Sxip Shirey – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head

Sxip Shirey, musical innovator and two-time nominee for Brooklyn’s best hair, posted something fun to Soundcloud yesterday. He recorded a raw, stripped down cover of Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head” that I… can’t get out of my head.

The original is a strong pop tune from a decade ago. It practically launched the mash-up genre explosion with a popular remix combining the track with New Order’s “Blue Monday”. It was a solid track, but sometimes it’s hard to tell how good something might be when it’s coated in a thick veneer of pop production.

Sxip takes the track down to it’s bones, and finds something wonderful.

Sxip Shirey plays January 7th at Joe’s Pub.

Explore Your Alternate Realities

What would you do if you could view your life in a parallel universe? A world where you never took that job, or where you said yes to that date you turned down?

There’s something about the intersection of science fiction and true science that has always been interesting to me. In time, most even vaguely practical items you’ve seen in an episode of Star Trek or an issue of Fantastic Four will come to pass in some form of technology. Science fiction writers inspire the scientists who will one day bridge the gap between fiction and reality.

Somewhere in between those writers and scientists, are the artists who bring physical objects into being. Based on research by Oxford scientists, the designer Patrick Stevenson-Keating has created the Quantum Parallelograph, a device to glimpse your life in the countless alternate realities that may exist around us. While the device doesn’t actually reach into alternate worlds for its data, it presents an entertaining way to teach advanced physics principles to the general public.

To understand how the Quantum Parallelograph works, view the video below.
via Mashable

Michel Gondry Swedes Taxi Driver

Michel Gondry coined the term ‘swede’ in his cult classic Be Kind Rewind. Since then, the internet has embraced the phenomenon, giving us many no to low-budget short film remakes of film classics. Hell, someone even sweded the trailer to the upcoming Avengers.

Gondry himself is at it again, with his sweded version of Martin Scorcese’s classic Taxi Driver debuting before the French premiere of Hugo.

I can’t seem to get a direct video embed to work on WordPress, so you can view the video at JoBlo.

Santadammerung! Have We Reached The Twilight of the SantaCon?

This past Saturday evening, I wandered the streets of Manhattan, taking the scenic route on my way to Midtown Comics. Along the way, I encountered the yearly barrage of Santa suits that is SantaCon.

Traditionally, I associate the annual holiday shitshow with the kind of harmless hipsterism that spawns fun events like the Grilled Cheese Invitational and the old McCarren Park Pool Parties. Just subversive enough to be interesting, just popular enough to attract douchebags. But SantaCon, powered by such a potent meme as Santa, was clearly destined to grow into something bigger.

Gothamist, who boosted the event for years have now turned on it, presenting a catalog of some of the most egregious misbehavior on the part of Santa’s Little Douchebags. This year’s hit list included pushing a disabled man to the ground, minature puke fountains, falling into children on the train and other needless shenanigans.

DJ Pangburn at Death & Taxes takes the long view, looking at the subcultural roots of SantaCon in the anarchist and situationist street theater of San Francisco and tracing its growth and mainstreaming, until its current status as a Bro magnet. Pangburn presents a fascinating look at the history of the event, asking whether or not it matters that the current iteration of the event is so different from its original inception or if maybe that was the point all along.

Personally, I’m disappointed. But that’s not too much of a surprise. My baseline expectations for most people tend to lean towards the idiotic, so it stands to reason that the more people who participate in an event, the dumber it will grow. Especially when that event involves lots and lots of drinking. Hell, it’s not just me there, science backs me up.

Every scene, every party has a time limit. The clock counts down to the point at which its time to move on to something else. Unless you’re a goth, in which case you flog that dead horse decades after the last exciting developments in your scene/genre (I love my goth friends but you all know it’s true). SantaCon has always had some backlash, but the volume of it coming from those who once supported it makes me think that the clock is counting down towards zero hour for Santa.

Maybe next year we’ll see a counter event? Now that the bros own Santa, maybe it’s time for the hispters to own the image of the Bro? Perhaps we’ll see hipsters dressed in brotastic Ed Hardy gear, handing out Toys for Tots or feeding the hungry. BroFest? DoucheCon? We’ve got a year, give it some thought.

Also, The Sky Is Blue.

Drunk People Are More Likely To Have Unsafe Sex, Says Science : Gothamist.

Gothamist checks in with info on an upcoming medical study to be released in the journal Addiction. Apparently, drunk people are more likely engage in unsafe sexual behavior. Really?

Somebody got funded to study this. I’m amazed.

Weird To Be Back Home

I’ve been back in New York for a bit now. It’s both comforting and a little strange to be back. I can still navigate the city on autopilot, but I’ll periodically come across changes that I missed while away. The absence of Blue Resturant in Astoria. The loss of Film Center Cafe in Hell’s Kitchen. The expansion of Bareburger.

But those moments aren’t the ones that provide the disconnect. Rather, it’s the little things, the moments when I see an old coworker and neither of us can remember if we’re the kind of friends that hug or not. When I can’t seem to find the time to get together with people who were crucial to my old life in New York. When I find myself trying to cobble together New Year’s plans.

A year away isn’t so much in the grand scheme of things. But that year showed me a lot about what was missing in my life, so I’ve returned to New York with more of a sense of purpose than I had before. Those first steps can be the hardest, and I need to put those changes into action.

UPDATED with Refund: The Megabus Saga Continues!

UPDATE: Megabus refunded my purchase. Details below.

Last week I posted about my experience with Megabus, and shared an open letter I’d written to them. After an initial canned response, I eventually got contact from Anna Lavin, their Customer Service Manager. The continued correspondence and possible resolution is below:

Dear Kevin,

This is in response to your correspondence posted on Twitter regarding your travel with Megabus on the 11:10 New York to Boston on Wednesday 11/23/11.

I am not going to in any way attempt to justify the treatment described in your correspondence. It is unacceptable and not reflective of the resource we put into training our staff to deliver updates on service and I am very sorry for the experience. The entire incident will be reviewed with all concerned to prevent anyone else from going through the same scenario. Your reporting of the incident goes a long way to helping me do this. I hope you will accept my apologies for the distress caused. As a token of my appreciation, I want you to have your next round-trip on us. If you send me the details of an available trip you would like to take, I will arrange your reservation numbers by return.

Sincerely,
Anna

_______________________

Anna Lavin
Customer Service Manager
Megabus.com, LLC
349 1st Street
Elizabeth, NJ 07206
908-354-3330
Extension #301

My Response:

Anna,

Thank you for your response. I have weighed this matter carefully and cannot, in good conscience, accept your offer of comp tickets. While I do wish you well in improving service for future Megabus customers, I will not be among them. I have no desire to use your service again.

If a refund is available, I would greatly appreciate it. I still believe that a refund and proper apology would be a strong good faith gesture for all of the passengers of the 11:10 New York to Boston from Wednesday 11/23/11.

Hundreds of people have read my open letter to Megabus. I intend to post a follow-up on how you’ve handled this matter, since it’s only fair to note that somebody in the company has a sense of professional customer service. If refunds and apologies are available for the customers on the bus in question, I will be sure that my readers are well aware of the efforts made by Megabus to rectify this matter.

If a refund is not available, I believe our discussion is at an end.

Best regards,
Kevin Talbot
The Conclusion:

I haven’t heard back from Anna since my response, so as it stands I’m assuming the matter is finished with me refusing the comp tickets. Refunds do not seem to be in their vocabulary. That said, if you have had a similar experience with Megabus and are willing to ride with them again, I encourage you to reach out directly to Anna Lavin at the phone number above or at her email address, Anna.Lavin@coachusa.com. I’m sure she would be more than happy to extend the offer of free travel to you for your troubles.

If there is any further correspondence, I will be sure to update the blog.

 

Update 12/07/11

To their credit, a day after this post went live, I received further correspondence from Megabus. I have included the letter below.

 

 

Dear Kevin,

I have refunded your account as a gesture of goodwill. Your decision not to use Megabus again speaks volumes of your experience and I sincerely regret and apologize for the distress caused. The offer of a complimentary trip remains should you wish to give me the opportunity to prove your experience on Megabus is not a typical one. We have enjoyed excellent reliability on the New York-Boston corridor since its inception over 3 years ago and I am sorry that we have let you down.

Refund requests are dealt with on a case by case basis as there are variables to consider. I’d be more than happy to discuss the policies further should you wish to.
I can be contacted at the number below.

Sincerely,
Anna
_______________________
Anna Lavin
Customer Service Manager
Megabus.com, LLC
349 1st Street
Elizabeth, NJ 07206
908-354-3330
Extension #301

 

Comic News – Digital Discounts, Watchmen 2, Wizard vs. White Lando

• Marvel Comics is introducing a new coupon program that is designed to drive digital comic customers into brick and mortar comic shops. Since digital is essentially the new newsstand market, this sort of promotion is going to be necessary if the direct market is to survive in the long run.

• The comics internet is still buzzing about Alan Moore’s commentary on Frank Miller and Occupy Wall Street.

• Also on the Alan Moore front is the continued buzz about the possible Watchmen sequel/prequel projects. Rumored creators involved include Adam Kubert, JG Jones, and Darwyn Cooke. I’ve said plenty in the past about my thoughts on ridiculous remakes and sequels, specifically those related to Watchmen, but this seems exceptionally misguided. Keep an eye out for more news about Watchmen 2: Watch Harder in the next few months.

  

• The strange downward spiral of Wizard World continues. The company has gone through many changes in recent years, cancelling its magazine, leaving subscribers on the hook for money, buying and collapsing mid-sized comic conventions across the country, and most recently seeming to part ways with founder Gareb Shamus. There has been so much misdirection in this story, I don’t suspect we’ll know the full truth for years to come, if ever. The Beat has a good primer on the Wizard saga.

• I’ll leave you today with former CEO, President Director of Wizard World Inc, Gareb Shamus trying to escape an interview with White Lando Calrissian.
  

Alan Moore on Frank Miller

Two men defined the zeitgeist of 1980′s superhero comics, influencing the next generation of comic creators and imitators alike. Those two men, Alan Moore and Frank Miller, couldn’t be more different, despite frequently being mentioned in the same breath.

Moore’s Watchmen and Miller’s Dark Knight Returns ushered in the graphic novel era, as stand-alone superhero comics. The first of their kind to be kept in print for longer than a year or two. Many attempted to follow in their footsteps, often missing the larger points of their works, grabbing on to the so-called “grim and gritty” elements. Heroes became badasses in attempts to seem as cool as Moore’s Rorshach or Miller’s aged Batman. The 90′s brought a parade of knock-off characters, and flashy creators who missed the forest for the trees.

In the quarter century since these seminal works were released, they’ve been studied and better understood then they were early on. And yet, few people have looked at the stark differences between the two legends.

Recently I wrote about Frank Miller’s slide into the realm of batshit right-winger, with his blog rants about the Occupy movement. I’ve also written about Alan Moore’s comments on Occupy, and the creative connection between his V for Vendetta and the Guy Fawkes masks worn by members of Anonymous and the Occupy movement.

Honest Publishing has been publishing a lengthy interview with Moore, and the second installment includes commentary about Miller and the ideological differences between the two creators.

“Well, Frank Miller is someone whose work I’ve barely looked at for the past twenty years. I thought the Sin City stuff was unreconstructed misogyny, 300 appeared to be wildly ahistoric, homophobic and just completely misguided. I think that there has probably been a rather unpleasant sensibility apparent in Frank Miller’s work for quite a long time. Since I don’t have anything to do with the comics industry, I don’t have anything to do with the people in it. I heard about the latest outpourings regarding the Occupy movement. It’s about what I’d expect from him. It’s always seemed to me that the majority of the comics field, if you had to place them politically, you’d have to say centre-right. That would be as far towards the liberal end of the spectrum as they would go. I’ve never been in any way, I don’t even know if I’m centre-left. I’ve been outspoken about that since the beginning of my career. So yes I think it would be fair to say that me and Frank Miller have diametrically opposing views upon all sorts of things, but certainly upon the Occupy movement.

“As far as I can see, the Occupy movement is just ordinary people reclaiming rights which should always have been theirs. I can’t think of any reason why as a population we should be expected to stand by and see a gross reduction in the living standards of ourselves and our kids, possibly for generations, when the people who have got us into this have been rewarded for it; they’ve certainly not been punished in any way because they’re too big to fail. I think that the Occupy movement is, in one sense, the public saying that they should be the ones to decide who’s too big to fail. It’s a completely justified howl of moral outrage and it seems to be handled in a very intelligent, non-violent way, which is probably another reason why Frank Miller would be less than pleased with it. I’m sure if it had been a bunch of young, sociopathic vigilantes with Batman make-up on their faces, he’d be more in favour of it. We would definitely have to agree to differ on that one.”

When reached for comment, Frank Miller ranted wildly about Islamofacist rapists and spineless hippies.

Newt Gingrich Should Move Into The Projects

Republican presidential candidate. lobbyist, and possible subhuman Newt Gingrich has continued his commentary in support of child labor, stating that poor children “have no habits of working”.

I’m going to hold off from talking too much about the possibly racist (and definitely classist) subtext in the way Gingrich explains his point, and simply suggest a means for Newt to demonstrate that he isn’t completely out of touch with the working (and unemployed) poor of America. Newt Gingrich should get off the campaign trail for one week and move into the projects.

As an exercise in empathy, I’d like to see Gingrich live for one week in the Queensbridge Houses. Or Marcy. I would love to see Newt’s feelings on child labor among the poor if he actually lived among the poor and saw their lives firsthand.