July 05, 2009
If you've been on Twitter today you've probably noticed some chatter about an abnormal number of accounts being suspended -- one tweet guesstimated the number to be in the hundreds of thousands, which seems apocryphal. But something is definitely very, very amiss. Mashable reports that one of its own reporters, and one of the LA Times accounts, have gotten shut down. A quick search of the terms "suspended" or "account suspension" will give you a sense of the shock and outrage. The best guess appears to be that Twitter is going on a suspension rampage to combat rampant spamming -- which, y'know, would be nice. This post suggests the net has been thrown extraordinarily wide (@blockbuster -- dead?), and suggests steps for getting your account back. Except that there's also an awful lot of collateral damage . . . including Boston's own BostonTweet, a threaded message-board-style application that's been gaining traction for months.
We attemped to email BostonTweet honcho Tom O'Keefe, and for all we know he may have emailed us -- we just found out that our IT dept locked our email account, and we won't have access to it until tomorrow. (When we get in, we will be visiting upon our IT department the same wrath that BostonTweet is likely wishing upon Twitter right now.) While the @bostontweet account is down, the BostonTweet website is up . . . just inactive at the moment, with a couple of users more or less screaming, "WTF?"(Worse, it appears that while @bostontweet was taken down, a spambot account at @bostontweets is still up . . . did Twitter shoot the hostages?!)
In the meantime, if anyone has been shut down for no reason, let us know in the comments . . . or if you've got an alternate Twitter account, shout at us @bostonphoenix, we'll be attempting to RT as many cries for help as possible.
July 02, 2009
Oh dear.
Thanks to J. Cannibal for bringing this to my attention, and for providing fodder for my next 15 nightmares:
http://www.retrocomedy.com/2009/07/15-creepiest-vintage-ads-of-all-time.html
July 02, 2009
So I get a call from the Narragansett Beer guy the other day, and he's like, "We're having a rally on Copley Square followed by a 'Gansett party at the Rattlesnake on Thursday." And so I was all, "What's this rally all about," and he was all, "We're trying to build a new brewery in New England and we figured this was the best way to raise awareness."
I like totally agree with the 'Gansett guys; the only hella problem is that they planned to meet at Copley Square at 5pm today, and it looks like that might get rained out. "No problem," the 'Gansett dude told me, "In that case just head straight to the Rattlesnake. There will be promotions."
You can get more info on today's 'Gansett rally/party HERE. Also to note: they're in the market for some new 'Gansett Girls, preferably those with "New England character." We're not sure what that means, but we're pretty sure it has something to do with revealing Patriots tube tops and serious attitude problems.
July 01, 2009
We pity ad copywriters generally, but we pity them even more today. The trailblazing Boston ad agency MODERNISTA are well-known for blowing other people's shit out of the water, and now they're doing the ad-copy equivalent of a three-minute endzone dance: auctioning off their scraps to the highest bidder. "We had this crazy idea," they wrote recently on their blog. "It’s summer time, we were drinking a few
beers, we were talking about how we’d like to work in the beer
category. So we wrote a few TV scripts, and we’re putting them up on
eBay. Just for fun. We might even do it again for another category."
That's right: Modernista is auctioning off a "12-pack" of ad-spot scripts. Says Modernista co-founder Rick Jensen, via press release: "We know how hard it can be to come up with good ideas on a tight
schedule, and we don’t currently have a beer account, so we thought
these might serve as a little inspiration for someone who’s looking at
a blank page right now. Here you go. Good luck.”
The initial bid was $12, but with four hours to go, the batch of .30-second scripts is on fire at $33, which includes free shipping. If someone can think of a something funny to do with 'em, the Phoenix might consider throwing in $10 to see what's in 'em. As the Modernista guys say, "Buy
‘em, present ‘em to your ECD or executive board; hell, shoot the damn
things. If you’re the winning bidder, they’re yours to do with as you
wish." Or maybe just grab 'em for summer beach reading? Pretty sure it'll be a more entertaining read than the latest Hank Phillipi Ryan paperback.
BUY: Modernista beer-company spots [eBay]
July 01, 2009
Coleman concedes
Al Franken finally wins [Minneapolis Star Tribune]
Jackson body to lie in Neverland
Public viewing to be held [BBC]
So this crash survivor...
Claims to have not felt a thing [CNN]
Red Sox win
Or at least we assume they won after we shut it off during the rain delay. Wait, what? [Globe]
June 30, 2009
Bernard Madoff sentenced
150 years [NY Times]
US pulls out of Iraqi cities
Iraqis cheer [CNN]
Jet crashes carrying 153
One survivor found so far [NY Times]
Court overturns Sotomayor ruling
John Roberts: making the world safe for white men [SF Chronicle]
The Pirate Bay goes legit
This should work just as well as Napster going legit! [PC World]
June 29, 2009
Stop the presses/electrons/bits/telepathic waves!
Pope Benedict XVI has declared that scientific tests actually prove something! This from a man who disputes the scientific benefits of birth control, and who challenges scientific evidence about homosexuality.
So what, you ask, does the Holy Father agree with scientists on? Actually, now that you mention it, it's hard to tell.
Seems
scientists tested some material taken from what Catholic tradition
holds is the tomb of St. Paul, one of Jesus's disciples. What they
found, CNN reports the pope as saying, is that bones in the sample "belong to someone who lived in the first or second century."
And, therefore.....?
"This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that
these are the mortal remains of the Apostle St. Paul," Benedict said in
Sunday's announcement.
Let's follow the logic here:
1) Bones are in an ancient sarcophagus that is, traditionally, believed to be St. Paul's tomb.
2) Church tradition also holds that Paul was beheaded in either the year 65 or the year 67
CE.
3) The bones are tested and found to date to "the first or second century," or somewhere between 1 and 200 CE.
4) No one but St. Paul lived during that period. Ignore the theory
suggesting that Jesus and 11 other disciples (plus a few folks that
Jesus guy encountered) were alive somewhere around then.
5) The next reported human appeared after 200 CE. Ignore the theory that suggests others must have lived then.
6) Therefore, the bones must be those of St. Paul.
QED.
June 29, 2009
"There's some backstage drama that you don't know about. I guess there's a problem with the wireless mics and they can hear what we're saying at The Color Purple!"
That was Kristen Schaal speaking to Eugene Mirman onstage last night at the Wilbur Theatre. The two were reconvening after their respective solo sets when Schaal delivered the news of the audio malfunction, presumably discovered while Mirman - he of the booming baritone - was on stage. Mirman initially shrugged it off; it wasn't until about a minute later that he realized she was talking about the hit play currently showing at the Wang Theatre, right next door to the Wilbur. Once the light bulb went off, he started laughing: "they don't want to hear this."
Maybe not, but if they paid attention to the deep echoes they might have found it as hilarious as the rest of us. Mirman slayed with a bit comparing religion to the ritualized life of a child with Asperger's Syndrome and handed out belated Father's-Day cards (sample: "You're a way better dad than the dad from Dead Poet's Society"). Schaal didn't quite land as many direct hits - a lot of bits went a little longer than necessary, like her video presentation of the 1929 original version of Terminator that James Cameron ripped off - but still scored high marks by pouring out a jar of mayonnaise for the late Ed McMahon and for a story about the darker side of the supposed fairy-tale life in her native Colorado.
June 29, 2009
There’s finally a competition show that a lot people really should try out for. Crooked politicians, deadbeat dads, bad singers, murderers, baristas who think they deserve tips, and priests who suck baby dicks - every one of you bastards should head down to Boston Casting on Monday July 13 (from 10am to 4pm) and stick your no talent keister in the running for Spike TV’s new reality show, “America’s Biggest Asshole.”
According to the casting call, Spike needs d-bags who are often told they “have all the charm of Vince Vaughn, Denis Leary, and Stiffler rolled into one.” It’s too bad that the producers aren’t scouting for America’s Cheesiest Press Release, because Julie Arvedon at Boston Casting would be a shoo-in. (How’s that, bitch? Now what’s up with my private audition? I mean - unless Dan Shaughnessy or Howie Carr show up, then I bet there won’t be anyone in line who gets more accusatory “asshole” hate mail than I do).
On the really real, though, I can’t rip Boston Casting too hard; they definitely made a wise move by holding the second of their two auditions in Boston’s Masshole Mecca, Faneuil Hall (at Red Sky on Wednesday July 15 from 6 to 9). They could have picked a more suitable locale - as Red Sky is one of the few joints I actually like around there - but I suppose the open windows do face the sea of primitive and proudly ignorant Abercrombie-clad passersby.
According to the release, the event was planned “In conjunction with Boston’s “A” List!” I’m not sure if that “A” is related to the theme, but if not then someone is certainly an asshole for calling themselves that. Maybe they should try out, as should every Euro-shoed, gel-haired, barbed-wire-tatted downtown meatball who has ever even considered waxing himself. It’s true that every reality show audition is essentially an audition to be America’s Biggest Asshole, but at least this time everybody’s honest about it. See you there, fuckers. And be sure to wear a groin cup.
June 29, 2009
The black Lincoln Navigator parked outside the Boston Herald last Friday didn't belong to publisher Pat Purcell. The SUV - which was-a-bumping with the greatest hits of Michael Jackson - was deployed by Big City 101.3 Morning Mayhem host Asia Chandler and her posse of about 20 protesters who were enraged by the tabloid's less-than-sensitive Page One coverage.
"I'm from Mattapan, and I don't come into this part of town much," said a man who simply described himself as Boss. "But this is one of the few things that could get me out of the house. This is a different era - you can't just have racist shit like that on the cover of a newspaper - people have to build together."
Yelling "Honk if you hate the Herald" at passing drivers, the picketers (as you can see from the video) were hardly volatile. If anything, they were paying homage where they believed such sentiments were ignored. By the end of the day, the Herald even apologized; some onlookers, however, weren't completely satisfied.
"I'm offended as a comic," said Boston comedian Corey Manning. "There was no premise, and there was no punch. There were a lot of things they could have said about Michael, but this was a terrible attempt at being funny."
June 29, 2009
Sort of.
Tonight, 8 pm at the Cantab, the Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Sleepover show pays homage to the late, great, silver-gloved one, with a killer line-up that promises what comedian Chris Coxen calls "a taster's choice ride." Mmmm. And, it's free! More mmmmm.
Moonwalking? Combat dancing? An operatic version of a 4th grade play about Michael Jackson and Solid Gold dancer Marilyn McCoo? We don't know what the fuck that even means, but yes, please.
Featuring Chris Coxen, Robbie Roadsteamer, The Walsh Brothers, Ken Reid, Joe Wong, Erik Charles Nielsen, and Rob Crean
June 29, 2009
Bernie Madoff to be sentenced
This will happen later today [Wall Street Journal]
Billy Mays dies
Infomercial king found dead in his home [NY Times]
Coup in Honduras
This does not sound good [Miami Herald]
Team USA loses
Brazil wins the not-the-World-Cup finals, 3-2 [NY Times]
June 29, 2009
In case the answer is "no": We meant the giraffe, of course!
In luurrrrking around the BET Awards Twitter traffic, we realized that the word "twigga" has metastasized into general usage. Here's a graph of the term's usage over the past week -- note the spike.
Of course, in the interest of fairness, "twigga" still pales in comparison to the use of that other word:
An unscientific parsing of usage suggets that not many white folks -- perhaps none, actually -- are braving usage of "Twigga." Will this be a boutique term like "Jigga," a term that the white people don't mind using in reference to Hova? Or will it be more like "Wigga," an epithet that teeters on the precipice of non-usability but nonetheless is more acceptable than . . . you know, that other word.
What do you think? Should white people use "Twigga"? Or is it just for black people who Tweet?
June 26, 2009
Why, oh why can't this come to Boston?!
June 26, 2009
Comedian Paul Scheer -- of Human Giant fame -- paid a visit a couple months back to the auction preview of "property from the life and career of Michael Jackson" at the Neverland Ranch.
He returned, perhaps somewhat shaken, with this Flickr photostream.
The auction was eventually canceled, maybe because, once Jackson signed on for that slate of 50 shows at London's O2 Arena, the need for an a massive cash infusion to shore up his disastrous finances was obviated.
But feast your eyes here on some of the 2,000 fine objets d'art that, for a fleeting moment, could have been yours.
This one's my favorite:
The less said about the mural with the children on the sun dappled field the better.
