I Heart Björk

She makes a full-throated call for Tibetan independence. In China.

i have been asked by many for a statement after dedicating my song "declare independence" to both kosovo and tibet ( amongst others ) on different occasions.

i would like to put importance on that i am not a politician, i am first and last a musician and as such i feel my duty to try to express the whole range of human emotions. the urge for declaring independence is just one of them but an important one that we all feel at some times in our lives. this song was written more with the personal in mind but the fact that it has translated to its broadest meaning, the struggle of a suppressed nation, gives me much pleasure .
i would like to wish all individuals and nations good luck in their battle for independence.

justice !

warmth , björk.

Shouting for independence in the middle of Shanghai. Wow, that's gleefully subversive.

Technology Roxxor!!1!

The New York Times tells me about the greatest idea ever, a merge of new technology and old:

WHEN “Mystery Science Theater 3000” was canceled after 11 seasons in 1999, 146 distraught fans bought a full-page advertisement in Daily Variety urging another network to continue the show. But the series was not revived, and today devotees cannot even tune in to reruns because its premise — a host and his two robot pals mock B movies — required securing those movies’ broadcast rights, which expired after the show’s demise.

But those self-described “Misties” are welcoming a resurrection of sorts. Mike Nelson, the show’s longtime host and head writer, has begun a new venture called RiffTrax, and he can now skewer virtually any movie without infringing on copyrights. Recordings of him talking back at movies can be downloaded (for fees ranging from 99 cents to $3.99) from rifftrax.com. Start playing the DVD or VHS version of the movie and Mr. Nelson’s commentary simultaneously, and the effect is that of a director commenting on a DVD — except that Mr. Nelson is inclined to say, as he does during a scene in “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” in which William Shatner climbs a mountain, “He’s actually trying to scale his own ego.”

So far there are more than 30 RiffTrax episodes, including “The Matrix” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” with Mr. Nelson adding three or four more titles every month. He said in a phone interview from San Diego, where he lives, that “hundreds of thousands” of the files have been purchased for download so far. (A spokesman for Legend Films, which produces RiffTrax, declined to clarify or confirm Mr. Nelson’s claim, saying the company considers sales figures proprietary.)

MST3K could only show obscure B-movies because they couldn't afford the rights to bigger ones. And they weren't about to sell tapes or CDs with the additional soundtrack, because the production costs would outstrip what you could charge. But offering them for download eliminates both problems. And now I get to hear Mike Nelson rip on The Matrix.

Also, this has nothing to do with anything except it's some other culture thing I love, but Bjork is awesome for adorning her new album with this picture: