[02.28.2001]
As if those Internet banner ads weren't annoying enough, those at the Internet Advertising Bureau have decided to make them even bigger.
We can now look forward to the pleasure of having even bigger advertisements staring us in the face as we surf the net.
[Read More]
[02.26.2001]
If you were worried that the FBI is lagging behind in their ability to listen in on your phone calls, you can rest easy. Thanks to the "Digital Storm"
program and the $30 million allotted to the FBI Laboratory, it won't be long before those bulky tapes are a thing of the past.
[Read More]
According to the Empire Polo Club web page, Coachella 2 has been set for April 28 and 29.
Performers scheduled to appear include At The Drive In, Blur, Moby, Stereolab, Suede, Tricky, and Paul Weller (Can't confirm this, though).
Let's hope they don't push the event back further, as it was originally scheduled for Nov. 4 and Nov. 5, 2000.
[02.24.2001]
Listen up! There's going to be a benefit concert today (Feb. 24) at East Los Angeles Community College to help raise funds to cover the expenses for
the caravan of 24 Zapatistas who will be marching from Chiapas to Mexico City to dialogue with the Mexican Congress. Additionally, there will be other
events such as poetry and dialogue. Suggested donation is $10.
East Los Angeles Community College
1301 Avenida Cesar Chavez Ave.
Monterey Park
323.653.0726
The Bush administration and the Justice Department are siding with Hollywood in a federal lawsuit against the DVD-descrambling utility known as DeCSS.
As we have stated before, prohibiting web site owners from publishing or linking to the utility is a blatant violation of our First Amendment rights.
Besides, if the copyright protection for DVDs has been compromised why do they still insist on using it? It does not make any sense to continue using
something which doesn't work.
[Read More 1 | Read More 2]
[02.23.2001]
Looks like lawyers for Warner Bros. are still at it, sending out threatening letters to little kids who have set up fan Web sites of the Harry Potter
character. It seems like Warner Bros. are still under the assumption that just because they own the Harry Potter trademark they can force the owners of
Potteresque domain names, through scare tactics, into handing them over to them.
[Read More]
More info available at www.dprophet.com/dada/. Also, read the Boycott Harry Potter Manifesto at
www.dprophet.com/dada/manifesto.html.
According to calculations, Russia's MIR space station is expected to crash into the earth sometime between March 6 and March 10. Patrick Helm,
chairman of New Zealand's Satellite Re-Entry Committee, is expecting the 135-ton space junk to fall into the Southern Ocean, though "there isn't
much we can do about MIR if it hits us [civilians], apart from basically warning people not to go near it."
Well isn't that just great? If they're able to get the damn thing up there, then they should also have thought of a way to get the damn thing
down safely, otherwise they should never have been allowed to send it up. Hopefully we won't see a repeat of the 1978 incident, where the Russian
Cosmos 954 satellite crashed into Canada and spread radiation all over.
[02.22.2001]
Show Alert! For those in the San Diego area, David J.'s going to be doing a show at the
Casbah at 2501 Kettner Blvd. You can get tickets at the door or thru ticketmaster.
[02.21.2001]
U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican, Utah) is planning to challenge the recording industry and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision against
Napster. Hatch is concerned with the disadvantage Napster has against the recording industry and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
[Read More]
While on the Los Angeles radio station KROQ yesterday, Ed O'Brien and Colin Greenwood mentioned that Radiohead are going to issue a new single
this summer and are planning to play a few shows on the West Coast in June (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and Seattle) followed
by more shows on the East Coast.
[02.17.2001]
According to Microsoft OS chief Jim Allchin: Microsoft "can build a better product than Linux." He can't possibly be refering to their next OS,
Windows XP, because it looks like it was designed and developed for Retards. Microsoft must think that its users are idiots, what with all
the hand-holding features they've incorporated into it. Don't believe me, then see for yourselves here.
In addition to that, Allchin claims that open source code will stifle innovation. He stated that, "I'm an American, I believe in the
American Way." So, what Allchin must believe in is selling consumers buggy software at ridiculous prices, just so he and his poor family can afford
to buy that $3 million home. We wouldn't want to deprive him of that now, would we?
According to NIKE, "If you want it done right... build it yourself. At NIKE iD, you get to participate
in the design of your own NIKE products. It's about freedom to choose and freedom to express who you are. It's about combining your ideas with
our resources. It's about time you had a say in what you're wearing. MAKE YOUR MARK!" But this just wasn't the case when Jonah Peretti tried
ordering shoes with "Sweatshop" as his word of choice (his iD) printed on the side.
Read the interesting email exchange between Peretti and NIKE.
[02.16.2001]
Recent lab tests have revealed that California-based Trader Joe's supermarkets are using genetically engineered ingredients in their store brand products,
despite the hundreds of letters from customers expressing their concerns. This contrasts their image as a safe and healthy foods retailer. In Europe,
Trader Joe’s parent company Aldi has already stopped using gene-altered ingredients in their store brands, so why can't they do the same here? Why are
they deceiving customers by using and hiding genetically engineered ingredients in their products?
[02.15.2001]
Following the ruling against Napster earlier this week, Microsoft has introduced a new digital media security solution dubbed Secure Audio Pathway (SAP).
What this aims to do is force Windows Media Player to only play files that have been authorized to do so by the content owner. Will this be an OS that's
designed to destroy data?
[Read More]
In addition to Microsoft's SAP initiative, computer hard drive manufacturers' may be planning to include content-protection capabilities on their next
hard drives which could prevent unauthorized copying of protected content.
[Read More]
Ever wonder where you misplaced your cell phone? Well, one 20-year-old Taiwanese woman doesn't have to worry about that anymore. Apparently she had to
have one surgically removed from her arse after a kinky sex game with her boyfriend "went horribly wrong." Luckily, doctors were able to retrieve the
Nokia 8850. But why a cell phone, you ask? Well, it might have had something to do with the vibrate function on the phone. Maybe she was hoping that
someone would reach out and touch her.
[02.14.2001]
The Bush Administration is planning to once again test the U.S.'s National Missile Defense system, commonly known as Star Wars.
[Read More]
[02.13.2001]
In one corner we have the FBI. In the other corner we have Bonsai Kitten.com, a web site which purports to be
"dedicated to preserving the lost art of body modification in housepets." And so starts the cat chase, so to speak, between the FBI and Bonsai Kitten.com,
as it moves around from server to server because some web companies are unwilling to host it.
[Read More]
Still not convinced that George W. Bush is an idiot? Then read on my friend...
[Read More]
Well, the recording industry and the five major players - Sony, Warner, BMG, EMI and Universal - may have won the battle, but they'll NEVER win the war.
If Napster goes away, dozens of other music swapping sites will surely take its place.
[Read More]
[02.04.2001]
We've got the details on Depeche Mode's new album, Exciter:
Release Date
May 14th (UK / Mute), May 15th (US / Reprise)
Catalog Number
STUMM 190 (UK / Mute), *not finalized yet* (US / Reprise)
Track Listing
The Sweetest Condition / Dream On / When The Body Speaks / Breathe / Goodnight Lovers /
Freelove / I Am You / Shine / The Dead Of Night / Lovetheme / Comatose / I Feel Loved
First Single
"Dream On" to be released April 23rd by Mute (UK). The catalog number will be
BONG 30. The US release will be shortly after, but no date is set yet.
Music Video
The music video for the first single will be shot in mid-February. The director
of the video is still to be determined.
Album Artwork
Anton Corbijn will be doing the artwork for the "Exciter" album.
To help hold us over until the new New Order album is ready, they'll be releasing a DVD on March 5 through London records.
Titled "316", it features footage of a 1981 New Order gig in New York along with their 1998 Reading Festival appearance and a new interview
with the band. It's produced and filmed by Michael H. Shamberg.
As for the new album, expect it out in the autumn. They're set to get in the studio to mix it in March. Three song titles have been confirmed:
"60 mph," "Crystal," and "Dream On."
[02.02.2001]
Got nothing to do Saturday, February 3? Why don't you check out the Los Angeles Fine Print Fair. 14 of America's finest dealers will be offering
artworks on paper from the 16th to the 20th Century of the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Artists include Chagall, Daumier, Rembrandt,
Whistler, and Durer. Fair hours are 11:00 am - 7:00 pm.
At this moment, Travis are back in the studio (in Los Angeles) working on the follow up to The Man Who. Fans can expect a summer release and
possibly even a tour to follow.
Read the statement Leonard Peltier wrote in regards to Clinton not granting him Clemency.
[Read More]
FROM GREENPEACE:
Help protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. President Bush publicly stated
that oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a cornerstone of his energy policy. Such exploration will only increase our dependence on fossil
fuels, as well as further the destruction of the biological heart of the last unspoiled Arctic ecosystem in North America. Urge Bush to protect the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge, work to stop global warming and make a positive contribution to our environment and the future that awaits our children.
Stop Star Wars, the National Missile Defense program, which will jeopardize our
chances for a world free of nuclear weapons. It undermines historic treaties with Russia, alienates the allies of the United States and will encourage other
countries to build more nuclear weapons and missiles. Moreover, it has thus far been a costly failure and does nothing to protect the U.S. from the far more
likely threat of terrorism near or within U.S. borders. Urge Bush to cancel immediately the plans for a Star Wars system.
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