Reason's Greetings

Nick Gillespie talks on his non-smartphone device

Finally got Tmobile to upgrade my device to one of them new smarty-pants phones.  It takes a while to get used, much like when I got a personal computer for the first time back in 1993 (oh how I miss you, Mac Performa 405).

Seems like a terrific thingy to simplify while optimizing your life. Meanwhile, for those of us still trying to get a life, we find any opportunity to put it to through a test drive.  Give me a reason for synching the Calendar, the Gmail, the Maps and Navigation -- and still have a cup of joe in between we pump gas.

So I found a tweet by Reason Magazine announcing an event at their brand new digs downtown featuring one of their bloggers, former MTV News guy Kurt Loder, and punched it all up into my Samsung Gravity to lead me to the promise land.

Stopped by Trader Joes to buy some non-GMO cereal, the kind that doesn't need a General Motors (or Mills) bailout. I parked behind some Russian dive bar co-owned by hockey star Alex Ovechkin, and lo and behold the first person I see at the place is the awesome young news anchor Alyona



RT America hosts Alyona, Lauren, and Deborah
Nick Gillespie
Kurt Loder
The Southern Avenger, Jack Hunter
Slate & MSNBC's Dave Weigel
GoRemy

Liam Gallagher for John Lennon's birthday....met Paul Gallagher instead...

Thomfoolery

"The world is collapsing.....around our ears."

That's an apologetically apocalyptic radio song from R.E.M. featuring KRS-One, who this week pledged to hip-hop onto the Ron Paul peace train.

Not sure where Michael Stipe is headed other than his Tumblr page, but now that his band have "split" (read: finished promoting their latest record) he could start with making sure nothing happens in a Burger King bathroom in his Peachtree State. Stop the violence, stop the homo-cides Michael! (Yeah, I went there.)

Executions broadcast on UStream, race riots uploaded to YouTube, anti-Banker protests via Twitter. Where's my popcorn?

Team Radiohead had to get onto their Social Media sites to clarify that, contrary to the hot rumours circulating, they weren't going down to perform or even show up to the #OccupyWallStreet protests.  Instead the night before they were on The Colbert Report, where their pretentious pseudo-progressive agenda got called out by the host. "How old are you, Thom?" he asked the 42-year-old who's awkwardness isn't charming at that age. How about some personality? How about Noel Gallagher?  Even he gets Twitter.

That same night on The Daily Show, Jon Stewart brought out Ron Paul for an extended interview. What was edited for the TV was rather tame, unfortunately, but online some of Dr. Paul's main talking points came out.

Only 48 hours before that, Stewart hosted a Saturday night special for SiriusXM to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Nirvana's seminal 'Nevermind'. Had on drummer Dave Grohl and bassist-turned-politico Krist Novoselic, but no politics mentioned. They also had on producer Butch Vig of Madison, and the Wisconsin capital is where The Onion started, which is where the Stewart incarnation of TDS started thanks to producer Carlin (Ben, not George).  Grohl stopped by that town in 2004 to support John Kerry, but we'll just let that one slide on a steel pedal guitar.


http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/business-brains/college-tuition-kills-innovation-and-heres-how/18909

Lincoln Tunnel Vision

"I am tired of people criticizing me for not making their point."

That didn't come from Jon Stewart Leibinowitz, but tweeted by original Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead the day after the big weekend on the national mall. Her point strays a bit from Stewart's Lincoln Tunnel metaphor his in grand finale speech.

Arriving in Washington DC a couple of days before the Rally for Sanity, I took the current pulse of the nation's capital the best way I know how -- a job fair. The event at a swank Marriott Renaissance, just blocks away from The Daily Show tapings, was hosted by the Online News Association. Their annual conference, now in it's fifth year, discussed some interesting journalism trends with their Twitter hashtag #ona10.

Stewart lambasted the standard of journalism in America, but it was a bit of a broad brush. A NY Times editor mentioned that very few pay attention to cable news, even though cable news makes a lot of of money from their spitfire tug-of-war.

Later on Friday night I walked past a snazzy, small pop-up store filled with pretty Capitol Hill pundits. It was a relaunch party for the National Journal, who's attempting to rebrand themselves in today's media environment with the philosophy of 'nimble, efficient and urgent.'



Reddit
The Ondafactor
last call for election memes!

First CDegree Burn

My too-hot-to-handle laptop battery makes MacBook like McDonalds.

Making a Killing

Address to Impress

Loungin' in the Hilton bar outside the WHCD ballroom

On my drive down to the White House Correspondents Dinner festivities on Saturday evening, I heard that remark from Bill Clinton in a talk broadcast on C-Span Digital Radio 90.1 FM. That comment really stood out for me, as a boomer like Bill expressed it.

Made out with a not-so-desperate but definitely drunk housewife and former staffer.

On the drive back, 'security' was all the talk over the airwaves.

Post-humous Bloggers

Roger that, Mr. Ebert!
Hunter S. Thompson.
Tom Something Snyder

Who says the classic writers wouldn't be bloggers today? The men above died as bloggers. And one is waiting his final earthly breath as a tremendous micro-blogger.

Go Eyjafjallajokul yourself!

Since that high-larious speech a year ago, there's been unprecedented volcanic activity Alaska, Russia, and now Iceland.

All places within view of Sarah Palin's backyard, I believe.

Oh, by the way kids, that fellow's name is Bobby Jindal. Remember when the Louisiana governor was a curry-iously hot commodity? I knew he was shooting himself in the foot when he denied Obama's stimulus money for his state, while deriding "Hollywood" for all the bad things in the world. The same "Hollywood" that has invested millions in his state, shooting films like 'Harold and Kumar.' Featuring Kalpen Modi.

Meanwhile today, on Earth Day 2010, a massive oil rig sinks -- off the coast of Louisiana.

Propheteers

Fine. How about "THEIR Prophet Muhammad."

Pulling heart strings, or pulling purse strings?

Sinead says hello, ChuckD says yo, Maher says no.

United Wii Stand

Looks like I'm not the only one who noticed how the ads promoting the new 'CALL of Duty' video game from ActiVision look eerily like the 'COLLateral Murder' viral video from WikiLeaks.

Pennies for Our Thoughts

On payday Friday I stopped by the bank. A big bad corporate bank, not the popular community variety.

I went not to cash my check, but to pick up a stash of rolling paper.

In these recession-plagued United States, on President's Day I broke into my piggy bank. Wrapped up every darn quarter, dime, nickel and penny I could.

When we go to the Chinese Yuan later on in our lifetimes, playing Yuanapoly at McDonalds, will Lincoln's centavos and Jeffersonian nickels and FDR's dimes and Washington's quarters and JFK's half-dollar be a-round? If they scratch the heads of state off Mount Rushmore, will they allow Sacagawea's Dollar to stay? She was minted last, but is the first of this century.

A recovery might be around the corner, not until the value of the USD goes up - and right now even CDN is worth more.

So keep Hope alive. Just get rid of the Change.

Flashion Fwd:

iSolation

stopped by a local Apple Store for rehab, same day iPad released while Mr. Jobs, Mr. obama announces.
quarterly earning record

naughtyamerica

the sharper image in revolt

steve jobs bill, now.
compaq better hardware

Histeria

Twitter livemicroblogging: making meaningless American spectacles merely followable, not more tolerable.

"Three young men are on an adrenaline-packed drive toward the coast. Nothing too unusual about it, unless you consider having a live killer whale as the fourth passenger unusual. Yes, that's right a killer whale, in the car with them. Hard to say where they're going. Harder still to say where they've been. But this fish-out-of-water story is sure to end with a splash!" - Bridgestone Tires commercial description

 The NFL is making the majority of the men everywhere in America completely retarded.


http://current.com/items/92070887_the-super-bowl-sucks.htm