The last few days have been spent behind computer screens moving bits of data from one end of the internet to the other. Yep we’re moving again. Well, we’ve actually already moved. Haven’t you noticed the new surroundings, the fresh smell of leather and new coat of paint?

Yes after a very very tumultuous and hair losing experience with the shittiest hosting service in town, we’ve moved to hopefully better digs.

Toronto took quite another pummeling this weekend didn’t it? Nah, it wasn’t so bad. I was expecting worse.

Good Monday Morning.

This site is breaking as we speak, due to an unfathomable amount of traffic. Probably suffering from the Digg effect We wake up this morning to learn that Nine Inch Nails has just released their experimental new CD online via their website.

2 hours of music, 36 instrumental tracks described as “music for daydreams”.

It’s available as a $5 download, or for free you can sample the first 9 tracks.

It’s important to understand the magnitude of this release in today’s times. The RIAA is going after everyone for illegal downloads saying that sales are down, and musicians are complaining that their pimps (record labels) are monetarily raping them ($1 from every cd sold). The consumer on the other hand is afraid to pay money for music that can possibly suck. Meanwhile many bands across the world suffer for making good music.

Late last year Radiohead broke the barrier by releasing their album for download online following a ‘pay what you want’ model. This release (along with Radiohead’s) signals a new kind of business model. One where musicians have full control of their vision and product. If you like, do yourself a favour and promote this new business model by buying it.

NIN releases this album under the Creative Commons license, In FLAC, Apple Lossless, MP3, CD, Vinyl, DVD, Book, Art Prints

Here’s the torrent uploaded by NIN Official

This release signals yet another step in embracing open media.

If you’re having problems accessing the site for payment and downloads due to heavy server usage, you can sample and buy the album from Amazon.

“Update: The response to this album has been overwhelming, causing our
website to slow to a crawl. We THOUGHT we were ready, but…
We’ve been adding more servers to accommodate the unexpected demand and we expect to be running smoothly in the next few hours. In the meantime, if you’ve had any problems with downloads from the Ghosts site, don’t worry - you’ll be able to use your download link again when the site is more stable. Thanks everyone for making this such an
immediate success.
posted by Trent Reznor at 5:47 PM pst, from hong kong.”

Sitting here watching Bob Blumer do his thing on Food TV. I really like his new (new to me) show, Glutton For Punishment.

The food channel is pretty much the only thing I watch on TV, since I can’t stand most reality shows and sports are never on unless someone is over. The he topic of food never gets boring. There’s always something inspiring, something new to learn. This show is about Blumer’s travels around the country and the types of food challenges he throws himself into (Oyster shucking, fish mongering, flair bartending). It’s engaging and worldwide. Most of the new shows on Food TV seem to be taking a more global theme anyway, but this show is quite engaging. I remember meeting Bob Blumer during his Toastermobile tour. He was parked at Roy Thompson Square shooting an episode, and took the time in between takes to chat with onlookers. That was quite a few summers ago.

Summer yes. I noticed how almost every episode on the Food TV is based on impeccable weather. Sunny skies all around.

Probably the only episode I recall where there was even a glimpse of winter in Canada was when Anthony Bourdain travelled to Montreal for the all-you-can-eat-while-we-drool-omg-anthony-we-hate-you Foie gras overdose at Au Pied De Cochon. Go figure, when they show Toronto or Montreal they always have to show the winter as if it’s some unaccredited supporting actor.

The utopia of Food TV’s luscious location scouting aside; we had one of the coldest weeks this winter. We’ve been blessed this year, the winter was not as bad as it has been in the past. Sure lots of snow, I love snow – I don’t care about the white stuff. But if there are 2 words I hate, they are “wind chill”. Hopefully the worst is behind us, because we are now officially just 3 weeks away from Spring.

A chance to be able to wander around the city in nothing more than a sweater perhaps? Well soon enough, then the flowers will start to bloom, and we’ll start seeing summer favourites like mangoes, heirlooms , Okra, Rhubarb, Turnips, Apricots, Beets, Figs, Dates, Watermelon.

Bring it on. The picture above was taken when my eyes diverted during the commercial break.

By the Way, Anthony has a very entertaining blog.