Things I Use Part I: Goombah Music Discovery

Well, this first one isn’t actually an app I use all that frequently, but, I have grown to love it and as it is still in Beta hope to use it only more frequently. The app I refer to is Goombah. When I talk about Goombah I am, of course, not referring to those annoying little fuckers from Mario:

Nor am I referring to one of Tony Soprano’s many bitches, and he had many mind you. No, Goombah, in this case, is a new website and free app (both on Windows and Mac) that claims to help one discover new music. In this respect, the Goombah service really shines through and delivers. I have tried using websites like Last.Fm and iLike, but I think, overall, I prefer Goombah. Now, I must admit that I have only used iLike through the facebook app and the iLike sidebar for iTunes and so perhaps have not judged it fairly (I still haven’t found any new music.) I can though speak from my own positive experience with Goombah.Goombah is, if one likes a clean easy-to-use interface, certainly preferable to Last.fm, which didn’t seem to give me much more than what Foxy Tunes did. It is quite obvious that Goombah took some inspiration from the Apple as the program has a similar look and feel. Just take a look at this screen shot:

As you can see it has a very clean look to it and as one would expect, very easy to navigate. This is something that I really have started to demand from the websites and software I use. If it ain’t pretty to look at I probably won’t use it. I firmly believe that a good clean GUI leads to a better experience and more productive (or I guess unproductive in Goombah’s case, I should be studying) the user can be.

All that being said, it is incredibly easy, and fun, to interact with Goombah, both the website and the program. I didn’t read any sort of how-to guide or instructions on how to best use Goombah, I have just been wingin’ it for the most part, and, it has been incredibly easy to use so far.

Upon opening the program one can see their on profile which supplies a bevy of information: Brief info on you (which you can change), a list of users with similar interests, your Top 25 played artists, Top 25 played tracks, and album reviews from Popmatters.com about artists you may enjoy or learn to enjoy.

As of writing I have only one friend on Goombah, but, it was very simple to track him down and befriend him. Here is another feature that really makes Goombah stand out above the others. The program allows you to check out your friend’s profile, which is pretty cool and I will go into in a second, but also allows you to explore their music. Now, you can’t just start streaming music from their iTunes or whatever they use, rather, Goombah finds the music in your friend’s library that you can already listen to for free on Napster. This is a neat feature and works pretty well.

My absolute favorite thing about Goombah was a bit of musical discovery, or musical self discovery I guess.  When Goombah installs it will immediately analyze your iTunes play counts to determine what kind of music would be best to recommended to you. This results in a lot of what makes Goombah really great (ya know, suggesting new music to you,) but, it also gives you something totally bad ass too.  A list of your Top 25 played artists. Now, there very may well be an easier way to get such a list from your iTunes, but, I had never heard of it. Seeing your Top 25 can be a little surprising; if you do it I can almost guarantee you that you will at least have one surprise in there.

Now, everything with Goombah’s standalone program isn’t as cool as it could be, but, it is still in Beta. I have really high hopes for this program, mostly because I use the website so much and know that if that experience could be moved to a program rather than a website it would only get better. My biggest complaint with the Goombah program is that the ‘Show Reccomendations’ button on the homepage doesn’t seem to work (sometimes it causes the whole program to crash.) My friend using the same program on a Windows computer (I run Mac) doesn’t seem to have this problem, but it is quite annoying for me and really hampers the whole experience. It is very, VERY, important to remember that this program is still in BETA which means it isn’t fully ready, so let us bear with them.

Goombah’s website is, in many respects, much better than similar sites. Again, I think a lot of this has to do with Goombah’s clean easy to navigate interface.  The best part about the site is that it allows for you to create custom ‘artist clouds’ and then on the fly gives you recommendations based on those specific artists. How cool is that? What is more is that you can download songs from the website and add recommendations you really enjoy to a custom play list, which it intelligently saves for you.

But wait, there’s more!

To my knowledge there is no limit on how many artist clouds you can make. Want to find some good new hard rock, make an artist cloud with bands like Metallica, RATM, AC/DC, Tool, and really whoever else you enjoy (those are just some of my favorites.) Essentially what you can have here is a custom internet radio tailored to your intrests/moods/whatever….Also, remember you can download most of these tunes. Did I mention that if you don’t like one of the reccomendations you can give it a thumbs down and Goombah won’t give you it again?

So, how does Goombah stack up as a music discovery service/program? From my experience it is #1. This is the one program of the aforementioned three that actually introduced me to some new music I really enjoy, and isn’t that what it is all about? All the artists that I have been introduced to have songs available for free download through Goombah which is just fantastic. A few of my favorite finds include: Funky Nashville, Watermelon Slim, The Billy Rubin Trio (They do the strangest/best cover of Gorilliaz I have ever heard,) and Gunnar Madsen.

There is a lot of really nifty stuff here in Goombah and a lot of cool ways to manipulate play with the system. Right now I tend to use the website a bit more often because the program can kind of be a hit or miss at times, but, it is still in Beta, so like I said, things should improve as time goes by.

Feel free to befriend me on Last.Fm or Goombah.

Last.Fm: Wibur2

Goombah: Wibur

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Now playing: The Who – You Better You Bet
via FoxyTunes

Stephen Flynn…We Need more Guys like this…

I was just watching the Anderson Cooper 360 Podcast from yesterday, actually making it Tuesday’s episode, and he had on a guest Stephen Flynn who discussed the infrastructure problems America faces and how they relate to the recent Florida black outs. Quote that got me hooked? Here it is:

“We need to go back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, who really put infrastructure at the forefront.”

Eisenhower is easily my favorite President of all time. Ya know those interstates and highways you love to drive on so much? Yeah, that was Eisenhower’s foresight. Don’t even get me started on his genius of the “Military Industrial Complex”

Every seen ‘Why We Fight’ if not see it….NOW!

Or at least watch the trailer…

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Now playing: CNN – Anderson Cooper 360 Daily Podcast
via FoxyTunes

Painfully Aware

I haven’t done shit with the blog, I am not to pleased with myself and I don’t have any real excuse other than pure laziness.  I hope to start updating at least ocassionally again though…A post of various programs I use and enjoy to come soon.

HAPPY HALOWEEN!

Happy Haloween everybody! Hope you have some fun. As for me, I think I am gonna kick back a few and watch what happens to ImaginationLand on South Park tonight!

The Joker = Laura Bush

BOO!

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Now playing: The Rolling Stones – Time Is On My Side

I HATE BRETT FAVRE!

Damnit, I hate Brett Favre! I gotta come clean on this one, especially since everyone seems so ready to suck his proverbial cock. Let me first make these omissions: Brett Farve is very decent at football, I am a Vikings fan, and I enjoyed the hell out of Brett Favre’s Quarterback Club ‘98.

You see, Brett isn’t the great quarterback that everyone thinks. First, let us analyze what it is that everyone likes about ‘ol Favre. I think the general reason everyone gets their panties up in a wad about Favre is the same reason a lot of people voted Bush, he seems like the regular guy that you could have a beer with. If you don’t believe me then watch this Wrangler’s commercial:

Alright, so I couldn’t find it without that retarded song over the top of it. But, looking past the homoerotic nature of the commercial one can clearly see the the image of Favre just, ‘being one of the dudes,’ is clearly played up. The idea that one could just chill and have a beer with Favre is actually very fitting, the guy USED to be an alcoholic.

Alright, so if you cruise on over to Wikipedia they have a pretty solid list of Favre’s accomplishments. Let us look at a couple of ‘em:

Most career passing touchdowns: 425

Most career pass completions: 5,202

Most career pass attempts: 8,497

Most career interceptions thrown by a quarterback: 279

Wow, some pretty impressive stuff. Now, there is one more stat that I think really helps explain how he got those:

Most consecutive starts by a quarterback (NFL): 244

See, the reason Favre has so many damn records is because HE WON’T RETIRE! The reason, I think, Favre has manged to have so many starts is that he is adequate. He might be the best at being adequate in the history of NFL.

What really got me started on this is the douche bag commentators before last nights Monday Night Football. Before the game one commentator went as far to make the disgusting assertion that Favre was an athlete as legendary as Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. That, my friends, is, of all the current Favre-mania, the most despicable notion yet.

Brett Favre isn’t a highly skilled quarterback in the sense that Peyton Manning or Tom Brady are. Favre has one skill, to plant his feet and then sling the ball at the receiver. Favre can without fail get the ball up in the air, but where it’s going isn’t always up to him. If you watch him play he is constantly getting knocked on his ass right before he gets the throw off. Favre is an old man, how much longer can he go like that? One of these days he is going to get himself hurt with his gunslinger mentality. Knowing Favre though, they would probably wheel him out in a chair to let him throw….Bastard…

If you ever played Brett Favre’s Quarterback Club ‘98 you know that Favre was the most broken player in the game. You could literally run straight down the field as Favre and stiff arm anyone in your way.

Also, it has recently been brought to my attention that I might be the ONLY person in the world who HATES Brett Favre. Dear God, tell me that this isn’t true. Surely there are other’s out there. Aren’t there?
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Now playing: Common – Go

TDB Link of The Week: The Seventh Evening

So, for my first installment of a TDB (That Damn Blog, duh!) link of the week I am going to encourage you all to cruise on over to another WordPress blog, The Seventh Evening. The young blog chronicles of:

The Adventures of a College Student, Writer, Fortune Teller, Artist, and all around Freelancing, Jack-of-all-Trades Bastard. – 7th Evening

I mean, honestly, what more could you ask for? 7th Evening just made the switch over to WordPress, so bare with its writer while he adjusts to the new site. Bookmark it and check back, because I am sure there is some great stuff in store. Shit, with posts ranging from Japanese Punk music to rants about trees dedicated to suicide victims people your bond to at least be entertained…

The Seventh Evening can be read at:

Http://7evening.worpress.com

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Now playing: Eminem – Mosh

Quitting Smoking Week 2: Should I Try The Patch?

So, I have continued to fail miserably at quitting.  I have now bought and smoked two packs.  I caved and bought a second one Friday afternoon.  Two things one me over:

1. I was out of the city where cigarettes are MUCH MUCH cheaper…
2. I was getting drunk that night and in the past I can be miserable to hang out with when drunk and craving a smoke…

Friday night probably helped take a considerable amount of time off my life.  I managed to kill nearly an entire pack in one night, not good.  I had 8 cigarettes that were able to tie me over for the rest of the weekend.

Amazingly, on Sunday I had only two cigarettes.  Having smoked them fairly early on in the day I managed to go an entire 5 hours without a cigarette!  I was even able to avoid the tempting cheaper cigarettes on my drive back to school.

I am doing terrible at trying to quit cold turkey.  While in the past few 2 days I have managed to avoid buying my own pack I have bummed more than a few cigarettes from friends.  Now I feel like I ought to buy another pack simply so I can return the favor.  I am sure they don’t mind letting me have a few, but, I feel sort of shady when I take their cigarettes.  I am quickly losing faith in my will power and I am beginning to wonder if perhaps I ought to try something like the patch or a gum of some-sort.

I saw a commercial for a new Nicorette cinnamon gum that sort of peaked my interest.  I will probably end up  trying something like this after a bit more reasearch.  I have the sneaking suspicion that I am need something a bit more than my feeble will power to kick the habit…

So, I wonder this, have any of you out there ever had any success with any “Quit Smoking” products?  What worked for you, what didn’t?

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Now playing: Galactic – Bobski 2000

Whatcha Oughta Watch: TV this Week…

Monday means, at least for my group of friends, Heroes.  Personally I think the show is terrible.  The acting is below sub-par, if you miss one episode you are totally lost, and the characters and their powers are not very inventive or unique.  I was an avid fan of the show during the first season, but began to dislike it towards the last part of the season.  This second season has changed my view of the show from “watchable” to “intolerably bad.”  If you want to see some bad acting and poor writing just tune into NBC tonight at 9.  Listen for the “Irish” accent, just simply horrible…

Personally I will be watching Monday Night Football and hoping Cutler and the Broncos can beat Farve and the Packers….I hate Farve, I am a Vikings fan so I root for whoever is playing those damn cheese heads.

On Tuesday I have to make a decision between two shows.  Boston Legal on ABC or MTV’s trashy Tila Tequila’s Shot at Love.  The latter has really become a guilty pleasure of mine and I am not to sure why.  I will probably end up watching Boston Legal since Tila Tequila will have reruns out the wah-zoo.  Apparently on BL this week a woman asks Alan Shore’s advice on how to kill the man who murdered her daughter…Should be interesting…

As the week goes on TV gets infinitely better.  Wednesday brings us the third installment of an amazing South Park trilogy of episodes.  Will Kyle suck Cartman’s balls?  Will Imaginationland be saved?  I guess we will find out Wed. at 10.

Thursday is always reserved for NBC and nobody else…I have watched both Scrubs and The Office religiously since their first seasons.  It has been much easier to be a Scrubs fan in recent seasons, what with its new found popularity and all.  It is great that Scrubs now has a solid time slot, just in time for the final season too…

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Now playing: Donovan – Wear Your Love Like Heaven

Idiot Politicians, $$$ For Iraq, Chinese Leaders, and Some Good News…

So, I am going to try and make a weekly post, probably on Fridays (obviously), where I discuss a few news stories I found interesting. So, without further ado here is my first stab at said post:

So, it was a an average week in news I guess. At least in terms of what interests me. The majority of TV reporting was, as it should be, mostly about the California Wildfires. What I mean by average, is that there weren’t any real ‘bombshell’ stories such as a Blackwater Scandal or Cheney, ya know, shooting someone!

Unless you are a political junkie you probably missed this story on a congresman apologizing to President Bush for a comment he recently made. What is this comment you ask yourself. Congressman Stark of California recently said this when addressing the allocation of government funds to Iraq rather than healthcare:

If we can get enough kids to grow old enough for you to send to Iraq to get their heads blown off for the President’s amusement.

Of course, Republicans were immediately up in arms about this one, which is fair. That is a pretty offensive comment. I didn’t agree with the invasion of Iraq, I don’t know if I agree with the occupation, but I certainly don’t think President bush takes ANY amusement from a single American casualty. I gotta side with the right on this one, Pete Stark was way out of line. What is most upsetting about the story is that Congressman Stark’s apology

came immediately after a resolution to censure him failed by a 196-173 vote. (UPI)

That is just stupid. He is a 17th term Congressman, that means he has been there for 34 years! I hate to say it, but he ought to know better. You can’t say shit like that and not have to apologize. Congratulations Congressman Stark you made yourself look like a fool and gave fuel to the right!

Also this week, President Bush asked for another $46 billion to fund his amusement park Iraq. This isn’t really that shocking, but should be noted, especially since we apparently don’t have enough money to improve health care. This most recent request, made Monday, was quickly buried by all the coverage of the fires. Just wanted to remind all y’all that we are still spending an unfathomable amount of money over there. It is always important for we, the citizenry, to remember that it is OUR money they are spending over there…

Something else you probably missed this week is the China unveiled two new members of

the Communist Party’s supreme policy-making body…

According to the Christian Science Monitor the two cool new cats may eventually claw it out for the top dog spot in the Chinese government. Click here to read the story. Pretty interesting, especially since China is poised to dominate the world this century…

So, to wrap this here post up, and in the spirit of glass-half-full thinking here is this:

October is on course to record the second consecutive decline in U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths and Americans commanders say they know why: the U.S. troop increase and an Iraqi groundswell against al-Qaida and Shiite militia extremists.

Yay! The AP reported on this Tuesday, read it all here.

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Now playing: Keller Williams – Got No Feathers

Albert Howard Ad Warns: Hillary May Try to “Bust a Nut”

I don’t know why I find myself writing about this idiot again. I think it is like seeing a car wreck, you know it is terrible but can’t pull yourself away. As it is, Mr. Howard has, what seems to be, his very own YouTube account where he has been so kind as to upload a new ad for his future presidency! Take a gander for yourself:

I am not exactly sure how, but he somehow uses Clinton/Lewinsky, distrust of Hillary, 9/11, and Strom Thrumond having illegitimate children to argue what we all know to be true. Albert Howard is the only true candidate for the White House in 2008!

Ha! Honestly though, I can’t really make sense of this. What exactly is he trying to say with all of this? It makes about as much sense as his damned website. I have also recently learned that Albert Howard himself believes that fellow whacko Ron Paul will be his Vice-President.

But, in all seriousness, thank you Albert Howard, your confusing bits of inane babel and poor use of the English language bring me joy to no end!

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Now playing: The Flaming Lips – All We Have Is Now