Kindle, Kindle 2 Really Expensive, Author Fails to See the Point

So this is not timely per se, given the fact that the whole world was abuzz with the Kindle 2's release a few weeks ago, but I am waiting for some pics so I can post about the POOLTRADESHOW I was at last week and this seems an appropriate way to fill the time.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, the Kindle and Kindle 2 are digital readers. What that means is, much like an app from the Apple App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch, you can pay around $10 per book and download it directly to your reader via wifi or 3G. The Kindle library currently stands at around 240,000 books. I guess the obvious advantages are that $10 is less than the $20-40 you'd pay for a new hardcover--and also slightly less than paperback bestseller prices; you don't have to store your books on a bookshelf; and the portable nature of your library means you don't have to pick and choose which books you'll take with you if you travel or commute.

As someone who sits at a desk and reads crap on a monitor pretty much all day everyday, I guess my question is, why would I want to stare at yet another backlit LCD surface? With a price point ($240 for a Kindle, $360 for a Kindle 2) that rivals some low-end netbooks and laptops, why would I not go the extra mile and just get a fully functional PC with an operating system and disk drives?

I admit that speaking logically, the Kindle is a more efficient way to read in nearly every respect, but is that really what reading for pleasure is about? I'm not sure I can accept that... I grew up on good old fashioned paper, and I'll continue growing up on it. There is a feeling, a tactile sensation, that you get from opening and closing books, feeling the paper, turning the page, that I find to be an integral part of the reading experience. On top of that, I am a notorious underliner and margin scribbler, and I doubt very much that I would get the same joy out of annotating in a separate notebook or even leaving a little digital post-it on the page.

I do not fear technology. I embrace it. I like the fact that I can sit on my couch and control every single piece of electronics in my apartment with my cell phone. I like the internet. I like you. BUT, I also like gasoline guzzling sportscars, the outdoors, and reading books made out of trees and glue. I am not saying that the Kindle is garbage or anything, I just think it defeats the purpose of reading books. Why in the world would you want to live life without a fully-stocked bookshelf?

Half-assed hybrid horsepower and digital readers be damned. Unapologetically I say to you that I am living in the past and proud of it.

Mihara Yasuhiro x PUMA sneakers

Perhaps no designer skates between couture and pop-streetwear more often than Mihara Yasuhiro. While I find some of his fashion styles too...something, these PUMAs, set for release this summer, are gnar. I especially like the melting illusion you get between the upper and outsole in the back. Available at PUMA retailers this spring for what I suspect will be a king's ransom, but I might actually be able to get a pair since they will be released at a broader number of retail outlets.

via hypebeast

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

This is the first time I've seen something like this, and I like the concept. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies contains the original text of the Jane Austen masterpiece, "spiced up with new portions featuring viloent, flesh-hungry zombie hordes." I haven't read the original or the updated version, but I can imagine that the injection of zombies will certainly make it a more palatable read for someone with my particular...aesthetic sensibilities.

Seth Grahame-Smith makes the literary zombie additions while the original illustrations by C. E. Brock are also updated by...someone who remains unnamed. Available for preorder here for the perfectly rounded sum of $10.36.

via uncrate

DC Shoes Gatsby LTD

I've been trying to get my grubby mitts on these sexy sneaks for about a year now with no success, and now they have appeared on the interwebs in this fancy new colorway. I'm toying with the idea of offering a bounty to anyone in California or New York who can acquire a pair of these for me, since I apparently live in Gatsby Bumblefuck, so let me know if you have any leads and we can negotiate a suitable reward.

The branding, sexy grey/black/blue colorway, and general unavailableness of the model make me salivate. Or maybe its the Bar Rafaeli pics I have open in this other tab...either way, I'm drooling like...something that drools alot. Witty analogies 1, Ryan 0. You win again, you magnificent bastards.

via hypebeast

KAWS: "The Long Way Home" at Honor Fraser in LA

Even if you think you don't know who KAWS is, chances are you have seen at least one or two of his images, collaborations, or sculptures. The Brooklyn-based pop artist has been everywhere of late, and his latest venture is a show titled "The Long Way Home" at LA's Honor Fraser Gallery. If you are in the area, check it out. Opening night is this Saturday, February 20 at 6 pm.

These images are sneak peeks via SuperTouch. Check out the KAWS Flickr group for a (quite obviously) more complete look at his work.

Christ "sneak peek" is right. I see a Smurf, a hand, and a train whistle with teeth. That's like a trailer for Star Wars showing a Jawa, Chewbacca's left foot, and a storm trooper codpiece.

July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005

"Myths and legends die hard in America. We love them for the extra dimension they provide, the illusion of near-infinite possibility to erase the narrow confines of most men's reality. Weird heroes and mould-breaking champions exist as living proof to those who need it that the tyranny of 'the rat race' is not yet final."

—The Great Shark Hunt, 1979

Satellites Collide in Orbit

Two satellites collided on Tuesday about 500 miles above Siberia. One was a communications satellite owned by Iridium, a United States-based communications firm. The other was a Russian nuclear satellite which has been inoperative since the 1990s. Such collisions are exceptionally improbable given the vast area in which such space junk operates, and also given the fact that NASA tracks over 17,000 pieces of manmade space debris in order to prevent just such an incident. Some of the space junk tracked can be as small as four inches. For those keeping score, that means that the US government is able to track a Sharpie flying around the earth--in space--at 27,000 MPH, but somehow cannot manage to balance its checkbook.

The debris is spread out over hundreds of kilometers in orbital space and could pose a danger to the Hubble Space Telescope as well as other satellites and future space missions. The International Space Station is potentially another target, but NASA says that the risk falls within acceptable parameters. Acceptable parameters... that sounds so robotic and sciencey.



According to the BBC, Russia has yet to comment on claims that the satellite was out of control.

I hope those poor bastards at Iridium are insured, because I'm going to go ahead and say that Russia isn't going to cover the repair bill out of pocket. Is space a no-fault jurisdicition? Who insures spacecraft? Well if they are insured, Iridium is probably going to have to swallow a massive jump in their premiums... hopefully they haven't had any other accidents or moving violations in the last 5 years. Russians are terrible drivers.

via bbc

USA 2 Mexico 0

Yes, more sports. I promise this is not a trend, but I must give props to the US Men's National Team for dominating Mexico last night in the first game of final round qualifying for the 2010 World Cup. Michael Bradley scored in the 43rd minute and again in stoppage time at the end of the game while Tim Howard kept the ball out of the net for the shutout. Next up: El Salvador.

Images via ussoccer.com

Brett Favre Retires...Again...Not Even Wisconsin Cares

GTFO. Look it up.

More here if you care. That link should really send you to hell, but it doesn't, I promise.

Not yet.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

So while this may not technically be my first foray into writing about music, I am still rather uncomfortable with the whole deal, mostly because for the past 20 years or so I have done very little in the way of making music, and therefore I feel rather like Sarah Palin discussing strategic arms control.

I can appreciate lyrical genius and composition as much as the next rube, but typically big sound has always been what it takes to raise my heart rate. When it comes to pop/rock music, I could probably deal with the lead singer of the Decembrists' vocals so long as there are 30 guitars and a 17-story bass played by King Kong backing him up. I guess the most glaring example of this affinity for the heavy pop guitar would be Siamese Dream by the Smashing Pumpkins. Cherub Rock, the first song on that album, changed my perception of what pop music could be, and forever after I have always leaned toward artists who can emulate that wall of sound.

Anyway, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart released their debut album earlier this year on Slumberland Records, and they ride that sort of noise-pop vein with exceptional skill. Granted they probably have more in common with The Jesus and Mary Chain or The Magnetic Fields than the Pumpkins in terms of style and sound, but all four bands still come with that big fuzzy love. Being a pop album in this day and age, of course, they have some overly-tender emo moments, but overall their sound pleases me.

SO, without further ado, I recommend POBPAH's first album, which is self-titled (but fuck you I'm not typing it all out again), to anyone who likes distortion pedals and virtually inaudible mumbling vocals. That is a backhanded compliment rather than an insult, which is kinda how I roll, so deal.

Pitchfork rating = 8.6