Happy Birthday Apple App Store
The Apple App Store celebrates its first birthday this week by gathering some of its favorite games and apps on iTunes. Among the top of the list are apps for Pandora Radio and the Midomi Music Identifier and Search, both clutch for music fans. The store’s official launch date was July 11, 2008 following some…
New Google Products Unearth Gaffs From The Past
By Eric Leventhal Is there anything Google can’t do? I’m convinced they’re just a few thousand lines of code away from solving the Middle East conundrum. Introducing In Quotes and Audio Indexing, two new Google Labs applications that are somehow both addictive and truly beneficial to researchers of all levels of sophistication. It’s fascinatingly easy…
Bob Weir Twitters From DC
By Richard Gehr Mr. Weir went to Washington yesterday, as you can see from this handsome photo he twittered. Standing between Bob and Mickey Hart is of course Minnesota’s brand new junior senator – and longtime Deadhead – Al Franken. He also stopped by the White House for a meeting and meal with presidential aide…
Radiohead Manager Launches New Label
In a recent Time Out Chicago interview, German DJ-producer Paul van Dyk trashed Radiohead for being rich millionaires who could afford to give away 2007’s In Rainbows while less successful musicians still eat cat food: “Bands like Radiohead who basically made millions and millions and millions of dollars back in the days when there were…
Strip Searching Students Is Not OK
By Jonathan Perri We shouldn’t have needed the Supreme Court to confirm that school administrators do not have the authority to strip search students they suspect of wrongdoing. But that’s what happened June 25 when Savana Redding finally had her day in court nearly six years after being strip searched by a school administrator and…
Proxmire, Perseverance, And Fiscal Responsibility
By Eric Leventhal This is William Proxmire, a Democratic senator from Wisconsin who was elected after the death of Joseph McCarthy in 1957 and who remained in office until he retired in 1989. His 32-year commitment to American politics is particularly relevant to our world in 2009. First, Proxmire epitomizes the virtue of perseverance. When…
Drug Decriminalization In Portugal, Eight Years Later
Portugal decriminalized all recreational drugs in 2001. The country’s experiment turned out to be a great success. This July 1 BBC report on the results indicates that while drug abuse remains a problem for some Portuguese, the country’s decision to emphasize treatment over prosecution has led to declining drug use in addition to emptier prisons….
A Fourth Of July Message From Ted Nugent
Don’t tread on Ted, Fedzilla. Ultraconservative semi-retired rock guitarist, bowhunter, gun nut, and hippie hater Ted Nugent flexes his disdain for big gubmint in this rant condemning bailouts, public health care, and anything else trampling the rights of rugged individualists everywhere. As the stunned and defeated British army marched out of Yorktown, their band appropriately…
Is Pirate Bay Selling Out Or Buying In?
By Richard Gehr During the past several months, the Pirate Bay BitTorrent tracking site has evolved into something more than a means for some 20 million users to trade files legally or otherwise. Beginning in Sweden, it has inspired Pirate political parties active in at least fourteen other European countries. The movement has its martyrs,…
Indonesian Reggae Inna Political Stylee
By Richard Gehr As in Malaysia, indie and underground headbangers and skankers in Indonesia are also taking to the stage and freely expressing political opinions as the country gears up for its July 8 presidential election. With a population of 228 million, 200 million of whom are Muslim, Indonesia boasts the world’s largest Islamic population….