2005 June 06

It's not the Iggy shuffle. It's not the Curly Shuffle. It's not the Harlem Shuffle (or Polka). It's the iPod Shuffle, and it's sitting right there on Ponzi's desk – resting safely inside its original box. I picked it up yesterday after hearing her say that she still wanted an iPod. You should've seen her face when I handed it to her – and then you should've seen it when I told her it wasn't compatible with Napster. Oops. Suckfest 2005!
“It's basically compatible with any CD you rip from our shelves, or any MP3s that we might download from the Internet.”
So, why select the shuffle? A regular ol' iPod would be overkill for her, and she craves anything supremely lightweight. She's already got a Creative Zen Micro that doesn't get much mileage at all – and I rarely hear her turn on her Napster (although, she does use it more than I thought she would). I'm still super content with turning on the television or tuning into a radio station – especially KEXP's uncompressed stream. At least with the shuffle she can say that she's an iPod owner.

Read more on Shuffled on our Music Coil…

I know plastic protects contents from being damaged… I know plastic keeps items safe, secure, and dry… I know plastic is almost completely tamper-proof… but I've just about had it with these stupid casings that everything comes wrapped in nowadays. Even by using scissors, I sliced the tip of my left index finger while trying to open something last night. Then, I ran into “child safety” issues when I opened my Darth Vader lollipop twirler this morning. Either these containers need to come with easier pull-tabs, or I need to open up a line of credit at the local hospital (and buy stock in all public bandage corporations). I love plastic as much as the next human being, and I'm even willing to overlook the fact that it's not biodegradable, but I fret picking up any package that's wrapped in this impossible-to-open plastic.

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