no thanks to any of you ungrateful slobs:
Uzumaki
Ringu
Dark Water
Tellingly, two of the three have been re-made here (and it would have been three-for-three except The Grudge was already checked out.
Remember those halcyon days of not so long ago when they were stealing our movies?
Monday, October 31, 2005
31st
Happy Halloween, Biches!
And no thanks for your pan-pacific horror movie suggestions!
Movie night is happening this evening with zero ideas from my bullpen.
I'll remember this when the times comes to hand out political appointments for my government in exile.
Defend yourself against the coming robot rebellion
Handy tips from one who ought to know.
Of course, the startling news of the Robot Threat comes as no surprise to some people.
Although his tee-shirt makes me wonder exactly who's side he's on.
Of course, the startling news of the Robot Threat comes as no surprise to some people.
Although his tee-shirt makes me wonder exactly who's side he's on.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Politics: How Evangelicals Support the Troops
Every Soldier's Battle Kit
What's in the kit?
Hmm....just off the top of my head, body and vehicle armor?
What's in the kit?
"I can't think of a better way to support my troops than to strive to keep their families intact while they are serveing (sic)" - a supporter
Hmm....just off the top of my head, body and vehicle armor?
Attention Evil Geniuses: Super Base for Sale
God bless the Brits.
Personal Note: Secret Underground Cities is in my top five book titles of all time. Not #1 (that honor belongs to the classic Paladin Press title Successful Armed Robbery by Harold Long), but up there with the big boys.
The subterranean complex that was built in the 1950s to house the Conservative prime minister Harold Macmillan’s cabinet and 4,000 civil servants in the event of a Soviet nuclear attack is being thrown open to commercial use. Just four maintenance men are left.
A visit there today involves walking into an opening in a hillside and taking a lift down to the bunker. The only sentry is a garden gnome outside one of the entrances. Inside, it is like stepping back 50 years.
Hundreds of swivel chairs delivered in 1959 are still unpacked. There are boxes of government-issue glass ashtrays, lavatory brushes and civil service tea sets.
“It was like a set from The Avengers,” said Nick McCamley, author of Secret Underground Cities, who lived locally and first discovered the existence of the site in the 1960s.
Personal Note: Secret Underground Cities is in my top five book titles of all time. Not #1 (that honor belongs to the classic Paladin Press title Successful Armed Robbery by Harold Long), but up there with the big boys.
more cool book cases
neato!
Would be cooler if it they went all the way to the ground and the base wasn't so obvious. Still, neato.
Would be cooler if it they went all the way to the ground and the base wasn't so obvious. Still, neato.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Tom's Hardware: Building a $500 Gaming Computer
Check it
His tech info is often biased and misleading, but this guide is a nice snapshot of low-end but workable performance...which is where I live.
My usually chronic hardware envy has been in remission for the past few years, most likely because I stopped playing FPS games and have been getting my gaming fix from the much less hardware intensive MMORPG genre.
Not only is FPS gaming the domain of the young and their console-trained fast twitch hand eye coordination, my main goal in any game is to chat with my pals while engaging in a low frequency communal activity, not display my l337n355 by dominating the virtual foe (who's an undersocialized 13 year old nerd anyway, judging from my years of demographic research).
If they lived in town, I'd have a poker game or something.
Since they're spread out over several thousand miles of Pacific coastline like one skimpy pat of resturaunt butter over a loaf of french bread, online action is my best bet.
I've ridden my current machine about as far as I can milk it...you know you're in trouble when you download a demo, click on the installer and a pixilated Don Rickles pops out of the icon like a jack in the box, calling your CPU a hockey puck and spilling gin all over your desktop wallpaper.
It was fairly badass rig around the time of SoF II, but computers age faster than dogs. In consumer tech terms, I'm trying to watch HD programming on a B&W tv set.
And I've reached the black hole of upgrading....to improve things any more will take a new motherboard, which will need a new CPU and new RAM etc etc. I'm in "whole new computer" territory, which is problematic when your wife reacts to computer purchases like hippies to soap or vampires to garlic.
So the $500 PC starts looking more attractive...
His tech info is often biased and misleading, but this guide is a nice snapshot of low-end but workable performance...which is where I live.
My usually chronic hardware envy has been in remission for the past few years, most likely because I stopped playing FPS games and have been getting my gaming fix from the much less hardware intensive MMORPG genre.
Not only is FPS gaming the domain of the young and their console-trained fast twitch hand eye coordination, my main goal in any game is to chat with my pals while engaging in a low frequency communal activity, not display my l337n355 by dominating the virtual foe (who's an undersocialized 13 year old nerd anyway, judging from my years of demographic research).
If they lived in town, I'd have a poker game or something.
Since they're spread out over several thousand miles of Pacific coastline like one skimpy pat of resturaunt butter over a loaf of french bread, online action is my best bet.
I've ridden my current machine about as far as I can milk it...you know you're in trouble when you download a demo, click on the installer and a pixilated Don Rickles pops out of the icon like a jack in the box, calling your CPU a hockey puck and spilling gin all over your desktop wallpaper.
It was fairly badass rig around the time of SoF II, but computers age faster than dogs. In consumer tech terms, I'm trying to watch HD programming on a B&W tv set.
And I've reached the black hole of upgrading....to improve things any more will take a new motherboard, which will need a new CPU and new RAM etc etc. I'm in "whole new computer" territory, which is problematic when your wife reacts to computer purchases like hippies to soap or vampires to garlic.
So the $500 PC starts looking more attractive...
Halloween Viewing
I'm having a Pacific Rim Horror Movie party with my bro-in-law this year and thought I'd open up the floor to suggestions.
here's the tasting menu so far:
Kwaidan
Oni Baba
Ringu (bro-in-law never saw the original)
I'm thinking of bringing along the original Chinese Ghost Story and Mr. Vampire, but that would be pitching the bro-in-law into the deep end.
Suggest away, kids!
here's the tasting menu so far:
Kwaidan
Oni Baba
Ringu (bro-in-law never saw the original)
I'm thinking of bringing along the original Chinese Ghost Story and Mr. Vampire, but that would be pitching the bro-in-law into the deep end.
Suggest away, kids!
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Indian Techie Flamewar
Classic stuff.
sample quote to whet your appetite:
Sexy stuff!
sample quote to whet your appetite:
Sentient has the money and muscle power to FUCK you in your back side so hard that your generations to come will be born defunct just the way you are mentally sick & defunct.
I am WARNING you if you send another email to any Sentient personnel I will do needful.
Sexy stuff!
Marathon
Good god, that game was like working a part-time job.
I rarely watch baseball on television. It's a magical game live, but watching it on the small screen is a lot like seeing Rembrandt's monumental canvas Night Watch reproduced on a postage stamp. It needs to be seen live and in context to have any meaning or impact.
I make exceptions for the playoffs, when the pressure of the situation helps overcome the flattened affect of the televised game. And I've even been known to take in an occasional regular season game with my friend James, who has the kind of relationship with baseball that would destaiblize most marriages.
Combine the heightened awareness of the World Series with the unexpected availability of James on a game night and my opitions were limited...the only real question was which liquor store to swing by on my way home.
And we were rewarded with the sort of spectacle only baseball can provide.
The premise of one of my favorite novels on any sport (The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by WP Kinsella, much better known as the author of Shoeless Joe from which the mawkish film Field of Dreams was extracted, like the confession of a man undergoing torture) is that baseball is entirely open-ended. There is no prespecified end to a game, given the right circumstances it can theoretically go on forever.
Which is what this game threatened.
There was drama, but it was drama drawn out to a point where it ceased being exhilarating and became a responsibility and even a burden. Extra innings in baseball are a thrill, but a thrill that usually last around 20 minutes before one team's depleted pitching staff coughs its last and surrenders the game.
The World Series is different, especially in what was for all intents and purposes an elimination game (down 2-0 with their best pitcher on the mound, the Astros well and truly had their backs against the wall). Both teams have solid, deep bullpens, and both teams used every qualified pitcher before the end, the Sox even tapping game two's starting pitcher to get the crucial final out.
We started getting delirious around the 12th inning, when it seemed neither team was ever going to win. The Sox kept trying to give the game away by spotting the Astros two or three baserunners every inning, but the Astros played the gracious host and refused to take advantage of the inexplicable generosity of their guests.
Meanwhile the Sox were going down meekly in order, not wanting to give offense.
James and I hate Roger Clemens with a passion, and hold a grudge against the entire state of Texas for birthing the current criminal cabal responsible for steering the ship of state onto the rocks in Washington, so we were pulling for the Sox (in spite of their catcher, a former Giant who James took every opportunity to excorciate).
The game went on so long we stopped careing who won, and were pulling for someone, ANYONE, to come through with a big hit. And as happens so often in these things, the telling blow was struck not by a mega-salaried superstar, but by a no-name late season pickup, a guy who came over from my own San Diego Padres, in fact.
The deflating, incredible double play moments before was forgotten as cobwebbed, dusty bench player ripped a laser beam out of the park. It went out on a line, not getting much higher than the outfield wall, but making up for this lack of parabolic majesty with amazing speed. The bases loaded walk issued later in the inning was like a beer chaser following a double shot of grain alcohol.
An excellent evening. I anticipate anticlimax tonight, but will tune in anyway. Hope springs eternal following an epic contest in any sport, baseball is no different.
I rarely watch baseball on television. It's a magical game live, but watching it on the small screen is a lot like seeing Rembrandt's monumental canvas Night Watch reproduced on a postage stamp. It needs to be seen live and in context to have any meaning or impact.
I make exceptions for the playoffs, when the pressure of the situation helps overcome the flattened affect of the televised game. And I've even been known to take in an occasional regular season game with my friend James, who has the kind of relationship with baseball that would destaiblize most marriages.
Combine the heightened awareness of the World Series with the unexpected availability of James on a game night and my opitions were limited...the only real question was which liquor store to swing by on my way home.
And we were rewarded with the sort of spectacle only baseball can provide.
The premise of one of my favorite novels on any sport (The Iowa Baseball Confederacy by WP Kinsella, much better known as the author of Shoeless Joe from which the mawkish film Field of Dreams was extracted, like the confession of a man undergoing torture) is that baseball is entirely open-ended. There is no prespecified end to a game, given the right circumstances it can theoretically go on forever.
Which is what this game threatened.
There was drama, but it was drama drawn out to a point where it ceased being exhilarating and became a responsibility and even a burden. Extra innings in baseball are a thrill, but a thrill that usually last around 20 minutes before one team's depleted pitching staff coughs its last and surrenders the game.
The World Series is different, especially in what was for all intents and purposes an elimination game (down 2-0 with their best pitcher on the mound, the Astros well and truly had their backs against the wall). Both teams have solid, deep bullpens, and both teams used every qualified pitcher before the end, the Sox even tapping game two's starting pitcher to get the crucial final out.
We started getting delirious around the 12th inning, when it seemed neither team was ever going to win. The Sox kept trying to give the game away by spotting the Astros two or three baserunners every inning, but the Astros played the gracious host and refused to take advantage of the inexplicable generosity of their guests.
Meanwhile the Sox were going down meekly in order, not wanting to give offense.
James and I hate Roger Clemens with a passion, and hold a grudge against the entire state of Texas for birthing the current criminal cabal responsible for steering the ship of state onto the rocks in Washington, so we were pulling for the Sox (in spite of their catcher, a former Giant who James took every opportunity to excorciate).
The game went on so long we stopped careing who won, and were pulling for someone, ANYONE, to come through with a big hit. And as happens so often in these things, the telling blow was struck not by a mega-salaried superstar, but by a no-name late season pickup, a guy who came over from my own San Diego Padres, in fact.
The deflating, incredible double play moments before was forgotten as cobwebbed, dusty bench player ripped a laser beam out of the park. It went out on a line, not getting much higher than the outfield wall, but making up for this lack of parabolic majesty with amazing speed. The bases loaded walk issued later in the inning was like a beer chaser following a double shot of grain alcohol.
An excellent evening. I anticipate anticlimax tonight, but will tune in anyway. Hope springs eternal following an epic contest in any sport, baseball is no different.
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Oolsi | Be Free
Great site.
A collection of links, tips and resources supporting the site's founding principles, that everything should be free.
Some great stuff on the front page, my favorite being the Spring Shoes.
"They certainly look cool. But do they work?"
A collection of links, tips and resources supporting the site's founding principles, that everything should be free.
Some great stuff on the front page, my favorite being the Spring Shoes.
"They certainly look cool. But do they work?"
1,000lb Butter Sculpture Of Darth Vader And Yoda
In keeping with the recent Star Wars theme.
It seems to me a butter Darth Vader is the perfect compliment to the Goatse'ing of the Death Star posted earlier.
It seems to me a butter Darth Vader is the perfect compliment to the Goatse'ing of the Death Star posted earlier.
portraits of mass consumption
badass photos.
Click on the 'images' link for extended coverage of the dross of our consumer culture.
Click on the 'images' link for extended coverage of the dross of our consumer culture.
work: bad omens
It's never a good sign when someone asks you "do you buy rare books?" and responds to your affirmative answer by opening up his duffel bag and hauling out a Hefty cinch-sack.
=(
=(
Monday, October 24, 2005
Star Wars Goatse Redux
Bobo pointed out that my link went dead.
Fortunately for all the Goatse afficionados who follow my blog, I wisely backed it up on my hard drive. A quick visit to imageshack, and voila! It lives again!
And if you don't know what goatse is.......be thankful!
Fortunately for all the Goatse afficionados who follow my blog, I wisely backed it up on my hard drive. A quick visit to imageshack, and voila! It lives again!
And if you don't know what goatse is.......be thankful!
Miyazaki festival on TCM
Coming in January.
My Neighbor Totoro & Kiki's Delivery Service are fabulous fun for all ages. Princes Mononoke & Spirited Away are fantastic, but they've both got a few violent &/or scary-ass scenes that would make me think twice about showing them to the younger set.
Nausicaa & Castle in the Sky are probably good for all ages too, but both have slipped in my personal rankings- Nausicaa is perhaps the only movie in history I liked better as a dubbed, cropped children's cartoon than as a restored widescreen treat for grownups. The kiddie edition was sprightlier, had better dialog and pacing and seemed like more of a fun adventure with an ecological undertone than the current version, which feels more like a Sierra Club morality play with some fun parts tacked on as an afterthought.
Porco Rosso I still haven't seen, oddly enough. I think it's a strange one that got re-edited for release here. And Whisper of the Heart has such an inauspicious title I will wave my ignorance of it like a battle flag and cheer myself on.
But Miyazaki is the one guy everyone should check out, even the die-hards who think Anime is only for geeks. So check out TCM in January, I guarantee something in that lineup that will appeal to you.
My Neighbor Totoro & Kiki's Delivery Service are fabulous fun for all ages. Princes Mononoke & Spirited Away are fantastic, but they've both got a few violent &/or scary-ass scenes that would make me think twice about showing them to the younger set.
Nausicaa & Castle in the Sky are probably good for all ages too, but both have slipped in my personal rankings- Nausicaa is perhaps the only movie in history I liked better as a dubbed, cropped children's cartoon than as a restored widescreen treat for grownups. The kiddie edition was sprightlier, had better dialog and pacing and seemed like more of a fun adventure with an ecological undertone than the current version, which feels more like a Sierra Club morality play with some fun parts tacked on as an afterthought.
Porco Rosso I still haven't seen, oddly enough. I think it's a strange one that got re-edited for release here. And Whisper of the Heart has such an inauspicious title I will wave my ignorance of it like a battle flag and cheer myself on.
But Miyazaki is the one guy everyone should check out, even the die-hards who think Anime is only for geeks. So check out TCM in January, I guarantee something in that lineup that will appeal to you.
birthday apocalypse
I'm suffering from Birthday Fatigue.
Everyone I know had a birthday this month....tonight is the brother-in-law's.
The niece repsonded to the question "is tommorrow daddy's birthday?" in the negative...."no, it's my birthday."
The calender begs to differ (she shares a December birthday with her mother), but in practical terms she has a point- since the wife can't bear to visit without an armload of gifts it might as well be her birthday, or Christmas, or Kwanzaa, or whatever.
We're making pizza for the gathering. The wife is doing the dough, which she has a spiritual affinity for, I'm in charge of chopping and grating, suitably masculine kitchen pastimes fitting the mars/venus template within a worrisomely narrow tolerance.
Two pesto pizzas, one with goat cheese, olives and mushrooms, the other with gorgonzola and proscuitto. Two red sauce pizzas, one carmelized onion, roasted garlic and gorgonzola and the other a more traditional mozzarella, parmesan and salami.
Gifts for the neice are a red velvet dress and a copy of Madeline and the Bad Hat, while the brother in law will have to make do with a fetching new shirt and a special edition copy of Das Boot.
I can't drink beer any more, at least not to get drunk on. I come coldly awake at 7am regardless of how far into the morning the party went, and toss and turn fruitlessly until I surrender and rise to face the firing squad of morning. This may come into play this evening since my brother in law drinks nothing but.
I don't have this problem with real liquor. After Courtney's birthday this past week I drank tequila like water, danced my ass off until 4am and then slept like a baby far into the afternoon, purring like an immense tabby cat curled in a favorite chair.
The leisure to sleep off a magnificent and prolonged evening of debauchery is one of the underrated pleasures of life.
I work tommorrow and the chances of getting anything but beer tonight are slim, so Tuesday is a golden opportunity to bathe in the visual glory that is a hung over, insomniac Bax.
Everyone I know had a birthday this month....tonight is the brother-in-law's.
The niece repsonded to the question "is tommorrow daddy's birthday?" in the negative...."no, it's my birthday."
The calender begs to differ (she shares a December birthday with her mother), but in practical terms she has a point- since the wife can't bear to visit without an armload of gifts it might as well be her birthday, or Christmas, or Kwanzaa, or whatever.
We're making pizza for the gathering. The wife is doing the dough, which she has a spiritual affinity for, I'm in charge of chopping and grating, suitably masculine kitchen pastimes fitting the mars/venus template within a worrisomely narrow tolerance.
Two pesto pizzas, one with goat cheese, olives and mushrooms, the other with gorgonzola and proscuitto. Two red sauce pizzas, one carmelized onion, roasted garlic and gorgonzola and the other a more traditional mozzarella, parmesan and salami.
Gifts for the neice are a red velvet dress and a copy of Madeline and the Bad Hat, while the brother in law will have to make do with a fetching new shirt and a special edition copy of Das Boot.
I can't drink beer any more, at least not to get drunk on. I come coldly awake at 7am regardless of how far into the morning the party went, and toss and turn fruitlessly until I surrender and rise to face the firing squad of morning. This may come into play this evening since my brother in law drinks nothing but.
I don't have this problem with real liquor. After Courtney's birthday this past week I drank tequila like water, danced my ass off until 4am and then slept like a baby far into the afternoon, purring like an immense tabby cat curled in a favorite chair.
The leisure to sleep off a magnificent and prolonged evening of debauchery is one of the underrated pleasures of life.
I work tommorrow and the chances of getting anything but beer tonight are slim, so Tuesday is a golden opportunity to bathe in the visual glory that is a hung over, insomniac Bax.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Hobo Hijinks
Girl: What the fuck are you doing?
Guy: It was the train.
Girl: No, it fucking wasn't.
Guy: I thought it would be fun.
Girl: You know what would be fun? Me kicking you in the balls.
Guy: That wouldn't be fun.
Hobo: That would be a shitload of fun! Can I play?
--A train
Courtesy of Overheard in New York "
Guy: It was the train.
Girl: No, it fucking wasn't.
Guy: I thought it would be fun.
Girl: You know what would be fun? Me kicking you in the balls.
Guy: That wouldn't be fun.
Hobo: That would be a shitload of fun! Can I play?
--A train
Courtesy of Overheard in New York "
This is what I think of when I think of Japan
Inflatable robot suit.
This is much more like it, after the depressing corporate whimsy of the Hello Kitty jetliner.
This is much more like it, after the depressing corporate whimsy of the Hello Kitty jetliner.
Hello Kitty airplanes
Eeeeep.
Maybe it's just because I'm a man, but I like the Japanese better when they're pioneering the cutting edge of robotics...
Maybe it's just because I'm a man, but I like the Japanese better when they're pioneering the cutting edge of robotics...
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
music: new Kate Bush!
w00t!
One of my youthful favorites (The Dreaming is in my top ten p4p albums of the 80's), this is her first release since The Red Shoes in 1993....gawt damn that makes me feel old!
I'll have to check this one out.
Watch this space for a full report.
One of my youthful favorites (The Dreaming is in my top ten p4p albums of the 80's), this is her first release since The Red Shoes in 1993....gawt damn that makes me feel old!
I'll have to check this one out.
Watch this space for a full report.
Raiding my friends for content, part IIX
The source of Bobo's lunch today.
He denied ordering the Poo Chicken, but I have my doubts.
We're Number Three!
local school makes good
Congrats to the (usually puking drunk) student body of Cal Poly for staying out of the bars long enough to take 3rd in the Solar Decathalon.
Now if they could just stop falling through shop windows downtown every weekend we'd be getting somewhere.
Congrats to the (usually puking drunk) student body of Cal Poly for staying out of the bars long enough to take 3rd in the Solar Decathalon.
Now if they could just stop falling through shop windows downtown every weekend we'd be getting somewhere.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Interesting email site
willselfdestruct.com
You can send people secure messages that will cease to exist after a user-defined number of views or time limit.
Good for communicating with internet weirdos you're not sure can be trusted with your fake dodgeit email account!
You can send people secure messages that will cease to exist after a user-defined number of views or time limit.
Good for communicating with internet weirdos you're not sure can be trusted with your fake dodgeit email account!
BROKENSHELVES
Snazzy design.
But not very practical, from the standpoint of a book professional.
The design would place undue strain on the books at the end of the shelf that are holding all the other books in place, leading to wear and warpage.
But as an art installation piece, it's neato. And I suppose you could use it as a "new arrivals" rack in home or office to store all those books you mean to get to but don't have time for right now.
But not very practical, from the standpoint of a book professional.
The design would place undue strain on the books at the end of the shelf that are holding all the other books in place, leading to wear and warpage.
But as an art installation piece, it's neato. And I suppose you could use it as a "new arrivals" rack in home or office to store all those books you mean to get to but don't have time for right now.
Made-up words in The Simpsons
cross-referenced list courtesy of Wikipedia.
geek that I am, I didn't realize internet forum favorite 'meh' was Simpsonian in origin.
"cheese-eating surrender monkeys" is my favorite.
geek that I am, I didn't realize internet forum favorite 'meh' was Simpsonian in origin.
"cheese-eating surrender monkeys" is my favorite.
Anyone for some Vietnam?
Body counts and disputed totals
So, how exactly do you bomb a couple of villages and know for a certainty that all the people you killed were "insurgents"?
I wonder how long before Rumsfeld starts channeling McNamara and talking about "hearts and minds".
Speaking of which, check out The Fog of War. The echoes of Vietnam have only gotten louder since its original release.
(the US military) said all the dead were militants, although eyewitnesses are quoted saying that many were civilians.
So, how exactly do you bomb a couple of villages and know for a certainty that all the people you killed were "insurgents"?
I wonder how long before Rumsfeld starts channeling McNamara and talking about "hearts and minds".
Speaking of which, check out The Fog of War. The echoes of Vietnam have only gotten louder since its original release.
Emerging Police State: Updates
Your printer is informing on you.
So is Wal*Mart.
and they're even patenting your genes.
So is Wal*Mart.
"They asked me, didn't I think that it was suspicious," she recalls. "I said no, it was a Bill of Rights project!"
and they're even patenting your genes.
"It might come as a surprise to many people that in the U.S. patent system human DNA is treated like other natural chemical products," said Fiona Murray, a business and science professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge
curiously strong
survival kit in candy package.
Another internet kook with too much free time transforms the sweat of his brow into my mild amusement.
I like the saw....
Another internet kook with too much free time transforms the sweat of his brow into my mild amusement.
I like the saw....
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Saturday, October 15, 2005
tunes tunes TUNES
Let's play a game.
It's like that one meme where people hit random on their ipods, but not as fey.
Since my computer is my ipod, how about I post the first four great songs I find on my hard drive and you download and listen to them.
Easy!
(I'm using filefactory for these, should be easier on your end)
Elliott Smith - Clementine
My second favorite song of his (number one is Independence Day) off the best ES bootleg there is, and one of the best boots I've found period. 98 is a good year, he'd nailed down his performances and his voice was still strong. Amazing song, amazing performance, amazing recording.
Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes
My favorite tune off a fantastic, underexposed and appreciated album. I've always loved the song Dazzle by Souxsie & the Banshees, this has the same vibe with way better lyrics.
Wolf Parade - I'll Believe Anything
The kind of song that makes you feel young and like this one song is the most important thing in the world for four minutes and thirty six seconds. It starts off great and just keeps getting better...this song absolutely fucking KILLS.
TV on the Radio - Young Liars
About perfect.
No, strike that.....it is perfect.
Dig.
It's like that one meme where people hit random on their ipods, but not as fey.
Since my computer is my ipod, how about I post the first four great songs I find on my hard drive and you download and listen to them.
Easy!
(I'm using filefactory for these, should be easier on your end)
Elliott Smith - Clementine
My second favorite song of his (number one is Independence Day) off the best ES bootleg there is, and one of the best boots I've found period. 98 is a good year, he'd nailed down his performances and his voice was still strong. Amazing song, amazing performance, amazing recording.
Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes
My favorite tune off a fantastic, underexposed and appreciated album. I've always loved the song Dazzle by Souxsie & the Banshees, this has the same vibe with way better lyrics.
my dewy-eyed disney bride, what has tried
swapping your blood with formaldehyde?
monsters?
whiskey-plied voices cried fratricide!
jesus don't you know that you could've died
(you should've died)
with the monsters that talk....monsters that walk the earth
Wolf Parade - I'll Believe Anything
The kind of song that makes you feel young and like this one song is the most important thing in the world for four minutes and thirty six seconds. It starts off great and just keeps getting better...this song absolutely fucking KILLS.
TV on the Radio - Young Liars
About perfect.
No, strike that.....it is perfect.
Dig.
Erotic Haiku
another real-world book.
some samples, chosen at random:
(all translated from the Japanese)
Basho these folk ain't.
some samples, chosen at random:
mouth open skyward
on her tongue raindrops
of my love
a cold room
-my nipples rise
to greet you
a tatooed butterfly
shivering
on her buttocks
(all translated from the Japanese)
Basho these folk ain't.
why 'My Name is Earl' stinks
Jason Lee is an appealing screen presence, in spite of being a baying Scientologist. He could roll out of bed and engage my sympathy as the type of scruffy n'er do well everyman he essays in this show.
But good acting and casting can't correct terrible writing.
The show is frustrating because it's ALMOST well written, but can't resist breaking the cardinal rules of comedy, explaining the joke. Every time it does something marginally fresh or creative, it has to pause (or in this case, cut to a flashback) and give a powerpoint presentation on the geneology & lineage of the joke. In treating its audience like lobotomized, mouth-breathing mall dwellers it creates a self fulfilling demographic prophecy....because no other audience would hang around for each after-joke lecture on why what you just heard was so funny.
Here's hoping it gets cancelled so Lee can recreate the role in movies unfettered by paranoiac script editors scared of losing the midwest by taking a turn too fast.
But good acting and casting can't correct terrible writing.
The show is frustrating because it's ALMOST well written, but can't resist breaking the cardinal rules of comedy, explaining the joke. Every time it does something marginally fresh or creative, it has to pause (or in this case, cut to a flashback) and give a powerpoint presentation on the geneology & lineage of the joke. In treating its audience like lobotomized, mouth-breathing mall dwellers it creates a self fulfilling demographic prophecy....because no other audience would hang around for each after-joke lecture on why what you just heard was so funny.
Here's hoping it gets cancelled so Lee can recreate the role in movies unfettered by paranoiac script editors scared of losing the midwest by taking a turn too fast.
Your Evolving Police State at Work
Wal*Mart spies for Bush.
Just incredible.
"They asked me, didn't I think that it was suspicious," she recalls. "I said no, it was a Bill of Rights project!"
Just incredible.
Sayings of the Vikings
More than 1000 years old!
(Translated from the original by Bjorn Jonasson)
Self-Dicipline
The glutton does not
guard himself
eats till he's ill.
Wiser men
only mock
a fool's fat belly.
(Translated from the original by Bjorn Jonasson)
Rare Luis Buñuel Posters
I'm a sucker for stuff like this.
This poster for 1974's Phantom of Liberty has come full circle, from reportage to nostalgia back to reportage.
This poster for 1974's Phantom of Liberty has come full circle, from reportage to nostalgia back to reportage.
Rain, potential
It's cloudy and (sorta) cold!
Whoohooo, chance of rain!
Let's get the numbers from our pals at SLO Weather dot com...oh wait, they don't tell me. =/
Following their link, we get
This is very exciting to me, since it was 100 freaking degrees here Thursday, and only marginally better yesterday. Has Fall finally come to the Middle Kingdom? We can only hope.
I have a personal interest in the weather being cool and damp today- the wife is selling her crocheted wares at some kind of hippie green earth treehugging event, and over the years I've found that the greatest predictor of financial windfall is the weather.
Our friend Devra made an excellent logo for Tinerwear International, which I'll try and remember to scan and post here. The brand has evolved over time- the first year she was only making hats, and the masthead read Tinerhats. The next year she added scarves to the mix, but stuck with Tinerhats in spite of the disconnect with the product line. This past year she's expanded into ponchos, and the evolution to Tinerwear was inevitable. It also provides room to grow, covering pretty much anything she gets a hankering to create, short of human life.
A financial report will follow tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for rain!
Whoohooo, chance of rain!
Let's get the numbers from our pals at SLO Weather dot com...oh wait, they don't tell me. =/
Following their link, we get
Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers in the morning...Then partly cloudy and breezy in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 50s and 60s. Northwest winds increasing to 15 to 25 mph. Local gusts to 40 mph at The beaches.
This is very exciting to me, since it was 100 freaking degrees here Thursday, and only marginally better yesterday. Has Fall finally come to the Middle Kingdom? We can only hope.
I have a personal interest in the weather being cool and damp today- the wife is selling her crocheted wares at some kind of hippie green earth treehugging event, and over the years I've found that the greatest predictor of financial windfall is the weather.
Our friend Devra made an excellent logo for Tinerwear International, which I'll try and remember to scan and post here. The brand has evolved over time- the first year she was only making hats, and the masthead read Tinerhats. The next year she added scarves to the mix, but stuck with Tinerhats in spite of the disconnect with the product line. This past year she's expanded into ponchos, and the evolution to Tinerwear was inevitable. It also provides room to grow, covering pretty much anything she gets a hankering to create, short of human life.
A financial report will follow tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for rain!
Friday, October 14, 2005
Do Not Mess with the Librarian!
Sweet, sweet revenge.
A heartwarming tale, although it's sad the system is set up so only a professional can easily navigate the shoals of justice.
Nice to see one spammer take it in the shorts, regardless.
A heartwarming tale, although it's sad the system is set up so only a professional can easily navigate the shoals of justice.
Nice to see one spammer take it in the shorts, regardless.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Runaway Meme
Man, this Snakes on a Plane thing is going FAST, even for teh internet.
own the shirt!
remixed movie posters
own the shirt!
remixed movie posters
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
New Elliott Smith tune
Trouble, from the Thumbsucker soundtrack.
A Cat Stevens cover well suited to Elliott's style.
It was recorded in 2003, not long before his death, and the wear and tear on his voice is obvious...the more live shows I collect, the harder it is for me to listen to anything after about 2000. The drugs and whatever other problems he had make them too sad after the purity and ease of the earlier shows.
Everything comes through in his voice, which is part of what made him so brilliant...but it can make listening to later recordings (even an official release like From a Basement on the Hill) depressing, like driving slowly past a pile up on the freeway.
It's the same feeling I get listening to Billie Holliday's later recordings.
You can sense their sadness at being so reduced they can no longer do what was once effortless, and knowing it's their own damn fault.
Fucking heroin.
A Cat Stevens cover well suited to Elliott's style.
It was recorded in 2003, not long before his death, and the wear and tear on his voice is obvious...the more live shows I collect, the harder it is for me to listen to anything after about 2000. The drugs and whatever other problems he had make them too sad after the purity and ease of the earlier shows.
Everything comes through in his voice, which is part of what made him so brilliant...but it can make listening to later recordings (even an official release like From a Basement on the Hill) depressing, like driving slowly past a pile up on the freeway.
It's the same feeling I get listening to Billie Holliday's later recordings.
You can sense their sadness at being so reduced they can no longer do what was once effortless, and knowing it's their own damn fault.
Fucking heroin.
UFO Maps
Google pauses on their road to global hegemony to provide a little comic relief.
I'm a bit disappointed in my home state's poor showing here....our UFO Gap with the upper Midwest is unacceptable, and I hope the Governator takes time off from nurse-and-teacher bashing to address this growing problem.
(ps: the Blogger spell checker OK'ed my use of "Governator". Hah!)
I'm a bit disappointed in my home state's poor showing here....our UFO Gap with the upper Midwest is unacceptable, and I hope the Governator takes time off from nurse-and-teacher bashing to address this growing problem.
(ps: the Blogger spell checker OK'ed my use of "Governator". Hah!)
Monday, October 10, 2005
Van Morrison's Contractual Obligation Album
Van Morrison Sings the Phone Book
One of the standard compliments for Van's gravely white boy soul act is saying he could "sing the phone book" (as it was said that Olivier could "recite the phone book") and keep your interest.
Well, here he is, singing the phone book!
Now we can test its validity firsthand.
(tip of the hat to DT's Brother's Blog for the link)
One of the standard compliments for Van's gravely white boy soul act is saying he could "sing the phone book" (as it was said that Olivier could "recite the phone book") and keep your interest.
Well, here he is, singing the phone book!
Now we can test its validity firsthand.
(tip of the hat to DT's Brother's Blog for the link)
Too Much Coffee Man
It must be the future, because TMCM has a web page.
I was a fan of the hardcopy black and white 'alternative' comic book back in the day. It never scaled the artistic heights of Milk & Cheese or Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, but it was fun and diverting and I still wear my old-timey TMCM tee shirt to work now and again.
Nice to see he's still around.
I was a fan of the hardcopy black and white 'alternative' comic book back in the day. It never scaled the artistic heights of Milk & Cheese or Reid Fleming, World's Toughest Milkman, but it was fun and diverting and I still wear my old-timey TMCM tee shirt to work now and again.
Nice to see he's still around.
World Beard and Moustache Championships
w00t!
I love baroque facial hair in the abstract. German philosophers and Civil War soldiers seem to have the historical market cornered, it's nice to see some modern fellas holding up the side.
Sunday, October 9, 2005
1000 Things Made Of Bamboo
dig!
Some neat stuff. I myself have a stylish bamboo cutting board, which is way better than my traditional wood one (doesn't warp) and much more attractive than my white plastic one.
Saturday, October 8, 2005
Encounters with the Fiend
I'm a favorite of the niece because I have a high tolerance for repetitive behavior, and two and a half year olds have OCD.
Her parents are her parents, and spend too much time with her not to have solid boundaries that prevent her from, for example, rolling them across the floor and back for 20 minutes straight. The wife is good for five minutes of the same activity before she needs to change the channel. Grandma (a bit of a two year old herself) wants to do what she wants to do, niece be damned. I'm usually good for 30 minutes of whatever repetitive antics she cooks up, which is (usually) 10 minutes longer than her attention span.
So I win.
And what's the prize, you ask?
Well...here are some of our games.
Last night was "roll across the bed", a variation on "roll across the floor".
Better, because a mattress has it all over a carpet for cushioning, and a bed is a lot smaller than a room.
I introduced a popular new wrinkle by getting stuck once I reached the wall, necessitating rescue.
"Are you tuck?"
"Oh, oh I'm stuck...help me!"
"Ok!"
A game we used to play that has fallen from favor is "I hide, and you come find me".
She has a pretty loose understanding of the rules...when I'd pretend to be befuddled and say "now, where could the Fiend be hiding?" she'd say "I'm over here!" and come running out of concealment.
Another one is "run around the store and laugh", where she runs around the store and laughs, and I follow her. I'm not sure what part exactly I play in this drama, but if I don't follow her she doubles back and says "you follow me, okay?"
The Gap seems to be her favorite for this one. She crawls under the sale rack, circles through the men's department, touches the promo sign by the side door, then hides by the pants in the children's section. Rinse and repeat.
The other night she had a great time making the footrest on my chair go up and down during my brother-in-law's 4,000th screening of Withnail & I. My astonishment at her incredible strength was a required element, otherwise I'd get her 'mean face', which is pretty intimidating considering she's maybe three feet tall in her ruby slippers.
When we were all up at the cabin this summer we played "I knock and you come open the door", which was a thriller. She's go out on the living room deck, then knock and I'd open the door. I had to cut this one short because I was cooking, a sore disappointment for her. She made do with sitting at the counter and making "pretend eggs" while I worked, pausing to taste them and compliment her delicate touch with the seasonings every so often.
I doubt my showing her that pushing men around is her birthright will do me much good when the time comes to renew my membership in the He Man Woman Haters Club.
Oh well!
We have our fun.
Her parents are her parents, and spend too much time with her not to have solid boundaries that prevent her from, for example, rolling them across the floor and back for 20 minutes straight. The wife is good for five minutes of the same activity before she needs to change the channel. Grandma (a bit of a two year old herself) wants to do what she wants to do, niece be damned. I'm usually good for 30 minutes of whatever repetitive antics she cooks up, which is (usually) 10 minutes longer than her attention span.
So I win.
And what's the prize, you ask?
Well...here are some of our games.
Last night was "roll across the bed", a variation on "roll across the floor".
Better, because a mattress has it all over a carpet for cushioning, and a bed is a lot smaller than a room.
I introduced a popular new wrinkle by getting stuck once I reached the wall, necessitating rescue.
"Are you tuck?"
"Oh, oh I'm stuck...help me!"
"Ok!"
A game we used to play that has fallen from favor is "I hide, and you come find me".
She has a pretty loose understanding of the rules...when I'd pretend to be befuddled and say "now, where could the Fiend be hiding?" she'd say "I'm over here!" and come running out of concealment.
Another one is "run around the store and laugh", where she runs around the store and laughs, and I follow her. I'm not sure what part exactly I play in this drama, but if I don't follow her she doubles back and says "you follow me, okay?"
The Gap seems to be her favorite for this one. She crawls under the sale rack, circles through the men's department, touches the promo sign by the side door, then hides by the pants in the children's section. Rinse and repeat.
The other night she had a great time making the footrest on my chair go up and down during my brother-in-law's 4,000th screening of Withnail & I. My astonishment at her incredible strength was a required element, otherwise I'd get her 'mean face', which is pretty intimidating considering she's maybe three feet tall in her ruby slippers.
When we were all up at the cabin this summer we played "I knock and you come open the door", which was a thriller. She's go out on the living room deck, then knock and I'd open the door. I had to cut this one short because I was cooking, a sore disappointment for her. She made do with sitting at the counter and making "pretend eggs" while I worked, pausing to taste them and compliment her delicate touch with the seasonings every so often.
I doubt my showing her that pushing men around is her birthright will do me much good when the time comes to renew my membership in the He Man Woman Haters Club.
Oh well!
We have our fun.
Friday, October 7, 2005
Soviet Calculators Collection
just what it says biches!
The planned birthday trip to SF didn't pan out and we ended up spending a night in scenic Soledad.
Full report to follow.
The planned birthday trip to SF didn't pan out and we ended up spending a night in scenic Soledad.
Full report to follow.
Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Politics: stealing content
comments from readers of Atrios r/e Bush's "news conference" to "explain" why an unqualified ass-kisser is being named to the supreme court:
That lazy drunk has got no business talking down to me.
Nookyular Moolah
I just screamed at the television, "Stop talking to us as if we're as stupid as you are!"
Not very adult, but when we've been infantilized for years, I guess this will happen more often.
Jen in Brooklyn
(psst....it's "Antonin" Scalia, not Anthony) ^_^
Nim
Not according to my President, it isn't. I'm his favorite judge.
Anthony Scalia
With mute on, you miss the slurring. No fun. I suspect the closed captioning was quite a task for the stenographers.
He looks tired and weak and incapable. There are a few moments, when he gets back to his fifteen GI Joe pull-the-cord lines, but mostly he sounds palsied. Or medicated.
pseudonymous in nc
It's Springtime... For Dubya... And America!!!! (insert musical note graphics)
Phobos Deimos
call from the niece
my 2 year old niece calls me at work every now and then to make sure everything is on track. Today's call was about this evening's birthday party for the wife.
me: hello?
niece: heyoh? teeb?
me: yes, fiend...how are you doing?
niece: oh, fine. when you come over tonight?
me: 5 or 6.
niece: oh good! i make a cake for you and eenie. (that's the wife)
me: Thank you! what kind of cake?
niece: uh...uh....for you a green one.
me: i get my own cake?
niece. yes. and for eenie....a PINK one!
me: oooh, she'll like that.
niece: yes. for you a green one, for eenie a pink one!
me: yummy! we got you a present, you can have it tonight.
niece: i like presents. i got a present for eenie too!
me: oh fun.
niece: ok, bye now.
me: see you tonight, fiend.
niece: ok...bye bye!
me: hello?
niece: heyoh? teeb?
me: yes, fiend...how are you doing?
niece: oh, fine. when you come over tonight?
me: 5 or 6.
niece: oh good! i make a cake for you and eenie. (that's the wife)
me: Thank you! what kind of cake?
niece: uh...uh....for you a green one.
me: i get my own cake?
niece. yes. and for eenie....a PINK one!
me: oooh, she'll like that.
niece: yes. for you a green one, for eenie a pink one!
me: yummy! we got you a present, you can have it tonight.
niece: i like presents. i got a present for eenie too!
me: oh fun.
niece: ok, bye now.
me: see you tonight, fiend.
niece: ok...bye bye!
music: forgot one...
Sun Kil Moon - Tiny Cities
Ok this one isn't officially out, but again, James comes through (When you're straining to keep pace with the fast moving blast front of popular music agents on the inside are a necessity, not a luxury.)
All the songs are covers of Modest Mouse tunes. One of Mark Kozeleck's previous solo albums was all AC/DC covers (which you should appreciate, Don). That dichotomy is what makes Kozeleck appealing to me, whether he's solo or with the Red House Painters or Sun Kil Moon.
I was never into Modest Mouse, despite near-hysterical prostheletyzing from my college radio DJ friends in the mid-90's. To this day they tell me that missing their show at Linnea's Cafe is one of the tragedies of my life, a dubious prospect when you consider the sheer volume of shows I've blown off by bands I like.
But Kozelek has one of the great male voices going, and his covers are more illuminating and transformative than most (check the workout Yes's Long Distance Runaround and All Mixed Up by the Cars get on Songs for a Blue Guitar.
He's never covered a song he didn't make his own, and I never had a beef with Modest Mouse's songwriting ....just their singing and playing.
So I'm enjoying this one.
It doesn't pack dynamite in both fists like Ghosts of the Great Highway, but it's a nice placeholder until he comes back with another original RHP or SKM release.
Ok this one isn't officially out, but again, James comes through (When you're straining to keep pace with the fast moving blast front of popular music agents on the inside are a necessity, not a luxury.)
All the songs are covers of Modest Mouse tunes. One of Mark Kozeleck's previous solo albums was all AC/DC covers (which you should appreciate, Don). That dichotomy is what makes Kozeleck appealing to me, whether he's solo or with the Red House Painters or Sun Kil Moon.
I was never into Modest Mouse, despite near-hysterical prostheletyzing from my college radio DJ friends in the mid-90's. To this day they tell me that missing their show at Linnea's Cafe is one of the tragedies of my life, a dubious prospect when you consider the sheer volume of shows I've blown off by bands I like.
But Kozelek has one of the great male voices going, and his covers are more illuminating and transformative than most (check the workout Yes's Long Distance Runaround and All Mixed Up by the Cars get on Songs for a Blue Guitar.
He's never covered a song he didn't make his own, and I never had a beef with Modest Mouse's songwriting ....just their singing and playing.
So I'm enjoying this one.
It doesn't pack dynamite in both fists like Ghosts of the Great Highway, but it's a nice placeholder until he comes back with another original RHP or SKM release.
Monday, October 3, 2005
music: the personal touch
I've been a little distracted lately, so the blog has been little more than a dumping ground for nifty links with a snide or snappy paragraph appended to humanize the entry.
Well, I'm defragging the hard drive now, which gives me the downtime to cobble together a real entry...this week's musical purchases.
Contrary to the beliefs of the RIAA and like-minded corporate rights groups, downloading music does not immediately transform well behaved commuters on the information superhighway into bomb-throwing, soap-hating anarchist Yippes burning to stick it to the man where it counts...right up his musical royalty chute!
But it does provide a level of consumer protection that ensures you'll only buy a bad CD on purpose, not because you didn't know any better.
Petra Hayden and Bill Frisell
It must have been filed under Hayden instead of Frisell, because I missed it up until yesterday. Very much in Bill's "americana" vein of gentle old-timey playing, spruced up here and there with some tasteful distortion and loops. My first exposure to Petra...she has a lovely voice for harmony, but when she's singing with one voice I'd characterize her sound as "sweet but not filling".
It's an album of mostly covers, good ones. The high point for me (and the reason I immediately bought the disc instead of waiting for a used one to come around) is the first track; Satellite, originally by one of my pound for pound favorites Elliott Smith. The alchemy of Bill Frisell playing those delicate guitar parts nearly sent me toppling off the listening station stool in a diabetic coma of ecstacy. Petra is no Elliott, but the lovely harmonies do the song justice, and it's nice to hear it WELL recorded (the original, from his self-titled second album on the trendy Kill Rock Stars label, sounded like it was recorded on an old 8 track in someone's basement).
The rest of the disc is fine on first listen, with some other standout tracks (I Don't Want to Grow Up, John Hardy). I have the feeling it will grow on me.
Wolf Parade - Apologies to Queen Mary
Another winner from my crusade to avoid being a lame geezer who's musical evolution ceased at high school graduation. They're part of the burgeoning Montreal scene spearheaded by the quite excellent Arcade Fire, and have chops enough for any three normal bands. My music geek buddy James played some of their stuff at a drunken debauched dance party we had a few weeks back, so I jumped on this one. First impressions are good- they're tight, the singers can sing (always a worry with "indie rock") and they write great songs. Worth the price of admission for the brilliant, showstopping I'll Believe Anything, one of those perfect songs I'll still be listening to 20 years from now. Perfectly paced, it builds to a cyclone of a finale that leaves you delirious, breathless and spent.
New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
I'll admit it, I buy these cats primarly because I can't get enough Neko Case, the best voice in popular music today. There's a ton of music here, and I won't even pretend I've listened to it enough to figure out half of what's going on. But there are several standout tracks showcasing Neko (Bones of an Idol, These are the Fables)that rule. The rest of them sound pretty good too.
Pick up her fabulous country noir release Blacklisted from a few years back. Calexico backs her and the whole affair couldn't be more potent and atmospheric. I had the good fortune to catch her opening for Calexico last year, and they reprised their roles from this album, leaving me prostrate with joy. Her voice has even more of a velvet laser beam quality live, it could drill a hole through the world to China and emerge retaining enough force to entrance an entire city in the Gansu province.
note for bobo
There's some Test Department up on alt.binaries.sounds.lossless!
Relive your youth!
Well, I'm defragging the hard drive now, which gives me the downtime to cobble together a real entry...this week's musical purchases.
Contrary to the beliefs of the RIAA and like-minded corporate rights groups, downloading music does not immediately transform well behaved commuters on the information superhighway into bomb-throwing, soap-hating anarchist Yippes burning to stick it to the man where it counts...right up his musical royalty chute!
But it does provide a level of consumer protection that ensures you'll only buy a bad CD on purpose, not because you didn't know any better.
Petra Hayden and Bill Frisell
It must have been filed under Hayden instead of Frisell, because I missed it up until yesterday. Very much in Bill's "americana" vein of gentle old-timey playing, spruced up here and there with some tasteful distortion and loops. My first exposure to Petra...she has a lovely voice for harmony, but when she's singing with one voice I'd characterize her sound as "sweet but not filling".
It's an album of mostly covers, good ones. The high point for me (and the reason I immediately bought the disc instead of waiting for a used one to come around) is the first track; Satellite, originally by one of my pound for pound favorites Elliott Smith. The alchemy of Bill Frisell playing those delicate guitar parts nearly sent me toppling off the listening station stool in a diabetic coma of ecstacy. Petra is no Elliott, but the lovely harmonies do the song justice, and it's nice to hear it WELL recorded (the original, from his self-titled second album on the trendy Kill Rock Stars label, sounded like it was recorded on an old 8 track in someone's basement).
The rest of the disc is fine on first listen, with some other standout tracks (I Don't Want to Grow Up, John Hardy). I have the feeling it will grow on me.
Wolf Parade - Apologies to Queen Mary
Another winner from my crusade to avoid being a lame geezer who's musical evolution ceased at high school graduation. They're part of the burgeoning Montreal scene spearheaded by the quite excellent Arcade Fire, and have chops enough for any three normal bands. My music geek buddy James played some of their stuff at a drunken debauched dance party we had a few weeks back, so I jumped on this one. First impressions are good- they're tight, the singers can sing (always a worry with "indie rock") and they write great songs. Worth the price of admission for the brilliant, showstopping I'll Believe Anything, one of those perfect songs I'll still be listening to 20 years from now. Perfectly paced, it builds to a cyclone of a finale that leaves you delirious, breathless and spent.
New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
I'll admit it, I buy these cats primarly because I can't get enough Neko Case, the best voice in popular music today. There's a ton of music here, and I won't even pretend I've listened to it enough to figure out half of what's going on. But there are several standout tracks showcasing Neko (Bones of an Idol, These are the Fables)that rule. The rest of them sound pretty good too.
Pick up her fabulous country noir release Blacklisted from a few years back. Calexico backs her and the whole affair couldn't be more potent and atmospheric. I had the good fortune to catch her opening for Calexico last year, and they reprised their roles from this album, leaving me prostrate with joy. Her voice has even more of a velvet laser beam quality live, it could drill a hole through the world to China and emerge retaining enough force to entrance an entire city in the Gansu province.
note for bobo
There's some Test Department up on alt.binaries.sounds.lossless!
Relive your youth!
Sunday, October 2, 2005
The Million Dollar Homepage
neat.
I get ideas like this all the time, cool notions tha would probably turn a buck.
I simply lack the "follow through" gene.
I'm impressed by people who can come up with fun ideas and actually make them happen...
I get ideas like this all the time, cool notions tha would probably turn a buck.
I simply lack the "follow through" gene.
I'm impressed by people who can come up with fun ideas and actually make them happen...
Saturday, October 1, 2005
Daddy Wants.
The Official Predicta Television Site!
I'm not a retro nut like some folks, but these are damn snazzy.
I'm partial to the Holiday....Bobo digs the Chalet.
I'm not a retro nut like some folks, but these are damn snazzy.
I'm partial to the Holiday....Bobo digs the Chalet.
Operation Bold Decisive Operation
Scroll down a bit.
My favorites:
Operation Tombstone Pile Driver
(sounds like a white-trash blues song)
Operation Grizzly Forced Entry
(who's making this porn film?)
Operation Phantom Fury
(so the fury is immaterial?)
They should hire a liberal arts major to think up good operation names for them....
My favorites:
Operation Tombstone Pile Driver
(sounds like a white-trash blues song)
Operation Grizzly Forced Entry
(who's making this porn film?)
Operation Phantom Fury
(so the fury is immaterial?)
They should hire a liberal arts major to think up good operation names for them....
Bomb the mosques!
Hah.
From Bush declaring our "crusade" in the Middle East to this...the cultural myopia and tone-deafness of the military industrial complex is beyond belief.
Boeing and its joint-venture partner Bell Helicopter apologized yesterday for a magazine ad published a month ago — and again this week by mistake — depicting U.S. Special Forces troops rappelling from an Osprey aircraft onto the roof of a mosque.
"It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell," reads the ad, which ran this week in the National Journal and earlier in the Armed Forces Journal. The ad also stated: "Consider it a gift from above."
From Bush declaring our "crusade" in the Middle East to this...the cultural myopia and tone-deafness of the military industrial complex is beyond belief.
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