A cool, bass-y Franken-instrument made by Diego Stocco, created by combining a piano, an electric bass, a guitar, a cabinet, a chimney (really), and, you know, whatever else was laying around that day:
Apparently it’s an original composition, but I couldn’t help but think of Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode. I’m not the only one, someone else mentioned it in the comments on the video (on the Vimeo page, which unfortunately isn’t embed-able so you get youtube above) and Diego replies:
A friend of mine, fan of DM, told me the same.
I know some of their music, but I wasn’t thinking about that song. I was inspired by the hours of western music I’ve heard in films, it’s that kind of triplets “horse galloping” pattern you hear in the “bunch of bad-ass cowboys going to place x to fix the situation” kinda scene : )
Which I makes me sort of wish I knew how to do 3-d computer animations and such to be able to make the scene that goes with that.
For some reason it also makes me think a bit of the general vibe of Cowboy Bebop, though that admittedly usually has more horns – perhaps the general Western vibe.
Also, things like this are why I oscillate wildly between thinking I’d really like a really little place in the city with minimal stuff, and (where this comes in) a few acres of land next to a junk yard somewhere out in the country where I could hack together things like this without bothering people in the next apartment (a large reason why I don’t play my tuba more).
This makes me happy. John Maynard Keynes and F. A. Hayek slug out their opposing theories of macroeconomics in a rap dual (don’t worry, it’s not actually that long, the last minute or so is credits):
The full lyrics and a download-able version of the song are available on the video’s site. Not only a great intro the two opposing theories, but one of the more fair juxtapositions I’ve seen on the topic.
Also, the comments on the video on youtube are both strangely civil and informed (for the most part), which I’m pretty sure means it broke the internet. Though, at least currently, it still features an incendiary political ad and the top related video has a thumbnail featuring a woman bent over on her hands and knees from behind while clad in a suggestive outfit touting “tight buns”, so I suppose the internet is at least trying to reassert itself:
What happens when you take the general creepy scariness of quicksand and freeze it to add the threat of hypothermia in with drowning? Frazil Ice. The video below shows more about it, but basically it’s a giant natural Slurpee that you can fall into, which forms in Yosemite National Park in the spring. Sort of fascinating in its own right, but mostly I think the giant 1,430 foot tall natural snow cone machine at 4:20 is awesome, especially with the rainbow at 5:16. The time lapse at 6:20 really makes the point of how volatile the stuff is too.
There’s 8 other videos so far on Yosemite’s youtube channel. I watched a couple of the others, and though not quite as weird and fascinating, they all definitely qualify as gorgeous and at least somewhat informative. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find channels for any of the rest of the national parks. If you look around on the National Park Service website, there’s some more videos out there, but they’re a little hard to find and really spread out from what I can tell.
In other news, did you know there’s a National Recreation Area in California called Whiskeytown? There is.
That settles it, I need to go visit more of the National Parks.
Has anyone else ever noticed that the clothes the sledgehammer girl is wearing in the iconic 1984 Apple commercial below really closely resemble the outfits the waitresses at Hooters wear? Like, basically identical. No? Just me? Okay.
Also, this video points out something that I hadn’t thought of before – the first thing the players see when they walk out of the tunnel is the water tower. We really need to paint that thing.
That may be my favorite way for the world to end. Though I would have been content if it just took out New York and went away.
Bonus fun fact – if you look up Skynet on Wikipedia while making a blog post to check if it’s one word or two, and if the N is capitalized if it’s one word, you may notice that the page has location coordinates for Skynet: 37.921, -122.532. If you were to find this location in Google Maps (perhaps the start of Skynet itself), it would show you this.
From the listing, it sounds like our future mechanical overloads really know how to live, … or compute, … or process, or whatever it is they do (emphasis mine):
Listed for lease in Marin County at $6,995, and truly a unique find, this custom-built 5,300 +/- sq ft home* offers gracious style with an expansive layout that makes sense for today’s living.
Built in 1988 and situated in the hills of Corte Madera, the house is close enough to town that you’re just a couple moments from shopping, dining, local farmer’s markets, etc, yet far enough away that you achieve the rare Marin combo of privacy and property.
5bd/4.5ba + office + workout room
Formal entry paved in marble. Formal living room boasts hardwood floors, fireplace and elevated sitting area perfect for piano or other large scale furniture. Formal dining room offers big corner bay views and butler’s entry to kitchen.
The cheerful country kitchen faces east overlooking the bay, offering fresh morning sun. Kitchen includes newer appliances, an open layout, and a wonderful breakfast nook. Kitchen opens to large family room with additional fireplace, and french doors leading to enclosed lawn, gardens and pool.
Four bedrooms all on one level upstairs. Master suite includes spacious walk-in closet and elevated sitting area w/fireplace. Additional 5th bedroom is downstairs – perfect for au-pair or extended stay guests w/separate entrance and mini kitchenette.
Bonuses include:
-formal office or library with built-in bookshelves
-small bonus room overlooking pool – perfect for workout room w/steam shower -elaborate centralized computer system controls almost everything in home from the den: security, lights, temperature and more
Life in Corte Madera includes access to highly-ranked local schools (see www.greatschools.org) and an excellent San Francisco commute. Great central Marin weather will allow you to take full advantage of the pool and yard. Cut over the hill to Mill Valley for great dining, or hop on your bike and be on Marin’s great biking trails right away.
Available this month for 1 year lease. Looking for non-smoking tenants who will care for this custom-designed home in the family since it was built! Owners will include pool and garden maintenance – tenant to cover all utilities including renter’s insurance.
Contact Executive Rental Agent Darcy Alkus Barrow to schedule your private tour: (415) 637-8917
Cheers!
*Sq ft quoted per tax records. Agent has not verified.
Not really my cup of tea, but then again, I suppose I do have a soul and all…
I’m not usually much of one for bluegrass, but I really, really like this song by the semi-local (Duluth) band Trampled by Turtles (which also ranks up there for favorite band names):
Also one of the few times I think actually like the band better after seeing a video of them. It’s rare, because usually it seems to ruin something seeing a music video with the one “official” interpretation of the song, but here I kind of like it. It fits just well enough to not break the image of them I had in my head from the music, while at the same time making me think a bit more about it and leaving things open.
I especially like the interlude around two minutes in and the lyrics right after it:
And your heart goes on like a frozen freight train
You know that I help you if I can
But I’m just a raindrop in a river
Just a little itty-bitty grain of sand
From the files of what the holy fucking bloody hell what were they thinking, comes Green Day the Musical. No, really. They made a musical from the album American Idiot. Now, you may be saying to yourself, “self, I suppose I could see where that might have the vague potential to not be profoundly terrible.” But then you’d see this clip from Letterman…
… and realize that it somehow manages to makes you feel the need to simultaneously laugh hysterically, cry, and just tilting your head to the side and say, wait, wasn’t April 1st like a month ago? Is this a rerun from then? Maybe? Please? No? Shit.
It’s like they tried to collide the awesomeness of Rent and the awesomeness of Green Day and somehow it formed an awesomeness super nova which then collapsed into this complete black hole of suckage that landed squarely in New York and was somehow confused for a musical and placed on Broadway.
And yes, it does actually exist (warning, it starts playing a loud video automatically upon loading, as if you hadn’t already suffered enough).
A bit of a creepy, sort of tongue in cheek, sort of not tongue in cheek, thought provoking video about how to start a mind control cult (feel free to substitute in any of a host of other words there) :
