An e-cquaintance and I have started a campaign aimed at convincing Al Gore to publicly endorse Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential bid:
Vice President Al Gore, we are calling on you here and now to endorse Senator Barack Obama in his bid for President of the United States. As a man of your accomplishments and stature, your voice will travel farther and louder than the voices of others. Your words will convince swing voters that they should vote not for the Establishment candidate, but for the right candidate.
Mr. Vice President, we are in need of your support, and we are in need of it now.
Among the highlights from Jon Brion’s New Year’s Eve show was an impromptu impression of Bruce Springsteen–in the form of a fake Bruce Springsteen song.
A recording has surfaced. You can download it here or stream it below.
I’ve never been one to question Jon Brion’s musical prowess. In addition to completing a self-released solo CD, he’s produced such artists as Elliott Smith, Fiona Apple, Aimee Mann and Rufus Wainwright, all of whom asked Jon to make the most of their songs. And if you haven’t heard any of those artists’ work, you’ve likely still heard Brion–at the movie theater. He’s done the soundtracks for Punch-Drunk Love, Magnolia, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I Heart Huckabees. Hip Hop star Kanye West was so impressed by Jon’s soundtrack work that he sought Jon to produce part of his latest album. And when Jon’s not making music, he’s talking about it. To me it seems as though Jon has always been in a musical bubble, floating high above the pedestals of the other musicians I admire, far, far away from me.
But last night I saw him up close and personal, and with a personality aimed to entertain and a humbleness as if he were one of the audience members, too. When he wasn’t banging on drums or striking keys or programming a synthesizer or strumming a guitar or plucking bass notes or singing, he was cracking jokes, telling stories, impersonating Bruce Springsteen or inviting audience members up on stage–either to sing, play an instrument or request a song. There were moments in which the show seemed a small step away from Open Mic Night with Jon Brion! Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re like I am and just installed WDM Bluetooth drivers, you’ll find a new icon is on your desktop. Unlike the others you’ve got, however, this one won’t allow you to delete it. This definitely gets filed in the “unnecessary annoyance” category. Luckily we can remove it with a bit of subterfuge:
Right click anywhere on your desktop (not on an icon), click “Properties”
Click the “Desktop” tab.
Click the “Customize Desktop…” button.
Click the “Clean Desktop Now” button.
Click the “Next >” button.
Check the “My Bluetooth Places” checkbox if it is not already checked.
Click the “Next >” button.
Click the “Finish” button.
Click the “OK” button.
Click the “OK” button.
Wallah!
Update (2/9/2007): User “Oscar” has generously weighed in with these Windows Vista-specific instructions:
Run regedit
Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE
\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\desktop\NameSpace
Delete 32B4C379-4AC0-45F2-939C-D4E7ADA56DC5 or just check which one is “My Bluetooth Places” and delete it.
