Asteroids!!!

99942 Apophis is an asteroid named for the Egyptian god of destruction. It may hit Earth, so Russia's top space researchers are going to have a closed-door meeting to plan a mission to deflect it. Apparently Russians are sensitive about this because a meteorite hit Siberia in 1908 that knocked over about 80 million trees. And Apophis is three times the size of that one. That's 240 million trees! NASA has ruled out the possibility of a collision in 2029, claiming the asteroid will remain 18,300 miles above Earth's surface.

Anatoly N. Perminov is the head of Russia's space agency (RKA). In a radio interview, Perminov said, "I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032. We're talking about people's lives here. It's better to spend several million dollars and create this system, which would not allow a collision to happen, than wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people."

I'm not going to compare NASA and RKA, but I will say that Perminov might want to start remembering things exactly before he spends several million dollars on a spaceship.

Pies and Cakes

Saw this on the Transportation Security Administration's website:

Note: You can bring pies and cakes through the security checkpoint, but please be advised that they are subject to additional screening.

Hehe.

Wiki-greedia

Wikipedia is asking for donations. And why does a non-profit project that is created and edited by anyone with web access need money? According to Wikipedia (Haha, I've always wanted to write that.), the money goes to people and technology. The exact quote: "Even though Wikipedia is one of the top 5 most visited websites in the world, we employ fewer than 35 people." They took down the thermometer graphic they had up, but I believe their goal is $7.5 million for this year. And when I last saw it, it was up to $2.9 million. Seems like $2.9 million would be enough to support 35 people, especially when there's really no overhead. If everyone worked from home and were paid equally, that's an almost $83,000 salary. To create and edit Wikipedia. Which anyone with web access can do. And not get paid for.

The question to ask is: "Do you need Wikipedia?" If Wikipedia charged a small fee for use of its site, would you pay?

You may use Wikipedia a lot. In fact, instead of the thermometer image (likely because they don't want you to see how ridiculous the amount of money they're making is), they've now chosen to use banners with quotes from donors. Check this one out: "As a professional scientist, Wikipedia is my go-to source for ideas and concepts new to me. Donate for this? You bet!" I am officially scared.

I'm Not Even a Member.

PBJ club sandwiches are so messy, but so good.

The Learning Channel

I just discovered why TLC is no longer called The Learning Channel.  I just saw an ad on my screen for a new show called BBQ Pitmasters.  Here's TLC's synopsis of the newest episode:

As temperatures soar, it's not just the meat that's getting cooked when teams head to the desert for the Smokin' in Mesquite BBQ Championship for a taste of the $40,000 in cash and prizes.

I'm a little ashamed to live in a world where this is considered learning.

United Fraud Organization

It turns out that the United Homeless Organization (those guys with the tables and water jugs) is not a real organization.  The article is here.  I realize I've probably only given like 3 cents to these guys, but I want it back.

Genres

I saw this in the description of a musical artist:

"[His] sound bridges genres from hip-hop to crunk."

How on Earth did he manage such a spectacular feat?

Fatties

There's an article in The New York Times about the fat community getting all up in arms because they feel they're being looked at as targets during this whole healthcare debate.  Fact: Obesity leads to a higher percentage of health-related diseases in this country than being too thin.

Here's a little snippet:

“I get so angry when I feel people pushing a weight-loss agenda,” said Linda Bacon, anutrition professor at City College of San Francisco and author of “Health at Every Size,” a book published last year whose title has become the rallying cry of the fat pride community.

Like I'd really take advice from a nutritionist named Bacon.

I Made It to California.

I will do some posting about my cross-country journey (with photos!) once I'm staying in a more permanent place.  I hope that got you wet and/or hard.

Newman's Own Racist Orange Drink

In a search to see if all Newman's Own lemonades were virgin, I stumbled across another one of Newman's products, Orange Mango Tango.

Well, I guess it does fit the motto: "Shameless Exploitation in Pursuit of the Common Good."

Don't Just Stare at It! Eat It!

I have a membership at the music site Amie Street, and they are giving away a free EP by Miles Fisher today.  He covers Talking Heads' "This Must Be the Place," of which I've heard better covers, but the video is a must-see.

X is the Integer That Marks the Spot

I saw the following image in an article regarding Somalian pirates:

Awesome.  I wish I had taken Pirate's Math instead of Trigonometry.

Wedding Dance Enthralls the Masses

I don't really watch too much stuff on YouTube, so I actually hadn't heard of this until my mom said something about it being on Yahoo! like three nights ago or something.  Apparently, some couple decided to have their wedding party dance down the aisle of the church, and it is, admittedly, fairly entertaining.

My only problem with it is that the dance was done to Chris Brown's "Forever."  Nothing says "'Til death do us part" like some auto-tuned garbage by a piece of shit kid who beat the hell out of his girlfriend.  If my wedding party is to dance anywhere, it's going to be to a good song, even if it has no reference to staying together or whatever.  Maybe "If I Had No Loot" by Tony! Toni! Toné!  And you can New Jack Swing on my nuts.

And What is the Going Rate for a Ticket at Disneyland Hong Kong?

Saw this article on IMDb.

Hong Kong and the Walt Disney Co. have agreed to give the struggling Disney theme park Hong Kong Disneyland an infusion of about $465 in cash in hopes of revitalizing the park with new attractions. As part of the deal, Disney has agreed to convert into equity about $350 million in loans to the venture as well as maintain a $40-million credit facility. As a result, Hong Kong's total stake is expected to fall from about 57 percent to 52 percent. The expansion plan, reportedly in the works for two years, calls for the construction of 30 new attractions and the addition of three new theme areas, Grizzly Trail, Mystic Point, and Toy Story Land, that will enlarge the park by about 25 percent.

I hope they stretch that $465 as much as they can. I'd assume Toy Story Land is an actual-sized recreation of Andy's bedroom.

The Crimes You've Forgotten

Everybody with a computer is guilty of Googling their name.

(Tangent: Googling is accepted as a word on Blogger, and google can be found on dictionary.com.  Be careful though, as google cannot be played in Scrabble.  Some controversy over the word: 

The verb to google (also spelled to Google) refers to using theGoogle search engine to obtain information on the Web. Aneologism arising from the popularity and dominance of theeponymous search engine, the American Dialect Society chose it as the "most useful word of 2002." It was officially added to theOxford English Dictionary on June 15, 2006, and to the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in July 2006. The first recorded usage of google used as a verb was on July 8, 1998, by Larry Page himself, who wrote on a mailing list: "Have fun and keep googling!

Fearing the dilution and potential loss of its trademark, Google has attempted to discourage use of the word as a verb, particularly when used as a synonym for general web searching. In February 23, 2003, the company sent a cease and desist letter to Paul McFedries, creator of Word Spy, a website that tracks neologisms. In an article in the Washington Post, Frank Ahrens discussed the letter he received from a Google lawyer that demonstrated "appropriate" and "inappropriate" ways to use the verb "google". It was reported that, in response to this concern, lexicographers for the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary lowercased the actual entry for the word, google, while maintaining the capitalization of the search engine in their definition, "to use the Google search engine to seek online information" (a concern which did not deter the Oxford editors from preserving the history of both "cases"). InOctober 25, 2006, Google sent a plea to the public requesting that "you should please only use 'Google' when you’re actually referring to Google Inc. and our services.

Wow.  Tangent complete.)

So I searched my name tonight and found this article, where I beat up my sister.

Man assaults sister, spits on officer

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — Dustin Sherman, 21, was arrested Nov. 7 for allegedly battering his sister then spitting in a police officer’s face.

According to arresting officer Sgt. Francie Martinez’s report, Dustin Sherman let himself inside Savannah Sherman’s apartment around 1 p.m. and began blaring music loudly in a back bedroom. When Savannah Sherman came home with her friend, Jared Howe, Dustin Sherman grew belligerent, eventually shoving his sister. Jared Howe intervened and Dustin Sherman clumsily swung at Howe, hitting his shoulder.

Savannah Sherman and Jared Howe left Dustin Sherman inside the apartment while they went to meet with police in the parking lot. When police entered the apartment, they found Dustin Sherman with blood-shot, watery eyes. He was unable to maintain his balance. They took him into custody for criminal trespassing and battery on a household member.

After walking Dustin Sherman to the cruiser, Martinez patted Dustin Sherman for weapons, at which point Sherman allegedly turned and spat in the face of backup Officer Ryan Blackgoat, then spouted obscenities at both officers.

Martinez pulled Sherman’s shirt over his head to prevent more spitting.

Dustin Sherman was eventually booked on the additional charge of battery upon a peace officer.

I realize I'm not the only Dustin Sherman out there, but the weirdest thing about this article is how the criminal is always referred to as "Dustin Sherman."  There are two instances where he is called "Sherman" and never just "Dustin."  It's almost like someone was doing a Mad Libs and filled in me for "name of person in room."  I attribute the clunky nature to staff writer, Phil Stake.  Phil Stake is still afraid of the dark.  Phil Stake ate a whole cherry pie without offering anyone else a piece.  Phil Stake should be fired.

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo

One of my friends from NYU made a documentary, and the trailer looks awesome.

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo Trailer from Myriapod Productions on Vimeo.

Michael Jackson is Dead.

I was at the Associated Press today when I overheard the people in the newsroom: "Michael Jackson is sick.  Isn't he supposed to do a tour in July?"  Fifteen minutes later, on CNN: "Breaking news: Michael Jackson hospitalized."  Fifteen minutes later, on the street: "Michael Jackson died."  It was strange to see how news breaks.  It was stranger that no one seemed to care that Farrah Fawcett also died today.  There is hope though:

It's not unreasonable to assume Michael Jackson could return.  Keep an eye on your floorboards!

Ed McMahon is Dead.

And the question remains: Who will give out those huge Publishers Clearing House checks?  But more importantly, how awesome is this?

Phoenix in New York

French rockers Phoenix played Terminal 5 last night.  Trying to remember particular bits of the concert is a little difficult, somewhat influenced by the assholes behind me, but more so by the blast of raucous energy that is a Phoenix show.  It's like attempting to recall a specific orgasm.  I had heard they were a good live band, but they were so much better than I could have imagined.  The performance was only 1 hour and 16 minutes, which would normally leave me feeling gypped by any other band.  This was not the case.  It was positively scary how good they were.

Every song was a sugary salvo of sonic perfection.  "Run Run Run" was a personal favorite, culminating in a hard rock double-guitar attack.  The whole experience was heightened by the epic lighting design.

I still don't understand why some girl in the crowd kept holding up a Mexican flag, but oh well.  I will see Phoenix again, and hopefully they'll play "Second to None."

PHOENIX – 06.19.09 – TERMINAL 5

SET –

Lisztomania / Long Distance Call / Consolation Prizes / Lasso / Napoleon Says / Funky Squaredance / Rally / Girlfriend / Armistice / Love Like a Sunset pt. I / Love Like a Sunset pt. II / Run Run Run / Too Young / Sometimes in the Fall / Rome

ENCORE –

If I Ever Feel Better / 1901

Emily Haines is Sexy. (Part 2)

I saw Metric last night at Terminal 5.  I have a new favorite frontperson and her name is Emily Haines.  Back in January, I downloaded the audio of Metric's Live at Metropolis DVD without having seen the video.  Just listening to it, I could hear in Emily's voice how much fun she was having.  I decided I had to see them, and last night, the time finally came.  The sub-par sound of the venue couldn't stop Haines from ripping it up.  She bounced around the stage like a caffeinated kangaroo, headbanged as she rocked out the keyboard, did some semi-choreographed moves with a tambourine, and sang her fucking heart out.  The show was a brief 1 hour and 23 minutes, but if it went any longer, Emily probably wouldn't have survived.  That's how much she puts into her performance.  And did I mention she's hot too?

The set was heavy on tracks from their latest album, Fantasies.  While every song was great, the highlight for me was probably "Stadium Love."  The song closes Fantasies, and its lyrics have always puzzled me.  Emily prefaced the song with an explanation of a post-apocalyptic dream she had in which the earth's animals were forced to do battle with each other, while the humans watched and feasted on giant cheeseburgers.  The only way to make everything better was with massive amounts of love, enough to fill a stadium.  Puzzle solved.

The encore ended with a slowed-down, stripped-down version of "Live It Out," which you can watch here.

METRIC – 06.17.09 – TERMINAL 5

SET –

Twilight Galaxy / Help I’m Alive / Satellite Mind / Handshakes / Gold Guns Girls / Gimme Sympathy / Sick Muse / Empty / Front Row / Dead Disco / Stadium Love

ENCORE –

Monster Hospital / Live It Out

You Can't Pause the Rock!

What do you do when you need to play Rock Band in a film, but need to avoid making too much noise?  Why, tape bread to the drum kit of course.

And You May Ask Yourself...

Where is the mega-post about Los Angeles?  Not here yet.  I got a new phone after I went, so I need to get the pictures I took with my old one transferred over first.  Instead, how about David Byrne opening the 31st season of Celebrate Brooklyn! at Prospect Park Bandshell?

On June 8th, David Byrne brought his retinue of dancers and musicians to Prospect Park for a stop on his Songs of David Byrne & Brian Eno Tour.  Byrne emerged onstage completely dressed in white, and casually remarked, "Hi.  My name is Dave.  I'll be your waiter this evening."  That was pretty much all of the witty banter that could be heard for the remainder of the night, a disrespectful crowd and sound problems muddling a good portion of the show.  Still quite enjoyable though, even without a large knowledge of Byrne's work.  The choreography made it almost seem like a Broadway production.  Although seated for "Life is Long," Byrne and the band made sure to use swivel chairs to be able to spin to the song.  Oddly enough, my favorite song of the night may have been the first, "Strange Overtones," from his newest album with Eno, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today.  "Once in a Lifetime" was pretty amazing, but some sound issues kept it from perfection.  Three encores!  "Burning Down the House," not an Eno song, but a fan favorite, featured the entire band in tutus.  I'm not a huge fan of the song, but it was a great performance.  Check it out if you please.

DAVID BYRNE – 06.08.09 – PROSPECT PARK BANDSHELL

SET –

Strange Overtones / I Zimbra / One Fine Day / Help Me Somebody / Houses in Motion / My Big Nurse / My Big Hands (Fall Through the Cracks) / Heaven / Moonlight in Glory / Life is Long / Crosseyed & Painless / Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On) / Once in a Lifetime / Life During Wartime / I Feel My Stuff

ENCORE I –

Take Me to the River / The Great Curve

ENCORE II –

Air / Burning Down the House

ENCORE III –

Everything That Happens

After the show, I met up with my old roommate and his friends.  As we walked up 5th Ave, a group of people were congregated on the sidewalk at a hangout near Aunt Suzie's.  "Amazing performance, man," I heard someone say, amongst similar compliments.  David Byrne was standing there, graciously accepting the praise.

Emily Haines is Sexy.

Metric have a new album out called Fantasies.  While it's still growing on me (The production's sheen seems unnecessary.), it is still quite good.  Check out this cool video for "Gimme Sympathy."

Pretty neat, right?  Now see how it was made.

I'm seeing them on the 17th.  Hooray!

Outsourcing is a Beautiful Thing, Especially Now!

I hope you get sarcasm.  I don't like to complain about things.  I'd rather think positively all the time.  Which is why I'm not going to elaborate on why you should never use Expedia.  Just don't.  Trust me.

The rest of this is not directly about Expedia, but it is their fault that it has gotten to this.  Long story short: I was told something else, and then I was charged more for my car rental.  I contacted the rental company because Expedia is a fucking useless bunch of thieves and liars.

My email:

I rented a car from Payless from May 19-May 26.  I wanted to check out the car at 8pm on the 19th and return it by 8pm on the 26th.  I was told by the associate (Rebecca) that because I arrived at 5:23 on the 19th, my rental would be for a week from that time.  I was in LA for business and explained that if I had to return the car at 5:23 on the 26th, I would miss a meeting and be at the airport for 4 hours before my flight left.  She told me I could not change my check-out time.

I called Expedia on May 20th and spoke to a representative named Victor.  He called Payless and spoke with a woman named Angelina at the Las Vegas location.  She advised him that I would be refunded fully for my collision coverage ($70.29) and for any extra time I had the car on the 26th, due to the check-out issue.

I returned the car to Payless on May 26 at 6:54pm, resulting in an hour's extra charge with all applicable fees.  I was refunded $40.23, but not for the overdue time that I was told I would be reimbursed for.  I need to have $29.86 (the total for an extra hour and fees) refunded to my credit card for this mistake.  Thank you.

- Dustin Sherman

Response email:

Dear Sherman

Could you please what was the check out issues you had over here? and Also Victor Expedia provided you with the wrong information if you had an issue with Los angeles Location They cannot call Las vegas location, for the late charge i will go ahead and wave that for you because of this inconvenience, which it was total of $19.77

Regards

Muneer

Wow.  Engrish much?  Why is that our country outsources all its customer service departments?  It would seem like dealing with customers is something you'd want done right, considering hmmn, I don't know, the customer is always right.

Maybe it's racist of me to assume that Muneer is in the Philippines or something.  Maybe he's in Los Angeles.  I've never been anti-immigration.  Hey, stupid white people, where would you be without it?

Maybe he was even raised in the USA and was educated in the public school system.  The point is that this guy does not know proper English.  Now, I know in my original email, I ended a sentence with a preposition and could've used a few more commas, but look at Muneer's response comparatively.  Two sentences, one of which doesn't end, that don't make sense, in an effort to get across four sentences of information.  Not to mention that he called me Sherman.

I just wonder how anyone can think we're the greatest country in the world when our default thing to do when something goes wrong is to call someone in another fucking country!  Meanwhile, jobs are being cut left and right because they seem unnecessary.  Well, here's some free advice: Quality customer service representatives, who are fluent in English, are needed.  I don't know anyone who would disagree.

How to Disappear Completely

So the message boards have been afire with talk of my mysterious absence.  Aside from my computer being repaired again and a trip to LA, there is one man to blame:

Yes, Dave Matthews.  Dave Matthews Band has a new album called Big Whiskey & the GrooGrux King that drops on June 2nd.  In tandem with the record release is a 4-part documentary on Fuse called The Road to Big Whiskey.  I was an assistant editor on it.

I know what you're thinking: "Dave Matthews Band sucks.  Well, they don't suck.  I mean I like a few of their songs, but I'd never buy a CD of theirs.  Wait, I have a CD of theirs.  But they're definitely not the best live band ever."

Before I started on the project I too was skeptical of DMB, claiming they had one good song ("What Would You Say") and one okay song ("The Space Between").  But as I watched more and more live footage, I realized that every person in the band is an extremely talented musician.  While I still feel their hardcore fans overrate them as the pinnacle of live performance, I have come to appreciate the band.  Call me a fag if you must.

Onto the new album: Dave has been quoted in multiple publications as saying, "If you don't like this album, you don't like music."  (I actually read that before I started on the project, and was curious to hear it 'cause that's a bold statement.)  Another Dave quote, which you won't hear: "If you don't like this record, you're a fucking retard."  So I had to listen, both my musical taste and intelligence at stake.

The verdict?  I haven't listened to all of DMB's records yet, but Big Whiskey does have some really good songs on it.  "Shake Me Like a Monkey" is even pretty awesome.  "Why I Am" and "Seven" are other standouts.  Sorry, but I'm not allowed to leak any tracks.

So be sure to check out The Road to Big Whiskey, airing in 4 parts on June 2, 3, 4, and 5 at 8pm on Fuse.  I'll be posting a mega-blog about my LA trip soon enough.

Paper or Taxes?

I just read in The New York Times that Bloomberg has proposed a citywide sales tax increase of half a percentage point, bringing it to a whopping 8.875%.  The tax increase will also include clothing.  According to the article, a typical household in NYC that makes $35,000 a year will end up paying an extra $129 a year.  The idea is to avoid deeper spending cuts and minimize layoffs.  Very briefly mentioned is a possible nickel surcharge on plastic bags.

Okay, here it goes.  Fuck that shit.  I can stand to pay the extra sales tax 'cause the only things I can manage to afford anymore are (tax-free) groceries, but don't fucking charge me to bring them home!

Just to prove I'm not some asshole who hates the environment, I decided to go to a website called TreeHugger.com to get my information.  They should be incredibly biased, no?  Well, check out their 6-page article on paper vs. plastic.  (They are website-sized pages, so it's not too long, but if you're into conserving time as much as conserving the ecosystem, just check out the facts and figures on page 5.)  Plastic bags are better than paper.  This article from How Stuff Works compares the two materials as well.  I find it funny that the first two things listed as being bad for paper are it causing more pollution and consuming more energy, as opposed to plastic's ugly appearance as litter and that it's deceptive to birds and wildlife as food.

I might as well include the Bullshit! episode on recycling, as it is quite entertaining.  Things to note would be how ineffectively workers appear to sort recycling and Penn & Teller's awesome paper-recycling magic trick.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

So we might start getting charged if we choose plastic bags over paper ones.  Hmmn.  Here's a suggestion: How about we get rid of the recycling program in New York City?  Think of how much money that will save.  It's not a new concept either.  In 2002, New York suspended glass and plastic recycling when it was faced with guess what... a severe budget crisis.  By 2004, the program was back in action.

Exactly how effective is the program?  Likely not that effective if you actually put what they ask in your respective bins.  Did you know they don't recycle soiled paper or cardboard?  Those pizza boxes with grease on the bottom are trash.  Did you know they don't recycle plastic caps or lids?  Recycle all the milk jugs you want, but you have to take off the caps.  Want a list of what they actually recycle?  It's here.  So if you're like me, you probably figured you could keep the lids on certain things or recycle yogurt containers, but not in NYC.  By all reasoning, they'd actually have to go into your recycling and remove these things, taking more time and energy.

So what's the alternative to recycling?  There are two other arrows in that triangle, two other R's in that saying.  Reduce and reuse.  Reusable bags are the way to go.  From solely an energy standpoint, canvas bags are 14 times better than plastic bags and 39 times better than paper ones.  And they're sexier.  If you get paper bags, wrap your textbooks with them.  If you get plastic bags, pack your lunch in them.  Not in school?  Throw them away properly or keep them under your sink.  No Loggerheads should be under there.

Let's say we don't get rid of recycling.  There are plenty more ways this city could save money.  Here's three just for the subway:

1. Stop painting subway stations half-assedly.  Do it right all at once.  And don't use so many wet paint signs.

2. Make unlimited Metrocards reusable.  The new 5-cent bonus on a pay-per-card is the incentive to refill it.  Why not allow people who use the cards most often the option to refill?

3. Force buskers (at least in prime spots) to buy permits.  Anyone can perform in the subway in New York City.  How about charging a small fee to do so in the best locations?  The ones that block all the walkways in the busiest spots like Times Square and Union Square currently just have to wait on a rotating calendar for such places, but don't pay anything to perform.  You shouldn't have to pay to perform, but you should have to pay for blocking traffic.

If you're gonna put a surcharge on plastic bags, do it.  But put it on paper ones too.  The public will be forced to provide their own bags or pay a surcharge for use of the store's.  This is kind of stupid, especially because it will discourage consumers from buying more products because they'll want only enough to fill the bags they brought.  I have a solution.  If you spend a certain amount of money at the store, your bags are free!  Then there's incentive to actually buy more.  It doesn't take a genius to figure this shit out.  It just takes Bloomberg to fuck it all up.

The Trollsen Twins

I found myself on PETA's website today when this photo caught my eye on another site:

I figure Holly Madison would rather be naked than pretty much anything, so I won't discuss the photo.  Anyway, I clicked a link which lead me to a page on the "Trollsen twins," Hairy-Kate and Trashley.  Click the link and dick around.  There's a video called Full House of Horrors (If I were Miller/Boyett, I'd sue.) and a game where you can dress the twins in bleeding animal furs.  Look, I don't wear fur and I'm not condoning it.  I don't personally kill animals.  I don't even like Mary-Kate and Ashley.  But isn't it mean of PETA to just make fun of how people look to support their views?  Where are the ethics in calling people ugly?  And most importantly, someone had to spend time making that copyright-infringing video and Flash game.  Couldn't it have been spent doing something more beneficial to their cause instead of personally attacking two girls nobody gives a damn about anymore anyway?  I have other problems with PETA, but Penn & Teller do a better job of pointing out hypocrisy than me.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Basically, don't donate money to PETA.  Give it to cancer research and children's hospitals instead.  I'd rather be naked than wear fur too, but that doesn't mean I support terrorism.

Mo' Street Signs

I sort of feel obligated to make mention of anything having to do with street signs now, so here's an article from The New York Times.  Apparently it's pretty easy to get a street named after you, unless you're Big Pun.  I'm probably gonna take 23rd Street.

50 Albums You Didn't Hear Before You Were Brutally Raped & Murdered (41-50)

41. Colouring Lesson - Targets

Why You Didn't Hear It: You weren't from Maryland.

Why You Should've: A terrific blend of reggae and rock that actually sounds original.

42. Miniature Tigers - Tell It to the Volcano

Why You Didn't Hear It: You only went to the obvious CMJ showcases.

Why You Should've: It's the best album that sounds like anybody could've made it.

43. Ken Stringfellow - Touched

Why You Didn't Hear It: You're too young to know who the Posies were (I am), so you probably wouldn't care what a former member did.

Why You Should've: The songs are incredibly well written.

44. Sunfold - Toy Tugboats

Why You Didn't Hear It: You didn't know that all the members of Annuals are also this band.

Why You Should've: Arguably better than Annuals, Sunfold retain a similar sound, but seem more relaxed.

45. Spiraling - Transmitter

Why You Didn't Hear It: They aren't signed on a label.

Why You Should've: Imagine the Cars with Rick Wakeman on keys.  Cum yet?

46. James Yuill - Turning Down Water for Air

Why You Didn't Hear It: It hasn't been released in America yet.

Why You Should've: British folker beefs up the electronics to make one toe-tapping/melancholy record.

47. State Radio - Us Against the Crown

Why You Didn't Hear It: You went to college, so somehow you heard of Dispatch, but didn't know that them breaking up was actually the best thing for them.

Why You Should've: Protest rock hasn't been this fun since Rage Against the Machine.

48. Zox - The Wait

Why You Didn't Hear It: They seem to only tour with bands whose ticket prices are ridiculously high.

Why You Should've: They turned a violin into an electric instrument.

49. The Lucksmiths - Warmer Corners

Why You Didn't Hear It: You weren't from Australia.

Why You Should've: Belle and Sebastian without ever being "sad bastard music."

50. The Stills - Without Feathers

Why You Didn't Hear It: You liked Logic Will Break Your Heart, but heard this one didn't sound anything like it.

Why You Should've: It doesn't sound like Logic, which means it's not super-derivative of '80s Brit-rock. 

The Teenager Audio Test

There is a sound frequency which can generally not be heard by those over 25 that is used to keep teens from loitering in malls.  Go here and play it to see if you can hear it or not.  I'll warn you though, if you can, it's annoying as hell.  I'm interested to try it out again the end of this month when I'm 25.