Take minks off, take things off: my liberalness, my godlessness, my southerness, my slothness

From TWoP's recaplet of last night's 24:

Hey, you! Yeah, you. Are you opposed to your government using torture to get information on terrorists? Do you think that organizations like Amnesty International actually do important work? Do you believe in the rule of law, due process, civil rights, and the Constitution? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the writers and producers of 24 would like you to know that you're a fucking pussy.

I enjoy 24's unitentional comedy as much as the next guy (I mean, can CTU staff get any more high school?) but painting ACLU/human rights types and, by extension, liberals as pawns of terrorists bothers me a bit. And that comes off the first few hours that had an Iranian family getting all terroristy at the height of real world tensions between US and Iran.

***mini spoiler for next week*****
President Pedro Cerrano's back next week!
*******************

Don't you hate it when a Pitchfork reviewer rambles on about nonsense, devoting about 90% of the piece on everything but the album/song being reviewed? Um, no, since I'm not a regular Pitchfork reader, but I'm mildly entertained by this review of the White Stripes' "Blue Orchid". I guess I'll have to download that mp3 sitting in my Gmail inbox. Oh well.

Also reviewed, MOP's "Instigator", the long awaited followup to "Ante Up" and "Ante Up (remix) featuring Busta Rhymes" from, like, 2001. No, really, I do like MOP. And 9th Wonder's working with these renowned kidnapper of fools sounds encouraging. Definitely worth a listen, it appears.

Remember Fiona's unreleased album getting all leaked across the internet? Apparently, Epic is working on getting people to pay for it, but Slate's Martin Edlund warns against it. Despite the Fionaheads protestations, Extraodinary Machine is no Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, or even The Grey Album, it seems. Machine is shared by about 38,000 users at any time, which might seem like a lot until you compare it to major label releases like the Killers' Hot Fuss at over 5 million or The Grey Album at 278,327 in its peak.

I can't say I disagree. After my initial indifference, I grew to like the album and its offbeat sensibilities quite a bit. But that's precisely the problem - there isn't a surefire single that's going to hook listeners. There's no song that will play on the radio and get people off to the record store. And let's face it, Tidal wouldn't have sold 2.7 mil without the porn-inspired "Criminal" video. I admit, I wouldn't have given Fiona a second thought if not for that song.

But as far as Extraordinary Machine is concerned, the only thing that could possibly get the audience is the hype generated by the Fionaheads' campaign - though maybe that was the point.

My site of the moment: Godchecker. I wish there was a "Which god is right for you?" feature, but as an agnostic, I can't complain. Wait, that doesn't make any sense.

If I had to pick a pantheon, I would have to go with the Norse gods. Odin and Thor seem like the kind of gods you could meet over some brews and shoot the shit, talk about matters both holy and secular, and possibly rock out on a Saturday night. Monotheists are a bit too "holier than thou" while I don't think the Greek/Roman care enough.

I'm 49% Yankee (via lindsayism). This bothers me, as I thought I would be more Southern and I make every effort to not be New York. Of course, it probably doesn't account for my Japanese-accented, slightly Northern Cali influenced, Carolina drawl with a tiny hint of North London.

No fewer than 4 people have asked me in the past couple of months about my novel that I haven't touched in, like, a year. That could be a sign of some sort. I wish I were more proactive. If only there was something I could do about that.