Dude, I was so there...

Google Maps - eiffel tower

If you zoom, you can see the people on the top, and you can see the ridiculous-ass line out front. Awesome.

Watch Wes Anderson's New American Express Commercial

Can I just say that this has to be one of the most genius commercials ever made? Make it a viral video that hits home with the geeks, and you've got yourself a blog-able promotional campaign all for free. Genius.

Local Teacher Forced Out for Bloggin'

Teacher's biting blog stirs storm | Chicago Tribune

He labeled his students 'criminals,' saying they stole from teachers, dealt drugs in the hallways, had sex in the stairwells, flaunted their pregnant bellies and tossed books out windows. He dismissed their parents as unemployed 'project' dwellers who subsist on food stamps, refuse to support their 'baby mommas' and bad-mouth teachers because their no-show teens are flunking.

He took swipes at his colleagues, too--'union-minimum' teachers, literacy specialists who 'decorate their office door with pro-black propaganda,' and security officers whose 'loyalty is to the hood, not the school.'

Ouch. Someone must have never heard the word dooced before.

My previous employer actually responded with, "so, you're not going to like, write about us, are you?" when I told them that I run a music blog. Uhm, "music blog" does not equal "I don't like my current employer blog," but I'm sure they didn't understand the difference. The fact that they asked, or accused me, of writing about them leads me to believe that the only thing they had ever read about a blog was in the papers covering some teacher/employee that got fired becuase of bloggin'.

Typical liberal media with staunchly conservative executives--a match made in heaven.

There Goes the Season

Derek Lee fractured his hand after a collision with the Dodgers' Rafael Furcal.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee has a fractured right hand and will be in a cast for up to six weeks, the team announced late Thursday.

Lee has a fracture of the distal radial and the distal ulna bone in his hand. He will wear an immobilizing cast that will go past his elbow. Team officials won't speculate on how long Lee will be sidelined, but he could be out two to three months.

Gasping for air...

World Champion-sorta Week

World Champs!, originally uploaded by justinpward.

I'm at my PC on a beautiful Sunday morning in Chicago getting some Live Music Blog maintenance done (specifically, those nasty comment-spammer traps) and listening to a great new podcast that I'm going to get posted on Live Music Blog later (thanks AD!).

This week was beyond amazing for me. I started this great new job (actually last week, but close enough) that you might have read about, but if you haven't, let me explain it again. I started work at FeedBurner, the leader in the world of web publishing feed management and statistics. It's up-there with the most exciting stuff I've gotten to touch with my own hands, and I've only been in there for two weeks.

I finally feel that I have a place and it's hugely exciting for me. I feel that I'm going to make a solid, immediate impact and hopefully the rest of the web publishing world will be better as a result. That's so exciting to me that I'm up early on a Sunday morning thinking about it. Think about that!

I skipped a couple shows this week out of sheer exhaustion, but let me rephrase what that exhaustion really is--we had plans this weekend that did not include staying up super-late listening to jamband music. I only have so much energy for that at the moment. It's really quite sad, but I think that Jam in the 'Dam festival really took the "jam" out of my sails. Music is music. But jamband music can be amazing or really boring, like any form of music really...I think I've just been listening to too much of it.

The Cubs started off the season doing pretty good, currently standing at 3-1 with the anticipation of another meeting with the Cardinals (we're 2-0 in that series, by the way). On the other hand, the Sox started the season rather dismally. Bummer for my South Side familia, but good for my North Sider social life...it's always a tradeoff and I'm sure those scales will tip back in the Sox's direction by the end of the year. A man can dream about the Cubs, and that man won't be me this season. I'm a fair-weather fan until the All Star break. I'm calling it...

This week, I have the spring in Chicago to look forward to, paying our taxes, rebeginning my workout routine, the new Lotus album, a new episode of Lost, and some great new guest-bloggers on the Live Music Blog that will surely help to bring some new blood around...

Until next time, peace out.

Cruel April Fool's Day Joke

I wake up this morning with notification that Live Music Blog has been shut down due to comment spam. Seriously.

This, and this alone, is something that I'm not fully equipped to handle at the moment. This is the last thing that I want to have to deal with this weekend, and my webhost has actually completely suspended my account (including all server assets) until I agree to pay $150 a month to put it back online. If you knew what I was paying before, you might say, "well, yes, that is a lot but it's still worth it or something like that..." Bullhonkey.

I'm pretty upset actually because I can't actually get through to my hosting company. I thought their support was solid, but I guess first thing on a Saturday morning isn't the best time to expect immediate service. I sat on hold for 35 minutes and then finally hung up. I am flooding their support system with great messages such as, "I'VE BEEN ON HOLD...CAN SOMEONE PLEASE CALL ME?" You think they'll understand that?




Ugh, though...