Cracking Craigslist

I was at a family dinner last night, and I ended up explaining about Craigslist, the free online community billboard (Wiki). It's essentially a free community billboard, full of job ads, items for sale, houses and apartments, personal ads, just about anything really. It's how I found those last two roommates and I had a much better return rate than paying for ads in the local papers.

Somehow the conversation turned to my family asking why I wasn't in a computer-related job field. Apparently the fact that I know how to find North America's 8th most popular website should translate into some sort of income generating business (yes, it's called "Google"). Then I was asked how come I hadn't thought of it first. I decided not to get into a "no one gets rich off a free public forum", and fortunately their attention returned to Entertainment Tonight and the search for Anna Nicole's baby's daddy.

Hall of Fame Edition

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions went off without incident on Monday night. R.E.M.: , Patti Smith, The Ronettes, Van Halen and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were all made members of the hall, with Grand Master Flash being the first rap inductee, prompting thoughts that the name of the hall should be changed to be a bit more inclusive of genres.

As with other years, this class was not without controversy. The only members of Van Halen to make the gig were Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony. Eddie's in rehab, and Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth were in a snit and declined to attend. And then there's The Ronettes, who went out of their way not to thank their producer(and lead singer Ronnie Spector's ex-husband) Phil Spector, currently awaiting trial on murder charges, whose Wall of Sound technique was as much a part of their success as the trio's singing. Just pop on Be My Baby with a pair of good headphones and crank it. Astounding.

Steve Hyden at the Onion AV Club wrote an article about R.E.M.'s shrinking legacy. I've listened to R.E.M. for years. The Out of Time album was the first CD I ever bought, and I played the hell out of their back catalogue in my late teens/early 20s, but I stopped buying after the sublime New Adventures in Hi-Fi was followed up by UP, the first album after drummer Bill Berry left. I'm not saying they aren't deserving of accolades, but it's been a looooong time since I felt the need to go buy an REM disc, let alone on the release date. Pearl Jam, U2, and Oasis have all seemed to fallen into that category with me: love the older stuff, still listen to the occasional new single, and they could justify me buying a ticket to an arena show, but I can't say any of their releases in the past 5 years have really got me excited like they used to. Green Day, The Beastie Boys, David Bowie, and Radiohead still have that power to get me as excited now as they did when the first albums came out, and that's even after Green Day put out Warning, so never dismiss the possibility of the comeback album.

With new inductees eligible 25 years after the release of their first album, next year's potential nominees looks pretty lively: Metallica, Madonna, and the Beastie Boys are all eligible. In the next few years, we're going to see more nominees that reflect the rise and fall of arena rock (Metallica, Guns and Roses), the increased popularity of rap (Run DMC), and the rise of indie music that would pave the way for grunge (The Pixies, Flaming Lips, and Sonic Youth).

Colbert on Cap

Captain America’s "death" was the feature of last night’s “THE WØRD” segment on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report:

What I Learned This Week

• When you say a dramatic statement like "I'm done dating girls. I'm only going to date women!", try not to pause after "I'm done dating girls". Someone jumped to conclusions...

• You can put a slice of tenderloin wrapped in a potato pancake on a plate with 3 sprouts and a cherry tomato, call it a salad, and charge $16.

• Outkast's "Hey Ya" is apparently not in 4:4 time as I assumed. This post breaks it all down, and that song has got a very elaborate architecture. The guys in Outkast have a sophisticated knowledge of music.

• Ghostbusters was originally intended to team Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Eddie Murphy. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis initially wrote the script with roles written especially for Belushi, Eddie Murphy and John Candy. However, Belushi died due to a drug overdose during the writing of the screenplay, and neither Murphy nor Candy could commit to the movie due to prior commitments, so Aykroyd and Ramis shifted some of these changes around and polished a basic, yet sci-fi oriented screenplay for their final draft. (Wiki) (It has been rumoured that Slimer was jokingly referred to as "the ghost of John Belushi" on set.)

• John Belushi died 25 years ago this week, March 5th, 1982. Rob Salem at the Toronto Star had an excellent piece on Belushi last weekend, where he pointed out that his role as Bluto in Animal House, if you removed the dialogue, was a fantastic emotive piece of silent acting on par with Buster Keaton. The scenes where he tries to cheer up Flounder by smashing plates on his own head, or when he plays music critic at the frat party still kill me, and nary a work of dialogue aside form a mumbled "sorry" to the musician.

• Premiere magazine is ceasing publication this month. It was a trailblazer in it's day, once the only source of info for cinephiles and movie geeks, with in-depth essays and interviews. It's hard for them to compete these days, with their monthly issue not being able to satisfy movie fans who get Entertainment Weekly or hundreds of websites. After high school, reading Premiere expanded my knowledge of movies and cinema, and contributed to the pop culture neurotic you all know and love today. The Premiere website will continue: they've posted a fun article on the Top 20 Worst Post-Oscar Career Choices. It's not just Cuba and Halle Berry: Robin Williams followed up his win for Good Will Hunting with Patch Adams (the clowning doctor treacle).

• Captain America, the fictional Marvel Comics character, was gunned down this week in his comic book, causing a media frenzy on par with crazy diaper wearing pepper spraying astronauts. Caleb gave me the heads up that people are buying up copies of the book and selling them on E-Bay. Hey look, it's 1993 and a poly-bagged variant holographic covered comic book is going to put your kids through college. I learned this lesson, and you comic book guys will understand this reference, as my 10 copies of X-Force #1 polybagged with trading cards stagnate in the basement.

• Variety announces that Maggie Gyllenhaal is offically replacing Katie Holmes in the next Batman movie. Thank you universe. Now go rent "Sherrybaby" and tell me why Gyllenhaal didn't get an Oscar nomination.

The Get and The Gotten

Perception:

I come into the office this morning. I'm wearing the same clothes as the day before, and humming Steady As She Goes by The Raconteurs. I'm practically glowing, with a bounce in my step. Draw your conclusions.

Reality:

I went for dinner with friends last night. A long evening of food and wine led to me crashing in their guest room. I rode the subway into work this morning with one of my friends, and we laughed all the way as we re-lived some of the previous night's details. I came out of Union Station to find the weather was beautiful, the sky clear, and the sun bright. It was the first time in months that it was nice enough to walk the route from the station to work outside rather than the commuter tunnels. I arrive at work, get my spare sweater and bathroom kit I keep in my desk. I change, freshen up and I'm good to go. Steady as she goes indeed.

the2scoops: Over 10,000 served

Yesterday we officially hit the 10,000th visitor milestone. I know some blogs get higher readership, but for a site about nothing in particular, I'm kind of proud. Thanks to all my readers and drop-ins. If you were on the site around 5-ish yesterday for about half an hour, give me a heads up, I'd like to know who you are.

I'll post more in the next few days. Works been busy and so has my social life. My Dad's 60th Birthday surprise party went off quite well this weekend. I'll also chat about dining at Jamie Kennedy's Wine Bar and seeing T.V. On The Radio later too, a tag team combination that satisfied all the senses.

Caveman Lawyer Would Like To Object

Those amusing cavemen ads for Geico insurance are being developed into a pilot for next season, about 3 cavemen coping with modern life in Atlanta. Here's the kicker: word comes down today that it's being developed as a drama, not a sitcom. This must be an early April Fool's joke:

ABC's "Caveman" is intended to be a drama, not a sitcom
The creator of the Geico ad campaign, Joe Lawson, says his pilot will in fact be a "powerful drama" about the "prejudice the cavemen experience in their everyday lives." Lawson tells David Kronke: "'Cavemen' will be a powerful drama about social misunderstandings and ignorance, and about how these brave and enduring men struggle to find their way and strive to correct the misperceptions about their kind. It will force viewers to examine the ugly preconceptions that lie within their own hearts and serve as an uplifting saga of men who overcome irrational hatred to inspire a nation

TV Tattle.com

FYI: The actor who plays Ted "Radioactive Man" Sprague on Heroes is Matthew John Armstrong, and he does not play the Geico Caveman. Apparently he gets asked alot.

Heroes recap in less than 50 words.

Potential spoilers, stop reading if you're not caught up!




Heroes Episode 18: Parasite

Hiro gets a sword.
Nathan gets a gun.
Linderman gets cooking.
Mama makes a move.
HRG gets a creepy hot partner.
Simone gets a last word.
Isaac gets a needle.
Jessica gets La Femme Nikita.
Niki gets out.
Mohinder mans up.
Sylar has some tea.
Peter gets a haircut.

Sorry folks, that's the last episode until end of April, when Heroes finishes up the season going full throttle in the final 4 episodes. It'll be back for sure next season.

Proper recap at Television Without Pity: Heroes S01E18: Parasite

Ignoring me, ignoring you

If any of my friends and associates have been emailing me at my Rogers account this past month and didn't get a reply, I wasn't ignoring you: I just found that several email addresses were somehow added to my Blocked Address list by accident. If you were on that list, then your email was automatically deleted by my account. I've reset the blocker, so if you sent something in the past week or so, please just resend it to be sure. Thanks.

Secret Origins

Why do I go by the2scoops?

2 Scoops (Two Scoops) was a nickname Randy gave me back in high school. Back before there was the internet, you'd have to read magazines and newspapers to know what was going on, and I always seemed to have the scoop on bands, TV shows and news around school. And that evolved into 2 scoops, "one scoop intelligence, the other scoop was wit". We were bored in Geography and wrote a theme song. No, I don't have an Mp3.

When I started an email account, Two Scoops was taken, so I went with the2scoops. And it stuck. It's a way to establish a bit more of a unique web presence, as there are several Jason Carlin's with higher web profiles.

What's Pepperpot?

Pepperpot is a meat stew, stewed meat dish, strongly flavoured with cinnamon, hot peppers, and Cassareep - a special sauce made from the Cassava Root. It's from Guyana, usually served around holidays, and can be made up of all types of meat, but usually pork or beef. The meat cuts are usually odds and ends, hence why I use it to label my posts that are just a bunch of odds and ends with some flavour.

Why are my TV news posts labeled "Teeth on The Dial"?

Before TV's had remote controls as a standard, we turned the channels using things called "knobs" or "dials". When I was a child, about 3 or 4, I lacked the strength to manipulate and turn the dial by hand. And dammit, nothing was going to stop me from watching Captain Kangaroo, Barbapapa or Sesame Street. I found if I bit down on the channel dial, which was at about head height, I could use the rest of my body to torque and turn the channel. This went on for about a year, and over time the channel dial became covered in bite marks.

Pepperpot: Blogging without Writing

The A.V. Club lists 13 sidekicks who are cooler than their heroes.

Answering a dilemma that every parent must now face: Adam at ALOTT5MA questions how to introduce your child to the Star Wars films -- in the order in which we saw them (IV-VI, then I-III), or in the order in which they go chronologically (I-VI)? Discussion takes place in the comment thread. And remember that if you argue for chronological order:

• Kids also love trade disputes. Nothing like a blockade to get the little ones' juices running. And constitutional crises involving the balance between legislative and executive power. Also, speaking of young ones, that massacre at the end of Sith is bound to please the 5-to-8-year-old set. argument against chronilogical order - Russ at ALOTT5MA

The Shins are interviewed by John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) in a mutual lovefest at Filter Magazine

LHB provides The Q Magazine List of 100 Places To Find Free Music Online

Rolling Stone lists "the best songs to play while drinking whiskey."

Chartattack lists the ten Canadian indie albums vying for CBC's Galaxie Rising Stars Award.

HARP chats with the new guitarist for Modest Mouse, Johnny Marr. As in formerly of The Smiths. THAT Johnny Marr. Wow.

Get in a Seussical mood on the 50th Anniversary of Cat in The Hat with Dylan Hears a Who

Sources: ALOTT5MA and LargeHeartedBoy