Linkatharsis: Everyday I love you less and less

A lot of stuff on the new iPod last week. Slow news week, I guess.

Coolfer wonders if the $1.99 videos from iTunes will put the kibosh on price hikes on music, and Daring Fireball has observations on iPod and other Apple announcements (I have a feeling this is all going to add up to Apple becoming a home entertainment center).

Heh. I have a 10 GB iPod from 2 years ago. It looks ancient compared to the shiny white (and black) things I see in the subway, but it plays just fine. The only thing is that it's pretty full, but I'm just not ready to drop $300 on what is essentially the same product with an extra bell here and a whistle there.

Mark Cuban thinks TV show downloads will save network TV while network affiliates aren't happy about potential lost ad revenue.

Meh. I guess regular TV has been losing audience for a while but the video iPod won't make a dent. People still want to watch shows on a regular TV, and there's no good way to watch downloads of local news or live sporting events. Plus, with shows that earn the most ad dollars, people still want to watch them as they are broadcast, to keep up with the water cooler chatter. If anything, allowing viewers to download episodes will help them keep up with a show and the viewers that the networks hold onto as a result can easily counter any lost ad revenue.

Like my fellow race mixer TAN, I'm glad Americans now support interracial dating. You guys rock. It's nice to be able to enjoy my passion without the judging eyes. And special thanks to 18% of white folks who have dipped into the rice bowl.

Zooey Deschanel, just because.

There's really no way to put a positive spin on a death of a young athlete, especially one who seemed like on of the good guys like Jason Collier.

But it had me thinking - because of, rather than in spite of, his documented heart problems, Eddy Curry might be the luckiest guy in the NBA. While we can all take steps to prevent heart disease, when our number comes up, there's little we can do. At least with Curry, he knows he has a family history and he knows it's something he has to take care of. And he'll be heading to the hospital at the first sign of chest pains, rather than dismissing it and toughing it out. Should something happen on court, a medical team is going to be ready.

If only the rest of us were so lucky.

Hardy fucking ha (via False 45th)

David Stern says players will be 'pleasantly surprised' by the NBA dress code. So no Men's Warehouse gift certificates for Marcus Camby?

I don't know, I'm all for professionalism, but the NBA should always be careful about imposing any sort of dress code on players. Remember when Rasheed Wallace protested the shorts length rule by wearing short shorts and Air Force Ones? Or when Shaq actually tried on John Stockton's shorts?

Vikings hire Dean of Discipline to prevent repeat of the Fred Smoot Love Boat incident. Either that, or they're trying to keep all the orgies indoors.

God tells Allan Houston: "Dude, your knees is fucked - I can't do anything for you."

Shit, I wish Japanese politicians would stop visiting Yasukuni Shrine and playing dumb about it. Now, I appreciate that the prime minister is (at least openly) paying respect to those who gave their lives to Japan - I expect, nay, demand that. But the problem is that the Japanese government decided to throw the memorial for the war dead into a shrine, separation of religion and state be damned, a shrine that essentially promotes the most perverted of revisionist history. In the end, an official visit does nothing but legitimize the lunatic imperialists, appease the hard line conservatives in the LDP and piss off neighboring countries that suffered under Japanese colonial rule.

I like the cover better than the original Kaiser Chiefs song:
M.I.A. - "Everyday I Love You Less and Less" (live)