I started to write about Pink Martini's new album, but ended up whining about a perfectly good company that has been kind enough to sell music without DRM. I should at least take a moment to mention the new album that led me to try out that site.

I'll start out with the worst I can say, and get that out of the way: I'm not certain, but this could be the worst Pink Martini album to date. I can't say that definitively, because at least Hey Eugene! is more consistent than Hang On Little Tomato. "The Gardens of Sampson & Beasley" is just about the only Pink Martini song I really don't like (rhyming "sadness" with...um, "sadness," that's just not right). But while Hey Eugene! doesn't have a bad song on it (and I disagree, mostly, with the criticism of the title track, but more on that later), it does start to feel, not boring, but a bit rote, predictable.

But it might not be fair to criticize Pink Martini for being predictable, when what they are being is predictably eclectic. Am I really describing an album that contains a song like "Dosvedanya Mio Bombino" rote? I think the problem is, Pink Martini, as wide-ranging as their influences are, still manages to craft a distinct sonic signature. When we had to wait seven years between albums, the return of their distinct sound was welcomed. This time, the wait was only two-and-a-half years, and now I'm whining that this album sounds too much like their other work. I'm an ingrate.

So there, now I'm beating myself up for saying something bad about this album. But I should clarify, when I say Hey Eugene! is their worst album, I am comparing it to two of my all-time favorite albums. I absolutely adore Pink Martini, and Sympathique is a monumental achievement. And while Hang On Little Tomoto isn't consistently genius, 95% of it is still damn good. And while I just haven't been able to get as excited by Hey Eugene! as I was when I first heard the other albums, I must say the songwriting is stronger on the new album, with the vintage songs and the new material merging seamlessly (they always did, musically, but the lyrics were usually a giveaway of the band's original material).

Of course, that seamless quality is destroyed by the title track, about a guy who didn't call vocalist China Forbes back after meeting her at a party (note to Eugene: What the hell is wrong with you?!). I've noticed the reviews have been pretty universal in pinpointing that track as the weakest moment on the album. I would disagree, though it's certainly not the best song here, either. On this album, Pink Martini is inspired by Hollywood, Japan, Peru, Egypt, France, Italy, Russia, and more. If they want to be inspired by New York hipsters for one song, why not? The song might hurt the fantasy of the album, the exotic realms, detached from time. But even if you're brought back to the here and now for a few minutes, in that here and now, you're listening to a Pink Martini album. It doesn't get much better than that.

UPDATE: I created a Pink Martini playlist, with an emphasis on the new album, plus some stuff I like from the other albums. Enjoy!

Pink Martini released their new CD, Hey Eugene! on May 14th. I was, of course, quite eager to give it a listen, but having trouble finding the CD for much below $15. Which I would gladly pay, but knowing the album is $9.99 on iTunes, I didn't want to pay that much of a premium to get the album in a non-optimal format (I'd much rather download music than rip it from CDs, though Pink Martini is one of those increasingly rare instances when I would have liked to have something physical to embrace). And iTunes has yet to roll out iTunes Plus for indie record labels, so Hey Eugene! still comes with DRM. And knowing that it would most likely be available in the future without DRM for the same price, I decided I could wait. After all, I'd heard many of the songs performed live.

But after a little bit of searching, I discovered the album was available now, sans DRM, from mTraks, a new digital music store based right here in San Diego. The album was available for $9.99, or for the same price, you could subscribe, and get 30 download credits. As there was no commitment, I went ahead and subscribed, downloaded the album, and still had 18 credits available, for 18 more songs. I got the new Pink Martini album at an amazing price, and had a chance to try out a new DRM-free music store, so I could report on my experience here.

My judgment: mTraks could be a useful service in the future, but right now, I'd say it lacks any edge over the competition. The website isn't particularly easy to browse, and despite their supposed emphasis on community features, musical recommendations were essentially non-existent. Searching for specific artists is easier, but I was annoyed by "false positives," when an artist turns up in a search, yet further clicking reveals they are not available on the service. But without strong community features, finding artists any way other than direct searching is futile. The community aspect may improve when they have more users, but gaining that user base may be difficult when eMusic has them beat on pretty much every point. They may have an advantage in their hybrid model, as they sell individual tracks and albums as well as subscriptions, but with a subscription available for the price of an album, I assume most people will do what I do, subscribe, download, and cancel. Now, if they can offer a compelling reason not to cancel (I was open-minded), this might be an effective and less costly way of attracting customers than eMusic's free trials (which have led to allegations of creative accounting). But from what I've experienced, I see no incentive to stick around. The next time there's an indie album I would like, that's not on eMusic, I might check out mTraks. But I don't see myself becoming a regular customer.

But hey, it's a beta, things could improve. But given the singular lack of buzz, I don't give this one a huge chance of success. A Google blog search on "mTraks" only gets 119 hits. Half of these hits are variations on mTraks' press release (excluding the perfectly natural and not-at-all-PR-talk phrase "killer social music community" brings the hits down to 60), and I haven't really been able to find any blog posts with paying customers discussing their experiences. And I'm afraid this post won't win them any awards.

Which wasn't really my intention. I didn't set out to bash mTraks, just discuss my experience (actually, I intended to discuss the new Pink Martini album, but I've digressed enough that I think I'll save that for another post). If you're looking for something eMusic doesn't have and mTraks does, mTraks is probably your best bet for buying said product. And if you're into the music released by the labels that created mTraks, Cafeteria Records and Naked Jain records, which I believe focus on punk music (feel free to correct me on that), then you should have no trouble finding music here. But in its current beta state, their press release's claim of being a "killer social music community" isn't backed up, and I see no reason not to stick with eMusic.

And a final note: What the hell is this? It's the first page that comes up on Google Blog Search when searching for mTraks. It's the mTraks press release, but with a byline and author bio, clearly trying to fool someone into thinking it's a news story, not a press release. How does this work? Did mTraks pay them to promote their press release in this misleading manner, or does this California Newswire site just reprint press releases to develop cheap content and sell ads? I call shenanigans on whoever's responsible. Oh, and now I see the second hit is a link to another website in the same family, same text, but now, instead of Cindy Holden, the author (excuse me, the site explains the name is the "editor/author") has become Jesse JJ Jame. How about that? I'm guessing from the Neotrope Interactive Network's home page that this is just some lame promotional tool for companies that can't generate real buzz. The desperation doesn't bode well for mTraks' chances.

Banjo player sought in hootenanny spree.

The Mixed-Up World of Ross Bagdasarian. I just learned today that Bagdasarian, aka David Seville, also played the role of the pianist/songwriter in Rear Window. Ain't that something?

Fluxblog on the Pipette's recent NYC appearance. I'll be seeing them at the Casbah this weekend, very exciting.

I am proud to highlight this video of Yma Sumac, for whom I have nothing but respect:

My great-aunt Pauline died last night. We got a call recently that she wasn't doing too well, but apparently things were looking up, until they weren't. I believe she was 86, but I may have to correct that number. In the interest of protecting the privacy of others, I will not go into the larger family drama playing out, except to say that my life is becoming a Jeff Foxworthy joke, and that the expression "the nut doesn't fall far from the tree" troubles me more and more.

CORRECTION: She was 84.

The other day, I speculated that Colbert would approve of Lou Dobb's leprosy comments. Getting caught up on my TV viewing, I see he's already tackled the issue:

Okay, so this is where there was supposed to be a video embedded from the Comedy Central website, but the first video I put up was the wrong one, and now I can't find the right one. So you'll just have to use your imagination. Hey Viacom, maybe you should spend less time suing YouTube and try to make your web site barely functional.

The cycle of life, or NEVER piss off a water buffalo:

I knew from a late-night software update that DRM-free iTunes downloads were on their way in the morning, but I was still knocked for a loop by news that CBS bought last.fm for $280 million. Just Sunday, I renewed my paid subscription to last.fm for a month, for $3. I felt pretty good, knowing that my $3 could help keep them from going under. Well, fuck you, last.fm. I kid. I'm glad they're on sure financial footing now. I do worry that things will change, now, but that could always be for the best. I've read suggestions that CBS will stream their radio offerings through last.fm, which is fine with me, as long as it doesn't affect their customized radio options.

There is some debate over whether CBS bought last.fm for the community, or just for their technology. I doubt they paid $280 million for the technology. Their recommendation technology doesn't seem that sophisticated; their advantage, like Netflix's, is in the sheer volume of data to which they have access. If you know every song someone has listened to, it's not too hard to figure out something to recommend. Maybe CBS wants the respected brand name of last.fm to attach to a new video-based recommendation service, but I don't think the technology behind the service was a major motivator of this purchase.

One major concern I had about this merger was how the recent hike in internet radio fees in the U.S. would affect last.fm, when it was owned by American CBS. I was under the impression that last.fm was not affected by this recent scandal because it was a British company. Turns out this was half-true, as last.fm, under British law, was forced to negotiate directly with record labels, and has deals with several majors, with more deals expected to close soon. So with these deals in place, the internet radio royalties that threaten to destroy other internet radio providers shouldn't be an issue for last.fm.

iTunes launched their DRM-free iTunes Plus service today. A nice milestone on the road leading to the death of DRM, though in actuality it was a little underwhelming. According to Apple's "upgrade to iTunes Plus" page, I actually only bought two albums from EMI: One by Lily Allen (don't you judge me!) and one by the Little Willies (a Norah Jones country side-project). I bought a handful of singles as well. I did go ahead and upgrade what I owned to iTunes Plus, though I was disappointed to see there was not an option to upgrade on a song-by-song basis. The upgrade was actually a good value to me, as I lost a few files from a hard drive crash awhile back, and was able to replace them in the process. And other then the site moving as slow as molasses, I didn't have much trouble upgrading. But I was disappointed to learn that I would have to pay a 30% surcharge to upgrade full albums I'd purchased, even though the DRM-free albums cost the same as the protected albums (an effort to encourage consumers to purchase full albums--a smart move, methinks). But I have a large credit balance at iTunes currently (Best Buy had a "$60 in gift cards for $45" sale recently), so didn't begrudge them the $7.50 or so I spent to upgrade.

One concern that I have about this experiment in DRM-free music is that it might, in fact, lead to a small up-tick in piracy. Much of the reportage about this new development describes the change as involving selling music free from usage restrictions. Not true. Copyright is a usage restriction. Just because a file is free from technological protection from copying doesn't mean that any and all copying of said file is legal. That's one reason why I think the thirty-cent surcharge for DRM-free files is a bad idea; it will confuse consumers, who think they are paying for the privilege to copy a file freely, without regard to copyright law. But I can offer one warning to those planning to share their iTunes Plus songs on P2P networks: Your iTunes account information and e-mail address is encoded within your iTunes-purchased music files. Though, as that article notes, I doubt this information is being used to track down pirates.

Concerned that the end is nigh? Don't worry, in the event of armageddon, nuclear or otherwise, your primary concern has already been addressed: The seeds will be safe.

Via Tofu Hut, some Japanese pro wrestling action:

If Vince McMahon is reading this, I would totally pay to see this in the States. And don't you dare change the Kiss Army makeup (which is somehow more effective with the Iron Maiden T-shirt).

The remarkable reproduction of the Cordyceps Fungus:

I first learned of such things at The Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles, which has an exhibit on the stink ant of Cameroon. I have been reluctant to say much about the museum here, as ignorance is helpful in fully experiencing the museum, but if you find yourself in L.A., check it out.

Lou Dobbs is the only man around not afraid to tell the truth about the fuckin' Mexicans, with their fuckin' leprosy. Way to not let the facts get in the way, Lou, Colbert would be proud.

Attentive readers of this blog might have deduced that I'm rather fond of The Comics Curmudgeon. My heart always skips a beat when Bloglines shows me that the site has been updated. So it is a great honor to say I have been bestowed one of the greatest honors the site has to bestow: Comment of the Week runner-up. Take a look at the Slylock Fox strip that inspired my comment, and then take in my remarks, pulling up the caboose of the comment also-rans (I'm Flealick).

I do hope my next major achievement in life won't also involve the phrase "getting off on the Junior Jumble". But I am proud that Slylock Fox was involved, as it's actually a very interesting comic with some nice artwork. And a sexy, sexy cat. One could probably spend one's time better than going through the Comic Curmudgeon's archive of Slylock Fox-related posts, but why would you want to?

UPDATE: Perusing the archives, I came across this lovely sketch of Cassandra Cat (scroll down a tad). I can just imagine what artwork this Sunday's installment could inspire. (Actually, I don't have to imagine too hard.)

If you're anything like me, you've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of DRM-free tracks at iTunes, which we were told would arrive in May, which will soon be over. But fear not, as sources say the May deadline will be met. No assurances the infrastructure will be in place for new-music Tuesday, but I suppose waiting another 48 hours or so won't kill me. Besides, it's not like there's a ton of EMI artists I've been dying to purchase, it's more the symbolism of the moment.

Major San Diego-based casino scam busted. Apparently, the managed to put slugs of cards in play, and bribed dealers to false-shuffle. There's talk of using software, which suggests they detected slugs that formed in the normal course of play. But the article notes that at one time, the slug was 376 cards long. That's 7.23 decks, and I believe Barona uses eight decks at baccarat. So that would suggest they essentially switched out the entire shoe. In any event, it sounds like it was quite the lucrative scam while it lasted.

WFMU's Beware of the Blog takes a look at Bill "Droopy" Thompson's career. Apparently, the complete Droopy just came out on DVD, and can be picked up for less than $20. I'd pay that and more just for "The Shooting of Dan McGoo."

Johnny Cash in Five Minutes to Live. Just ordered it from CD Universe for $9 or so after shipping. Looks thrilling.

Should an amputee sprinter be allowed in the Olympics? There was a profile of him recently in Wired, and I thought the topic raised interesting issues about ethics and sports and technology, which deserve careful consideration. And apparently Elio Locatelli of the I.A.A.F, which is opposed to Oscar Pistorius' presence at the Olympics, also gave the matter serious though:

“With all due respect, we cannot accept something that provides advantages,” said Elio Locatelli of Italy, the director of development for the I.A.A.F., urging Pistorius to concentrate on the Paralympics that will follow the Olympics in Beijing. “It affects the purity of sport. Next will be another device where people can fly with something on their back.”

Of course, it seems so simple now: If we allow someone who doesn't have legs to use something to stand in for said legs, it's exactly the same as strapping on jet packs and heading straight for the high jump. Exactly. I remember, awhile back, the Paralympic Games were on T.V., and for the longest time I thought they were showing that movie, Rocketman.

I should be thankful for Locatelli's bone-headed comment, as it just goes to highlight the error of the slippery slope fallacy. Yes, we can allow Pistorius to compete in the Olympics without fear of healthy athletes cutting off their legs for a competitive "advantage" (ignoring for the moment the evidence showing that Pistorius is clearly at a disadvantage to naturally bipedal opponents). Because we're humans, with brains and judgment and stuff, and can understand the difference between adapting to a disability and self-mutilation.

There's a fair amount of work to be done, to study the biomechanics of an amputee runner and develop standards for prosthetics in competition, but it looks like I.A.A.F. is unwilling to explore the matter seriously (which is odd, considering the power of such a feel-good story to bring up sagging Olympic ratings). Here's hoping Oscar Pistorius makes it to Beijing.

Alberto Gonzales keeps sinking lower and lower in my estimation. When people tell damning stories about you that cast John Ashcroft in an almost heroic light, relatively, that does not say much for your character.

Jerry Falwell, dead at 73. In an effort to continue the brilliant legacy of this kind-hearted man, I am going to follow his example, and blame the Queers for this tragic news.

As I am wont to do when such news breaks, I will again quote Randy Newman (speaking about the death of Lestor Maddox): It just goes to show, only the good die young.

The Pipettes are coming to San Diego June 10th. $10 at the Casbah. What a bargain. And Robbie Fulks is coming to L.A.. Last time, I heard he was in California after the fact, so I'm excited to be able to see him this time.

Congress acts decisively against the Mooninite threat with the Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007. Thank you, Congress, for acting to improve our terrorist hoaxes.

UCSD investigates cancer cluster in Literature building. Ditching class just may have saved my life. Actually, I've had exactly one class in that building in my many, many years at the university, and frankly, eight cancer cases in 16 years, while certainly unfortunate, doesn't really strike me as cause for panic. Glad they're looking into the situation, though.

I'm a hoarder. For most of my life, it was books. I am quite certain, when I one day shuffle off this mortal coil, the majority of books in my library will be unread, at least by me. But this is hardly uncommon. And quite affordable; a good chunk of my library was purchased used, and with the exception of a few handsome volumes, none were very expensive.

My attention shifted, a bit, with the advent of DVD. I suppose I could be considered an early adopter of DVD, if you consider anyone who owned a DVD player pre-PS2 to be an early adopter. But the idea of special features and audio commentaries intrigued me, and I took the plunge on what was still a fairly pricey player. But the sticker shock was softened by the fact that the internet boom was in full swing, and internet merchants were more then willing to drastically cut prices on DVDs to try to move some players. I remember ordering lots of DVDs from 800.com (now owned by Circuit City, apparently) at well under $10 each, free shipping, and often getting microwave popcorn or Red Vines thrown into the package as a nice bonus. So, forming a video library wasn't too expensive, either. In fact, I used to argue to myself that it was cheaper than renting, because I could keep it as long as I wanted, watch it, and sell it on half.com to recoup a reasonable part of my investment.

But I never did sell them. And I probably only watched three or four movies a month, along with a few TV shows on DVD. And as my interests tended to run towards TV show boxed sets and Criterion Collection releases of classic foreign films, this became a rather expensive hoarding. So I gradually put the breaks on my DVD spending. And I suppose, all this time, I was also assembling what seemed, for the most part, a ridiculous CD library, as well. But like books, this is hardly uncommon, nor terribly expensive. And while most of these CDs were rarely listened to for most of my life, the advent of the iPod and iTunes means that the vast majority of this library (I have yet to finish digitizing all my CDs) is available anytime, anywhere, and as a result, this lifetime's accumulation of music is actually being used to something close to its full potential.

Like I said, I consider myself a hoarder. I'm not a collector, really, because I have no object in what I purchase; I'm not trying to get rare books or CDs or DVDs, necessarily. And since I never actually use a large percentage of what I obtain, I can't really say I'm an enthusiast. I think my purchases relate to my gambling; if I ever stop to think I might be wasting money, I just remind myself how much I lost on one hand of blackjack on a recent occasion, and then I feel ridiculous for ever questioning the expenditure.

Anyway, I tell you this to explain my most recent purchase. Ever since I slowed down my DVD purchases extensively, I've found myself purchasing quite a few electronic devices. I'm on my third iPod, I've purchased several upgrades for my computer (which I have been forced to admit were, due to the fundamental limitations of my antiquated system, pretty much useless), a Wii and Nintendo DS Lite, an HDTV, a PDR (which now sits mostly unused as I'm also renting one from the cable company), an upscaling DVD player to complement the new HDTV, among others. Now, for the most part, I'm getting quite a bit of use out of these products. But I really had to question my desire to supplement the Nintendo products, and my old PS2 (I'm currently on my second) and my now obsolete Gamecube, with an Xbox 360. Yet in what can only be described as a bizarre compulsion, compounded by the siren-call of Viva Pinata and Settlers of Catan, I purchased an Xbox 360 on Thursday.

If this weekend is any indication, the Xbox 360 will not be one of these products that simply contributes to the quantity of stuff I own, but will be something I actually use. The games look fantastic (especially Viva Pinata), and I've had a lot of fun growing my garden in that game. But the main reason I wanted an Xbox was to access the Xbox Live Arcade, and play some of the games there. This week's release of Settlers of Catan was one of the reasons I finally took the plunge and got the system, but so far, I've just stuck with the games that came with Xbox Arcade Unplugged, a collection of a few of the more popular games for the service. Geometry Wars is okay, as are most of the other games I've tried. I've played a fair amount of Backgammon, though I've had trouble finding opponents online (I thought it might not be a popular game, but I think it may be the result of technical difficulties). But, degenerate gambler that I am, I've clocked the most hours playing Texas Hold 'em. It's actually pretty well-implemented, for a fake-money poker game. Playing in tournament mode, you only have a limited amount of money to pay the entry fees. In many games, if you run out of money, they just refresh your bankroll. In this game, if you lose your money, you have to grind out a new bankroll playing free tournaments for limited prize money. As a result, people seem to play a bit more reasonably than they do in other free poker games. And while I worried the voice support would mean dealing with a lot of assholes, for the most part its just friendly banter, and there's always the option to mute an annoying player.

Of course, all that sidesteps the larger issue, which is, did I just lay down a significant amount of money to play poker and backgammon on my TV? And the answer, really, is yes. I've enjoyed Viva Pinata and look forward to playing Crackdown and Dead Rising and Oblivion and other games that fully utilize the impressive hardware I just purchased. But I think, at heart, I lean more towards what the market classifies a "casual gamer." So I'm comfortable playing Bejewelled on my HDTV, even if it a bit like driving a porshe to the market. And I think, in the long run, I'll spend some quality time with some of the more intensive games for the system (though my aversion to first-person shooters rules out some of its most popular games).

I'll discuss Viva Pinata later, along with my feelings on any other games I might want to mention. For now, I've rambled on long enough. Just wanted to let you know I'm now a member of the Wii60 demographic. And I think I'll try to curb my electronic purchases a bit. Though now that I have an Xbox 360, I could really use a new computer with Vista's Media Center capabilities. And my car seems rather empty without GPS capabilities. And a new car stereo could really maximize the potential of my iPod. UPDATE: I forgot to mention one thing: I've used the Xbox 360 for about three days, and it has frozen up on me twice. My Wii has never frozen. My Nintendo DS has never frozen. My PS2 has frozen maybe two times. My original Nintendo Entertainment System used to freeze, very rarely, late in its life cycle. And again, my Xbox 360 has frozen twice in my first weekend of ownership. You can really tell it's a Microsoft product.

A history of "Dry Bones."

Ricky Gervais' new-wave past revealed

Big Rock Candy Mountain is counting down the top 100 drinking songs. Here's hoping that the Meat Purveyor's "Thinking About Drinking" and Robbie Fulk's "Each Night I Try" get the placement they deserve. I was taken aback that "The King is Gone (And So Are You)" is languishing in 87th place.

Not sure what horse I'm backing for first place. Lots of good drinking songs out there. But no matter; to paraphrase the great man, when you participate in top 100 lists, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get.

As promised, I signed up for We7, and downloaded the sample songs being offered. The current offerings are intended as a tech demo, and it would be unfair to judge them from the selection being offered currently. But when the best track available is by Hall and Oats, that's not the best sign. Some nice jazz tunes were available, the best of those being Rick Guard's swinging "The Truth About Love" (though that file sounded a bit muddled to me, at least in the bass). Currently, each file is affixed with a very brief commercial for We7 itself, much like a radio station I.D. spot. Not too annoying, but not particularly interesting. The files have no DRM, as advertised, and as one would imagine, skipping the commercials is quite easy.

I was satisfied enough with this taste of the We7 service that I will be keeping an eye on it, and will put it through its paces when it goes live. I'm highly skeptical of its business model, but I wish them the best. I suppose most people will listen to the ads the first time they play a song, if only to see how long the ad is so they can tell iTunes how far ahead to skip in subsequent playings. So advertisers are paying a dollar or so for every ad impression. Seems high to me, but I suppose the market will decide.

Peter Gabriel has opened We7, an online music store that will give away free music tracks, DRM-free, with ten-second commercials attached. After four weeks, you can re-download the track, but without the commercial. While I'm not wildly crazy about the idea, it's not terrible. If it has a good selection (which I doubt it will), or at least a good interface that helps you find good music amongst the obscure offerings, it might be a nice, free way to discover new artists. I just can't imagine the ad revenue will be substantial enough to make this worth the time of any working musicians. Especially since it would be pretty easy to remove or bypass the commercial from a DRM-free file. Just tell iTunes to start playing the file at the ten-second mark; you don't even need to edit the file. But if the commercial's not obnoxious, and you have a commercial-free file coming in a few weeks, maybe users won't bother to skip it. I'm skeptical this will work out as a viable business, but I'll give it a shot when it goes live.

UPDATE: Apparently, We7 expects to make about $1.20 per download in advertising fees. This number strikes me as absurd, but I don't pretend to be an expert in advertising. I also see that there are some sample songs already available, if you register for the site; when I get home, I'll download me some Coolio or Bananarama and let you know how the experience goes.

A recent Comics Curmudgeon post got me thinking that I, too, should submit an idea to the comic strip 2.0 standards Pluggers and They'll Do It Every Time. While I've not recently encountered any petty annoyances that deserve to be immortalized in newsprint, I did come up with a Pluggers suggestion. Going to the post office the other day, I was walking behind an old man (while the meaning of "Plugger" is unclear, it is generally understood to refer to either an obese individual or the elderly), who stopped suddenly to spastically check the coin return slot on a payphone, sporting the expression I believe I have when I draw to a royal flush on a video poker machine. Which led me to submit the idea, "A plugger's retirement plan involves checking the coin return slots of pay phones." So keep reading Pluggers, and look for my name! (I say keep reading, because if you're not currently reading it, I can't recommend you start, because you'd never forgive me)

Here's a fun fact--well, a fact--about Pluggers: When you search for "Pluggers" on google, the description of the Pluggerville website describes the strip as "almost surreal." Yeah, Salvador Dali and the chief plugger, I'm always getting those two confused. "Almost Jeff Foxworthy" would be a more appropriate description. Besides, how is anything "almost surreal," that's like being "almost unique." It's surreal, except for the part that's a comic strip. Maybe the notion that this strip still runs in newspapers is surreal.

A Series of Unfortunate Events is coming out in paperback. The books look pretty nice, but I don't think they're nice enough for me to buy 13 books I already own.

I heard about this on Wait, wait... the other day, but seeing M.C. Nuts really adds a whole other layer of suckitude.

And while I can't quite say I really liked the Rap Canterbury Tales, it's certainly a more well-conceived and better-executed project, not really on the same plane as M.C. Nuts. Certainly worth a listen.

John Cage on I've Got a Secret.

It turns out that Deputy Secretary of State Randall Tobias really loves two things: abstinence-only sex education, and whores.

The Comics Curmudgeon is always good, but was particularly entertaining today, with an installment of classic comics featuring Professor Chinbeard's first appearance in Mary Worth. Turns out he was an asshole from day one, though tempered with a touch of Foster Brooks. And the site also offers a peek into the backstage world of user-generated comic strip ideas, suggesting that out of touch old kooks are more civil than salt-of-the-earth types.

Boris Yeltsin, dead at 76.

Report: Amazon set to debut online music service next month. If they launch such a service, I'm sure they will only do so in a DRM-free form (rumors swirrled a few weeks ago that Amazon was going to buy eMusic, but nothing came of it). I did think it interesting to read in one report of a rumored Universal/Amazon partnership that Amazon was considering launching a store based on Microsoft's Plays for Sure DRM, but abandoned it when Microsoft announced the Zune. It was widely noted at the time that the Zune was a real slap in the face for anyone who partnered with Microsoft on the DRM front, but this is the first I've heard of any serious ramifications from the whole Zune debacle.

I watched Scoop last night. What a piece of crap that was! Who casts Ian McShane in a movie and then barely lets him do anything?

I used to like Scarlett Johansson, but after watching this, and The Black Dahlia the other night, I think she just got lucky, working with some strong material early in her career. She really doesn't seem to be much of an actress. What little bit of her appearance last night on Saturday Night Live hardly changed my opinion.

I've been ill, and haven't had much energy to do much of anything lately, which is why I never wrote about my trip to Vegas two weekends ago. Nothing too exciting to report there, the Pinball Hall of Fame was fun, and I saw Louie Anderson perform at the Excalibur, the food at the Hilton was bad (the buffet had really gone downhill) and I was out of money by Saturday night.

I was also too ill to mention the passing of Johnny Hart last week. Decided I'd let that was slip by (if you don't have anything nice to say...), but I'll mention it now, in light of the news that Brant Parker, Hart's collaborator, is dead at 86.

Randy Newman: Sincerest Cynic.

Song for Randy Newman, to be sung by Randy Newman.

Don Ho, dead at 76.

Kurt Vonnegut, dead at 84. I wrote my college entrance essay on the lessons learned from God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Vonnegut is probably the reason I chose to be a literature major; I won't hold it against him.

Some comics-related things to share with you good people:

Cartoonist Carol Lay was recently made to answer for casting aspersions on the librarian profession. I meant to mention it at the time, but was recently reminded of it when, in this week's installment of the "Classic Peanuts" strips currently running in syndication, Linus got his library card, and struggled to come to terms with this awesome responsibility. I generally sympathize with Charlie Brown, but I think there's a lot of Linus in me, too.

This talk of libraries led me to the Unshelved website, to see if any recent strips warranted notice (this installment of the Unshelved Book Club led me to purchase the book, so it probably deserves a mention), and there I learned that the recent strips about coffee cup lids are actually part of a Library Cartoonist Cage Match between Unshelved and Sheldon. So there you go. I'm not picking a winner.

The Comics Curmudgeon recently offered up some choice goodies, my favorite being the the adventures of the Comic Strip Superfriends: Watch your hateful tongue, Garfield!

As rumored, the Apple/EMI press conference was to announce that EMI was dropping DRM on iTunes. Good news. Higher-fidelity, DRM-free songs for an extra $0.30/song. I dislike having to pay extra to not receive a crippled product, but the enhanced sound eases the pain a bit (not that I've ever had a problem with the sound quality from the iTunes store). And in an effort to move consumers away from just purchasing singles, the wholesale price of albums will not change; I mostly buy full albums on iTunes, so this means I'll get improved sound quality and no DRM, and it will only cost me $0.30 on the infrequent occasions when I just download select tracks. I'd say this qualifies as good news, and hopefully the other major record labels will follow suit.

I do hope that the move away from DRM doesn't bring the majors to eMusic. I imagine the presence of major studios would drive the cost per song up quite a bit.

WTO upholds decision against U.S. on gambling ban. I thought this ruling might be an empty gesture, as how badly could trade sanctions from Antigua harm the American economy, but I found this interesting:

Antigua and Barbuda may seek sanctions in the form of withdrawing protection for U.S. trademarks or copyrights. Known as "cross-retaliation," such sanctions are legal under WTO rules when a nation can't afford to impose higher duties on imported goods.

So, if tomorrow's announcement turns out not to have anything to do with DRM, don't despair, as you might be able to download cheap songs from Barbudan servers soon (like a truly legal version of allofmp3.com)

EMI and Apple plan to make a major announcement tomorrow. The early rumor was the arrival of the Beatles catalog on iTunes, which would be pretty sweet. But the Wall Street Journal reports (apparently, I got home from work before I heard this, and no longer have access to the Journal archives) that the real announcement is DRM-free music downloads from iTunes. Which makes more sense, considering the promise of a live musical performance at the press conference. Good news, in any case.

My Wii has started gathering dust, with the Nintendo DS release of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, a game which finally answered all of our prayers, and combined a Bejeweled-esque puzzle game with a wizards-and-orcs style roleplaying game. While the game is available for the DS and PSP, you can play a demo version on your PC. It's really one of those things you have to try to truly understand just how compelling the seemingly bizarre concept really is in execution. The game is one of the most addictive things I've played for some time, even if the somewhat tiny DS display makes it easy to make mistakes with the stylus.

I had noticed that the computer A.I. is remarkably lucky in setting up chains, and I see that the internet rumors that the computer cheats are flying fast and furious. Which is why DS Fanboy's report that the cheating could be deactivated certainly raised my interest. It wasn't until I looked closely at the picture, and noticed the bit about the nude characters and secret cow level, that I remembered today was April 1st. And I should note, what I first took for DS Fanboy's April Fools prank actually originated with the game developers themselves.

Oh, and as for the cheating allegation, I think it just appears that way because the gems tend to clump together, and aren't particularly random.

UPDATE: I thought the odd method of entering the "cheat code" was to make it more difficult to tell it was a joke when the code didn't work, but it has been pointed out that the code is actually morse code for "I am a NOOB."

Larry "Bud" Melman, AKA Calvert DeForest, dead at 85.

In today's Sunday comics, two strips decided to call out their competition for ridicule (though in the case of Pearls Before Swine, the mockery seems to fall in the category of good-natured ribbing):

Lio attacks For Better or for Worse (which is like shooting fish in a barrel...or, to borrow from Todd Barry, like shooting a barrel)

Pearls Before Swine is a tad jealous of Get Fuzzy

I only recently started reading both Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine regularly, but I'd have to say Pearls Before Swine is probably my favorite current comic strip. I've also started reading Lio recently, and today's strip reflects my confusion about the strip's nature. I was under the impression that one of the strip's signifying qualities was the general lack of dialogue, like a silent film. I knew this wasn't a hard and fast, inviolable law of nature, but still, in the time I've been reading it, it's been awfully wordy. Kind of hurts the strip's charm (the strip is pretty repetitive, and certainly hasn't lived up to my first impressions).

UPDATE: Well, seeing as I linked to Pearls Before Swine, I should probably link to today's Get Fuzzy, too, since it was pretty funny.

Eiji Funakoshi, dead at 84. It's been awhile since I've seen the original Gamera; I think Funakoshi made a bigger impression on me in Gamera vs. Guiron.

I went gambling with a friend of mine last night, and when I picked him up, he offered me a bottled tea. To my surprise, it was a plastic bottle of Honest Tea green tea. I was surprised because it wasn't in a glass bottle, as I was accustomed to, so I asked where he purchased it. Turns out, CostCo now carries an Honest Tea assortment. I quickly drilled him on the flavors included, as my grocery store stopped carrying my favorite flavor, Moroccan Mint Greeen Tea, but he wasn't sure if that flavor was included. But I've been meaning to make a CostCo run (been out of shaving gel for two weeks or so), so I'll have to check that out.

Oh, and as for the gambling, I lost what I won at Barona on Thursday, when I placed in the evening poker tournament. Had fun playing No-Limit Hold 'em live on Saturday night, I don't think I've ever played that game in a brick-and-mortar casino outside of a tournament setting. Didn't get much in the way of cards, but one big pot put me right back where I started from, so I almost broke even at poker (though I lost a fair amount on video poker while waiting for a seat).

And, may I say, huzzah and kudos to Barona Casino for offering fair food prices for the gambling community. The buffet is discounted to $9.95 Monday-Thursday this month, and will be $8.95 next month (I assume also Monday-Thursday, though this I have not confirmed). Quarter-pound hot dogs are $1, half-pounders $2. The burger joint in the food court had several satisfying options under $3. And midnight-six AM, the coffee shop has some decent-looking breakfast specials in the $3-$4 range. Contrast this with Viejas, which, last I checked, wanted about $6 for a hot dog. No wonder Barona was packed both times I went, and Viejas was quite depopulated last time I was there. So, way to go Barona, giving the customer an honest deal.

Two of my favorites, together at last: Willie Nelson on The Colbert Report:

For the record, I had a Nelson/Colbert taste-test the other day, and must admit I wasn't a huge fan of either ice cream. Willie Nelson's Peach Cobbler was pretty good, but I'm just not a huge fan of peach. Not bad for a change of pace, but not something I'd see myself eating regularly. Colbert's Americone Dream is pretty good, but a bit boring. I'm quite a fan of those Drumstick ice cream cones, so it sounded just up my alley, but the ice-cream-to-cone ratio just isn't quite right. But despite my qualms, I'd have to side with Colbert on this one.

A preview of This American Life's new cable TV show:

Cryptographers defeat the Amazing Randi. I was a bit confused when I saw this article's headline, as I couldn't understand why these two forces would be at odds. Did Randi announce his belief that encryption was bullshit? But, as is often the case, reading the story aquainted me with what actually happened.

Wii friend codes to be unique for each game. Boo on you, Nintendo.

A few comic strips that amused me recently:

No time for poetry

Whistling past the graveyard

Living life over again

Too close to home

What makes the sky blue?

Al D'Amato, poker lobbyist. I never thought I'd live to say it, but, God bless you, Mr. D'Amato.

In uploading a picture of my Mii for the previous post, I realized I had a bunch of photos on my camera from my vacation last September, which I never shared here. I've gone ahead and uploaded a few pictures from the Charles M. Schultz Museum, in Santa Rosa, California. It was a fun time. I'll upload more pictures later.

Photo album from the Schultz Museum

The above is a crude photographic representation of my Mii, the avatar that represents me on my Wii. A fairly accurate representation, I would say, certainly the most faithful recreation of an actual person I've seen using the somewhat limited customization choices available. (For comparison's sake, here's a recent photo)

I've had my Wii since December, and have meant to share my impressions of the system for some time. But whenever I would sit down to type up my thoughts, it would occur to me that my time would be better spent playing the damn thing. But, at long last, here I am, ready to speak frankly about my experience with the wildly-hyped next big thing in video games.

I'll work my way up to the games, which are, of course, the most important aspect of a games system. But I'll start with the general design and features. The machine is small and quiet, barely the size of two VHS tapes. The main menu is designed to look like a series of TV channels, which keeps things simple, though the ability to create sub-folders would be nice (for instance, filing all downloaded games into one channel). The messaging system is nice to have, but not terribly useful. Friend codes are a pain (both you and the recipient of your message must enter the other person's friend code before you can communicate with each other), and in this case, the inability to create folders for messages, or really filter your messages in any way beyond deleting them, is a major flaw. The photo channel is a nice bonus, making it incredibly easy to watch photo slide shows on your television. The ability to automatically take screen shots and transfer them to the photo channel would be a nice feature to add (it would have allowed me to share a much nicer photo of my Mii than what you see above). The weather channel would be useful, if it updated more often, and was more accurate. Seeing a happy sun when it is raining outside is irritating. The news channel updates more frequently, and I actually use it more frequently than I anticipated. Not that it's all that taxing getting the news off the computer, but if I find myself lying on the couch, it's nice to just sit back and read the news on the TV. The text size and resolution keeps things easy on the eyes, and navigation is reasonably smooth. The news channel features a global map (as does the weather channel), showing where news events took place; an amusing flaw often has the map showing, for instance, Syracuse, Italy, when the news article refers to Syracuse, New York. A new channel, "Everybody Votes," was just recently added. Fairly useless, but amusing enough for the two minutes or so it takes to answer a couple inane poll questions, and then vote on what response the majority of Wii users will choose. And, of course, there is the Mii channel. There are some minor quibbles I can offer, wishing there were more options to choose from in customizing one's Mii, and more ways to share them with other users, without the burdensome friend codes. But word is these concerns will be addressed in future updates, and none of this takes away from the joyous experience of creating yourself and your friends on your gaming console, and using your own image to play a video game. Bowling a strike is much more satisfying when it is you that threw the ball, and not some random character. The implementation of the Miis is the perfect example of how you don't need the most bleeding-edge graphics and processing power to create a brilliant new gaming experience.

But whatever the merits of these channels, they are minor extras, at best. The Wii is a video game machine, and as such, the most anticipated feature of the system, beyond the actual games made for the Wii, is the Virtual Console, which allows you to download classic video games for play on the Wii. I must say, while this was the first feature that really got be excited about the Wii (it wasn't until I experienced the Nintendo DS, and its unorthodox control scheme, that I became more open-minded about the motion-sensing controls), it's left me underwhelmed so far. I've downloaded a total of four games, and only spent a significant amount of time playing Super Mario Bros. and the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Partly, I've been disappointed by the lack of selection, but seeing as that has improved markedly recently, I guess I'd have to say the main problem is the price. Games for the original NES are $5, which seems fair to me. But prices go up from there, from $6 for TurboGrafx-16 games to $8 for Sega Genesis games and $10 for Nintendo 64 games. The more expensive games may indeed be more sophisticated, but they are all old games. With the possible exception of the Nintendo 64 games, I don't see a price tag over $5 being defensible, especially in comparison to prices for brand-new games downloaded from the Xbox Live Arcade (virtually all classic games on the Xbox are $5, and unlike the Wii store, free trials are available). Of course, the main reason I haven't downloaded more games is probably because I'm busy with new Wii games; I'll probably make more use of the Virtual Console in the future. But the pricing definitely doesn't encourage impulse purchases.

But enough of that, let's get to the Wii games. As you probably are aware, the Wii's main feature is it's motion-sensing controller, which looks like a remote control. The Wii comes with a pack-in game, Wii Sports, which is the perfect game to familiarize yourself with the unfamiliar controls, and realize just how revolutionary the new controls really are. Wii Sports consists of five games, but the one which seems to capture everyone's attention is bowling. The appeal of this game is obvious: The controls feel exactly like real bowling. You don't experience the resistance offered by the weight of a real bowling ball, but beyond that, playing the game really does replicate the experience of bowling. And the physics of the ball and pins is very impressive; the relative amount of pin action when I bowl versus when my mom bowls is comparable to what we would experience when we bowled in real life. No doubt, bowling is the Wii's killer app, and a great example of Nintendo's tactic of appealing to the non-gamer; my mother has rheumatoid arthritis, and she enjoys the occasional game of bowling (not much else on the Wii has captured her interest; the Nintendo DS is more her speed--she bought her own after borrowing mine for months), and pretty much everybody who has entered my home since I purchased the Wii has bowled at least one game. The other games in Wii Sports aren't quite as well-implemented, but most are still quite fun, especially Tennis. I got bored with baseball pretty quickly, but golf has grown on me a bit. Boxing is exhausting, but the motion controls seem a bit flawed, with about half the punches I throw not turning up on the screen.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the most successful game for the Wii in terms of sales and critical acclaim, and probably deservedly so. I haven't gotten very far in the game, because I haven't had enough time to really get into such an immersive gaming experience. But from what I've seen, it is impressive, if not quite up to the enormous praise it has received. Wii Sports is probably my favorite Wii game, but I'm also rather fond of Rayman Raving Rabbids. It's not perfect, but this collection of minigames has a lot more positives than negatives. The evil rabbits are hilarious, as are most of the games (though a few games are fatally flawed by controls that simply don't work). The on-rails shooter games are fun, but my absolute favorite part of the game are the rhythm games, where you, as Rayman, dance, and if you keep the beat, you are rewarded with Rabbid backup dancers. Really shows the potential for the upcoming DDR game for the Wii. My only complaint about the Rayman rhythm games is, the music is too low in the mix, so that the experience isn't as musically rewarding as it could be. (I tried to find a game-play video showing the Rhythm game, but a quick look at YouTube didn't turn up anything, though I did find a clip of a delightful minigame where you have to find the rabbid in the choir singing out of tune, and slap him silly--and I also found some spots for UNICEF featuring Rayman and a Rabbid)

I've picked up quite a few Wii games, and mostly been quite satisfied. Super Monkey Ball is the only game I really didn't like, mostly because the controls are really flawed for most of the minigames. Elebits was fun, but I got bored of it fairly quickly--it was compared a bit too much to Katamari Damacy, so I probably had too high of hopes for it; I'll probably give it another chance once I get bored with my other Wii games. Trauma Center: Second Opinion is better than it's DS-counterpart. I was a bit disappointed to learn that the Wii game would just be a port of the DS version, which I already have, but performing surgery on the Wii is a lot of fun, so it was definitely worth double-dipping, in this case. WarioWare: Smooth Moves is fun, in short bursts, just like the other WarioWare games. But the Wii WarioWare does have one flaw: The game has to tell you which of the many "poses" one has to strike with the Wii Remote, before the game starts. This somewhat takes away from the main appeal of the WarioWare games, in my opinion, because the main challenge in these five-second games is to figure out what the hell you're supposed to do. That aspect of the game is still present, but somewhat watered down in the Wii version. Still fun, though. Sonic and the Secret Rings has a lot of problems, but just barely works well enough for me to recommend it. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. There are several great games currently available for the Wii, though none of them are perfect. But considering the dramatic change in the game controls, it's actually remarkable how much of the potential of the Wii Remote has already been unleashed in the early Wii games, which really makes me hopeful for the future.

That's my impressions of the Wii, after three months or so of ownership. To be perfectly honest, I haven't been playing the Wii as much as I anticipated. In fact, I'm still getting plenty of use out of my Playstation 2, and my Nintendo DS gets plenty of play, as well. The launch of the Wii actually turned me into a bit of a video game nerd, constantly scanning the video game blogs looking for tips on where to score my Wii, and once I found my Wii, I kept reading the blogs, which kept my excitement about video games stimulated. In fact, I'm really trying to justify the purchase of an Xbox 360. If buying one wouldn't pretty much force me to buy an HDTV as well, I probably would have already bought one. But I'm waiting, until the price comes down a bit, and until I break down and buy an HDTV. Maybe this Summer. But for now, I have my Wii, which means I can bowl, perform surgery, and dance with bunny go-go dancers, all in my own living room. Who needs anything more?

I reported a while back that You Don't Know Jack was back, in the form of a daily "Dis or Dat" question (at least, I thought I had so reported, but I can't seem to find said post). Now, in addition to the daily "Dis or Dat" (featuring such challenges as determining if a given quote comes from the Bible or from Deathstalker III), you can actually play a full game of You Don't Know Jack. Only one episode up so far, and I don't know how frequently they'll be updating. But it's good to see my favorite trivia computer game of my college days (first time through) staging a comeback.

Major problems reported with Blockbuster Online. Apparently, some users haven't received a new movie after two weeks. I intend to subscribe to one of these online services again, after I work through some of the backlog of DVDs I've purchased, and was tempted to try Blockbuster due to the return-movies-to-the-store option (once I found out you can rent a movie in-store at that time, and they would mail you one as well, it started to sound like a pretty good deal). But hearing this, it sounds like the service offers the level of service one expects from Blockbuster, and seeing as the company's solution to the problem seems to be to deny that there is a problem, I think I'll stick with Netflix.

John Inman, dead at 71.

Elana James's new CD was released officially last month. I had most of the songs from a sampler she was selling when she was in town last year, and I just downloaded the rest of the album off iTunes. Highly recommended for any fans of western swing, or of the fiddle in general, and, of course, for fans of the Hot Club of Cowtown in particular. She's coming back to San Diego next month, along with Whit Smith, very exciting.

Captain America, dead at 65.

A Shockwave animation of The People's Mario

New royalty fees threaten to destroy internet radio. I was relieved by this article's assurance that last.fm, as a British entity, is not responsible for these fees, so their radio service shouldn't be affected. Still, I hope common sense prevails and these new fees are abolished.

The Stardust is scheduled for implosion March 13th. This site has been documenting the demolition of the legendary casino, and features a video of the famous Stardust sign being disassembled, for its move to the Boneyard.

Justice Breyer to appear on "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me."

A point/counter-point discussion debating the virtue of Mary Worth. Is Mary a good person? No.

Returning visitors will notice things look a bit different. I'd been meaning to make a change to the blog's layout for some time, and I finally bit the bullet and chose a new template. The main reason for the change is, I don't think my old layout was very reader-friendly. I didn't often have reason to read my own blog, but when I did, I often had to use the browser's option to increase font size to read it comfortably. If a blog's own webmaster finds the font unpleasant to read, that's a sign of a serious design flaw.

I was on the fence between this template, which Blogger calls "Rounders," and "Minima Dark," which is somewhat more in keeping with the previous aesthetic of this blog. I nearly went with the darker color scheme, but ultimately went with the current look. Primarily, I felt that, as long as I was making changes, I might as well go for a completely different look, but also, I felt that the "Minima Dark" template is just a tad overused (not that variations on this template are not also quite common, in my experience). I hope you find the new look pleasing.

I also took the option to revamp the links a bit, to somewhat better reflect my actual web-surfing habits, for the most part. I also intend to break it down a bit more into categories (so far, the only sub-category is for music blogs, but I intend to add links to podcasts, as well as other categories as they come to mind), but for now I think this is more than adequate. And I added a chart of the last ten songs I listened to, as collected by my last.fm profile. I might replace that with my top ten artists of the week or some other more interesting chart, I haven't decided yet (I'd add more than one chart, but I fear things would get too busy). I also signed up for Google Ads, mostly out of curiosity about what ads would be matched to this blog, as well as a desire to learn more about the program for another project on which I'm (very, very slowly) working.

I'm sure I'll be making other minor changes around her in the coming days. If you notice anything missing, or anything broken, let me know in the comments.

When I posted my top albums of 2006 list recently, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I came to regret some omission. And that time has come. I finally got around to listening to Rodrigo y Gabriela's debut album, which was released in 2006. Had I heard it earlier, and had I realized it was a 2006 album, it definitely would have made the list; in fact, it deserves to be in the top five. Great stuff. I had heard one track, featured on the Tofu Hut music blog (that MP3 is no longer available), which got some play on my iPod at the time, but for some reason I took my sweet time in getting the album (which is available on eMusic, though I didn't realize that until after I bought the physical CD, which comes with a bonus DVD). The presence of an acoustic guitar cover of Metallica's "Orion" could be a selling point for some, or alternately reason to write them off as a novelty. But nothing could be further from the truth: Rodrigo y Gabriela don't take themselves seriously, but the technical mastery on display on this album is breathtaking, and their unique form of acoustic rock seems destined to have a broad appeal. I almost used the word "jazz" to describe what's going on here, but their website warns me that that's almost as off-base as calling this stuff "flamenco," so I'll say just go to their website and read about it there, and maybe watch a video or two. Really wonderful stuff.

Oh, and I also picked up Regina Spektor's latest album, and it's probably safe to say, had I gotten around to hearing it last year, it would have made the list, too. Though further down, in the also-rans, as it were. Definitely worth hearing, though.

A consideration of St. Clair McKelway, and his writings about his own mental illness.

Randy Newman: Pop MacGuffin

The original Mad Libs.

In addition to my complaint about Pechanga, I thought I should mention their policy of disenrolling tribal members, as well as their refusal to pay out a jackpot due to a "machine malfunction." Quite the class act, they are.

Pechanga Resort and Casino is on notice!

Thanks for getting my back, Colbert.

I went to Pechanga Resort and Casino last night. Actually, first I went to Valley View Casino, and lost some money and ate their wonderful buffet while I waited for traffic to die down. I arrived at Pechanga around 8:30. I had a free room for the night, and was looking forward to scouting out the place. I'd only been there once before, for a George Jones concert. The casino was pretty busy for a Tuesday, not packed, but brisk business, especially at the tables. I decided to check into my room and rest for a bit before playing. When I checked in, I was informed the only room available was a Jacuzzi Suite, which sounded nice until I was informed the Jacuzzi Suite has a fold-out couch instead of a bed. I was uncertain about this, but decided to be a sport. The room was nice. The sofa bed was uncomfortable, but the bathroom was quite large. Quality shampoos and soaps (Gilchrist & Soames), a sewing kit, and even a bowl of candy, among other amenities.

The casino was nice, too. I remembered from my previous visit appreciating the amount of empty space in the casino layout. Casinos try to maximize the amount of money every square foot of casino floor makes, so it is always refreshing when a casino has wide aisles and walkways, and generally avoids the claustrophobic atmosphere of other casinos (Valley View, I'm looking at you). I was also happy with the table games. In particular, I was happy to see that they had double-deck games, which offered surrender. So I sat down and played, losing most of my cash, then winning it all back, then suffering a modest reversal. By 1 AM or so, I was very much in the pro-Pechanga camp.

Then came Magdy, a casino pit boss. What happened was, I was playing a double-deck game with one other woman, and several empty seats. The other player sat out a few hands, so I was playing heads-up. The other player came back and wanted to play, but the no mid-deck entry rule requires new players to wait for the shuffle to begin or resume playing. So I played another hand heads-up, when two people sat down to play, and were told that they, too, would have to wait. I lost that hand, and while the dealer collected my bet, the new player suggested I sit out. With no players, the dealer would have no choice but to shuffle, and the new players could begin playing. So I pulled back my bet and asked the dealer to shuffle. As dealers must anytime they shuffle prematurely, this dealer called over a pit boss for approval. And so Magdy enters the story.

Magdy immediately smells a rat. Clearly, this "shuffle" strategy is a brilliant con, designed to rob the casino of millions. He points angrily at the discard pile, stating that it's far too early to shuffle, and forbids the dealer to shuffle. I'm angered, not so much by the pit boss' decision, but by the anger evident in his expressing of said decision. The dealer was visibly uncomfortable, and the other players also seemed taken aback by the rudeness on display. I tried to shake it off, laugh if off, and placed a bet, which should have ended the situation. But another player asked, what happens if he goes to the bathroom or leaves the table. Magdy's reply: "We'll wait for him." They would allow one of the six crowded double-deck tables grind to a screeching halt for an hour, potentially costing the casino thousands of dollars (while I was not one of them, there were people at my table routinely betting $200-$300 a hand), all while I pretended to take a crap, rather than allow a dealer to spend ninety seconds shuffling a deck of cards. I quickly pulled back my bet, threw my players club card on the table (which I would no longer need, since I would never bet another penny at Pechanga), and colored up my chips, shaking with anger. What really infuriating me about the entire exchange was, none of Magdy's comments were directed at me. He seemed to make a conscious effort to ignore me the entire time, yelling at the dealer and another player at the table, but barely even looking in my direction. Why this is, frankly, baffles me. But I took it as a personal offense, and it is largely why I let this matter so upset me.

And make no mistake, I was upset. After I cashed in my chips, I went back up to the room and paced for a bit. I intended to go to bed, drive home in the morning, and just put this matter behind me. But as I steamed for fifteen minutes or so, I decided I would not tolerate the situation. So I went back down, got Magdy's name off his name tag (when I asked him his name during the incident, he ignored my request and turned his back to me, apparently considering the matter closed and me irrelevant), and then checked out of the hotel and went home. I was surprised that the desk clerk, while perfectly pleasant, didn't ask if there was a problem when I checked out of my room at 1:30 AM, but later it occurred to me that visibly upset people probably check out of the hotel in the middle of the night pretty frequently, after losing all their money, and the desk clerks are probably trained not to add to their burdens by asking if anything is wrong. Which is probably a sound policy. It's just over an hour drive home, so around 2:45 or so, I arrived home, much to Tanner's relief. I then proceeded to write a complaint letter to Pechanga, which I mailed off this afternoon.

I intended to reprint the letter in its entirety, but I realize now most of the letter will be redundant, following this post. Perhaps I will print the letter later, if I receive a response from Pechanga to share. For now, I'll just offer this snippet:

Again, I am not writing to object to casino policy. I personally believe permitting an occasional courtesy shuffle is good business, both for goodwill, and for getting in more hands per hour (by allowing additional players to join the game). I realize shuffling slows down the game, and the casino has other reasons for prohibiting shuffles early. You are welcome to set your own policy. Had Magdy said no, the dealer cannot shuffle early, I’m afraid our policy forbids that, I wouldn’t have cared. In fact, I’m rather shocked how angry I was at the conclusion of this incident—I merely asked for a shuffle at the request of another player who wanted to join the game (though I personally dislike playing heads-up myself, and thus was not opposed to the shuffle). Magdy went out of his way to be hostile, and create a situation where being in Pechanga made me intensely uneasy. Enough so that I would rather drive home at two in the morning than spend another minute there.

That's the crux of the situation. Magdy managed to take something I really didn't care about, and did everything he could to make it impossible for me to not care anymore. This, after I'd decided I liked Pechanga, and would like to come back sometime. But that won't be happening now.

Clown-killing on the rise in Columbia.

It occurred to me this afternoon that there must exist an online Stephen Colbert "On Notice Board" generator, and lo, the intertubes did not disappoint. As for why I needed an On Notice Board, you will see soon enough.

The Tofu Hut, recently returning from a long hiatus, has a very informative post on Polk Miller and the Old South Quartette. Definitely worth a read and a listen. Includes several MP3s sampling the offerings of a new remastered recording of Polk Miller cylinder recordings.

XM, Sirius Satellite Radio to merge. I'm surprised; reading various internet speculation about such a move, I really didn't think it would happen. Makes sense for the two companies, but I tend to doubt this gets regulatory approval. I'm sure Clear Channel's lobbyists will do everything they can to kill this deal.

Ray Evens, dead at 92. In addition to standards like "Mona Lisa" and "Que Sera Sera," MSTies will remember Evens for "Are You Happy in Your Work," an extremely catchy number from I Accuse My Parents, featured in one of my all-time favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000 episodes.

The New York Times looks at the audience experience at the various late night comedy show tapings.

EMI exploring DRM-free downloads, but only if they can slip in a fatter profit margin, apparently. The most interesting point in this article is the observation that labels fear DRM-free music downloads might be too successful, and would cannibalize CD sales. So basically, DRM isn't about preventing piracy, it's just designed to be a pain in the ass so you'll skip iTunes and just buy the damn CD.

Of course, without rampant price fixing, CDs wouldn't have a higher profit margin. After all, delivering digital music to an online store involves virtually no overhead. But what strikes me as odd, from my personal experience, is that most CDs, if you shop around, are pretty close in price to digital downloads. In fact, while I generally prefer downloading songs (instant gratification, plus the fact that my CD-ROM sucks, and I often have to re-rip songs that have skips), I often find the CD is actually cheaper. I got the Dixie Chicks' new CD from Amazon for cheaper than iTunes, same with Lady Sovereign at Circuit City, and the other day I was planning to download an old Johnny Cash CD, and iTunes wanted $11.99, while I found it online for $9.99. Twelve bucks to download a thirty-minute album from fifty years ago? $0.99/song seems a fair price to me, and I can see tacking on a few bucks for a hot new album, but the amount of old albums fetching a premium price on iTunes is just bizarre, if the goal is to sell songs.

I was at Vons this afternoon, picking up a fennel bulb to make soup, when I noticed the DVD vending machine had a sign on it indicating new customers could get one free rental. So I made a note to take a look at it on my way out. Turns out the machines don't have great selection (Idiocracy and The Black Dahlia were M.I.A., for instance), but had many new releases available, including The Illusionist, which I'd wanted to see. So I went ahead and took advantage of the free rental offer (if I don't return it by midnight tomorrow, I owe $0.99/day, which is a fair price). The movie wasn't bad. Watching it reminded me that Ricky Jay was a consultant on the film, which led me to wander over to his website to see what he is up to these days. Turns out, he was performing his stage show in L.A. through most of January. As is often the case, I learn about a show I would absolutely have loved to see, only after it is too late to attend. Really disappointed me to learn I could have had the chance to see him. It was expensive (tickets started at $75), but very intimate (the theatre seats 84 people). It was held over well past its original run; let's hope it was successful enough to return to L.A. soon (or maybe he would be kind enough to venture down to San Diego, though no particular venue comes to mind that is well-suited to his performance (if St. Cecilia's was still around, that would have been ideal).

Wil Wheaton on the death of the video arcade. This article prompted me to check, and while I knew the Wunderland arcade I most frequently visited is no more, there is still a Wunderland in National City. I remember fondly many trips to Wunderland, including my first introduction to a little game called Dance Dance Revolution. It was also a great place to celebrate Christmas. The guy behind the counter was not happy he had to work Christmas Day, and really did not do a very good job guarding the prizes. We thought we were real slick, short-changing him on the tickets, until we realized we could just grab whatever we wanted, and he didn't care. And for the most part, they offered a very solid pinball selection (this changed in the latter years).

Anna Nicole Smith, dead at 39. This is one of those stories that is absolutely shocking, until you think about it for about two seconds. This should throw several legal proceedings into disarray (inheritance, paternity, Trimspa-related fraud).

Can photographers be plagiarists?

Wal-Mart joins with union in advocating universal health care. At least, in theory, as a goal to be reached by 2012. And they're not going to pay for it. And the day before they announced this, they announced they would go all the way to the Supreme Court to avoid answering charges of gender discrimination (they're absolutely not guilty, they assure us, but they're scared to death of standing before a jury). But it's a start.

The purpose of groups like Wal-Mart Watch isn't to unionize Wal-Mart (though I'm sure they'd love to do that, too). The idea was to convince Wal-Mart that universal health care is in their best interest, and get their massive lobbying power behind it. And it's beginning to sound like that strategy is getting results.

Steve Jobs thoughts on DRM. Nice to hear Apple's willingness to sell music without DRM, if they could, but I think his claim they would embrase it "wholeheartedly" is a bit questionable. They'd do it, but they're not thrilled about it; they're perfectly happy with the status quo, seeing as it helps cement the market dominance of the iPod/iTunes juggernaut. But perhaps they're confident that they've got the MP3 player market locked up, and maybe they figure a DRM-free store would be enough to kill off competition from Napster/Rhapsody and other subscription models (I don't think the music industry would allow unlimited downloading for a monthly fee without DRM).

The timing of this article is what I found interesting. Why would Steve Jobs post a rare open letter now? He is probably trying to deflect criticism from European governments for not licensing their FairPlay DRM technology. But I like to think that Steve Jobs has been paying attention to recent reports of a shift in the industry away from DRM, and thinks now is the time to jump on the anti-DRM bandwagon. Given Job's sense for the industry, I don't think he'd publish this letter if he didn't think there was a reasonable chance the industry would go along (maybe less than 50/50, but still a real chance). In any event, this letter makes me think that predictions that 2007 is the year the music industry ditches DRM might be plausible, after all.

The Office as Miis.

I really should get a picture of my Mii up here. It's pretty sweet.

Netflix is rolling out streaming video to subscribers. Apparently, for every dollar you pay for your existing mail-rental subscription, you now get one hour of streaming video, as well.

I've been considering returning to Netflix, and this gives me another incentive. I've put a moratorium on new DVD purchases, making exceptions for things I really, really want, and know I'll watch (season one of Extras, for instance). But I've been considering Netflix, to meet some of my desire for new releases, while I work through my backlog of DVDs. But now that I have digital cable with a DVR, and now have both a DVD and taped-movie backlog, I'm thinking my money might be better spent elsewhere, while I get caught up a bit. But this article certainly piqued my interest, especially the discussion of "movie-surfing," using the service to preview films or just watch one's favorite scene in a movie (even if you own it, digging out a DVD to watch one scene always seems like more trouble than it's worth, at least if you're as lazy as me).

The New York Times Magazine on the modern trend of designer dogs. The general theme seems to be that we want dogs that behave more like cats.

There was plenty in this article to angry up the blood, both in descriptions of the designer dog breeders and their AKC purebreed counterparts, but the description of a Pug "side-by-side" (starting on page 9) was pretty amusing:

Kolesar positioned her bitch, Birdie, on the floor. Woody sniffed rambunctiously and mounted. As the dog began his dedicated thrusting, the unlikelihood of him ever managing the transaction on his own was plain. And so, as planned all along, Jutta Beard crouched behind him and concluded things with an expeditious right hand. In an instant, she was holding up a plastic bag with a dime-size clump in its corner.

On a somewhat related note, I finally got Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS. I'd been reluctant to purchase it, since I do have a real dog, and would feel bad neglecting him for a glorified Tamagotchi. But Target had it on sale for $18 a few weeks ago, so I decided to pick one up, but had to settle for a rain check. But they finally had Dachshund & Friends (the version on sale) in stock this week, so I picked it up. It is very cute, and certainly meets my expectations. And just as I feared, it has given Tanner a complex. He's already stressed, because we put up a barrier, so he can't go into the garage anymore--given our recent inclement weather, we've given the garage to Sable, a stray that has taken up a transient residence on our property. So he already feels like his territory is being impinged, and now he hears me shouting orders to Bandit, my new Siberian Husky; I found myself teaching Bandit to sit, only to look up and see Tanner in a seated position (about the only command he knows). So I'm making an effort not to play the game in his presence.

Randy Newman Q&A in Newsweek.

Is your trip necessary? Of course it is. That Slurpee isn't going to drive itself to your house.

Randy Newman's new song on YouTube:

Okay, after writing the previous tax-related post, I got to thinking, and decided the situation I was in with TurboTax kind of made me mad. Or maybe irritated is a better word. Again, I don't blame them for wanting to get paid, but I felt like they'd suckered me out of more than I should have to pay. At first I didn't care, because it didn't seem like much money, but I was comparing the full-priced basic service to my discounted rate, through my Vanguard account, for the deluxe version. Comparing the discounted basic price to what I was paying, I was paying $15 extra for services I didn't need or want. Fortunately, TurboTax doesn't make you pay until you're ready to file, so there's no penalty for bailing out mid-stream. So I decided to give Tax Act a shot.

Overall, I was impressed, even though I had some problems. Their approach is much like the Tax Freedom Project's used to be. Instead of offering a crippled product to force you to upgrade if your tax filing is at all beyond the most basic (or if you want direct deposit of your refund), Tax Act offers a basic but fully-functional product, which actually feels a bit less bloated than TurboTax (though TurboTax easily has the superior navigation). They do charge for filing a state return, or for additional guidance in preparing your taxes, and they don't hold your hand at all if you don't pay. My tax return is pretty basic, but there was one little thing that required a bit of finesse. On TurboTax, I had a bit of trouble entering it, but in reviewing my return, I found the problem and easily fixed it. In Tax Act, the minor issue caused me a lot of grief, with the program asking me to enter line items from various IRS forms, with no explanation as to what these forms were. I had to go to the IRS web site and find the forms, which made it easier to understand what the software wanted. But I could see how this could throw off people used to TurboTax's ease of use.

My recommendation? I liked Tax Act, especially for free. But TurboTax is a good program, and if your taxes are on the complex side, the guidance and clarity is probably worth the price. However, the $25.00 extra fee TurboTax assesses to include state taxes is a bit much; Tax Act charges $15.95 total for the deluxe package and state taxes ($12.95 just to add state taxes). Reasonable price if you want the convenience, though California's free online tax filing option means I won't be paying to file my state taxes.

I've completed my taxes, but haven't filed yet (I'm waiting for one last form I should receive soon, to verify the information I entered for that account is correct). If I have any problems filing with Tax Act, or if it ends up costing me any money, I'll bring you an update.