Binary McCain

In this great new series with Sullivan and Ambinder they discuss McCain's intelligence, and the simplicity of his rhetoric regarding the Iraq war. What Ambinder points out that is true of McCain and has been for the GOP for as long as I have been around to watch the GOP, is that they narrow issues into a binary solution set as a means for control. It's very effective because it is much easier for voters to pick between good or bad than to understand the problem and form a logical solution based on that specific problem. It's not that people are too stupid for analysis, the problem is that we have pretended it is good enough, that it is not necessary to understand and analyze. This is cultural, and this is America's fatal flaw. The world is more complex than binary. It rarely is so simple as either/or. There are an infinite number of solutions and positions, and to frame the debate in such a manner is as good as lying to the people. It is stripping the voice from the people, by obfuscating the heart of the issue. This is done knowingly by McCain and he is choosing this path because of the success it has brought the GOP in the past. It worked against Kerry because he is an extremely intelligent man and enjoys problem solving and analyzing from every angle possible. In doing this he often came off as weak and unsure of himself, but I guarantee you, it will not work against Obama.

Most Accurate Description of Coldplay to Date

Andy Gill put it best...

Their music sounds like Radiohead with all the spiky, difficult, interesting bits boiled out of it, resulting in something with the sonic consistency of wilted spinach; it retains the crowd-pleasing hooks and singalong choruses while dispensing with the more challenging, dissonant aspects and sudden, 90-degree shifts in direction.

Coldplay sparked my interest a long long time ago, and since then they have only disappointed.

A New Kind of Radio

Pandora is a website that allows you to enter in an artist or song name that you like, and based on that it finds similar music, and creates your own little mix for you automatically. It's really interesting to read the descriptions of the music you like as well.

Music = Science = Life = Spirit = Music

Google Reader

I am only posting this because I know that the people who read this are my parents, and Adam... and Adam just posted something on keyboard short cuts so I think you guys will appreciate this too.

Google Reader. Check it out. It takes a minimal amount of effort to set it up, and once you have it set up it gathers all of the new posts from all of the blogs you read every day saving you a lot of browsing time so you can just read everything all in one place. I started using it this week and it really saves a lot of time, and also puts entries in front of your face that you might normally be tempted to just skip over.

iPhone fakers

So the "leaked" iPhone photos I posted were fakes after all, and as we now know there is no video conferencing. With all the hype and buzz the iPhone 3G has fallen short of the expectations of many. The most shocking revelation... white. Is Apple seriously bringing white back already? Will anyone other than junior high girls buy a white iPhone? I just couldn't take someone serious walking around with one of those, but maybe I'm completely wrong on this one.

The Heart of Rap

Talib is a smart smart man.



(Mom and Dad I think you guys would enjoy this too!)

Before Time

If I could have one mystery explained to me it might just be the puzzle that is the flow of time. I'm glad to know some people are working on it.

iPhone 2.0 leaked images

Head over to Gizmodo for more.

Please Don't Shoot Me Down

Kanye doin what he's meant to do... gotta love weezy's guitar riff in there.

NBA Finals

I forgot to make my prediction before game 1 so call me a cheater if you want, but I'm calling the series for Boston in 7 games. I actually anticipated Boston to handle game 1 with more ease, and that was one of Kobe's worst games I have ever seen, so I could see him coming alive and changin it up... but then again Ray-Ray might drop 27 and earn himself his first ring.

Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III has inevitably leaked, I know some are sick of hearing about Weezy, but it's like being sick of MJ during his reign. TC3 isn't rap perfection, it's better. It's more human than a perfect rap album, there are moments that are completely annoying. Milli for example is one of the most intolerable beats I've ever listened to, but Dwayne Carter has created a classic, that will be remembered and listened to incessantly for decades.

The Dap!

I really should have known better. I did not suspect the simple fist pound would create so much hoopla, making headlines at CNN and other news outlets around the world. When Michelle gave Barack the dap, moments before he claimed the democratic nomination, I fell in love with Michelle Obama. It was also another subtle cue among many that Barack Obama is the leader of my generation. It signified to me that he understood my generation, and wasn't a part of the elders who have been leading this country for the last 16 years. As the Seattle Times puts it, "Black people and those younger than 50 are a demographic that in the past few months has come to be known by another name: Obama voters."

Thanks for the link Mom!

Seeing Magnetic Fields