Archives for September 2008

The Daily Loper – September 30, 2008

September 30, 2008 by Lopy

They Eat A Lot of Porridge Edition

Todays links of interest:

Mad Men Illustrated – a set on Flickr
In a weird way, both the polar opposite of and a weird adjunct to the Mad Men Twitterers: scenes from the best drama currently on TV done in an early 1960s illustration style.
Rediscovering Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy on Blu-ray.
Right. Time to go buy a 1080p TV and Blu-ray.
Britney Spears says she plans to tour again
By "tour," she means the following: about a dozen shows in a dozen major cities in a dozen weeks. At each show, she will dance around to backing tapes of her biggest hit singles as well as two or three songs from her most recent album. Unless it tanks, at which point, the tour will never quite happen.

The Daily Loper – September 29, 2008

September 29, 2008 by Lopy

That Wasn’t A Tapeworm Edition

Todays links of interest:

Muxtape Explains RIAA Shutdown
We would file this one with all other stories about the music industry’s inability to figure out a way to keep itself alive, but the eight filing cabinets we bought for this topic alone are overflowing.
Rachel Maddow finds the right formula on MSNBC
Lost in the all cries of "liberalism" (like it’s a dirty word!) was the fact that Rachel Maddow is articulate and intelligent.
About 57 Million Tune In for Debate
At least Americans are paying attention this time. We thought McCain looked defensive and cranky. Took a few days for the pundits to agree with us.

The One That He Likes, Or It’s Cloudy in Pasadena

September 29, 2008 by Kassia Krozser

On a day like today, I am reminded how much I like clouds. Though it’s a little steamy here in SoCal, we’re also seeing a few drops of much-needed rain. It’s been so long, many of us had nearly forgotten what it sounds like, waking to a thunderstorm.

Clouds are really hot right now in the tech world. I don’t pretend to understand all ins and outs of cloud computing, but get that there’s tremendous potential for sharing and flexibility when it comes to content and information. I also get that there are more than a few red flags when it comes to “the cloud.”

Recently, a consortium lead by Sony announced a project called “Open Market.” Do not be fooled by the word “open”; this is a DRM scheme, plain and simple. The plan is simple (and not that new). You buy content, and then you get to access said content on a series of devices registered to your “domain.” In theory, this means, all house laptops, desktops, cell phones, devices-to-be-named-later. There is some sharing and the concept of interoperability.
[Read more…] about The One That He Likes, Or It’s Cloudy in Pasadena

The Daily Loper – September 27, 2008

September 27, 2008 by Lopy

Cool Hand Luke Edition

Todays links of interest:

Actor Paul Newman dies at 83
This one makes us all sad.
Paul Newman, actor who personified cool, dies
And let’s not forget the salad dressing.

The Daily Loper – September 26, 2008

September 26, 2008 by Lopy

To Everything, Spin Spin Spin Edition

Todays links of interest:

Tim / Pleased to Meet Me / Don’t Tell a Soul / All Shook Down
An unusually smart, nuanced and well-written take on the second set of Replacements reissues.
The last days of David Foster Wallace
Oh gods, he couldn’t write. Perhaps the best writer of our generation, and he couldn’t write.
New clickjacking affects all browsers; cause remains unknown
Looks like we’re all heading back to Lynx. And Pine.

The Daily Loper – September 25, 2008

September 25, 2008 by Lopy

It’s Always A Night For Comedy Edition

Todays links of interest:

Battlestar Raiders On Sale!
It’s not too early to start thinking about Christmas presents for your friendly ‘lopers. And a Battlestar Raider replica would be just about perfect!
Google?s End Run Around the Wireless Carriers
Gotta figure that the wireless carriers will have a few things to say about this.
Vint Cerf, father of the internet: ‘web is running out of addresses’
Forget the financial crisis, this is serious!

Why I’m Thinking About Abandoning My iPhone

September 25, 2008 by Jim Connelly

I have an iPhone. Old-school, 4GB, purchased on a whim last summer and, despite a glitch here and there, it’s been an amazingly handy and even transformative device.

That said, I’m dumping it because now that the T-Mobile Google Android-based G1 is out, I’m over the iPhone, which sucks sucks sucks. Not really, though I’m assuming that some of the comments on this article will act as if I said just that.

What is true is this: I didn’t purchase a 3G; and when my original AT&T contract is up next year, I’m going to take a good hard look at whichever version of the G1 is out there vs. whichever version of the iPhone is out there.

And here are some reasons why.

The Daily Loper – September 24, 2008

September 24, 2008 by Lopy

Not Just another Drop in the Ocean Edition

Todays links of interest:

MySpace tries to strike new chord in digital music
And by "new chord," they mean "2003," when the concept of tying millions of FREE (but not free) songs to a social network would have seemed like an innovative idea instead of a last-ditch effort not to lose the last bit of their mojo to Facebook.
McCain suspends campaign to work on Wall Street plan
Cazart! Isn’t part of the burden of being President the fact that you have to deal with multiple issues, crises, and obligations at the same time? Also, if we were attacked, and the opinion polls shifted towards McCain, would he suspend his campaign?
Don’t drive iPhone developers away, Apple
Despite the fact that there are a ton of apps in the App Store, there are still a lot of useful apps currently missing. Here is a deep look at some of the issues that might drive developers (and eventually users) to, say, Android.

The Daily Loper – September 23, 2008

September 23, 2008 by Lopy

How Does It Feel To Be a Cat Edition

Todays links of interest:

AMC’s Mad Men: Running Amok on Twitter
Microblogging. The next frontier in fan fiction.
Long-awaited California budget signed into law
Just in time to start the deadlock on next year’s budget.
Batman DVD news: Reports about a Watchmen-for-Batman Deal
A long look at all of the obstacles still in the way of the official release of the 1960s Batman! series on DVD. Essentially, they need to get agreements with nearly everybody whoever did anything associated with the show. Except, of course, the writers of "Song For Julie Newmar," all of whom — at last report — have pretty much vanished from the face of the earth.

The Daily Loper – September 22, 2008

September 22, 2008 by Lopy

Equinoxy Edition

Todays links of interest:

CNN Poll: GOP takes brunt of blame for economy, Obama gains
That’s what happens when It’s Your Fault.
McCain Backers Lash Out at Media for Obama ‘Advocacy’
"We lie. And then, and then, the media reports on our lies! How dare they? They’re completely in the tank! Bad media! Go back to your rooms!"
Emmy Awards – deserving winners, awful show
2009 Show: Ricky Gervais host. Please. Also: stop playing people off!! And finally, in the internet age, how about broadcasting it live here on the West Coast as well? Hate having to maintain a 6-hour internet blackout.