Daily Distraction, 9/28

Oh, I had stuff to post... I did. But I got distracted over at ZingFu and ended up futzing around (poorly) Photoshopping myself (and others muhahaha) into various movie stills, magazine covers and publicity shots. This is the closest I'll come to being a Jedi (or to Ewan McGregor, alas):

Daily View, 9/27

• Office espionage? I'm all for it. In 3rd grade my best friend Eve and I got busted for having a secret note-passing mechanism embedded in what looked like a harmless papier-maché model car. In 6th grade I tried to skip school in stealth mode and ended up crawling on my knees and elbows through a patch of poison ivy (so much for the stealth). Anyway, my point is that if I could incorporate more spy/stealth activity into my adult life I would, which is why I love crap gadgetry like the featured kit.


• Why would anyone want to build a matchstick Hogwarts? Just curious.


• Awesome, the scientists are finally taking a stand. And for us slightly girly science fans, the url is wonderfully close to that of awesome cosmetics super outlet. Ladies & germs: sefora.org, home of SEA.


• I think I could love Goblin Fish Press, if they could only get their online shit together. I clicked on everything on that page before I found something clickable. Sigh.


• Cool hotel... Europe, man... they know wassup.


• The God Delusion? BRILLIANCE. I'm in.


• Strange and wonderful cloud formations


• I bet I'd just kill a dirtless garden quicker. Sigh.


• Want a peek at the NSA's Secret Reading List? Here's your chance.


• Octonauts. Pretty damn cute.


• Jon Heder is a one-trick tool but he win points vis his iTunes celeb playlist because he includes "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" by the Moody Blues AND some Prefab Sprout. Even though the Prefab track isn't a great song, it's still excellent when that band gets acknowledged—I loved these guys in college... [later, after downloading and reliving some Prefab Sprout music]... You know, I'd forgotten how weird they were... really, they sound kind of awful and dated now but... aw, Prefab Sprout. Kenbe, I think you got at least one horrible mix with Prefab on it... Ice Maiden, maybe... WHY do I remember that??? "If You Don't Love Me" is a great late 80s British pop hit but you just can't put it on mixes because people might get the wrong idea. Damn, I had all these albums on cassette... and maybe it should have stayed that way... sigh. Meanwhile, I'm not sure how I feel about Heder's playlist quote: "Prince might be the only human who's actually made out of pure grease and butterscotch." Ew.

Daily View, 9/26

I've been watching too much TV on DVD lately... my brain is starting to leach out my ears...

• Must remember this, because I am notoriously horrible at this: How to write a Thank-You Note


• Nice. Want to know where those sea-levels will be in the future? Just look above you for the duct tape: FutureSeaLevel.org


• Points for the Burns reference (though I guess the actual usage, which is "tim'rous", is too wonky to make for a good website/biz card listing): Timorous Beasties. Nothing like fabric that looks granny prim but is really a surprise bunch of digital iguanas. And insect wallpaper? Awesome.


• No good reason for this link, other than the fact that I am a proud member of the black licorice loving minority.


• Dude, between this video for Hey, Lloyd... and the incredibly sad bastard NPR interview I heard with them the other day, Camera Obscura has almost been ruined for me. What's Tracyanne's problem? Maybe that her name is Tracyanne and that she is a sourpuss ringer for Velma from ScoobyDoo. Sigh.


• THIS GUY is the hottest prof in town?? That's just plain crazy.


• Russel Crowe playing the Crocodile Hunter is thankfully just a bad rumor.


• And hey, we have a snow leopard (temporarily).

Daily View, 9/25

I need a new job. Anyone got one?

• Because I will never be rich or patient enough to have an actual maze, I'll take one of these maze rugs.


• Damn it, I miss the GlowWorm. These MoonBeams just aren't the same.


• All the Simpsons episodes online. At least, until someone gets their legal on and takes them away—better hurry up and watch.


• There has been much outcry against the Audrey Hepburn GAP ad online. Personally, and because I know you were all just dying to hear my opinion, I am torn. On one level, as the lovely *g pointed out, the Hepburn look is in for fall (my argument—isn't classic Hepburn always in? Also, Audrey can't take all the credit—the damn Edie Sedgwick bomb is about to drop. Steel yourselves for lots of bleached blond short cuts and animal prints, people), and why not? Why not, indeed... when Astaire danced with a vacuum cleaner it was magic. So why is this bothering me? Maybe because Audrey is likely rolling in her grave. Or maybe it's the AC/DC. I dunno...


• My favorite visual episode of the little people is the one with the random violence.


• Hahaha, no George Bush, the moon is MINE—or rather, der Mond ist meiner!!


• Another Bloody Water. Yeah, that's what they called it.

Several of the above links came from *g, who is apparently blogging vicariously... ;) Just kidding, tochter aus Elysium, but is Hyper Link dead? You CAN'T leave things on a Hoff note.

Daily View, 9/22

• CUSTOM STAR WARS T-SHIRTS. Nerd gold, people. Rock on!


• Ben Folds clearly wishes Ben Gibbard hadn't beat him to the indie music god vacancy. He wishes it so much that, in a move of cornball pretention, he does Gibbard... but with found crap standing in for instruments. Sorry Folds, you just suck.


• Muhahaha, the Braff-lash continues (did anyone see the film yet??).


• Gizmodo asks the valid question: when should you buy an Apple product?


• What fucking grouch: Gabriel Sherman bitches about slow newbies running marathons. I ran one, I was slow, kiss my ass Sherman, I had every right to be there. Thankfully, someone as high-profile as Jason Kottke has called him out on his assitude.


• Man, that is way more than I ever needed to know about the Fung Wah bus... ignorance is bliss.


• Wow, excellent: even more Braff-lash. Apparently he's quitting Scrubs ("the one thing he's good at," says the article) to do more movies. Sigh.


• Yeah, it's hit me too. Sigh.

Listening to:
Nothing. A week of documenting my own bizarre listening habits (er, and ODing on Hindi pop) has worn me out. And so retires the closest I'll ever come to music blogging. Have a good weekend, peepies.

Daily View, 9/21: TOP

How the hell is September almost gone already? Sigh.

• Have a random question? Like whether or not Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder are related? Sure, call 311.


• Wow, now THAT is a HUGE laptop!!!


• Poor, poor Sting


• A replica of an iron molecule AND a hotel?? One word: awesome.


• "The Knitted English garden project has been painstakingly completed by more than 300 contributors, including a group of gay men knitting in Brighton, and a 12-year-old boy in Sussex, who spent six months making the pond and waterfall."


• Er, wow. If you like breasts, apparently this mousepad is for you.


• I got all excited when ColdHardFlash put up their list of the Top 10 Most Influential Online Flash Shorts... only to find myself in a strange world of juvenile crap (and not even good juvenile crap). Of the ten (and, oh yes, I watched them all), only a few were bearable: 1) even when it involves urine the animation of Adam Phillips is always just plain awesome, 2) The End of the World I think I'd seen before, 3) Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me is a fascinating exercise in how to rip off the bunny animation from Disney's Robin Hood, and 4) Odd Todd is kinda funny if you've ever been unemployed. But seriously... these are the top 10?? I'm flabbergasted.


• Kottke's got a great running entry on the Top places to eat well for cheap in NYC (my vote was for kaiten-zushi at East)


• Wow. Stylus Magazine votes for their Top 100 music videos of all time, complete with accompanying YouTube videos. One of my all-times faves (Take On Me, by A-ha) is appropriately in the top five, that great Daft Punk Michel Gondry video sneaks in at #9, and Mark Romanek, one of my favorite directors, rightfully has not one but two spots in the top ten (and also holds #11). Rock on.


• Corporate Goth. I love it.


• Wow, the Inkies tell me that Richard Branson is pledging $3 billion dollars to fight climate change. Why hasn't anyone with vast amounts of cash assassinated the dumbfuck in the Oval Office yet, eh? Honestly, that's what I really don't get. Not that it would directly solve the global warming problem, but it feels like it'd be a step in the right direction. Sigh... does this mean that the CIA is now reading this blog??


• Hey, cool—the dance of the Ghosts sequence from Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray's rare 1968 film Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne. "Ray combined live action, shadow puppets and Indian percussion instruments to create the mesmerizing sequence."

Listening to:
Damn, busted. I've been listening to It's the Time to Disco from Kal Ho Naa Ho (shut up, it's just Bollywood, not like it's a dangerous obsession or anything) on repeat this entire time. Oh, and by now I've learned the lyrics and everything. And if THAT doesn't cinch the fact that I am a poor candidate for a music blog, I don't know what else will.

Wait, speaking of music, though... I just have to bitch about Josh Groban. I was in Rite-Aid today (yes, I left the house, and it's not even Tuesday!), and the whole time %)!*#%&)#*%& Josh Groban was telling me in his smooth baritone that I Am Loved. Clearly he's got another barely-veiled religous reference easy listening hit on his hands (the last one being the bombastic "You Raise Me Up"—come on, I know you can take it secularly, but everyone knows he's pandering to the Jesus crowd. Who'dya think is lifting him up, mmm?) What a fucking tool. He's got a fine voice and he uses it for evil. Eeeee-vil. Sigh.

Daily View, 9/20

Wow, who needs drugs when you have the iTunes Visualizer... this is the point I've reached...

• Well, I think I've finally figured out why I'm just not so into the podcasting phenomenon. These people are WRITERS, they shouldn't be speaking. Case in point: the NYTimes weekly popcast. It's that same narcotic monotone vocal effect that Martha Stewart has... Sigh.


• Great idea with lots of educational potential: What Else Happened is a "reblogging" of Lewis and Clark's Louisiana Purchase Expedition (shout out to the Lou, where their journey began... wow, I'm fleetingly awash in unexpected and highly uncharacteristic nostalgia for good ole Missouri).


• Wine in a can. Seriously? Even I know that's wrong.


• Aahhmabout to whip somebody's ass..."Now, you might not be able to sing that out loud, but you can hum it to yourself..." Brilliant.


• Must remember to make it down to Salvor Kiosk... if only because their website blows and I'd rather hold overpriced international junk in my hot little hands before squandering my cash.


• The Premiere Issue Project for people who still care about magazines (wow, Lucky's been around since 2000? Jane is that young? Wierd).


• Dude, cool, it's that light up pen that sweet girl in High Fidelity used when she made notes for her reviews during the movies. I liked that girl. Penny, I think her name was. Don't get me wrong, I loved High Fidelity (I'm talking about the movie—book is good too, but the film sucked me in first), but a lot of the female casting was fuhhhucked up. Lily Taylor squandered in a few minutes of sad bastardom. Iben Hjejle? CZJ? Natasha %)*#@%)#*%)#*%@#*)%@# Gregson-Wagner?? Sigh. But I did like Penny. Maybe it was because she had this pen.


• Ok, so Idolator got my hopes up about this mp3 search cheat employed by Cyberwyre. And on first try, I found all the gloriously ridiculous songs from my recent Bollywood blitz Kal Ho Naa Ho (just listen to that title track, people... that is pure cheesy goodness). But it's proved basically useless in all subsequent searches. Fuck it, I'm sticking with good old Poisoned.


• I admit it. When I am drunk I am also suddenly overcome with a desire to touch pandas.


• Hmmm... Torpark=total privacy online... Is that actual possible???


• My ears are bleeding. Radiohead done by a crazy girl armed with a viola. *Shudder*


• And on that note, what is UP with Justin Timberlake?? I actually like what's going on underneath—call me a sucker for spacey arpeggio and thumpy beats—but then he starts in with that damn falsetto. The chorus isn't bad—I dig the anime-style giggle and the layered harmony, but honestly, when he flies up into the upper registers I can barely stop twitching. Maybe if Michael Jackson (from 25 years ago) put out a press release telling Timbs to fuck off already we could all be spared. Oh oh oh oh and I just reached the rap segment. Blech.


• Pyrats is a great little animation that taps into the true spirit of the pirate life. Yo ho.


• What is up with the new Diane Arbus movie? I hadn't quite realized it was this "imaginary portrait"... and I think Nicole Kidman is getting a bit stuck. She hasn't surprised me in a long time. Even in surprising projects she's still... well, she's stlil Nicole Kidman. Cut loose already, Nic. Get ugly and go batshit crazy. Seems to work for Charlize.


• Hahahahaha, poor Bryan Ferry. It's true though, what is he doing? He'll be Hilfigering next.


• Origami + Robots = Oribots


• Um, I don't think this is cute. I think it's creepy as hell: The Pet Peek


• I have yet to try any of the music recommenders like Last or Pandora, and this article makes me think that maybe I haven't missed so much.


• Web 2.0 winners and losers. Sorry, Friendster and MySpace.


• Random grinworthy picture of the day: giant lamp frightens the elderly


• Thank you, Grace! I am also pretty damn over the wall decal movement.


• Poor Janet. I miss Miss Jackson If You're Nasty.

Listening to:
· I Clipped Your Wing—Michael Nyman, from the PIano soundtrack
· Goodbye Sick City—Suit of Lights
· Sick and Tired—The Cardigans
· Temptation—Moby
· I Will—Radiohead
· Hot N' Cold—Basement Jaxx (who I usually don't like, but this works for me)
· Easy—The Commodores (damn it... an unfortunate part of the soundtrack to my relationship with the Devil. Must purge this from my iTunes library! You and your Sunday morning can kiss my ass, Lionel.)
· The Scratch—Nitin Sawhney
· A Girl Like You—Edwyn Collins
· And Be Loved—Damian Marley (ouch)
· Knights At Night—Alexandre Desplat, from the Birth soundtrack (the Nicole Kidman movie, not to be confused with the Miracle of Life movie we all had to watch in junior high health class)
· Jimmy Mo' Mhi'le Sto'r—The Chieftains with the Rankin Family (double does of Gaelic geekery)
· White Trash—Junior Senior
· Silver Road—Sarah Harmer
· Of Angels and Angles—The Decemberists
· Gone—Madonna (I actually liked this album alot)
· Island of the Honest Man—Hot Hot Heat
· In Dreams—Roy Orbison (ahhh, Blue Velvet)

Daily View, 9/19

Isn't Wednesday the day when you're supposed to feel unhappy and trapped at work, caught smack in the doldrums between the weekend that was and the coming weekend that looms far, far away? I feel like that today. It's one of those days that feels like there will never be another weekend. Let's just call this Fuckday (I'm sorry, but I am profane. I have been since early childhood. I swear like a goddamn sailor and that's who I am. If that makes me NSFW, so be it).

• Hey, it's International Talk Like A Pirate Day. You have a few hours left to wield the word booty and YARRR at innocent bystanders (or pets).


• The 50 Worst Things Ever to Happen to Music: Some things are so right on I laughed at my screen—it's true, Creed sucks, misused melisma is from hell, any music that uses “jazz” as a prefix will make you want to saw your head off in boredom, popera is bizarre, Madonna's British accent is atrocious, and finding religion is the musical kiss of death. Oh, but poor Sting. Sigh. Meanwhile, read this and you're sure to learn something. For example, I had no idea Eazy-E died of AIDS. Damn.


• So I watched this Bollywood extravaganza called Kal Ho Naa Ho last night. Sweetjeebus, never have I seen grown men so prone to weeping. It's rife with Hindi megastars—Shahrukh Khan (who kinda freaks me out) hams and mugs and cries throughout, Preity Zinta has her pouty pretty smart girl act down, and Saif Ali Khan is his usual affable metrosexual (I love that he falls in love and sings a song about how his brimming heart has inspired him to take better care of his appearance and get a manicure). Really, the storyline was awful, but the music was awesome and it was another of these new Bollywood productions that take place in non-Indian global metropolises (metropoli?)—this one was in NYC! So Shahrukh had his love song on the Brooklyn Bridge, Preity got to dance in Union Square... bizarre, hilarious, cheesy Indian goodness. There were even some in-jokes—at one point Shahrukh takes a jibe at Dil Chata Hai (kinda similar to this film, but better, and he wasn't in it so clearly he's jovially bitter... like Clive Owen spoofing his own almost-Bond in... er, was it Scary Movie 4?). What was also interesting is that they make an effort to reference sex and homosexuality (a big step for traditionally conservative Bollywood), but it's kinda skewed... a running joke has the maid thinking that Shahrukh and Saif are gay, and Saif has to reassure his father that he is "normal". Yet meanwhile there is a love song montage that shows happy couples around the city, and one of those couples is a gay male couple. As always, there is no kissing on the lips. I dunno, I'm fascinated by this bizarre planet Bollywood, where modern cosmopolitan young people in leather pants and body glitter strut strange conservative values and do dance numbers with a joyful abandon that hasn't been seen in Hollywood since the 40s. Crazy.


• This Anime mashup has a bit of everything... really strange to see InuYasha and the Elric brothers from FMA and the One Piece gang and the obligatory Pikachu all together in one place!


• I'm so there: Double decker bus housing units


• 37signals discuss HP's new slimming camera feature stunt... which becomes more and more interesting as you read the comments... which are mostly from men.


• Letterpress Lingerie. Is this sexy? These take me right back to my mom's sewing patterns, personally.


• Cool new sea creatures! Including a shark that walks on its fins!


• NoooooooOOOoooooOOoooOoooooo. The FoxFaith division of 20th Century Fox. Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.


• This SuperMario wedding cake rocks my small world.


• Fingerforks?


• I am told that the Nintendo Alarm Clock I railed on yesterday for being not old-school enough is actually SO old-school that it predates my Nintendo Experience. It's based on the Famicom, the early Japanese NES. Thanks for setting me straight on the geek data, J. ;)


• Speaking of video games, the London Science Museum is putting on a Video Game Exhibition!


• Furthermore, Space Invaders wrapping paper!!


• Madonna in Space?? Maybe the Russians will say yes if she promises not to wear any more of those damn H&M tracksuits.


• Oh, Timbuk2... did you really have to call this product the Blogger bag? You still make great bags, of course, but this is a move towards pure Velveeta.


• Honestly, if my computer looked like this I think I would literally go insane and be completely unfit for social contact (moreso than I already am).


• Awesome!! Why don't shapeshifters get more press? I'm a big fan of those guys.


• I am Igor. I am 4 years old. I can drum like a goddamn rock star.


• Brilliant. Scary. Stupid. Do they make one for girls? The Half Suit (for videoconferencing). If you work at home, like I do, you'll appreciate this even more.


• So this guy goes through all this trouble explaining how you can remove Apple's DRM using Apple's own products... and then admits at the end that just burning yourself a copy is probably easier. Honestly, I just don't get the fuss. Feckin' eeedjits.


• Haha, rock on, Bono. Points for the headline: "The Unforgettable Ire"


• Dude, who are these people? Sheesh.

Listening to (an especially embarassing range of stuff tonight, apparently):
· Elephant Love Medley—Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman, from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack (shut up)
· Air in C Minor, BWV991: Air—Cubapercussion & Klazzbrothers (doing Bach)
· Ghostwriter—RJD2
· Now is The Month of Maying—Cambridge Singers (fa la la la la la la)
· End of Our Days—Howie Day (what a sad bastard)
· Pipe Dreams—Travis
· Take Your Mama—Scissor Sisters
· I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do—ABBA (goddamn)
· Step On Me—The Cardigans
· Coronation March, Op. 65—Edward Elgar (some of the best classical sauce around)
· Little Lies—Fleetwood Mac (sigh)
· They Call the Wind Mariah—Harve Presnell (at this point I'm laughing too... the iTunes Library is on random with a vengeance tonight!)
· Concerto for Oboe & Violin in C minor: II Adagio, arr. from BWV 1060—good ole Bach again
· Walk of Life—Dire Straits
· I Am The Robot—My Robot Friend
· Girls & Boys—Blur
· Girls Just Want To Have Fun—Cyndi Lauper

Daily View, 9/18

Give a shout out to your papa at some point soon—three friends in 24 hours have had their dads either die or end up hospitalized and I'm starting to get a bit spooked. I sent my dad this video of time lapsed hot air balloons because it's always been his dream to go up in one. Hm, now I'm kinda wondering why the hell he hasn't done that already. ?

• Get ready. In National Geographic News today, a python... well, I won't ruin it for you. Just look. OMG.


• Latest stupid iPod spin-off product: iPod jeans


• Now, why aren't there Russian baths for girls? I guess we have posh, prissy spas. But this sounds kinda fun (and kinda terrifying), only I'm not up for the Russomasochism.


• Dude, wtf. Vague, artsy bullshit from Sean Lennon, featuring Lindsay Lohan, slightly-smarter-than-Paris-Hilton-but-still-a-walking-STD Bijou Phillips, something old that's billed as Carrie Fisher (???), overrated Eurosexbomb Asia Argento, and awful-even-when-she-doesn't-speak Jordana Brewster. I'm no Lennon fan (don't get me started), but this seems wrong. Last time I saw Sean he was rubbing elbows with Rufus Wainwright. Now this? I blame Yoko (haha too easy).


• My fave Japanese skin cultists DHC are having a big sale. If nothing else, sign up for the catalog b/c you get tons of free samples. Sorry, but I'm a junkie for this crap.


• The world is in flames. Stupid Christians have somehow escaped America and are now spreading their bullshit in Africa. Damn it.


• That's a big ass pickle. Can that possibly be real??


• This Film Is Not Yet Rated looks pretty interesting.


• New publication called GOOD Magazine is getting buzz. All subscription costs go to charity (my $20 went to Unicef). Someone described it as the cool lovechild of the Economist and the New Yorker... I'm down with that.


• What, the stealth bomber does baseball stadium gigs now?? Not so stealthy indeed...


• This Nintendo alarm clock would be cool if it weren't this bogus color scheme and actually looked like the original. Sigh. I guess I'll have to be content with my mint tin.


• Aw, give Roger Ebert a get-well thumbs up. His reviews are often ridiculous, but he's got a Pulitzer and is an institution. If I can manage to get out of my pyjamas (happens every day or so), I'll send him a thumbs up snap.


• Even the monkeys are blogging.


• "Chill bitch... I don't know your life!"


• I kinda love this strange ring, and I don't even wear rings.


• Hey, tiny ice cubes will get your drink colder faster. Makes sense.


• I am fully entrenched in a love-hate relationship with Idolator. For every crap Lily Allen posting there seems to be a little gem like this one, which spotlights young Diane Lane and Laura Dern playing rock stars in some movie I was way too young to see in 1981 (skip straight to the video). Awesome (and kinda scary that her look has come full circle). Diane Lane is starting to fascinate me. I had no idea there was all that early work—she's been around forever. A Little Romance (1979)—brilliant (fave quote: "We'll be exceptionally gifted and remain true to each other."). Granted, the woman has made some stinkers (um, Must Love Dogs?? I'm still recovering). But points for the longevity.


• Idolator also scores for bringing up Kids Incorporated (even if it is in this funny-for-a-few-seconds My Humps faux montage) as they review Fergie's new album. Of course, once you watch one Kids Inc. video on YouTube, you get sucked into others, including this horrifying version of the Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush duet Don't Give Up, poorly sung by an infant Jennifer Love Hewitt. This was definitely after my time with Kids Inc—I think I watched only the first couple seasons. Now where the hell has Martika gone?


• Perhaps this is unsurprising considering the cheese factor of the previous entry, but I would totally drink caramel beer. I'm still disappointed that scotch whiskey doesn't taste like butterscotch. Sigh.


• The girls at InkyCircus recommend Outlander, among other books, and I have to cheer them for it. That book rocks. It broke my heart to find that it usually gets put into the romance section of the bookstore (*shudder*). It's much more than cheesy trash—there's time travel, warring Scottish clans, hardcore herbal medicine, ancient weapons, Gaelic, WWII stuff, blood, guts, sex, ships, kilts, some random 18th century buggering (which, appallingly, the friend who recommended the book to me back in '97 was too homophobic to read... faugh), intrigue, humor... it's good, man. Alright, it's a little cheesy, but still, it's good, and I'm gratified to see that I'm not the only smart girl out there who enjoyed that book. Woo!


• Reverse graffiti

Listening to:
· Supermassive Black Hole—Muse
· Come Go With Me—Exposé
· Dirty Little Secret (Thievery Corporation Remix)—Sarah McLachlan
· Hanginaround—Counting Crows
· Living Room—Tegan and Sara
· I'm Coming Out—Diana Ross
· Chanson Triste—Carla Bruni
· Il Tramonto—Ennio Morricone
· Goodnight & Go—Imogen Heap
· Over—Lindsay Lohan *blush of shame* (that's two Lohan mentions in one post! Horrors...)
· Your Eyes Only—Styrofoam
· Natasha—Rufus Wainwright (two Rufus mentions doesn't bother me)
· The Doldrums—Christopher Gordon, from the Master & Commander soundtrack
· Skeleton Key—Margot & The Nuclear So And So's
· Automatic Stop—The Strokes
· Modern Love—David Bowie
· Smile Like You Mean It (Killers cover... and not a very good one)—David Gray
· Gabriel's Message—Sting (screw seasonal, I listen to Christmas carols year round)
· Clark Gable—The Postal Service
· Let's Go (Nothing for Me)—New Order
· Sha La La—Al Green
· Rebel Rebel (David Bowie cover)—Seu Jorge
(haha now you're getting some idea of how long it takes me to write these damn posts, eh?)

Daily View, 9/16, August Debris

Yes, I am sitting at home blogging on a Saturday night. Why? Because it's another way to procrasinate from work. Yes, work. This is what happens when your office is virtual—weekend becomes a conceptual term. Motherfuckers.

• NOOOOOooooOOOoooooOOooo. First Katrina, now there is a Hurricane Lane.


• The Chinatown bus agrees to be investigated.. and of course they mention the song.


• This video of the Vampire Squid is one of the coolest, freakiest, nightmare and imagination inducing things I've seen in a whlie. AWESOME.


• Ok, people get all up in arms about a dyed elephant but they don't blink when people do the same shit and worse to their dogs??


• We finally get a Target in Manhattan and it's on the @$)!*&)@*%& EAST SIDE. Bastards.


• Bundt art (I think it's wax). Vanderpool's website is a bit of an eyesore though... ow.


• Top 10 grossest candies... yuck!


• Idiots are avenging Steve Irwin's death by hacking up stingrays. What a bunch of assholes. Meanwhile, I got that link from a Gothamist post that contains the inspiring sentence "While you waste your life, astronauts miles above you are spacewalking and doing some other stuff." Where is THAT inspirational poster, eh?

Listening to:
· Spring (Four Seasons)—Vivaldi
· Been Here Before—Jeremy Enigk (this guy sounds like um, actually IS the singer from Fire Theft)
· Ten Thousand Lines—Electric President
· Summer Night City—ABBA
· Music When the Lights Go Out—The Libertines ("I no longer hear the music." Definitely been there. Am thinking that's perhaps my curse.)
· Coma—Kunek
· Ada Plays—Gabriel Yared, from the Cold Mountain soundtrack
· I Can't Hold Back—Survivor *blush*
· Banks of the Lee—Cordelia's Dad
· Desi Dancefloor Megamix—Bhangra (I'm sorry, but if you start watching the Bollywood, inevitably some the music seeps into your collection)
· Blood—Editors
· Strange—Built To Spill
· Black Jack Davy—Steeleye Span (Celt-rock from the 70s, baby! You see why I can't take my own musical tastes quite seriously?)
· Eleanor Rigby—Ray Charles ("Elenah Rigbehhhhh"... "Fathah Makenzehhhhhh")

And, lest the procrastination stop:
Still-interesting links that I meant to post in August but that got shelved during some serious blog burnout:

• What the... NASA removes the phrase ""to understand and protect our home planet" from their mission statement.


• The Onion AV Club lists their choices for 14 Truly Sexy Sex Scenes. Having only seen 5 of the listed 14, I'm kinda feeling like I'm watching the wrong movies.


• And on that note, Filmcritic.com's Top 50 Movie Endings of all time. A bit gushy, no? My heart did not race at the end of Batman Begins... Ok, but out of these 50, I've seen only 32, so I'm still feeling a little inadequate.


• Strange statues from around the world.


• Watch out, teens—the Marines are recruiting on MySpace!


• It's a cursor kite. Yeah, take a good look at the photo...


• Component cooking. Hm.


• Scientists list their favorite children's books.


• Spam plants!


• Kinda like that Good Morning Sweetheart pillow, only at least you get something to eat: the Love Toaster


• From late July, but still awesome, especially in light of the recent Princess Leia wig: the pink wig that started it all??

Blogging, Idolator, Kinda

The blogs are kind of lashing out at the new Gawker music blog Idolator, and kinda rightly so. Indeed, while I was initially dazzled, the fact that they haven't posted anything in like 24 hours (aren't Gawkers legally required to post 12 times a day 7 days a week? Well, at least 6 days, anyway?) made me kinda forget about them. I guess the coming week will make or break it...
· Gothamist says meh.
· Yeti takes it a step further.
· Ubiquitous Marketing says Gawker basically chases its own shadow.
· Young Taylor over at Music For Kinds Who Can't Read Good chirps indignantly: "Gawker started a music blog apparently to make fun of other music blogs. Huh? I don't know whether to be mad or be impressed.."
Etc.

Yeti's right to mention that Gawker blogs require an invitation to comment. I got my officially-approved Gawker commenter status through some nerd dealings over at Gizmodo, and I generally use it for good (though I did immediately whine on Idolator about how much Lily Allen sucks). Someone suggested online that they are kinda hard to come by (??), which surprised me. Er, if you want one, try recommending a product or link or something to one of the Gawkers. Or just ask for one. You just might get your candy.

Meanwhile, a friend asked me recently why I don't have a music blog, which also surprised me. Me?? Please. My last concert was Death Cab at Coney Island in 2003 (before the OC got a hold of them, thanks!). Haven't been to a club or festival in ages. I still listen to all sorts of crap from the 80s and 90s that most music bloggers would never admit to. I listen to film scores, for fuck's sake! To prove my unworthiness (because apparently I've developed an ill-fitting rep for having somewhat cutting-edge taste... and also I'm just kinda bored), I'm going to start listing the songs that play as I write these oh-so-enriching blog posts.

Listening to:
· Accidntel Deth—Rilo Kiley
· I Thank You—The Commitments
· Thieves in the Temple—Prince
· Boy—Sarah Polley (yeah, the Canadian actress, performing on Mychael Danna's soundtrack for Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter)
· The White Rider—Howard Shore, from LOTR: Two Towers
· Trains to Brazil—Guillemots
· Jesus was a Crossmaker—Rachael Yamagata (sigh, I know, Jesus... but it's a catchy tune, both Yamagata style and the cheesy 70s one that's on the effing Elizabethtown soundtrack)
· I'll Believe in Anything —Wolf Parade

Besides, I download enough as it is to kinda be expecting a legal bust anyday. The last thing I need to do is start a music blog where I pretend to encourage readers to buy the mp3 I'm serving up. Sigh.

Daily View, 9/15

And September is half gone... Jaysus Haitch. Meanwhile, this post is going to be filled with Idolator links because they're new and I'm a sucker. And BoingBoing heavy because I only just summoned the strength to read the feed that had inflated while I was gone last weekend...

• 37signals fills a page with Michel Gondry videos from YouTube. Seriously, I never noticed that people than Kylie were replicating... funky.


• I can relate. I've found myself actually defending Phil Collins to skeptics (usually of a younger generation). At least I'm not alone. Come on, I'm not saying Phil is a genius or anything, but give the little guy a break. Who else rocks out in a sweater quite like him? He had his cheesy, slightly amazing place... give him that.


• Sigh, is it really necessary to have a Shire-themed subdivision?


• Why, Jack Spade... why??? Frog dissection kit for the fashionable. I know... wtf. Complete with frog, though, so at least it's not some poseur fake thing.


• Ha, see—I'm not the only one who thinks this is stupid: those Top 5 shirts I mentioned last week.


• Mermaid mummies!!!


• Monty Python and Halo... why not.


• I forgot to mention yesterday that I have seen the original Last Kiss and apparently I quite liked it (according to my Netflix rating). I'm sorry, but whiny Europeans in crisis are not nearly as annoying as whiny Americans in crisis—just my opinion. Meanwhile, the Onion calls out that tool Zach Braff for being "whiny, self-pitying, and unlikeable." Awesome. Bring on the Braff-lash!


• Dude, what the... Central Park as a fairyland in between world where some kid is being raised... oh, I give up.

Daily View, 9/14

Yeah, I've been busy... and when that happens I just post a video because I'm lazy. But come on, those were good videos...

• This... is... AWESOME. I'm totally going to knit a Leia wig and wear it... all the time.


• Speaking of, the old + new Star Wars version DVDs are finally out! Yeah, I may be a sucker, but I've never spent a dime on any Star Wars films on DVD yet (or VHS, for that matter) and I want the old versions that don't have all the crap Lucas put in in 97 (bastard).


• The Last Kiss is bullshit. Zach Braff gets billed like he's a fucking megastar—is that really necessary?? I can't stand him—he's such a whiny puss. And a mouthbreather. On the other hand, the movie's got Blythe Danner, Tom Wilkinson, the good Affleck and hotties with apparent substance Jacinda Barrett (I love how no one ever mentions her charming but thoroughly implausible lesbian turn in that second Bridget Jones piece of crap) and Rachel Bilson (better prove yourself girl, or it's bikini TV forever). Sigh. I'll rent it... and inevitably download the soundtrack. Sigh.


• Maybe I'll go see Keeping Mum instead. Maggie Smith rocks my world (look at that stunning photo on her IMDB page. She was a knockout back in those Jean Brodie days!). And the pure visual circus that marries Rowan Atkinson to Kristen Scott Thomas (who is considering an affair with Patrick Swayze) may just be worth the price of admission.


• Hey, a Shakespeare search engine!


• If I had $130 to squander on a timepiece, the Nike Nate watch is kinda robo-fabulous... like a Transformers castoff. Well, kinda... hmmm, actually I'm not sure how I feel about this now...


• Dude, I was just not prepared for this visual. *shudder*


• Slate on the politics of the Netflix Queue (it's true—most days I enjoy a rich cultural life and pants are indeed optional).


• Come on, I know Apple sets the trends, but what's with the pseudo-psychedelic lovetrain bullshit? Feels a little off target.


• Hmmm, apparently the Black Dahlia sucks. That's a shame, because I have to see it for Aaron Eckhart and Fiona Shaw (!!). Meanwhile, it's true about Swank—she and Kirshner don't look at all alike, and that's a problem moment even in the trailer. But I love the phrase "confectionery beauty"—Scarlett needs to watch out because she's going to get stuck in the shop window. In a connected article, this was more than I ever needed to know about James Ellroy.


• Wow, next time I break from blogging I guess I'd better hire Blogsitter, eh? Sheesh.


• Awesome Brazilian phonebooths—if I ever make it to dialing from the belly of a parrot or jaguar I'm calling everyone of you, be ready.


• The Gender-swapping pop star series on YouTube is kinda cool but kinda creepy too...


• Aww, the Good Morning Sweetheart embedded message pillow. Now where is the psycho Martha Stewart who stitches phrases like "I am your Bitch today" or "I had a wet dream" into the pillows? Huh? Why isn't that a cable show someplace?


• Speaking of psycho, I think this tattoo project is morbidly fascinating. Imagine explaining that one to the grandkiddies.


• Sad animal news: first a panda accidentally kills her baby and then comes news that Koza the lion is dead. Damn it. *sniff*


• I have to say, I am somewhat relieved that I had no idea of the existence of LonelyGirl15—apparently I have just enough of a life offline to keep me from truly absorbing every stupid thing that happens on the internet. Woo!


• Awwww.... Komaneko! (thanks *g)

Video of the Day, 9/13

I'm sorry, but by the time the first "I want to fuck you like an animal" had burst from the speakers I was misty-eyed with laughter. I hate Star Trek (and don't actually enjoy NIN, either), but this is great. Bare chested Spock is a little creepy, though...

Video of the Day, 9/8

This poor sweet shrieking weatherman made my day—I laugh every time:



Off to Boston for a long weekend. Have a good one!

Happy Birthday to Aaron

That's really all I have the energy to say today. Cheers.
(oh, and Friendster told me)

Daily Still-Disgruntled View, 9/6

• So this kid named Danny Pi thinks he is the shit because he's written a Britney Spears fugue. Fuck you, Pi, I adapted Classical Toxic last July. I've had two people ask me to put it on MySpace so they can use it as their profile song, which I laughed at, but... shit, if it's gonna get all hip I want credit. Sigh.


• Some people are saying that the sea monster that has washed up in Russia is a Belgua, but I stand by my theory that it's a Skeksis (you know, from the Dark Crystal).


• Yar! Eagles used to eat people! Why not? We are mostly meat, after all.


• Very valid article about the stupidity of blogging, complete with fake concept dream posts from the popular blogs.


• Aaaaand, Friendster's death bell tolls out another peal as it is officially branded a Web 2.0 stinker. (For the record, peeps, please don't start going around using the toolish term "Web 2.0". We actual web designers scorn it. We say "new web" or just don't say anything at all. Sigh.)


• Hmm, so there is more to Jimmy Stewart than I realized. This may result in some serious Netflixing. I've already watched almost every Cary Grant movie, which has naturally led me to some wary preliminary exploration of Hitchcock. Stewart would fit in nicely. Hmm...


• Dude, fuck Chuck Anderson. So overrated. All the elitists drool over this kid—I heard him deliver a ludicrously idiotic lecture at last year's Semi-Permanent and was thoroughly unimpressed. That's right, tell people not to go to college because you are the luckiest bastard on the planet and got "discovered" straight outta high. At least I wasn't alone—people were openly laughing at him. Then the Threadless boys came out and everybody got reverent again. Sigh. I'm so tired of this design scene bullshit.


• Hey, Stephen Hawking needs a grad assistant.


• Aw, man... Chinatown bus crackdown! (If you haven't gotten hooked on the Chinatown Bus song by Project Jenny/Project Jan then I'm kinda ashamed to know ya.)


• Hahaha nice photo of "bootyful" antics at the recent Carib Day parade.


• Goddamn, I'm officially Bollywood knowledgable—I've Netflixed enough at this point to immediately recognize Saif Ali Khan. Woo! ... Woo? Hey, speaking of Saif, his popular musical number from Dil Chata Hai is on YouTube. It sends up all the Bollywood cliches of the recent decades (love the 80s hair and sweater). This is modern Indian cinema, people!


• Yeah, another reason why I'm getting ready to quit NYC.


• What the... knit hats on drinks in British groceries. Seriously.


• Dude, look at baby Bowie. I'm really glad I was spared the Laughing Gnome song growing up. That's creepy as hell. I guess Labyrinth makes much more sense now, actually.


• Isn't this a little milennium High Fidelity era? Top Five T-shirts


• As much as I do heart Pretty In Pink, never do I want to encounter it in Zeb's "pantaloons". Side note: I never liked Blaine. There was always something about him that bothered me. In hindsight I realize that I just hadn't learned about gay people yet (we were too busy navigating race to think about anything else), and therefore couldn't put my finger on what it was that made him not right for Andie. Hm, I think it's time to bust out some OMD.

Daily Disgruntled View, 9/5

Work... sucks... Dishes... piled... Seriously, I just washed dishes for a fucking hour and a half, that's the kitchen cavern I'd built for myself working the last four or five days. Anyone who knows me well knows that dishes are the bane of my existence, and that I will go out of my way to eat self-contained food or craft some sort of edible food container—all to avoid having to wash a fucking dish. Fucking. This is going to be one of those, sorry. Seriously, this was a problem when I lived alone—when I moved out of the little studio apartment I'd had for several years, the kitchen was in such a state that I just threw everything away. Years worth of dishes. I rinse them thoroughly to prevent the bugs (which works, thanks—I am a self-acknowledged slob but I'm not dirty)... but then I leave them to die. It's a problem. Fucking. Seriously.

• I can't decide whether the "A city built on rock n' roll would be structurally unsound" t-shirt is fucking brilliant or offensive to my Starship-laced 80s musical upbringing. Little irreverent emo fuckers... and their awesome shirts. Sigh. (Wait, but wtf is this one?? I can't condone T-Rexes who put up with the antics of meat men. Arg, and I hate crap like this. The tuxedo shirt, etc. Have always been against this. Grouch grouch grouch.)


• Learn some difficult words already. Go vocabulary!


• In a strange yet somehow endearing move, GIzmodo honored dead Steve Irwin by posting about crocodile gadgets.


• And I kinda want this: sofa/bunk beds thingummy


• Ando is cool. So is this green screen currently obscuring his new project for the next three years.

Peace out, fools. Marconi plays the mamba.

Labor Day View, 9/4

• RIP Crocodile Hunter. I'm posting the Wikipedia link, because that's where I learned the news in the wee small hours of this morning.


• I kinda want some of these little Hong Kong Cakes. Actually, I think I'm just a sucker for the repeated use of the word "cakes". Offer me some cake, I'd likely decline, but shrink that noise and bust out the plural, and I'm charmed. Really, wtf?


• Oh, Pee Wee... he's never going to live that wank theatre incident down. Someone's even put it on the bottom of a sneaker. WHY?


• Now, I know it's my own fault for being a sucker and clicking on someone's IMDB forum link entitled "Jared Leto exposed as a poser", but it led me to this rant, the closing sentence of which made me laugh out loud: "If you disagree with this article, then you are an idiot, and on top of that you need to take your lips off of Jared Leto's balls and handle the truth." While methinks the Mudpiglet hates a bit too much, the bottom line is: it's Leto. Who cares? I can't do much beyond laugh at anyone who would follow up a role as Colin Farrell's boytoy with some emo band antics and an upcoming Lindsay Lohan flick. Sure, he's pretty, but skimming his IMDB entry I'm realizing that I've seen most of his films... and totally forgotten he was in them.


• Ok, I'm the first to admit that I'm not all up in arms about the DRM. If you don't have an iPod and are trying to use some other music player, that's your own fault (I also curl my lip to you if you're still using a PC, but I recognize my surly prejudice for what it is). Meanwhile, for the Appled, I still don't see why you can't just burn your purchased music onto a 15 cent CD and re-import it to sidestep the filesharing issue. With that said, this unburnable purchased tracks thing is bullshit.


• Nazi codes in fashion? intriguing... yet they don't show you any pictures, the fools. Sigh.


• This video clip of Kiefer Sutherland lashing randomly out at Christmas made me laugh. I'm glad son-of-Donald knows his place and isn't trying to be IN the band. He knows where not to be—unlike his peer Robert Downey, Jr... I'm sorry, but I had the misfortune to watch The Singing Detective on DVD yesterday (awful) and RDJ singing the closing song like some sort of pretentious Billy Joel brought me back to that horrible CD he put out in 2004. I revisited it on iTunes just to confirm that he does, in fact, SUCK. Boys this (downy har har) white should not be trying to inflect soul into words like think (as in "you won't have to thaynk twice") or trying to get away with pronunciations like "modren" (as in "these modren times"). What. An. Ass. I'm sorry, I know everyone insists that he's really talented but I have never seen any evidence of this. Haha maybe Mudpiglet isn't so rant crazy after all.


• New favorite band of the moment: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. They do meow a bit but it's charming (until I get tired of it and move on).


• Silly product of the day: Soap tape

Daily View, 9/1

• Dude, I don't see the damn BVM on this tree... wtf is with the visions lately???


• And speaking of the faithful, Catholic.org has pretty shamelessly ripped off the NYTimes. Now, don't get me wrong, all of us friendly web designers lift code. It's just done. But then we put our own spin on it. At least change the columns or colors, for chrissake. Sigh.


• Why does she do this Norma Desmond shit? I just don't get it... headwraps are wrong. In school these were commonly referred to as "tumor caps"... takes the chic right out of it, eh?


• Some cool t-shirts from Substratum Apparel (though their site is both cool and frustrating. Zoom?). I won't name my source b/c he is the bane of my damn existence.


• Awesome. I was mildly curious about the silverware show at the Cooper-Hewitt (yeah, yeah, there's another name but come on...), having researched the history of the fork (3 tines=excommunication!) for my virtual house of origins (sigh). Thanks to this video, I now don't have to go east to see this exhibit. My mild interest has been quite satisfied.


• Well, damn. The Wicker Man (the new Neil LaBute version) is out and getting scathing reviews. I like Neil LaBute (and that doesn't make me a misogynist, thanks) but I feel bad for him—very few people can get anything decent out of Nicolas Cage. Does he really run around punching women in the face and screaming "Bitches!"?? Let's all get drunk and have a Wicker Man/Lady in the Water double feature. Please?


• Am starting to notice the buzzword "transparent" popping up everywhere. Today's examples: the IRS isn't being very transparent about probing the NAACP and Disneyland isn't being very transparent with this whole fingerprinting visitors business (and a hearty WTF to both stories).


• MoMA is celebrating the Huston family. All well and good (Anjelica rocks my world—I've only come to appreciate her slowly after years of being vaguely creeped out), but Danny Huston is a dead ringer for The Devil. Well, my personal satan, anyway. Everyone has that one ex who ends up "The Devil", don't they? Anyway, Danny is him. Voice, body, mannerisms, everything. Only Danny Huston has hair. It's unsettling as fuck and may prevent me from taking in what is likely an otherwise fabulous and well-deserved tribute to one of film's first families. Arg.


• Am I crazy? I feel like I must have mentioned the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Company before, but I can't find record of it. Anyway, there is a superhero supply company. In (yuppieville) Brooklyn. Woo?


• Starbucks has Intelligent Design quotes on its cups. First Sheryl Crow CDs, now this? The world smolders.


• Make a movie. Maybe Netflix will distribute it. Yeah, that's right. Netflix. Who needs Weinsteins!


• Isaac Mizrahi is so damn fabulous. He's the reason I came to New York (yeah, figure that one out. I know, it's an odd fit, but there it is). And he has new little magazine effort going on. My inner gay man has died and gone to heaven. As *g said, fittingly, "You love you some Isaac..." I do.
  Disclaimer: Though I do love Isaac, I don't support his liberal use of bandanas, animal prints, or Hepburnish cuts that end up making modern girls look matronly. No one can be everything to everyone, I guess.

Oh, and happy Labor Day Weekend, peeps. Here in NYC it's going to rain heavily the whole time. Inches and inches of Ernesto. Heh.