Paul Lamere at Music Machinery is trying to work out if a computer can ever match the expert DJ:

Playlists have long been a big part of the music experience.  But making a good playlist is not always easy.  We can spend lots of time crafting the perfect mix, but more often than not, in this iPod age, we are likely to toss on a pre-made playlist (such as an album),  have the computer generate a playlist (with something like iTunes Genius) or (more likely) we’ll just hit the shuffle button and listen to songs at random.   I pine for the old days when Radio DJs would play well-crafted sets - mixes of old favorites and the newest, undiscovered tracks - connected in interesting ways.  These professionally created playlists magnified the listening experience.   The whole was indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

A good DJ is hard to find, that’s for sure. But they are still out there. My favourites, with links to streaming:

• Stephen Ferris on FBi (mornings Wed-Fri 9-12) is probably the best - he knows his music, doesn’t waffle, and thinks about how it all fits together.
• Richard Kingsmill on triple j (Sunday night 6-9) is similar, though he’s limited by the format of his show which highlights new music each week. But again, knows his music.
• Stuart Matchett and Arnold Frolows, triple j alumni who put together the ABC Dig Music, ABC Country, and ABC Jazz services. A lot of curating goes into the playlists, despite their automated playout.

Rez is one of the great games, a zen trance techno dance mind warper, and worth buying a Dreamcast just to play. A sequel? Yes please.

McSweeneys:

Listen up. I know the shit you’ve been saying behind my back. You think I’m stupid. You think I’m immature. You think I’m a malformed, pathetic excuse for a font. Well think again, nerdhole, because I’m Comic Sans, and I’m the best thing to happen to typography since Johannes fucking Gutenberg.

David Astle, SMH crossword compiler extraordinaire, on the problem of English being ubiquitous when it comes to expleting:

Even without the study leave, most people know English basics: hello, thank you, how much and f—- off. Our tongue’s the lingua franca of movies, business and football tournaments. Whenever we cuss, the message is pretty evident and the mud can only stick. In tonight’s game, the Socceroos may be likened to warthog pizzles in any of Ghana’s 47 languages, but unless the ref is multilingual, then the sledge will be missed and the yellow card stay idle.

David Foster Wallace’s Commencement Speech at Kenyon University. I don’t know anything about DFW, but this is a great speech:

This, I submit, is the freedom of a real education, of learning how to be well-adjusted. You get to consciously decide what has meaning and what doesn’t. You get to decide what to worship.

Of course, he’s not, as the deep earthy tones of his gravelling voice attests. He sounds so…experienced. Like he’s lived life, and can’t help oozing poetic sub-hip-hop wisdom. It’s only a short album, but leaves an impression. Standout track New York Is Killing Me is still fresh months after release. Even the CD liner notes flow like water:

There is a proper procedure for taking advantage of any investment.

Music, for example. Buying a CD is an investment.

To get the maximum you must

LISTEN TO IT FOR THE FIRST TIME UNDER OPTIMUM CONDITIONS.

Not in your car or on a portable player through a headset.

Take it home.

Get rid of all distractions, (even her or him).

Turn off your cell phone.

Turn off everything that rings or beeps or rattles or whistles.

Make yourself comfortable.

Play your CD.

LISTEN all the way through.

Think about what you got.

Think about who would appreciate this investment.

Decide if there is someone to share this with.

Turn it on again.

Enjoy Yourself.

9 moves to win - assuming no-one upends the board first. As one commentor put it:

I’d always thought the real purpose of Monopoly was not so much to be a proper board game but rather to serve as a focus for sibling conflict.

Tears weren’t uncommon in our household.

Why bother reading E3 summaries when Penny Arcade can do it in 3 panes. Love how they nail Microsoft suits-as-gamers.

My dad has an old vinyl record with Big Bad John on it - great tragic country music. But who knew that the same guy was also a “breakfast meat innovator”, responsible for the frankly unbelievable “Pancakes & Sausages on a Stick with Chocolate Chips”. Pancakes. Sausages. Chocolate Chips. On a stick.

The beginning of a catastrophic sprint crash in the Tour de Suisse.