Seriously poor taste. Seriously. But as much as I dislike Heather Mills, it gave me a laugh.

My husband just sent me an email with this article attached.

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker has said that along with flexible pricing experimentation, the company was seeking a cut of Apple’s hardware sales during iTunes contract negotiations. Speaking at an event organized by Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, Zucker said “We wanted to take one show, it didn’t matter which one it was, and experiment and sell it for $2.99. We made that offer for months and they said no,” Zucker said. “Apple sold millions of dollars worth of hardware off the back of our content and made a lot of money,” he added. “They did not want to share in what they were making off the hardware or allow us to adjust pricing.” NBC Universal, in partnership with Fox, today launched a public beta of the Hulu.com video service. Responding to a separate question, Zucker said that “Apple has destroyed the music business. If we don’t take control on the video side, they’ll do the same” to video.

Well, okaaaay then. How many of you dropped $150-$500 to buy an iPod just so you could watch “The Office” via iTunes? The sheer arrogance of Zucker’s position flat out amazes me.

As far as Apple killing the music business, I spent about ten dollars a year on new music for the 5 years preceeding iTunes. I’m strictly a per-song girl, and after the Music Business got out of the per-song model by not selling the equivalent of 45s I just started buying used CDs to get the songs I wanted. ($5.99 at Great Escape is less than $16.99 at Tower.) Once iTunes came and brought back the per-song model I grew up with, I’ve spent about $400/year on music. How that’s killing the music business I have no idea.

I think Zucker may need to pull his head out of his antiquated distribution model.

I wonder what Terry Heaton has to say about this.

Lindsay has something special for all the teenagers who trick or treat at her house.

“We keep a basket in the kitchen for all the candy we collect throughout the year,” I explained, “and every Halloween, I go through it and put aside the nasty pieces of year-old candy at the very bottom. That’s what I give to the kids without costumes, or the ones who are rude.”

She even has pictures of the really nasty stuff.

Look who has his memoirs in early LOLcat-ese!

Sista has some belated birthday wishes for a Nashville icon.

First off, let me say that I truly regret the title of this post. Not so much because it angered certain people, but because it created a distraction. Of course, that post didn’t amass all of those comments because of the title. It actually created a really good discussion about economics with some very intelligent people like Reason Over Religion.

Some people seem to think that I de-value this website. If that is true, and enough people let me know, I will stop posting here. But if you go back and look at everything I have written at MCB, very few of my posts do anything other than provoke good discussion. Read the rest of this entry »

Bruce Springsteen’s new album ‘Magic‘ lives up to its name. Yeah, an obvious cliche’ but I can’t help it. Listen to ‘The Long Walk Home’ and you’ll hear more subtlety and nuance in four minutes about the state of the nation than you’ll read in a thousand blog comments* on the same subject. I don’t even qualify as a Holiday Inn Express critic-lite, but can you tell me how you make a number ONE CD and not be played on the radio (unless your name includes the words Dixie or Chicks)?

Southern Beale channels clearly this same question (and even manages to link to FOX!). My advice: Buy the CD, read SB!

*many of those comments made by yours truly

This is your last call to join National Novel Writing Month, which begins at midnight tonight. If you have never done NaNoWriMo, it’s like no other experience. You will discover creative talents you did not know existed.

Do you have time to devote to this project? No! So much the better. I think it almost works better when you’re under pressure. Anything that will let you ignore your internal editor and obsess over word count is a good thing in the NaNoWriMo universe.

I boasted early on that I was jumping back into the NaNoWriMo fray this year. I completed my 50,000-word novel in 2004, the first year I tried NaNoWriMo, but I failed in 2005 and had conflicts which kept me from participating in 2006.

Since committing, loudly and publicly, to the project — I havent checked yet, but think I’m probably included in today’s edition of the podcast — my work assignments have changed and I’m now doing considerably more at work. On paper, this looks like the absolute worst time to try to devote time every day to writing. But I’m excited about it anyway. (UPDATE: I am in the podcast, at about the 22-minute mark. You can listen to the podcast from the home page.) Read the rest of this entry »

Lesley is reviewing her latest movie-going experience.

For the first time in my life, I went to see a movie by myself tonight. It’s a big deal not just because I was going alone but also because I just never go to movies.

And the people at the Green Hills movie theater did not disappoint in reminding me why I don’t like to go to the movies. It started just fine, though. I walked in about five minutes before the movies was set to start and chose a seat in the middle of an unoccupied row towards the back and several rows behind anyone else. I wanted my privacy because I knew this movie would make me cry.

Head on over to her place for the rest of the story.

Most local newscasts end with some type of fluff piece. Shauna was not all that happy with one which aired the other day.

Why on earth would a respectable news station chose to air a story about Maxim magazine’s list of “The Five Unsexiest Women Alive?” I suppose such a thing is expected from a magazine like Maxim, but I was horrified to see this misogynistic piece of tripe aired as “news.” As a woman and as the mother of a young girl, I am constantly bombarded by media telling me that I’m not skinny enough, I’m not pretty enough, and I’m not good enough for the men of America. This magazine article attacking the appearance of various celebrities will lead girls to think that outward appearance is all that men care about, and that they will never live up to the expectations of those men. How sad that News Channel 5 has chosen to perpetuate this misinformation.

It’s Halloween! I’m beginning to suspect that this is Blogdom’s favourite holiday. When you think about it, Halloween is the perfect occasion for the blogosphere. Everything about blogging comes to a head at Halloween.
–Cute children’s pictures & anecdotes for the Mommy & Daddy bloggers
–Religious discussion for the religious bloggers
–Creepy stuff for those who groove on the gore
–Annoying trick or treaters for the ranters
–History discussions for the history bloggers.
–Scary storytime for the fiction writers.

I’m officially declaring Halloween the Bloggers’ Holiday. In my own mind anyway. Here’s some of us are doing about today.

Jag

Our jack o’lanterns died a moldy death. There isn’t a single Dum Dum or snack sized chocolate bar under this roof. I’m tired. CB has to work late tomorrow night. I apologize in advance to the trick or treaters that are going to show up on my doorstep in their street clothes looking for free candy tomorrow, because I won’t be here to hand it out. Meet y’all at the bar.

Brittney

I’m up to my eyeballs in boxes. It’ll be all I can do to buy some candy for the trickin’ treaters.

W.

Whether it’s an interdimensional monster who lives in the fog or a good ole boy swing sitting 150 ft above the street in his tower crane that gets you…. dead is still dead and you never can tell about the fog.

Check out Ben’s Jack O’ Lantern!

Instapundit and Jeff Atwood are both pondering the eternal question–>Have girls’ costumes gotten too slutty?

The Family Resource Blog has some fun recipes to add to your enjoyment–slutty costume or no.

[I]t’s going to be a total grossfest around the kitchen. Moldy Breakfast Pizza will start it all off, lunch will be Monster Eyes, and supper will be a tasty concoction of Maggoty Mess. What kid wouldn’t be happy as a ghoul could be?

All of these recipes are easy and tasty. If you have just a few items on hand, you can make all of them.

Phil Wilson’s kids are all decked out in their finest duds.

The Cool People Care gang have a suggestion for all of you candy-givers.

So, when you fill their bags and buckets with chocolate or sugar-filled goodness on Wednesday, pass out a few pieces of fair trade chocolate. While still as equally yummy as conventional chocolate, the processes by which the fair trade variety were produced mean that you’re being a socially conscious consumer.

It’s a big day and everyone’s psyched. Are you doing anything? Wearing anything? What does Halloween look like at your neck of the woods?

Cheryl Richardson has had a really hard year with her furkids. And it’s just gotten a bit harder.

Bear was such a bright light in my house. I know that it will be dim for a while, and never quite as bright before. Bear was a friend to everyone who met him, whether it was another pet or person. He became the official greeter of my neighborhood. We made rounds to visit all of the neighbors. He hadn’t been getting out quite as much, because of his arthritis, but he still liked to visit. Casey and I are still in quite a bit of shock. I may not be around for a couple of days, and I hope that you all understand. I’m still processing. This was an exceptionally hard blow, so soon after losing Slate the first of September. Please send good thoughts and prayers this way.

From the Brainstem:

I’m taking an indefinite break from blogging and politics. I’ve come to realize that there are more important things in my life that I need to work on, and I simply can’t do that while consuming myself in other stuff. I’ve criticized other people on this blog in the past for not knowing when to stop worrying about politics and start working on their own personal issues, and I know that I need to follow my own advice.

I totally get it, but it’s a sad day for blogging here in the Music City. Sean, unlike many of us, put his brain where his mouth is..Come back when you’re ready, Sean.

h/t: VV

I love me some 100 Oaks. I don’t know why; loving 100 Oaks is sort of like loving your crazy uncle who drives an AMC Pacer and has one change of clothes. In the 17 years I’ve lived here, it’s been about 3 different things.

It’s getting yet another makeover, and Rob Robinson seems pretty excited about it even though there’s no talking robot show.

I like what I’m hearing about this project because it preserves what is working well on the property (major merchants such as CompUSA, Michael’s and the Hollywood 27 theaters) and makes good use of what is not working at all (the all-but-abandoned interior space of the mall).

Remember the BlogWorld and NewMedia Expo in Vegas I told you about?  And you know Ivy’s favorite “Dancing with the Stars” blogger?

Well, they’re coming together like my chocolate in your peanut butter!

That’s right Mark Cuban owner of the Dallas Mavericks, billionaire entrepreneur, founder of HDNet, and author of the popular Blog Maverick blog will be giving the closing keynote at BlogWorld & New Media Expo.

We hope you are as excited as we are to hear from one of the most influential bloggers in the world.

Nashvillagers remember that Cuban was one of the rumored investors in the Predators before the local group came together to…well, do nothing.  But at least they’re trying.

I think it’s great that somebody that does more than stand on his pile of money so he can look down on us is willing to participate in  something as egalitarian as an event designed to tear down the traditional barriers of public discourse and open the media to all of us.

Power to the people, right on!

Look at this comment that just came through.

I don’t think this bodes well for a major news organization to be sending spam comments out on blogs. It seems to me there is credibility at stake here…

Has anybody else seen this kind of “legitimate” spamming going on?

I’m excited about the Whole Foods opening up in Green Hills. I must admit, I’d be a heck of a lot happier if one opened in Murfreesboro- there’s nothing even like Whole Foods in Murfreesboro and I’ve been having to drive to Cool Springs to go to Wild Oats about once a month. But for Murfreesboro, I think it’ll probably be baby steps. Alas.

Let’s see what the local blogosphere is saying about Whole Foods:

Carrington Fox at the Scene’s Bites Blog:

Two more days until Whole Foods Market in Green Hills opens to the hungry hordes, and after last week’s sneak preview, I’m beginning to see what all the fuss is about. Maybe it was the pendant lighting, or the metal sculpture of a trout leaping over the seafood department, or the samples of melt-in-your-mouth espresso-bean-and-chocolate-chip cookies, or the mosaic of hand-painted tiles made by kids from the local YMCA, or the Viking appliances in the demonstration kitchen. Or maybe it was the siren song of locally grown and organic foods, which Whole Foods works to showcase. But as I roamed among the hundreds of olive oils and gazed at the tasteful earth-tone-tiled walls, I could suddenly see why my friends in Atlanta refer to their Whole Foods as “Whole Paycheck.”

Lannae at Lannae’s Food & Travel blog:

As I was taking the tour, Darrah, the Regional Team Leader, was talking, also a couple of other section team leaders were talking, and they all were saying things that implies that Whole Foods wants to be a contributing entity to the Nashville greater community, not just a grocery store. It was a constant in the team leaders and employee chatting that they embrace one of the 5 core values Whole Foods has, “Care about the Community and Environment.” My impression was that these leaders, from far and wide, really wanted to integrate themselves personally into the community, and make the store a good steward of greater Nashville. I feel like Whole Foods will participate in charitable endeavors to benefit the greater Nashville area. Whole Foods maybe like any other market and out for profit, but Whole Foods does have a core value to give back to the community, and I believe they have already, and they will in the future.

Meredith at Like Merchant Ships:

I took a tour of the new Whole Foods Market in Green Hills today. Wow! We saw the cooking school, picked up reusible shopping bags with free samples, and tasted all kinds of food, including the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever in a million years put in my mouth. And I’m a good baker!

Yummah. Chocolate chip cookies. I am so there.

HT: Meredith at Like Merchant Ships 

Our friend Mack has a critique of Music City Bloggers, “Meet The New Media, Same As The Old Media.” Some excerpts:

I think there has been a slight shift in the modus operandi ever since some nonsense written by Glenn Dean approached 200 comments. I mean, he did actually say something to the effect of “yeah, I know what I write can be controversial, but look at how many comments!” (Paraphrased, heavily.)
…
But it is the quality of that discussion that I take some issue with. Like the endless talking head shows on television, it seems any real exchange of thoughts is too often buried beneath the din of partisan rantings, and that every thread will ultimately devolve into the same collection of self described Liberals and Conservatives slinging cleverly disguised insults at each other.
…
I think I’d like to point my browser over there once in a while and not see the Recent Comments section over-run by the same three or four guys still lobbing the same old rhetorical grenades at each other on a week old thread.

I think many of us, MCB folks and readers alike, agree with that sentiment. As I responded at Mack’s place:

While we try to keep the commenters from doing outright personal attacks on each other, it’s hard to convince people that shrill rhetoric doesn’t actually move the discussion and that posting 100 versions of the same sentiment in the comments isn’t really that valuable. There is clearly a handful of people who want to play “gotcha” instead of having an adult conversation, and they tend to dominate the discussion. There is also a commenting contingent that doesn’t quite get that number of comments does not equal quality or interest of discussion. Not sure how we can effectively handle that, since we don’t want to ban people from commenting altogether.

That said, here are some of my general thoughts on commenting (and writing posts!) that aren’t explicitly outlined in our comments policy:

• Adult conversation is the general rule. Playing “gotcha” and/or making everything about you and how clever you think you are is not helpful, nor is it a model of adult conversation.
• Don’t be a “Magic 8 Ball.” This means that if we could program a computer to insert what you would say on any given topic, you’re beating people over the head with your point instead of having discussion. We want your thoughts, but not the same screed over and over.
• It’s not that people can’t read or think. If they just disagree with you, you’re not going to sway them by repeating yourself in the same way every time. If they do agree with you, they get it already. Using Glen Dean’s post on the recession as an example (sorry, Glen), there is a way to have a conversation without immediately alienating your potential audience. Calling folks stupid from the outset is not one of those ways.
• Number of comments does not equal quality or interest. Nobody is getting a gold star for each comment, and nobody is handing out prizes to those with the most at the end.
• If people disagree with you, it’s not because they “can’t handle the truth.” That’s a very adversarial position that is unlikely to win anyone to your side. It simply puts people on the defensive.

My best advice, and what I always hope for in online discussions, is that everyone talks to each other the same way they would in person. How would you have the conversation if you were sitting down with a differently-minded friend or colleague? Would you shout past each other? Would that accomplish anything? Or could you manage to have a conversation about your points that didn’t immediately and always resort to insults and hostility? If you didn’t, do you think you two could keep talking in the future, or would you be creating a wall between you that hinders your goals?

Seriously, I have no interest in banning people from commenting, and that is not on the table. I’d just like folks to be able to talk about things without it turning into a hostile environment. Perhaps it’s time for a blogger meet-up so everyone can be introduced and realize that the other folks encountered here are not adversaries that must be beaten. Play nice, kids.

There are rules that the powers that be have set up regarding self-linking, but in my research this morning for this post over at my marketing blog, I realized there’s a real problem going on around here. Long story short, a lot of us here in Middle Tennessee are getting worse and worse service (customer service and internet/cable service) from our not-very-Comcastic provider. My thoughts on this started brewing Sunday evening  when Busy Mom and I were discussing her lack of posts and she noted that, along with being, well busy, that she was having trouble with her internet service. She told me about an exchange with customer service that included this revelation:

“So, you’re telling me that in order for you to do anything at all for me I have to not only pay you to come install my wireless network, I must also rent a router from you at an additional monthly charge?”

When she mentioned it, I realized that my service was getting annoyingly bad, too (corresponding with a recent and unexplained change in my IP address). And I’ve got some, um non-Comcast-owned equipment in my house as well (never you mind what it is, though I will say it’s all completely legal).

And the service issues don’t seem to be isolated to the western part of town. Over at Drinkin’ the Franklin Kool-Aid, there are a couple of posts that indicate that our neighbors in Williamson county are just about fed up with Comcast. What about the service in your area? Certainly, we’re not the only folks around here having problems…

I think it’s really time for us all to be more informed and more involved in the issue of Net Neutrality (as we’ve discussed before). Prices are only going to get higher and service and quality are only going to get lower.

[For fun, also see The Consumerist and Comcast Must Die.]

I’m a bit late to this party, but it seems that Time Magazine had an article about libertarians a few days ago.

I’ve now read it a couple of times, and I’m not quite sure what I think.

Libertarians and communitarians (to continue this unjustified generalizing) are different character types. Communitarians tend to be bossy, boring and self-important, if they’re not being oversweetened and touchy-feely. Libertarians, by contrast, are not the selfish monsters you might expect. They are earnest and impractical–eager to corner you with their plan for using old refrigerators to reverse global warming or solving the traffic mess by privatizing stoplights. And if you disagree, they’re fine with that. It’s a free country.

The chance of the two political parties realigning so conveniently is slim. But the party that does well in the future will be the one that makes the better guess about where to place its bets. My money’s on the libertarians.

I’m glad that Michael Kinsley thinks he’s got his fingers on the pulse of us libertarians. But I’ve never in my life thought we should privatise stoplights. I’m not even going to touch the analysis of communitarians.

(Hat Tip: Allen Co. LP Blog)

The Music City Oracle is very pleased with an observation made by Southern Beale.

I note favorably her passing reference to the Christian music industry’s “revolting marriage of religion and consumerism that nobody involved in it seems to have a problem with.”

The way that the Christian entertainment culture trivializes faith does more damage to Christian belief than 100 Christopher Hitchens’ on steroids, yet hardly anyone seems to take notice or be offended.

What do you think about Christian music, movies and fiction? Do they trivialise faith or make your faith more real?

I think more people in Tennessee would take up cycling if we had these scattered around.

My favourite medical librarian has a fantastic blog entry today about how to prepare for surgery.

My friend had a concern about how breathing works during surgery, and I had some some other comments as well. I told her, in case you wonder, too - the answer is that you’ll be intubated. Don’t be scared about that - you never know it’s happened, and the worst you can probably expect is a little throat scratchiness afterward. The anesthesiologist will ask you questions about dental work, etc. and probably look in your mouth. It will seem weird, but they want to know that they can insert the tube without knocking a loose filling or chipped tooth down your throat. There will also be a little clippy thing on your finger that will be reporting your oxygenation level, and they’ll keep an eye on that. That will probably still be on when you wake up in recovery.

There’s a lot more and it’s all very helpful and informative.

Mari has some advice. Or, more accurately, instruction.

It is rude to talk to your server when your server is talking to another table.

Seriously. This has happened to me quite a few times in the past month or so-I will be taking an order or checking on something at one of my tables and a customer from another table with just walk right up and start talking to me!

Man, that’s some kind of freaky rude! I can’t imagine why anyone would do that.

Jay Voorheis has his thoughts on The Golden Compass

There is no doubt that Phillip Pullman, the writer of the His Dark Materials trilogy from which The Golden Compass is taken, maintains a negativity toward religion, especially insitutionalized forms of religion. Some have suggested that Pullman’s work was intended to be a counter in opposition to the themes in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis (whom Pullman describes as racist and disparaging of women), however Pullman denies that as his intention. Pullman is disparaging of institutional religion, seeing the harm inflicted upon humanity in the name of God as invalidating all claims of those religions. … The movie industry was not unaware of the controversy this series has generated when they began to create the movie adaptation of the first book in the series, The Golden Compass. As a result, there have been changes made in the story to remove some of the more offensive themes present in the books.

There’s much more info over at his place. He’s written a very good piece.

As a Harry Potter nutcase (all apologies to Tim W.), I’ve been very familiar with the His Dark Materials trilogy. They’re often recommended to Harry Potter readers because of the genre similarity. I read The Golden Compass years ago, and was struck not only by the very anti-religious tone of the book but by it’s utter bleakness.

I have no issue with anyone wanting to be athiest OR anti-religion. (Really, RoR!, I don’t.) I think that it’s probably a good idea for children of certain ages to read things which challenge their preconceptions. But man, these books were some of the most depressing things I’ve read outside of Russian fiction.