The N. Period’s Top 15 Albums of 2007

This is the year’s last weekend. So without any further adieu The N. Period presents its list for the year’s top albums. We found that a top 10 list was far too restrictive, so here is a list of our top 15 albums of the year.

15. Les Savy Fav – Let’s Stay Friends

As huge fan of this band I must say that this release was met with mucho anticipation. Diagnosis: mostly awesome with a side of “what’s this?”

mp3: “The Year Before the Year 2000”

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14. The Arcade Fire – Black Mirror

Crazy album name with some of the most powerful songs I’ve heard in ages.

mp3: “No Cars Go”

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13. Battles – Mirrored

Are they human?

mp3: “Ddiamondd”

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12. The Good, The Bad & The Queen – The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Damon Albarn is a pimp.  So is Danger Mouse.

mp3: “Northern Whale”

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Unusual Xmas Nativity Scene

Santa Nativity, originally uploaded by Mr. Hernonymous.

In honor of the holidays we bring this exceptional photo up from the archives of The N. Period. If Santa Claus was created as an image for Christmas, and Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, then how on earth does it make sense that Santa would be present at said birth? The great part is that there is another more conventional Nativity in the background — also part of the same lawn’s decor. About a week after this shot was taken, the offending decorator was seen being chastised from a balcony by a woman who was not amused by the display. Blasphemy! Merry Christmas!

Snoop Dogg – Sensual Seduction

Snoop Dogg has created perhaps the finest music video of all time.  If there was ever any doubt that Snoop was a pimp, this gem will alleviate all doubt.  As a matter of fact, this video should be used as visual aid to illustrate the definition of the word should anyone ever wonder what a pimp is. I cannot believe that this video was made in 2007!

Dallas Rumored to Get Google Street View

According to the Tech Blog at the Dallas Morning News, it appears that Google may be planning to bring it’s popular Street View feature of Google Maps to cover Dallas. The Street View button is now available for Dallas, which means that we can hope to add our city to a list that already includes Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tuscon, Denver, Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York.

In case you are not hip, Street View is like a virtual walking tour of the mapped area. How they achieve that effect is rather creepy, though. They drive around town with cameras mounted on the roof of a car that point in all directions as seen on Flickr here.

I’ve been waiting for months for this capability to come to my home town and I can’t wait to explore the kinds of things that are possible..

***UPDATE***

It’s Tuesday 12-11-07 and Street View is up for Dallas. What fun it is! Can’t wait to post some Easter eggs here!

Unruly Fan Fails To Salvage NFL Network Telecast

Here we see a fan make his way onto the field, spicing up an otherwise subpar Thursday Night Football matchup on the NFL Network.  I know that it’s been discussed at length in multiple forums, but with the quality of production for these last two weeks, I do not understand how the NFL Network expects people to pay extra to hear Bryant Gumbel and Chris Collinsworth painfully suck at their jobs.  And why are we denied the right to see some real action happen on the field?  This guy had a chance to be a real legend, but when he got face to face with NFL linemen it seemed that he thought better of whatever harebrained idea he originally came up with. Enjoy.

UGK’s Pimp C Found Dead

Pimp C, one-half of the Houston-area rap duo UGK, was found dead at his hotel room this morning in West Hollywood. LA County Fire responded to a 911 call from the rapper’s sixth floor room at the swanky Mondrian Hotel on the vaunted Sunset Strip. No cause of death has been determined at the time of this writing.

The performer, whose real name is Chad Butler, has been a staple in the “Dirty South” genre of rap since his 2000 appearances as a member of UGK in such rap anthems as Jay-Z’s  “Big Pimpin’” and Three 6 Mafia’s “Sippin’ on Some Sizzurp.”  He even became a martyr in his community when the “Free Pimp C” movement formed when he was sentenced to eight years in prison for failing to comply with community service ordered stemming from a previous assault charge. Pimp C was 33.

End of an Era

 R.I.P. O.G. P.M.

An update has been made to the charming neighborhood fixture the Parkit Market, an unfortunate announcement for the business that has been named “Best Mom & Pop Store” by the Dallas Observer. In what is surely an attempt to drive more business into the already overcrowded parking lot, the store has introduced a new facade to better accentuate the signage. As a fan of the uniqueness of the signature red tile, it’s pretty tough to take considering that the facade has covered what tile you could see as you drive by. Remnants of the original design remain on the store’s lower front panels as the red tile can still be seen there. The red and white striped awning that identifies the store as th same one on the beer koozie in my kitchen has been preserved, but looks a little silly when juxtaposed against this sterile new facade. It looks so much more like a suburban strip mall now — I urge us all to pay our homage. More photos of the recent construction can be viewed here.