mrshl | blog

8tracks.com is thoroughly awesome.

I spent some time this morning creating a few mixes on a new mixtape site called 8tracks. If you’re familiar with the (temporarily?) defunct Muxtape, you will surely dig 8tracks, because it’s even better.

With 8tracks you can build a mix by uploading your own mp3s or choosing among tracks others have uploaded. Then you can upload artwork or select album art that 8tracks suggests. Once you’ve added at least 8 tracks (you can add more) and you’ve selected your artwork, publish your mix. Couldn’t be easier.

Unlike Muxtime, you can upload more than one mix. I’ve already made three, including the mix CD Jordan and I gave out at our Wedding.

You should try it. As you can see below, it’s pretty easy to find music and create a mix.

The Dark Knight won’t be Heath Ledger’s last film

So if a movie featured Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, you’d pay to go see that right?

What if that movie was directed by Terry Gilliam (director of Time Bandits and 12 Monkeys)?

See, for me, a Terry Gilliam movie would be worth seeing no matter who it starred. But the people who actually buy movies for distributors don’t agree. That’s because Terry Gilliam Movies have lately been gigantic flops, even when they have big stars in them (e.g., The Brothers Grimm).

Now, US distributors are trying to figure out whether they want to release Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.

For U.S. distributors, the quirky Terry Gilliam film — centering on parallel worlds, a theater troupe and a devil-dealing 1,000-year-old doctor — presents a conundrum. On the one hand, it’s a chance for the history-making opportunity — not to mention a marketing coup — of releasing Ledger’s last movie.

But it also comes with challenges that lately have followed the stubbornly noncommercial Gilliam. The director has been behind a series of boxoffice flops and hasn’t had a hit since "Twelve Monkeys" in 1995. Buyers who might otherwise be willing to shell out for a Ledger film are holding back.

"In this market, unless I have a reason to think a movie like this is going to be a slam dunk I’m not going to take a flyer on it, even with Heath Ledger," one distribution executive said. One specialty exec added few execs at his company had been tracking it.

So how do Ledger, Deep, Law, and Farrell all fit in? Well, when Ledger died, he still had a crapload of filming left to do. So, the other A-list actors filled in and donated their fees to Ledger’s family. According to AllMovie.com, each of the actors “serve as alternate-dimension versions of the character originally set to be played by Ledger when the character crosses through a paranormal mirror.”

Again, I don’t need Depp or Ledger to be in this film for me to go see it. Gilliam had me at “paranormal mirror”.

Blocky is addictive. Or it would be if I was any good.

If you’re the type that loves the free internet puzzle games, you’ll want to play Blocky. Actually this is the sequel, Blocky II (the first one is simpler, but the idea is the same).

Metafilter has the info along with some pro tips:

Like the straightforward instructions say, click and drag a rectangle containing four corners of the same color to release all the blocks within the rectangle. All smilies within the rectangle are released, as are any bombs and hourglasses. Release all the smilies before time expires to pass the level.

Finally, what kicks up the addictiveness factor is that even when you lose a level you can start over at the highest level you have reached - so, it can either be approached as a game (try to get the highest score possible by starting over at level 1 each time) or as a puzzle (keep at it until you pass all 49 levels).

David Byrne’s bicycle racks

David Byrne, Cultural Omnivore, Raises Cycling Gear to an Art Form With Bike Racks - NYTimes.com

Late recommendation: We Brave Bee Stings and All

We Brave Bee Stings and All

I forgot to include this record among this month’s downloads, but I strongly suggest you pick it up. Thao sounds like a cross between Mirah and Cat Power, but with a peppy upside. I’ll quote (and endorse) Matt Brownlee’s recommendation:

it will go on my “music that sounds like it could be on an ipod commercial but i like anyway” playlist

Emusic Downloads for August

It’s early, but I’ve already exhausted all 90 of my Emusic downloads for August. Leading the pack is Dwight Yoakam’s underrated Population: Me. You may already know one of the tracks, “An Exception to the Rule”, because it was featured in our wedding compilation CD. Believe me, the quality extends to the entire record.

The rest of this month’s downloads are available here.

Life is a Thrill update

I’ve added search to Life is a Thrill. Scroll to the bottom, enter your term and find what you’re looking for.  I’ve updated mrshl.net as well. I love Sunday mornings.

My wife is awesome

Yesterday, Jordan made me breakfast.

Then she gave me a mug she crafted at The Mad Potter. It says I <3 Compliance. Because I’m a healthcare compliance lawyer. And I just got my CHC designation. She made this for me  to celebrate, and perhaps poke a little fun. I received it well.

She does stuff like this all the time, but I don’t normally take pictures. Yesterday, I did.

Emusic Downloads for July

I realize that my last few links have been unusable for people who aren’t eMusic subscribers. Unfortunately, the default setting for playlists on eMusic was set to private, and folks who weren’t members weren’t able to see my last few lists.

I’m pleased to say that’s been fixed and all my lists are now set to public! The July list is ready for your perusal as well.

Physician killed by fleeing burglar

So I saw this story earlier today when I was at work (they added the video later), and I got weirdly emotional. The thing about it is, I still think about the moment when the passenger side of my car imploded and the floorboard buckled under my feet. The whole thing happened in slow motion, and I remember every detail.

As with this guy, I never saw the car coming. But I can remember what happened after the impact only because the other car hit my passenger side.

It’s great that we got a new car, and we weren’t really out any money on the deal. But seeing this story reminded me how freaking lucky I was not to be more seriously injured. Dealing with all the insurance crap had allowed me to concentrate on other things. I have to admit, reading about this accident happening not far from where I live shook me up a bit.