Apple, you know those ipod folks, has become the lead sponsor of American Idol. The implications of this venture include:

- “Idol” downloads will now only be available on Apple’s iTunes store
- iTunes will sponsor online streaming of performances on the American Idol website
- Apple brands will also be integrated into the show — just wait for the judges to be seen using iPhones.

Additional information can be found via this Variety article.

Jason Stanley pontificates, on Leiter Reports, as to what it takes for the media to discuss/report on philosophy.

Lately, a good deal of philosophical research is reaching a larger public. It seems like every month a major newspaper or magazine publishes an article on the tremendous progress philosophers have been making on the problem of consciousness. The New York Times magazine just published an article by Stephen Pinker on moral grammar that has become wildly popular, though my sense of the article is that much of its interest to the lay public in fact consists of its lucid explanations of basic material about meta-ethics. Experimental philosophy has also recently crossed the boundary into the popular press. But obviously, there is a ton of philosophy that, by its very nature, is never going to be reported on in such a medium. Indeed, much philosophy that philosophers themselves consider to be extremely interesting and innovative is of this character.

From the New York Times:

The “usual gang of idiots,” as the editorial staff of Mad magazine lovingly describes itself, produces cultural and political parody every month. For the next issue, however, the gang has recruited some very special help.

“Why George W. Bush Is in Favor of Global Warming,” a two-page spread that the magazine calls an exposé, has been illustrated by 10 Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonists. They try to offer reasons why environmental apocalypse might be a good thing for President Bush, with observations like, “His worries about how future generations will remember his presidency won’t matter if there are no future generations.”

(more…)

• -The first season of the NBC TV show Friday Night Lights is out on DVD. The notable point is that it comes with a money-back guarantee (via pop candy).

  -There has been a lot of talk about the rise of China as an economic beast (maybe, maybe too much talk). The American has an article that takes us back to when the US was in fear of Japan and its economic power (via arts & letters daily).

  -Looks like I missed this one - Sustainablebusiness published (a month ago) its top 20 sustainable businesses list, comprised of the top 20 publicly traded companies that make this world a better place.

  -Here is how to carve a life-sized skeleton pumpkin.

  -Aston Martin has something special coming in early 2008 - the DBS. You might remember it from Casino Royale.

The Phat Phree (whatever that is) has compiled a top 50 list of the regional/local commercials from the U.S. These are for products, services and the like that are on a regional or local scale. The budgets are lower and so are the standards.

20. Purnell’s Old Folks Sausage

9. Wet Pets

The other day I picked up a new magazine that has hit the racks: Monocle. Here is the magazine’s concept as it appears on their website:

We believe it’s time for a new, global, European based media brand. With a keen focus, strong reporting, sharp wit and more classic approach to design, we’ve dubbed our venture Monocle. At the core there’s a monthly magazine delivering the most original coverage in global affairs, business, culture and design. Alongside, there’s a web-base broadcast component covering the same areas through a variety of bulletins, mini-documentaries and talk formats. Focus on informing and entertaining an international audience of disillusioned readers, listeners and viewers, it is our intention to create a community of the most interested and interesting people in the world.

Edited out of London, Monocle is staffed by a team pulled from the world’s leading news outlets, magazines and broadcasters. Conceived by Wallpaper* founder and Financial Times columnist Tyler Brûlé, the launch team calls on some of his old alumni and new talent from The Independent, the BBC, Branches of Condé Nast and a host of other news outlets. Versed in politics, popular culture, business affairs, media, architecture and design, the editorial team will cover the world from its London hub and dedicated bureaux in Tokyo, Zurich and New York. Monocle will be driven by offering original, never-before-seen content to an audience of well-heeled, intelligent opinion leaders around the world.

Issue one is packed with nuggets of current affairs information. There were a few things about the magazine that attracted my attention. First was the size - at 242 pages, Monocle is not a thin piece of content. Second, was the global scale of the of its coverage. Third was the breadth of coverage. The magazine covers a myriad of topics, from arts to business to politics. So, I am giving Monocle my endorsement. Go ahead and check it out, I have. Oh, it’s also worth the hefty price (I paid $12.50 Cdn).

Good Magazine has compiled its list of the 51 greatest magazines ever. Topping the list is Esquire. This Good piece is not just a list of the magazines, featuring the editor’s take on the publication. No, oh no. The piece also features a smart essay on magazines generally. For that alone, it’s worth your attention.

A very, very interesting article from the Telegraph on whether the global music superstar is to become a thing of the past.

But as the music industry struggles to come to terms with collapsing sales, diverging international markets and the internet-fuelled emergence of highly personalised and parochial buying patterns, is the era of the global musical superstar drawing to an end?

Mergers, profit warnings and cost-cutting at the ever-shrinking number of major labels (currently down to four: Universal, SonyBMG, Warners and EMI) have demonstrated that the music business is struggling to come to terms with the challenges of download distribution.

But there is more than just new musical delivery systems and the problems of piracy at play - there is a change in the whole culture of how music is consumed.

By now I am sure that you know that Humphrey Bogart’s character in Casablanca, Rick Blaine, did not say “Play it again, Sam”, nor did Captain Kirk ever say “Beam me up Scotty”. These quotations, however, have taken on a life of their own in our common lexicon and phraseology. Louis Menad considers the question of whether we should care is in this interesting New Yorker article.

Bloombergreports that the TV ratings for the Daytona 500 were down 10.6 percent from last year’s (2006) broadcast. Is this a sign that NASCAR’s hoopla is dwindling and it is not the sport of sports?

The Los Angeles Times reports that a renaissance is taking place on the FM dial in India as the easing of regulation has been the catalyst to a radio station boom.

Private FM stations were virtually unheard of. But that began to change in the 1990s, when the government embarked on broad-based economic reforms that have resulted in an economy now growing at a clip of 9% a year. In the last five years, broadcasters have bought nearly 300 licenses to operate FM stations in 100 cities, with most of that expansion happening within the last two years.

What they hope to capitalize on is the Indian love of music, which plays an integral part in people’s cultural lives, be it in their prayers, festivities, marriages or folk traditions. The overwhelming influence of Bollywood and its musical extravaganzas has also ensured that there is a background score playing in the daily lives of ordinary Indians.

via artsjournal

Both Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama have recently made use of webcasts to send key messages about their political aspiration. Matt Tyrnauer takes a look at this increasing trend for Vanity Fair, by specifically analyzing Clinton, Obama and John Edwards’s use of this medium.

In this era, campaign managers seek to spread their messages by building communities and speaking directly to supporters through podcasts and e-mail, or what the Edwards campaign calls “webisodes.” If these webisodes get picked up on TV news, all the better. The reason Edwards posted his announcement on YouTube was to make it look less propagandistic and more spontaneous and organic.

Praise has been lavished on Obama and Edwards for their no-frills approach.

Clinton, on the other hand, has been given mixed reviews for her Web video, “I’m In,” which was produced by longtime Clinton media consultant Mandy Grunwald.

The Associated Press reports that comedian Laureano Marquez and a small publisher have been fined by the Venezuelan authorities for writing an editorial that mocked Hugo Chavez and his daughter. The fine totals over $18,000 U.S.

The numbers are in, and this should come to no surprise to anyone, the coverage over the death of Anna Nicole Smith was the dominant news item over the weekend. It beat out any current and world event news; at least in North America. Read about it here.

via artsjournal

Here is the fourth, and final, video featuring an interview with Ben Goldhirsh, the founder and publisher of Good Magazine.

Need to catch up on the previous videos? See part one, part two and part three.

Jim Slotek, writing for the Sun Media newspaper chain, put together a curiously entertaining rundown of cannibalism in pop culture. The list really focuses on movies rather than all media. Also, Cannibal the Musical by Trey Parker (South Park) is off the list. These and other omissions aside, it still is a good read.

This week sees the release of Hannibal Rising, the prequel to the prequel to Silence Of The Lambs, with somebody named Gaspard Ulliel as the teenage Hannibal coming to grips with his tastebuds.

And with that, here’s a roundup of our top nine movies, plays and other manifestations of the lunch-that-dare-not-speak-its-name. We were going to do a top 10, but somebody ate the last one.

Today is day three in the four part showing of an interview with Ben Goldhirsh of Good Magazine.

Need to catch up with this interview series? Check out part one and part two.

The following commercial aired during the Super Bowl in 1984 and launched the Apple Macintosh computer into the marketplace. The commercial was directed by Ridley Scott.

Go Bears!

And now for your viewing pleasure, here is part two of the four part series of interviews featuring Ben Goldhirsh founder and publisher of Good Magazine.

Missed part one? You can view it here.

Good Magazine’s name says it all – it is good. I have previously posted on the virtues of Good, so I am not going to rehash the bulk of my views on the magazines but for the following:

Many of the issues covered in the magazine are aligned with those of Activitybook. It is nice when things work out like that. In Good you will find coverage of issues such as social justice, the environment, literature, the marketplace and so so much more.

So, the folks behind Good have been gracious enough to provide us (by us I mean the Activitybook audience) with the videos from a four part series interview with Good founder Ben Goldhirsh. There are four videos in total, and I will put them up over the next four days.

Ben Goldhirsh is not only the founder of Good, but he also the person behind Reason Pictures. The interview just a little while back at Sundance. In the interview Ben opens up about what it takes to successfully launch a magazine, the values of Good, how start a production company, and how to get into all the parties at the Sundance.