iTunes at Starbucks

I think Apple's ads are generally smart but their blurb on the new Starbucks/iTunes alliance is not selling anything to me.

Here is the official Apple ad:

What’s That song?

'Say you’re in line at Starbucks. You hear this amazing song wafting from the speakers. You gotta have it. Now. Tap the iTunes button on your iPhone or iPod touch, tap the Starbucks button, and voilà: You see the current song, the last 10 songs played, and featured Starbucks Collections. Preview, buy, and download whatever you like, right then and there. Or, if you’re sipping away with your laptop, buy what’s playing — exclusively on iTunes.'

Hm.
Well, if you are a loyal Starbuckian, you know that you can easily get music info without constantly checking the cornucopia of Apple gadgets you might have on you. You could easily spill your Macchiato on them and voilà, you need replacements. It's more convenient to focus only on the extra hot drink while standing. As far as the background music is concerned, well, all you need to do is ask you favorite barista to go in the back and check the player for you.
No need to do everything solo. Rely on the village once in a while. It also likes interaction.



graphs per Apple

The Britbox

A new thing I just discovered today is a collection of British rock called The Britbox. The box contains music from the Smiths, the Verve, and some of the best Britpop from the '80s and '90s.

Other bands featured in this collection are Pulp, the Cure, Cocteau Twins, Oasis, Blur, Stereolab, etc.

The Britbox contains music from a total of 78 British performers and it is bound to prove educational for those interested in music.




graph per B&N

Steve Martin's Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

"Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life" is Steve Martin's new book release. It is a funny, sweet, personal, and well-written text. Those who enjoyed his play "Picasso at the Lapine Agile" and afterwards the novella "Shopgirl," will not be disappointed by "Born."

In 1977 Maureen Orth observed the following about Martin: "If Woody Allen is the archetypal East Coast neurotic, Steve Martin is the ultimate West Coast wacko."

Well, the "West Coast wacko" has come a long away.

While some of his recent cinematic choices leave something to be desired, the literary Martin continues to deliver.

And thank goodness he is not satisfied with such movies as "Cheaper by the Dozen 1 & 2."

Keep that keyboard active, Steve!



graph per B&N

Clapton's Autobiography

Eric Clapton's autobiography provides a good measure of fun for lovers of rock&roll. The book does not just contain rock&roll information about the uber-successful musician but also interesting tidbits about his zeal for collecting art, hunting and fishing, and his reflections about the self-destructive choices he made as a younger man.

And of course, there's Pattie Boyd and Clapton's life-consuming obsession with George Harrison's wife. It's sort of like reading about the Lancelot-Guinevere-Arthur triangle in a rock&roll, 20th-century setting.

The new Clapton release is an interesting read for the holiday season. It's got it all: the drama, drugs, unrequited love, and of course, rock&roll.



graph per B&N

I'm Not There: Deconstructing Dylan

A film I am looking forward to seeing is Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There: Deconstructing Dylan"

I think Bob Dylan is a true institution and I would watch any film that had anything to do with him. However, another reason why I cannot wait to watch this new film is the fact that Cate Blanchett is one of the six actors who portrays Dylan.

Even though Richard Schickel gave Haynes' film a stingy review on the NY Times, I will still see it.

After all, it's not every day that the very talented Cate Blanchett plays a man on the silver screen.

I'm sure she will be more convincing than Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria.

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
is Schickel's review:

graph per nytimes

iPhone Scores Higher Than Other Cell Phones

Tech surveys maintain that the iPhone is scoring higher than any other cellular phone in the market today.

In its first year on the survey, the Apple iPhone scored a stunning 9.1 out of 10, beating the ratings that every other phone, in most categories, has received in the last three years. The iPhone's 9.6 scores in music and video playback might have been expected, but its 8.2 for call quality (a score significantly better than average), another 8.2 for coverage, and an 8.0 for earpiece volume were the new surprise.

The iPhone seems to do it all but your dishes. It's an excellent gadget even though the text messaging feature on it is still difficult to master, I find.



graph per Apple

No Country for Old Men: Film Review

"No Country for Old Men" is one of the reasons to go to the movies in 2007. The brothers Coen may be observed at their best in this filmic piece.

One thing about these brothers is that they truly know how to do their literary research. They come strong in this new film and the spectator is bound to follow the text most attentively. The fecundity of themes, characters, and notions is as rich as it could be.

This film delivers because it has a generous amount of elements that make a gripping story: suspense, drama, moral dilemmas, and of course, money- and human drama-fed actions.

It's a modern film that carefully marries biblical themes to modern social sensitivities.

And if I could give one reason alone why every cinephile needs to watch it, that would be the brilliant work of Javier Bardem. This Spanish actor is simply incomparable in it. May we see him more often on the silver screen.



graph per imdb

Christian Louboutin Looks for Steve Madden Prices?

While the Christian Louboutin "Miss Fred Tacco" retails at $695, these Steve Maddens run a 'measly' $145. And in the fashion industry, I am told, this is a true bargain.

I wonder how 'shoe plagiarism' actually works. The above-seen Steve Maddens look exactly like the Louboutin concoction. Hmm.



graphs per manolo shoe blog

When in Doubt, Digitize.

That we all need to be digital to be functional seems pretty clear to me.

Kevin Morris' article on the Huffington Post this morning was well penned, I thought.

He writes about the current WGA strike in Hollywood and how Hollywood's main problem is actually its inability to come to terms with the new digital age. That, and as Morris puts it, a 'highly untrained work force.'

Here are some stats he mentions to support the point that if the entertainment industry does not come to full terms with the new digital age, things will look progressively worse for it in the future.

'Music. This is the horror story, the nightmare. Global music sales have by some reports dropped by 49% since 1997. The music business as we knew it has evaporated. Sales of CDs in the U.S. have slipped from $13.2 billion in 2000 to $9.2 billion in 2006 (that's down 30%). As of June 2007, overall CD sales have plummeted 16% for the year so far--and that's after seven years of near-constant erosion.'

I don't buy CD's anymore. I don't even have the need to keep adding to my DVD's because I consider them too bulky and well, a tad passé.

I have digitized my entire music library and the films are to follow. Economy of space, simple.

At its core, this is truly a minimalist choice and the digitization of media is minimalism-informed and the way of the future.


graph per huffington post

V for Vendetta: Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Just re-viewed snippets from the 2005 film "V for Vendetta." What particularly stood out this time was the cornucopia of v's uttered by the character of V to the Natalie Portman character.

V: Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.


graphs per wikipedia, imdb