i'm not sure who deserves the fuck you.

but i'm certain someone does.

the iphone is truly a phone like no other. i believe it is precisely because of that status that it's also the biggest fuck-job of a phone to buy. apple set the bar, and perceived value, high when it released it's first iphone about a year and a half ago. it charged a more than one hundred dollar premium for it's offering as compared to other smart phones. after they lowered the stupid high price, they made it right by refunding early adopters the difference, with a gift card. in the process they really lost nothing in the way of revenue (as a hundred bucks doesn't go all that far at an apple store), and they placed their phone in a self created super premium category.



about a year later, apple offers the 2nd revision of said phone with the expected improvements and a new sales push offering the familiar telecom cross-subsidy business model. tied to at&t service since it's introduction, apple and at&t started getting really serious about making sure those phones didn't leave the store without a service contract. after all that is exactly what's in it for at&t. i get it. what i don't get is the double fuck-job that is now what it is to buy an iphone if you already happen to have at&t service.

about six months after that. i get an iphone gift card as a christmas gift. i am thrilled. i've been pretty fucking hyped on this thing since it came out, but have delayed getting one primarily because of the cost. so this is great right? not as great as i thought. here's where i'm at: i have an at&t contract. i am not yet eligible for an upgrade (not til february twelfth). therefore i pay full price for the the hardware and keep my service arrangement (essentially). fine. i was ok with that. but apparently at&t is entirely inflexible on early upgrades pertaining to iphones, and apple is unwilling to sell an iphone with out a shiny new two year agreement. so, as it stands i get the worst of both worlds. i get to start my two year internment all over again, and pay the full suggested retail for the phone. i guess this year christmas will be in february...about four months before apple will almost certainly introduce the third generation iphone which i will no doubt want.

fuck. you. somebody.

NORAD feels the spirit...

a nice little christmas-nerd fun.

via core

mostly the voice...

my first time to the santos party house, i went for the obits. after all, as far as i was concerned, i went to an obits show. following the obits excellent set was a band that took too long to get started, made too many stupid jokes, and persisted in their banter and multi-encore with a self important tone. i was ready to leave before they even started, but i figured i'd give them a couple of songs to turn me around. it took me about one and one half seconds to be sure, but i was certain. i knew this band, (the night marchers) or at least i knew this singer. fast forward another one and one half seconds, and i had my answer. rocket from the crypt! that distinct and ferocious voice was a dead giveaway. there was enough awesome in their music for me to forgive the crappy stutter start. while the night marchers certainly aren't rocket from the crypt, for the time being, it will plug that hole in my heart.

this food means business...

bento in its simplest form is a pretty easy concept for westerners i'd guess--basically a to-go meal. kyaraben on the other hand is a rather foreign idea.

the united states has an industrious and radical history. of late it may have become burdened with apathetic and stagnant behavior, but our disposition as a nation originated from a wonderful desire to streamline and improve...to eliminate the unnecessary and consolidate the requisite in our day to day lives. to chose what our lives would hold in the very most fundamental sense. to make our own destinies.

spending a lot of time making a pretty lunch just isn't the american way. maybe it should be, but the way we scarf down the typical workday lunch just doesn't seem worthy of the effort put into making kyaraben. i'm fascinated with the dichotomy between a bento and a busy, modern western world. food presentation in entertaining, dining out, and for special events makes an unconscious sense--but sometimes microwaveable junk and mushy leftovers really do seem good enough.

i take pleasure in a number of small things, and i like to think i'm rather considered and deliberate. but i had to think a bit on this to find what i will ultimately take away from this entire thought exercise. it is simple. pursue happiness.



a few days ago, i came across this flickr page...filled with images of inventive and well executed bento. i was pretty taken with them, so i followed some links, and found out they are made for made for him by his lady. she keeps a blog that is a bit story time and a bit how to. it's worth the visit.

ex cell ent .

the more technology and media evolve, and more familiar we become with it, the more we seek reactionary retreats. sure it's cool to tweet your geo tagged photo complete with meta data hyper linked via a tiny url alias that will in turn update your facebook status which in turn will alert your friends who in turn will do something that will in turn update their facebook status that will in turn send you a notification via plain jane email...but sometimes all you really need is paper and a pen. in hands-on low-tech pursuits many of us find what it is we actually want. satisfaction.

check out an endearing and compelling collection of stop motion shorts.