10 seconds of Hell, Episode 3D!

Requires red and cyan anaglyph glasses.

Ten Seconds of Hell, Episode 3D! from Doug Johnson on Vimeo.

10 Seconds of Hell, Episode 3

Ten Seconds of Hell, Episode 3 from Doug Johnson on Vimeo.

Random Album Cover Meme

So I love this random album cover thing that is going around on Facebook. Here is mine. I really think I got stuck with an awful photo, though, so I plan on making another one.

Here is the meme, if you don't already know:

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

I Lego NY

This Editorial in the New York Times made my day. Just New York stuff made of Legos. It's brilliant.

Unsold Cars

This is an interesting, if rather grim, gallery of lots full of unsold cars around the world. At least it's not just in the U.S.

Tilt Shift Monster Trucks

I just love this tilt shift camera technique (it is not CGI nor is it stop-motion animation). It makes everything look like tiny models.

Ten Seconds of Hell Holiday Spectacular

Ten Seconds of Hell Holiday Spectacular* from Doug Johnson on Vimeo.

Blue Christmas (Tree)

Speaking of trees, we put up our christmas tree this weekend. It's a deluxe blue artificial number with built-in lights, which we bought online last year after the one with the animated fiber optics broke. We all agree it's the best tree we've ever had. We almost got a purple one, but cooler heads prevailed.

Tree Sweater

Our friend and neighbor, Laurie Russell, knitted a sweater for the tree in front of her house, on 16th St.

Other options:

Maple Muffler
Arboreal Cardigan
Sycamore Scarf
Oak Cloak
Shrub Mittens
Pine Pullover

And my un-PC favorite:

Fir Coat

Dia: Beacon

The New York Times today has an article on the Dia: Beacon, a vast art center in upstate New York.

We have been there twice, with and without the kids, and everyone was really impressed and inspired. The huge industrial spaces alone are worth the trip.

Barack O'lanterns!

This made my day: Yes We Carve

Barack Obama pumpkin carving. They even provide stencils, and, best of all, a page of pun-kins!!

Atlantic Antic

We go to the big street fair on Atlantic Avenue every year. This year the offerings were rather tepid, although you could get an Obama burger or shoes on a platter from Christopher at the Marshall's booth.

It seemed pretty crowded though, so the economy hasn't cast that much of a pall...yet.

The Sound of a Thousand Husbands

So we had a stoop sale here yesterday and the traffic was minimal to nonexistent.

I can just hear the sound of a thousand husbands across Brooklyn saying "We need to start saving money- stop going to stoop sales."

Stereolab, Irving Plaza, October 3, 2008

Photo by Sean Curran

For more pictures see Sean's blog. They came out a lot better than the ones I took with my iPhone.

There aren't very many bands that I would put the effort into seeing live these days, but Stereolab was always number one on the list. So we waited through two unenjoyable warmup bands (the 2nd- APC- was just excruciatingly terrible. What were they thinking?). The sound mix was all over the place, but Stereolab did not disappoint. The set was long- around an hour and 45 minutes, and leaned heavily on their older pre-"Dots and Loops" material. Best of all they played a couple of extended raveups and improvisational jams that were the best parts of the show.

They also played 4 or 5 cuts from their new album Chemical Chords. The songs sounded much less poppy and a lot more like their older material as there were additional layers of organ and fewer of the horn and string arrangements that mark their later releases. Always better, IMO, when bands change up their songs for a live show.

All in all a great concert (well, the Stereolab part) - definitely worth the wait.

Update Here is the set list: Percolator | Neon Beanbag | Eye of the Volcano | Mountain | Chemical Chords | Valley Hi! | Ping Pong | Double Rocker | Ecstatic Static | Lo Boob Oscillator | Two Finger Symphony (New Song) | Three Women | French Disko | Cybele's Reverie | John Cage Bubblegum | ENCORE: Silver Sands | The Emergency Kisses | Stomach Worm

The New Me

I have been meaning to do this self-portrait for quite a while, so I have a picture to use for all my online profiles. Like all great artists (sic) I had a lot of help from my interns, namely Fola Akinola and Richie Blitz.

If you would like a 3D caricature, I am taking orders...