Tonica’s Neighborhood

Google’s ad cookies are lame

Now that Vox has fixed whatever bug it has and I can write again, I can tell you about the following find on Google, which Janette mentioned on her blog.
   On the one hand, I am glad Google has been transparent about this and told us that it has noted down our advertising preferences. There are countless other companies that track us through their cookies and have not been honest enough to tell us about them.
   On the other hand, it is disturbing what is being tracked about us online by Google and other companies.
   Mine are not accurate. You would expect that my interest in cars would be noted, but no. Here are the categories Google has associated with me, which are so off you wonder just how bad its technology is:

Arts & Humanities
Computers & Electronics - Programming
Computers & Electronics - Software
Computers & Electronics - Software - Audio & Multimedia
Computers & Electronics - Software - ... - Internet Clients & Browsers
Entertainment - Celebrities
Entertainment - Multimedia Content - Flash Content
Entertainment - Multimedia Content - Video Clips & Movie Downloads
Internet - Online Goodies - MySpace Codes & Graphics
Photo & Video - Photo & Video Sharing
Social Networks & Online Communities - Blogging Resources & Services

I admit I have checked for some celebrity news. One in eleven strikes me as an extremely poor understanding of my preferences. I am not a programmer, have little interest in software, certainly do not want multimedia content about entertainment, use MySpace four times a year, and only share my videos and photos with you here on Vox (though I do look at the Lucire videos from time to time). While I blog, I doubt I need to be advertised to since I am already set in my ways; and I do not recall seeing any ad for blogging resources lately.
   When I started removing the above, Google added some extra categories, including something to do with punk music and another to do with news from Korea! Very lame.
   I already think Google’s Adsense programme to be one of the worst I have ever encountered in what is a very mature industry in the US. I have no idea why it is so well regarded or why people speak so highly of it; it is the antithesis of Amazon.com, for instance, which has become a bit of standard when it comes to online shopping.
   I imagine Google Adsense is the online advertising equivalent of Microsoft Word: no one knows any better, so they assume that things are not that bad.
   I have since opted out of these Google cookies, as it seems Google will not serve relevant advertising in any case.

Cheesy 1980s’ mini-series

Now that Vox seems to be letting me in within minutes rather than hours, my mind turned to cheesy 1980s’ mini-series. Remember when this was cool?

If Tomorrow Comes (1986)

Maurice Binder did the titles to this Sidney Sheldon-based mini-series, If Tomorrow Comes, starring Madolyn Smith. Binder’s trademark can be seen here: primary colours, a modernist approach to most elements, including the typography (ITC Modern No. 216). The hourglass motif was also used in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The scary thing is I remember the Nick Bicât theme after all these years, but didn’t remember Liam Neeson being in it as a co-star.

IF TOMORROW COMES by Sidney Sheldon [NON-USA Format / Import / Region 2 / PAL]

   One YouTuber has put up clips from the mini-series and I was surprised at how slowly things dragged on, even with a 10-minute selection. We’ve obviously become accustomed to the action in the big-screen blockbusters.
   Before Matt Damon was Jason Bourne, Dr Kildare was Jason Bourne. This also dragged on—the difference being I remembered it being slow at the time (1988) and thinking it only needed to be two hours. Evidently some movie executive thought the same in the 2000s with the Doug Liman version.
   However, for Ludlum purists, the mini-series was more faithful to the book and even has a few scenes that creep up in the second movie.

The Bourne Identity (TV Miniseries)

Old Doc Kildare was looking pretty worn by 1988, though Jaclyn Smith still looked amazing (and in 2009, as a 60-something, she still does). There were some good action sequences, but they were few and far between. However, as with If Tomorrow Comes, some European filming gave the mini-series a bit of polish that was absent from the hourly TV shows on back then.
Here’s how it started (similarly to the Matt Damon one):

The Bourne Identity 1988 Part 1

And here’s a meeting at Treadstone—and yes, that is Shane Rimmer in the military uniform:

The Bourne Identity (1988): Treadstone 71

How about this one, Deceptions, starring Stefanie Powers, from 1985? This stands up quite well, with a ridiculous plot of two twins swapping lives, and Barry Bostwick with a lot of facial hair.

Stefanie Powers: Deceptions 1

The finalé takes place on Tower Bridge, London, and they shut off the bridge to film it, so some big bucks were involved. More entertaining than a lot of the stuff on TV today, and certainly miles better than any of that reality garbage.

Spotted: ’69 Mustang

Jack Yan
Yesterday
2 comments

Wow. Six minutes to load the compose screen. That’s definitely this week’s record.
This is the other photo I wanted to show:

1969 Ford Mustang Fastback 351

A beautiful 1969 Ford Mustang Fastback with a 351 in³ V8 under the hood. I asked the owner for permission to photograph his car which, sadly, had lost all oil pressure. I drove him to the petrol station in case the car was ‘out of gas’; when I came back along this route a while later, his car had gone, so I hope he was able to get it started.
He says he has a friend with a Cobra Jet 428, which we both thought was the best of this series, and that this shape was probably the nicest before Bunkie Knudsen’s fat Mustangs hit the streets for the 1971 model year. Sometimes I like the ’68s, and the ’65s, but right now, the ’69s seem to appeal to my taste in 2009.

Gripe about Vox, Ben Kingsley, and Wellington scenery

“Only” took 20 minutes for this screen to come up this time. In a day and age when we should wait no more than 20 seconds. Still, I’m sure Vox believes I should be happy because 20 minutes is less than 16 hours. ‘Yay!’ they must think, ‘our load times have come down from hours to minutes!’
   I know, no one likes the pissy tone I take when I begin these posts, but it’s so darned frustrating when technology does not work as advertised. And no one seems to think there’s anything wrong: I’ve heard from neither my ISP nor Vox on this bug.
   That’s not totally true. I haven’t heard anything recently. TelstraClear says there is nothing wrong and it can reach vox.com. Duh. I know that. So can I. I just can’t do anything while I’m there except make comments (hence I am using one post’s comment space to blog at—this is how ridiculous it has become—and to keep track of how often Vox’s massive bug is keeping me from doing what it says on the tin). I can’t compose, add photos, add videos, etc. Except once every long while when it opts to let me have a screen to write in.
   And Daisy, who seems to be the only person working at Six Apart who cares, has written to me as well. But I’ve heard nothing for a few days.
   Remember how long the Amazon conduit took to get fixed here? Considering this “can’t do stuff on Vox” bug has been around since August, and has gotten worse by the week, I’d rather sacrifice the Amazon conduit in favour of, well, being able to blog.
   Readers, I’m sorry you’ll have to put up with hugely long posts because I have no guarantee on when Vox will let me compose again.

Ben Kingsley
Here’s one thing I wanted to blog during one of the many, many blackouts on Vox.

Don Logan rants for Live Aid 1st vid

I always thought Sir Ben Kingsley’s role in Sexy Beast was a cult favourite, but that the general public did not know of it. However, here he reprises his role for a charity advertisement. Linked to this was a brilliant one of Sir Ben impersonating Sir Anthony Hopkins:

Ben Kingsley does Anthony Hopkins

More scenery shots
These would have warranted individual posts, but that’s not going to happen.
Remember when masonry was a real art, done by people and not a computer? This was beautiful work at one of our government buildings, where I was meeting a friend.

Lovely masonry

Here’s one for the car nuts:

Czech mate

Get it? A Škoda Octavia with a number plate about its origins, and a pun in the plate! This motorist has thought it through.
At last night’s launch of the Chinese New Year Festival, painter Stan Chan created a work live while Natalie Foy (niece of comedian Raybon Kan) sang a traditional song. As I remarked to the Mayor, the last time I saw something like that was Rolf Harris on the UK version of The Generation Game in the 1970s. A bit far away on the photo here:

Stan paints live

Then, we wondered, what was an ambulance doing outside some restaurants on Blair Street? Was the curry that explosive at one of these joints? (Monsoon Poon is owned by a friend of mine and does some wonderful cuisine, incidentally.) Or, did one of the Mac operators at the recruitment agency collapse of exhaustion?

Bad food experience

There were more tourists last night in Wellington than normal, which is lovely to see. Here are some examining the bucket fountain (part of most Wellingtonians’ childhoods; it was infamously desecrated when Elijah Wood urinated in it when he was here filming The Lord of the Rings). Darned Hollywood types.

Tour group and bucket fountain

Now, I can’t see the name of the establishment in this due to the lights, but I believe it was for either an adult shop or sex toys. It does make you wonder why they spend so much money advertising this stuff, but the headline was still funny:

Adult shop billboard

2 comments

There is one more, but I’m going to gamble to see if Vox will let me in again. Any bets on whether it will be minutes, hours or days?

Android App Development

Open Source Android mobile phone application development:

or if you'd prefer one platform for developing both iPhone and Android apps then you could try the

Titanium Mobile Framework

which shares common APIs across devices and provides extensibility for each device’s unique capabilities.

Girl Germs

W♥M
2 days ago
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The Mood Swings - Recessionista

The Mood Swings

Discography

[2006] Come On Tell Me

[Jun 2007] No Limit

[Nov 2009] Recessionista

Read More

the Mood Swings

http://weheartmus...

Thoroughly exploiting my weakness for co-ed punk were the Mood Swings. The Mood Swings are what I...

THE MOOD SWINGS
official ♥ myspace

People have been asking if I've been hitting the Sauce, so I know this venue on the busy intersection of Lyndale & Lake is getting huge buzz love. I may have to postpone my attendance because I have two flat tires (those reading my twitters will already know this).

So tonight, The Mood Swings will be at the Sauce, at their CD-releasing party. As with previous Susstones showmania, they are cheap ($5, man!) and features a ton of bands (Two Harbors, First Communion Afterparty, and Blue Sky Blackout are also playing). Between bands, Marc the Guv is handling the DJ spins. Anyway, more bang for your buck seems to be Susstones' motto.

Before you go, some things you should know:

Ashley Ackerson is the primary headperson is married to their now-new-bassist Ed Ackerson (see Polara)
This is their third album, Recessionista, which came out last Tuesday on Susstones Records.
The Current (a Minnesota Public Radio station) has sponsered this event

I will write a full review on Recessionista later, I just wanted to post this up today to let you know about the show tonight. Oh also: @themoodswings, @EdAckerson, and @Susstones.

Those Darlins - Wild One

Those Darlins

1 comment

THOSE DARLINS
official ♥ myspace

Earlier this year, Those Darlins rolled through town. It was one of their favorite show, loads of people showed up. Heavy drinking were involved.

I will be covering their show next Sunday, post-Thanksgivings and post-Black Friday, it looks like it's going to be a great time. Very interested in checking out King Khan (I like their name).

The rest of their tour dates:

The Real Thing

Bebel Gilberto

BEBEL GILBERTO
official ♥ myspace

Brazilian Bebel Gilberto is touring the US, starting in Washington on November 23^rd. Her latest album is called All in One and I just read is mostly in Portuguese.

We've previously mentioned her with her "jazz" standard, covering Night and Day - but you may know her as the daughter of João Gilberto, who, along with then-wife Astrud Gilberto, made "The Girl From Ipanema" a world-wide hit (and ultimately made bossa nova music famous).

I am keeping my eye on December 3^rd for her appearance at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis.

Bebel Gilberto

1 comment

11/20/2009 09:31:54 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com

Android and iPhone Augmented Reality apps

osde8info
2 days ago
1 comment

I have just found some mobile augmented reality apps for Android and iPhone mobiles.

which are based on the

augmented reality API's !

Android Clouds

osde8info
2 days ago
1 comment

IBM suggest you can put a tiny cloud in your Android handset and experience the usefulness of a local Web server!

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/library/os-tinycloud/index.html

DROID week in London

SkillsMatter are sponsoring both DroidCamp and DroidConf on 1 Dec 09 and 2 Dec 09 !

DroidCamp

MON
http://www.meetup.com/android/calendar/11842399/
http://barcamp.org/droidcon

DroidConf

TUE
http://www.meetup.com/android/calendar/11842399/
http://www.droidcon.co.uk/

See you there ! or if you cant make it why not join the Londroid monthly meeting group
http://www.meetup.com/android/ or the worldwide NING BMN Group http://droidcon.ning.com/

Everything old is new again: What's on TV?

W♥M
2 days ago
3 comments

Ron Grainer - Arrival

Ron Grainer

Everything old is new again. That's this week's theme, but it's also about television and movies.

THE PRISONER
amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner

I love the original series. Although it got a bit LSD-y towards the end with #1 and there were way too many #2 to keep track of. Still, the #6, played by Patrick McGoohan, maintained his sanity and desire to escape from The Village.

AMC Television remade the show into a six-episode miniseries, which aired November 15th to 17^th, tries to capture the weirdness of the original, yet updating it to a whole new audience.

I will start with what I dislike about the new series: the new village is massive (like at time it feels as if it's the size of Minneapolis), the iconic "Columbia" style bicycle is missing, and the Village's icon looks a bit like giving you the middle finger. Ian McKellen, who plays #2, is given too much screen time. To me, #6, played by James Caviezel, is your main focus.

What I like about the new series: people in the village does not remember the world outside and everything from cars and architecture has a weird style to them.

So far, I've only watched the first three episode, and the introduction of #6 to an old man #93, and the Village was handled very well. The "brother" of #6, not so much. Should be interesting to see how the mini-series ends. Until then, be seeing you.

GLEE
myspace.com/musicfromglee ♥ fox.com/glee

I did try to get into the Fox series Glee with the pilot, mostly because I thought the show would appeal to me. Think about it: outcasts, geeks, and nerds singing well-known cover songs.

My main complaint is the "reality" documentary style that's popular with modern comedies like The Office and Parks and Recreation. Despite losing me as a viewer, Glee certainly have their fans. Everyone I know that watches Glee tells me that I'm missing such a great show.

As a cover lover, I accepted to review Glee: The Music, Volume 1 simply based on their cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" (see also Covering Journey).

I thought all of the 80 power ballads songs works really well, but the more softer solo songs doesn't interest me. I also dug when the song is "reimagined". For instance, Queen's "Somebody To Love" is transformed into a cheery gospel song.

While I do not mind the random pop and R&B songs, they seem to be lumped together in blocks. The block of Kanye West ("Gold Digger), Rihanna ("Take A Bow"), Jazmine ("Bust Your Windows"), and Celine Dion ("Taking Chances") was almost unbearable.

Choice in cover songs goes back to The Supremes ("You Keep Me Hangin' On") to solid 80s hits. I do like the 80s songs, I will have to admit. The best covers are REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling", Heart's "Alone", and Young MC's "Bust A Move".

I feel, as much as some of these covers are pretty awesome, that they remain too faithful to the original songs in certain cases. I also feel that you may have an added value if you have seen the show and may enjoy the songs even more as a result.

Glee: The Music, Volume 1 is available now from Columbia Records. Fans, keep an eye out for Volume 2, out in early December. I was privy to "Lean On Me", which I did enjoy many vocals on it. It made the song sounds bigger than the original. Anyway, can't wait to hear Lily Allen's "Smile".

V
abc.go.com/shows/v

I grew up watching the original V. I loved it when I was a child, but re-visiting the show with a recent purchase of $10 for the complete series, I'll have to say that the show does not age well. It's cheesy by today's standards.

When I heard that they were remaking V, I was, of course, interested. I saw the teaser on Hulu, and have steadily watched the first three episodes. I'm hooked.

I like the idea that the visitors were here before they arrived in the sky - so that anyone around you could be a visitor. I also like the idea that the main character is now a woman (she's from Lost), and I suspect their base of operation is now in a church. However, there are some things that I think they could've handled better... like pacing. The reveal of a green person on the very first episode or that one of the main character was a visitor - well that could've been saved until later for that shock moment midway into the series...

Post-9/11, the new series takes on a different meaning from the original series. So far, I'm enjoying it.

11/20/2009 00:04:12 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com