Stephen Colbert Roasts at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

Throw away your TV Video Archive

This is beautiful. Colbert stands up in front of George W. Bush, the White House Press Corps, Supreme Court Judges and any number of influential government figures and tears them down. There's barely a laugh from the crowd but that's not exactly suprising. And as if the performance itself wasn't good enough there's a video after where Colbert 'Auditions' for the job of White House Press Secretary resulting in the most hilarious use of Helen Thomas in anything.

Mr. Colbert, you have balls of steel.

Canadian Musicians Take A Stand

Canadian Music Creators Coalition: A New Voice

A number of high profile Canadian musicians have formed the CMCC, an action group that plans on defending those music fans who have been sued in their name by the record labels. Members as of now include: Barenaked Ladies, Avril Lavigne, Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sum 41, Stars, Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace), Dave Bidini (Rheostatics), Billy Talent, John K. Samson (Weakerthans), Broken Social Scene, Sloan, Andrew Cash and Bob Wiseman (Co-founder Blue Rodeo).

Google in China: The Big Disconnect - New York Times

Google in China: The Big Disconnect - New York Times

Wow. This is a fantastic article dealing with the Google-China controversy. It's extremely well written and provides a great bottom up view of Chinese internet culture. I highly recommend it if you're in any way interested in the issue.

Speedruns at night

I am at the point in my study schedule where sleeping occurs at such random intervals as to make 'going to bed' a difficult game of me vs. insomnia. I've falling asleep in the middle of the day and stayed up till 4:00 doing nothing but trying to figure out out just what the Floyd Girls on my wall are talking about. So in addition to a strict diet of hastily prepared sandwiches and Ibuprofen and no chocolate/coffee/tea/sugar after 8 I've introduced something which has actually been able snap me off to bed just like that. I'll go to this site download a random speedrun movie and watch it. Sure enough after about 30 minutes i'll be able to roll over and go to bed.

Now I for one love this kind of stuff. In addition to the rediculious amounts of TV I download other useless shit I do to waste time this one is probably the most passively entertaining. Half the time I can just put one on and continue about my work or listen to music. I first discovered the sites ability to knock me out earlier this term and since then I've watched practically every NES, SNES and Genesis video they have to offer, I've even taken to watching the new submissions and unfinished movies.

I'm just saying, god damn that's a lot of games to watch. I can't wait until I don't need to resort to such ass-backwards methods of tricking myself to sleep. Consequently tonight will be Cabal. A game I have never heard of and expect to be pretty terrible.

Superman is a Dick

Superman is a Dick

I guess there's only so much you can do with the greatest super hero ever before you just let him dick everyone around for the hell of it. #3 holds a special place in my heart.

Kelly Stoltz - Memory Collector

Kelly Stoltz - Memory Colelctor

Hmmm. Piano, strings, good sounding vocals. Not much melody variation here, just straightforward piano driven chords with some nice vocals and a little string enriching over the top. Not bad for an introduction though, I'm curious to hear what the rest of the album sounds like.

Penguins Proven to be More Awesome than Dinosaurs

News in Science - Penguins survived when dinosaurs died - 07/04/2006

I admit it. I am obsessed with penguins and all things deritive thereof. It comes to no suprise to me that they have been around since the beginning of time and survived whatever pansy little cough or global disaster took down the thunder lizards.

The Gospel of Judas

Judas seen as Jesus' collaborator, not his betrayer / Early Christian manuscript portrays him as favored disciple who was told he'd be 'cursed by the other generations': "'But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.'"

I love this kind of stuff. Evidently there's been a 'Gospel of Judas' floating around since the 70s but it only just got translated by National Geographic and the findings released to the public. In it Judas was one of Jesus' favoured disciples and the only one who truly 'understood' his teachings. Before his death Jesus told Judas that he would be responsible for his death.

They seem to believe that the text is real, the debate now is whether the findings really mean anything or are just the ramblings of a failed spliter sect of early Christians.

I love this Apocrapha stuff.

The Magic Numbers

I remember a time maybe two years ago when pop music was as foreign a concept to me as used panty vending machines and delousing the elderly. The New Pornographers barely registered as non-offensive sounds. U2 were those guys who I kind of like but never listened to. Why would I bother listening to these soft and fuzzy bands when Spoon and Eels and My Morning Jacket were coming out with such amazing rock albums?

I think the first change came when I heard about Field Music's release of last year. It was so hard to find but somehow, I knew I had to get it. My search was not in vain and it blew away my expectations of 'just another pop band' but I felt unfulfilled. I relistened to Twin Cinema and Sufjan's Illinois and all those pop staples of last year all the while keeping my new obsession with pop in the closet... what would my friends think?! And then came The Magic Numbers. I still haven't had enough of this album and when I'm in the mood for some feelgood music that I can sing along to and snap my fingers to and do all those rediculious looking things people do when they're enjoying what they're listening to WAY too much. When I was doing up my best of 2005 list I kept trying to find a place to put them but I convinced myself that there were better pop albums and that they were already way overrepresented.

So here we are in April and I'm still listening to Magic Numbers while Sufjan has sat unlistened for many a month. In recompensation for me glossing over this one for so long I thought I'd pay it some respect and give thanks for finally helping me get over that mental aversion to 'happy pop music.'

I've actually been finding that I'm pining this year for a really good pop album but as of yet the closest thing that I've come across is the new Islands. Come on music industry! We need some tunes that I can unconciously mouth lyrics to while I amble around this summer! Your audience needs you!

Furthermore, I got punked by CMG. Good job guys.

Bandwagon Jumping for Fun

In my neverending pursuit of music and the tragic loss of my favourite review source I've taken to stalking label pages looking for sample mp3s. Truth be told, I was reading You Ain't No Picasso and came across a great new Jens Lekman song and a Flaming Lips picture set. Then, remembering 3hive, I decided that it might be fun to follow this stuff myself, so I poked around Jagjaguwar for a bit and found a few catchy tracks.

The Dugout. Not too bad. Really simple riffs but they catch. Comes off a little cheesy and 'vintage' though. Actually, now that I think of it, early Foo Fighters only with a kind of noodling solo.

http://www.jagjaguwar.com/onesheet.php?cat=JAG097

CMJ Punked

AHHHH!!! CokeMachineGlow.... gone? What I wouldn't give for this to be some cruel joke... :(

I'll miss you buddy.