Author: Mike P. Lewis

Chris Rock on Music

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I read the new Rolling Stone over the weekand Chris Rock has some good lines….

Chris Rock: Music kind of sucks. Nobody’s into being a musician. Everybody’s getting their mogul on. You’ve been so infiltrated by this corporate mentality that all the time you’d spend getting great songs together, you’re busy doing nine other things that have nothing to do with art. You know how shitty Stevie Wonder’s songs would have been if he had to run a fuckin’ clothing company and a cologne line?

RollingStone: Plenty of rappers say, “I’m not a rapper, I’m a businessman.”

Chris Rock: That’s why rap sucks, for the most part. Not all rap, but as an art form it’s just not at its best moment. Sammy the Bull would have made a shitty album. And I don’t really have a desire to hear Warren Buffett’s album – or the new CD by Paul Allen. That’s what everybody’s aspiring to be.

We live in a weird time. No one knows who’s smart – we just know who makes money. ”Hey, somebody invented Viagra! We don’t know their name, but we know Pfizer, because they make the money.” That guy made a pill that keeps your dick hard, and nobody knows who the fuck he is. The pharmaceutical companies are like fuckin’ record companies. There’s literally the Bo Diddley of medicine walking around, not getting his royalties. He signed all his fucking pill publishing away.

(”Rolling Stone”, Issue 1039, November 15, 2007, page 157)

Einstein's Cosmos

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Just finished the book Einstein’s Cosmos, which is a great look into the life of the genius physicist Albert Einstein.

The book has lots of interesting facts about Einstein.  Some that i remember: He was born in Germany but he had such a bad experience in his youth, he renounced his citizenship when he was 17

He was always brilliant. There’s a myth that he wasn’t that smart when he was young. Wrong. He read a Geometry book when he was 12 and LOVED it. Since then he devoured any physics and mathematics he could get his hand on. He hated classes where they wouldn’t teach the “interesting topics of the day” and frequently got poor grades. But he was always smart.

One little tidbit i loved hearing about is that he was a total ladies man. In High School ALL the girls wanted to talk to him b/c he had such a funny personality. He was a witty guy – always cracking jokes and having fun. Bottom line: Albert was a stud and had his pick of chicks when he was in college.

Another little interesting piece of gossip – he got his main college girlfriend pregnant but she had moved away and the baby died when it was 3. He eventually had another child with her and paid alimony with his Nobel Prize money. But, as he because more famous and busier, they drifted apart and he moved to Germany, she stayed in Switzerland – leading to eventual divorce. He then became very close to his cousin Elsa, who he later married. From the book it seems that they were a great couple – He the absent-minded disheveled thinker and she  the pretty put-together socialite. His tours around the world would have been impossible without her.

The book follows his behavior during the wars, his refusal to support Germany during WWI and his endangerment as a prominent Jew – eventually moving to the states and living at Princeton.

The physics is all easy to understand language. All the cosmic questions that stem from relativity – including the puzzling worm-hole questions are all lined up. I found it a great to read before bedtime book due to the mind benders.

If you’re looking to know more about Albert – this is definitely a quick and interesting book.

drag racing on 17th street

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Went to watch the queen’s last night. I’ve always heard about it but never made the trip. It’s quite a scene. Check out the good footage i got:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfKfReJukyo]

PS: Why can’t you rotate video? Seems like it should be possible

iPhone will take down Blackberry eventually

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I had a Blackberry Pearl and loved it.  I was planning to keep it – until i saw a friend’s iPhone.  It was just so frackin’ slick that i couldn’t stay away.  Does Blackberry do email better?  Yes.  Does Blackberry have some better/smaller sizes that are better for a cell phone?  Yes, definitely.  But is it as cool or fun to use an iPhone?  Not even close.

However, i always hear about people going back to their Blackberry’s b/c of the email capability.  I can understand that.  I don’t use my iPhone email for work everyday and it is harder to type.  But the other advantages heavily outweigh this one feature.

I then read this blog post by Tim O’Reilly about “Why the iPhone Will Beat the Blackberry.”  He write that Blackberry users are cell phone power users and:

power users are a minority, and while they point the way to the future, they tend to be disappointed when the rest of the market catches up with an inferior product that has a lower barrier to new users. So, my prediction: the Blackberry will become more like the iPhone, or the iPhone and its imitators will eventually eat its lunch, relegating it to a niche player. The iPhone is now the communications device to beat. 

I couldn’t agree more.  The iPhone is only getting better going at email and the Blackberry will never come close to the iPhone in slickness of features – including the iPod.   It’s only a matter of time before Blackberry goes down.

I heard a rumor that Microsoft was going to purchase Blackberry.  I don’t hear it anymore, but i think that’d be a great move for both companies.

Music industry is actual doing ok

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Just read a good comment about the Music Industry on Chris Anderson’s blog: here.

The blog (called “The Long Tail”) comments that record labels will cease to become labels but rather artist development centers. Seems logical.

Also, it appears that every single part of the music industry except the sale of compact discs is up.

  • Concerts and merchandise: UP (+4%)
  • Digital tracks: UP (+46%)
  • Ringtones: UP (+86% last year, but probably just single-digit percent this year)
  • Licensing for commercials, TV shows, movies and videogames: UP (Warner Music saw licensing grow by about $20 million over the past year)
  • Even vinyl singles (think DJs): UP (more than doubled in the UK)
  • And, if you include the iPod in the music industry, as I’d argue a fair-minded analysis would: UP, UP, UP! (+31% this year)

I'm a lebowski book lover

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Last month, I read the book I’m a Lebowski, You’re a Lebowski: Life, The Big Lebowski, and What-Have-You and have to say that it is pretty fantastic.

There are interviews with many of the actors in the movie. All of them said how professional and awesome the Coen brothers were. Apparently the brothers showed up to the set knowing exactly how the movie will look and be. They only disagreed on one item – the look on Jeff Bridges face in the dream sequence when he’s going through the legs of the ladies on the bowling alley. Apparently, Ethan wanted a smile and Joel thought he should look scared. That’s the only disagreement they had. Pretty incredible. The book really makes you appreciate how good they are. They wrote the script, the casted the film and basically all the awesomeness that is Lebowski came straight from their brains. Of course, the book also tells you where they got the stories that fill the movie and discusses some theories about why so many people love it.

If you like the movie, this is a great pickup and read. Both my brother and i cruised through it and i could see it living in the bathrooms of many men for many years to come

Wes Anderson's short film

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The new Wes Anderson film, Dearjeeling, just hit the theaters and although i LOVE Rushmore, i’m starting to get sick of the same old kooky formula Wes keeps giving us. I’ll definitely go see the new movie, but i’m not expecting much as his films have gotten progressively worse. Bottle Rocket and Rushmore were great and i thought i was going to be a lifelong fan. Royal Tennebaums was good but it had too many characters with none of them being really developed and it didn’t have the heart of Rushmore. A Life Aquatic was just a mess and definitely the least original and entertaining. So, my expectations are low for Darjeeling.

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One thing that i just watched is that a short film prequel to the upcoming movie. It’s called Hotel Chevalier and it takes takes place in a lavish Parisian hotel room filled with typical Andersonian colors and quirky details (and i hear the Marc Jacobs suitcase play a major role in Darjeeling). The film stars Jason Schwartzman (shocker) and Natalie Portman and watches them fumble through the end of an awkward relationship. I love Natalie and she definitely delivers. The short film is free on iTunes (click HERE) and worth checking out.

Beer Scavenger Hunt: Capital Hill Edition

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We had a great hunt this weekend. In fact, it was the biggest turnout we’ve ever had for a hunt. It clocked in at over 55 people!

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Had a bunch of teams attend, such as:

  1. Team Mckendr: Mairead brought two 6’7″ dudes who were truly able to pimp out their hiding spots
  2. Team Davidson: Bryan Hozack + team. As usual Bryan was incredibly prepared and crushed the hunt.
  3. Team Newbies: Chloe Lewis, Meggy and Roy. They actually joined Team Pug for a super team. For newbies, they were great.
  4. Team Home Field Advantage: Erika, ScottyJ, Krug, Hercey. Great performance by the veterans.
  5. The Favorites. Team Just Graduated: Justin + GW team. All hype. For such a small team, they were pretty slow and put in rookie hiding spots. There’s always this spring.
  6. Team NY: Jules, Taco, Abbey. They joined with Team Pug for also. They get the MVP though for making the trip
  7. Team DJ Afterwards: Tiger, Daniel T, and Tom. They were rockstars because, well, they are rockstars.
  8. Team Pug: Danny, Percey and MPL (and eventually Samol and Shwabe). Any team with a dog gets huge bonus points.
  9. Team Loyola: Julia Turner Team (Julia and Molly). They get major points for just showing up. Although i think they were a bit in awe of the whole experience.
  10. Team Ohio State: Jenny led the charge to the most enthusiastic team i’ve seen
  11. Team No-Show: Molly Hill, Noah, Todd S., and Sara Pescatello. They get no points

The hunt’s best clue was:  “In the Church courtyard, the sack you’ll see next to the erect pipe is not the testicles of a priest but rather the container of some lovely spirits.”

Capital Hill proved to one of the best locations in DC for a hunt.  I was residential but also had some good stores and lots of spots for hanging out with a 12-pack.

Any ideas for where the hunt this spring should be?