Brad Barrish

I couldn't take it anymore. While the BlackJack is nice to look at and the 3G stuff is kinda neat, I just wanted a device that worked well as a phone and email/texting device. After spending a month with the BlackJack, I wrote a letter to our Cingular B2B rep saying that the BlackBerry simply wasn't a usable device. The main reason was the terrible battery life, which is well-documented all over the place. Of course I had other reasons for not liking the device. The fact that it took me several more steps to do something on the BlackJack that I could do in a couple on the BlackBerry was one of the most bothersome aspects of using the device. I don't like having to install hacks on my device to make it easier to use, which you have to do with the BlackJack. There was a terrible typing lag on the device which caused me to constantly misspell words and made overall less productive. So I got Cingular to take back the BlackJack and I bought the 8700c. I'm not happy about the size of the BlackBerry, but it just works. The phone is great and I can email and text with ease. BlackBerry, I'm sorry I ever left you and I'll likely never go back to a Windows Mobile device. I've been burned too many times.

If you’re a BlackBerry user, make sure you check out the following web sites which offer great advice and are full of tips from other users.

BlackBerry Cool Pinstack BBHub Also worth checking out it is pinppl, which is somewhat of a social networking site based around PIN messaging.

I’m sure John Stewart will have something to say about this on Tuesday, but let me direct your attention to a nice quote from Dick Cheney about the escalation of troops in Iraq.

"If the United States doesn't have the stomach to finish the task in Iraq, we put at risk what we've done in all of those other locations."

Of course, this really isn't surprising coming from the same guy who also said:

"The notion that, somehow, developing the resources in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Reserve requires some sort of vast despoiling of the environment up there is just garbage."

And who also said:

"Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."

What a dick.

Banksy is making some pieces available for download that you can freely print on nice paper or simply use as a desktop.

In case you were under a rock all day, Apple announced the highly anticipated iPhone. Every time Apple comes out with a new product, I lust after it. Lots of people do. Apple takes products, adds their magic and leapfrogs anything else in the market and then everyone tries to play catch-up. It’s an incredible thing to watch. If I were to think up a dream phone, it would be made by Apple. Nothing comes close and the iPhone goes beyond anything I could have dreamed up on my own. The price is steap and I doubt I will be picking one up. It’s too much of a consumer device (right now). I can’t imagine typing emails on a virtual keyboard. If I had my way, I’d stop using email all together and just text and IM, but I don’t think that’s going to be a trend business embraces anytime soon, so I’m stuck with a bulky device that has a keyboard when I’m not sitting in front of my Mac. Why Cingular?? I had to switch to CIngular for work and I couldn’t be less happy. Who doesn’t have 24 hour customer support? And the support is abominable at best. Congrats to Apple on doing it again. It’s a gorgeous device.

I just got finished reading Paul Theroux’s editorial in the NY Times. He talks about how population has impacted his life, especially the way that open spaces and solitude are harder to come by. It’s a wonderful read, even it is depressing. I struggle with wanting to have the convenience of living in one of the biggest cities in he world and wanting to live in a cabin in Montana. It’s something I constantly think about. I’ll take solo road trips just to be on the open road. I love it. I have amazing road trip memories from my childhood. My family drove to colorado many times and I always loved the road. America is filled with so much beauty and California is especially gorgeous. Visiting national parks, small towns and camping in the desert are some of the best things to do here. Oh, the wanderlust…

I got to work this morning and started the new year off in an awesome way. I received my first platinum album for KT Tunstall’s album “Eye To The Telescope.” Almost a year ago to the day (January 24th to be exact) I produced a show with her at Schubas in Chicago. It was the first show with Network LIVE (now Control Room) on which I worked quite a bit. I was a huge fan of KT’s before she released her album in the U.S., so I am really psyched about having a plaque for doing a little to help her sell some albums.

(In no particular order) Radiohead @ Greek Theatre - I’ll let my previous review speak for how I felt.

Secret Machines @ El Rey - Could care less about their albums, but they put on an incredible live show.

Justin Timberlake @ House of Blues - Don’t hate on JT. The dude can dance and sing like a motherfucker, not to mention he’s a stellar entertainer.

The Wrens @ Troubadour - Wow, I dunno where I was when these guys started

The Sounds @ Fonda Theatre - Mark captured them amazingly. I don’t know what else to say. They know how to rock.

Editors @ SXSW - I walked away from this show thinking, ’now I can go home from Austin.’ Of course I didn’t leave at that point. The Duke Spirit @ SXSW - I never heard of them until someone recommended I check them out. Liela Moss is hot.

Wolfmother @ Cinespace - I believe this was the first show in the U.S. Anyway, it was the first show a co-worker and I saw together and I was a little drunk, which made it all better.

The Rapture @ Fonda Theatre - I didn’t want to have a good time, but I danced at the show it was so good. That’s right. I danced.

Pearl Jam @ Bridge School Benefit - Bridge is always emotional. It’s the vibe, the cause, friends and of course, the music. It was just perfect.

As 2006 comes to pass there are a lot of predictions that are floating around about what will happen in 2007. One of the predictions that I’m most looking forward to coming true is the one about blogging reaching a plateau. I can’t wait. First and foremost, I have a problem with information overload. Yeah, I could fix it on my own, but if a bunch of people just decide to stop saying interesting things, then it would make things a lot easier. The other reason I can’t wait is because there’s way too many people saying uninteresting things. Of course I’m being selfish when I say that, but I don’t care about your cat (not you, Josh), so STFU.

I now present to you my own list of 9 things that I predict will happen in 2007.

1. Menomena will explode. I've mentioned them a little, but I really love this band.
2. MySpace will fragment. It's already starting a little, but more niche sites are going to start popping up and I think people will start using them with more frequency while their MySpace profiles get a little stale.
3. You'll finally break down and see what all the Second Life hype is about.
4. Apple iPhone. This is all but confirmed. I believe Apple will enter the mobile business. I'll stick with the Blackjack until the BlackBerry 8800 comes out.
5. Global Warming will become a major issue, and not just for environmentalists.
6. Apple will gain at least 3% more market share.
7. All three of Audrey's stores will become profitable.
8. Mobile music and television will start to take off as manufacturers keep trying to cram too many bells and whistles into a phone.
9. Remote storage costs will continue to decline and people will start storing a lot more of their stuff online.

I’m speechless. [via a.whole]

I did a show with Nada Surf last year and had a really nice experience with the fine folks at Barsuk. They really are some of the best people I’ve ever worked with. They also put out some great music. The next big one on Barsuk is the Menomena album. Van just sent some advances and I’ve been playing it at least a couple of times a day. The first time I put it on I had at least 5 people ask me what I was listening to. That almost never happens. People either tell me to turn it down or turn it off. ‘Friend and Foe,’ their third album, and first for Barsuk, will be coming out on January 23. I haven’t heard their previous albums, but if the new one is any indication, then I might have to go out and get them. The greatest thing about the album is it’s super accessible. And I don’t mean that in some sort of silly music industry talk kind of way. We have a pretty diverse office, so when those 5 people asked me about it, I felt somewhat validated. It’s not a conventional album. The instrumentation isn’t what you might be used to hearing, but you’ll still be tapping along to it.

For fans of: Bloc Party, Mercury Rev, TV On The Radio

Download: Wet and Rustling