don't believe the hype

iPal

CUPERTINO - In what it hopes will be a blockbuster addition to its trove of popular iPhone applications, Apple announced today that it was introducing a new app that can translate the utterances of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin into English.

The application, called the iPal, is available for downloading today, the company confirmed.

According to Apple, a user of the iPal app can hold his iPhone up to a television when Ms. Palin is appearing and receive a real-time English translation in text form.

Carol Foyler, 34, an early adopter of the iPal app, said that the application is not without its glitches, however.

"I tried to use it last night during a replay of her resignation speech," she said. "When she got to the part about being a good point guard my phone exploded." (Borowitz Report)

Manchester

Nice compilation of clips of Manchester set to the music of Elbow.

Grand Central

Two minutes in Grand Central.

Watch in HD here.

Miike Snow

From Sweden the band is called Miike Snow and the song is called 'Animal.'

4th of July

Scenes From an Empty City

The city is deserted for the 4th of July holiday.

Glastonbury - Kasabian

This short clip shot by a random audience member probably captures what it's like to be there.

The band are half a mile away, you can't see them and you're surrounded by lots of people singing out of tune. They look like they're having fun though!

Walkman

I remember getting my first 'Walkman.' It wasn't actually a Sony Walkman, but a cheap rip-off that was bright red and the size of a brick.

This kid gave up his iPod for a week and used a Walkman instead.

U2 360

U2 kicks off their world tour tomorrow (Tuesday) in Barcelona. The tour is called U2 360 after the innovative new stage design which suspends all the lights, speakers and video screens above the band which permits tickets to be sold all around the stadium. More ticket sales per show means the prices can be kept down. The cheapest seats are just $30 which is pretty good value.

The tour is expected to consist of about 100 shows over the next 18 months.

(Click image below for full size)

Glastonbury - Fleet Foxes

Coma Girl

I'll post a few of the best clips from this year's Glastonbury Festival next week. Saturday nights' show was headlined by Bruce Springsteen, who began his set with a cover of a Joe Strummer song called ' Coma Girl.' I always loved this song but didn't realize it was written about a girl he saw at Glastonbury in 2000.

Joe Strummer died of a heart attack aged 50 in 2002. This song was released posthumously in 2003. It's fitting that he was remembered at Glastonbury as he was both a hippy and a punk.

Bar Code

The bar code turns 35 this week. If you wish to purchase a bar code they cost half a cent each. It's hard to remember life without them now.

The second graphic below is a portrait of Andy Warhol created by artist Scott Blake. The portrait is made entirely from the bar codes of Campbell's Soup cans similar to the one Warhol famously painted in 1962.

Animal Kingdom

From South London the band is Animal Kingdom and this is their debut single 'Tin Man.'

Glastonbury

It's the Glastonbury Festival in England this weekend. Lots of people are about to get very muddy. The clip below is from the final night of last years festival, which was headlined by The Verve.

And here's an excerpt form the long list of rules for the festival:

Leave Pets at Home

Please don't bring your pets to Glastonbury. No animals are allowed onto the Festival site; it wouldn't be much fun for them anyway. People and vehicles entering the site are searched, and any animals found are impounded and housed off-site at the owners' expense. The ban on animals is a condition of the Festival Licence; it arose due to the health risks observed in early Festivals, when large packs of dogs gathered.

John Hodgman

Humorist John Hodgman speaking at last nights Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner.

2012

If you want to see the Earth destroyed in HD then you've come to the right place. The trailer below is best watched in full screen mode.

The Most Trusted Name In News

A poll on CNN.com today. And they wonder why ratings are down.

Little Red Monkey

From 1953 this is Joy Nichols, Dick Bentley & Jimmy Edwards with the song 'Little Red Monkey.' It was used in a BBC radio show and I guarantee it is one of the strangest/creepiest records you will ever hear.

It was produced by George Martin.

Friends

Seven years from now, a new study reports, your friend group will probably look entirely different, even though it’ll still be the same size. Utrecht University sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst surveyed 604 people about their friends and again seven years later, and found that only 48 percent of people’s original friends were still part of their network after that time period. How will social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter affect the rate of friend turnover in the next seven years? (From The New York Times: Freakonomics Blog)

Heron

We were in the local park in Bronxville this afternoon. The river looked lovely and we saw a heron swoop down from the river to the path in front of us.

Madchester Lives!

From Sheffield this is Reverend & The Makers with their new single 'Silence Is Talking.' Sounds like it could come from the Madchester scene of the late 80's/early 90's.

How To Get The Day Off School

I wish I'd thought of this, though I'm not sure a note from Harold Wilson would have been as impressive.

"To Kennedy's teacher," read the note, written in black ink over the president's distinctive signature. "Please excuse Kennedy's absence.... she's with me."

Deastro

From Detroit, Deastro (who is twenty-two-year-old Detroit electronic songsmith Randolph Chabot) with the song 'Vermillion Plaza'

Roger Eagle

Roger Eagle, was a DJ at Manchester's famous Twisted Wheel club in the 1960's. In 1976 he opened the club 'Eric's' in Liverpool which was a catalyst for local bands such as Echo & the Bunnymen, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and The Teardrop Explodes.

In the late 1980's he moved back to Manchester where he opened a great club called The International along with Gareth Edwards who was manager of The Stone Roses. I was fortunate to know him for few years during my time at HMV in Manchester and he really was quite a character.

He died 10 years ago aged 57.

It Might Get Loud

'It Might Get Loud' is a new movie that opens on August 14th.

White Roses

A white rose bush in our back garden.

Luminous

Sydney Opera House presents LUMINOUS -a festival of music, ideas, light and performance. Curated by Brian Eno, this inaugural year features a plethora of music acts, alongside public talks and spectacular light and art installations. Music highlights include  Battles, Ladytron, Lee Scratch Perry, Jon Hassell, Reggie Watts and Karl Hyde.

Below is a short clip of Eno describing the project, followed by some shots of the Opera House at night. Looks great!

Strangers' Gate

There are twenty gates into Central Park, and all of them have colorful names carved into the adjacent sandstone, names such as Scholars' Gate, Explorers' Gate, Hunters' Gate and Artists' Gate.  We were at Strangers' Gate this morning.

Rock Band

Trailer for the new Beatles 'Rock Band' video game which is released in September. I wonder how many minutes it will be before this gets pulled off YouTube?

Bibio

From Wolverhampton, Bibio with the song 'Ambivalence Avenue' released June 23rd. This sounds like it comes from another era.

A Thousand Words

(Time Magazine)

Sicko

This is pretty shocking.

Medical bills are involved in more than 60 percent of U.S. personal bankruptcies, an increase of 50 percent in just six years, U.S. researchers reported Thursday.

More than 75 percent of these bankrupt families had health insurance but still were overwhelmed by their medical debts, the team at Harvard Law School, Harvard Medical School and Ohio University reported in the American Journal of Medicine.

"Using a conservative definition, 62.1 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were medical; 92 percent of these medical debtors had medical debts over $5,000, or 10 percent of pretax family income," the researchers wrote. "Most medical debtors were well-educated, owned homes and had middle-class occupations."  (CNBC)

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

From the new Christy Moore album 'Listen' an unlikely but great cover version of the Pink Floyd classic.

New York, New York

It's 25 years today since I first visited New York.

Little did I realize back then I would one day live here, and it still seems as exciting to me now as it did back then.

Supercalifragilistic

Oasis will play 3 shows at Heaton Park, which is Manchester's biggest park, this week and next.

Expialidocious

Times Square 360

Panoramas.dk have added several 360 degree shots of the new (almost) car free  Times Square.

Check them out here.

De La Soul

From Long Island, De La Soul with the song 'Eye Know' from their classic 1989 album '3 Feet High and Rising.' See if you can spot the Steely Dan sample.

And they say it is a capital offense...

Graduation

We went to the graduation ceremony at Sarah Lawrence College on Friday. It's the first time I've been to one of these events and it was really inspiring. Watching the 450 or so graduates ready to set out in the world also reminded me of how daunting it can be looking ahead at 22-23 years old.

The guest speaker was pretty good too.

Bring On The Chocolate Horses

Echo & The Bunnymen Vs. Snow Patrol.

The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway

Well technically there was no lamb lying down...but there were people sitting down in the middle of Broadway yesterday lunchtime.

The new traffic regulations prohibiting vehicles from Broadway between 42nd and 47th Streets and between 33rd and 35th Streets went into effect yesterday. The new rules create large pedestrian plazas. It looks like plenty of people decided to check them out. (More pics here.)

Corey and Rachel's Wedding Invitation

The video below was sent out as a wedding invitation. It's certainly one of the most unusual I've ever seen.

World Party

From the 1990 album 'Goodbye Jumbo' this is World Party with the song 'Way Down Now.'

My Space

My office at home. You probably can't see him, but that black smudge curled up in front of my main monitor is Vincent snoring away. (click pic for full size)

Virtual New York

Click here to see some awesome virtual 3D tours of New York. Be sure to watch in 'full screen mode.'

Grizzly Bear

From Brooklyn, Grizzly Bear, with the song 'Two Weeks.'

Paint Job

We just had our house completely re-painted for the first time in a few years. It looks pretty good with the azalea's coming out. (Click image for full size.)

Sarah Lawrence College

Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville is a private, independent, liberal arts college.

White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, who attended the college will address the graduating class of 2009 tomorrow. Amongst other notable people who've attended Sarah Lawrence are Brian De Palma, Yoko Ono, Vera Wang, J.J. Abrams, Barbara Walters and Alice Walker.

Rahm Emanuel

The White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President. The office-holder has been dubbed "The Second-Most Powerful Man in Washington" due to the nature of the job.

Two days after his election victory, Barack Obama announced his Chief of Staff would be Rahm Emanuel. Here's a short clip of him discussing why he took the job earlier this year.