Apple has released an iPod that plays video.

AND...it's physically smaller than the older versions.

AND...you can now download music videos and TV shows from the iTunes Music Store (looks like I'll finally get to check out "Lost!").

AND...it still costs $300, which is what I paid for Shorty, and which is what I was planning to shell out for an iPod photo in the next week or so. I think I'll be getting an iPod video instead.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to wipe the drool from my keyboard. This is soooooo unbelievably cool.

[UPDATE - 6:32 PM, 10/13] - The new, glorious iPod is the sole subject of today's Bleat (today being Thursday). Lileks, in a way that only he can, somehow manages to tie in The Simpsons and Harriet Miers, but it's still all about the iPod. I knew I'd have an ally in him--someone who's just as excited about this new iPod as I am (an, *ahem*, über-Apple geek, if you will). I, for one, put my order in last night (still managed to swing the school discount, I did...even six days after I last set foot in NYU).

...(based on the last post, and the fact that I didn't post anything yesterday), last night consisted of Simpsons viewing to my heart's content.

It had been a long while since I'd seen either the Gummy Venus de Milo episode ("Homer Bad Man") or the Stonecutters one ("Homer the Great"), but both were as witty and entertaining as I remember them. In some instances, they were even funnier, now that I get more of the references. Since these episodes were aired during the 94-95 season, I was 13-14 when I first watched them, so some of the references and jokes went over my head. Some still do.

All of which raises an interesting point that reoccurred to me as I watched the episodes last night: The Simpsons have actually made me smarter. Well, not smarter per se, but rather more knowledgeable about American culture, history, and pop culture. Watching the show religiously through my pre-teen and teenage years, I was exposed to many important names, events, ideas, etc that were either parodied or mentioned in the show. Some of the references were straight-forward enough for a 13-year old to connect the dots and understand; other times, if I couldn't figure out the reference, I would consult an encyclopedia or the internet (now there are obsessive fan sites that I visit right away to learn about the references I've missed). And since they were presented in an entertaining medium (a cartoon sitcom), these newly-discovered facts stuck with me. For instance, I distinctly remember being able to answer random questions in high school Academic Olympics competitions because of things I'd gleaned from watching The Simpsons.

So during those junior high and high school years, the show was often a starting point for acquiring new information, and in some cases, a source of bite-sized history or pop culture lessons. Not to mention a source of countless quotes and jokes to swap with friends who'd also seen the show (though many kids in Beatty didn't watch the show, so it wasn't until college that my reservoir of Simpsons knowledge would really be of any use). A pretty solid two-for-one deal, if you ask me.

OK, enough fanboy raving from me. Needless to say, Season 6 is a welcome addition to my DVD collection.

...the fact that THIS comes out tomorrow.

Season Six contains some of my all-time favorite Simpsons episodes, including "Homer Bad Man" (featuring the imfamous gummy Venus de Milo), "Lisa's Wedding," "Homer the Great" (the Stonecutters episode), "Bart's Comet," and "Lemon of Troy."

Classic episodes, all. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: whoever came up with the idea of putting TV series on DVD is a genius. And possibly my hero.

Michael Stipe's cameo appearance in The Adventures of Pete and Pete is sooooooo much better than I remember it being.

He's so scruffy, nervous, and just plain odd in his role as Captain Scrummy. His voice cracks, he does these goofy, swirl-y motions with his arms, and his eyebrows even twitch with anxiety as he dons a nervous grin and offers older Pete a sludgsicle. "You look like a bona fide sludgsicle man, son.

God bless them for finally getting around to releasing the first season of "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" on DVD.

Pete and Pete was--and still is--one of my favorite television shows, ever. The show was well-written, funny, and incredibly incredibly bizarre, but ultimately very endearing. AND, though I didn't recognize him when I first watched the series on Nickelodeon, the lead singer of what became my favorite band of all time actually made a cameo appearance during that first season ('93) as an ice cream man called Captain Scrummy. Classic.

I was fortunate enough to catch some of the episodes on the Noggin Channel a few years back when I'd go home, thanks to the DirectTV hook-up, and even ten years after the fact, the shows hadn't lost any of their appeal. I hope the same can be said of this DVD'd kids television series, which I also just ordered from Amazon.

Funny...though I thought the trend was annoying at first, I now believe that releasing TV shows on DVD is the best. idea. ever.

Anyone else a fan of Pete and Pete?

I know, I know...it's been a whopping four days since I last updated. I've been on a vacation of sorts, and have spent much of the last week playing tour guide.

At any rate, I've now seen Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith twice, and as you could probably guess (based on historical evidence)...I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.

Now, I will fully admit that it has a number of cringe-worthy moments. I'd even go as far as to say that it's not an incredibly well-done movie. I'll probably devote time in a later post to discuss the positives and negatives about the film, but in the meantime, I have to say that I quite enjoyed seeing it.

Why? Well, when it comes right down to it, I guess you can say that it's that storyline--a storyline that so closely mirrors the meta-story of the fall and redemption of humanity--that keeps bringing me back. It's the emotional connection I've developed with the characters--and even the Star Wars universe in general--that seems so familiar, drawing me in time and again.

And, as I was telling Thom today before we saw it, I'm just a sucker for a cool light saber duel, which this movie provided in spades.

So, while I can understand and even agree with much of the criticism leveled at Lucas' handling of the final chapter in his saga, I still say in all honesty that Revenge of the Sith both entertained me and moved me. And, in the end, that's all this average American moviegoer really wants from his movie-going experiences.

More to come. It's time to meet up with Crystal and Sarah, who spent the day doing "retail therapy."

...until Star Wars Episode III is released!

I'm very excited about this film, and I'm certain that I'll really enjoy seeing it...even if it is a pile of trash. I have no qualms about admitting that I loved Episode II--and liked Episode I--though I fully recognize how bad both movies are, and how they don't even come close to the greatness of the original trilogy. In fact, I remember coming back from the midnight screening of Ep. II (the scene of this classic Devo moment) back in aught-two, and meeting up with Shelvy and rollotomossey, who had also seen the film that night at a separate screening. Our reactions couldn't be any more different--I was raving; the two of them were disgusted, but honest about the true quality of the film, to say the least (I don't think Quincy's remarks from that night are printable, though). In my defense, I think I was just on a Star Wars-induced high because I got to see Yoda (albeit a computer-generated Yoda) get crazy with a light saber.

But make no mistake: Even if Revenge of the Sith is the worst movie of the summer, I fully expect to love it.

This lapse into Star Wars-geekery is brought to you by the Number 5.

In today's Bleat, Lileks talks about two of my favorite things, e v e r: Back to the Future, and Apple Computers (specifically, he talks about the Mac OS...even more specifically, the new OS X.4, Tiger).

To be perfectly honest, though there's been quite a bit of hoopla surrounding the release of Tiger (Kottke's got a great round-up of punny Tiger headlines), I haven't really had much of a desire to pick it up, at least right now. Don't get me wrong--it does look pretty cool, especially the Dashboard feature. But the truth is that my Mac is now 5 and a half years old--which is like 87 in computer years, if I'm not mistaken--and I just don't think the ol' guy could handle going through another system upgrade at this point. Homeboy's just too frail at this stage (yes, you read that right: the computer's name REALLY IS Homeboy...it was christened circa November 1999--my freshman year of college, which should explain a lot).

All of which brings me to an important issue that I'd like to get some feedback on. I'm planning on turning Homeboy into an aquarium (let's call it "retirement"), and finding a replacement in the form of an iBook. I'm pretty sure I want to get either the $999 12" model, or the $1299 14" model. Seeing as how a number of you have iBooks, I'd like to hear what you think about this conundrum: which would you recommend I purchase? I'm leaning towards the 14" model...is it worth the extra couple hundred bucks?

Either way, once I pick up a new Mac (it may be a few weeks, it may be a few months, but I imagine it'll happen before the year's up), I'll upgrade to the Tiger OS...and then I'll get to see all the crazy widgets that Lileks mentions near the end of today's Bleat. And again, as Napoleon would say...

My post from yesterday reminded me of this DVD I saw the other day in the neighborhood Hollywood Video.

Seeing it instantaneously brought out my inner 7-year old child. Renee (my "little sister") observed my reaction in the video store and said as much herself. All giddiness aside, I may hold off on picking up the season boxed sets for now (or put it on my Christmas wishlist), but I could very easily see myself purchasing the movie DVD. An interesting side note: looking at the movie DVD in the video store, I noticed that the Transformers saga is supposed to take place in the future. Specifically, in the year...you guessed it: 2005.

A funny anecdote that'll give you a glimpse of what DT was like as a wee lad (and then it's back to work): When I was 7 or 8, I decided to put on a stage performance of a Transformers episode. I recorded the sound of an episode on an audio cassette tape, choosing the episode based on the fact that I owned all of the Transformer action figures featured in that particular one. The idea was to play the tape and act out the episode with the action figures--I got my best friend Patrick to help me out with all of this. And as you may know, the Transformers usually joined together to make giant robots, who would fight during the final showdown of each episode. Well, I figured we needed to make that the live-action sequence and the highlight of the show. So I made costumes out of construction paper for Patrick and me, and we starred as the big robots--naturally, I decided to make myself the Autobot (the good guy), and Patrick the Decepticon (the bad guy). I invited like a dozen kids over to the Torstenson homestead to witness the performance after school, and we did the whole show right there on the deck of our back porch. I don't remember if I told my mom about it beforehand or not, but either way, I believe she whipped up a nice pitcher of Kool-Aid and some Rice Krispie treats for afterwards.

That was probably one of the crowning achievements of my life. That whole 'Mr. USC' thing? Pales in comparison.

WARNING: Obsessed R.E.M. fan posting ahead!

Last week, my favorite band of all time celebrated their 25th anniversary, which is quite a remarkable milestone, especially in the music industry. I read several articles written in light of the band's reaching the quarter-century mark, but namely this article from Flagpole, a list of the 25 best R.E.M. songs of all-time. Inspired by this, I decided to come up with my personal top 25 list--maybe not the "best" R.E.M. songs, per se, but the ones that are most meaningful to me.

I then spent the last week writing a song-by-song commentary for each (kinda like Flagpole's, but more substantial), which was fun, but definitely time-consuming. Here now, for your perusal, is the list, followed by the reflections on each entry. I know this will probably be a wasted post for most of you (my fellow R.E.M. fan phatfhorn excepted), but I hope you might read even a few of my comments. In all seriousness, these guys have written the soundtrack to my life--songs that speak to me and for me in my highest of highs and lowest of lows, and everywhere in between--and for that I am so very grateful to them. Moving right along:

Dave's Top 25 R.E.M. Songs (4/5/05)
25. The Outsiders - Around the Sun
24. Harborcoat – Reckoning
23. Falls to Climb – Up
22. Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars) - Chronic Town
21. Cuyahoga - Life’s Rich Pageant
20. Gardening at Night - Chronic Town/Eponymous
19. Losing My Religion - Out of Time
18. Fall on Me - Life’s Rich Pageant
17. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite - Automatic for the People
16. Country Feedback - Out of Time
15. World Leader Pretend - Green
14. Man on the Moon - Automatic for the People
13. I’ve Been High - Reveal
12. Let Me In - Monster
11. E-Bow the Letter - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
10. Imitation of Life - Reveal
9. So. Central Rain (I’m Sorry) - Reckoning
8. Pilgrimage - Murmur
7. So Fast, So Numb - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
6. Leaving New York - Around the Sun
5. How the West Was Won and Where it Got Us - New Adventures in Hi-Fi
4. Talk About the Passion - Murmur
3. What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? - Monster
2. Driver 8 - Reconstruction of the Fables
1. The Great Beyond - Man on the Moon Soundtrack

( And now, witness my uber-fan praises mixed with aspiring rock journalist tendencies )

One more thing: like Flagpole's writer says, I realize that this list could easily change on any given day, and looking back over it nearly a week after I came up with it, I'm already noticing some glaring omissions (Electrolite, Begin the Begin, and Nightswimming for starters), but such is the case when the band's catalog surpasses well over 150 songs.

Oh, and if you read even a portion of this post, I salute you. And thank you--as weird as it sounds, these songs mean a lot to me.