some bloody quick thoughts

tag, you're it!: Last week I sat in vendor proposal meetings and every one of the vendors used the word "tags." Quite the buzzword. Sometimes it wasn't even used in the proper context.

Dogs. Ponies. Go.

One vendor used it 22times. One called it the "hottest trend on the Internet." About midway through tagapalooza, I chuckled to myself as I remembered this post. Perhaps I should, in fact, become a tag consultant after all.

Neo-irrational exuberance?: It's a Whole New Internet

BritTunes: Yesterday, Tourist, the latest album from Athlete (released in the UK in January 2005) was (finally) released in the US. These blokes could very well be the next big thing in music. Have a listen to the first single, Wires, or watch the video. Be sure to also check out the track, You've Got Style, from their debut album Vehicles & Animals.

Also, check out Open Season by the group British Sea Power. Or Strange & Beautiful by Aqualung. Good stuff.

Rise Up: One hopes that listening to Bruce Springsteen's latest single, Devils and Dust, will inspire Americans to stop being so apathetic about the Iraq war and fuel a resurgence of the anti-war protests we saw in January 2002.

Orange You Smart: So finally, we know why Tom Ridge always looked so confused at those pre-election press conferences. Seems his bosses over at the White House were twisting his arm to ratchet up the terror level, ostensibly for political gain. I guess it worked. Looks like my friend Chad had it right when he concocted this alternate terror color code system.

Dead Ringer: Okay, I admit it. I'm an Elvis freak. Not the kind that thinks he's alive and well hiding in New Mexico. Nor have I made a pilgrimage to Graceland (yet!). But I really dig his music and recognize the impact of his music and persona on the collective culture.

While I haven't watched it, have you seen the guy playing "The King" in the CBS mini-series? Creepy. He's eerily Elvis-like. So much so that I just might have to rethink that "I Had Elvis' Love Child" story I saw on the National Enquirer a few years ago.