NIN: The Slip Download Map

As most people (certainly any respecting Nine Inch Nails fan) know, NIN offered their latest album “The Slip” free for download on the Internet. Trent and the rest of NIN encouraged you to download, remix, share, etc. what they offered. After the success of Radiohead’s similar concept, NIN was ready to try it with their own work rather than that of someone they produced, such as Saul Williams’ album “The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust.”

First, check out the cool data mapping representing downloads of their latest album according to geographic region: (click images for biggie size)
NIN Downloads USA and MexicoNIN Downloads EuropeNIN Downloads AsiaNIN Downloads AustraliaNIN Downloads South America
(If you have Google Earth installed, you can download the KML file.)

While Trent Reznor was clearly upset at the outcome of offering Saul’s album to the public with a chance for fans to pay or download for free – it wasn’t all that surprising. Most die-hard NIN fans had never heard of Saul Williams. Why would they pay for an album from an artist they’ve never heard of? It felt like a gimmick everyone is used to. You hear 1 good song on the radio, buy the album and instantly become disappointed that the only good song was the one you heard on the radio. You just paid $15 bucks for 1 song. I believe that is why most people didn’t opt to pay (contribute) to their free download.

However, it’s a different story with a band such as NIN with a long standing fan-base and a lot of creditability on their side. I don’t believe profit numbers have been made public as of yet (over 1,400,000 people downloaded “The Slip”), so at this point I can only speculate. While NIN’s latest album and release approach may not have beaten Radiohead’s numbers, I’m willing to bet it was a relatively positive result that would encourage Trent to continue this style of release.

ICANN Just Created a Shit Storm

Shit StormThey’ve been talking about the possibility of creating new top-level domains (TLD) for awhile now. Well they just voted and viola, soon in 2009, you’ll be able to choose from all kinds of generic addresses based on common words, brands, company names, cities, or proper names.

As one user put it:

My dream of owning clownpenis.fart is coming to fruition.

Many people (including myself) believe this is going to be another huge mess to deal with, only time will tell for sure. I also think it’s going to look ridiculous when a major corporation registers something like pepsi.pepsi

[via: AFP]

School Locked Down After Seeing… a Ninja!

This is getting comical. I understand the reason for schools having to be a bit overly suspicious these days, but holy shit! Someone saw a ninja and locked the school down? Did somebody just see Red Dawn recently or something?

Public schools in Barnegat were locked down briefly after someone reported seeing a ninja running through the woods behind an elementary school.

Turns out the ninja was actually a camp counselor dressed in black karate garb and carrying a plastic sword.

[via: phillyburbs.com]

Views From Around the World

Having the means to travel must provide endless opportunities for spectacular sight seeing. Here are just a few of the many different places one could visit and have memories that last forever.

Courchevel, France
Scary Airport
[via: airliners.net]

Maybe your first stop is to the ski resort in Courchevel, France in the alps. After you changed your soiled cloths, you can go skiing! The steep slope of the runway allows small planes to slow dramatically without the need for a longer runway. Permission to land is only given to those who have had the specific mountain airfield training.

Ã…lesund, Norway
Ã…lesund Norway
[via: Amazing Nature]

As you can see from the image above, this is a sea port. It is noted for its unique concentration of Jugendstil architecture as well as its furniture industry. Legend has it that Gangerolf (outside of Norway better known as Rollo), the 10th century founder of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy, hailed from the community of Giske, north-west of Ã…lesund. At least three statues of Rolle exist: in the town park in Ã…lesund, in the city of Rouen, France, and in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. I have no clue what there is to do here but shop for furniture, but maybe one day you’ll visit this place and tell me what there is to do there besides buy a chair.

Peyto Lake, Canada
Peyto Lake Banff NP Canada
[via: wikipedia]

Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. During the summer, significant amounts of glacial rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color. You could pee as much as you want in the lake and you’re not going to change the color. A truly beautiful place waiting for you to ruin.

Giza Pyramids, Egypt
Giza Pyramids
[via: pichaus.com]

The Pyramids of Egypt are among the largest structures ever built and constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization. Besides tons of sand, there is a ton of history to this place. Countless TV programs and print articles have been made about the pyramids of Egypt and new discoveries are still being made. It would seem as if the people who built these massive monuments had a knowledge that surpasses that of the modern day. Now if we could only see how those people might driven vehicles on the road, that would be proof positive of their superior intellect. Much of the history behind these places are pure speculation, providing for some intriguing theories.

Herdenking Vuurgrens Rotterdam
Herdenking Vuurgrens Rotterdam
[Photo by: 2007 Yorick Groen]

May 15th 2007 Line of fire memorial after the 1940 bombing of Rotterdam by Nazi Germany. In June 1940 Rotterdam was planning to celebrate its six hundredth birthday and the Rotterdam Philharmonic planned a special program. However, on May 14 Nazi Germany bombed Rotterdam and nearly completely destroyed it, thereby launching its occupation of the Netherlands which lasted for the duration of World War II. Leave to an asshole to spoil all the fun. If you can visit this place and have something else to say besides the fact that it was plundered by Nazi Germany, please let me know. It looks beautiful.

Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong at Night

There are so many pictures of Hong Kong at night that I can’t even find the original source of this picture. Hong Kong should be on anyone’s travel agenda at some point. Not just for the electronics or freaky porn, but just the culture alone is enough to make me want to visit. I’ll pass on all the squid, shark fin, etc. dishes. I just want to experience a modern, yet completely different culture. I can’t imagine not finding something great about this place. You may or may not know, but Hong Kong was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1842 to 1981 and was a British dependent territory from 1981 until the transfer of its sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.

Paris, France
Paris at Night
I’m not so inclined to visit this place as much as the others I’ve listed, however this particular picture of the city is freaking awesome and I couldn’t pass it up.