New Record Day IX

Here's what's coming out this week that I think is notable:

• Belle & Sebastian, Latenighttales
  
• Radio 4, Enemies Like This
  
• Dan Zanes, Catch That Train
  

What records are you going to pick up this week?

Update: I snagged Clem Snide's "Suburban Field Recordings Vol. 2," which actually came out May 2.

Editorial Surreality

Bono will edit tomorrow's edition of the Independent.

Podcast of Thousands II

My friends Craig and Jon have started a new podcast: Monkey School. Their inaugural outing features 13 songs by the likes of the Buzzcocks, Tender Trap, and Bloodshot Bill. Check it out!

New Record Day VIII

Here's what's coming out this week that I think is notable:

• Danielson, Ships
  
• KMFDM, Ruckzuck
  
• Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stadium Arcadium
  

Another slow week. What records are you going to pick up this week?

Update: I got Roy Nathanson's "Sotto Voce" -- wonderful.

Public Art and Protest

Late last month, a friend of mine, Zoe Cohen, invited me to the opening for her Brooklyn College MFA Thesis Exhibition last week. I wasn't able to attend, and it's unfortunate, as the show has attracted no little public attention, protest -- and activisn. Here's what happened:

• April 23: Opening reception email transmitted
  
• May 3: Opening reception is held
  
• May 4: The exhibit is shut down: "This show was presented in the Brooklyn War Memorial, a public building administrated by the New York Parks Department. The Brooklyn Parks commissioner received a complaint about the sexual nature of a few of the art works in this show, and made an abrupt and un-announced decision to have the locks changed on the doors to the gallery, and to close down the show the day after the opening."
  
• May 6: Participating artists organize to call for the show to reopen, and a protest is held at the memorial
  
• May 7: The artists issue a public statement and announce that they plan to meet with Brooklyn College Provost Roberta S. Matthews the morning of May 8 (this morning), and that they have reached out to President Christoph M. Kimmich and NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian R. Benepe, as well as Mayor Bloomberg
  

More as this develops. Be sure to check out the ongoing action blog.

Remix Master Mic

Electronic musician Maxx Klaxon has released the submixes for the song "Internationale 2000," based on the "The Internationale," under a Creative Commons license -- and is encouraging remixers to have at it. "Download the tracks, create your own remix, and submit it by July 31, and you could win a spot on the next Maxx Klaxon release," Klaxon says in an email.

Media Diet Hero

This might be the first Media Diet Hero ever.

But let me just say that I am in love -- and I mean strong media like -- with Stephen Colbert. This guy is on fire. Love him, like him, or hate him, even if you don't think he's funny, he's certainly on the money.

Holy cow.

The media coverage of Colbert's talk at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last weekend has been fascinating and -- embarassingly -- brought him to my true attention. I had written him off as a partisan parodist. Truthiness is, he might be the smartest political commentator we have on hand today. Not Anderson Cooper, but...

Stephen Colbert. If you haven't taken him seriously before, listen. Because thanks to the WHCA effect, more people will be doing so -- hopefully.

Thank you, Stephen Colbert.

Freelance Armstrong

This just in: After almost 10 years, the fine folks at Media Bistro are finally publishing their first book!

Margit Feury Ragland -- is that not the best name ever? -- has penned a tome titled Get a Freelance Life. At first glance, the book covers freelance writing from the proverbial soup to the metaphorical nuts. And it should be well worth your dime -- if you're a freelancer or wannabe same.

It's really great to see Media Bistro move from mixers to Web network to publishing -- and this step can only presage even bigger and better things. Kudos to all involved.

Apocalypse, Brooklyn

Last week, a recycling worker was crushed to death when he was buried in an avalance of trash dumped in a tractor trailer by a co-worker. (The man was in the trailer.) This happened at a transfer station in Greenpoint, within walking distance of my house.

Sunday, work on the roof of a police -- and ironically, fire -- station in downtown Brooklyn went awry, causing propane tanks to explode -- and propelling one onto an off-ramp of the BQE. I heard the blast while napping at a friend's house in Cobble Hill, and we saw the smoke from Smith Street.

And today, a seven-warehouse complex combusted in Greenpoint. I can still see the smoke against the beautful reds and oranges of the setting sun to the west from my kitchen window. A friend reports that her building is covered in ash, and word is that the warehouses' owner experienced a similar fire in Vinegar Hill. At least one of the sites was ripe for redevelopment. Suspicious!

I'm considering starting a Brooklyn Kickball team called the Fireballs. Who's with me?

News of Note

From the top of my head today:

• If any Media Dieticians have an inside line on back issues of Z Channel's program guide, I'd love to obtain some.
  
• The offices of Opus Dei really are at 34th and Lex. Across the street: a phone kiosk sporting a "The Da Vinci Code" advert.
  
• Designing woman of the day: Dorothy Draper
  
• Kudos to Johnny Damon for how he handled being booed by Red Sox fans at yesterday's game: "They don't boo bad players, they boo good players," he said.
  
• Keith Richards fell out of a palm tree, climbed onto a Jet Ski, and crashed. Bump, set, spike!
  
• The workers responsible for Sunday's downtown Brooklyn fireballs were found at a nearby McDonalds, with singed hair and soot-covered faces. They deserved a break that day, I suppose.
  

New Record Day VII

Here's what's coming out this week that I think is notable:

• Ministry, Rio Grande Blood
  
• Willie Nelson, Live from Austin, Texas
  

Kind of a slow week! What records are you going to pick up this week?

Update: I picked up the Fever's "In the City of Sleep." Best record I've heard in a long time. Recommended.

Draw String Theory

This Squidoo lens -- Learn to Draw -- inspired me to try to draw Mickey Mouse from memory. It's a fun exercise; try it yourself and see how close you get. It might also be fun to do this with your friends and family... I know mine made me smile.