August 2009 Archives

Snow Leopard is out and we have to wait nine days for the next Apple announcement - a tablet, a new iPod, a netbook? - so what can we do to pass the time?

How 'bout some stalking of the ex? Not since the advent of ">Google Maps has keeping ceaseless track of the people who have no interest in you been easier. Of course there's an app for that.

Of course, it's all a big joke. No stalking people, kids. Save your time - and court fees - and buy some self-help books instead.

Liam, left, and Noel Gallagher in happier times.

Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher says he's leaving the British pop band because he can't work "a day longer" with his brother Liam.

A statement from Gallagher on the band's Web site says he's leaving the group "with some sadness and great relief."

"It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but I simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer.

"Apologies to all the people who bought tickets for the shows in Paris, Konstanz and Milan."

The band were due to play a festival in Paris Friday but didn't take the stage. A message flashed to the crowd said "as a result of an altercation within the band, the Oasis gig has been canceled."

For his part, Liam doesn't sound all that broken up about it, according to an interview last week in ContactMusic:

"He doesn't like me and I don't like him, that's it. He hasn't told me what he thinks of anything this year. We've got nothing to say to each other at the moment.

"The only time I see him is onstage and we're a little bit busy (at) that time to be fucking scratching each other."

The brothers have a rich history of violent arguments with eachother, and have taken to various platforms, including Twitter, lately to make their mutual loathing know.

Gallagher's statement sends "apologies to all the people who bought tickets" for the band's remaining shows in France, Italy, and Germany.

Oasis was one of the biggest British bands of the 1990s, with hits like "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova."

It's a week full of weird Bob Dylan news. First, he announces he's recorded a Christmas record, "Christmas in the Heart." ('Cause when you think of Christmas, you think of Dylan, right?)

Now comes news -- well, he actually mentioned this on his radio show a while back -- that he's negotiating with two different car companies to be the voice of their in-dash GPS.

According to Spinner:

The 68-year-old gave listeners of his Theme Time Radio Hour on BBC 6 Music on Monday a sneak preview of what the Dylan-accented GPS might sound like. "Left at the next street," he said. "No, right. You know what? Just go straight. I probably shouldn't do it because whichever way I go, I always end up at one place -- on Lonely Avenue. Luckily I'm not totally alone. Ray Charles beat me there."

We can hear it now ...

"You're positively on 4th street."

"How many roads must this car drive down before you realize you're lost?!"

Yes, the audio quality is poor, but you get the idea.

You may have seen the new KFC Double Down Chicken Sandwich by now, a 1,200-calorie adventure in misaligned dietary goals. This is the monstrosity promising a bacon sandwich with cheese and sauce slapped between two slabs of fried chicken - in lieu of bread.

Mmmm ...

Don't bother rolling yourself to any Chicago KFCs just yet for a taste of the last meal of your life, though, as it's currently only being test marketed in Nebraska and Rhode Island, apparently. But don't worry, it'll likely be in the Midwest before you can say triple bypass.

The drunk food appeal of this death platter aside, it's an amazing menu item - and not the good kind of amazing. At a time when the country is embroiled in a fierce debate over the cost of health care and obesity continues to put our fatness at the forefront of a public health pandemic, this is apparently the answer at least one fast food corporation has come up with to help society: JUST GIVE UP.

KFC for its part is being very secretive about the sandwich - there's no mention on its Web site about the behemoth and even dietary information is sketchy.

And what does $5 taste like? A Foodgeek reviewer breaks it down (complete with horrific photos:

That's it? That is the sandwich? That's not worth five dollars. Oh... oh my God. That is the best thing ever. I don't know what "Colonel's Sauce" is, but it is like a party in my mouth. This is completely worth the five dollars. Unfortunately I'm going to end up weighing 700 lbs after this, but it is simply amazing.

Right. So when the Devil comes to Earth, he's apparently delicious.

Of course, the health community is aghast at the Double Down, decrying the lack of corporate responsibility in the face of the aforementioned health concerns in AMerica now. There's even the possibility of some sort of fast food or fat tax tied to health care reform to penalize American eaters for subjecting the system to undue costs for scarfing just this sort of thing.

Overreaction? Appropriate outrage? All too much to swallow? Who knows, but one thing's for sure - this is yet another reason why This Is Why You're Fat is becoming less funny and more like a coroner's report on cause of death.

And worst of all, they stole the idea from "30 Rock"!

You knew it would happen. If Elvis is still alive, and Marilyn & JFK, and if Hitler is still alive and sunbathing in Paraguay or some such nonsense, you just knew the Michael-is-alive rumors would moonwalk from the shadows. It's only surprising it's taken them this long.

Adding fuel to the delusions is this video, making the round online today ...

The original posting at LiveLeak explains the video this way:

"This video shows that Michael was still alive after his dead body was transported to the Los Angeles Dept. of Coroner I checked the license plate number and it looks like the King of Pop is jumping out of the same van, his dead body has been in. I got the original video tape from a trustworthy source. I know him for years. And I am sure it´s real and Michael is alive."

Uh-huh.

Dude looks like a lil' Michael, all right. No way to verify exactly where or when this was filmed, though, and who. Maybe Lisa Marie gave Michael her dad's fake-your-death playbook.

So if he is still alive: Where do you think he is, and what do you think he'll do?

It takes a little work to get past the haughty "we're gonna make you cool" attitude behind this CBS Sunday Morning report on Wilco, but once you do, it's a nice look at some of alt Chicago's favorite sons.

Keeping in mind the average age of a Sunday Morning viewer is ancient, the "gee whiz" tone is somewhat understandable, and under that layer is Jeff Tweedy chatting about how Chicago factors into his life and how the band has almost defied the ability to become a huge draw.

But, as Tweedy points out at the end of the piece, this band has survived 20 years of turmoil, lineup changes and various other issues, making it that much more impressive that they're still banging around - and getting bigger, by their standards.

Yes, it is yet another pandering report on something from Chicago by a coastal media outlet, but there's no denying the world outside Chicago and the New York club and college town scenes is picking up the scruffy guys after years of toil.

There's nothing like an inbound CTA/Metra ride to make one think of drinking - at least that's what Budweiser is banking on in a new video ad spot.

The twist? It's a spot running in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of a campaign for the beer's licensed brewer, Diageo Ireland.

Set to the tune of the Beatles' "All Together Now," the spot almost makes you forget you're watching an ad - and almost makes the schlep downtown something to look forward to for the work-a-day drones stuck on the various "L" and Metra lines used in the piece.

Sliding by scenes both famous and simply familiar, it's not the usual glamour shoot you'd see from a Chicago-shot ad campaign, but rather an insider's view to the city. There's the usual skyscraper footage and the like, but no ballparks. No lakeshore. No Michigan Avenue.

Irish blogger Darragh Doyle touched on some of the Chicago-centric aspects of the ad in a post in July. Here's what Doyle had on the city - and its people - as star:

Written by Dave Henderson and Richard Denney, and shot by award winning Director Chris Palmer, it was shot over 5 days from an actual train on the metro-rail as it tracked around the city of Chicago.

All in all, the film and crew were on the train for 50 hrs over a 5 day period in temperatures that were often below freezing. All of the actors were outside for up to 10 hrs a day in the freezing temperatures, often in costumes that provided little warmth. As such there was almost an entire crew of people dedicated to keeping the actors warm with blankets, thermoses and portable heaters.

The people of Chicago were brilliant as well and invited actors into their homes and offered them some respite from the bitter weather during shoot down time glorious stuff.

The band playing the Beatles cover is The Hours, a London-based duo.

The work for the "Lyrics" was written and conceived by DDB London and during a blogger release party for the spot, DDB's Matt Delahunty tells krishnade.com what it took to get the add off the ground - a 17-month process. It's an interesting look behind the scenes:

Delahunty talks about not only the technical challenges of getting the shoot timed perfectly, but his surprise at the freezing Chicago weather that surprised him on his first trip to the States.

You can find much more on the making of the video - behind the scenes and concept work, as well as upload your own video clips - here, though you'll need to be 21 - or at least tell the site you are - to get through the age wall. Some very cool insights to be found.

In the end it is just an ad campaign for a mediocre beer, but any Chicagoan can appreciate the glimpses into our city. And anybody who appreciates the creative process will find the explanations behind the work a treat for sure.

Hat tip to the Windy Citizen for finding this Chicago gem. Stop by and give it a vote up if you're so inclined.

Can't take the whole thing? Forward to the 7:45 mark for the flaming strings of a world record.

This has been around a little bit, but it's definitely worth a look for anybody who thinks they know how to crunch a guitar riff.

Watch the whole thing and two truths will clarify in your mind: 1) Flight of the Bumble Bee is an evil song that you never want to hear again and B) at 320 beats per minute and with the tune still clearly heard to that damn song, this guy incredible at what he does.

This guy is Thiago Della Vega, by far the fastest guitar player in the world. Seriously. The Brazilian, of whom there is not a lot of other information, has the Guinness World Record to prove it - though there is a controversy about whether he owns the record and should have played, no lie, Dueling Banjos to be official.

And, yes, the debate rages about whether he's a real guitar player. The fretheads give him his due as a quick picker, but whether that in and of itself counts as guitar playing? Well, who am I to judge. Check it out and make up your own mind.

But when prog metal meets Flight of the Bumble Bee, well, what can you really say?

Some like it hot - but hopefully that's not the case for this lucky auction winner. We are talking the afterlife here.

A lucky E-Bay bidder has won the right to rest in piece looking down - literally - at Marilyn Monroe. For just $4.6 million, they snapped up the crypt directly above the actress in an auction that ended Monday.

The eBay.com listing says the space at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery above Monroe is being vacated, making room for someone else. The listing also offers the detail that the current occupant is "looking face down on" Monroe.

Bidding for the auction started at $500,000 on Aug 14.

Monroe was laid to rest at the cemetery in 1962.

Sometimes, you just have to let go. Case in point: Nora the Piano Cat.

If you live on Earth and suck air for life, you've likely seen or heard the musical feline, Nora, pawing out her work on the piano. Several gillion people saw the original video on YouTube and her second effort clocked in at 4.5 million served.

In all, nearly 20 million people have watched Nora play. She has made the television talk show circuit and has videos, two books, her own Web site, a blog, three calendars, mugs, greeting cards, T-shirts and posters under her belt.

Not content to sit around rolling in catnip, though, Nora mewed 'em over in Lithuania as the main accompaniment of conductor Mindaugas Piecaitis' first composition, featuring Nora's solo video performance in what he called his CATcerto.

but how does a serious musical performer decide that what they've really been missing all these years is to play with a cat? Piečaitis talked to the newspaper Klaipeda about his purring muse:

"I was enchanted by her abilities and started some further research. I reviewed everything I could find on the Internet and it just intrigued me more," remembered Piečaitis.

"I wrote down all of Nora`s improvisations in music (notes), happily remembering my time at the M.K.Čiurlionis art school, when we used to write musical dictations. It never crossed my mind that some time in my life, my teacher could ever be a cat."

OK. So, Mr. Conductor, what does this do to your credibility? Do the other conductors make fun of the man who woul take second fiddle to a cat?

"Not at all. The work for this piece was just as serious for me as for any other one. Although at first glance it would appear that it is just a joke, - in this musical piece I also see a somewhat deeper significance. Through it, I wanted to remind people how unique and unexpected the world around us could be."

Well, there's that. There's also the fact that while Piečaitis is the musician, Nora is what puts the butts in seats. Bringing the question: How does a cat become a world-famous virtuoso? It's not like we're talking Toonces, here.

More on the primeow donna after the jump ...

Dave Carroll, the Canadian musician and YouTube phenomenon thanks to a guitar smashed by United Airlines, is back with part 2 of his trilogy on the tragedy.

Cleverly titled "United Breaks Guitars Song 2," this one is starting to edge into the annoying realm of whiny, but it's not there yet, so what the heck, give it a watch. If nothing else the end is pretty clever - and those darn Canadians are all just so ... nice! How can you say no?

Anyway, here's what Carroll has to say about Song 2, which he says details the ridiculousness of his correspondence with the United customer "service" folks and they eventual dismissal of him and his claim absolutely.

And here's what Carroll has to say about the vastly increased production value on this video:

and the saga continues ...

On Tuesday August 5 we reconvened at the field behind the Station 41 fire department in Waverley NS to shoot the second video in the trilogy, United Breaks Guitars: Song 2. Once again, everyone volunteered their time and talent to produce an outstanding video; however, Song 2 was a much bigger production than United Breaks Guitars. In addition to the main roles, we had nearly 100 extras in the cast and in order to say everything we wanted to say with the video, we required a broken guitar, an imitation broken guitar, a 40 foot high scissor lift, a limousine (complete with secret service agents), one genuine imitation space capsule, a space suit, a tuba, 3 suits of German Lederhosen, a canoe, one white panel van and a woman willing to wear tights and a big dollar sign.

There is a promised third installment to this broken ax tale. Judging from the increased fanfare around this latest video, that one may go straight to MTV. Except they don't do videos anymore.

We'll be on the lookout. And United Airlines, just give him his damn $1,200 already.

And Carroll and his band, Sons of Maxwell, which apparently played in Dundee last week, are looking for United horror - or happy - stories:

United suggests recent policy changes have solved their problems...is this true? Send recent stories to dave@davecarrollmusic.com

So keep him in mind next time the airline smashes on of your precious items - no, your soul doesn't count.

BY MISHA DAVENPORT

Though it probably goes without saying, you should be careful what you post to your Facebook account.

It turns out, the whole world might be watching, er, reading.

The Lamebook site takes submissions from Facebook users of status updates, photos, notes and other things real people have actually posted to their Facebook accounts.

Some people think nothing of airing their dirty laundry; the end result is far more interesting than our favorite afternoon stories.

One of our recent favorites: "Sierra" whose relationship status best resembles a yo-yo:

And while the Web site blurs out photos and last names to protect the guilty, the resulting blog is nonetheless a guilty read (some content NSFW!).

When the news of the new Sears (OK, Willis, if you insist) Tower Skydeck attraction "The Ledge" first broke, the reaction was universal: "Awesome!"

Not so universal was the willingness to jump on the 4 inches of glass between the perfect view and oblivion. Plenty of adventurous souls jumped at the chance to levitate 1,300 feet above Chicago's streets, but just as man cautious folks said "thanks, but are you crazy?!?"

And up until now, this GigaPan shot from The Ledge was just about the best thing going in terms of high-up imagery.

Well, here's a little video project that should be immediately embraceable by both groups. Chicago film and media company 3to1 Studios has posted the above making-of video of a high definition project the crew is working on based on pretty much every angle possible of The Ledge.

We had a unique opportunity to shoot, "The Ledge" experience on the Willis Tower Skydeck in Chicago (formerly Sears Tower). For those who are unfamiliar with The Ledge, it's basically a glass and steel platform that protrudes out of the tower for a unique 103 story view of the city below.

Our mission was to shoot The Ledge from all sides including some reverse shots outside, a task not for the Acrophobic.

Willing to do anything for the perfect shot, our fearless Director of Photography, Kevin Moss and his First A.C., Hunter Whalen strapped into the towers window washing scaffold armed with the Red Camera One to capture some of the more breathtaking views of The Ledge itself.

This in itself provided most of our crew the opportunity to view the city of Chicago from the real Skydeck, the rooftop of the Willis Tower.

And the title, "Anything for the perfect shot," really sums up best what this experience must have been like for the crew. Hanging over the edge, literally, off the roof of the Willis with a handheld HD camera, safety harness or not, must have been quite the adrenaline rush to say the least.

So when can we see the actual footage, which promises to be stunning for all but the most vertigo-stricken? According to a comment from their post, it'll play at the Willis, presumably for people waiting in the miles of lines it takes to get to the top:

We can't release the footage for the time being. But you will be able to see it projected on a large screen in line at the Willis Tower skydeck ;)

Can't wait. Should almost make that eternal wait for the turbo elevators to the top worth the while.

And, if you just want a bunch more beautiful shots from the Ledge, you might want to click here.

This is one of those peanut butter-in-my-chocolate mashups that couldn't be stranger.

On one side you have Sarah Palin, the conservative lightning rod and former vice presidential candidate who, until recently, was Alaska's governor - until she quit to save the people of the state, she says - and a collection of her greatest hits of campaign trail folksiness.

On the other side you have R. Kelly - the pride of the South Side multi-million selling R&B superstar perhaps better known as an accused (and acquitted) child molester - and his hit "World's Greatest."

What could possibly go wrong when you combine the two?

Apparently absolutely nothing, at least according to the Conservatives4Palin folks that made this mashup.

But wait a minute. What's this? This isn't even the first time Sarah Palin and R. Kelly have been immortalized in YouTube glory together? Apparently Conservatives4Palin got their idea from another YouTuber and Palin fan's channel. EmmyRossumFanForLife (and who isn't, by the way - she's just too cute for words).

One wonders if Emmy Rossum knows she's being two-timed on? But I digress. Here's the original photo montage, again put to Kelly's "World's Greatest":

You'd think at least one of them would have broken out "I Believe I can Fly" or something. Oh well, there's always 2011, I suppose.

At least now we have these efforts. You know, for the kids.

Extreme Pool Jump - The best home videos are here

There's a boatload of debate about whether this is real or not. Is it a dummy? Creative editing? The real thing and one lucky dude?

Don't care. It's just cool.

We're slowly ebbing on slip-and-slide season as the summer evaporates and the calendar continues its march. Couple crazy Russians want to remind us what a water ride can be, so be it.

Of course, we're not encouraging you to go break your neck trying this. Far from it. But if you do try, of your own accord and volition, I sure hope there's a camcorder involved.

And if you're mathematically inclined, how about a little hard proof about why this can or can't be done?

Is that the Twitter birdie, or just Andrea Baker as a Bird of Night in a scene from the Royal Opera House's production of Dominique Le Gendre's "Bird of Night'' in London in 2006?

For those of you convinced that the downfall of civilization is being spread 140 characters at a time on Twitter, fear not. The Royal Opera House is looking to class things up with an opera authored by the people ... via Twitter

It probably won't be "Madame Butterfly," but it should be fun.

In an effort to get more people involved with opera, which sometimes suffers from an elitist, highbrow reputation, London's world-famous Royal Opera House is turning away -- temporarily -- from classic talents like Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini and giving the composer's pen to ... just about anybody.

We're working with the Twitterverse to create the storyline for a brand new opera, which will be performed throughout the weekend of Deloitte Ignite (4, 5, 6 September 2009). We're investigating how short, 140-character contributions can build upon each other to create a non-linear narrative - like a Choose Your Own Adventure story or a game of Consequences. Our mysterious opera director will be regularly blogging here with updates on the story, and as well as offering his thoughts on how the story can combine with some music and acting and marvellous singing to become a finished piece.

It's a very democratic approach -- the plot will be worked out by twitterers contributing one line at a time, then put to music by professionals -- but some harbor doubts about the quality of the work that will be performed in September.

"It's a gimmick, but not a malign gimmick" London music critic Norman Lebrecht said. "I wouldn't put too high hopes on it. It won't produce great opera." He said the use of Internet technology to concoct a collective work of art is not new -- but that success stories have been very rare.

That doesn't necessarily mean he's predicting a Fail Whale of operatic proportions, but he's certainly thinking a work of tragic proportions my be in order:

"In the earlier days of the Internet there were a number of collaborative novels, including some started by major writers, and none of them worked," he said.

Royal Opera House officials claim it will be the world's first "online opera story." Fans are contributing to the libretto line by line, their imaginations limited only by the Twitter format, which allows a maximum of 140 characters to be posted at a time.

Alison Duthie, director of ROH2, the Royal Opera House's contemporary program, said the use of Twitter is part of a wider effort to get more people interested in the art form.

"We wanted to engage with audiences in the creation of an opera," she said. "We felt it would be a good way to be interactive with the public and with audiences. We wanted to explore how to get people involved at a creative level."

"At the end of act 1, scene 1, our hero had been kidnapped by a flock of birds and is in a tower awaiting rescue," Duthie said. "That feels extremely operatic, people are really getting into the story line."

There is also a talking cat.

You can follow the submissions, cat and all, here.

At the end of this trailer, Johnny Depp overacts a simple line: "Nothing's permanent -- not even death!"

It's a nice bit o' irony considering he's one of a handful of A-list actors who stepped in to finish the scenes left unfilmed in this, Heath Ledger's last film, "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." And today the trailer for the spectacular fantasy (the latest such wonder emporium from Terry Gilliam) began going viral online, and here 'tis:

That panicky sound you may have heard this morning from trenders, hipsters and public relations gadflies is probably due to a denial of service attack suffered by it-kid social networking site Twitter.

For hours this morning, people all over the world have been unable to spew their special brand of information, 140 characters at a time, into the ether as service has been at a constant state of disruption in various forms according to Twiter honcho @biz:

On this otherwise happy Thursday morning, Twitter is the target of a denial of service attack. Attacks such as this are malicious efforts orchestrated to disrupt and make unavailable services such as online banks, credit card payment gateways, and in this case, Twitter for intended customers or users. We are defending against this attack now and will continue to update our status blog as we continue to defend and later investigate.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't come to bash Twitter. I'm as addicted as anyone to the ability to instantly share news and blather with the masses. But, as always happens when a piece of my technology pie goes missing from the window ledge, it offers a moment to step back and see what I've been missing with my nose buried in Tweetie all this time.

So time to put the phone down, unplug from the state of hyperconnectivity developed over the last year and smell some roses on a beautiful day. Go to a park. Read a book. Take a long lunch.

Whatever floats your boat.

Wait? Twitter's back online?

Nevermind. Gotta go. Almost time for lunch and I have to get my menu out to my followers.

Think the Snuggie fad is waning? Nope, it's just gone to the dogs. Literally.

Like the product of a 3 a.m. ideafest after a Snuggie pub crawl and because the good folks at Snuggie hadn't fleeced enough of us with their children's book-colored backwards robes, they've come up with the next big market full of creatures that just can't handle the responsibility and technical expertise of a blanket: your dog.

Witness the ad, filled with those little drop-kick pooches freezing their yappers off until a kindly owner swoops in with the day-glow death shroud for dogs.

OK the little dogs, maybe, you can see this on. But a golden retriever? It would be like a fur-lined humidor. And what happens when Cuddles wants to roll on that dead rat carcass when you kick him out on midnight in January?

What's next, a Snuggie for imaginary friends? Snuggies for the homeless?

How 'bout going ironic with Snuggies for sheep? But let's leave the dogs out of this, especially the little ones. They have enough self esteem issues as it is.

Benson the 60-pound carp, in happier, healthier times. (Photo from gofishing.co.uk)

Britain's fishing community is in mourning the death of Benson, the 64-pound (29 kilogram) carp.

Fans of the 25-year-old Benson would travel for miles to the Bluebell Lakes complex in Cambridgeshire for a chance to have their picture taken with weighty monster.

She was voted Britain's favorite carp in 2005 by the readers of Angler's Mail because of her sheer size and quirky looks.

Tony Bridgefoot, the owner of the Bluebell Lakes - you can find an explainer of what this area means to anglers in the most monotone video ever made here - was quoted in The Times of London as saying the fishing community has been rocked by Benson's death.

He said the carp, caught and released more than 60 times, had "celebrity status."

And while it was not immediately clear what caused Benson's death, the stench of dead fish is not all that's tainting the country air there. A mystery surrounds how the big fish went to the fry in the sky, with poisoning being a possibility.

Poisoning by nuts.

Apparently fish have problems digesting nuts and a bag of them was found near where Benson popped to the top, reports the Daily Mail.

So grief aside, the question is: Who wanted Benson dead?

Stay tuned.

Enter the extremely NSFW 36 Chambers with the Wu-Tang Clan and Legos.

There's a certain kind of mad genius required to mash up the Wu-Tang Clan, Legos and music video. Apparently, David Mortimer is that genius.

David, better known on Vimeo as Davo, has reimagined the video for the classic "Da Mystery of Chessboxin' " off of the giant "Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers)." But of course, this time Legos and stop-motion animation are involved and he has a growing hit with more than 100,000 views since he posted his work in early July.

So what moves a 25-year-old postman from London to remake a classic bit of hard-core hip-hop with Legos? We got in touch with Mortimer to see what's shakin' - and what's next.

Interview after the jump: