Boo.
Tomorrow, for the first time, I'm going to work on a Saturday. And it may be most of a Saturday. Fantastic cap to what must have been one of my worst weeks ever.
The Governator Will TAKE YOU DOWN!
I almost busted out laughing when I saw this picture accompanying the BBC's story about Bush's visit to California:
Arnie seriously looks like he's about to snap the President in twain.
Arnie seriously looks like he's about to snap the President in twain.
Imitation Tunes
Plenty of commercials use popular and recognizable music to help sell wares. UPS' brilliant white board ads use The Postal Service's Such Great Heights. Cadillac abused Led Zeppelin's Rock and Roll before finally switching to Stars by the alternative rock band, Hum.
What drives me up a wall, however, is the lengths companies go to when they can't get the genuine article. Either they won't pony up the coin required to use the real song, or the musicians (for reasons of integrity or otherwise) won't sign off. What do we get instead? We get Heineken's misguided Keg Can ad ripping off of Daft Punk. We get Dodge trying to cop a commercial contact buzz off of Apple by using a bouncy guitar/mandolin tune in their latest Caravan commercial (I can't find a clip as of this writing).
I know why they do it. I don't expect more than 0.05% of ads to be original. I still can't stand it.
What drives me up a wall, however, is the lengths companies go to when they can't get the genuine article. Either they won't pony up the coin required to use the real song, or the musicians (for reasons of integrity or otherwise) won't sign off. What do we get instead? We get Heineken's misguided Keg Can ad ripping off of Daft Punk. We get Dodge trying to cop a commercial contact buzz off of Apple by using a bouncy guitar/mandolin tune in their latest Caravan commercial (I can't find a clip as of this writing).
I know why they do it. I don't expect more than 0.05% of ads to be original. I still can't stand it.
RJD2 - 1976
Watch. Listen. Enjoy.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6qgBnPUnjU&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6qgBnPUnjU&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
...and all I got was this t-shirt.
Tomorrow evening, October 26th at 6pm, Apple releases OS X 10.5, "Leopard," to the public. As of this writing, Apple's retail page indicates that the first 500 visitors (to each store, I believe) will receive a free Leopard t-shirt.
As much as I want the new version, I'm not really in a position to upgrade yet (and did that Photoshop issue ever get sorted out?).
I do, however, like free t-shirts, so I think I may be waiting in line tomorrow night.
As much as I want the new version, I'm not really in a position to upgrade yet (and did that Photoshop issue ever get sorted out?).
I do, however, like free t-shirts, so I think I may be waiting in line tomorrow night.
POLE!
After a stressful day, nothing makes me smile more than some slapstick comedy. This commercial for the game Flash Focus on the Nintendo DS made my evening so much more jolly:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5RVfai1f9g&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5RVfai1f9g&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
37
I'm fortunate enough to have a fair amount of vacation time each year. As much as I enjoy taking the occasional long weekend, there's nothing quite like an extended break to recuperate.
I can tell you after the last several days that I seriously need one of those.
I may work a pretty standard 40-45 hour work week, but it's the intensity of my workdays recently that have driven me near insane. I feel like I'm being squeezed in a vice between project after project and task after task. Sometimes it seems that every other day ten different people are asking me for ten different things at the same time.
All that whining and moaning aside, I'm essentially keeping focused by counting down my work days left this year. As of this posting, that's 37. I have the day after my birthday off, and two days around my sis-in-law's graduation. In between of course is the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. But the real good stuff starts on December 21st when my office closes early and I take the entire next week off as well as New Year's Eve (and the office is closed on New Year's Day).
That healthy vacation is where my heart is set now, and I'll be crossing off each coming day with a red permanent marker until I get there.
I can tell you after the last several days that I seriously need one of those.
I may work a pretty standard 40-45 hour work week, but it's the intensity of my workdays recently that have driven me near insane. I feel like I'm being squeezed in a vice between project after project and task after task. Sometimes it seems that every other day ten different people are asking me for ten different things at the same time.
All that whining and moaning aside, I'm essentially keeping focused by counting down my work days left this year. As of this posting, that's 37. I have the day after my birthday off, and two days around my sis-in-law's graduation. In between of course is the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. But the real good stuff starts on December 21st when my office closes early and I take the entire next week off as well as New Year's Eve (and the office is closed on New Year's Day).
That healthy vacation is where my heart is set now, and I'll be crossing off each coming day with a red permanent marker until I get there.
The Pyro in Me
Today's been a really busy day work-wise, which means it's been a really slow day blog-wise, but I did manage to find this awesome high-speed-camera clip of a lighter striking and burning:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPP7WLuZVUk&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPP7WLuZVUk&rel=1&w=425&h=355]
As if Wikipedia wasn't useful enough.
I just discovered an excellent set of pages on Wikipedia: the entire collection of "...in film" pages.
For example, you can view a page summarizing the awards, events, and theatrical releases (by month and day) for the year 2007. This has already helped me glean films that I missed in theaters which I can add to my Netflix list. Replete with the usual links to nearly everything, these pages are also great springboards into further nerd research about actors, directors, etc.
While the pages are weighted almost exclusively towards American and British releases, they're still capacious resources for me (and many other of my readers, I'm sure) since most of the cinema I watch is American or British.
There's a master list as well for jumping to any decade or year you choose.
For example, you can view a page summarizing the awards, events, and theatrical releases (by month and day) for the year 2007. This has already helped me glean films that I missed in theaters which I can add to my Netflix list. Replete with the usual links to nearly everything, these pages are also great springboards into further nerd research about actors, directors, etc.
While the pages are weighted almost exclusively towards American and British releases, they're still capacious resources for me (and many other of my readers, I'm sure) since most of the cinema I watch is American or British.
There's a master list as well for jumping to any decade or year you choose.
"...like watching one of Jerry's Kids get in the ring with Mike Tyson."
It's pretty effortless to laugh at the martial artist and would-be actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, but I don't think I've laughed so much at him as when I read Grady Hendrix's homage in Slate.
A few letters sure make a big difference...
Eschatological: having to do with the end of the world.
Scatological: having to do with excrement.
Escatological: when the $#!% hits the fan?
Scatological: having to do with excrement.
Escatological: when the $#!% hits the fan?
Weekend Warrior
I thought weekends were supposed to be relaxing. At least that's my middle-class-white-collar-American perception.
So last night Valerie and I drove up from Richmond to her mom's house in Northern Virginia. Her sister was arriving at 11:16 last night from Florida, just for the weekend, and we were going to pick her up at National Airport. We took Valerie's Jetta (which is a year older than my Jetta), which had just been serviced and had a fresh oil change.
We arrived last night with no trouble and ate a nice dinner with my mother-in-law. We decided to hold off until close to 11 before leaving to pick up Elizabeth since were were just going to pull up to the terminal when she was ready at the curb. We took Val's car, and I drove. This was both good, and horrible.
I think when I say it was good, I really mean that it was less horrible than it would have been had the same magical adventure occurred on our way back to Richmond.
About ten miles from my in-law's house on I-95 a loud beep issued from the dashboard and a flashing red temperature light began to blink as the temperature gauge quickly climbed all the way to the right. I had to pull over quickly and shut off the engine before doing permanent damage to the car. Within minutes, a highway services vehicle flashed his yellow lights and pulled up behind us. The driver checked the fluids with me and noticed the coolant was a little low, but not empty. He topped it off with water, and we started the engine. No dice; the temperature climbed back up again. This means, most likely (and hopefully), that there's a thermostat issue. Which means we'll be over charged for somebody to examine it and fix the problem.
Hooray.
Additionally, this meant we couldn't pick up Elizabeth on time either. Or at all, really, because we didn't know how long it would be until the tow truck arrived. So Elizabeth took a shuttle home while we took a $127 ride home in a truck cab. We figured Elizabeth would be home shortly after us. Except she had the crappiest ride home ever with a driver who didn't know where he was going and had all the charm of a slime ball.
Now all four of us here are running on a few hours of sleep, crappy happenings, and miffed tempers. That sounds like a recipe for an awesome weekend.
I can't wait to go back to Richmond.
So last night Valerie and I drove up from Richmond to her mom's house in Northern Virginia. Her sister was arriving at 11:16 last night from Florida, just for the weekend, and we were going to pick her up at National Airport. We took Valerie's Jetta (which is a year older than my Jetta), which had just been serviced and had a fresh oil change.
We arrived last night with no trouble and ate a nice dinner with my mother-in-law. We decided to hold off until close to 11 before leaving to pick up Elizabeth since were were just going to pull up to the terminal when she was ready at the curb. We took Val's car, and I drove. This was both good, and horrible.
I think when I say it was good, I really mean that it was less horrible than it would have been had the same magical adventure occurred on our way back to Richmond.
About ten miles from my in-law's house on I-95 a loud beep issued from the dashboard and a flashing red temperature light began to blink as the temperature gauge quickly climbed all the way to the right. I had to pull over quickly and shut off the engine before doing permanent damage to the car. Within minutes, a highway services vehicle flashed his yellow lights and pulled up behind us. The driver checked the fluids with me and noticed the coolant was a little low, but not empty. He topped it off with water, and we started the engine. No dice; the temperature climbed back up again. This means, most likely (and hopefully), that there's a thermostat issue. Which means we'll be over charged for somebody to examine it and fix the problem.
Hooray.
Additionally, this meant we couldn't pick up Elizabeth on time either. Or at all, really, because we didn't know how long it would be until the tow truck arrived. So Elizabeth took a shuttle home while we took a $127 ride home in a truck cab. We figured Elizabeth would be home shortly after us. Except she had the crappiest ride home ever with a driver who didn't know where he was going and had all the charm of a slime ball.
Now all four of us here are running on a few hours of sleep, crappy happenings, and miffed tempers. That sounds like a recipe for an awesome weekend.
I can't wait to go back to Richmond.
Faith
If you don’t have the knowledge of the history of the image you’re looking at then it’s actually nearly impossible to “see” history unless there’s a written reference. For instance, if you look at a picture of a block of wood then to most people it’s a block of wood. If someone tells you that a hundred people have had their heads chopped off on it then it takes on a different meaning completely. I think many Irish people would see their history in these images.
That's Jackie Nickerson as interviewed by The Morning News' Rosecrans Baldwin on her project, Faith. Below is my favorite from the photographs included with the interview:
Indecent Proposal
Just in case you thought all humor had drained out of my blog today, here's a fine video involving bird poop, as you probably expected:
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RI0UGy7kTI&w=425&h=350])
[youtube [www.youtube.com/watch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RI0UGy7kTI&w=425&h=350])
Music with Class
Okay, so my initial follow-up isn't about bird poop or anything like that.
I just finished reading an intriguing article in Slate about the influence of social class and music - a vague tie-in to my discussion of economic divide, but hey, I'll go with what I've got :-)
Even though Slate itself caters to a largely white, upper-middle class audience, Carl Wilson's discussion of socio-economic impacts on hip-hop and so-called indie rock was fascinating and thought provoking.
I just finished reading an intriguing article in Slate about the influence of social class and music - a vague tie-in to my discussion of economic divide, but hey, I'll go with what I've got :-)
Even though Slate itself caters to a largely white, upper-middle class audience, Carl Wilson's discussion of socio-economic impacts on hip-hop and so-called indie rock was fascinating and thought provoking.
Do it. Feel it.
Have you seen that new All Bran ad on TV? No? Check it out below...there are some really great visual...um...metaphors...
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX8MzOKOzI&rel=1&border=0&w=425&h=366]
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwX8MzOKOzI&rel=1&border=0&w=425&h=366]
Make Sure They See My Face
It was a day late, but yesterday after work I went straight to Plan 9 Music in Carytown to purchase Kenna's latest work, Make Sure They See My Face.
I am so far not disappointed.
I'd classify Kenna's music as Dance-Rock-o-tronic, and whereas New Sacred Cow sounded almost completely electronically generated, this disc appears to have some real instrumentation here and there backing up the vocals. The sound of real distorted guitars on some tracks lends to the rock feel and balances out the club/pop sensibilities you expect from production work by The Neptunes.
This album is hot, and it's in heavy rotation through my headphones right now.
I am so far not disappointed.
I'd classify Kenna's music as Dance-Rock-o-tronic, and whereas New Sacred Cow sounded almost completely electronically generated, this disc appears to have some real instrumentation here and there backing up the vocals. The sound of real distorted guitars on some tracks lends to the rock feel and balances out the club/pop sensibilities you expect from production work by The Neptunes.
This album is hot, and it's in heavy rotation through my headphones right now.
Doo Dah Doo Doo
You might say the strange words that are the title of this post were, collectively, the catch phrase for the whole trip to Atlanta this week. That being the case, I think it's finally time I shared it's origin, whether you like it or not :-)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-CFKWCRAAA&w=425&h=350]
That, my friends, is from "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job" - a seriously demented show that typically airs on Adult Swim too late for me to watch. If you get a chance, look for their clip about child clowns, too. You may or may not regret it, depending on how many neurons are misfiring in your head right now.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-CFKWCRAAA&w=425&h=350]
That, my friends, is from "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job" - a seriously demented show that typically airs on Adult Swim too late for me to watch. If you get a chance, look for their clip about child clowns, too. You may or may not regret it, depending on how many neurons are misfiring in your head right now.
iPhone SDK
Holy crap on toast...as of this writing, the latest story on Apple's Hot News page declares that an iPhone/iPod Touch software development kit is on the way.
Delicious Library on an iPhone, anyone? Please?
Delicious Library on an iPhone, anyone? Please?
The Game, The Aftermath, and Internet Famous...Sort of.
These past two days I've driven over a thousand miles, watched my favorite NFL team win an away game, and discovered a tiny glimmer of what appears to be a really cool Southern city.
Dave, Chris, Nate, and I left Richmond yesterday at 5:00 am and headed south primarily along I-85. Along the way we moaned about how much of North Carolina we had to drive through, took pictures of many hilarious signs in North Carolina, and champed at the proverbial bit as we covered the last leg in Georgia. The Georgia Dome was an excellent stadium, MARTA is a clean and efficient metro system, and I just became conscious of my redundant sentence structure :-)
Ultimately, I had a great weekend with some of my best friends. It's my sincere hope that I can make many more such "mini road trips" with my friends, because the break from routine was just what I needed. I also hope to attend more NFL games, because this was a reminder of just how exciting it is to attend a major sporting event. Go Big Blue!
Driving back was better than I expected, too. Between the music on my iPod and the conversation with my friends, it was easy to stay awake. We made sure to stop in South Carolina so Chris could snag some fireworks (and the rest of us grabbed some peach cider), and met my friend Robert in Greensboro for an early dinner at New York Pizza. I am glad to finally be at home now, however, in the company of my lovely wife.
The bonus surprise for me when I returned, however, was discovering a link from 37signals' Signal vs. Noise blog for my "Screens Around Town" submission about Facebook. It's cool enough to be linked up by one of my favorite blogs...but having my crazy mug visible for the world to see? Hilarious!
Dave, Chris, Nate, and I left Richmond yesterday at 5:00 am and headed south primarily along I-85. Along the way we moaned about how much of North Carolina we had to drive through, took pictures of many hilarious signs in North Carolina, and champed at the proverbial bit as we covered the last leg in Georgia. The Georgia Dome was an excellent stadium, MARTA is a clean and efficient metro system, and I just became conscious of my redundant sentence structure :-)
Ultimately, I had a great weekend with some of my best friends. It's my sincere hope that I can make many more such "mini road trips" with my friends, because the break from routine was just what I needed. I also hope to attend more NFL games, because this was a reminder of just how exciting it is to attend a major sporting event. Go Big Blue!
Driving back was better than I expected, too. Between the music on my iPod and the conversation with my friends, it was easy to stay awake. We made sure to stop in South Carolina so Chris could snag some fireworks (and the rest of us grabbed some peach cider), and met my friend Robert in Greensboro for an early dinner at New York Pizza. I am glad to finally be at home now, however, in the company of my lovely wife.
The bonus surprise for me when I returned, however, was discovering a link from 37signals' Signal vs. Noise blog for my "Screens Around Town" submission about Facebook. It's cool enough to be linked up by one of my favorite blogs...but having my crazy mug visible for the world to see? Hilarious!
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
I don't often watch documentaries, but tonight I viewed The Devil and Daniel Johnston. I highly recommend it.
This film accomplished two things quite well: it informed me, and made me feel a pang of regret for not having heard of this man sooner. It was fascinating to see the development of Johnston both musically and mentally, and sad to see him degenerate in the midst of such amazing and voluminous creative output. And while his performing was often difficult to bear, it was hard for me to miss the clear influence Johnston had on rock, alternative, and independent music.
This film was filmed beautifully, both clearly and editorially so as to evoke a real sense of melancholy at Daniel's situation. There were a number of fantastic slow panning shots, beautiful color, and quality editing. The footage from Johnston's early Super 8 films are equally excellent, and surprisingly well done for a teenager (at the time). The use of his music throughout not only familiarizes the viewer with the work, but adds to the mood.
Five out of five.
Lincoln Logs. Or Bills.
There's a nifty article about the redesigned five dollar bill over at A Brief Message.
Personally, while I think the new five-spot looks fugly I believe it's a step toward more visually interesting (and useful) currency. So many other countries have a number of difference color schemes to their money that make different value bills easily distinguishable.
Of course what I'd really like to see is a variety of bill sizes.
Personally, while I think the new five-spot looks fugly I believe it's a step toward more visually interesting (and useful) currency. So many other countries have a number of difference color schemes to their money that make different value bills easily distinguishable.
Of course what I'd really like to see is a variety of bill sizes.
Great [Musical] Expectations
Shaken first, stirred later.
The BBC reports today about an suicidal Italian tourist treated with vodka in an Australian hospital when the medicinal alcohol ran out.
I'd like to go out drinking with those doctors.
I'd like to go out drinking with those doctors.
The Flying Club Cup
Beirut's new album dropped yesterday, but I couldn't snag it because I was preparing the camera surprise for Valerie.
I just found out today, however, that there's a special website for the new album, The Flying Club Cup. This site contains a filmed performance of nearly every song on the album (as of this writing there are 10 videos up) produced by the excellent folks from La Blogotheque, makers of the excellent Take Away Shows series.
If I have the time, I'm gonna see if Plan 9 has this new disc on my way home. If so, it'll be a good day for my musical tastes!
I just found out today, however, that there's a special website for the new album, The Flying Club Cup. This site contains a filmed performance of nearly every song on the album (as of this writing there are 10 videos up) produced by the excellent folks from La Blogotheque, makers of the excellent Take Away Shows series.
If I have the time, I'm gonna see if Plan 9 has this new disc on my way home. If so, it'll be a good day for my musical tastes!