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iPinhole

Cohort Greg drank the Kool Aid and got an iPhone. I've been resistant to its convergence-tastic charms, but he shot some photos with the thing in South Beach this weekend that are pretty cool, which was a sticking point for me. There's almost no sense of depth, but when the image is more about a graphic and that compression enhances it I think they work nicely. They don't hold a candle to the clarity and depth of field you get with the higher end Nokia N Series, but given the device's many, many features I'm pretty impressed. It helps that Greg's got a good eye.

Friday Music Cue: The Great Escape

For today's Music Cue I'm dropping a little We Are Scientists. Didn't really know the band until last night, when I heard them spin at a party at the Nokia store on 57th Street, where the illuminated walls were set to eerie glowing blue for the event. W.A.S. and a female friend segued between dusty 80s vinyl and their own stuff played on my beloved N95 (which they set up on a tripod; see lower right hand of the photo--quite a cool look). They were mixing music that I was too much of a snob to enjoy in high school--Cyndi Lauper, The Police, Samantha Fox--with their own, considerably more rockin' stuff. The Williamsburg set's seemingly insatiable appetite for early 80s pop is one of the odder cultural trends I've noted, although not entirely offensive. I get a lot of incidental nostalgic pleasure from this subculture's constant soundtrack of early MTV hits. I talked to Keith from the band about this a little; he said that his most recent concession to his parents' generation's musical taste was Hall & Oates, I told him about the insane video for 'She's Gone'and we discussed the wildly innovative production on'I Can't Go For That'. I chose to ignore the nagging thought that I must be around his parent's age, and took pleasure instead in bonding over H & O. "They're just so good," Keith said, and I must agree.

Friday Music Cue: Feelin' Good

Great summer jam by Nina Simone, and an inspired mid series inter-season teaser for that  other really great HBO show. The women in particular are all just glowing here-Brenda in her brief moment conveys all her character's complicated sexuality, Claire nuclear-radiant, and even Ruth has a moment of unbridled joy. Perhaps the best fan video I've ever seen.

FRANKENPOD

In my most recent Tech Therapist column at Esquire.com I wrote about getting the best sound quality possible from your iPod-mandatory reading for real music lovers, if you don't already know the answers yourself. I certainly didn't when I started researching the thing. One sweet piece of gear I came across that is pretty bad-ass is an external amp for your iPod that beefs up its output, delivering a fatter, more complex signal that's big enough to fill up high-end headphones like these Grado SR-80s. I'm flying back to New York today and I'm gonna take the combo on the road, see how cumbersome and unwieldy my iPod/headphones array is with the HeadRoom Total Airhead Amp added in, but the jump up in sound virtue and booming bass is so phenomenal I'm thinking it'll be worth it. Grandma sitting next to me may not agree.

Simpsons Work The Runway With Linda Evangelista

Thank you, Harper's Bazaar. Source: Jeanette's Celebrity Corner

Friday Music Cue: Intergalactic

Friday Music Cue: Star Spangled Banner

What can you say about this version? It takes a rather pompous piece of patrio-pop and and turns it into a silky, synthed-out come on. Thank you, Marvin.

Now THAT'S A Great Obituary.

What a life.

Count Gottfried von Bismarck, who was found dead on Monday aged 44, was a louche German aristocrat with a multi-faceted history as a pleasure-seeking heroin addict, hell-raising alcoholic, flamboyant waster and a reckless and extravagant host of homosexual orgies.

Read the whole glorious story at the Telegraph.

John Jay's Real Time Blackerry Trailer (And Feature) Reviews: Knocked Up

John Jay is the last American hetero sorta-indie guy between 14 and 45 who hasn't seen KNOCKED UP yet. He's rectifying that at the 1:20 show.

1:20

Getting coffee and pretzel

Think I'm here on time for trailers

Still jamaican fevered.

Me and 2 chicks here

Started trailer for Hairspray and theater went dark

Wait...here we go, lord this water's production has had legs. Travolta as a woman is hideous, good cast, energy...hey I love 50's gigs

Here we go...a trailer for Die Hard4...it came out last week. Stunts look so over the top love tim olyphant, on my list of man crush,

The Rock, football player, star quarterback that can take any hit is about to get a big one...little girl comes to door ...I'm your daughter, its a Disney film, looks so bad, the rock doing comedy is a bad mistake...wrong choice, "The Gameplan" fucking terrible, no one will see it.

1:30

Superbad..looks super funny if you want to know...George Michael from Arrested D is one of kids.Oh good lord...the This Ted and Jim or whatever gay movie domestic partners adam sandler and Brooklyn dude fat guy...so bad and puts us back 19 years socially. Oh for fucks sake...an Evan Almighty...come on, I pay money for my ticket I expect new trailers. I hope it makes no money. God it looks terrible. So dissapointed in Steve Carrel's choice. He needs to stay raunchy Here we go...KnockedUp

Around Town With The C-Lux 2

Been trying out the C-Lux 2, Leica's point-and shoot. 28mm lens, 7.2 megapixels, super fast shutter reaction time and a subtle light sensitivity that beats my Fuji. I'm in love.

A very Parisian New York sunset.

The Boys are back in town.

That's a rather apocrophyl double header return.

From off in the distance I saw something magical...

I zoomed in with my C-Lux 2...These Adult Swim guys are so perfectly cracked.