Mr. Pinkerton Does Make Some Valid Points

The Death Cab Posts Will Subside Eventually, I Promise

Brent, one of my Death Cab neophytes, pointed me to this great comment made by Nick Harmer, their bassist, regarding the band's recent transition to Atlantic Records:

"There have been some kids who have said that it sucks we're on Atlantic, that they hate bands on major labels, and part of me just feels really bad for that mentality. If you have a hard time about bands on major labels, that also pretty much says to me that you have the lamest record collection of anyone in the world. I guess you don't buy any Clash records or Talking Heads records or Bowie. I guess you don't have any Stones or Beatles or Radiohead or the Pixies or Nirvana. There are a million great bands who have done major-label things and had their souls intact."

A Word To The Wise

The best album you'll hear this year
comes out on Tuesday.

Overkill *UPDATE*

It's worse than I feared...it appears that Gamestop has created something called the "Omega Bundle" that manages to out-do the ridiculous package deal I pointed out on Thursday. Click here to see the price tag on this one. Surely nothing can top the OMEGA BUNDLE...

Overkill

Because most kids in America have $1200 to drop on a new video game system, Gamestop is offering the Ultimate Xbox 360 Bundle. Seriously though, what are they thinking? Even if you look past the gargantuan price tag, what are the chances that someone is actually going to want all 11 games that come in this bundle?

The Fraternities Must Be Fabulous

The Top 10 Gay-Friendly Colleges

1. New College of Florida, Sarasota
2. Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn.
3. Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
4. Eugene Lang College, New York City
5. Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Mass.
6. St. John's College, Annapolis, Md.
7. Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.
8. Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis.
9. Emerson College, Boston
10. Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, Calif.
    

(from The Princeton Review)

Technology Humor From Britain

Shit, Jack Palance IS Still Alive

(from mingthemerciless.com)

In the beginning God created City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold.

And City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold.

And God said, Let there be Jack Palance: and there was Jack Palance.

And God saw Jack Palance, that it was good: and God divided the Jack from the Palance.

And God called the Jack Duke, and the Palance he called Washburn. And the Jack and the Palance were Duke Washburn.

And God said, Let Duke Washburn be the brother of Curly, who died in the first movie.

And in City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold Billy Crystal went in search of Curly's gold, or something. I didn't see it. It looked shit.

I mean, it's such an annoying premise, bringing back Jack Palance.

And can you believe he won an Oscar for the first one?

It's just like Arthur II: On the rocks. They brought John Gielgud back for that one, even though he also died in the first movie.

And HE won an Oscar as well. Can you believe that?

As If You Needed More Reasons To Shop Elsewhere...

Wal-Mart by the numbers:

• According to a study done by Iowa State University, within the first decade after Wal-Mart arrived in Iowa, the state lost 555 grocery stores, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women's apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drugstores, and 111 men's and boys' apparel stores.

• Wal-mart runs ads featuring the United States flag and proclaims "We Buy American". In 2001 they moved their worldwide purchasing headquarters to China and are the largest importer of Chinese goods in the US, purchasing over $10 BILLION of Chinese-made products annually. Products made mostly by women and children working in the labor hell-holes China is famous for.

• Their average employee working in the US makes $15,000 a year, $7.22 per hour!

• The company brags that 70% of their employees are full time, but fails to disclose that they count anyone working 28 hours a week or more as full time.

• There are no health care benefits available until a person has worked for the company for two years.

• Wal-Mart holds the record for the most suits filed against it by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A lawyer from "Business Week" (not exactly the bastion for supporting Labor) said, "I have never seen this kind of blatant disregard for the law." They had to pay $750,000 in Arizona for blatant discrimination against the disabled! The judge was so incensed that he also order them to run commercials admitting their guilt.

• Nearly 1 MILLION women are involved in the largest class-action suit every filed against a corporation. Although women make up over 65% of this corporations work force only 10% of them are managers. The women who have become store managers make an average of $16,400 a year LESS then the men.

• With 4,400 stores they practice "predatory pricing." They come into a community and sell their goods at below cost until they drive local businesses under. Once they have captured the market the prices go up.

• The Wal-Mart Corporation contributed $2,159,330 to GW Bush and the GOP in 2000 and 2002.

(from intellectualpoison.com)

You're Not Fooling Anyone, Science!

President Bush said Monday that he believes schools should discuss “intelligent design” alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life.

During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail about his personal views of the origin of life. However, he said students should learn about each explanation, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

“I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought,” Bush said. “You’re asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes,” the president said.

Proponents of intelligent design say life on Earth is too complex to have developed through evolution, implying that a higher power must have had a hand in creation.

Blogger's Note: Intelligent design? More like intelligence declines.

Only In America...

A Random Observation

What is it about Jeff Buckley's version of Hallelujah that just strips me right to the core? I swear I could hear that song while frolicking with Orlando Bloom and a box of kittens through a field of over-sized sunflowers and I'd still need to stop and find a box of Kleenex. That song owns me.

Shameful

This is why other countries laugh at us, people...

Cheap Laptops Incite Riot

I Coulda Been A Contender

Here's a silly little website that tells who you were in a past life based on your birthday. Ah, the wonders of the Internet...

Past Life Analysis

My results:

I don't know how you feel about it, but you were a female in your last Earthly incarnation. You were born somewhere in the territory of modern Arctic around the year 650. Your profession was that of a warrior, hunter, fisherman or executor of sacrifices.

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
You were a sane, practical person, a materialist with no spiritual consciousness. Your simple wisdom helped the weaker and the poor.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
You should develop your talent for love, happiness and enthusiasm and you should distribute these feelings to all people.

(so THAT'S why I hate the heat!)

Astonishing Facts From Around The Globe #8

• Sherlock Holmes never once actually said, "Elementary, my dear Watson."

• Celery actually has negative calories. It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

• Bats always turn left when exiting a cave.

• It's a rule in comic strips that the person on the left always speaks first.

• United States businesses now spend $21.6 billion annually on deleting and preventing SPAM.

• Family-friendly G-rated films earn far more money than any other rating, yet only 3% of Hollywood's output is G-rated.

• 20% of Americans think the sun orbits around the Earth.

The Most Under-Appreciated Video Game Ever

Film Critic Paul Clinton Makes My Day

"The Dukes of Hazzard" is a prime example of a sad Hollywood habit: taking a popular -- but rather dumb -- TV show and turning it into a totally stupid and meaningless film.

This flick is a car wreck with boobs.

Now, let me just say, if your idea of a good film is a nearly naked Jessica Simpson and completely over-the-top chase scenes, then this movie is for you.

If, however, you're not a teenage boy with raging hormones -- and you like films with an actual plot (instead of walking and talking clichés) -- this movie may put you into a coma. The storyline is so dumb and predictable it wouldn't have even made the grade for an episode of the original TV series.

Blogger's Note: Sadly, I'm certain this movie will still have a big opening weekend. Stupid people are easy to fool and every redneck in the country will load the kids in the back of the pickup truck, put on their cleanest NASCAR t-shirt and head for the theatre in town. You know, make a day of it. Maybe grab dinner at the Wal-Mart snack bar afterwards. What's even sadder is the fact that they'll all leave the movie thinking it was the greatest film they've seen all year.

Halle Berry Did Not Make My List

Name some actors/actresses that you enjoy so much you'd watch them in anything.

My picks:

• Philip Seymour Hoffman
• Bill Murray
• Gary Oldman
• Peter Sarsgaard
• Edward Norton
• Joan Allen
• Ian McKellen
• Frances McDormand
• Brian Cox
• Tom Wilkinson
• Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Patricia Clarkson
• Tim Roth
• Sam Rockwell
• William H. Macy
• Will Ferrell
  

Funny Cause It's True, It Is

At last, all my criticisms of Episode III summed up in one tidy comic strip. Props to Schnepf for finding this one.

(in case you haven't figured it out yet, clicking on the pic will make it both larger and more legible.)

Soul Meets Body

In preparation for the August 30 release of Plans, Death Cab has posted the first track off the album on their MySpace page. Seeing how DCFC is one of my all-time favorite bands, my heavily biased opinion is that the song is great; but listen for yourself:

Click & Enjoy

A Random Observation

What's the deal with KFC using the tune to "Sweet Home Alabama" in their current television ads? Wouldn't that make them AFC?