Word of the Day

flum·mox
(flum·moxed, flum·mox·ing, flum·mox·es)
To confuse; perplex.

OMG

Colbert smackdown

Eat shit Matt Lauer - You just got served ... By Stephen Colbert.






Thanks to In The Back Of A ... for the video.

UPDATE: Reinventing the wheel

It’s time for a rethinking of our purpose in an attempt to ensure that the bands we selected really did have at least one great album after ’94.

So, please, revote on all the bands on the VOTING BLOC – this time say which album you liked and why it deserves to be up here. Also, any bands on the BIG LIST that you feel should be voted upon, say so.

WARNING: I'm not interested, as commenter Boobs saw as a negative point, if an artist has proven themselves. If they haven't fine. It only takes one (1) great album to be up here. Remember the critera: 1) The band released one (1) great album since Dec. 31, 1993; and 2) The album in question be of markedly different material than the music released by the artist in question before 1994.

BIG LIST:
Radiohead / Green Day / The Strokes / The White Stripes / Dave Matthews Band / Death Cab For Cutie / Kanye West / No Doubt / Tool / Rage Against The Machine / Red Hot Chili Peppers / The Neptunes / Johnny Cash / Notorious B.I.G. / Tupac Shakur / Dr. Dre / Beastie Boys / Jay-Z / Oasis / Wu-Tang Clan / Nirvana / Coldplay / The Smashing Pumpkins / Blackstar / Sublime / John Mayer The Shins / Weezer / Beck / Jack Johnson / Franz Ferdinand / Ben Harper / Pearl Jam / Counting Crows / Foo Fighters / System Of A Down / Common / Phish / Norah Jones / Audioslave / Ben Folds / Jet / Alanis Morissette / Fugees / Outkast / Ryan Adams / The Flaming Lips / Bruce Springstein / Nas / The Roots / Eminem / Gorillaz / Ben Harper / Paul McCartney / Cake /

VOTING BLOC:
Hootie & The Blowfish / Blues Traveler / Liz Phair / Fiona Apple / Taking Back Sunday / Brand New / R. Kelly / Danger Mouse / Spoon / Stone Temple Pilots / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! / Guster / Jamiroquai / Bush / Snoop Dogg / Dispatch / Bjork / Seu Jorge / The Walkmen / Artic Monkeys / Modest Mouse / The Postal Service / Sufjan Stevens / Cat Power / My Morning Jacket / Iron & Wine / Bloc Party / blink182 / Jada Kiss / Justin Timberlake / The Cranberries / Robert Randolph & The Family Band / 311 / Rilo Kiley / Bright Eyes / Garbage / Massive Attack / Air / Underworld / Korn / Nine Inch Nails / Alice in Chains / The Mars Volta /

OUT:
Christina Aguilera / My Chemical Romance / Clipse / David Gray / Air / Interpol / Bone Thugs n' Harmony / Sigor Ros / The Yeah Yeah Yeahs /

Christopher Reeve was an idiot and a quitter

ISU to remove papers with 'Dummies' headline
June 30, 2006

The campus newspaper for Iowa State University students is removing a special section printed in advance of the Special Olympics that contained the words, "Ames for Dummies," on an events listings page.
Mark Witherspoon, editorial advisor to the Iowa State Daily, said 1,500 special sections about the Special Olympics will be reprinted with a new headline.
He also said Iowa State Daily Thursday editions that are on campus this afternoon with the headline "Ames for Dummies", will be pulled.
The Special Olympics in Ames will be the first national event for the competition that features people with intellectual disabilities. Organizers have said a major goal of the event is to dispel stereotypes and improve treatment for people with intellectual disabilities.

New Voting Bloc + Brand New; Updated list

BIG LIST:
Radiohead / Green Day / The Strokes / The White Stripes / Dave Matthews Band / Death Cab For Cutie / The Postal Service / Sufjan Stevens / Kanye West / No Doubt / Tool / Rage Against The Machine / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Robert Randolph & The Family Band / The Neptunes / Johnny Cash / Notorious B.I.G. / Tupac Shakur / Dr. Dre / Beastie Boys / Jay-Z / Bjork / Oasis / Garbage / Wu-Tang Clan / Nirvana / Coldplay / The Smashing Pumpkins / Blackstar / Sublime / Justin Timberlake / John Mayer / blink182 / The Shins / Modest Mouse / Weezer / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! / Beck / The Mars Volta / Jack Johnson / Franz Ferdinand / Jamiroquai / Ben Harper / Pearl Jam / Counting Crows / Foo Fighters / System Of A Down / Common / Phish / My Morning Jacket / Cake / Iron & Wine / Norah Jones / Audioslave / Ben Folds / Jet / Seu Jorge / The Walkmen / Artic Monkeys / Alanis Morissette / Fugees / Outkast / The Cranberries / Ryan Adams / The Flaming Lips / Bruce Springstein / Bloc Party / Snoop Dogg / Dispatch / Guster / Nas / The Roots / Eminem / Rilo Kiley / Gorillaz / Ben Harper / Bush / Bright Eyes / 311 / Paul McCartney / Hootie & The Blowfish /

VOTING BLOC:
Blues Traveler, Liz Phair, Fiona Apple, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New, R. Kelly, Danger Mouse (Grey Album), Spoon, Sigor Ros, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bone Thugs n' Harmony

OUT:
Christina Aguilera, My Chemical Romance, Clipse, David Gray, Air, Interpol

Staged, yet sweet

I love Jim Rome. Check him getting nearly knocked out here.

UPDATE V. 2.0

My Apologies: The part about a change in their sound was intended to mean a change in that bands sound. So, any artist that debuted since then automatically qualifies. The point was to exclude artists like Bob Marley (for Legends) and The Beatles (for One).

Radiohead / Green Day / The Strokes / The White Stripes / Dave Matthews Band / Death Cab For Cutie / The Postal Service / Sufjan Stevens / Kanye West / No Doubt / Tool / Rage Against The Machine / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Robert Randolph & The Family Band / The Neptunes / Johnny Cash / Notorious B.I.G. / Tupac Shakur / Dr. Dre / Beastie Boys / Jay-Z / Bjork / Oasis / Garbage / Wu-Tang Clan / Nirvana / Coldplay / The Smashing Pumpkins / Blackstar / Sublime / Justin Timberlake / John Mayer / blink182 / The Shins / Modest Mouse / Weezer / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! / Beck / The Mars Volta / Jack Johnson / Franz Ferdinand / Jamiroquai / Ben Harper / Pearl Jam / Counting Crows / Foo Fighters / System Of A Down / Common / Phish / My Morning Jacket / Cake / Iron & Wine / Norah Jones / Audioslave / Ben Folds / Jet / Seu Jorge / The Walkmen / Artic Monkeys / Alanis Morissette / Fugees / Outkast / The Cranberries / Ryan Adams / The Flaming Lips / Bruce Springstein / Bloc Party / Snoop Dogg / Dispatch / Guster / Nas / The Roots / Eminem / Rilo Kiley / Danger Mouse / Ben Harper / Bush /

On the question board, support or deny these:
Interpol, Bright Eyes, Brand New, Hootie & The Blowfish, Paul McCartney, Blues Traveler, Air, Liz Phair, 311, Fiona Apple, Taking Back Sunday, Brand New

Out: Christina Aguilera, Gorillaz, My Chemical Romance, Clipse, David Gray

UPDATE

New leaderboard:
Radiohead / Green Day / The Strokes / The White Stripes / Dave Matthews Band / Death Cab For Cutie / The Postal Service / Sufjan Stevens / Kanye West / No Doubt / Tool / Rage Against The Machine / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Robert Randolph & The Family Band / The Neptunes / Johnny Cash / Notorious B.I.G. / Tupac Shakur / Dr. Dre / Beastie Boys / Jay-Z / Bjork / Oasis / Garbage / Wu-Tang Clan / Nirvana / Coldplay / The Smashing Pumpkins / Blackstar / Sublime / Justin Timberlake / John Mayer / blink182 / The Shins / Modest Mouse / Weezer / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! / Beck / The Mars Volta / Jack Johnson / Franz Ferdinand / Jamiroquai / Ben Harper / Pearl Jam / Counting Crows / Foo Fighters / System Of A Down / Common / Phish / My Morning Jacket / Cake / Iron & Wine / Norah Jones / Audioslave / Ben Folds / Jet / Seu Jorge / The Walkmen / Artic Monkeys / Alanis Morissette / Fugees / Outkast / The Cranberries / Ryan Adams / The Flaming Lips / Bruce Springstein / Bloc Party / Snoop Dogg / Dispatch / Guster / Nas /

On the question board, support or deny these:
My Chemical Romance, Clipse, Ben Harper, David Gray, Interpol, Gorillaz, Christina Aguilera, Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley

I'll start: I vote for Clipse and MCR. I'll vote against the Gorillaz but for Danger Mouse (Gorillaz, DANGERDOOM, The Grey Album, Gnarls Barkley, Pelican City)

The Best Band ... Go!

I’ve been kicking around an idea in my head and now I need your help. I am going to try to compile a list of bands who have released great albums in 1994 or after (Picked to mark my entry into new music with Green Day’s Dookie). My only other criterion: that the released album be of new music that represents a major shift or growth for the band or artist in question. For example, the Beatles’s One doesn’t count. It is not required, however, that all of their post-94 albums be great, just one.

My goal: to present all of the listed bands’ albums that came out after ’94 as my thesis that music in my memorable life isn’t worse than the music that came before it. I believe this because I think to believe otherwise would deny the human ear and brain its constancy, among other reasons.

Below is a good starter list, invariably missing some important artists. Please, help me fill in the blanks – and defend your picks. Or, tell me which ones are total bogus.

Radiohead / Green Day / The Strokes / The White Stripes / Dave Matthews Band / Death Cab For Cutie / The Postal Service / Sufjan Stevens / Kanye West / No Doubt / Tool / Rage Against The Machine / Red Hot Chili Peppers / Robert Randolph & The Family Band / The Neptunes / Johnny Cash / Notorious B.I.G. / Tupac Shakur / Dr. Dre / Beastie Boys / Jay-Z / Bjork / Oasis / Garbage / Wu-Tang Clan / Nirvana / Coldplay / The Smashing Pumpkins / Blackstar / Sublime / Justin Timberlake / John Mayer / blink182 / The Shins / Modest Mouse / Weezer / Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! / Beck / The Mars Volta / Jack Johnson / Franz Ferdinand / Jamiroquai / Ben Harper / Pearl Jam / Counting Crows / Foo Fighters / System Of A Down / Common / Phish / My Morning Jacket / Cake / Iron & Wine / Norah Jones / Audioslave / Ben Folds / Jet / Seu Jorge / The Walkmen / Artic Monkeys / Alanis Morissette / Fugees / Outkast / The Cranberries /

Donating Blood

This is not for the faint of stomach. Don't read on if the thought of blood disturbs you.

I had a friend (who will remain unnamed) who needed to borrow a tampon, but was too shy to ask the other girls in the newsroom. So, naturally, I did it for her ... via gchat in this week's ... Chats With Manch, episode 5, "We're not embarrassed"

me: do you have a tampon i could borrow?
please let me know soon

Michelle: nope but i have a dime for the machine in the bathroom
just put some toilet paper in your underwear to catch the menstrual blood

me: that is true
but I don't want to do that really
it just gets too messy

Michelle: u can take my underwear to use. i'm not raggin
i don't know why it doesn't embarrass me to say those things, sam.

The End.

Awe Some Day

I hate excessive humidity, and that hate is compounded with excessive temperatures. Today, I awoke to this sweet note, an emergency communique from the National Weather Service:

A HOT AND HUMID AIRMASS WILL BE ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE SOUTHERN
GREAT LAKES REGION. SUNDAY AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE
LOWER AND MID 90S...COMBINED WITH DEWPOINTS AROUND 70...WILL
RESULT IN HEAT INDICES BETWEEN 100 AND 105 DEGREES.

I don't know why they have to type in all caps every time, but the note pretty much sums up the basis for an awesome day of work.

Also, I dropped my cell phone in a portable toilet. Yes, I fished it out. And, no, it doesn't work very well.

Wait for it ... Yes, I stuck my hands in a port-a-potty. Yes, I washed them. Yes, it is still gross that I did that. No more questions.

Look for a sweet Corazza-Nissen combo coming soon. More when I know more.

Artist of the Week

This week's artist is Thom Yorke. His claim to fame: he's the lead singer of the best band of my life time, better known as Radiohead.

Yorke's Eraser album is his first solo project, and, no worries, Radiohead marches on with him at the helm.

Sample lyrics:

And it rained all night and then all day
The drops were the size of your hands and face
The worms come out to see what's up
We pull the cars up from the river

It's relentless
Invisible
Indefatigable
Indisputable
Undeniable

So how come it looks so beautiful?
How come the moon falls from the sky?

I can see you
But I can never reach you

God sees even the smallest sparrow fall

"God's the ultimate playa, so naturally He's going to have some haters," rapper Ice Cube said. "But these haters need to realize that if you mess with the man upstairs, you will get your ass smote. True dat."

Courtesy of DW.

Sorry to the fans, but these crackers weren't playing fair

Sorry for the absence…

Introducing Down to the Dwire, Deux, Episode 1, "Ghostbustin'"

Kevin: i just read your blog and it made me slime
i mean smile
weird how those have the same letters
me: "i totally slimed all over her face"
Kevin: kind of like when i slimed on your auntie's toes yesterday
me: right
Kevin: man i'm tired
i've spent all morning
lying to the baby, telling him it's ajax
me: its tough to do
Kevin: if Clipse doesn't come out with a second CD
Kevin: i'm going to slime on their record label

The following motion picture was approved for awesomeness.

http://www.transformersmovie.com/

Robots in disguise. Killer.

Better news yet:
http://www.audioholics.com/news/pressreleases/VoltronLiveActionMovie.php

It's a celebration

Time to celebrate my 100th post!
What better day to do it, on the eve of my president’s 60th birthday.

Time for Chats With Manch, episode 4, “Chipotle”
(Note: this is long, but easily the best Manch-related text in the world. Do read on!)

Michelle: u never answered
"how do you feel about chocolate milk"
Michelle: you're a turkey sub
me: that doesn't make any sense
Michelle: u mean cents
Michelle: do u know what toe jam is
me: yes.
Michelle: no but i can articulate the constraining binary system of gender is western cultuuuuures
me: well shit on a stick
Michelle: i already shit in your car
is that fine
me: good news
Michelle: there were little carrot bits in it
me: it's cool, because when I spread my chocolate smear on your bed it had some of chipotle's corn salsa in it and you know how corn never breaks down
Michelle: i think you need to clean up the corn bits from your turds in my carpet
me: did i get some on your carpet?
I just wanted to leave a present for you on the bed, but I guess I was just too eager
Michelle: yeah u can just bring me some clorox wipes tomorrow
me: ok, yeah, sounds good
i don't remember seeing you much last night
but maybe that was because you weren't standing on top of my car
Michelle: i was swimming most of the time
me: oh, right
Michelle: that river was bundles of fun
me: dog got in the river for a while
Michelle: yeah we made love
me: you and dog?
Michelle: yeah why
Michelle: coolio
gangsta's paradise
me: yeah, that's how most would describe how i been spendin most my life
Michelle: stop making skin cancer jokes
Michelle: ok sure but u owe me a fruit roll up
Michelle: that's confusing but i like candy
me: i hate candy
Michelle: cept for them hot tamales, they's good
Michelle: i like cafeteria meals
me: me too
i loved the turkey tetrazini (sp?) at my hs cafeteria. plus that cheap ass rectangle pizza
Michelle: mm i forgot about rectangle pizza, how i miss thee
me: don't question my authority
Michelle: i'd never q the authority of a hermaphrodite
Michelle: laughter pervades gchat
Michelle: "no," said cultural studies scholar and writer John Fiske.
Michelle: that's my fave quote
me: that fiske doesn't mince words
Michelle: is it ok if i get us best friend necklaces
me: yes
Michelle: :) k i'll look for em
KBYE

The End.

I'm still waiting on the necklace.