This whole “Twilight” business is fucking out of control. The most recent additiion to the insanity behind the book series-turned-film is found in a recent piece in the L.A. Times wherein Forks, Washington (the city where the books take place) is now being inundated with fans wanting to have their pictures taken in front of Forks High School. Some fans drove four hours just to do that. Apparently many businesses have taken to selling Bella-themed items, like the Bellaburger (Note: not an actual item in the books) and Bellaberry pie (also not in the books). But there is hope. Mark Brandmire, assistant principal of Forks High School wonders, “Our kids don’t see the novelty. What part of ‘fiction’ don’t you get?” Yeah, no shit.

An odd title, I know. But the director himself openly admits it. And then scolds critics for labeling him as such. “One of the critics actually called me a douchebag. Which, I am a douchebag, but this guy doesn’t fucking know me to call me a douchebag.” The problem with that logic is that Bousman admit to being a “douchebag,” so therefore he cannot be offended when anyone else has the same opinion. That would be like if someone called me an asshole and I got mad at them - I know that I’m an asshole so I have no (logical) reason why I should be offended.

Admittedly, I’m not much of a technological kind of gal. Programming a VCR or defragging a hard drive are my two greatest achievements in regards to the world of wires and waves. In fact, I’m more like a trained chimp who knows how to press the “fast forward” button when something displeases me. So, when it came to the recently released fourth generation iPod Nano, my (clich�) question was, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” In regards to the barebones, technological issues with the previous iPod Nano, it doesn’t seem that Apple’s done a whole lot. Sure, they’ve added a 16 gigabyte hard drive and added an accelerometer — the feature which allows the iPod to “know” when it’s been turned on its side, which allows for new-to-Nano features like cover flow and “shake to shuffle.” Although these features are attractive selling points, they’re ultimately unnecessary. But aside from these features, boy is the new Nano pretty. Colors range from jewel tones to the standard silver and black. And the screen is also a welcome change from the third generation, which couldn’t do adequate justice to the album art that can now be displayed on the new, 2-inch wide screen — when the iPod is on its side, of course. However, this is yet another fashion over function feature. Perhaps the most striking addition to the new Nano, though, is Genius, a kind of Pandora for your iPod. After activating Genius in your iTunes, all you have to do is select a song, and the software will create 25-track long playlists based on the genre of the selected song. These playlists may also be created in iTunes and uploaded to the iPod, and this can also be applied to iPod’s predating the iPod Touch, iPhone, 120 GB iPod classic and the new Nano, but only these former models will support and create lists directly on the device. But amidst most of the new features, Apple forgot to update a major part of the product: the headphones. Sure, headphones are relatively cheap, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt for the company to provide a more comfortable pair. Honestly, it hurts too much without a different style. A common complaint of these headphones has been that, after extended use, they cause a great amount of discomfort. So, has Apple really fixed anything with its newest generation of the iPod Nano? Well, truth be told, there wasn’t a whole lot to fix. Some of the new features are interesting, but 100 percent unnecessary. Only the extended amount of disc space and Genius are a step up from the past generation, but these are still available or usable on other models of the iPod. For those new to the iPod, of course the fourth generation iPod Nano is a smart buy — why wouldn’t you buy the most up to date iPod you can get your hands on — but for those choosing to update their old music player, avert your gaze from the pretty colors and glossy screen, and go straight to the brand new 120 GB model.

According to this article from Rolling Stone, the Beatles are soon to hit a new medium - the video game. Meant to span the prolific band’s entire catalog, this game isn’t just a “Guitar Hero” knock-off, it’s going to be an “experiential journey” through the band’s music. Apparently, the game was developed with input from Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono and Ringo Starr. I’m having a hard time swallowing this one. Sure, it’s been confirmed, but…seriously? Sure, the Beatles have done some crazy movies, but video games are a whole other realm. What are they trying to do? Granted, scores of adults will buy this game, and it may just hook an entirely new generation into the band’s music (this, though, hasn’t really been a problem thus far…). Avoiding the words “sell out” - although this is basically what I’m getting at - could this be any more of a blatant attempt to squeeze money from what has always been a rather prosperous legacy?