An interesting chart explaining the similarities between the Dreamcast and the upcoming Xbox 360. Except, of course, for the fact that the Dreamcast did and continues to rock, and the Xbox 360…meh.
Most of us have mountains of crap accumulating in closets and junk drawers. I’ve managed to avoid this quandry by moving three times in the last two years, and almost going overseas before finding a gig here in Vancouver. As a result, I have very little beyond some books and a computer, but back in the day my house was crammed to the gills with useless junk. Here’s a column lamenting America’s (and ours, let’s be honest) habit of consuming to the point of suffocation.
On a related tangent, go check out Adbusters. A friend of mine just joined the staff, so the more eyeballs she gets, the better.
Here’s an article from Playlist about how the iPod has spawned a cult following and changed the way we listen to music. Though the author is a Apple fanboy (not that I’m entirely innocent of those charges) he does raise some good points as to how the iPod has changed the music industry and the way we go about our lives.
Continuing today’s theme of bitching about stuff (yeah, right..TODAY’S theme…:) ) it looks like Air Canada is now charging passengers for their crappy in-flight meals. So in addition to insulting us with high-ticket prices, surly crew members and using Celine “Hideous Bird-Snake Blood Demon” Dion as a spokesperson, they’re now making us pay to eat cold crap on a long flight.
I always pack a lunch for a long flight anyway, since whatever I’ve scrounged up from the grocery store is a) cheap and b) ten times better than the garbage Air Canada will foist on me. I’ve flown Air Canada only because I had access to a pile of points for a couple of international flights. If I go back to Japan sometime, I’m taking JAL or something similar, and I’d rather fly an American airline to somewhere in the States then put up with their nonsense. For short flights in Canada, nothing beats Westjet. Air Canada is terrible, the “Sony of the Skies,” and I hope this is just another move that leads to their eventual demise.
CBC’s weekday afternoon lineup, in a word, sucks.They had this show called the Roundup, which was full of boring guests, crappy music, and bland racounter-ing by host Bill Richardson and later Tetsuro Shigamatsu. When I was driving around the Crowsnest Pass last year, pining for city life and most likely off to interview some octogenarian about her spoon collection, hearing the Roundup on my car radio made me feel like my soul was dripping out of my shoes. The show actually sapped one’s will to live.
Anyway, the CBC has apparently recognized the inherent crapitude of the Roundup, and they’ve ditched it for some new programming. They’ll be concentrating on music with two shows, one called the National Playlist, and the other, called Freestyle, coming out of Vancouver. I’m not sure if either of these shows will be any good, but anything is better than the Roundup. Now if they execute Shelagh “I’m Oprah on the radio” Rogers, balance will be restored to the Force. 🙂
Having worked for the foul Empire of Drivel, a big part of me would like to see the future of television involving the business end of a shovel, but that’s just me. Google has other thoughts (and at some point, that statement will refer to the AI/benevolent robotic overlord known as Google, not the company..:)) on the matter. Rumour has it they’re thinking about putting out a DVR, with targeted ads bringing in the cash. And NBC has just announced that they’ll be putting NBC Nightly News up on the Internet for free, starting next week. Looks like the crap-spewing, glowing cyclops has a few tricks up its sleeve yet.