You Lost The Starlight In Your Eyes

Six years. That's the time many spent dedicated to a television show. A brilliant and mysterious and engaging show. And this past Sunday, May 23, that show came to a dramatic end.

Since 2004 LOST has progressed from a cult favorite to a global phenomenon. It has confused many, led hoards of people to the brink of unbearable frustration and drawn numerous people into a community that has never existed like the ones that LOST helped create. And the years of dedicated viewing (and re-viewing), message boarding, discussion groups, chats over coffee or beer and - for some - LOST-related dreams culminated with the series finale simply title, "The End."

A lot of people are still upset about unanswered questions and many are simply sad that one of their favorite shows is no more. But amidst the positive, negative and emotional reactions, one thing is certain: LOST has proven itself to stand out as arguably one of (if not the) best show in the history of television.

It's certainly sad to see it go, but it's reaffirming to know that the show didn't overstay its welcome. It ended the way that it was supposed to and provided the comfort and closure its audience needed. It was heartfelt and it was beautiful. And for that we say "thank you" for six great years of wonderful television entertainment.

Devil or Angel

I may be alone in thinking this, but it seems odd that the age-old debate about the potential risk of brain cancer with frequent cell phone use is still going on in the tech and scientific communities. What's worse is that organizations - the U.N. in particular - are spending $24 million to continue the studies. What's even worse is the results are the exact same as they were a decade ago: "inconclusive."

Could the U.N.'s money be better spent elsewhere? Definitely. Will it make a difference in people's mobile device usage if results even came back as conclusive? Probably not.


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'Devil or Angel' is a wonderful song by famed Doo Wopp group, The Clovers.

We Will Say Goodbye to Everyone

It's been hard to not do a write-up of the new laws passed by the state of Arizona. But now that things are heating up a bit, it's time to dive in. Most are already aware that Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer, recently signed what many are calling the toughest law on immigration ever while others are calling it the most racist law in a century, leading even President Obama to criticize the law as "misguided."

Even Hollywood is chiming in. Family Guy creator, Seth MacFarlane (an often-times provocative voice for social and political commentary), made the comparison between this law and the laws of Nazi Germany, stating, “Nobody but the Nazis ever asked anybody for their papers.”

And MacFarlane isn't the only one sharing that sentiment. Florida Rep. Connie Mack (R), when speaking to TheHill.com, said, "This law of 'frontier justice' – where law enforcement officials are required to stop anyone based on 'reasonable suspicion' that they may be in the country illegally – is reminiscent of a time during World War II when the Gestapo in Germany stopped people on the street and asked for their papers without probable cause."

Now that the verbal back and forth has reached a tipping point, the city of Los Angeles is stepping forward with action. In a nearly unanimous vote (13-1), L.A. will now be boycotting any new contracts with Arizona and prohibiting city department trips to The Grand Canyon State until the law is repealed.

According to the Associated Press, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said the boycotts are unfortunate and misguided, primarily because the law mirrors a federal requirement that legal immigrants carry immigration papers.

And while recent polls show an unexpectedly large amount of support for the law, others worry that this will set a precedent for other states to follow and fear that this is a step in the wrong direction with regards to civil liberties. What are your thoughts?


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The title of this post comes from a track on Hammock's last record, Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow.

Cut Your Ribbon

A sad era in the world of music and business is upon us. It's a time in which we're seeing the dark side of the Apple empire and one can only fear that things are going to get worse from here.

In the midst sending authorities to raid blogger's homes to seize personal property (note to Apple: not cool!), Apple has found time to announce that it's killing off one of the the best music sharing and purchasing sites around.

After purchasing Lala in late 2009, Apple has now decided to completely take down the site and transfer all existing members' credits to iTunes. The reason? To bring Apple and iTunes into the ever-growing world of the cloud.

Not only was Lala great for purchasing music on the cheap (around $0.80 for an entire web-only album), but it was great for members to share new music and expose others to new artists and bands. Lala was also known for letting listeners preview a song or album in its entirety one time completely free (unlike iTunes' stingy 30 second preview policy). It was the place for music novices and lovers alike to discover and consume music easier and more afford-ably. And now what would earn you an entire record on Lala will transfer to equal about 80% of one song on iTunes.

Ultimately, it was Lala that made the sale ($80 million sounds nice, right?), but it's discouraging to see the big (brother?) guy buying out the little guy and crushing everything that was beautiful about it. But, only time will tell how Apple decides to take iTunes into the cloud. My only guess is that it won't be about the music or the consumer. It will be about Apple's bottom line.

Blogger, David Gerwitz even poses the question, "Has our young, idealistic Anakin been seduced by the dark side? Has Steve Jobs become Darth Vader? "