Thursday, September 25, 2008

Bloodthirsty Unicorns, The Silent Barn, 9/24/08


We caught their excellent 3 song set out in Bushwick last night, at a "Battle of the Bands". Full Disclosure: This was Jasper's first live show. The verdict? "It was a lot of fun!"

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Wish You Were Here


Wish we were there....

Ich Sprech Nicht Deutsch


Trying to order coffee in my nonexistant German

On the (new) old bridge



CHOCOLATE!!!


Lucerne




Zurich: land of trams

Art? Or....





A bunch of these photos were on display at the Kunstmuseum in Zurich. I thought it was the most clever thing in the whole museum- pictures of people clearly not of Swiss origin in Swiss folkloric costumes. It turns out the display was not an installation at all, but an advertisement for a photo studio that takes pictures of tourists in Swiss garb. We would have done it if we had had the time: Photo Studio Titlis

Swiss Kitsch

Triangles

Doubtless many of you are familiar with the "triangle of production" whereby the 3 points of the triangle are "good", "fast", and "cheap". The client is told to pick any two.

Now, I think the same thing can apply to food. Specifically I thought of this when I was eating a "Field Roast vegan sausage" the other day. It was really good. And, being vegan, one would assume that it was really healthy. "There must be a catch" I thought. Sure enough, a trip to the bank is required before purchasing these sausages.

So the new triangle would have these three points: "tastes good", "healthy", and "cheap".

Pick any two....

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Groovy Retro Electronica


Raymond Scott is the composer behind many recognizable cartoon soundtracks, like "Powerhouse" and "Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals"

He was also a pioneer of electronic music, building synthesizers and collaborating with Bob Moog. He recorded a boatload of advertising jingles and space age soundtrack music under the name Manhattan Research, Inc., and they are compiled in this release.

Much of the material is more tuneful and polyrhythmic than one would expect from electronic music in the late '50s and early '60s. Many of the voice overs are also included, and in the hilariously earnest tone of that era we are encouraged to experience the future. The GM "Futurama" theme, Hostess Twinkies (for Spacemen!) and Ford Auto-Lite Sparkplugs are standouts, as are the instrumentals "LightWorks" and "Cindy Electronium".

All in all an exciting find.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Helicopter photos of Mexico City



This is not a new site, but I just ran into it whilst doing research. Fascinating.