Monday, March 26, 2007

Over the weekend, Bunny and I were looking at a meme which asked what your "life-changing" albums were. You know, I thought about it for a long time, and I don't think there is an album that actually changed my life. Books, yes - there are books that changed the way I saw the world, at least. But an album that totally opened my eyes to something completely new? I don't think so. Anyone else? (Of course, a lot of the respondents put weird reasons down for their picks that weren't really life-changing, so it may just be a term I'm overanalyzing.)

Anyway. Apparently reading isn't all that, either - a lot of people fake their way through reading "important" literature. (I was pretty good about reading everything assigned, but I did give up on Faulkner. Maybe I'll get it later on in life, but not when I was in college...)

Television Without Pity has been acquired (acquired? bought? subsumed?) by Bravo. This should be interesting.

Gay's the Word, a huge bookstore in London, is in trouble. Brits, support your indie bookstores! (I've been to this store and it's great.)

If you've ever wondered what the desks of creative people look like, wonder no more!

Citizendium, which aims to be Wikipedia with more accountability, has just launched. If you fancy yourself an expert on something, take a look and consider volunteering.

Fun art time: check out these awesome 19th-century broadsides.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We've been talking about Citizendium over at Highbrid Nation. Personally I use Wikipedia a lot and I don't see anything knocking it off its top spot. The features that make Citizendium better may just be the features that keep it from having the same sucess as Wikpedia. There can only be one. Who will it be?

Jinnet said...

Yeah, I am a big Wikipedia user and fan. It's a constant source of controversy in the library world due to the anonymity, but I really haven't had any problems (then again, I tend to use it as a jumping-off point instead of the gospel truth!).

Bill Herald said...

Ok. I'm taking the bait. You know how much I love to spill my opinion on folks, especially re music.

I remember, VIVIDLY, the first time I heard Eldorado by ELO. I was in kindergarden and the music flipped on every switch in my brain. It amazed me! I had never felt with such intensity....but I was a weird child. I, also, loved the album cover!

But, I digress. If you ever want to start a thread on album covers, let me know! I have much to write about that!(teehee)

So, seriously, think about it, no album or song made had such a profound effect on you? Ever?

Anonymous said...

Anthrax changed the world as we knew it but never got the credit for all they had done. And yes, I'm totally serious.

bjkeefe said...

One of the nicest things about Citizendium, it seems to me from first glance, is the requirement that authors use their real names.

I'm with Jinnet on the best use of Wikipedia as a starting point. I also use it as a reminder of things that I once knew, but can't quite dredge up at the moment.

I disagree with Everglob that "there can be only one." Multiple sources are always a good thing, and if it plays out that Wikipedia is the Microsoft and Citizendium is the Apple for a while, that's okay. They'll at least keep each keep the other on their toes.