An unforgettable--really, I mean UNFORGETTABLE--clip out of India. But not from Bollywood or Tollywood, but Kollywood--the modestly-sized Tamil-language movie industry centered in Kodambakkam, Chennai.
The film is called Ella Inba Mayam, and--despite the terrible quality of the print--dates to 1981. The movie, according to comments found here, is intended as a Peter Sellers-style comedic romp, but I'd call the star (Kamal Haasan) more of a Tamil Mike Myers, at least from what I can see here.
Groovy, baby.
Link
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
TEDTalks: Jakob Trollbäck
In this 4 minute video from TED2007, motion graphics artist Jakob Trollbäck plays with the literary conceit of having a song "direct" its own music video, in this case David Byrne and Brian Eno's "Moonlight in Glory".
I remain unconvinced this would work for Celene Dion or Toby Keith...
Link to YouTube version, minus the TED intro and its advertising.
I remain unconvinced this would work for Celene Dion or Toby Keith...
Link to YouTube version, minus the TED intro and its advertising.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Bing! Bang! Boing! Into the boingle bucket
Our trip to the Exploratorium (AKA the Headache Museum) yesterday made me want to post this two-minute commercial from 1972 for a DIY Rube Goldberg machine kit for kids. They don't make toys (or ads) like this any more.
The electronic music by Jean-Jacques Perrey is also, as the kids are saying these days, full of win.
Via Jesse Thorn, via Boing Boing
Link
The electronic music by Jean-Jacques Perrey is also, as the kids are saying these days, full of win.
Via Jesse Thorn, via Boing Boing
Link
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Cowbell, schmowbell. More clavinet!
You would be correct in asserting that it does not get much better than Stevie Wonder's "Superstition."
Unless there were to be some sort of seven minute extended jam performance of the song by Wonder and his band captured live on video circa 1972, with all the fashions and hairstyles that would imply.
And/or unless this performance were to have been ON SESAME STREET.
Because it is difficult to imagine that something so awesome might actually exist.
It is only too bad that the director kept cutting away from the kid at the top of the stairs.
Link
Unless there were to be some sort of seven minute extended jam performance of the song by Wonder and his band captured live on video circa 1972, with all the fashions and hairstyles that would imply.
And/or unless this performance were to have been ON SESAME STREET.
Because it is difficult to imagine that something so awesome might actually exist.
It is only too bad that the director kept cutting away from the kid at the top of the stairs.
Link
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
No Photos on Flickr!
Yahoo's photo-sharing site Flickr added video this week, albeit in a limited fashion (90 seconds maximum, pro accounts only).
A vocal minority of Flickr users felt that the intrusion of video somehow violated the sanctity of their photos, and have begun posting a variety of images in apparent protest of this new (wholly optional) feature.
Designer Mike Monteiro mocked the mounting hysteria with his own poorly typeset text banner calling for the elimination of photos on Flickr.
But it's the comment thread (128 replies at last count) that now accompanies this image that's worth a lookthrough, a collective and increasingly surreal riff on internet commenting culture, complete with animated unicorn GIFs.
I compare the thread to that moment in The Simpsons "Homerpalooza" when one teen turns to the other and says "Are you being sarcastic, dude?" and he responds "I don't even know any more."
With more than 100 followup responses to that.
Link
A vocal minority of Flickr users felt that the intrusion of video somehow violated the sanctity of their photos, and have begun posting a variety of images in apparent protest of this new (wholly optional) feature.
Designer Mike Monteiro mocked the mounting hysteria with his own poorly typeset text banner calling for the elimination of photos on Flickr.
But it's the comment thread (128 replies at last count) that now accompanies this image that's worth a lookthrough, a collective and increasingly surreal riff on internet commenting culture, complete with animated unicorn GIFs.
I compare the thread to that moment in The Simpsons "Homerpalooza" when one teen turns to the other and says "Are you being sarcastic, dude?" and he responds "I don't even know any more."
With more than 100 followup responses to that.
Link
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Putting Mommy on Notice
NOTICE
Mommy. I'll give you 2 Choices. Either give me my First communion present by July 31st, or pay me all my money that you owe me by August 1st! To add to that you must let me have my choice.
If the first choice cannot be done, the second one is a must!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Signed
Chris
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Oakland Getting Sweet Revenge for the Old Time Gibes of San Francisco
Oakland Goods found this feature in the NYT archives from May 7, 1906. It describes San Francisco's gentle mockery of Oakland by comparing it to New Yorkers' attitude towards Brooklyn.
Then suddenly, in the wake of the great earthquake and fire, Oakland was thrust into the spotlight as a base of operations for aid and relief efforts.
Link to article (PDF format).
Then suddenly, in the wake of the great earthquake and fire, Oakland was thrust into the spotlight as a base of operations for aid and relief efforts.
Human nature is the same in most parts of the world, and the inhabitants of Oakland have been tempted sorely to profit by the catastrophe in the big city that so often sneered at them. But as a rule they have acted marvelously well....These cheerful, warm-hearted, careless, rather lazy people of the Pacific Coast have proved themselves in this emergency "pure gold."I wonder if a modern newspaper could stave off bankruptcy by adopting an old-timey copywriting style. I'd be willing to pay to have a paper like that delivered to my door.
Link to article (PDF format).
Monday, April 07, 2008
"Pay a little closer attention to detail..."
Via Gary Butcher at 30gms, an early 80s making-of featurette showing the old-school model building and special effects used to create a signature HBO intro sequence. It's perhaps a bit long at 10 minutes, but the soundtrack is outstanding, and features one of the only songs I know of that truly celebrates the magic of the special effect artist.
Music composed by Jonathan L. Segal, who remains available to jazz up your event.
"Pay a little closer attention to detail…
All the things you’re taking for granted…
Are just as important as what you see"
Music composed by Jonathan L. Segal, who remains available to jazz up your event.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Campaign Advice from Dick Cavett (NYTimes)
In a blog entry from last week, Dick Cavett gives tips to Obama, Clinton, and McCain on comedy, public speaking, and image.
While Cavett himself provides concrete advice interspersed with some comic zingers, the comments posted by readers are fascinating.
In between the fawning admiration for Cavett, there's a wide response to the speaking styles of all the candidates, additional tips and tricks for public speaking, and several challenges to the notion that competence in public speaking is any indication of fitness for the job of POTUS.
While Cavett himself provides concrete advice interspersed with some comic zingers, the comments posted by readers are fascinating.
In between the fawning admiration for Cavett, there's a wide response to the speaking styles of all the candidates, additional tips and tricks for public speaking, and several challenges to the notion that competence in public speaking is any indication of fitness for the job of POTUS.
Happy 102nd, Ms. Gloeckler
The Campbell Reporter/Los Gatos Weekly dropped in on my first grade teacher on the occasion of her one hundred and second birthday.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Lookingglass Theatre: 20 Years
Cool interactive photo (requires Flash) of the lookingglass theatre ensemble in Chicago, which includes not only the actors but their award-winning costume, lighting, and set designer and resident MacArthur fellow. Everyone appears in a costume from one of their productions from the last two decades.
Click through and Zoom in to find R. Michael Fox (nearly unrecognizable in a wig), Tracy Walsh, Laura Eason, Phil Smith, Mary Zimmerman, David Schwimmer and the rest. Clicking on a person brings you to their bio page.
Favorite pose is Tracy, costumed from the ensemble's production of "Hillbilly Antigone."
Click through and Zoom in to find R. Michael Fox (nearly unrecognizable in a wig), Tracy Walsh, Laura Eason, Phil Smith, Mary Zimmerman, David Schwimmer and the rest. Clicking on a person brings you to their bio page.
Favorite pose is Tracy, costumed from the ensemble's production of "Hillbilly Antigone."
Friday, March 21, 2008
Subprime Lending Crisis Hilarity
(via boingboing)
Australian political satirists John Clarke and Bryan John Dawe have been skewering the politicians of the day since 1989. In this clip, they make the subprime lending crisis more hilarious than it ought to be.
Australian political satirists John Clarke and Bryan John Dawe have been skewering the politicians of the day since 1989. In this clip, they make the subprime lending crisis more hilarious than it ought to be.
Monday, March 17, 2008
What does science curriculum look like anyway?
When I tell people I work at Lawrence Hall of Science, they get what a museum is. But unless they are a classroom teacher, they don't get what "science curriculum development" is. Now, thanks to NASA, and YouTube, I can show them what a science curriculum looks like (and it's not a textbook).
(Click for YouTube video)
(Click for YouTube video)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
NYTimes: Keltic Dreams
With a student body that is 71 percent Hispanic and 27 percent black, Public School 59 does not seem an obvious home for a thriving Irish dance troupe. And when Caroline Duggan first arrived from Dublin at age 23 to try her hand as a New York City public school music teacher, it wasn’t. Many of her students had never heard of Ireland. Why, they wanted to know, did she talk funny?
New York Times Video.
Article.
Photos.
Link to Performance on Irish Television
Friday, March 07, 2008
Stephen Colbert + John Legend sing
Via Jesse Thorn:
Probably the only thing funnier than this video of John Legend and Stephen Colbert dueting... is the original video, with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney on that fucking hayride.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
New Rule: People recommending that a particular cereal tastes like Buc-Wheats cereal need to have actually eaten Buc-Wheats at some point in their lives.
Man. Two recent commenters to my original post lamenting the absence of Buc-Wheats cereal from the marketplace proposed some current alternatives.
It seems clear that neither of these writers had experience with actual Buc-Wheats.
I went and bought a box of Frosted Flakes GOLD, even though I could read on the box that Frosted Flakes GOLD is corn-based. It is honey-flavored with horrific marshmallow overtones. (Like Honey Nut Corn Flakes, but sweeter.)
Not two weeks later, we hear from this individual:
Wow, I thought. Maple. Buckwheat. We could be on to something.
Here, again, we have a problem with language, in which one needs to remove the word "exactly" and replace it with "nothing".
So now I've got these two boxes of cereal (Frosted Flakes GOLD and Maple Buckwheat Flakes) in my cupboard and I have no intention of eating any more of them.
For those of you who never ate Buc-Wheats, or who have smoked too much of the locoweed to remember, permit me to attempt an evocation of this discontinued cereal.
It was a wheat-based flake. The closest in texture I know of is Total. But less sweet, a little more whole-grain in flavor. The maple sweetening syrup was drizzled into the cereal, so that most of the flakes were unsweetened, some had just a bit of sweetness, and a few were fused together in a tasty clump of sweet maple-y goodness.
One could compare this in the savory realm to homemade Chex Mix, in which one stumbles across an intense shot of worcestershire sauce-soaked Chex in a handful of mildly seasoned Chex.
This irregular texture and sporadic sweetness was a huge part of the cereal's awesomeness.
In fact, my recollection is that at some point the recipe/manufacturing processes changed. Some rumors suggest that the actual buckwheat was removed--I don't recall noting that, but I do recall that after the change the flavor of the flakes had a bit less depth.
Also after the change there were no longer any maple-encrusted clumps of flakes. The application of the maple flavoring was far more evenly applied.
I still loved Buc-Wheats during this era, although not quite as much, and when I want a cereal that evokes this latter-day Buc-Wheats I turn to Kellogg's Healthy Heart Maple Brown Sugar Smart Start.
It's too sweet and crunchy by far (wish that I could extract the oat clusters), but the maple flavoring combined with the whole grain (in this case oat bran) flakes is the closest thing I've got.
Commenters are welcome to offer their own suggestions, so long as they follow the rule (above). And I'll say right now that unless you write 250+ extremely convincing words describing what about a particular cereal is like Buc-Wheats, I'm not going to run out and try it.
Fool me twice, won't get fooled again.
It seems clear that neither of these writers had experience with actual Buc-Wheats.
Upon cracking our first box of Kelloggs' Frosted Flakes GOLD this morning the look and taste were immediately quite evocative of our late, lamented Buc-Wheats. It's been too many years to say for sure but to me the similarities are more than casual.If by "more than casual" you mean "not at all", then yes, of course, I agree with you.
I went and bought a box of Frosted Flakes GOLD, even though I could read on the box that Frosted Flakes GOLD is corn-based. It is honey-flavored with horrific marshmallow overtones. (Like Honey Nut Corn Flakes, but sweeter.)
Not two weeks later, we hear from this individual:
There is a cereal out there that is almost exactly like Buc Wheats. It's called Maple Buckwheat Flakes Cereal by Arrowhead Mills.
Wow, I thought. Maple. Buckwheat. We could be on to something.
Here, again, we have a problem with language, in which one needs to remove the word "exactly" and replace it with "nothing".
So now I've got these two boxes of cereal (Frosted Flakes GOLD and Maple Buckwheat Flakes) in my cupboard and I have no intention of eating any more of them.
For those of you who never ate Buc-Wheats, or who have smoked too much of the locoweed to remember, permit me to attempt an evocation of this discontinued cereal.
It was a wheat-based flake. The closest in texture I know of is Total. But less sweet, a little more whole-grain in flavor. The maple sweetening syrup was drizzled into the cereal, so that most of the flakes were unsweetened, some had just a bit of sweetness, and a few were fused together in a tasty clump of sweet maple-y goodness.
One could compare this in the savory realm to homemade Chex Mix, in which one stumbles across an intense shot of worcestershire sauce-soaked Chex in a handful of mildly seasoned Chex.
This irregular texture and sporadic sweetness was a huge part of the cereal's awesomeness.
In fact, my recollection is that at some point the recipe/manufacturing processes changed. Some rumors suggest that the actual buckwheat was removed--I don't recall noting that, but I do recall that after the change the flavor of the flakes had a bit less depth.
Also after the change there were no longer any maple-encrusted clumps of flakes. The application of the maple flavoring was far more evenly applied.
I still loved Buc-Wheats during this era, although not quite as much, and when I want a cereal that evokes this latter-day Buc-Wheats I turn to Kellogg's Healthy Heart Maple Brown Sugar Smart Start.
It's too sweet and crunchy by far (wish that I could extract the oat clusters), but the maple flavoring combined with the whole grain (in this case oat bran) flakes is the closest thing I've got.
Commenters are welcome to offer their own suggestions, so long as they follow the rule (above). And I'll say right now that unless you write 250+ extremely convincing words describing what about a particular cereal is like Buc-Wheats, I'm not going to run out and try it.
Fool me twice, won't get fooled again.
Technorati Tags:
buc-wheats
Twitter "in Plain English"
Commoncraft makes videos using stick figures and cut-out paper that work to explain modern technologies in a simple, digestible form. Their use of the phrase "in Plain English" is a tad disingenuous, as their entire premise rests on the combination of their simple, diagrammatic visuals with the verbal explanation.
A minor quibble (and arguably their success is in communicating the big idea of a thing, which "in Plain English", while imprecise, does). They're quite good at what they do.
Here's their newest, a take on Twitter. It's not how I use Twitter currently*, but it's a pretty good explanation of why someone unfamiliar with Twitter might find value in it--and it's in the direction of how I see Twitter's value to some underserved populations, e.g. seniors and parents of preschoolers.
Some other of their videos include RSS in Plain English and Social Networks in Plain English.
*As a virtual space to crack wise.
A minor quibble (and arguably their success is in communicating the big idea of a thing, which "in Plain English", while imprecise, does). They're quite good at what they do.
Here's their newest, a take on Twitter. It's not how I use Twitter currently*, but it's a pretty good explanation of why someone unfamiliar with Twitter might find value in it--and it's in the direction of how I see Twitter's value to some underserved populations, e.g. seniors and parents of preschoolers.
Some other of their videos include RSS in Plain English and Social Networks in Plain English.
*As a virtual space to crack wise.
Monday, March 03, 2008
MOA (Metropolitan Oakland Area): "California is Climate"
Oaklandish posts a 1953 promotional film that sells the benefits of Oakland's weather--asserting that better health due to year-round warm temperatures will "increase factory production."
Via Zennie Abraham.
Via Zennie Abraham.
Election Night Special
Via kung fu grippe, the best parody of CNN's Election Coverage I've seen, and it's from 38 years ago (I haven't watched it in at least twenty). The kind of comedy sketch that merits its own Wikipedia entry.
It also serves as a reminder that Matt Gonzalez shouldn't be hitching his fortunes to Ralph Nader. He could do a lot better running on a ticket with Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F’tang-F’tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel.
It also serves as a reminder that Matt Gonzalez shouldn't be hitching his fortunes to Ralph Nader. He could do a lot better running on a ticket with Tarquin Fin-tim-lin-bin-whin-bim-lim-bus-stop-F’tang-F’tang-Olé-Biscuitbarrel.
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Impossible is the Opposite of Possible
Missed this from, oh, December 2006. An message of inspiration from actor and professional athlete Michael Cera.
Friday, February 29, 2008
It's 3 AM...
Coudal Partners turns around a quick response to the Clinton campaign's new "Vote for Obama and these children will die" commercial.
Loved this. Link via Gruber.
Loved this. Link via Gruber.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles
This kind of over-the-top European architectural detail is exactly what QTVR is made for. Be sure to look up at the ceiling.
Link
Link
Monday, February 25, 2008
Your plant just called. It's thirsty.
We're all busy people, right? With our jobs, the internets, etc. Sometimes we forget to care for the leafy green members of our household, because they don't know how to communicate their needs to us in ways that cut through all the noise.
But now, a microprocessor, a bit of soldering, and some command-line programming can connect houseplants to a telecommunication network, allowing them to call your cellphone (or send a message to Twitter) whenever they need water.
Current call types include:
-a request for water (sample)
-a confirmation of & thanks for watering (sample)
-a notification of unnecessary watering (sample)
-a notification of extreme need for watering when plant is excessively dry (sample)
This is either a glimpse into the future or these people are out of their fucking minds.
Link
But now, a microprocessor, a bit of soldering, and some command-line programming can connect houseplants to a telecommunication network, allowing them to call your cellphone (or send a message to Twitter) whenever they need water.
Current call types include:
-a request for water (sample)
-a confirmation of & thanks for watering (sample)
-a notification of unnecessary watering (sample)
-a notification of extreme need for watering when plant is excessively dry (sample)
This is either a glimpse into the future or these people are out of their fucking minds.
Link
The Jimmy Kimmel-Matt Damon meme
I don't know anyone who would have watched the Jimmy Kimmel post-Oscars special last night, but this bit will begin to travel across your entertainment news radar as the week goes on.
I had watched, but not especially enjoyed Sarah Silverman's "I'm F@#%ing Matt Damon" music video that made the rounds a few weeks ago, part of a "payback" for Kimmel's longstanding use of Damon as a punch line at the end of his show.
Kimmel provides the setup and as much of a clip as you need from the Silverman/Damon video, along with his celebrity-studded response:
The joke boils down to a) gay sex is funny! and b) celebrities being bleeped out is funny!
But I include this here for its timeliness, and the cultural notability (and randomness) of its cameos (many of which I don't recognize), including Joan Jett, Macy Gray, and Huey Lewis, all working fairly hard to prop up the joke.
Oh and but also: Josh Groban swearing? Now that sh%#'s funny.
I had watched, but not especially enjoyed Sarah Silverman's "I'm F@#%ing Matt Damon" music video that made the rounds a few weeks ago, part of a "payback" for Kimmel's longstanding use of Damon as a punch line at the end of his show.
Kimmel provides the setup and as much of a clip as you need from the Silverman/Damon video, along with his celebrity-studded response:
The joke boils down to a) gay sex is funny! and b) celebrities being bleeped out is funny!
But I include this here for its timeliness, and the cultural notability (and randomness) of its cameos (many of which I don't recognize), including Joan Jett, Macy Gray, and Huey Lewis, all working fairly hard to prop up the joke.
Oh and but also: Josh Groban swearing? Now that sh%#'s funny.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Trainset Ghetto
Yale architecture Peter Feigenbaum has built his model train set as an urban setting--variously evocative of the South Bronx, Jersey City, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Graffiti, row houses, trash, and weeds accentuate his amazing attention to detail in this gallery of his photos.
(Via Vestal Design.)
Friday, February 22, 2008
Electric Organ Recital: "Carry On, Wayward Son"
This adolescent girl performs a crushingly awesome organ arrangement of the Kansas megahit, that exists on a totally different planet than the polite introduction and half-smatter of applause that bookend it.
From a site called GroovyGrooves.com, purportedly hosting the "grooviest videos on the web". Via Coudal Partners.
From a site called GroovyGrooves.com, purportedly hosting the "grooviest videos on the web". Via Coudal Partners.
Jason de Caires Taylor, Underwater Sculptor
Photo gallery and video highlighting the work of Jason de Caires Taylor, whose sculptures live on the ocean floor.
I don't have a diving credential, and won't be visiting Grenada anytime soon, so I'm thankful Taylor is willing to share these snippets online.
Fantastically beautiful.
[Via Coudal Partners]
I don't have a diving credential, and won't be visiting Grenada anytime soon, so I'm thankful Taylor is willing to share these snippets online.
Fantastically beautiful.
[Via Coudal Partners]
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
Obama memes
The internet memes are coming in almost as quickly as caucus victories. Today's latest: Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle.
Yesterday's meme: Yes We Can Has, a riff on I Can Has Cheezburger. Which, if you aren't familiar with the whole LOLcat phenomenon, it's... um... kind of a long story, at the end of which you still might not get it.
(I'm still not sure I do.)
Yesterday's meme: Yes We Can Has, a riff on I Can Has Cheezburger. Which, if you aren't familiar with the whole LOLcat phenomenon, it's... um... kind of a long story, at the end of which you still might not get it.
(I'm still not sure I do.)
"Hillary4U&Me"
This pro-Clinton music video (created by flute-playing Silicon Valley exec Gene Wang) was posted to YouTube way back in August, but didn't manage to spark the same kind of popular enthusiasm as "Yes We Can".
Perhaps it's because it's really, really bad.
Wang suggests that the difference is primarily a lack of star power, and that the new torrent of criticism being heaped upon the video (now that it's been rediscovered) is merely the work of hostile Obama supporters. He says that the negativity is merely making him want to shoot another video.
I've never been much a fan of Clinton's, but I'd welcome her as president over what we've had for the past eight years.
Mr. Wang your passion and dedication are commendable. But if you truly love your candidate: please, please, don't make another one.
Monday, February 11, 2008
John McCain "Fine With Me"
The first of what will be many adaptations of the Will.i.am/Jesse Dylan "Yes We Can" video, this one a song set to the words of John McCain.
Seriously? Microsoft is late with Valentine's Day Edition Zune
[via Gizmodo]On the day of Steve Job's Macworld keynote announcing the MacBook Air and iTunes Movie Rentals, Microsoft announced a special edition red-colored Zune for Valentine's Day gifting.
Earnest customers who ordered the device received an apologetic email last week:
Due to some issues in our fulfillment center there remains a chance we will miss getting your Zune to you by February 14th. We are working hard to get your order to you as quickly as possible ... We will be refunding the entire amount of your order ... We hope you love your Zune and that you will accept our sincere apology.The good news: customers get their money back, and get to keep the Zune.
The bad news: (joke writes itself).
Meanwhile Apple released a new pink iPod nano on January 22 with the same crass messaging (i.e. Dude! Get this for your girlfriend!), but continues to guarantee shipments (with custom engraving) in time for Valentine's Day for orders placed through the end of February 12.
So, um, dude. Get on that.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
"Toking" on Lawrence Welk
Figure that the producers at Lawrence Welk were excited to hear the words "sweet Jesus" in a top 10 hit, even if they weren't especially familiar with a key word in the title.
Perhaps they considered it a nonsense word, like "Shipoopi", or "Schnitzelbank".
Via one of my favorite Twitterers, Amy Jane Gruber.
Perhaps they considered it a nonsense word, like "Shipoopi", or "Schnitzelbank".
Via one of my favorite Twitterers, Amy Jane Gruber.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Barack Obama "Yes We Can"
Songwriter will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas knows good lyrics when he finds them, including the concession speech of Senator Barack Obama after the New Hampshire primary (Obama's speech itself borrows heavily from labor history (Yes, We Can is an English translation of the United Farm Workers' Si Se Puede))
Stunningly elegant music video by Jesse Dylan.
Stunningly elegant music video by Jesse Dylan.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Improv Everywhere: Frozen New York
What's worse than an improv troupe that tries to be funny?
An improv troupe that doesn't let the audience know that there's a performance going on. In other words, they just like messing with people's heads.
In New York City, they get hundreds of volunteers to enact these scenarios, usually to the consternation, befuddlement, and confusion of retail shmoes and toursits.
Improv Everywhere is dedicated to causing "scenes of chaos and joy in public places."
This Grand Central Station stunt is the first one that didn't bug the crap out of me... probably because they aren't trying to embarass anyone.
Monday, January 14, 2008
The New "Original" MST3K
Two summers ago I posted about RiffTrax, a project wherein the writers/stars of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Mike "Mike" Nelson, Kevin "Tom Servo" Murphy, and Bill "Crow T. Robot" Corbett) were recording and selling MP3s of their snarky commentary to play in sync with Hollywood blockbusters and classic turkeys. They also occasionally perform live (e.g. this week at the Castro).
Now the original writer/star of MST3K (Joel Hodgson) has assembled several of the other "original" writers/stars to create their own retread of the brand, here called Cinematic Titanic. This project retains MST3K's emphasis on colossally bad (and inexpensively rights-managed) movies, and have released their first film, The Oozing Skull, as a DVD.
Hodgson does have Trace Beaulieu (the "original" Crow T. Robot/Dr. Forrester) and Frank Conniff (TV's Frank) on board, but Mary Jo Pehl did most of her work during the Nelson era (and has appeared on at least one RiffTrax project). And the "original" Tom Servo, Josh Weinstein (also participating), had quit before the shows appeared on Comedy Central, so the only Tom Servo I know is Kevin Murphy (on the RiffTrax team).
Keeping up with this is starting to feel like following The Temptations.
Now the original writer/star of MST3K (Joel Hodgson) has assembled several of the other "original" writers/stars to create their own retread of the brand, here called Cinematic Titanic. This project retains MST3K's emphasis on colossally bad (and inexpensively rights-managed) movies, and have released their first film, The Oozing Skull, as a DVD.
Hodgson does have Trace Beaulieu (the "original" Crow T. Robot/Dr. Forrester) and Frank Conniff (TV's Frank) on board, but Mary Jo Pehl did most of her work during the Nelson era (and has appeared on at least one RiffTrax project). And the "original" Tom Servo, Josh Weinstein (also participating), had quit before the shows appeared on Comedy Central, so the only Tom Servo I know is Kevin Murphy (on the RiffTrax team).
Keeping up with this is starting to feel like following The Temptations.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
What have you changed your mind about? Why?
I discovered this list courtesy of Mark Morford. I occasionally read Morford, with reluctance, because he's such a shrill ranter. This list, however, is worth sharing: what have you changed your mind about? why?
Take a look at Morford's other "Top 12 Top 10's," including Parade Magazine's analysis of the world's cruelest dictators (Parade Magazine, people!), and Fox News' Top 10 Climate Myth-Busters.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks
This site just keeps getting funnier every time I visit it.
I wish I could say I discovered it, but I have to give credit to Chris for showing me. He kindly refrained from posting it here, reserving it for my triumphant return to Blognabbit.
I wish I could say I discovered it, but I have to give credit to Chris for showing me. He kindly refrained from posting it here, reserving it for my triumphant return to Blognabbit.
Friday, December 28, 2007
A Sonny and Cher Christmas
From 1976:
Sonny, Cher, Chastity, Bernadette Peters, Captain Kangaroo.
And Shields and Yarnell for, as they say, the win!
Sonny, Cher, Chastity, Bernadette Peters, Captain Kangaroo.
And Shields and Yarnell for, as they say, the win!
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Talkin' 'Bout Mill Valley
Thanks to the record collection of Robert Emmett at KFJC, I knew that in the 1970s, a chorus of kids recorded a song entitled "Mill Valley," which extolled the virutes of living in that Marin County town.
I knew it was a catchy tune. In college, I heard it once, and could not get it out of my head.
What I didn't know (until tonight, thank you former KALX DJ "The In-Crowd") is that:
a) the song, by Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class, charted as a single in 1970;
b) which led to an album;
c) which Varese Sarabande re-released as a CD in 2000 with extra tracks;
d) it's available as MP3 downloads from Amazon, and
e) there's a music video. The video, a lovely time capsule from 1970, was directed by a local filmmaker with experience (he'd just done a musical called Finian's Rainbow). Francis something.
Photo by Annie Leibowitz.
Miss Abrams is still around, and still writing music.
I knew it was a catchy tune. In college, I heard it once, and could not get it out of my head.
What I didn't know (until tonight, thank you former KALX DJ "The In-Crowd") is that:
a) the song, by Miss Abrams and the Strawberry Point 4th Grade Class, charted as a single in 1970;
b) which led to an album;
c) which Varese Sarabande re-released as a CD in 2000 with extra tracks;
d) it's available as MP3 downloads from Amazon, and
e) there's a music video. The video, a lovely time capsule from 1970, was directed by a local filmmaker with experience (he'd just done a musical called Finian's Rainbow). Francis something.
Photo by Annie Leibowitz.
Miss Abrams is still around, and still writing music.
Argonauts/Argonautika
Trailer for Columbia Pictures' Jason and the Argonauts, filmed in the miracle of Dynarama!
Trailer for Hallmark Entertainment's made-for-TV movie Jason and the Argonauts. Despite the presence of Dennis Hopper, Frank Langella, and Derek Jacobi, no one remembers this.
Trailer for Mary Zimmerman's Argonautika, which just closed at The Berkeley Rep. (If link is down, try YouTube link)
Mary Zimmerman on Jason and the Argonauts, courtesy of McCarter Theatre Center and the Shakespeare Theater Company.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Spherical Panoramas
Photographer Carel Struycken creates beautiful QuicktimeVR panoramic images, mostly from sites around California.
Link
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
We Need A Little Christmas
My office "Hall-iday" party is Thursday, and once again the staff talent show is the main entertainment. This year, I'm flying solo, as my partner-in-crime has moved off to Oregon. (Last year he was newly gone, but I had time to write a five person sketch riffing on his departure).
So, as part of my preparation for said solo act, I was scanning YouTube for ideas for choreography to fill a sixteen second instrumental break in the karaoke track of Jerry Herman's "We Need a Little Christmas."
While watching Angela Lansbury, Lucille Ball, Mitzi Gaynor, the Purdue University Glee Club, various amateur dance and holiday recitals, and even the Sims(!), I discovered that the instrumental break is a feature for radio (and, apparently karaoke). Most of the live shows skip right past it.
Then I found this homemade music video of the song, done by a local teenager, and starring her family.
And while the actors are self-conscious, the whole thing is done with love.
Way more sincere than the Purdue Glee Club.
I'm crossing my fingers that when our boys are teenagers, they have the chutzpah to do this un-ironically.
Note: There are plenty of jaw-droppingly unintentionally hilarious choreographed dances to this song on YouTube, which, out of respect for this family's efforts, I'll leave you to find on your own.
So, as part of my preparation for said solo act, I was scanning YouTube for ideas for choreography to fill a sixteen second instrumental break in the karaoke track of Jerry Herman's "We Need a Little Christmas."
While watching Angela Lansbury, Lucille Ball, Mitzi Gaynor, the Purdue University Glee Club, various amateur dance and holiday recitals, and even the Sims(!), I discovered that the instrumental break is a feature for radio (and, apparently karaoke). Most of the live shows skip right past it.
Then I found this homemade music video of the song, done by a local teenager, and starring her family.And while the actors are self-conscious, the whole thing is done with love.
Way more sincere than the Purdue Glee Club.
I'm crossing my fingers that when our boys are teenagers, they have the chutzpah to do this un-ironically.
Note: There are plenty of jaw-droppingly unintentionally hilarious choreographed dances to this song on YouTube, which, out of respect for this family's efforts, I'll leave you to find on your own.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Recipe for Making Deirdre Laugh
Ingredients:
Alec Baldwin
Ana Gasteyer
Molly Shannon
Saturday Night Live, from 1998.
Alec Baldwin
Ana Gasteyer
Molly Shannon
Saturday Night Live, from 1998.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
24: The unaired 1994 pilot
Kind of an obscure premise, executed brilliantly (and with terrific production values).
Jack Bauer and CTU reimagined in the not-so-distant past.
via Paul Burd, via Steve Garfield, but also apparently featured in TV guide.
Jack Bauer and CTU reimagined in the not-so-distant past.
via Paul Burd, via Steve Garfield, but also apparently featured in TV guide.
Holiday Guide 2007: Entertaining - Cookies (washingtonpost.com)
I was looking for an Washington Post article covering a White House press briefing which announced that the country's drug interdiction policy for the past 7 years has been a success. I couldn't find it from the front page. But then this caught my eye, and you know me, given a chance to click on something equally interesting, I'll lose all memory of the first thing I was trying to look up.
So. Twenty six different cookies for the holidays. Twenty six more ideas to propose.
Not that I have high hopes.
L wants to make more sugar cookies with sprinkles. R agrees. We suggest other favorites from our childhood (peanut butter cookies with hershey's kisses, green corn flake wreaths), but they're not interested.
A cookie made with crushed candy canes appeals to them.
Whatever. I need to find out really soon if carmel covered chocolate chip dulce de leche oatmeal cookies are all that-- or too much-- and if the vegan Rumnog Pecan Cookies will come out if I sub in real milk and butter, and --only because I live in Berkeley (this cookie sounds a little too snobbish and not all that tasty-- John Scharffenberger's Chocolate shortbread with Cacao Nibs
Hey. Who put the Quinoa Cheese Cracker in the mix? That's clearly an oversized cracker.
Also, on the same page: edible gingerbread Christmas ornaments.
(Note: I had to allow popups to get the recipes to appear)
The traditional phonograph record management pattern
NEWSWEEK CHINA profiles internet troubador Jonathan Coulton. Friend and collaborator John Hodgman wishes to read said article, pastes text into the Altavista internet translation engine, posts resultant text on his blog.
In the (translated into Chinese, and then back to English) words of Coulton himself:
In the (translated into Chinese, and then back to English) words of Coulton himself:
"Now arrived for a crucial time, we all should self-examine really needs the record company. We are glad with the traditional phonograph record management pattern which rottenly deteriorates to say very much goodbye."
How To Hide An Airplane Factory
Think or Thwim posts a collection of WWII-era photos showing how the Army Core of Engineers disguised a Lockheed airplane factory from the air using camouflage netting, fake houses, and trompe l'oeil.
Of course, the Japanese air force never did quite make it to Burbank. But if they HAD, they would so have been fooled.
Of course, the Japanese air force never did quite make it to Burbank. But if they HAD, they would so have been fooled.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Endangered Machinery
Missed this when BoingBoing originally posted it in late August.Photographer Haiko Hebig captures incredible images of industrial decay. Aging equipment, outmoded machinery, abandoned sites.
Take a few minutes with this one. It's a big archive.
No prices, but supposedly prints and posters are available for sale...
Link
Travel with Snoop Dogg in the video time machine
With production values, costumes, hairstyles, and video effects from the days before MTV, Snoop Dogg's latest music video sets a new standard in retro video awesomeness.
VHS tape wobble! Vocoder! Star filter! Diamond wipe! Chromakeyed space bed!
Credit to TSOYA for pointing the way to this, and to this actual 1980 video by The Jacksons (including Michael), in which the brothers band together to form all of creation (voiceover intro by Don LaFontaine FTW!):
VHS tape wobble! Vocoder! Star filter! Diamond wipe! Chromakeyed space bed!
Credit to TSOYA for pointing the way to this, and to this actual 1980 video by The Jacksons (including Michael), in which the brothers band together to form all of creation (voiceover intro by Don LaFontaine FTW!):
Monday, December 10, 2007
Engineers of the future
Christa has spoken often of the aging workforce at Chevron, and the challenge the company has in encouraging and attracting young engineers (especially as science continues to lose traction in the American public school curriculum).
Perhaps Chevron could take a cue from Hydro, a Norwegian oil and gas concern, who is using television advertising to inspire the next generation of engineers.
Perhaps Chevron could take a cue from Hydro, a Norwegian oil and gas concern, who is using television advertising to inspire the next generation of engineers.
Apes. In hats. On bikes.
Today's earworm is brought to you via daniel liss at pouringdown.tv.
It's a mashup by go home productions of Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" with the Chemical Brothers' "Galvanize", here used as the soundtrack to a creepy bicycle safety film from the Prelinger Archives featuring apes in hats.
(Or is it monkeys? They do have tails...)
Link
For the mp3, visit go home productions and find GHP Complete CD8 "The Bootlegs".
It's a mashup by go home productions of Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" with the Chemical Brothers' "Galvanize", here used as the soundtrack to a creepy bicycle safety film from the Prelinger Archives featuring apes in hats.
(Or is it monkeys? They do have tails...)
Link
For the mp3, visit go home productions and find GHP Complete CD8 "The Bootlegs".
"This is Your Story" - Your Show of Shows
My friend Kathy pointed me to this 11 minute sketch, a parody of "This is Your Life" featuring Carl Reiner as the host and Sid Caesar as the reluctant guest. Oh, and Howard Morris, whose emotional "Uncle Goopy" presages the anarchic brilliance of the Tim Kazurinsky "I Married a Monkey" sketches from SNL (which I'd like to link to, but aren't readily available online).
From the treasure trove of classic television moments atLikeTelevision
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Your the Comcast Photo Center Download Order
I do so much love when companies buy other companies, and don't rename the acquired company (because of perceived brand equity, or simply because they don't want to change the URL), but somehow deem it important that the parent company branding gains some visibility.
Tonight I paid a couple of nickels to download some photos from the online photo service Snapfish. Here is the header from the email I received from "Snapfish Service" as confirmation:
I will offer that the mindset that insists that "the Comcast Photo Center" will be an easy swap-out for all instances of the word "Snapfish" is the same mindset that insisted that the U.S. would be greeted liberators in Iraq.
Tonight I paid a couple of nickels to download some photos from the online photo service Snapfish. Here is the header from the email I received from "Snapfish Service" as confirmation:
I will offer that the mindset that insists that "the Comcast Photo Center" will be an easy swap-out for all instances of the word "Snapfish" is the same mindset that insisted that the U.S. would be greeted liberators in Iraq.
Friday, December 07, 2007
100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers
A ten-minute long lightning round-style montage of movie quotes, each of which mentions a number, edited together in descending order from 100 to 1.
An interesting conceit, a riff on the AFI "Top 100" lists, that becomes astonishing by the time you get to the 70s, numbing by the 50s, then hilarious, then astonishing again. A true obsessive's accomplishment.
The complete list of movies is available here.
Via Laughing Squid, via Ze Frank.
An interesting conceit, a riff on the AFI "Top 100" lists, that becomes astonishing by the time you get to the 70s, numbing by the 50s, then hilarious, then astonishing again. A true obsessive's accomplishment.
The complete list of movies is available here.
Via Laughing Squid, via Ze Frank.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
New Mac/PC ad: "Misprint"
The "Get a Mac" series of ads are also by TBWA\Chiat, aka Media Arts Lab. Per my comments to the previous post, I'm not much a fan of the Chiat style of ads that call attention to themselves, rather than to the product or brand. (I've also referred to this as "mascot advertising", elsewhere).
Partly because of the domineering influence of S. Jobs, and partly dumb luck, Chiat has had some amount of success in its Apple advertising. The iPod silhouettes are of course a mascot, but they are 1) iconic in their non-specificity (note that they change with each refresh of the campaign); and 2) representative of the actual product in relationship to the consumer, i.e. you + iPod = this dancer.
The dumb luck of course was in the original casting of obscure* author John Hodgman in the role of "PC" in the now long-running series of "PC vs. Mac" commercials. (The ads themselves also work both in that the mascots are stand-ins for products, and that they are engaged in an actual discussion about the value proposition for the consumer.)
The series would likely not have continued much past its original run without Hodgman (and, in my opinion, Justin Long, whose straight man has become increasingly understated almost to the point of motionlessness), who has leapt through hoop after comedy hoop without faltering. (The last round did begin to strain the limits--as writers attempted to communicate in 30 seconds the comedic impact of Vista users downgrading to XP.)
In this latest ad (launched last night), Hodgman nails the peeved eyeglass adjustment like a 1950s television comedy veteran.
Nails it.
*Remember that at the time he had contributed perhaps a handful of pieces to "This American Life", had written for McSweeney's and Men's Health magazine, and not a whole heck of a lot else. His casting came on the heels of his insanely successful book tour appearance on The Daily Show--before he was selling many actual books.
Partly because of the domineering influence of S. Jobs, and partly dumb luck, Chiat has had some amount of success in its Apple advertising. The iPod silhouettes are of course a mascot, but they are 1) iconic in their non-specificity (note that they change with each refresh of the campaign); and 2) representative of the actual product in relationship to the consumer, i.e. you + iPod = this dancer.
The dumb luck of course was in the original casting of obscure* author John Hodgman in the role of "PC" in the now long-running series of "PC vs. Mac" commercials. (The ads themselves also work both in that the mascots are stand-ins for products, and that they are engaged in an actual discussion about the value proposition for the consumer.)
The series would likely not have continued much past its original run without Hodgman (and, in my opinion, Justin Long, whose straight man has become increasingly understated almost to the point of motionlessness), who has leapt through hoop after comedy hoop without faltering. (The last round did begin to strain the limits--as writers attempted to communicate in 30 seconds the comedic impact of Vista users downgrading to XP.)
In this latest ad (launched last night), Hodgman nails the peeved eyeglass adjustment like a 1950s television comedy veteran.
Nails it.
*Remember that at the time he had contributed perhaps a handful of pieces to "This American Life", had written for McSweeney's and Men's Health magazine, and not a whole heck of a lot else. His casting came on the heels of his insanely successful book tour appearance on The Daily Show--before he was selling many actual books.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Cutwater: "Pouring In"
Saturday.
Army/Navy game.
Commerical break.
Jeep commercial. Laugh out loud funny.
Checked YouTube: yup, it's a popular (146,000 views and counting). Getting buzz on AdWeek.
The commercial features Andy Kim's 1973 pop single "Rock Me Gently," a crop of CGI animals, and spot on comic timing.
I laugh every time I see it.
R has asked me not to laugh.
L keeps asking me why it's funny. And thanks to YouTube, I can pause, and go cut by cut to point out the visuals that take what could have been a cheese fest into brilliant comedy.
Spot produced by Cutwater, a brand new boutique creative firm in San Francisco (started by Chuck McBride (former Executive Creative Director at TBWA/Chiat/Day) which, thanks to McBride's credentials, stole the Jeep account away from some Detroit firm).
High res version available at Cutwater's website, if you can navigate through its ubercool interface. (Why do design firms always want to hide their work behind pages of flash animation?)
We now have (to Deirdre's dismay) added "Rock Me Gently" to the iPod to the kids' favorites playlist.
Monday, November 19, 2007
khraigslist
Kasper Hauser brings you "khraigslist",
a parody classifieds site.
a parody classifieds site.
Item: Live Bobcat in my Washing Machine
I think. Could be something worse. Need someone to just go in, open the washer and deal with it.
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
this is in or around My House
Sunday, November 04, 2007
West Berkeley Bowl, still in progress
A proposed larger-sized Berkeley Bowl in West Berkeley raised the ire of the locally-owned Berkeley Daily Planet... but once the zoning variances were approved, the paper dropped all coverage of how the project was going. For a while, we couldn't tell if was moving forward or not.
Now, thanks to Flickr, an enthusiastic photographer, and his kite-flying prowess, I know. Thanks Michael L!
Now, thanks to Flickr, an enthusiastic photographer, and his kite-flying prowess, I know. Thanks Michael L!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Survey of Elementary Science Classrooms in Bay Area
So Lawrence Hall of Science conducted a survey of Bay Area School Districts to check in on the state of science education at the elementary school level.
The findings: 80% of K-5 teachers reported spending one hour or less each week on science.
Link to the study.
Link to SF Chronicle article.
Link to the YouTube video (which is an executive summary given by adorable moppets... who, while surrounded by "science-y" gadgets (pretty much NONE of which you'd see in any elementary school classroom whether it was science intensive or not), almost but don't quite match the actual demographics of elementary schoolchildren in the nine Bay Area counties.)
The findings: 80% of K-5 teachers reported spending one hour or less each week on science.
Link to the study.
Link to SF Chronicle article.
Link to the YouTube video (which is an executive summary given by adorable moppets... who, while surrounded by "science-y" gadgets (pretty much NONE of which you'd see in any elementary school classroom whether it was science intensive or not), almost but don't quite match the actual demographics of elementary schoolchildren in the nine Bay Area counties.)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Same As It Ever Was?
Recently I read a profile of David Byrne from 1993 which went into some detail on the televangelists that inspired Byrne to write the song "Once in a Lifetime," which became a hit single for the Talking Heads in 1980. In the article, Byrne also noted how much the gestures of these evangelical preachers informed the choreography he and Toni Basil created for performances of the song in both the original music video and the live concerts of the Talking Heads.
Thanks to YouTube, and especially the Wembley Stadium clip (which intercuts actual footage of these preachers), you can see exactly what Byrne and biographer John Howell are talking about.
YouTube:
Talking Heads: Original Music Video for "Once in a Lifetime," 1981
Talking Heads: Live Performance of "Once in a Lifetime," Wembley Stadium, 1982
Talking Heads: Live Performance of "Once in a Lifetime," from Stop Making Sense, 1984
But I only bring this up because I happened upon a very different YouTube video tonight.
Kermit the Frog:
Covering "Once in a Lifetime," Muppets Tonight, 1996
Now I've always found the Muppet photo parodies (of album covers, of Calvin Klein ads, of famous paintings) spot on... not just clever, but powerful, iconic even. This re-creation of Springsteen's Born in the USA doesn't quite have the power of the original, but substituting Kermit for Bruce comments on the cult of celebrity, the power of image, and the ouroborous-like ability of pop culture to swallow itself.
Sadly, however, this power doesn't translate to video.
This may be a function of the Muppets Tonight writing staff in 1996 inability to see this sketch as anything but a parody of Stop Making Sense. (An odd target in 1996 considering that the Talking Heads had broken up 5 years before... Byrne had 4 solo albums out by this time...) Certainly, the image of Byrne dancing and singing in the oversized suit was an indelible image in the landscape of musical performance.... but as you can see in this clip... NONE of the stage presence that Byrne brings to the song translates to Kermit. This clip apes the form (not the content) of the Stop Making Sense clip, but not very well. There's not even a Muppet take on the song.
Okay, I stacked the deck. Gave you three Byrne clips first. Maybe in 1996, without having seen Byrne recently, the clip would have been hilarious.
But if the first season of The Muppet Show and the first three movies showed us anything, it was that as much as the Muppets depended on an immersion in pop culture, they rarely needed to resort to parody.
Counterexamples welcomed. My memory is selective.
---
More versions (listed here, to avoid the Michael Bolton and Keith Urban songs with the same name)
1. Mashup of Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" with bizarre conceptual video from The Ernie Kovacs show
2. The Smashing Pumpkins cover, done as a heavy metal dirge/drone
3. Tornoofo17's surprisingly watchable music video of his friends dressing up and lip-synching to this song.
4. Acoustic emo version by Scott Stevens of the Exies
5. Performance in a warehouse by experimental band Invisible, with a conceptual twist: a performer typing out the lyrics on an electric typewriter, not only to provide the lead singer the words, but as the typewriter is hooked to a piano, adding an original countermelody.
6. Music video by Cienfuegos, an Argentinian rock band, doing a cover, c. 1998
Thanks to YouTube, and especially the Wembley Stadium clip (which intercuts actual footage of these preachers), you can see exactly what Byrne and biographer John Howell are talking about.
YouTube:
Talking Heads: Original Music Video for "Once in a Lifetime," 1981
Talking Heads: Live Performance of "Once in a Lifetime," Wembley Stadium, 1982
Talking Heads: Live Performance of "Once in a Lifetime," from Stop Making Sense, 1984
But I only bring this up because I happened upon a very different YouTube video tonight.
Kermit the Frog:
Covering "Once in a Lifetime," Muppets Tonight, 1996
Now I've always found the Muppet photo parodies (of album covers, of Calvin Klein ads, of famous paintings) spot on... not just clever, but powerful, iconic even. This re-creation of Springsteen's Born in the USA doesn't quite have the power of the original, but substituting Kermit for Bruce comments on the cult of celebrity, the power of image, and the ouroborous-like ability of pop culture to swallow itself.Sadly, however, this power doesn't translate to video.
This may be a function of the Muppets Tonight writing staff in 1996 inability to see this sketch as anything but a parody of Stop Making Sense. (An odd target in 1996 considering that the Talking Heads had broken up 5 years before... Byrne had 4 solo albums out by this time...) Certainly, the image of Byrne dancing and singing in the oversized suit was an indelible image in the landscape of musical performance.... but as you can see in this clip... NONE of the stage presence that Byrne brings to the song translates to Kermit. This clip apes the form (not the content) of the Stop Making Sense clip, but not very well. There's not even a Muppet take on the song.
Okay, I stacked the deck. Gave you three Byrne clips first. Maybe in 1996, without having seen Byrne recently, the clip would have been hilarious.
But if the first season of The Muppet Show and the first three movies showed us anything, it was that as much as the Muppets depended on an immersion in pop culture, they rarely needed to resort to parody.
Counterexamples welcomed. My memory is selective.
---
More versions (listed here, to avoid the Michael Bolton and Keith Urban songs with the same name)
1. Mashup of Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" with bizarre conceptual video from The Ernie Kovacs show
2. The Smashing Pumpkins cover, done as a heavy metal dirge/drone
3. Tornoofo17's surprisingly watchable music video of his friends dressing up and lip-synching to this song.
4. Acoustic emo version by Scott Stevens of the Exies
5. Performance in a warehouse by experimental band Invisible, with a conceptual twist: a performer typing out the lyrics on an electric typewriter, not only to provide the lead singer the words, but as the typewriter is hooked to a piano, adding an original countermelody.
6. Music video by Cienfuegos, an Argentinian rock band, doing a cover, c. 1998
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Onion News Network: Situation In Nigeria Seems Pretty Complex
I love this video from the Onion News Network, a reminder why television news prefers to run wall-to-wall coverage of missing white girls.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
East Bay Monthly: the local storytelling scene
Now appearing on doorsteps in "select neighborhoods in Oakland, Berkeley, Piedmont, Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda, Albany, El Cerrito, Kensington, Alameda and Alamo" --not our neighborhood, mind you (not select enough, apparently. We'll have to pick it up at the local coffeehouse)-- is the latest issue of The East Bay Monthly.
This month's feature story is a 4000 word survey of the storytelling scence. Writer Autumn Stevens interviewed a bunch of local storytellers, and put together a nice article on the theme of "not just for kids." The article includes a description of yours truly:
Middle school teacher, eh? I was hoping for sophisticated yet approachable, with hints of cherry and oak, and a nutty finish.
Maybe I should switch to a dinner jacket and bow tie. Or bring along poor Yorick here more often.
Photo by Lori Eanes.
This month's feature story is a 4000 word survey of the storytelling scence. Writer Autumn Stevens interviewed a bunch of local storytellers, and put together a nice article on the theme of "not just for kids." The article includes a description of yours truly:
More closely resembling, with his neat button-down shirt and perpetually earnest expression, a middle-school English teacher than a flamboyant performing artist, Ereneta introduces a Louisiana folktale about two sisters.
Middle school teacher, eh? I was hoping for sophisticated yet approachable, with hints of cherry and oak, and a nutty finish.Maybe I should switch to a dinner jacket and bow tie. Or bring along poor Yorick here more often.
Photo by Lori Eanes.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
BPN: Acting opportunities for parent & child?
Current posting on Berkeley Parents Network:
Acting opportunities for parent & child?
Does anyone know of any Bay Area opportunities for a parent and child to act/perform in an amateur stage production together? We recently visited some relatives in the LA area who are about to perform as a family in ''Annie.'' We'd love to do something along those lines. Any leads would be most helpful. Thank you.
Dear BPN Subscriber: We have had astonishingly good luck being cast as a family in a unique theatrical institution, the McGee Street Players. Just in the past year, we have completed the following run:
Death of a Salesman (family cast as Willy Loman, Linda, Biff and Happy)
Barefoot in the Park (Mom: Corie Bratter, Dad: Paul Bratter, Son #1: Corie's Mother, Son #2: oddball neighbor Victor Velasco.)
I Am My Own Wife (Dad: Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Mom: Understudy. Son #1: House manager. Son #2: Assistant house manager.)
Oliver! (Dad: Bill Sikes/Fagin, Mom: Nancy/Widow Corney, Son #1: The Artful Dodger, Uncle Chris: Mr. Brownlow, Nephew Ben: Oliver Twist, Son #2 and Aunt Christa: Workhouse Boys/Fagin's Gang)
Peter Brooks' translation of The Mahabarata (Son #1: Aswhatthaman, also played Nakula in the touring production. Dad: Ganesha/Krishna. Son #2: the Deathless Boy. Mom: The Second Princess. Nephew: The Sun/Rakshasa/Ghatotkascha. Aunt Christa and Uncle Chris: all other characters.)
Sweeney Todd, revival directed and designed by John Doyle (Currently being cast. Production delays due to contract dispute over which character will be assigned the tuba.)
Acting opportunities for parent & child?
Does anyone know of any Bay Area opportunities for a parent and child to act/perform in an amateur stage production together? We recently visited some relatives in the LA area who are about to perform as a family in ''Annie.'' We'd love to do something along those lines. Any leads would be most helpful. Thank you.
Dear BPN Subscriber: We have had astonishingly good luck being cast as a family in a unique theatrical institution, the McGee Street Players. Just in the past year, we have completed the following run:
Death of a Salesman (family cast as Willy Loman, Linda, Biff and Happy)
Barefoot in the Park (Mom: Corie Bratter, Dad: Paul Bratter, Son #1: Corie's Mother, Son #2: oddball neighbor Victor Velasco.)
I Am My Own Wife (Dad: Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, Mom: Understudy. Son #1: House manager. Son #2: Assistant house manager.)
Oliver! (Dad: Bill Sikes/Fagin, Mom: Nancy/Widow Corney, Son #1: The Artful Dodger, Uncle Chris: Mr. Brownlow, Nephew Ben: Oliver Twist, Son #2 and Aunt Christa: Workhouse Boys/Fagin's Gang)
Peter Brooks' translation of The Mahabarata (Son #1: Aswhatthaman, also played Nakula in the touring production. Dad: Ganesha/Krishna. Son #2: the Deathless Boy. Mom: The Second Princess. Nephew: The Sun/Rakshasa/Ghatotkascha. Aunt Christa and Uncle Chris: all other characters.)
Sweeney Todd, revival directed and designed by John Doyle (Currently being cast. Production delays due to contract dispute over which character will be assigned the tuba.)
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
NYT: Goodbye TimesSelect
Two years ago, when I said that the New York Times subscription model wasn't going to work, I thought it might last a year.
Turns out, it lasted two. Apparently the 227,000 subscribers (like Deirdre and I) who paid for full access to the NYT online brought in $10 million a year in revenue. Now the NYT is discontinuing its subscription model, although it said TimesSelect met projected expectations.
Apparently the number crunchers have figured out that opening up the NYT to the 13 million unique users who visit monthly will get them more ad revenue than the TimesSelect model, even after splitting the profits with Google and Yahoo.
Turns out, it lasted two. Apparently the 227,000 subscribers (like Deirdre and I) who paid for full access to the NYT online brought in $10 million a year in revenue. Now the NYT is discontinuing its subscription model, although it said TimesSelect met projected expectations.
Apparently the number crunchers have figured out that opening up the NYT to the 13 million unique users who visit monthly will get them more ad revenue than the TimesSelect model, even after splitting the profits with Google and Yahoo.
Friday, September 14, 2007
The Naked Armenian, AKA the Green Grapes
J.P. Manoux, sans pants.
The clip is from an episode of Comedy Central's Reno 911!, a parody of COPS that features mostly improvised dialogue.
I'm pretty sure he was naked before this, on CBS's Nash Bridges, too, back in 2001... he did a piece on All Things Considered about it.
You can catch JP in the upcoming direct to DVD sequel to the new Steve Carell Get Smart movie, an upcoming episode of Monk, some ER, and The Emperor's New School.
Oh, and check him out backing up Vince Gill.
The clip is from an episode of Comedy Central's Reno 911!, a parody of COPS that features mostly improvised dialogue.
I'm pretty sure he was naked before this, on CBS's Nash Bridges, too, back in 2001... he did a piece on All Things Considered about it.
You can catch JP in the upcoming direct to DVD sequel to the new Steve Carell Get Smart movie, an upcoming episode of Monk, some ER, and The Emperor's New School.
Oh, and check him out backing up Vince Gill.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Berkeley encounters: DeCadence
During lunch hour at Cal during the school year, crossing Sather Gate means two things: lots of student organizations handing out leaflets, and, most days, one of the many official or unofficial student a capella groups doing a concert next to the actual gate.
I haven't been on campus at the right hour in 8 years, but today leaving a meeting, I chanced upon DeCadence, a coed group, six men, six women, singing some pop songs. Nice choral blending, a little bit of vocal percussion, and varying qualities of solos (some thin and reedy, some big and brassy (which suited the outdoor location better).
DeCadence takes itself slightly less seriously than other a capella groups on campus, often wearing costumes or accessories to comical effect.
BUT for whatever reason today (I missed any intro or outro... didn't even figure out the name of the group until I played a game of "follow the links" through various Cal student club acapella groups)... they were all wearing business attire and dorky sunglasses*.
But the Business attire, combined with the haircuts of the men, meant that my brain could not avoid comparisons to everyone's favorite alum of Cornell's "Here Comes Treble":
(Ed Helms as Andy Bernard in NBC's "The Office")
So as much as I enjoy the fact that young adults spend hours practicing, performing, and touring songs in which they get to make "neer neer neer" noises to imitate the sound of electric guitars... I couldn't get out of my head today the notion (implanted there by repeated viewings of The Office) that college a capella isn't just populated with music dorks, but raving idiots destined for mid-level careers in sales)
I did enjoy their un-ironical arrangement of King Harvest's 1973 hit, "Dancing in the Moonlight," although they did have quite a bit of ironic choreography. And they had a somewhat clever parody of the Beach Boy's "Kokomo," sung as "Ber-kel-ey."
Like most college acapella groups, mp3s aren't easily available... but...
Ah HAH!
YouTube link!(KoKoMo)
YouTube link! (Dancin' in the Moonlight)
If you want to see them in focus: Wednesdays, noon, Sather Gate.
*And by dorky, I think I mean "fashionable." They look like they're all vintage 1977, but I think kids today are wearing that style now without irony.
I haven't been on campus at the right hour in 8 years, but today leaving a meeting, I chanced upon DeCadence, a coed group, six men, six women, singing some pop songs. Nice choral blending, a little bit of vocal percussion, and varying qualities of solos (some thin and reedy, some big and brassy (which suited the outdoor location better).
DeCadence takes itself slightly less seriously than other a capella groups on campus, often wearing costumes or accessories to comical effect.
BUT for whatever reason today (I missed any intro or outro... didn't even figure out the name of the group until I played a game of "follow the links" through various Cal student club acapella groups)... they were all wearing business attire and dorky sunglasses*.
But the Business attire, combined with the haircuts of the men, meant that my brain could not avoid comparisons to everyone's favorite alum of Cornell's "Here Comes Treble":
(Ed Helms as Andy Bernard in NBC's "The Office")
So as much as I enjoy the fact that young adults spend hours practicing, performing, and touring songs in which they get to make "neer neer neer" noises to imitate the sound of electric guitars... I couldn't get out of my head today the notion (implanted there by repeated viewings of The Office) that college a capella isn't just populated with music dorks, but raving idiots destined for mid-level careers in sales)
I did enjoy their un-ironical arrangement of King Harvest's 1973 hit, "Dancing in the Moonlight," although they did have quite a bit of ironic choreography. And they had a somewhat clever parody of the Beach Boy's "Kokomo," sung as "Ber-kel-ey."
Like most college acapella groups, mp3s aren't easily available... but...
Ah HAH!
YouTube link!(KoKoMo)
YouTube link! (Dancin' in the Moonlight)
If you want to see them in focus: Wednesdays, noon, Sather Gate.
*And by dorky, I think I mean "fashionable." They look like they're all vintage 1977, but I think kids today are wearing that style now without irony.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Whistlin' Phil... and the Other one
No more delightful a sound than the sound of two men whistling
The next best thing to being there: having a single Whistleaire in the neighborhood to serenade the birds and lighten the hearts of the residents of our street with a cheerful tune.
Second best: YouTube video!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Porter Airlines
Slick Surge Protectors
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Oakland Crimespotting
Wow. Information designers create a super-functional interactive map of crime reports in Oakland (a mashup of data from the city of Oakland's nearly useless CrimeWatch map)
This isn't about the market performing better than government, because this isn't for profit. It's about smart people applying technology in smart ways.
Link
This isn't about the market performing better than government, because this isn't for profit. It's about smart people applying technology in smart ways.
Link
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Thrillermania: Not "Thriller", but an incredible simulation
Boing Boing and Spectacular Self-Indulgence pointed us to the mass dance phenomenon of the week: hundreds of prisoners in a Philippine prison recreating the dancing from Michael Jackon's "Thriller" music video (as seen in a single wideshot).
Remind me when I'm convicted and sent up the river to find a jail with THAT kind of activities director.
Of course the YouTube "related" list sent me straightway to the Tollywood (sic, see comment below) "Thriller" ripoff, which I'd not previously had the chance to see.
And for those who missed it in 2004, a shot-for-shot Lego stopmotion recreation of the ENTIRE thirteen minute Michael Jackson video.
BONUS: Apparently there is a whole subculture of people dedicated to recreating Ok Go's backyard and treadmill dance videos using lego people and stopmotion animation. How would these people ever connect without YouTube? Link
Remind me when I'm convicted and sent up the river to find a jail with THAT kind of activities director.
Of course the YouTube "related" list sent me straightway to the Tollywood (sic, see comment below) "Thriller" ripoff, which I'd not previously had the chance to see.
And for those who missed it in 2004, a shot-for-shot Lego stopmotion recreation of the ENTIRE thirteen minute Michael Jackson video.
BONUS: Apparently there is a whole subculture of people dedicated to recreating Ok Go's backyard and treadmill dance videos using lego people and stopmotion animation. How would these people ever connect without YouTube? Link
Friday, July 20, 2007
International VR Photography Association Comes to Berkeley
Remember QTVR? Quick Time Virtual Reality... where you stitch together photos to make not just panoramic photos, but 360 degree photos, plus up and down views.
Well the hotshots of this field of digital photography just held their annual conference in Berkeley. And they took some wild pictures of the Berkeley campus, San Francisco, Yosemite, and of course, the Super Shuttle from the airport and various conference receptions.
Requires QuickTime.
TSA head admits lighter-ban was lame
[via Boing Boing]
Kip Hawley, head of the TSA, has acknowledged that the (now lifted) restrictions against lighters on airplanes was merely "security theater", that "trivializes the security process."
Now maybe he'll start rethinking that whole liquids thing. (Although if they lift that ban it'll be a major financial blow to the makers of contact lens solution. Sales have--pardon the expression--exploded to contact-wearers on trips longer than two days.)
Link
Kip Hawley, head of the TSA, has acknowledged that the (now lifted) restrictions against lighters on airplanes was merely "security theater", that "trivializes the security process."
Now maybe he'll start rethinking that whole liquids thing. (Although if they lift that ban it'll be a major financial blow to the makers of contact lens solution. Sales have--pardon the expression--exploded to contact-wearers on trips longer than two days.)
Link
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Best Condi Quote Ever.
Via Daily Kos.
Asked by BusinessWeek about whether life after the Bush administration
might be in business or on Wall Street:
""I don't know what I'll do long-term. I'm a terrible long-term planner."
Link
Asked by BusinessWeek about whether life after the Bush administration
might be in business or on Wall Street:
""I don't know what I'll do long-term. I'm a terrible long-term planner."
Link
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Magic toffee
This is one of those recipes that must be tried to be believed.
Thanks to Kathy Molinaro for introducing it to me.
The day she brought this into the office I drove straight home to make it.
Super easy. ASTONISHINGly good.
Ingredients:
Saltines
1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup sugar
12 oz bag semi-sweet Nestle (or other) morsels
Preheat oven to 350°
Line a jellyroll pan with foil, including sides.
Line pan with saltines.
Melt butter on stove, pour in sugar.
Bring to a (rolling) boil and remove from heat.
Drizzle over saltines.
Place pan into 350° oven for 15 minutes,
remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate morsels over saltines.
Return to oven for a few minutes more, until morsels melt.
Remove and spread chocolate across top with knife.
(I used a metal pie server)
Leave in refrigerator overnight.
Break up like peanut brittle.
Freaking enjoy.
Tips:
1. Best served right out of the refrigerator.
2. Do not leave yourself alone in the house with it.
Vending Machine Red!
Coca-Cola has a Japanese viral video hit on its hands with "Vending Machine Red!", a surrealist pastiche of 1960s giant robot television shows.
Here, in Episode Three, Vending Machine Red takes a break from saving the world.
More episodes available here.
Here, in Episode Three, Vending Machine Red takes a break from saving the world.
More episodes available here.
Friday, July 13, 2007
OaklandGoods
A relatively new blog about Oakland retail, dining, and living, cited a few posts ago for its writeup on Loard's Ice Cream.
If they (or her, or him) can keep this up, it could grow into a terrific placeblog. I've subscribed in bloglines. Here's hoping.
Link
If they (or her, or him) can keep this up, it could grow into a terrific placeblog. I've subscribed in bloglines. Here's hoping.
Link
Faded Building Advertisements
A treasure trove of photos cataloguing the ghosts of advertisements past from the sides of buildings in and around New York City.
From Forgotten NY, a site dedicated to the lost and decaying.
From Forgotten NY, a site dedicated to the lost and decaying.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Request library books from Amazon pages
Via MerlinMann/43Folders, a smart fusion of the newfangled and the oldfangled.
If you can figure out (or ask your librarian) what kind of online database/interface your local library uses, you can configure this bookmarklet for your web browser.
Then from the Amazon page, instead of buying a book unseen for $25 or $30 (plus shipping), you can click the bookmarklet to search your library's database. (And depending on your system, you can have the book sent to your local branch for checkout.)
I need to try this out.
If you can figure out (or ask your librarian) what kind of online database/interface your local library uses, you can configure this bookmarklet for your web browser.
Then from the Amazon page, instead of buying a book unseen for $25 or $30 (plus shipping), you can click the bookmarklet to search your library's database. (And depending on your system, you can have the book sent to your local branch for checkout.)
I need to try this out.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Seeing Al Qaeda Around Every Corner - New York Times
The NYT's new public editor, Clark Hoyt, takes the paper to task for its increasingly sloppy use of the term "Al Qaeda" to describe opposition forces in Iraq, a use that (perhaps not coincidentally) has been on the rise in officialspeak out of the Bush Administration.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Loard's, Loard's, Loard's
Last summer I couldn't find anything online about Loard's, our local ice cream shoppe.
Now it's been blogged, featured in the East Bay Express, and loards.com has gotten a slightly more modern makeover.
From the Express:
This fall we're gonna host an ice cream social and have a Loard's/Fenton's faceoff, so that others will come to understand.
Now it's been blogged, featured in the East Bay Express, and loards.com has gotten a slightly more modern makeover.
From the Express:
...Loard's makes relatively small batches of ice creams with relatively high fat content (about 16 percent), and what's known as "low overrun" — a minimal amount of pumped-in air, the notorious filler in big-factory ice cream.I prefer it to the Fenton's, I gotta say.
This fall we're gonna host an ice cream social and have a Loard's/Fenton's faceoff, so that others will come to understand.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Gioia to graduates: 'Trade easy pleasures for more complex and challenging ones'
Poet, NEA Chair, and former VP of General Foods Dana Gioia's commencement speech at Stanford talks about his father, the value of arts education, the dumbing down of culture, and of not being famous enough.
For the last few years you have had the privilege of being at one of the world's greatest universities—not only studying, but being a part of a community that takes arts and ideas seriously. Even if you spent most of your free time watching Grey's Anatomy, playing Guitar Hero, or Facebooking your friends, those important endeavors were balanced by courses and conversations about literature, politics, technology, and ideas.
Distinguished graduates, your support system is about to end. And you now face the choice of whether you want to be a passive consumer or an active citizen. Do you want to watch the world on a screen or live in it so meaningfully that you change it?
Monday, June 18, 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Thanks YouTube: Love is a Battlefield
If you and I were hanging out at a party, or over dinner, and the 80s came up, and you said, "Hey, remember Pat Benatar? Her video to 'Love is a Battlefield' was the worst. video. ever." --if you said that, I'd laugh, and confess I don't remember it, I must have seen it, but it couldn't be the worst, could it, if I have no memory of it. And then we'd go on to dessert and I'd forget all about it by the next day.
But if I read the same discussion on a blog, which handily provided a link to YouTube, well... I'd just have to click. I couldn't stop myself.
And then... and then I'd realize that I actually had seen this video. I probably was there for its premiere on ABC's Friday Night Videos.
And then... oh good Lord.
They're right.
This very well could be the Worst. Video. Ever.
And the worst of it... it was gone from my mind for the past 25 years. Now it's back. AND I CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD.
But if I read the same discussion on a blog, which handily provided a link to YouTube, well... I'd just have to click. I couldn't stop myself.
And then... and then I'd realize that I actually had seen this video. I probably was there for its premiere on ABC's Friday Night Videos.
And then... oh good Lord.
They're right.
This very well could be the Worst. Video. Ever.
And the worst of it... it was gone from my mind for the past 25 years. Now it's back. AND I CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Picturetown
Here's a stunningly elegant and simple microsite from McCann Erickson for Nikon's new entry-level Single Lens Reflex, the D40.
They gave 200 people in Georgetown, South Carolina, Nikon D40s to play with. It's a picturesque town, to be sure, so there's plenty to shoot. And then they put them all on this web site, portraits, action shots, landscapes, everything. And they let each of the featured photographers tell their story of how much they enjoyed the camera.
And the photos look really, really good.
I know it's a commercial site, but I spent a full hour the other night exploring it.
Here's the twist: it's really hard to find any details about lenses, or what megapixels, or any technical stuff. The pitch is really about: anyone can take a great picture with the camera. About as technical as they get is to say that there's less shutter lag and really good autofocus so "you'll never miss the moment."
Adweek likes it too.
I'm almost ready to buy one.
You had me at pelicans.
If you dig around on other photo sites, and look at the reviews, you realize that McCann Erickson probably got thirty thousand photos for the project and could show off the best two hundred or so. And, if you dig around Picturetown, you realize that the flash still does weird things to pictures. And there are tradeoffs involved in buying the low end of the SLR market.
But ooooh. Picturetown.
Friday, June 01, 2007
When Turkeys Attack
from KTVU.com:
"BERKELEY -- Wild turkeys went after Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory technician recently as he rode his Segway to the office."
NBC 11 broke the story... and has photos taken during the attack!!!
I like the response from The Daily Cal's staff blog: "We don't like Segways either."
(photo by jdng)
Monday, May 28, 2007
The fatness formula | Economist.com
(via The Ethicurean)
The Economist takes aim at high fructose corn syrup, which suggests that fructose, and not fat, is a major contributor to obesity.
It's an op-ed piece, so there's a lack of citations, but if it's true that there are good sugars (glucose) and bad sugars (fructose), there's even more reason for me to spend ten minutes in the bread aisle at Andronico's reading ingredients trying to find a loaf of bread under $4 that doesn't use HFCS.
Just reading about the hormonal effects of HFCS makes my innards hurt.
And in the last paragraph, I like the backhanded swipe at America's plan to produce biofuels from corn. "Misguided government policy" they call it. I'll have to do some more reading, because I'm not sure if they are calling it misguided because this country's agri-corn future will starve more Mexican campesinos, or because it will make corn even more dominant in our economy, or because it's a losing cause next to switchgrass as a biofuel, or because the Economist just assumes that since the US can't find its way out of a paper bag/land war in Asia, that it couldn't possibly execute a sensible energy policy.
The Economist takes aim at high fructose corn syrup, which suggests that fructose, and not fat, is a major contributor to obesity.
It's an op-ed piece, so there's a lack of citations, but if it's true that there are good sugars (glucose) and bad sugars (fructose), there's even more reason for me to spend ten minutes in the bread aisle at Andronico's reading ingredients trying to find a loaf of bread under $4 that doesn't use HFCS.
Just reading about the hormonal effects of HFCS makes my innards hurt.
And in the last paragraph, I like the backhanded swipe at America's plan to produce biofuels from corn. "Misguided government policy" they call it. I'll have to do some more reading, because I'm not sure if they are calling it misguided because this country's agri-corn future will starve more Mexican campesinos, or because it will make corn even more dominant in our economy, or because it's a losing cause next to switchgrass as a biofuel, or because the Economist just assumes that since the US can't find its way out of a paper bag/land war in Asia, that it couldn't possibly execute a sensible energy policy.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Addicted to ladybugs
I can't stop playing this. Especially because of the strange between-game voiceovers.
Friday, May 11, 2007
a gripping read
From a review by Ralph Shorto in the New York Times Book Review:
Not long after the Pilgrims set anchor in the harbor they called Plymouth in 1620, the Wampanoag leader Massasoit paid them a visit near their makeshift settlement and made a wary offer of friendship. It took several months for two of the Pilgrims to venture into the wilderness and return the gesture. When they
did, they noticed circular pits alongside the trails, which, the natives told them, were storytelling devices. Each of these "memory holes" was dug at a place where a remarkable act had occurred; every time Indians passed by these spots, they recounted the deeds. The Pilgrims, Nathaniel Philbrick says in his vivid and remarkably fresh retelling of the story of the earnest band of English men and women who became saddled with the sobriquet of America's founders, "began to see that they were traversing a mythic land, where a sense of community extended far into the distant past."
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Helvetica at 50
BBC News Magazine profile of the Helvetica font on the occasion of its 50th birthday.
Also, birthday cake, courtesy of YouTube.
Also, birthday cake, courtesy of YouTube.
Ralph's World Rips It Up
(photo by something.from.nancy)
He looks harmless enough.
His first CD, Ralph's World, had melodic covers of the Winnie the Pooh theme, Roger Miller's "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Her," a toddler friendly version of "Shake Your Booty," and a couple of winning originals. He's ranked up there with Justin Roberts as heir to the King of Preschool Rock and Roll.
So when our neighbor passed on a pair of tickets won on-- of all places, our neighborhood college station KALX-- I said sure, why not go see Ralph's World?
After all, Deirdre was out of town. The boys deserved an adventure, and the Great American Music Hall was promising breakfast with this 9:30 am show! (I checked the web site: Rice Krispies is a co-sponsor of the tour, along with the House of Blues. I correctly guessed that breakfast would be a bowl of rice krispies. Actually, it was a beer cup full of rice krispies. So I had fed the kids beforehand)
So can Ralph Covert and his band pack the GAMH at 10 am on a Sunday morning?
Yes, yes he can.
Is the GAMH bar open at that hour?
Yes, yes it is.
Bloody Marys seemed the parents' drink of choice. And the kids bopped and clapped and hopped and swayed to Ralph's music.
The other kids, I mean.
Our kids?
Our kids stood frozen with their hands over their ears in dismay.
The GAMH sound techs had the sound turned up to eleven. It was louder than any band I've ever heard there, like "All Wrecked Up" (Granted, Ralph's World has a full drum kit, and an electric bass) (hmm. With the possible exception of Vise Grip and the Ambassadors of Swing). Ralph proudly announced to the kids that their parents were sharing with them the joys of a true rock concert, and he was happy to initiate them, presumably with steel-warping volume.
After three songs we ducked to the sides where we grabbed an empty table partly sheltered from the direct blast of the overhead speakers. The waitstaff helpfully offered earplugs, which Liam liked. Ro-Ro tolerated them for two songs, still with his hands over his ears.
If we had known more songs it would have been fun. Instead, it was kind of like being assaulted with sound. And wondering why all the other kids weren't huddling in a fetal position.
We left after 40 minutes, but we did learn one new song: one song, so peppy, so full of zest, we can't help singing it four days later: "We are Ants." (Link to YouTube video concert footage. Imagine this same song, eight times louder, and in the dark)
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