Although I generally attempt to be as in-tune as possible with emerging technology trends, I admit complete ignorance on the latest format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD.

There is, however, a purely semantic reason I’m hoping HD DVD prevails: I simply cannot foresee a future in which one would refer to “shopping for Blu-Rays.” At least with HD DVD we can continue to referring to the new medium as “DVDs”, a term we’re already quite comfortable with.

Here’s general counsel Michael Fricklas defending Viacom’s decision to sue YouTube for giving their company tons of free publicity potential copyright violations under the DMCA:.

Is it fair to burden YouTube with finding content on its site that infringes others’ copyright? Putting the burden on the owners of creative works would require every copyright owner, big and small, to patrol the Web continually on an ever-burgeoning number of sites. That’s hardly a workable or equitable solution.

Come again? That seems like the only equitable solution to this problem. Otherwise YouTube’s entire operation would be centered around weeding out offending content, policing its users from committing a “crime” the company itself was not complicit in.

The magic of web 2.0 is entirely dependent on the concept of user generated content. That’s how these dominant post-bubble dotcom giants can run the most popular sites in the world with only a handful of employees. But I’m not convinced that simply by harnessing the power of the masses YouTube is now somehow responsible for everything they do; just because the technology YouTube developed can be used to violate DCMA rights protections doesn’t mean it’s YouTube’s fault when such violations occur.

It’s up to the owners of intellectual property to seek out violations of their ownership, not the companies who run the technology by which carefree users can commit (harmless) crimes.

In keeping with some “Best Alive” hyperbole, over the past couple years Minnesota rapper One Be Lo has somewhat quietly become the greatest rapper to walk the earth since March 9th, 1997.

Some evidence from “The Axis“:

Every night you hear the bullets blast / Even if you in the suburbs every night, you see the footage flash / across your screen, I’ll tell you my biggest pet peeve / You lookin at it thinkin like, “It don’t affect me” / You livin large I’m thinkin like, “It don’t impress me” / Rockin them chains, Sojourner Truth is tryin to set free

or

In this land of Pocahontas, natives lost to conquest / Your false gods get framed, buffed and polished / If you ask who the prophet, they say Nostradamas

The whole album is an absolute hip hop masterpiece.

UPDATE: His underground solo debut from 2002 just recently received an official release.

Brooklyn, March 24th at 4:41 PM – The Ice Cream Truck is heard, its first appearance of 2007.

Can hardly wait for Spring in full swing.

Jeopardy! super-champ Ken Jennings is increasingly becoming one of the Best Bloggers Alive, and this post defending his usage of the generic feminine pronoun is a good example why:

Even if you’re not a feminist, there are already four ridiculous things in Cranky 1950s Man’s e-mail. One: that you should stop reading a book the second you disagree with exactly two words. Two: that two pronouns in a 300-page book constitute “agitating” for anything. Three: that there even is such a thing as agitating for a cause without telling anyone, and four: that books should, at all costs, protect readers from the author’s point of view.

For perhaps his best claim to the title check out this post analyzing dance styles from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special.

Ed Kilgore makes a good point regarding the Edwards announcement yesterday:

What would have otherwise been a press conference disclosing and contextualizing a health condition not known to the public instead became a “surprise” announcement that the Edwards campaign would go on, exposing the candidate to accusations of insufficient concern for his wife’s health.

This provides a fair context to the conference that does affect my previous views. Rush Limbaugh’s nasty comments regarding the situation don’t make it any easier to criticize.

But I still can’t help but feel uncomfortable with such a personal matter being made so deliberately public. Whether or not this press conference was improperly hyped by false rumors of Edwards leaving the race, it was still guaranteed to create a media frenzy around a personal family situation. Perhaps Edwards has simply taken the politics is personal mantra a little too far for comfort.

With UNC’s victory over USC we now have a sweet sweet Elite 8: #1 vs. #2, #1 vs. #2, #1 vs. #2, #1 vs. #3. No Final Four has ever been made up of all #1s.

But this is the year, right? The first time in history it has a chance of happening, yes?

Blah blah blah. That gets said every season, and every season I’ve learned to ignore it. This is March MADNESS, baby! It’s crrrrrazy! A 64-team, one-win-you’re-out tourney! Anything can happen! Miracles! Mad Miracles of March! Lions roaring! Miracles marching down mountainous mad miles!

And yet, Out Like a Lamb, because, this year, it looks as though it could quite easily come down to four number 1s. And what does that mean? That means some lucky dude who doesn’t know jack ish about college basketball will likely win the big-money bracket challenges out there.

No one has all number 1s in the Final Four. No one! (No one other than John McCain). It would be stupid, a waste of ink and paper, a guaranteed embarrassment.

This is now the second year in a row the gods of March Madness have rewarded the weak and the ignorant. George Mason’s improbably run to the Final Four led to an entire legion of Mason alums winning office pools nationwide, not to mention one lucky guy who accidentally chose Mason after confusing them with George Washington. (!)

Oh, Aggies. You have let me down.

Via TPM Election Central, Tom Vilsack is set to endorse Hillary Clinton when she comes to Iowa this Monday.

At first I was surprised (dude, no way). Then I entered into a bit of denial (maybe they’ve got this wrong). Then I was just plain grossed out and embarrassed.

It looks as though this will simply extend the pattern of the Vilsack family throwing their crucial support behind terrible establishment candidates (from Gore c. 2000, to Kerry, to H. Clinton) all of whom are sure to loose a general.

I guess this endorsement lends some credence to the (somewhat cynical) notion that Vilsack is really gunning for VP, and will thus back whoever has the best shot of winning the nomination. (Although that theory doesn’t really hold up to the Kerry endorsement, as it was the Vilsack push alone that put Kerry ahead in Iowa, launching him toward the nomination.)

No matter.

Am I the only liberal alive who would rather vote for a third term of George W. Babuskha over Hillary Clinton? Maybe I exaggerate.

Please, Tom. I supported you. I donated to your campaign. I fed endless money into your ultimately worthless futures contracts. Why oh why the Queen of Divisiveness? The extension of a family dynasty? The transformation of a two-party system into a two-family system?

Why oh why not Barack??

A lot of embedded videos going on but this is worth it:

The Wii is f-ing awesome. This baby can barely stand on his own yet he can already easily serve, volley, and even skip his own replays!

The Wii works on all levels. You can go out Wii bowling on a daily basis but still occasionally lose to someone whose never even held a Wii remote.

It can also be a good excuse to take out your agression on an underperforming flat screen TV.

Actor in a quirky indie film just out of Sundance:

Lead singer/rapper in folk/pop/hip hop group:

Super Bowl pitchman for Outback Steakhouse:

Voice over artists of instructional Apple videos (??).

UPDATE: Ok so it’s very much not him in the Apple QuickTour. I am, however, somewhat interested in seeing the focus group results that led Apple to choose a guy with a slight Australian/Kiwi accent to voice their corporate videos. Perhaps it’s coincidental.

The Edwards family announcement today was indeed touching, and inspiring, and challenging, and all those silver lining things that come out of earnest discussions of family illness. Both Obama and Clinton’s responses were certainly heartfelt, especially the charming pictures of Elizabeth they each prominently posted to their campaign websites earlier this afternoon.

I’m trying not to be cynical, Barack, I really am. You’re teaching me. But I can’t for the life of me figure out why Edwards really had to call a prominent press conference in order to make an announcement about his wife’s continuing struggles with cancer. We’ve all faced illness in family, a difficult and trying time and one which warrants support and prayer. But this situation doesn’t call for a press conference; your PR folks should be as far away from these personal matters as humanly possible. I could see a press release, yes, a couple of public statements at previously-scheduled events. Certainly you don’t want this type of situation to be drawn out into the political rumor mill. But a well-hyped press conference? It’s unnerving.

To echo Andrew Sullivan, Elizabeth Edwards is a pretty remarkable person, and my thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family. But I don’t want to see someone’s illness deliberately turned into a publicity gathering media circus, and no matter how much I try to curb my cynicism (I’m trying, Barack, I want to, I want to) I can’t help but feel as if this afternoon’s press conference was really nothing more.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Senior Pastor at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ (of which Barack Obama is a member) launches a massively eloquent criticism against the Times via an open letter that includes this wonderful couplet:

There is no repentance on the part of The New York Times. There is no integrity when it comes to The Times

Times writer Jodi Kantor had reported on tensions between Obama and Wright after Obama decided to pull the pastor’s planned introduction from his campaign announcement.

I know Pastor Wright’s beef is over a specific matter with a specific newspaper, but these sentiments can easily be expanded to refer to political reporting as whole.