- The Hartford Craigslist is apparently primarily read by people who say, “yes, I’ll pay the full asking price for item X,” only to write back a few hours later and say, “actually, can you take 60% of the asking price?”
- Today (7/14) is the official release date for The Hold Steady’s Stay Positive, which you reallyreallyreally should own. (Perhaps the thought of my 5-yr-old dancing around the living room singing, “Subpoenaed in Texas, sequestered in Memphis” will do it.) Don’t believe me? Here’re reviews by PopMatters, Pitchfork, and, less pretentiously, the Courant. (Meanwhile, I’m almost positive Time.com‘s reviewer didn’t listen to the album.) Anyway, you really should buy the physical CD, because it’s got the bonus tracks, crucially including “Ask Her for Some Adderall.” Unfortunately, it’s not available digitally, except on YouTube. I’ve been listening to this record for about 3 weeks now, and it’s gotten better with each listen. (And, *yes*, I bought a physical CD.)  Can’t wait to see this show in August.
- After 4 days, I can report that the iPhone’s 2.0 firmware/software helps me unplug from random e-mail and blog-surfing. Now that the iPhone can easily check my campus’s Exchange servers, I’m perfectly happy leaving my laptop off when I’m at home and the boy’s awake. If I start to get itchy, I can quickly check for updates, without risking getting sucked into pointless web-browsing. My computer’s been off more in the past 4 days than it has been in the past 18 months.
- Do you want to know where my son would like all future presents to come from for the foreseeable future? BrickArms.com makes custom Lego minifigs of WW2-era soldiers, as well as a variety of historical weapons and other accessories. I showed him the website the other day, which I’d found after seeing this Lego recreation of raising the flag over Iwo Jima, and he’s been giddy ever since. Like, “The Hold Steady new album” giddy. “iPhone 2.0 firmware” giddy.
So, there you are: Hartford Craigslist: irritating. The Hold Steady: Awesome. iPhone: Awesome. Custom Lego minifigs, especially of historical armies: Awesome.
Actual content returning soon!