the pocket of a ’blogger I like, then I’m happy to do it.

In fact, here’s a trick you can use: whenever I find an ad objectionable, I’m always sure to click it.  It costs the advertiser money, they think they’ve gained some new interest when they haven’t, and it generates a little income for the site I do like, so everyone’s happy.  I have considered having Google ads here and so far, decided against it but I don’t think it compromises a ’blog.

So if – and only if – you find yourself wanting any kind of item referenced here, following the links posted will mean I get a modest cut if you end up making a purchase.  And if you find a better deal elsewhere, then by all means take it.  If I had my druthers, I’d never shop online.  I can’t adequately describe how satisfying it was in 2007 when, after 14 years of special orders and imports, I was able to walk into my local record shop, pull the new World Party release out of the rack, slap it down on the counter and give the assistant a knowing look as if to say, “Why yes, I am buying the new World Party album!  Nice of you to notice.  Oh, you didn’t?  Never mind.”  I’d love to get everything from my local but since I can’t be sure of getting the edition that I want at a reasonable price, then I have to find alternatives.  For those of you in the same situation, here’s another alternative.

If anyone objects to this arrangement, please let me know.

LENNON LEGEND – John Lennon (2003)

The CD of the same name was really just The John Lennon Collection repackaged for the Britpop generation, now rendered doubly redundant by the recent two-disc compilation. But there is much to recommend the DVD version. It's primarily a collection of video clips for all John's singles, with audio very tastefully remixed for 5.1. Many of the songs never had film clips when released, but John was such an avid home movie maker that there was ample footage to assemble clips from for the video world. Many have been made especially for this DVD.

Extras include a couple of live performances, some more home movie footage and animations of John's drawings. Great menus too!

Highlight: Mind Games
Feature: * * * *
Extras: * * *
Audio: LPCM Stereo, Dolby 5.1, DTS


Previously posted at Strawberry Fields and at Fishpond.

GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY – Paul McCartney (2009)

This review is based on the MP4 download. I'll post an update on the DVD features after my physical copy arrives.

Good Evening New York City is Paul's fifth live album of his career and fourth live DVD since he resumed touring in 2002. While it may seem a bit like overkill on the latter count, the real question is, Has Paul finally made a decent concert film? I'm delighted to report that the answer is a resounding Yes!

The fact that these shows marked the opening of CitiField, the replacement for Shea Stadium, left the door wide open for yet another rehash of Beatlemania but they resist that tempation. Apart from a 60-second introduction, they leave the historical references to Paul's between-song anecdotes, some of which, we haven't even heard before. This is, finally, a complete two and a half hour concert featuring the music, all the music and nothing but the music. And too many shots of the audience too, but I guess you can't have everything. However, even these are mercifully brief compared to previous efforts. They appear to have been shot by fans and are probably part of bonus features on the DVD.

Also, given the setting, it would have been so easy to simply make it a Beatles show but the setlist in the first half is a good mix of Beatles, Wings, solo and even two Fireman songs. Come the second half, it's wall-to-wall Beatles with the one exception of Live and Let Die, but that's perfectly understandable for this particular show. Although this is the first live DVD to include Mrs Vandebilt and A Day in the Life, we've seen them on YouTube so much over the last year that the freshness they should have is gone. That's not so for Day Tripper, which by rights should always have been a live favourite but has had no post-Beatles performances until now.

It's a bit surprising to note that Paul's live band has now been together with the same lineup longer than any other band he has toured with. It certainly shows. They are completely relaxed and confident, not starstruck as they were on the earlier tours. Billy Joel shows up in the first encore to join in on I Saw Her Standing There, as Paul did at Billy's final show at Shea Stadium last year.

The presentation as a whole has the feel of a live television broadcast more than polished concert film. This is a good thing and actually adds to the live feel. The only place where things go a little awry is during I'm Down, where they try to cut back and forth between the 2009 show and the Beatles' shambolic but brilliant performance at Shea. If you're wondering if Wix plays the keyboard with his elbow, you'll just have to find out for yourself.

The other big surprise of Good Evening New York City comes as the credits roll. The concert film was directed by Paul himself. That makes it all the more curious that Paul spent most of the decade commissioning fawning fanboy pieces when he was perfectly capable of producing a great film on his own. For sure, it's a fairly no-frills production for such a big show, but that's what makes it so great. When you've got the man and his music, you don't need anything else. If you want a McCartney live DVD that really is a live concert, this is the one to get.

Highlight: Sing the Changes, Day Tripper
Feature: * * * * ½
Extras: TBC
Audio: TBC