short fat guy online

I’ve found great solace commiserating with others who are eagerly awaiting the shipping date.  The news does not look too good though.  Apple is reticent over confirming how firm the July 30 date is.  Resellers are claiming we won’t see the new G5s till the following Friday, August 6.
    Then again, maybe that just refers to the delivery date, which would not apply to me since I’ve upgraded my shipping option.  Still, I’m unsure how firm the July 30 shipping date is to begin with.

From MacMinute: “Last week, U2 had their recently completed new CD, which is planned to be released in November, stolen during a photo shoot in France.  Fearing that the new album will show up on peer-to-peer file sharing services for free, U2’s lead singer Bono has come up with a solution.  ‘If it is on the internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month,’ he said. ‘It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention fucking up our holidays. But once it’s out, it’s out.’”
    I’m a U2 fan, so I feel sorry for the band and the unfortunate position they’re in.  But I’m also a greedy SOB and would rather hear their new songs than read about them.  I think actively make the songs available is an excellent solution.  It would provide me with easy access to the new material as well as allowing the boys to make the most out of a bad situation.  I’m all for it, and I’m looking forward to getting the album whether it be soon or in November.

A story on Yahoo! News tells of Natasha, a black macaque monkey in an Israeli zoo, and how after surviving a nearly fatal illness she has begun to walk strictly on two legs, as if in imitation of humans.
    Experts now cite her as a new missing link, conclusively proving our modern life evolved due to brain damage. 

I heard the sad news on the way to work this morning: famed composer Jerry Goldsmith “died in his sleep Wednesday night at his Beverly Hills home after a long battle with cancer.”  He was 75.  Details or his life and career are touched on in this CNN obituary, among many others online.  The breadth of the man’s genius can be gleaned at his IMDB listing.  Film fans are expressing their condolences in this Film Score Monthly message board thread.
    Now the question remains: should I listen to Legend, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Alien, or Poltergeist first?  (I know there are many many more from which to choose.  Those are just the ones I’ve got close at hand.)