Over a year ago there was talk of a new album by The Streets, a British hiphop project started by Mike Skinner. You may have heard that David Bowie likes The Streets, but I'm not sure where you would have heard such a thing. It is slightly less known that I am also a fan of The Streets. Needless to say, The Streets' music is pretty awesome.
I had been following Skinner's updates on his site and on twitter for a while, hoping for news about the new album, titled Computers And Blues, but then he suddenly seemed to disappear completely from the internet on October 18th, 2009.
Exactly one year later he reappeared on twitter with a link to his newly designed website. There's a ticker on the top corner of the page, counting down to February 7th, 2011. That's the date Computers And Blues will finally be released. The site's basically in a blog format with written entries and video blogs which featured Skinner answering questions asked by his followers on twitter. It didn't take long before he started getting really creative and sometimes answering them in the form of songs and posting other songs as well. I've been really enjoying everything he's posted so far, and here's one of my favorites:
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Autonomy Games by Endless Hallway, for free!
I made an entry in August about Endless Hallway releasing a new song, with a link to a free download of it.
Today on twitter, they said that there's going to be a new album in Spring 2011 (another album on the list of music I'm looking forward to next year), and you can download their debut album Autonomy Games for free.
If you want to hear one of the songs from the album first, here's one of my favorites, called "Shallows":
If you like the album and you want it on CD, you can get it for the ridiculously low price of $3.64 on Amazon.
Today on twitter, they said that there's going to be a new album in Spring 2011 (another album on the list of music I'm looking forward to next year), and you can download their debut album Autonomy Games for free.
Click on the cover art to download the album.
If you want to hear one of the songs from the album first, here's one of my favorites, called "Shallows":
If you like the album and you want it on CD, you can get it for the ridiculously low price of $3.64 on Amazon.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The blackest Friday there ever was: The Revenge!
I forgot a valuable part of the Black Friday story until just now. It has to be told.
Throughout the night, we witnessed a lot of shoppers that were very zombie-like, who were usually walking around aimlessly. Patrick and I are both amused by really simple things in life, and one thing that often seems to amuse us is mannequins with unintentionally funny poses. I'd say it wouldn't be uncommon, if you were stalking us at the mall, to see us walking through a store laughing at and doing impressions of funny mannequins. At one point during the night, we were in Old Navy, and Patrick pointed at a mannequin that was up against a column and said "That is the most depressing mannequin ever." Then the mannequin moved, revealing itself to be the most depressing live human being ever, and Patrick felt like a huge jerk. At least the depressing girl had a good enough sense of up to date style that she could pass as a mannequin.
Throughout the night, we witnessed a lot of shoppers that were very zombie-like, who were usually walking around aimlessly. Patrick and I are both amused by really simple things in life, and one thing that often seems to amuse us is mannequins with unintentionally funny poses. I'd say it wouldn't be uncommon, if you were stalking us at the mall, to see us walking through a store laughing at and doing impressions of funny mannequins. At one point during the night, we were in Old Navy, and Patrick pointed at a mannequin that was up against a column and said "That is the most depressing mannequin ever." Then the mannequin moved, revealing itself to be the most depressing live human being ever, and Patrick felt like a huge jerk. At least the depressing girl had a good enough sense of up to date style that she could pass as a mannequin.
Friday, November 26, 2010
The blackest Friday there ever was.
I wasn't planning on going out shopping for Black Friday. I don't think I've ever experienced it. Thanks to a tip from my cousin Megan after Thanksgiving dinner, I knew that Borders had the collectible LEGO minifigures near the checkout. I really wanted to get them before they sold out, because I've been wanting those minifigures for a long time and I have not been able to find them anywhere. Most the sites on the internet that sell them give you them randomly so you don't have any idea what you're getting, and in some cases limit the number of them you can order to 5 or something. Since there are 16 in each series, that's ridiculous. Anyway, I knew my sister really wanted to go shopping on Black Friday because she's also never experienced it and loves shopping. We talked about it half-jokingly at first and then somehow it became a real plan where my cousin Patrick and his girlfriend and my sister and I were going shopping at 1 AM. I figured not going out on Black Friday is kind of like staying inside during the apocalypse or during a zombie outbreak. It's probably the smartest thing to do, but you're missing out on a unique experience. I wanted to have that experience at least once.
So we printed out a list of the special opening times for the stores in the mall, and I printed out the barcode "cheat sheets" for the collectible minifigures, and we were on our way. First stop was Toys "Я" Us. We didn't have any problem on the drive there or with getting a parking space. We walked up to the entrance and noticed yellow caution tape that we could tell used to hold a line of people, but had long before been trampled over. I was using the apocalypse scenario as a metaphor, but at that point the look of the entrance of Toys "Я" Us looked kind of post-apocalyptic. Immediately upon entering the store, I felt extremely judgmental as I witnessed all of the people in the crowded store, before realizing that I was one of those people. Still, we seemed to have a different mindset than everyone else, almost like we were just witnessing the events of the night. I realized the worst thing about Black Friday is probably waiting in line for the checkout, because I'm serious when I say that the checkout line wrapped completely around the interior of the store, and that is a huge store. There wasn't anything any of us really wanted, at least not enough to wait in that leviathan of a line. As we were walking empty handed back to the car, I declared that some aspects of Black Friday seemed underwhelming, and other aspects seemed overwhelming. The rest of my fellowship agreed and we journeyed to Carousel Mall.
It was pretty strange to be in the mall in the middle of the night. I've talked with friends before about how it might be fun to be locked in the mall over night or something, but this wasn't anything like that would be. It was actually not too far off from being like any normal day at the mall because there were people everywhere, and except for the lack of sunlight coming through the skylights, there didn't seem to be any evidence of it actually being night time. We went to various stores throughout the night, going to each one we wanted to go to just after it opened to avoid having to wait in lines outside the stores. Since there wasn't any specific items or deals we were going for in the stores, it didn't matter if other people got to them first. Everything was surprisingly casual. Like I said, it just seemed like any other day at the mall. I didn't witness any fights, and no one was even pushy or rude. Is Black Friday not nearly as intense as the media makes it out to be, or do I somehow live in a place surrounded by some kind of enlightened beings that only consume in peace? We actually witnessed a few stores opening, and there weren't lines outside them! The employees just opened up the gate things at the entrances, and customers very casually walked in one at a time at the pace of rainwater dripping off leaves after a storm. The only stores that seemed to have lines and heightened security were the electronics stores. Most of the stores didn't even have very long checkout lines.
Most of what I bought wasn't even for sale, so it kind of was like a regular mall trip to me, just at night. I got some new long sleeve t-shirts that were for sale, a Darth Vader sweater that wasn't for sale, and of course...
Collectible LEGO minifigures. When we got into borders, which was our last stop in the mall, I went straight up to the checkout to check out the LEGO figures. A young woman at the cash register asked me if I was ready to checkout and I told her "No," and that I was looking at the LEGO figures. All they had were Series 2 out of the 3 series available, but that was much better than nothing.
Patrick noticed another box of them a little ways away from the checkout so I went over there to avoid feeling weird about the young ladies at the registers watching me match the barcodes on the packages to the barcodes on my "cheat sheet". I was making a pile of the figures I wanted next to the box, and a couple in their 20's walked up and the woman picked up one of the figures I had already selected. I said "Oh, those are ones I already picked out for myself." and she set it down and apologized. I told her that she didn't have to apologize because I'm just a crazy person, and then I made an offer where if they wanted any specific figures, I could find them for them with the "cheat sheet." They immediately walked away, clearly weirded out by me and my weird display of weirdness. It was really kind of difficult to match up the barcodes, but after a while I was successful in finding all the figures I wanted. After hanging out and looking at stuff in Borders for a while, we decided to make our way back home.
I can say for certain, now that I've held it in my hand, that the tiny minifigure trophy the karate guy figure is holding is the cutest LEGO piece I have ever seen.
So we printed out a list of the special opening times for the stores in the mall, and I printed out the barcode "cheat sheets" for the collectible minifigures, and we were on our way. First stop was Toys "Я" Us. We didn't have any problem on the drive there or with getting a parking space. We walked up to the entrance and noticed yellow caution tape that we could tell used to hold a line of people, but had long before been trampled over. I was using the apocalypse scenario as a metaphor, but at that point the look of the entrance of Toys "Я" Us looked kind of post-apocalyptic. Immediately upon entering the store, I felt extremely judgmental as I witnessed all of the people in the crowded store, before realizing that I was one of those people. Still, we seemed to have a different mindset than everyone else, almost like we were just witnessing the events of the night. I realized the worst thing about Black Friday is probably waiting in line for the checkout, because I'm serious when I say that the checkout line wrapped completely around the interior of the store, and that is a huge store. There wasn't anything any of us really wanted, at least not enough to wait in that leviathan of a line. As we were walking empty handed back to the car, I declared that some aspects of Black Friday seemed underwhelming, and other aspects seemed overwhelming. The rest of my fellowship agreed and we journeyed to Carousel Mall.
It was pretty strange to be in the mall in the middle of the night. I've talked with friends before about how it might be fun to be locked in the mall over night or something, but this wasn't anything like that would be. It was actually not too far off from being like any normal day at the mall because there were people everywhere, and except for the lack of sunlight coming through the skylights, there didn't seem to be any evidence of it actually being night time. We went to various stores throughout the night, going to each one we wanted to go to just after it opened to avoid having to wait in lines outside the stores. Since there wasn't any specific items or deals we were going for in the stores, it didn't matter if other people got to them first. Everything was surprisingly casual. Like I said, it just seemed like any other day at the mall. I didn't witness any fights, and no one was even pushy or rude. Is Black Friday not nearly as intense as the media makes it out to be, or do I somehow live in a place surrounded by some kind of enlightened beings that only consume in peace? We actually witnessed a few stores opening, and there weren't lines outside them! The employees just opened up the gate things at the entrances, and customers very casually walked in one at a time at the pace of rainwater dripping off leaves after a storm. The only stores that seemed to have lines and heightened security were the electronics stores. Most of the stores didn't even have very long checkout lines.
Most of what I bought wasn't even for sale, so it kind of was like a regular mall trip to me, just at night. I got some new long sleeve t-shirts that were for sale, a Darth Vader sweater that wasn't for sale, and of course...
Collectible LEGO minifigures. When we got into borders, which was our last stop in the mall, I went straight up to the checkout to check out the LEGO figures. A young woman at the cash register asked me if I was ready to checkout and I told her "No," and that I was looking at the LEGO figures. All they had were Series 2 out of the 3 series available, but that was much better than nothing.
Patrick noticed another box of them a little ways away from the checkout so I went over there to avoid feeling weird about the young ladies at the registers watching me match the barcodes on the packages to the barcodes on my "cheat sheet". I was making a pile of the figures I wanted next to the box, and a couple in their 20's walked up and the woman picked up one of the figures I had already selected. I said "Oh, those are ones I already picked out for myself." and she set it down and apologized. I told her that she didn't have to apologize because I'm just a crazy person, and then I made an offer where if they wanted any specific figures, I could find them for them with the "cheat sheet." They immediately walked away, clearly weirded out by me and my weird display of weirdness. It was really kind of difficult to match up the barcodes, but after a while I was successful in finding all the figures I wanted. After hanging out and looking at stuff in Borders for a while, we decided to make our way back home.
I can say for certain, now that I've held it in my hand, that the tiny minifigure trophy the karate guy figure is holding is the cutest LEGO piece I have ever seen.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
How to make some computer technologies of your own and become an internet celebrity.
I'm very proud to announce that our special guest speakers today are the esteemed Dr. Steven Brule and the rakishly good looking Mr. Kristofer Straub.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Bowie: Object
Pretty much anyone who knows me knows I'm a big fan of David Bowie. I love reading about his music-making process on my favorite albums of his, and two of my favorite books I own are The Complete David Bowie and Bowie In Berlin: A New Career In A New Town. While the authors of those books did an amazing job scouring resources for information (including from the mouth of Bowie himself in interviews) and presenting it in an organized, unbiased way, for a long time I've thought it would be interesting if David Bowie wrote a book about his music and his creative process. The 2008 compilation iSelect was accompanied by liner notes, written by Bowie, about the songs included. It was incredibly interesting, and I found myself wanting notes written by him like that about all of his other songs. I don't know if that will ever happen so I'll have to stick to using the books I linked to above.
While Bowie hasn't released any new music since his 2003 album Reality, and doesn't seem to be returning to music anytime in the near future, he's apparently been keeping himself very busy with painting, sculpture, writing, and of course spending time with his family.
A few months ago there was news of a book he's been working on called Bowie: Object. Even though it's not a book specifically about his songs, it should be at least as interesting. It seems to be a picture book containing photographs of a collection of objects (100 of them) that give insight into his life and creative process. According to a news post on Bowie's website, the photographs in the book are "annotated with insightful, witty and personal text written by Bowie himself." The book is the first in a series written by Bowie, according to his literary agent Andrew Wylie. Bowie is due to deliver the finished book to Wylie in December, but as far as I know, there is not yet a publication date.
That news post appeared after Publishers Weekly leaked the books existence. As soon as the confirmation hit the official Bowie website, the news spread fast. One article by a seemingly very judgmental Tim Adler condescendingly said, "That, apparently, qualifies as a book these days." I guess book journalists can be even bigger snobs than music journalists. Does it have to be a novel to qualify as a book? I, for one, think it sounds fascinating, and am looking forward to acquiring a copy.
I wonder if a deck of Oblique Strategies cards will be one of the objects or if that's too obvious.
While Bowie hasn't released any new music since his 2003 album Reality, and doesn't seem to be returning to music anytime in the near future, he's apparently been keeping himself very busy with painting, sculpture, writing, and of course spending time with his family.
A few months ago there was news of a book he's been working on called Bowie: Object. Even though it's not a book specifically about his songs, it should be at least as interesting. It seems to be a picture book containing photographs of a collection of objects (100 of them) that give insight into his life and creative process. According to a news post on Bowie's website, the photographs in the book are "annotated with insightful, witty and personal text written by Bowie himself." The book is the first in a series written by Bowie, according to his literary agent Andrew Wylie. Bowie is due to deliver the finished book to Wylie in December, but as far as I know, there is not yet a publication date.
That news post appeared after Publishers Weekly leaked the books existence. As soon as the confirmation hit the official Bowie website, the news spread fast. One article by a seemingly very judgmental Tim Adler condescendingly said, "That, apparently, qualifies as a book these days." I guess book journalists can be even bigger snobs than music journalists. Does it have to be a novel to qualify as a book? I, for one, think it sounds fascinating, and am looking forward to acquiring a copy.
I wonder if a deck of Oblique Strategies cards will be one of the objects or if that's too obvious.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Christmas, Consumerism, & CousinBand
I haven't updated in quite a while. I've been trying to keep myself busy with my various creative endeavors.
I was at the mall recently, and it made me think about how I love the mall around Christmastime. Maybe I'm a stereotypical American consumer, but I realized a big part of the Christmas experience for me is going to the mall and just taking in that atmosphere. Thinking about it made me want to get out my favorite Christmas album and watch classic Christmas movies. I'm making myself wait until at least after Thanksgiving.
Today my uncle Adam was in the area on business. Some relatives went out to dinner with him. I couldn't make it to dinner, but I made it to my cousin Megan's for dessert afterward. We had a big birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays of Megan, Patrick, and Adam, because they all have birthdays this month. Adam asked me about my music and if I had anything close to being done, and I replied, "Nope! Not yet!" or something along those lines. We talked a little bit about CousinBand, which I told him about last year when he visited.
CousinBand is a music project between some of my cousins on my mom's side of the family and myself. We had always half-joked about starting a band together since we're all musically inclined in one way or another. We decided to really go for it, but it's really more of a collaborative music project between us rather than a band. No one has a specific role. So far I'm the only one who has contributed anything (only one song so far, with no vocals or lyrics), but Patrick and Megan have been working on some stuff. It seems like it's finally happening, and I'm excited about it. We have to get some of our other talented cousins in on the action, because I'd really love to work with them, and I think the more ideas thrown into the mix, the more interesting it will be.
I was at the mall recently, and it made me think about how I love the mall around Christmastime. Maybe I'm a stereotypical American consumer, but I realized a big part of the Christmas experience for me is going to the mall and just taking in that atmosphere. Thinking about it made me want to get out my favorite Christmas album and watch classic Christmas movies. I'm making myself wait until at least after Thanksgiving.
Today my uncle Adam was in the area on business. Some relatives went out to dinner with him. I couldn't make it to dinner, but I made it to my cousin Megan's for dessert afterward. We had a big birthday cake to celebrate the birthdays of Megan, Patrick, and Adam, because they all have birthdays this month. Adam asked me about my music and if I had anything close to being done, and I replied, "Nope! Not yet!" or something along those lines. We talked a little bit about CousinBand, which I told him about last year when he visited.
CousinBand is a music project between some of my cousins on my mom's side of the family and myself. We had always half-joked about starting a band together since we're all musically inclined in one way or another. We decided to really go for it, but it's really more of a collaborative music project between us rather than a band. No one has a specific role. So far I'm the only one who has contributed anything (only one song so far, with no vocals or lyrics), but Patrick and Megan have been working on some stuff. It seems like it's finally happening, and I'm excited about it. We have to get some of our other talented cousins in on the action, because I'd really love to work with them, and I think the more ideas thrown into the mix, the more interesting it will be.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
My GERTY Halloween Costume 2010
Every year for the past 3 or so years, my cousin Megan has had a Halloween party. Megan made a theme for this year's party: movie characters. I came up with the ideas for everyone in my family going to the party. My parents were Nurse Ratched and McMurphy from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. My sister was Ellen Ripley from Alien. Her costume was really cool. She borrowed a real flight suit, bought an actual Nostromo patch, and she and I (with the help of my dad and his tools) heavily modified an Iron Man 2 Nerf gun to make something resembling Ripley's flamethrower. Since I haven't gotten really into preparing a costume in many many years, I decided to get really into it this year. I had a few ideas, but after I had this idea, I couldn't not do it. I decided to be GERTY from the movie Moon, one of my favorite movies from the past few years.
Growing up, I was really into science fiction and robots. Building a robot or a robot costume out of cardboard seems like a pretty common experience for kids that were into science fiction. Although I remember spending a lot of time making things out of and playing with cardboard boxes when I was a kid, I don't recall ever making a robot. When I thought of the idea to be GERTY, I realized it was my chance to finally have that experience.
I spent several weeks brainstorming how I was going to make the costume, creating plans for it, and acquiring the materials needed. I wanted it to be a little more special than just a cardboard box strapped to my torso, so I decided I needed to make the screen and the camera "eye" light up. The eye part itself is the bottom of a Gatorade bottle, which I thought looked perfect.
Here's my sister and me as Ellen Ripley and GERTY.
Here's a view of just the costume without it strapped to me. I couldn't read one of the post-it notes, so I just amused myself by writing a grocery list with space and moon related items. Freeze-dried ice cream, half-moon cookies, and Tang. Notice the eye is lit up.
Here's a photo better showing that the screen is also lit up. It showed up much better in the dim lighting where the party was.
One of my favorite details on the actual GERTY is his cupholder with the mug. I knew I needed a plastic mug because a regular ceramic mug would be much too heavy and fragile. It seems like I see cheap plastic mugs in stores all the time, but then when I actually needed one, I couldn't find one anywhere. My mom finally found this perfect one at a second-hand shop. I carefully scraped the original logo off, and made a stencil to put the Lunar Industries logo on instead. The mug is held into the cupholder with magnets, so it can easily be taken out of the cupholder, but won't fall out while I'm wandering around the party.
There was a costume contest at the party. Of the three categories, my sister won "Best Overall", and I won "Most Original/Creative" and "Most Effort/Detail".
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