Albany, NY -- "Basement II" Demos
When you're a fan of a defunct band or a dead musician, it's always exciting when that band or musician releases a posthumous song or two. In late 2004, my favorite artist, Elliott Smith, who died two years ago, released a full album, entitled "From a Basement on a Hill." While it wasn't his best work, it may have been his most commercially successful, and it left his small but rabid legion of fans wanting more.
Well, more has arrived -- a collection of demos and rarities, dubbed "Basement II," has been released for free download on the web. The
Elliott Smith B-Sides website has the full album.
There's some good stuff on it I hadn't heard before, most notably "Fear City," "Abused," and "Untitled (Sticks and Stones)." Also, one of my B-side favorites, "Amanda Cecilia" was included.
The album sounds a lot like Elliott's early material, because most of it was recorded with only acoustic guitars. When I listen to the songs, I try to imagine what they would've sounded like in complete form, arranged like some of the more complex songs on Elliott's 1999 release, Figure 8.
Albany, NY -- Whose Final Fantasy?
Continuing my renewed video game obsession, after completing Final Fantasy X (the ending was phenomenal), I began the first true Final Fantasy sequel, Final Fantasy X-2. It features many of the same characters and locations, but it's a very different game from its predecessor.
It's the first female-centric RPG I've played, and so far, it's sort of a mix between Charlie's Angels and Jem... not kidding -- the main characters are three spunky women who are sent on missions by their male dispatcher.
But this is game is by no means designed for women. Horny male programmers put this one together. Here's Rikku, a typical character in the game:
They get more and more human with every game. Kinda disturbing, but in a good way :)
Speaking of the next game, a little bit of a preview of FFXII has been made available, and
Firing Squad has it here.
Square/Enix appears to be working on a website for the game,
which can be found here, but as of now, most of it's in Japanese.
I'll certainly be getting that one when it comes out... of course, I've got to finish the rest of the Final Fantasy games I recently brought -- Final Fantasy IV, VII, VIII, and IX...
My God, I'm a dork.
Albany, NY -- Festively Plump
Uggghhh... I am definitely the fattest I've ever been. It's a shame today's Thanksgiving. Oh well. Diet starts tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
Albany, NY -- LAAAAST NIGHT... SHE SAAAAAID...
Biggest bar night of the year, and this photo says it all:
SLURP!
Albany, NY -- This Week's Picks
K-hole and I are starting what we hope will be a weekly thing -- our NFL picks. We'll try for the rest of the season, and, yes, we've got cash ($10) riding this week.
How 'bout 'em?:
DETROIT (+3) AtlantaK-Hole: Atlanta
JB: Atlanta
Denver (-2) DALLASK-Hole: Denver
JB: Dallas
CHIEFS (-3) PatriotsK-Hole: NE
JB: NE
BILLS (+4) PanthersK-Hole: Carolina
JB: Carolina
BENGALS (-9) RavensK-Hole: Cincy
JB: Cincy
Chargers (-3) REDSKINSK-Hole: Redskins
JB: Chargers
BUCS (-3) BearsK-Hole: Bears
JB: Bears
VIKINGS (-4) BrownsK-Hole: Vikes
JB: Vikes
NINERS (+8) TitansK-Hole: Niners
JB: Niners
TEXANS (+4) RamsK-Hole: Rams
JB: Texans
CARDS (+3.5) JaguarsK-Hole: Jax
JB: Cards
RAIDERS (-7) DolphinsK-Hole: Raiders
JB: Raiders
EAGLES (-4.5) PackersK-Hole: GB
JB: GB
Giants (+4.5) SEAHAWKSK-Hole: Seahawks
JB: Giants
JETS (+1.5) SaintsK-Hole: Saints
JB: Saints
COLTS (-5) SteelersK-Hole: Colts
JB: Colts
Albany, NY -- Penn on God (Teller Says Nothing)
In his contribution to NPR's ongoing "This I Believe" series, Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller fame)
talks about why he doesn't believe:
Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.Exactly.
Albany, NY -- Reform Movement: Samuel Alito Not Good for the Jews
From the Jewish Telegrahic Agency:
The Reform movement in the United States has voted overwhelmingly to oppose both the war in Iraq and the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito for the U.S. Supreme Court.These are both good statements to make, but religious movements be making them? I guess judicial nominations don't have the same rules as political candidates.
Albany, NY -- Blackberry Ruling Imminent?
So
says PC World:
An important ruling in the ongoing patent dispute between BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion and NTP Inc. could come as early as tomorrow, as RIM puts the finishing touches on a "workaround" that it claims sidesteps NTP's patents.Should the ruling shut RIM's Blackberry service down, millions of workaholics would be without e-mail on the bus, while driving, or while pretending to pay attention to their dates...
However:
RIM believes it has come up with a way to bypass the patent claims, RIM Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer Jim Balsillie said in June. This week, Balsillie said RIM is finalizing a software upgrade that would allow it to continue to operate the BlackBerry system after an injunction, although he declined to specify exactly how this software works in a manner that does not infringe on NTP's patents.Let's hope for the best; I've got a wedding to go to in two weeks!
Albany, NY -- Sharon's New Party To Be Called Kadima
I have a busy, busy night of work ahead of me, but how 'bout some Israel news?
As predicted, Ariel Sharon announced today that he was
leaving the Likud to start his own party,
which will be called Kadima. For those of you who don't know Hebrew, the name means "forward."
Israeli elections will be held in March, and Haaretz
has conducted a poll asking what would happen if the elections were held today:
Were the elections to the 17th Knesset to be held now, Ariel Sharon would win a third term in office as prime minister and could set up a center-left coalition with Labor, Shinui and Meretz-Yahad that would have 66 seats...The survey showed that Sharon's new party would be the largest in the Knesset, with 30 seats. Labor under Amir Peretz is maintaining a steady 26 seats. The Likud, which does not have a new leader, would crash and remain with only 15 seats.
Albany, NY -- Report: Sharon to Quit Likud!
An Israeli Army Radio report says that
Ariel Sharon will leave the Likud Party and start his own party, in preparation for the seemingly inevitable March elections.
Given his relatively peacenik views these days, why wouldn't he just join Labor or a centrist party? Because it's not all about the peace process in Israel; just like the Republicans in the U.S., the Israeli Likud Party bases its economic philosophy on "supply-side" economics and Labor and Likud are fairly far apart on domestic issues. So, Sharon's new party will probably be one that
might be willing to give the Palestinians more land, but won't give a shit for the poor in Israel.
Aren't parliamentary politics fun?
Just as I type this, I'm watching Jon Stewart make fun of Sharon's girth. He's fat, y'know!
Albany, NY -- Top 10 Things I Learned in Canada
1. “Celsius” means absolutely nothing to me
2. Native Americans hawk painkillers on TV
3. They like hockey – who knew?
4. “Cheers” = "Goodbye" in Canadian
5. It’s “Sportscentre” north of the border!
6. Jason + beard = No
7. The Canadian Capital is called Parliament. Duh. I’m a stupid American.
8. I LIKE karaoke!
9. Canadians prefer the chiclet-type gum... why? Dunno.
10. No, a week without Playstation 2 will NOT make my body reenact the “Comfortably Numb” scene from Pink Floyd: The Wall. But it’s still not pleasant!
"Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. From the Interstate, America is all steel guardrails and plastic signs, and every place looks and feels and sounds and smells like every other place." -- Charles Kuralt
