All right, I’ll admit, the iPhone looks pretty nice. It seems pretty significant that the actual device is nothing - it’s just a screen with some guts underneath it. It’s the end of design. When the world is hooked up wirelessly, we’ll all have blank little boxes like the iPhone which we will carry with us everywhere and use to tap into any information we need through the networks. All of our “stuff” - music, TV shows, documents, bank accounts, &c. - will be stored in virtual lockers somewhere, and we will use our touchscreen devices to stream whatever we need. Now you know the future! I bet you’re glad you read my website.

The reason why I bring this up is because of this article I was just reading, in which they reach this conclusion:

With the announcement of the iPhone during Steve Jobs’ keynote on Tuesday, Apple has put a tremendous amount of pressure on handset makers like Motorola and Nokia, according to industry analysts. Capitalizing on its legendary ease-of-use, Apple will be a competitor out of the gate.

“There was so much demand for the iPhone, it should serve as a wake-up call to the rest of the industry,” said Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director of JupiterResearch. “It’s going to put a lot of pressure on the other handset makers in the high-end market, and that’s where the money is.” (Emphasis mine.)

The disheartening thing about this is that already, the industry is only thinking about the kind of impact this is going to have on “the high-end market.” So, rich people will now have more exciting phones to choose from with better design and crazier features. Democracy!

I don’t know when I will have that leap of mindset, but right now, I am not so concerned about being able to take crystal clear pictures with my cell phone. I would like A) cheaper bills, B) a plan that doesn’t chain me to one company for 2 years, and C) better coverage. For all of Apple’s beautiful ad campaigns positioning itself as “the consumer’s company,” they sure don’t seem to give a shit about the average consumer. Sarah and I pay something like $125/month for our cell phones (combined), plus ludicrous amounts per minute if we go over our time limit. Which we often do, because Sarah makes a lot of work phone calls. We’re stuck with our plan for 2 years. The only way to get a new phone at a reasonable price is to wait until our contract runs out and sign another 2 year contract. We made the mistake of buying last year’s hot phone, the Razr, which is a complete piece of garbage that I cannot wait to get rid of.

So is all of this Apple’s concern? I say yes. By bundling their phone in the traditional manner ($500 with a 2 year Cingular contract), they’re upholding the status quo. They have one of the few products that could actually change the way business is done. Why not make it available at one price to everyone? There’s no reason why the hardware should continue to be attached to the service plan, especially if the hardware is costing upwards of $500. What other form of technology works this way?

I love these goddamn rabbits more than just about anything I’ve ever seen before, ever.

Omigod you guys, pshnuh, you are so totally NOT going to believe what Ted Kennedy said today.

In a speech this afternoon at the National Press Club, Senator Kennedy pre-empted President Bush’s address to the nation tomorrow by outlining a bill he’s introducing that requires congressional approval for any troop surge in Iraq. Kennedy drew striking parallels between Vietnam and the current conflict, going so far as to say that “Iraq is George Bush’s Vietnam.”

Woah! Can you believe the balls on this guy? To compare Iraq to Vietnam, just like that? Damn, he’s like, 20 years ahead of the American public with that outrageous line of thinking! Psha, next he’ll probably do something really insane, puh, like take a firm stand against New Coke!

My good friend Josh now has a blog about newspaper photography. It’s pretty fascinating, and his pictures are intensely great. Learn from the master!

British people are so cool I can hardly stand to think about it. This morning, while reading an Important Article about World Events in the Independent, I came across an article which asked the burning question, “What does Jade’s success say about our cultural life?”

“What indeed?” I asked. “And who is Jade?”

Jade, it turns out, is Jade Goody, contestant on the third season of the English version of Big Brother and owner of the most awesome name I’ve ever heard. Jade Goody is, apparently, a cultural phenomenon in England. She became one of the most despised people in the country during her time on the show due to her ignorance and fatness.

After the show was over, she somehow became a bona fide celebrity. She appeared on a ton of other reality shows. She released a best-selling book cleverly entitled My Autobiography. Her perfume (!) Shh… is the 3rd bestselling perfume in England, right after Kylie Minogue and Posh Spice’s signature scents.

Today’s article was inspired by Jade’s return to the Big Brother house during the new season of Celebrity Big Brother with her equally-amazingly named boyfriend, Jack Tweedy. So far, she has caused one dude who I’ve never heard of and actually kinda famous director Ken Russell to run screaming from the house.

I know you’re dying to know what this woman looks like, and I am not one to disappointment my goblins. So here she is:

Someone paid $2,000 for Arcade Fire tickets. I have never seen the Arcade Fire live, but rumor has it they put on a good show. I know what it’s like to really really want to see a band and not be able to. But $2,000? Yow. For that price, I would expect the band to invade my consciousness and show me the face of God. Or at least provide free ice cream.

In my adult life, I have never owned a pet. My family had a dog growing up, Pepper. He was hit by a car when I was a freshman in high school. We inherited a rabbit named Cadbury a few months later. I was supposed to take care of Cadbury but it pretty much ended up being my mother’s responsibility. Cadbury had chronic diarrhea and every time we took him out of his cage he would flee from us in terror. He lived until a ripe old age out of spite and hatred for us.

Last night, Sarah brought home a dog named Daisy. She is not our dog. We are taking care of her for her owner, who is away on vacation. She is a very adorable and friendly Corgi.

Unfortunately, we are learning that even adorable and friendly dogs require some amount of attention. Our first trick last night was to figure out where she was going to sleep. She has a cage, but she does not like being in it. I can’t blame her. We left the door to her cage open and decided to let her make up her own mind about where she would spend the night.

It didn’t take her long to figure out where we were and that she had to be there, too. Although she’s a tiny dog, maybe 1 1/2 feet long, she can still take up a lot of space when stretched out on a bed that’s meant for two people. After about an hour of tossing and turning, we decided to put her in the cage.

Two fitful hours later, Daisy began howling something awful.

“I can’t listen to this,” I said to Sarah.

Sarah reluctantly got up and let her out of her cage. Overjoyed at her new found freedom, she immediately scrambled out of the living room and into our bed. She wiggled her way up to our pillows and attacked us with dogged enthusiasm.

“This dog is an asshole!” Sarah announced, in desperate need of sleep.

We all eventually fell asleep, although it was not entirely restful. That extra foot and a half is apparently crucial to my favored sleeping position. Throughout the course of the night, I would awaken and move Daisy’s legs into a better position, only to wake up a half hour later and find her sprawled out in my spot and myself teetering desperately on the edge of the mattress. I suspect that while I was sleeping she was fighting back by moving me into positions that were more comfortable for her.

An article in Salon led me to the fascinating website for the Mannequin Store. Buried among the dozens of naked fake women is this awesome vampire couple, the description of which contains the first great tagline of the new year: Looks Romantic, until you see the Fangs!

The Dinsmore/Cole holidays have been filled with much love, presents, and glorious time spent away from the computer. Now, it is the year 2007. The robot invasion is impending. I finally got my Wii and have had little interest in doing anything that doesn’t involve smacking dragons. Neat things are coming soon, however, as well as an announcement that will send the ladies of the world into a terminal state of despair. Happy New Year, goblins!