Author: Sebastien

Categories
Music

Apples In Stereo

Apples In StereoAfter a five-year absence, Apples in Stereo have returned with a sprawling and lush masterpiece. Their founding principle of the DIY approach to recording has remained in place, but the nearly 15 years of technological progress has made such ways of working yield significantly more robust sounds. Robert Schneider’s songs have always harked back to the pop artistry of Brian Wilson and Jeff Lynne, as well as such near contemporaries as Pavement. New Magnetic Wonder offers a more lush sweep of sound. It’s varied, dazzling, and full of surprises. There’s the keyboard-based pop of “Same Old Drag,” the hypnotic muscle of “Sunndal Song” (sung by drummer Hilarie Sidney, who’s recently departed to work with her own band), and the sprawling, four-part “Beautiful Machine.” Depending on who’s listening and what song they’re hearing, there are many different ways to describe this band. Ultimately, they gently demand that you take them on their own terms, rewarding handsomely all those who make the glorious plunge.

Download the song “Energy” for FREE

Categories
Internet Opinions Random

Someone lost his job today at Amazon

It was first reported by Twitter that around 10 a.m., Amazon.com shut down, giving an error code to anyone visiting it. It is now back on track but Amazon lost big money.

Amazon PR:

The Amazon retail site was down for approximately 2 hours earlier today (beginning around 10:25) – and we’re bringing the site back up.

Amazon’s systems are very complex and on rare occasions, despite our best efforts, they may experience problems. We work to minimize any disruption and to get the site back as quickly as possible.

Amazon’s web services were not affected nor were our international sites.

According to TechCrunch, Amazon loses $31,000 per minute they are not working. That’s about $3,286,000! No doubt that someone got canned today at Amazon…

Categories
News Random

The declaration of war from Fidel Castro to the US, published 50 years later

The Cuban newspaper Granma published yesterday the declaration of war to the United States that Fidel Castro wrote 50 years ago. In this card dated June 5th 1958, written to his wife Celia, the Cuban leader who’s leading a guerrilla against a dictatorial Cuba, is disgusted of the help the US offers to Cuba.

I swore to myself that Americans will pay a high price for what they are doing. When this war is over, another one, longer and larger, will start for me: I’m going to throw the war on them [the US]. I am realizing this is my true destiny.

According to Granma, this card was written just before the bombing by Cuba, with US backup, that destroyed the house of a farmer, Mario Sariol. Mario showed Fidel Castro the remains of a US missile.

carta

Categories
Art

Obey’s mural in Venice

Here is the latest piece of art by Shepard Fairey and his buddies. It was done in front of a bar called The Garter in Venice Beach on Lincoln Blvd.

Categories
Art

Mr. Brainwash’s new exhibition: “Life is Beautiful”

Here is what Shepard Fairey has to say about Mr. Brainwash

Mr. Brainwash is an enigma. I want to hug him one second and smack him the next. He is awesome, infuriating, almost impossible to define, but if an artist is defined by relentless, obsessive passion, then MBW is definitely an artist. Which kind of artist though? When I first met MBW he was a film maker. He started documenting me putting art up on the streets and in galleries back in ‘99. He has hundreds of hours of footage and often risked his neck climbing with a camera to very dangerous spots. MBW’s camera was ALWAYS on. Theoretically MBW is coming out with an OBEY documentary eventually. Somewhere along the way I introduced MBW to Banksy, which seemed to lead him to transition from just a voyeur to a participant, and he began making his own street art. MBW told me he used to paint and had actually sold his art to Michael Jackson years ago. Knowing this art background and his obsessive nature, it does not surprise me how quickly MBW rose to prominence with his street art, becoming one of the most “up” people in LA in a short amount of time. Not all of the work was magnificent, but it improved steadily, reflecting the maxim that practice yields results. Meanwhile, in addition to his street art, as flows logically, MBW was also making canvases and screen prints that could be shown in a gallery. In his usual style, MBW could not just do a small art show, he had to go completely over the top and put together one of the largest, most ambitious, non-museum shows I can think of (more detailed description below). Of course nothing can go smoothly with MBW and over the weekend he wrecked his car and fell off a billboard breaking his foot. A less insane person would have postponed their art show, but he instead postponed his foot surgery and is continuing work. With the ambition and commitment MBW has, I’m pretty sure he’ll pull the show off, but if he doesn’t, to paraphrase Malcolm Mclaren, a glorious failure is better than an underwhelming success. I will be playing records and a jazz band will perform, so it is going to be a good party.

Opens June 18th at 7pm
6121 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90036

Link: www.artshow2008.com

Mr. Brainwash

Mr Brainwash MBW Freedom Kiss

Categories
Art Opinions

George Orwell’s 1984

big brother is watching youOpenCulture found out an audiobook of my favorite book: 1984, by George Orwell. If you haven’t read this book, well, at least now you can listen to it!

1984 is a novel that was written in 1949 by George Orwell, the author of the popular children’s novel Animal Farm. The book has been translated into over fifty languages and has had a major cultural impact in America. Terms such as “Orwellian”, “Big Brother”, and “Room 101”, all originated with the book.

In 1984, the world is divided into three countries, Oceania (North and South America, and Australia), Eurasia and Eastasia. Winston Smith (the book’s protagonist) lives in Oceania, which is a totalitarian society. Winston hates the fact that his life and every moment thereof is closely monitored and controlled by the government. Winston longs for something more. Winston eventually meets and falls in love with another character, Julia, whom he has enjoyable routine sexual intercourse with (an act prohibited by the government). Winston and Julia join the Brotherhood, an underground society of rebels (or so they think). The Brotherhood is actually a trap set by Oceania’s government to catch freethinkers.

Winston and Julia undergo many months of intense torture until they’re forced into total submission and renounce everything the government denotes as un-kosher.

Orwell maintained that the book was written with the explicit intention “to alter other people’s idea of the kind of society they should strive after.”

Visit OpenCulture to download this FREE audio book.

Categories
Random

Pedophile Beards

It’s all about the looks!

Categories
Green

Convert your car to an electric car

Spending too much on gas? Maybe it’s time you switch to electric…

MetaEfficient has a great post about how to convert your car to an eco-friendly vehicle.

Snip from MetaEfficient:

Basically, electric conversion involves removing the entire internal combustion engine from a vehicle, installing an electric motor in its place, and also adding a large bank of batteries. A conversion will cost you about $6000 in parts, and about $1000-$3000 for batteries and installation. But, for this up-front  expense, you’ll get a zero-emissions vehicle that costs only a few cents per mile to run. Your electric car will also be more reliable and require much less maintenance that a conventional one. Remember that gas-powered cars cost the owner about $1800 per year on average for fuel costs alone, and there is the addition expense of engine maintenance and oil changes. The engine of an electric car has a virtually infinite lifespan — the components will probably outlast the chassis. The only real expense is the batteries, which will need to be replaced about every 3 to 4 years.

A reader commented that it’s not as easy as it looks though. Duh!

electric car conversion

Visit MetaEfficient

Categories
Franchising

Key Steps to Buying a Retail Franchise

Considering that sales from franchises account for billions of dollars in revenue every year, buying a franchise is statistically the safest way to own a business – provided you choose the right franchise. Below are listed seven key steps that will help you choose the best retail franchise for you.

1) Evaluate your interests, skills and financial situation. Consider your interests and skills before you buy a retail franchise. What about owning a retail franchise appeals to you? Are you willing to work long hours – evenings, weekends, and holidays? Make sure you understand your financial situation; it could help you narrow down your options to what you can afford.

Continue reading “Key Steps to Buying a Retail Franchise”
Categories
Franchising

What You Should Ask Before Buying a Franchise

Buying a franchise means putting big dollars on the line, and, for better or for worse, your success doesn’t entirely depend on you – the quality of the company behind your franchise also matters. It is therefore important to learn as much as you can about the parent company before you make an investment.

Consider asking the following ten questions:

1) Is it a “package franchise” or a “product franchise”? The majority of franchises are “package franchises” – businesses such as fast-food restaurants, muffler shops or motels that come complete with a laid-out business model covering everything from financial controls to hiring guidelines. “Product franchises,” on the other hand, include businesses such as car dealerships and gas stations that exist primarily to distribute the parent company’s goods. Understandably, product franchise owners have more control over how they run their businesses than package franchise owners.

Continue reading “What You Should Ask Before Buying a Franchise”