Newpile: I Couldn’t Make This Shit Up If I Tried

So a few days ago, I saw Kevin Rathbun turning left on to North Druid from Briarcliff in his Range Rover with his whites hanging in the backseat.  He’s a pretty unique-looking dude and I remember him from the time he beat Bobby Flay in Battle Elk.  Hopefully this is a culinary good omen for the week.  But that’s beside the point.

On to the newspile:

• The state of Oregon is outlawing bukkake.  WTF?  And here I thought Oregon was pretty liberal.  Our current assault laws cover spitting on somoene else, so why is there a need for a special law for this? (via BoingBoing)
• I’ve been somewhat upset lately because my 3-yr old incandescent lightbulbs are all outlasting the CFL’s I spent so much money on last year.  The CFLs were more expensive, noisier, and worst of all, the ones I have seem to have a shorter life than incandescents.  At least this Slashdot post makes me feel like I’m not alone.
• A container loaded with 58,000 pounds of ham was stolen from a shipping yard in Puerto Rico.

Yeah I couldn’t make that stuff up.

Atlanta Hip Hop: Reid Richards + Conspiracy = King Robot

Atlanta readers, remember the Mic Club at the Apache Cafe (when it run by was D.R.E.S. and the kickass band with Billy Fields and DJ Edward Scissorhands)?  If so you might’ve had the chance to watch Reid Richards in action – the man totally owns battle rap.

Now he is back with producer Conspiracy as King Robot.  Ohmpark broke it, and they’ve got a direct link to a Rapidshare download of their first release.  Kind of wild and crazy – check it out.

Newspile: Watch Out For Robo-Stalker

• Japanese scientists have developed a robot with emotions and the ability to learn and adapt.  Unfortunately it’s turned into a stalker.  This is both hilarious and totally creepy at the same time.
• A lot of momentum is growing behind the idea that Yelp operates using a business model similar to la Cosa Nostra.  The Consumerist reports – and readers report on disappearing reviews in the comments.
• Del is insane and makes crazy machines out of wood.

Ohmpark Rips Creative Loafing a New One For Being Hopelessly Confused

Dublab-approved daily read Ohmpark (a must-read for anyone interested in the Atlanta independent music scene) recently gave Creative Loafing a scathing verbal beatdown over their schizophrenic and thoroughly self-contradictory coverage of the local scene.

I’m sure I would’ve vomited had I read the original article but in my apartment the only thing we use CL for is kindling.

Check it out:

Diatribe Of The Day: Don’t Blame The Hipsters, or Why Atlanta Pwns Omaha

As the first commenter pointed out… “flawless victory.”

DRM is Filthy: Why Musicians Will Hate Windows 7

When the beta version of Windows 7 dropped recently, nerds around the world were heard gasping in relief.  Finally, a version of Vista that works.  With features that people want.  I heard all about its improved ease of use, the marvelously easy installation process, the almost-like-magic identification of drivers for nearly every piece of hardware under the sun and the fantastic dock-like task bar.  For about 2 and a half weeks there, I REALLY WANTED to get Window 7 as soon as it came out.

But today we get the news.  Windows 7 is riddled with filthy, dirty DRM.  Specifically, a Slashdot reader recently discovered that capturing audio playing on a Windows 7 machine with said PC’s own sound card is pretty much impossible – by design.  If the sound card is playing audio, its inputs are disabled by the OS.  As if that weren’t enough, the OS seems to be very protective over the modification of installed software – this is where it gets much scarier:

Re — Photoshop: That Photoshop stopped functioning after we messed with one of its nag DLLs was not so much a surprise, but what was a surprise: Noting that Win7 allows programs like Photoshop to insert themselves stealthily into your firewall exception list. Further, that the OS allows large software vendors to penetrate your machine. Even further, that that permission is responsible for disabling of a program based on a modified DLL. And then finding that the OS even after reboot has locked you out of your own Local Settings folder; has denied you permission to move or delete the modified DLL; and refuses to allow the replacement of the Local Settings folder after it is unlocked with Unlocker to move it to the Desktop for examination (where it also denies you entry to your own folder). Setting permissions to ‘allow everyone’ was disabled!

This is disappointing news to many, including myself.  As a musician, I use the computer as a tool to make my work easier, and from that perspective, this is kind of like seeing someone try to market a paint brush without bristles – totally unacceptable, and not something that I would EVER spend money on.

So, to Microsoft: take this crap out of the operating system and I may consider purchasing Windows 7 when it comes out.  If you leave it in, I will need to continue using my XP machine until 2016 when you put out your next OS.

iPod Stealth, Moonwalker Faces, Dumb CEOs: Tuesday Newspile

Today’s pile of links:

• The Make blog posted an awesome picture of a “stealth” iPod prototype.  Apparently the “stealth” comes from the fact that since it was so friggin huge, the expectation was that no one working on it would think it was a portable music player.
• The Guardian has a gallery of all the ridiculous crap that Michael Jackson is going to be auctioning off, including the robotic Michael Jackson head from the end of Moonwalker and a golf cart with a picture of Jacko as Peter Pan plastered across the hood.
• Taking a cue from premature 3G iPhone-announcing Randall Stephenson, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega slips up and lends creedence to rumors about Dell’s entry into the smart phone market.

Sexting and America’s Moral Bankruptcy

Here’s some bullshit:  these 13-yr-old kids got caught sending pictures of their nude classmates amongst themselves from cell phone to cell phone – so the Falmouth Police Department (508 457-2527) is planning to charge them with felony child porn charges.  I’ve included the phone number so that you can call and complain – their website is dead.

CNN Video

Now when I first heard about this story, it was on a CNN video that featured some woman saying that they were planning to ruin these kids’ lives by charging them with possession and distribution of child pornography – because although the charges are probably not applicable, they wanted to “send the message that this is not acceptable behavior.”

That’s fucked up. That’s like if we decided to go ahead and take all underage kids that have sex with their peers and charge them with statuatory rape to send the message that “that is not acceptable behavior.”  Why don’t we make them all pin special patches on their shirts too?

Here’s another question – why isn’t the girl getting charged with producing child porn?  That just sends the message that girls should be loose and irresponsible and there will be no repercussions, and that the boys better stay away from nude pictures or they will be branded as child pornographers.  Clearly this isn’t about sending a message about what is or isn’t acceptable behavior – it is about perpetuating America’s puritanical right-wing positions around the ever-touchy subject of teenagers exploring human sexuality.  What these kids need is a responsible dialogue on human sexuality and the consequences of their actions, not to have their lives ruined by being convicted of producing and distributing child pornography.

America:  kids sending text messages with naked pictures of themselves is regrettable – but convicting teenagers on child porn charges just for acting like teenagers shows just how morally bankrupt this country is.   Ruining a child’s life just to send a puritanical message of repression is just PLAIN WRONG.

He dicho.

Vico C: Blast From The Past

Recently a read a post over at Upset The Setup where PJ calls for suggestions for a kid-friendly hip hop mixtape.  And apparently Spanish is OK.

Kid friendly, strong positive message… sounds like El Filosofo del Rap.  So here’s some early 90’s Vico C for ya:

Explosion

Bomba Para Afincar

It’s a shame I couldn’t dig up a copy of “La Escuela” anywhere online – that is a MUST for the mixtape.

Concrete Jungle Predatory Birds, or Hawks in Atlanta

My girlfriend caught a hawk hanging out in our neighborhood, so she SHOT IT… with our new camera.

Benicio “Che” Del Toro Hates Being Railroaded By The Washington Times – Is That Surprising?

The headline for this Washington Times article (”Del Toro Walks out On ‘Che’ Interview”) is misleading at best.  Personally, I don’t really care for Benicio del Toro – I don’t hate him either – but after reading the article, I felt like I should write about this to point out that Sonny Bunch of the Washington Times is a sneaky bastard.

As a technical writer and instructional designer, I spend my working days creating resources that help people accomplish certain tasks, usually as part of their job.  Just because I am very go0d at writing documentation on accomplishing a particular task – say, making homemade explosives – doesn’t mean that I agree with it.  By that same token, Mr. Del Toro’s portrayal of Ernesto Guevara (which was right on, I hear) doesn’t make him a spokesperson for Che’s ideals.  Why weren’t those same questions asked to someone who had some editorial input on the film – Mr. Soderbergh perhaps?  The point is, these guys were just trying to make a movie.  The goal of a movie is to make lots of money, get its crew paid, and win lots of awards, so it appears that Mr. Soderbergh and Mr. Del Toro have been doing their jobs exceptionally well.

I’m sure when the interview was set up, the expectation was that it would be about the movie, rather than Ernesto Guevara’s historical legacy.  Railroading someone who just came in to talk about their work by making them respond in detail to comments on a historical figure’s unsavory-ness is just bad journalism for the sake of a juicy headline.

According to Sonny,

Mr. Valladares is afraid that Mr. del Toro and Mr. Soderbergh’s film will make people forget the reality that was Che Guevara’s life.

Mr. Bunch y Sr. Valladares, in case you missed the memo, Ernesto Guevara has already been turned into a countercultural hero of sorts.  Just spend a day walking around any major U.S. city while counting the number of hipster kids running around wearing red Che shirts.  There are people in this world that just do things without understanding the reasons why.  Both of you will need to accept that and stop trying to blame the American public’s general historical ignorance on a Puerto Rican actor who just played the guy in a movie.

Y me imagino que esa es la ultima entrevista de Benicio con el Washington Times, porque supuestamente a el no le importa un bledo.  He dicho.