Blog is a Mix Tape

last.fm says...

2008-01-24T10:05:50Z

Parson

Do you dubstep? Last week, amongst a lot of old favorites (Death Cab for Cutie, N*E*R*D) was a cavalcade of dubstep artists in my weekly recommendations so I spent most of my eMusic dollars getting familiar. Amazon had been heavily recommending 200 and 10 Tons Heavy ever since I lost my mind over Burial and they were both available on the E, so this is where we are. Much like my affair with UK Garage in the early part of this century, it's an instant attraction. I may not be down with British films but I dig me some London club bangers.

Top Artists for the Week:

▲ 6	1	Jazzanova	37
▲	2	wale	34
▲	3	NER*D	27
▲	4	Notorious B.I.G.	25
▲ 32	5	MF DOOM	22
▲	6	Nina Simone	19
▲ 3	7	Feist	11
▲ 39	7	Death Cab for Cutie	11
▲ 6	9	De La Soul	10
▼ 6	10	Björk	9

Top track of the week was Jazzanova's Theme from Belle et Fou - "The Bows" but I've already posted from that album so I'll give you Ten Cent Blues by Eisley. Eisley's sophomore full-length, Combinations, underwhelmed in 2007 but this track is nice.

Ten Cent Blues

Eisley

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song for sunday: that thing happened...

2008-01-14T05:16:01Z

That Night [Live] (Feat. Clara Hill)

Jazzanova

Berlin got a new show in 2006, Belle et Fou realised by four star chef and event caterer HANS-PETER WODARZ and producer/director ARTHUR CASTRO. Besides dance, theatre and refined culinary delights, this new project from the makers of Pomp, Duck & Circumstance has one very special highlight to offer: the soundtrack is by JAZZANOVA.

-quango.com

This track is of particular interest because it was originally sung by Vikter Duplaix. Clara Hill gives it a completely different vibe. I dig it. The whole soundtrack, however, is stellar. Jazzanova can do very little wrong.

I'm staring at the screen, distracted by the corny profile that 60 Minutes is doing on Facebook (although I'm impressed that after the first half of puff, Leslie Stahl is digging into Beacon a bit), and thinking about what I want to share about my week. That's what these song for sunday posts have become. For some odd reason, I want to talk about how I've been postponing cleaning my bathroom all week and using remember the milk to do so. That's not a good story.

I feel like I should say something about the week I had with my sister - it began with us leaving Vegas, the middle was having Ethiopian at Nyala, the end was dropping her off at the airport for her to return to school today - but I'm not trying to get all sappy up in this piece. Especially when I know she's reading. The highlight, however, was switching iPods with her at McCarran Airport and getting her into Björk. She left town with a CD packed with my favorite tracks from across her entire catalog. Bomb.

I could talk about the Murakami Exhibit (that needs it's own post) or the trip we took to Pink's yesterday (but I might turn that into something for laist) or my initial thoughts on the first two episodes of the final season of The Wire or on all the signs that I'm starting to act like a grown-up that showed themselves this week. I could talk about all those things but I don't feel like it.

It's Sunday, Andy Rooney is being crabby, my feet are up and I'm still not going to clean that damn bathroom.

It's enough.

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This Week in: Netiquette

2007-04-01T18:46:57Z

Well, not really this week, more like this month but after a deep conversation about online courtesy, decency and communication standards with Anna this morning, I was reminded that I've been holding on to some interesting things that I've been meaning to share.

Make your emails CLEAR compliant. CLEAR is an acronym for a method of writing emails that will make them shorter and to the point and reduce the number you receive if you and your colleagues follow its simple guidelines
Write like Lincoln - Just send the nasty grams to yourself
How to master the subject line to get your email read
Don't say no in an email. Tim includes a video clip where he explains the limitations of email in conveying true meaning and intent and why you shouldn't say no via email

- Making your Email More Effective; A Lesson from Lincoln, Beyond Blinking Lights and Acronyms, 03.16.07

I'm a big stickler for good email communication, particularly at work. We even recently had compliance training about proper email etiquette.

Author Vladimir Nabokov said in a 1969 New York Times interview that "there should exist a special typographical sign for a smile--some sort of concave mark, a supine round bracket."
Now, nearly four decades later, there is just such a typographical symbol-- :-), or :) for the minimalists, and it'd be tough to find a tech-savvy person who hasn't leaned on it. There's also a special typographical symbol for a frown-- :-( -- and one for a cool dude in sunglasses -- B-) -- and one for a wink -- ;-). There's even a typographical sign for wearing a baseball cap-- d=D.

- The Web Smiley's motto: Grin and Bear It, C|Net, 03.13.07

I over-use emoticons in IM (where I'm less sure about people getting the nuance of my writing) and probably under-use them in conversational emails.

The subject of online courtesy or "netiquette" (what an outdated word) is frequently discussed in old media. Some blame the impersonality of the media itself. Others say that people haven't changed at all "" the Internet is just another venue in which people can malign and mistreat each other. On some level this is true. It's an extension of the playground, where adults can pick on one another without a teacher's watchful eyes upon them.
Younger Internet users are the ones who actually seem to be using the Web to form online communities, make friends and promote their art via sites like Facebook, Myspace, Bored At and Second Life. It's the so-called grown-ups pulling each others pigtails and bullying the meek.

- Bad Behavior 2.0, Portsmouth Herald, 03.30.07

I won't really get into how sweeping (and sweepingly wrong) the second paragraphs generalization is. What I found most interesting is her thought that netiquette is an outdated word. I'm inclined to agree but have no idea what should take it's place. Any thoughts?

This post's soundtrack:

Dora by Kyoto
That Easy by Clara Hill
Soon by Jazzanova
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free by Nina Simone

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