IN WHICH JFRO GETS TOUGH ON CRIME

About the current corporate personhood kerfuffle that's been in the news so much lately: I have an idea that would satisfy both liberals & conservatives. Corporations can be people, but then they have to go to jail when they've been bad just like regular people. No rights without responsibilities, n'est pas? Fines for breaking rules and lawsuits just don't seem to be getting the job done, and it's too easy for corporations to influence politicians into watering these down (see: "Tort Reform").

If a company breaks the law, we own their ass, and the worse it is, the longer we own them. If they are really bad, it's the death penalty--complete dissolution. It's not nationalization or socialism unless prisoner work details are, it's being tough on crime. What's softer on crime than saying certain people can't ever be put in jail no matter what they do?

TAX REFUND 2010

I got plenty of toys last year, so my ambitions for this year are more modest:

1. Mac-Friendly Webcam for Skyping ($30 - 50)

If anyone knows of a good one for Macs, let me know. My sister and brother-in-law had a little trouble setting theirs up.

1. Headphones with Mic for Skyping on iPod Touch (20-$50)

Now that my Internet is speedy enough, my plan is to eventually use Skype for all my long-distance calls. I just need to find some headphones without those stupid earbuds. My doctor told me never to put anything in my ear smaller than my elbow, and it seems like good advice. I don't even like using earplugs except for those wax ones that swimmers use. If you've ever had TMJ pain where it feels like someone is drilling into your brain from the inside, you'll know why. I might have to buy the mic separately.

1. Boxee Box ($200?)

This is the one that will go bye-bye if my fridge or dishwasher conk out. I love the idea of streaming shows on the Internet, watching them at my computer not so much. On the other hand, I could try to add it to my Apple TV for free, but I'm a little scared of jailbreakking and having to worry if every software update will mess everything up.

1. Ram for MacPro ($100-200 for 2-4 GB)

My computer is about 3 years old, time for some memory to perk things up, especially since I installed Snow Leopard. I think I'll try to install it myself this time and buy one of those geeky static bracelets because you know I'll fry something otherwise.

VERTIGO

Project Digitization proceeds apace. I was in the mood for something 90's and tight and minimalistic, sort of like a sheared-off shard of slate or obsidian. So, I thought of the underrated Twin Cities band Vertigo. Here's some some vinyl-only goodies from their 4-song 7" Rub.

Murder By Guitar

Snakes

Smoked

Rub

THE SEMI-OBLIGATORY, HIGHLY ARBITRARY BEST OF 2009 LIST

Best movie: District 9
Best martial arts movie: Chocolate, Ip Man (tie)
Best Documentary: Scott Walker: 30th Century Man
About Time It's On DVD Already: Hobson's Choice, Five Deadly Venoms (tie)
Best TV Show (Network): Dollhouse
Best TV Show (Cable): Mad Men
Best Animated Feature: The Sky Crawlers
Best Animated Series: Baccano!
Best Web Series: The Guild
Best book: Maul by Tricia Sullivan
Best Young Adult Novel: The Forest Of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Best Nonfiction: Japrock Sampler by Julian Cope
Best Graphic Novel: Likewise by Ariel Schrag
Best Manga: A Drifting Life by Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Best webcomic: The Order Of The Stick by Rich Burlew
Best Blog: Something Awful's fake Levi Johnson blog (warning: contains lots of swearing and sexual references that I'm sure don't reflect the real person at all).
Best Album: Snailking by Ufomammut
Best Single: "That Beep" by Architecture in Helsinki
About Time It's On CD Already: Crazy Rhythms by The Feelies
Best Music Video: "(Do You Want To Date My) Avatar" by The Guild, "Male Prima Donna" by Subtle Sexuality (tie)
Best Device: Ipod Touch 3G

MY MOVIE

This is the movie I made in 6th grade for the science fair. I had it digitized recently by Arkiva. I added the soundtrack in iMovie.

NEW YEAR'S MIX TEASER POST

Just a little post to get people excited about their New Year's mixes . . .


I think this year will be one of my better mixes. Last year was a bit schizophrenic, with a lot of very poppy Jpop and very heavy stoner rock, but too little in between (or for people who like neither genre). 2009 is going to be diverse, although not without last year's trends. It was the year of learning about stuff from the Internet. Top music sites for me included Chunklet, Bitch Magazine, Hardcore Math User, The Prelinger Archive and Stonerrock.com. I also heard songs on Internet stations such as Japan-a-Radio, Groove Radio, Radio Nigel, K666 Radio, and Trance.ch. I would sometimes hear about a band (thanks for your research, Dr. S!) and then check out a sample on Skreemer, LastFM, Lala, YouTube, or even (shudder!) Myspace. Wikipedia is also good for lists of music genres or to see who they compare a band to. The library is still my good friend as well.

Here is my technique for making mix CDs, pretty close to perfected after lo these many years:

1. Keep an iTunes Smart Playlist of music added during the year, so it keeps growing automatically. Songs don't have to be produced in that year, but they should be newly acquired.

2. Go to Office Max and buy printer ink, CD-Rs, jewel cases, labels and case inserts.

3. Listen to the Smart Playlist and pick the best songs for a "base" mix, which is usually for someone I mail the CD to, because they have to be finished sooner. My mixes are based on my experience as a college radio DK, usually 3 or 4 songs in similar genres at a time for variety. I try to have some connection between each song and the following, could musically or the song's topic or the singer's voice or the country of origin. It can be pretty loose and subjective.

4. Copy and paste the songs into another person's mix, then add and subtract based on what I know about the recipient's likes and dislikes or if they would already have it in their collection.

5. Look for an appropriate picture for the cover and label. Font choice and color scheme is important too. I have some templates for the labels and inserts from a Memorex CD-Rom purchased ages ago. I use Photoshop Elements for the inserts and Appleworks for the labels, because those were the options I picked, there are probably some for other software.

6. Edit the mixes in iTunes so that only artist and title is showing, then copy and paste into the insert template. This saves a lot of time. Check for any misspellings and that the songs will all fit at the current font size.

7. Burn CDs and label them with marker. I usually do these in bulk.

8. Print out labels and inserts, also usually in bulk. I have to be careful to label them with a Post-it right away, so I can tell them apart without reading the song list.

CURSE YOU, LANDMARK!

So, Landmark Theaters did the old bait-&-switch with me on Thirst--they sent emails that it was coming and it appeared for a while on their web site, but they ended up withdrawing it and then bringing it back as a midnight show only. I'm sorry, but that doesn't count. So I vowed to boycott them unless they showed something really good that wasn't at any other theaters.

Of course, they then decide to show Ong Bak 2 and Red Cliff, but on Thanksgiving weekend when I'm out of town. Ninja Assassin is opening this weekend, too. I guess nothing says the holidays like people beating the crap out of each other. Well, they'd better still be playing when I get back. My family members are sadly not great fans of martial-arts-related entertainment.