February 2010
1 post
3 tags
Feb 5th
January 2010
1 post
3 tags
Jan 31st
October 2009
2 posts
The First Byte: 5 Day Tech Journalism Boot Camp! ONE HOUR PER DAY ONLINE CLASS: November 2nd – November 6th Back by popular demand, the month-long writing course is now packed into 5 day boot camp! Are you interested in covering technology for the big publications? Do you need to get up to speed on how to talk about tech in your articles? In 5 days, let tech culture journalist and author Damon...
Oct 20th
5 tags
Oct 12th
September 2009
3 posts
3 tags
Sep 25th
The First Byte: Breaking Into Tech Writing NEW CLASS: October 5th - November 2nd Are you interested in covering technology for the big publications? Do you need to get up to speed on how to talk about tech in your articles? Writing about technology isn’t as cryptic as it sounds. Let tech culture journalist and author Damon Brown guide you into the new opportunities in tech writing. In fact, with...
Sep 20th
2 tags
Sep 19th
1 tag
Sep 1st
August 2009
6 posts
“Porn & Pong” readers - I’m coming to Portland! Catch me this Wednesday at Reading Frenzy, 7 pm, for an intimate reading from “Porn & Pong“. Hang out afterwards and head to the club Rumpspankers for a fun video gaming night hosted by Portland’s own Darklady. It will be the first stop on my roadtrip up to Seattle for the awesome Penny Arcade Expo. I’ll speaking about the topic of...
Aug 30th
5 tags
Aug 29th
4 tags
WatchWatch
Def Jam co-founders Rick Rubin and Russell “Uncle Rush” Simmons on Jay-Z creating his 2003 classic “99 Problems”. Love it.
Aug 24th
Aug 15th
3 tags
WatchWatch
Steve Stoute is one of the more controversial people in the music business, but this Wall Street Journal clip shows why he’s winning. I love the idea of connecting different cultures, as was my focus with sex, tech and pop culture in “Porn & Pong”. A short video well worth watching.
Aug 6th
July 2009
6 posts
This week I’m starting as the new editor of About.com’s Mobile Games section! As you may know, About.com is one of the most read knowledge sources on the web. From now on, you can come to my About.com website to learn about the latest and hottest games for your iPhone/iPod Touch, Android, Palm or other portable phones. There are already many reviews online as well as tips on finding the right...
Jul 31st
2 tags
Jul 23rd
Jul 18th
Coming to the awesome Penny Arcade Expo this Fall? Catch our Sunday afternoon panel “Murder, Sex & Drugs“, about how vices are depicted in video games, with former Newsweek editor/tech writer N’Gai Croal, game designer Corvus Elrod and other interesting people. More info is here at Corvus’ site. Penny Arcade Expo is one of the largest video game conferences in America. This year it’s...
Jul 11th
2 tags
Jul 10th
2 tags
WatchWatch
to paraphrase Spike Lee @ around 18:30 “He was trying to replicate Thriller… for any artist, that’s suicide.” Of course, he meant artistic suicide - which may be as bad as literal. Both deep and sad.
Jul 1st
June 2009
7 posts
2 tags
Jun 30th
2 tags
WatchWatch
Current TV takes a look at how 3D technology is changing the porn biz. It’s safe for work… but just barely.
Jun 27th
3 tags
WatchWatch
One of the reasons why I love writing about (modern) history is the power of context. Mention a hi-top fade and we’ll think of Public Enemy, Bush Sr. and Arsenio Hall. Show a jukebox and its hopstoch dresses, James Dean and drag races. It’s all symbolism and memory. The Alchemist and Ohno’s new video “Under Siege” - no doubt grabbed from the “classic”...
Jun 20th
3 tags
Before & after (& after)
Before last week, I had no idea who Janko Nilovic and Dave Sucky were. Info online is scant, so, to be honest, I still don’t really know who they are. However, with their obscure (and awesome) free jazz song “In The Space” sampled on Jay-Z’s first single from The Blueprint 3 album, “D.O.A.: Death Of Autotune”, they may have made some serious cake and definitely...
Jun 15th
3 tags
Jun 14th
5 tags
Jun 12th
Join me this Saturday in New Orleans for my first Southern Porn & Pong book reading and signing! It will be at Faubourg Marigny Arts and Books, a cool indie book store just outside of the French Quarter. As some of you know, the Faubourg Marigny is actually my old neighborhood - I lived on St. Roch street, a few blocks away from the park, and left when Katrina hit in ‘05. I wrote the...
Jun 2nd
May 2009
22 posts
3 tags
Before & after
Bill Cosby, “Martin’s Funeral” - ‘71 A Tribe Called Quest, “We Can Get Down” - ‘93
May 21st
3 tags
May 20th
6 tags
Before & after
Isaac Hayes, “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic” circa ‘72 The 8th Day, “She’s Not Just Another Woman”, ‘71 DJ Quik “Born & Raised In Compton”, ‘91
May 19th
May 18th
3 tags
WatchWatch
All Samples Cleared? My favorite mainstream album of 2009 has been Rick Ross’ “Deeper Than Rap” (this is despite his questionable character, which might ultimately prove the power of the music itself). Laiden with gorgeous samples and lush live instruments, the album definitely lives up to Ross’ “movie soundtrack” intentions. As I’ve written about,...
May 17th
1 tag
WatchWatch
Previously unreleased video for “Two Words” from Kanye West’s first album, College Dropout ‘04.
May 16th
2 tags
Can It Be So Simple?
Elliot Wilson unearthed a 20/20 documentary from 1981. “Hip-hop will be a force for years to come.” Word? The coverage is surprisingly even handed and, well, accurate. This was almost three decades ago. Chew on that. The time capsule footage is hot. What is more notable, however, was that Blondie’s hit “Rapture” seemed to be the reason rap caught mainstream...
May 15th
3 tags
Before & after
Freddie Hubbard - ‘72 Souls Of Mischief - ‘93
May 14th
1 tag
WatchWatch
Rick Ross is the #1 rapper dancer.
May 12th
2 tags
May 11th
2 tags
May 10th
May 9th
Taking a tour of Virtual Vancouver where I’ll be having a (virtual) book signing next Friday. Details to come. http://bit.ly/3jgwG
May 8th
I don’t know how I Twitted without TweetDeck *grabs late pass* http://www.tweetdeck.com
May 7th
RT @mbhide: is going to be on @martharadio tomorrow!!!!!!
May 7th
Hip-hop blogger Dallas Penn gets shine in VIBE! We got the chance to connect during my last NY trip. http://tinyurl.com/c4y635
May 7th
RT @Sex20con a little more than 24 hours from now registration closes on Sex 2.0! http://sex20con.com/
May 7th
4 tags
The ?uestion Remains
I love samples and discovering what old songs create today’s hits. In the hip-hop world, eighties songstress Angela Bofill becomes current number one rapper Rick Ross. To me, it is lineage. Hip-hop websites like Kevin Nottingham and Hip Hop Is Read go even deeper, finding the original songs, packaging them as (free) downloads, so fans - and perhaps budding producers - can know every...
May 6th
Useful! WSJ: Ten Rules of the Road for Air Travel: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124148217828485383.html
May 6th
Newsweek: Facebook’s “Porn Cops” Are Key To Its Growth: http://www.newsweek.com/id/195621
May 5th
4 tags
WatchWatch
“Sampling = Reblogging = ReTwitting” *head explodes*
May 3rd
4 tags
Disposable arts
What are Disposable Arts? Modern music is disposable. Tapes are recorded over, the original sounds dubbed into oblivion. CDs are copied onto computers and eventually tossed into landfills. Even digital music is preserved on parishable hard drives or tucked away in the recesses of our nearly infinate iTunes library. There are songs I’ve downloaded years ago that I still haven’t...
May 3rd
April 2009
1 post
3 tags
Apr 29th