K0NY.COM

If you can’t see the embedded object below, it’s probably because you don’t have access to Google Wave content since it is still in Beta testing. All I can tell you, is that it’s really cool. If you can get an invite, email me your contact info and I’ll add you to the wave.

A demo of embedding Google Wave code within websites.

For the last few days I’ve been ruminating on the death of Michael Jackson. I’m not optimistic enough to believe that there’s a lesson to be learned from everything life throws at us. I also don’t usually consider the deaths of celebrities to be a big deal. However, the media hype has me thinking that there’s something here. It isn’t what the press is telling you, but it’s definitely something.

The media are calling the death of Michael Jackson a great loss for the entertainment industry. The truth is Jackson hasn’t been relevant for well over a decade. If not for his bizarre behavior, money troubles, and run-ins with the law, Michael would be a fading memory; a curious museum piece which recalls the glory of the 1980’s.

On the one hand, it makes me sad to know that the guy who would entertain me by singing and dancing on the TV screen, has died. I still enjoy the music he made in the 80’s. Like Patrick Swayze, Jackson is a sort of avatar representing my youth. Thinking about him withering and dying is depressing.

On the other hand, now that he’s dead, I sort of wish he had died at the height of his fame, around the time that “Black or White” came out. Had he burned out fast and left us before having a chance to mess up his legacy with awkward marriages, child molestation allegations, baby dangling, and countless plastic surgeries, I feel like I would have missed him more.

It’s true that Michael Jackson has brought joy to millions. His music, videos, and performances, have entertained the masses and infused popular culture with his own brand of style and excitement. To call him a musical prodigy is not an exaggeration. From a very early age, it was clear that he was born to entertain. I’m grateful for his contribution to my musical repertoire.

The question is; How much do his achievements in entertainment offset anything we might hold against him? I don’t really have an answer. I know there are many who overlook Jackson’s personal life. They say he was never convicted of anything, and that’s true. He did settle out of court for tens of millions of dollars with more than one family of accusers though. To me, that’s almost an admission of guilt. If you look at his music, he’s trying to warn people. He says, “I’m Bad” and “Dangerous” and called himself a “Smooth Criminal.” So it doesn’t really matter how many songs he sang or how well he danced. If he sexually abused children, there is no redemption or forgiveness for him in my eyes.

Many have talked about how the Jackson family as a whole may be responsible for how Michael turned out; That Joe Jackson’s abusive parenting and Michael’s lack of a real childhood predestined an entertaining person for horrible private behavior. If that’s true, then it also says something very disturbing: We may never see another entertainer like Michael Jackson because society today wouldn’t tolerate such abusive parents.

Even sadder; Michael Jackson is probably the most famous abused child in the history of children. He grew up knowing that his father’s verbal and physical abuses were accepted by the masses. It was treated like a necessary evil which produced greatness. So people looked the other way. Those around the Jackson family allowed the abuse. Perhaps in some twisted way Michael thought that he was helping the children he abused in much the same way as his father helped him to become a world famous entertainer? We will never know his reasons for making the choices he did.

All we know for a fact is that Michael Jackson was the king of pop. He was responsible for some of the most memorable songs and videos of the last century. He broke boundaries and created cultural ripples which were felt all around the world. We know he entertained us. He made us laugh and cry. Michael was damaged yet brilliant. He will be missed by many. These things are fact, everything else is just speculation.

Imagine throwing on a shiny pair of cowboy boots. They look pretty snazzy, fit you snuggly and you can remember wearing a pair a few years ago. It seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, so why not go ahead an put this here set through its paces.

Now imagine, you’ve worn those same cowboy boots for eight years. Sure you felt like a real man for putting them on in the first place, and they were pretty good for kicking the ol’ Texas dust around for a while, but man did they do a number on your feet! After eight long years of wearing these things, everyone around you has told you how stilly you look in them. Your feet have become raw and tender. You’re ready to make a change…

Well look what we have here? It’s a slick new pair of running shoes; the kind of sneakers all the kids are really going for these days! They look really comfortable. They seem practical and really smart if you’re planning to run a long distance. Still, who knows how people will react to seeing you with this new pair of kicks. They aren’t exactly traditional, after all.

Still, you decide to take the chance and boy does it feel great! As soon as you put them on and get running, all your neighbors come out and beam with happiness. For the first time in a long time, you feel better about yourself. You feel like you can really shape up and better yourself; almost as if these shoes are here to help you climb out of your rut.

If you’ve not caught on to my analogy by now, then perhaps you could stand to take some classes on obviousness, captain oblivious. Of course I’m talking about the election of our new president. I think the sentiment above captures the general mood of the country about this latest change in power.

Nobody knows quite what to expect at this point, but we’re elated at the feeling of a fresh gust of wind breezing through Washington, D.C. It’s hard not to be optimistic after a changing of the guard, when so much cynicism has permeated our federal government for so long.

Of course even these happy times are touched by sadness. One of the friends who traveled in my circles passed away last Monday. He was known to us as “Clutch” and he was a badass. Our thoughts go out to his wife and daughters. It may be tough to feel optimism in the wake of grief, but when you consider how short life is, spending it filled with negativity becomes the last thing you want to do.

So I look forward to seeing how our new leader can help set the country back on a proper course, or even if he can. One thing’s for sure, it’s hard for him to do much worse than his predecessor.

Now that the holidays have ended and a new year stretches out before us, why not make some changes? I thought it would benefit my motivation to blog if I made some improvements to this website.

So as you can see, the theme has been updated. What you may not notice though, is the new version of blogging software I’m running. It’s the latest WordPress build. There are plenty of new setting to play with. I’m hoping to properly impliment the gallery. I’ve also updated the “About Me” section.

If there’s anything you think is missing from this site, please let me know and I’ll see if I feel like adding it. Thanks for your attention and enjoy the newness of the year before it wears off.

I’ll look back on 2008 someday as the year I outgrew MTV. Yes, I know it’s been a long time coming, after all I am thirty seven years old. Until tonight however, I had never experienced such a blatant disconnect with music culture. The bright flashing colors, lack of musical talent, empty and uninteresting words falling out of overly-primped and plastic faces all rubbed me in a very wrong way. If I was wearing an old bathrobe and flannel slippers, standing on my porch and waving my fist at the neighborhood kids to get off my lawn, I couldn’t have felt more old.

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I’ve had this domain for about a year now. The posting here has been sporadic at best. Mostly, I just wrote when I found something cool on the net or when I had to vent about something. I know that very few people bother reading here. That’s why I’ve found a new place to blog where a larger audience can read what I have to say.

MagicButter.com is a really cool site. They have some awesome videos, music, contests and even t-shirts, with a great bunch of people working behind the scenes to entertain you. My role there is to add some more content in the form of a regular blog. I am both inspired and motivated by the opportunity. So I’m going to be posting almost daily.

MagicButter has been building for a while. My contributions began last week. You can feel free to check out the fruits of our labors at MagicButter.com right now. There should be plenty of content to keep you distracted for some time. By the time you get through it all, we’ll have more for you to enjoy.

We welcome your feedback, requests and other input. If you hate what you see, let us know how we can make it better. If you like it, spread the word. If there’s one thing the Net is great for, it’s passing along interesting stuff. Be one of the first to discover the coolness of MagicButter. Then share it with a friend.

Yet another paranoid and ignorant response to technology is being reported by the Associate Press. A congressionally celebrated robotics and technology enthusiast from MIT; Star Simpson has been arrested at gun point in Boston’s Logan International Airport for wearing a circuit board on her shirt with flashing lights on it. Mind you, she didn’t threaten anyone. She didn’t behave strangely. She simply showed up to the airport to meet her boyfriend, asked directions at an information booth, then was surrounded by men with Uzi’s and taken into custody.

From my point of view she has broken no laws. That isn’t stopping Boston’s district attorney from charging her with “possession of a hoax device.” When did computer parts become evil? I missed that part of our country’s history. I was at the towers on 9/11 when those planes were hitting buildings. I watch the endless hours of subsequent coverage. Not once was a circuit board of any kind mentioned as being involved with the events of that horrible day. Since then, not a single circuit board has been involved in any human deaths on the news. So why is everyone so afraid of them?

Boston it seems, is particularly fearful of any technology. A few months ago, they arrested a couple of guys who were guilty only of successfully promoting a cartoon on cable television with cheap, handmade circuit boards and LED lights. I wonder if law inforcement in that part of the country has been trained to suspect any device containing electronics without a visible logo. Has anyone bothered explaining to them that real terrorists won’t have blatantly obvious electronic bombs strapped to their chests as they aimlessly wonder around public places? TV and movie terrorists may have computers and electronics with randomly flashing lights, but real life is different.

Arresting people who have done nothing wrong simply because you don’t know enough to ignore harmless electronics is stupid. Real terrorists will likely hide explosive in common looking electronics like Nintendo DS and Apple iPod. Maybe anyone carrying those items should be stopped at gun point? I’d like the people of Bosten to develop an irrational fear of other common devices which are far more harmful than circuit boards. Start arresting people who are carrying bright red sticks of dynomite or big black bowling balls with wicks on them and “TNT” written on the side. Perhaps we should just outlaw planes since that’s what caused all the terror on 9/11?

With vague charges like “posession of a hoax device” law enforcement is going down a slippery slope. Who decides what constitutes a “hoax device” anyway? Where does the line between harmless, non-threatening electronics and “hoax device” fall? Who decides? Paranoid security guards? Technophobic old judges? Politicians looking for a pet cause to bolster his approval ratings? The whole thing just sucks.

Anna Nicole Smith is both a success story and tragedy. Now, her story is at an end. Having fallen unconcious at a Las Vegas hotel, the star was never revived. She died leaving a new daughter. The on-again/off-again sex symbol embodied American excess like few other celebrities. Some loved her. Others hated her, but there was no denying her presence. read on for more info and photos.
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