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February 28, 2007
Cannibalism Fun!
»

Apparently the Japanese have come up with a new fun way of eating food - the "Banquet of Cannibalism" presents a completely edible 'body' that you slice up and consume. Some might find this new practice vulgar but I am fascinated and really want to try it. Link via Monsieur Hale. Link vaguely NSFW.. though it's probably too late for that now.

12:52 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Hale Links: Volume 36
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If the Internet had web browsing heroes Ryan Hale would be at the top of my list of all time champs. Somehow he is able to find the perfect balance of fascinating, bizarre, and truly ridiculous links. Hale Links, Volume 36, should keep you entertained for the majority of the day...

Fake Gucci Ad - man creates fake Gucci ad, sells it to local newspaper, tells them to bill Gucci corporate 50k. Hilarious.

Printable Cold Sore Stickers - yes, exactly as the title says. Disgusting templates to print out your own Cold Sore Stickers, mostly for use on random advertisements that need a little "uglying up."

Rototron Corn Bobber - humorous parody infomercial about a new way to eat corn. It's a little long with a 6:40 runtime but its a nice quick gag to lighten your day.

Wurst Gallery Shop - as if the Gallery itself wasn't already chalk full of good things to look at, the shop has a handful of pleasant items worth contemplating for purchase.. such as those blank Russian Nesting Dolls...

Scary Old Man Grows Horn On His Head - `nuff said.

2 Legged Dog Lost.. Found - a harrowing tale.

Online Dating - as told by Japanese toy packaging.

Funshop Korea - at first glance this may not look like much more than your mild mannered odds-and-ends webstore but check out this incredible gems:
Lenin Bust

Art Figurines - featuring many characters from the Jheronymus Bosch painting The Garden of Earthly Delights (view other panels here), a triptych I suggest you spend some time with.

Pink Floyd: The Wall - Figures - the hawk and hammers are great but anyone interested in purchasing a walking crotch figure might need to seek some help.

VooDoo Toothpick Holder - brilliant.

Cholestrol Candle - a thin wall candle with a wick inspired by the molecule for Cholestrol. The burning results are fantastic.

Folding Laptop Stand - nothing over the top, just well designed.

Light Saber Umbrella - functional and obnoxiously nerdy! What more could you possibly ask for?

12:47 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

February 27, 2007
The Ten
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The Ten

The Ten features the same cast of characters from The State, Stella, Wet Hot American Summer, Reno 911, etc. The movie features ten stories, each inspired by one of the Ten Commandments. Chances are the outcome will be beyond ridiculous. Official site here.

12:16 PM » [ Comments (4) ]

Two Mixes
» Two new mixes you should download and enjoy, immediately.

» Flux-Rad - Make Me Love You (left-click)

» Out The Other - Turn On, Tune In, Work Out (left-click)

12:01 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

Modest Mouse - Dashboard
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Modest Mouse released their video for "Dashboard" over at MTV Overdrive. I would provide a YouTube link if I could find one.. but you'll just have to deal with the MTV Flash interface or watch this behind the scenes to get an idea of what's going on. As for the video / song - I like them both. I am of the camp that believes Modest Mouse continues to be a solid band and hasn't "sold out" despite their major label status and global namesake. And the new album, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank is great (a few mishaps here and there but, overall, thumbs up).

» Modest Mouse - Dashboard

» Modest Mouse - March Into The Sea

11:53 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Daft Punk Sample Origins
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Daft Punk / Edwin Birdsong

For whatever reason I've always assumed that Daft Punk created original compositions for their music - not sample based. Wow, ignorance can be bliss! Turns out that not only was I wrong but I was incredibly wrong. This article from Palms Out Sounds tracks down many of the originals used in your favorite Daft Punk songs. The sample used in "Robot Rock" is almost 100% exactly the same as Breakwaters "Release The Beast." The same applies for "Harder Better Faster Stronger" and Edwin Birdsongs (pictured) "Cola Bottle Baby." I give the band credit for reinventing those samples so creatively but have to deduct points from myself for not realizing how much the band borrowed inspiration from others.

P.S. - the trailer for Electroma is nuts!

11:16 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

Fantastic Mr. Fox
» According to Big Screen, Little Screenit appears that George Clooney and Cate Blanchett may be doing the voice work for the Wes Anderson stop-motion animation project The Fantastic Mr. Fox. This is great news considering that I thought the project was dead in the water because of Anderson shifting to Darjeeling Limited.

11:05 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Watermelonmania
» Watermelon Carving - apparently there is a rather intense art to watermelon carving that I was fairly unaware of until this very moment.

10:55 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

February 26, 2007
SNL Recap
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SNL Digital Short

Jorm Arcade Fire

I would have embedded the actual Arcade Fire performance but it's been removed due to copyright violation from NBC. Lame.

10:41 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

Crazy Tech News
» BitTorrent.com goes legit - the popular p2p channel is going to start charging for downloads in the near future and do away with the illegal sharing. The question is - would you pay $2.99 for a TV show wrapped in DRM (Windows Media Player 11) or spend the time searching elsewhere to find it for free, DRM-less? Granted the "legal" issue is a big part of it all but for some reason I just can't see their user base latching on to it.

Youtube / CBS deal falls through - headlines like this make people believe that Googles acquisition of Youtube was a bad investment. You can still find some bizarre and obscure clips of some things but if you want to catch the only 30 seconds worth watching from the David Letterman show last night you're out of luck (unless you're a Joost user). It's not bad yet but there has been a lot of content removed, hopefully a trend that will get overturned in the future.

In unrelated tech news, Al Sharpton related to Strom Thurmond? Ridiculous.

10:13 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Normal Product Design
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The product designs from Normal are brilliant, ridiculous and well thought out. The Anamorphic Cups are particularly intelligent, while the Beethoven clock is particularly hilarious.

10:07 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Toyger
» Toyger - a housecat crossbred with a tiger resulting in a high dollar "toy" pet of sorts. As sure as I am that constant inbreeding to create a certain "look" is awful for any animal species I am also confident that having a lap sized tiger running around your home would be awesome.

09:54 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Sarah Cass
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Nice photography portfolio from Denver native Sarah Cass. Lots of local (and now national) music acts in there. It's a heavy load so be patient and view them all.

09:49 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

AIRFoil
» Airfoil - handy little piece of software that lets you use your Airport Express with any audio stream, not just iTunes. I'm sure there is a free alternative out there somewhere but it's good to know that the tech already exists.

08:47 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Neon Bible Deluxe CD
» Geez, the new Arcade Fire album, Neon Bible, has a special edition format that comes with a 32-page booklet and a hinged clamshell box. It's possible that the rise of legal mp3 downloads is pushing packaging to a new level.. at least I hope so.

08:44 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Oscars
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Oscars Comedy

Overall, the Oscars were way too long and filled with far too many weird clip collections and odd retrospectives (what was that America montage? Seriously?) but the little musical number with Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly made the night worth watching.. if just for a little bit. Glad to see that Scorsese finally took home the award as The Departed was admittedly quite entertaining.

08:39 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

February 23, 2007
Friday Videos - Feb 23
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Baby Cake

Flute Beatbox

02:02 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Web 2.0 Beta's
» Picnik - new Web 2.0 style online application to edit photos (balance levels, remove red-eye, effects, etc).

Joost - forthcoming Internet TV online application. From the makers of KaZaa and Skype. Haven't tried it out yet but they've already partnered with Viacom so that's a step in the right direction.

01:58 PM » [ Comments (7) ]

quick poot
» Pfft - what more can you say?

11:32 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Colossal Squid - Caught
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I am not sure how this has happened but it appears that the ever elusive Colossal Squid has been caught. Scientists have wondered about the verifiable existence of this creature for decades and now they have one in their possession. According to this there hasn't been a captured specimen since 1981 - then in 2003 and 2005 people start catching up with them. Very bizarre indeed.

And for those of you seemingly unimpressed by the existence of this creature please keep in mind that it is supposedly the largest invertebrate in the world, weighs half a ton, and is approximately 40 feet long.

10:53 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

Futurama Returns
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When I saw this promo for the return of Futurama I was skeptical that it was legit. However, this site seems to verify the information that new episodes will be aired on Comedy Central. I am curious if the show will suffer the same fate as Family Guy has - in that once it returned, it really wasn't as funny anymore because it became too aware of itself and eventually just spiraled down into its own stereotype.

10:39 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

Cat Spanking
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Kitty S&M

Kitty Spank

Via here and here.

10:32 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Dharma Foods
» If you find yourself as obsessed with LOST as these guys are then you're in luck, they're offering PDF downloads of all their Dharma labels for you to use on your own goods. I can imagine someone frantically printing and cutting at this very moment.

10:29 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Live Surface
» LiveSurface offers a "Layered Image Library" with built-in Photoshop Vanishing Points that allow you to create a presentation / portfolio ready image in minutes. Honestly this is some of the coolest application of new Photoshop abilities that I've seen in some time. Be sure to check out the demo - very impressive.

10:25 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

February 22, 2007
Field Music
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The only bad thing I have to say about Field Music is that the artwork for their latest album, Tones of Town, pretty much sucks. Other than that, I can't think of a single bad thing to say. It's British. It's poppy. It's infectiously catchy. I have listened to the new album (and previous discs as well) on repeat far too many times.

» Field Music - Give It Lose It Take It

» Field Music - A House Is Not A Home

11:28 AM » [ Comments (7) ]

Bowling Tricks
» Bowling Tricks That Will Blow Your Mind - I would say this one is the most impressive but that's doing a disservice to all the rest.

11:11 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Predjamski
» Predjamski - a castle built into the side of a mountain inside a cave.

11:05 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Color Experiments - Ryan Keberly
» Beautiful Color Experiments - Ryan Keberly photography of food coloring. Incredible results.

11:03 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Bomb Bank
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I've never been much of a piggy bank user but the Bomb Bank is incredibly brilliant.

10:58 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Peel : Stay In The Loop
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There could be an honest argument made for Peel being a detrimental application when it comes to mp3 blogs but I won't dive too much into it here. This new application allows a user to insert a URL or RSS feed into the interface and it will comb the site for mp3 links - allowing you to preview and download the linked tracks. This is a great tool to keep up with the music from a particular trusted source but completely removes the music from any context or review.

10:55 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

High Speed Image Gallery
» High Speed Movie Gallery - recommended: Car Explosion, Water Balloon 2, Snake Bite and Light My Fire.

10:48 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Two Videos of Varying Humor
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Eddie vs Martin

Human Skateboard

10:42 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

LOST - CTV
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Dear Canadian Nerds,

Thank you for taking the time to record, encode, and distribute episodes of LOST before they ever even air in the United States. American nerds owe you a debt of gratitude for allowing us to enjoy this show commercial free and so far ahead of actual air time.

Additional thanks to BitTorrent for existing in general (to free us from the television without freeing us from television) and to Jamie for convincing me that CTV would be airing the episode early.

Thanks,
Michael

10:04 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

February 21, 2007
Blankenship Sketch
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Where Joshua Blankenship finds the time for all of his projects is really beyond me but it appears that somehow he's managed to squeeze in another one - Sketchbook. It's just what you'd think it would be - various doodles and sketches from what I can only assume is a Moleskin notebook of sorts. Obviously I am partial to Beard Mouth, The Wise but Squid Ghost Creature Storm brings me plenty of pleasure as well.

11:34 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

RTR Store
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Yes! Relative Theory Records has launched a Mini Web Store to supplement their always great weekly emails. There aren't a ton of discs available for purchase at the moment but what is there is quality.. that Besnard Lakes and Trans Am have already been purchased by yours truly. Congrats Relative Theory - nice to have a way to quickly support your cause.

11:17 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

February 20, 2007
Wes Edwards - Shameless
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Face Punch

In a bit of shameless promotion my friend (and incredibly talented director) Wes Edwards needs your help. He has been nominated for Best Director of the CMT 2007 Music Awards. Granted, no one that reads this site could care less who wins the CMT Music Awards or anything about country music at all - myself included - but Wes is a good friend and with your help might actually get some recognition for his hard work. So please, watch this video (the sound can be off - it's more about the direction) and then Vote for Wes - otherwise he'll just get punched in the face again.

12:25 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

The New Thing
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The New Thing

Fist Bump

Remarkably similar concepts on the whole. The left video is from the sketch comedy troop The Whitest Kids U Know and the right video is from a Superbowl Budweiser ad. I'd be willing to bet either Budweiser ripped them off or bought the idea. Regardless, watch the original in its entirety.. it gets funnier and funnier as it goes.

11:25 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Okai Snow Set
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Check out this photo set by Jeremy Davis - featuring vintage vehicles covered in snow. Had this been done with any other film choice than Polaroid I don't think it would work as well but he did, and it does. The desaturation, odd corners, and general 'old' feel of it all is perfect.

11:05 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

WTF Videos
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Pickle Surprise

If anyone can even begin to explain what is going on in this clip I would appreciate it. Sometimes there are things that can only be described as "weird." I believe this clip falls squarely into that category.. and I don't mean in a good and enjoyable way, I mean it in a strictly weird and vaguely unsettling way. I question what people were thinking when they make stuff like this.

11:00 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

Heiko Works
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Last week I blogged about some prints available by an artist named Heiko. I didn't have much else to look at but Ryan was helpful enough to show me the ways. It turns out Heiko has a full on portfolio site, news blog, web shop and even a Myspace page. There is plenty of work there to appreciate and I recommend you do so.

10:51 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

February 19, 2007
RATATAT - Live
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This morning I was greeted with a friendly email from Tourfilter informing me that April holds a fantastic treat for Nashville residents - RATATAT will be playing the Mercy Lounge on the 9th. This is very exciting considering that I've played Classics more times than I can remember. I am shocked that there is a booking agent in Nashville on top of his game so much.. March and April look to be pretty incredible months in terms of live music. In celebration of this good news, here is a handful of RATATAT demo's that apparently leaked some time last October.

» RATATAT - 9 Beats (zip)

11:11 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

February 16, 2007
Friday Videos - Feb 16
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Angry Dad

Professional Bunnies

Linerider: Discarded

Daily Monster 76

It's Friday so here is your weekly video collection. It's not as outrageous as I typically strive for but it's quality distraction none the less. A few notes of interest:

Yes that is a Linerider video and, no, I am not tired of them yet. The amount of background drawing involved in that one is insane - not to mention the fact that it's so incredibly long and convoluted.

The Daily Monster is a project from Stefan G. Bucher in which he, surprise surprise, draws a new monster everyday. The simple combination of airbrush, pen, and sharpie create some outstanding results. Assuming you enjoy monsters at least. The video archive is impressive already. Link via jjprojects.

02:23 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

Best Trilogy
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An interesting topic of conversation came up at lunch today spawning two important questions for all to ponder:

01. What is the greatest trilogy in movie history? The obvious contendors are Lord of the Rings, Back to the Future, Star Wars (original 3), and The Matrix but there are plenty of other candidates worthy of the title. Please keep in mind that in order for a group of films to be considered a trilogy they all need to feed into each other with pertinent information. With this in mind, the Indiana Jones set of movies (as good as they are) are not eligible.

02. What films were created that seemingly could have had a sequel or been part of a trilogy that, thankfully, were not? Imagine if The Matrix had only been one great movie and not three mediocre to bad films and you've got the concept. Or if Back To The Future had ended with the first installement instead of "To Be Continued...".

Your thoughts on these matters would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

01:31 PM » [ Comments (30) ]

Mess With Texas
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Not that I really needed a reason to book my flight to SXSW but Chris has informed me of a David Cross curated party entitled Mess With Texas. Aside from a plethora of bands performing over two days there will also be a rather large amount of quality comedians do some standup as well. Maybe being convinced to go to a music festival because of the presence of a bunch of comedians is a bit backwards but it's got me excited!

12:02 PM » [ Comments (3) ]

2007 Predictions
» Paul makes some 2007 Predictions - including, but not limited to, the idea that he is convinced big baggy t-shirts and Ska music will rear their ugly heads as popular trends amongst the indie rock / rock community. I disagree but I'm curious as to what other predictions people have for the year ahead...

11:13 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

21C
» I'm headed to Louisville this weekend to stay at a swank hotel and hang out for a quick nite. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I should check out.. let me know.

11:10 AM » [ Comments (6) ]

The Busy Life
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The Busy Life is a collaborative photography portfolio between Naz Hamid and Jen Schuetz. The diptych sets are by far my favorite as they seem to create entirely new scenarios - sometimes even composing a deceivingly horizontal photo from two portrait images. So far there is only one set of images to browse through but I look forward to more being added.

10:59 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

February 15, 2007
10 Beasts - Letterpress via Tiny Showcase
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10 Beasts Letterpress

As if Tiny Showcase didn't already nail it on a weekly basis now they've unveiled a limited edition letterpress book entitled 10 Beasts. The collection is an addendum to the Jacob Covey collection entitled Beasts but contains all original works. The above is the contribution from S. Britt - a hungry (and apparently Scottish?) cannibal celebrating with some friends. All of the pieces haven't been unveiled yet but there are already some fantastic pieces from Jesse LeDoux, Josh Cochran, Kenneth Lavallee and more available for viewing on the preorder page. I believe it goes without saying that Tiny Showcase has, once again, nailed it.

11:16 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Mr. Sub - funny stuff
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Mr. Sub 1

Mr. Sub 2

Mr. Sub 3

Mr. Sub 4

I have never heard of Mr. Sub before but they have a great batch of new commercials.

10:53 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

FINALLY - Last.FM with WMG
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Finally it seems that record labels are taking notice of Last.FM as a viable marketing and information tool. Last week WMG partnered with Last.fm to allow their entire catalog to be available on the site. Madrid and I have been talking for a long time about how ridiculous it is that labels haven't latched on to the service to promote their artists or even just to see how their artists are doing. There is a huge amount of promotional possibility there and it's been untapped for years. Now they have a user base of 15 million people and it's starting to turn some heads.

From a user standpoint I've always been baffled if I met someone that wasn't using the service. It's totally unobtrusive, gathers a great amount of data and makes legitimate recommendations of enjoyable music you may not be aware of. Viva la Last.fm.

10:36 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Photoshop Creative
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The above is from a collection entitled What Happens When Creative People Use Photoshop which is a bit of a stretch given that none of the images could exist without some rock solid photography as a base. Underwater Bus being my favorite.

And speaking of creative photography - check out the portfolio of Denis Darzacq. The high shutter speed captures people in a seemingly surreal defiance of gravity, or right before a moment of serious pain. No matter how you fake this you're probably going to be a bit sore afterwards.

10:25 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

February 14, 2007
Apple.com - Curry / Ashby Profile
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Neal Ashby and Matt Curry are featured on Apple.com for their work on the Grammy-nominated packaging for Thievery Corporations Versions. Most of the article is an interview with Neal Ashby but Curry chimes in from time to time as well. Cool to see a friend of mine respected in such a way.

12:45 PM » [ Comments (7) ]

Happy Valentines Day
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Valentine For You

Happy Valentines Day everyone. I don't think much of this particular "holiday" but the video posted to the left gives me hope that things will clear up one day.

12:05 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Giant Squid - Light Attack!
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The common cephalopod is entrancing enough as they are - no special tricks needed. However, scientists have recently discovered that one family of squid (T. Danae) is actually capable of emitting light from its tentacles to stun prey as it is moving in for the kill. The photos of the event look spectacular but I have been unable to get the video to load. The concept of photophores in general is mindblowing but combine that with an attacking squid (or group of squids) and you've got yourself a nightmare in waiting. Link via Chad.

11:03 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

Calexico / Beirut
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Late last year Calexico and Beirut put out a split 7" in promotion of their upcoming tour together. Given that most people don't listen to records anymore and that neither song is available on a digital download site that I am aware of I present them here for your enjoyment. It goes without saying that both songs are great.

» Calexico - The Guns of Brixton (The Clash)

» Beirut - Interior of a Dutch House

10:53 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Googe not Google
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Honestly it took me a minute to really notice anything wrong with the kitschy Valentines Day logo from Google. Maybe I'm just missing something but shouldn't there be an L somewhere in there? The 'sexy' strawberry doesn't seem to create both letterforms.. lets hope the genius staff over at Google catches it soon.

Update: According to this there are some actually sensical explanations for the logo. Though I think it's a bit of a stretch...

10:43 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible Previews
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So the new Arcade Fire album, Neon Bible, is just on the horizon with a March 6th release. The band has been doing some strange promotions in the lead up but nothing more impressive than their teaser site for the album - NeonBible.com. Sure it's not really that helpful in terms of finding out information about the album but that's far from the point. The grainy videos and the bizarre neon contraptions only help to push more interest in the album. The grandest part of the site (so far) is the super low-quality video of the band covering The Clash song "The Guns of Brixton" at St. Johns Church in Westminster London.

So how is the new album? It strikes me as one of those records that has to grow on you. It will undoubtedly receive naysayers that say it doesn't pack the same punch as Funeral and they would be right. It's a different album and, obviously, a different batch of songs. You'll still get it and you'll still love it.

» Arcade Fire - Black Mirror

10:28 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

February 13, 2007
The Regulars - Photos
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I'm not even going to act like I have the slightest understanding of what is going on with The Regulars but it is a very well designed / functional photography site featuring various "characters" in a gas mask. Featured above are "The Vinyl Enthusiast" and "The Search Party." While all the photos are incredibly well executed I'm going to say that I'm a bit prone to The Dinner Guest, The Shoe Clerk, and The Grandfather (somehow more creepy than the rest). It's odd what a simple gasmask will do to the tone of a photo.

11:48 AM » [ Comments (6) ]

Apple calls for DRM removal - sort of
» Steve Jobs recently wrote an open letter explaining some of his Apple - Thoughts on Music, specifically those thoughts having to do with iTunes / iPods and the DRM wrapped around every file sold from the iTunes Music Store. The letter does a good job of explaining the how and what of DRM in the simplest of terms but also explains that it's not really worth it. According to their statistics only about 3% of music found on iPods has been purchased from the iTunes store - so the FairPlay DRM really isn't preventing that much piracy. Jobs reports that Appl would support a DRM-less environment and it looks like EMI may be moving in such a direction. I'm sure the RIAA's brain would, rightfully, explode if such a thing happened but it is curious to think of a business model in which digital music would be sold in a freely swappable format. I can see major flaws and benefits with both sides of the argument. Regardless, it's an interesting proposition.

11:41 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

Heiko print
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Various Heiko Prints

I don't know much of anything about the artist Heiko (last name unknown) but from browsing through his available prints on Thumbtack Press I am quite curious to see more. There seem to be lots of wizards, skeletons, animals, and various surreal scenarios involved - basically an unbeatable formula for enjoyable art. Be sure to check out Prosthetic Pirate, Fatal Rider and Magic King. All via Chad.

11:32 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Get You Some...
»

Great minds tend to think alike. With that being said, Dubstyle has posted a new mix entitled Guaranteed To Get You Some - a compilation of classic soul and R&B tracks. Perhaps this would function as a sibling mix to my recently launched Sax Mix?

11:02 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

February 12, 2007
We Are The Web - Must See
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We Are The Web

We Are The Web has put together a video featuring some classic web celebrities to help raise awareness on the issue of Net Neutrality. Leslie, Peter Pan, and Tron Guy are the most prominently featured in the psuedo rap video but you'll see the dancing baby and those weird Quizno's beasts too. The We Are The Web site also has a number of additional videos featuring straight forward testimonials from the previously mentioned web celebrities that are nice but nowhere near as entertaining as that 3 second dance break at the beginning of the above video. Incredible.

04:22 PM » [ Comments (4) ]

Sax On The Beach : The Horny Mix
»

At the risk of losing all musical cred with anyone that has ever discovered a band from yewknee.com that they enjoy I present my dirty dark musical secret - I love saxophone in rock songs. Maybe it's not right to love such a thing but I can't help it. It skates the line between ultimately over the top cheesy and extremely pleasing to my ears - usually defaulting on pleasing. So, with massive help from Paul Hinman, I present the February 2007 mix - Sax On The Beach - a compilation of contemporary rock songs featuring the saxophone in some shape or form (be it a perfectly executed rhythm piece or an outrageous solo). Many songs did not make the cut for this mix so there could be a Volume 2 in the works sometime, you never know. Despite my cred being at risk I think this mix is not only ultimately enjoyable but incredibly appropriate with Valentines Day right around the corner. Because what says Love more than a badass saxophone?

» February 2007 Mix - Sax On The Beach (left-click)

Man thanks to Paul for the musical contributions and support that my love of rock saxophone was legitimate. Oh, and I couldn't be more proud of the cover art - probably the best thing I've ever designed. Seriously.

10:44 AM » [ Comments (30) ]

The Changes
»

Do not be fooled by the dripping graffiti logo, The Changes are a pop band - through and through. Cody gave me the heads up on their track "When I Wake" last week and I suggest you download it immediately.

What else can I tell you about the band? Well, they've got more free downloads at Last.FM, they have a Daytrotter Session, the band is comprised of 4 members and hail from Chicago. Beyond that, I'm not sure there is much else you need to know.

» The Changes - When I Wake

10:15 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

February 09, 2007
Hotpipes
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Local Nashville band Hotpipes are having their CD release party tomorrow night at 3 Crow Bar. If you're looking for something to do, I suggest you go check it out. The band sent me a promo copy of the disc last week and I've been dabbling in listening to it throughout the week. My opinion hasn't completely solidified on the album quite yet but I can say for sure that there are a handful tracks that really hit the spot. While the overall genre of the disc would easily fall into Rock or Indie Rock it seems to cover a wider gamut than such a simple pigeonholing. There are elements of joyous pop, bits of mournful reflection, and sometimes even a bit of frantic emotional explosion. The vocals may be one of those 'love it' or 'hate it' style elements but they are unique in their presentation - not grating or challenging.

So check out the following mp3's, go see them Saturday night, and then pick up their album on February 27th.

» Hotpipes - If... Don't...

» Hotpipes - Women of the World Agree*

* If you plan on only getting one, get this one.

07:00 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

Friday Videos
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Video MashUp

Workout WTF?!

Body Fuzion SNL

Press Conference

I have no idea how relevant these videos are but I saw them throughout the week and thoroughly enjoyed them. Hopefully they aren't too old.

The Press Conference is of the 2 guys who created the Mooninite devices that got Adult Swim and Turner Broadcasting into a heap of trouble. Apparently they refused to answer any questions that weren't related to hair. Amazing.

11:58 AM » [ Comments (4) ]

Gems From Jamie: Volume 1
» A couple of misc gems were sent over by Jamie. Check em out:

Dead Sodas - even if you have absolutely no interest in reading about various carbonated beverages that tanked horribly to the general public you should at least visit the page to see the absolutely unrivaled graphic design on some of the cans (Pepsi Neon Cool Can - I'm looking at you).

Little Superstar Returns - everyone remembers Little Superstar (And if you don't you must be new to the pop-culture Internet) but it appears that someone tracked him down to find out what he's up to these days. Fortunately, he's still dancing.

Coolest Lamps Ever - some truly unique German industrial lamp design that appear to be destined for a vaguely creepy stop motion animation project in the future sometime. Tim Burton probably owns 3 or 4 of these.

11:51 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Baby Sloth
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Irresistible

This one is for Jeremy. Consequently, this may be the most overly "cute" thing ever posted on yewknee - even more so than Cute Overload or Awww Puppy Awww.

11:20 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Can't you Feel The Knife
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Grizzly Bear has debuted their video for "Knife" over at Stereogum. The fine folks at Encyclopedia Pictura are responsible for this truly bizarre piece of work and I thank them for it. The song is fantastic (as always) but it takes on a strange new tone in the context of this sci-fi desert scenario. Basically I'd say you need to watch this immediately.

10:46 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

February 08, 2007
Zach Johnson - Zenvironments
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I have been a fan of Zach Johnson's work for some time but it wasn't until I saw some of his latest creations on Tank Theory that I was reminded that I hadn't checked out his portfolio - Zenvironments - in far too long. The illustration style and coloring technique is fantastic and somehow made more appropriate by the subject matter - no matter how varied. His creepy creature creations are my favorite, no doubt.

12:23 PM » [ Comments (2) ]

VBS
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After a few false starts and years of talking about it happening VICE magazine has launched their own "tv" station - VBS. I haven't been through a ton of it yet but the bits that I have watched - Do's & Don'ts & Friends, Epicly Later'd, Soft Focus, Bangs - are quite amusing. I think the "remote" could be done a bit more intuititively to help you get around to new stations / programs but with a bit of clicking it all comes together.

11:20 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

February 07, 2007
Shugo Tokumaru
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I am not entirely clear on where I first heard of Shugo Tokumaru but I do recall that his music was described as "the Japanese version of Sufjan Stevens" albeit an overly generalized review. However, I don't think the comparison is unwarranted in many ways. The music is intricate, incredibly well composed, and invokes a feeling of sincerity even if you have no comprehension of the lyrics. I really think that my best stab at describing how enjoyable it is to listen to the works of Shugo Tokumaru would fall flat and really just suggest you download these tracks and find out for yourself:

» Shugo Tokumaru - Karte

» Shugo Tokumaru - Kiiro

» Shugo Tokumaru - Mizukagami

11:56 AM » [ Comments (6) ]

Aa
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I'm not quite sure what I think of the music of Aa quite yet (sort of a dischordant smattering of noise rock best described as a "never ending rythmn experiment") but the artwork that goes along with it is quite nice. Spend a few minutes in the images portion of their site and on their MySpace page to see more.

11:44 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Space Trash
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The New York Times is running a fascinating article about the 'problem of space debris.' At first glance that may not sound too exciting but take a look at this incredibly nice interactive infographic - there are more than 10,000 assorted man-made chunks of debris floating around in our orbit. I've often wondered what it is that we plan to do with our space trash and this article explains that despite that Kessler Syndrome, we aren't going to do too much due to high costs. Regardless of the solution, the problem is fascinating.

11:14 AM » [ Comments (3) ]

The Departed - X
» Big Screen, Little Screen points to a very interesting article about the usage of a visual X throughout Martin Scorsese's The Departed - partially used as super subtle foreshadowing of things to come and partially used as an homage to the 1932 Howard Hawk film Scarface.

BsLs also has a single frame screen capture from Little Miss Sunshine that you've just got to see.

11:01 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Nashville Shows
» While posting some new shows to We Own This Town I realized that whoever is booking shows in Nashville for the Spring might actually be doing a competent job of it. Starting in March the likes of Russian Circles, Spinto Band, Ken Andrews, Badly Drawn Boy, Of Montreal, Albert Hammond, Jr, Tokyo Police Club, Aqueduct, Avett Brothers and The Black Angels are all playing at various spots around town. Insane! And that's just the national touring acts.. the local bands are coming out in full force as well. Unfortunately the abundance of shows means that there will be inevitable scheduling conflicts (do you go see Ken Andrews or Albert Hammond Jr? Russian Circles or Spinto Band?) but that's a great problem to have.

10:48 AM » [ Comments (5) ]

February 06, 2007
David Foldvari - Art
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The style of David Foldvari runs a nice varied gamut of dirty sketch style, collage, watercolor like compositions and a nice bit of grime thrown in for good measure on occasion. Pretty much exactly the type of styles I find the most alluring. There are tons of great pieces so I suggest you check them all.

12:40 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

US Grant #2
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Ulysses S. Grant #2

I think it's safe to say that the ridiculousness level of the concept of a modern day Ulysses S. Grant can and has been taken to new levels. Video by Honor Student.

12:30 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

All About Duncan
» It appears that my friend Duncan has rejoined the world of blogging. If you are interested in comic books and movie culture - he is your one stop shop. Welcome back to the internets Duncan.

11:53 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Man Mom
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Maybe I spoke too soon when I said that the bounty of great Superbowl commercials were in low order this past week. I had not seen Man Mom and I somehow forgot about the Michel Gondry-esque / Ultraman style of the Garmin GPS commercial. I think I was disappointed by the sheer volume of commercials I'd already seen mixed in with CSI commercials.. I expected a whole lot more.

11:47 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

February 05, 2007
Humorous Videos to Watch
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Conan iPhone

Banned Mythbusters

That Mythbusters video is pretty ridiculous but oh so worth watching. Link via Paul.

11:13 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Superbowl Commercials
» Was anyone as disappointed in the Superbowl commercials as I was? The Federline ad was actually brilliant but given that it debuted before the Superbowl, I don't count it as a pure Superbowl ad. The rest of them are fairly mediocre at best - except for maybe Nutty Goulet or Beard Combover.. which sort of rule.

10:25 AM » [ Comments (7) ]

Okai Mix
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Looks like Jeremy has posted a new mix and from what I recognize of the tracklisting.. it's a good one. Alternate version of The Unicorns "Jellybones"?? Yes please!

10:17 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

February 02, 2007
Friday Videos : Funny or Sad?
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TMNT Madness

SF2 Ridiculous

Happy Groundhogs Day everyone. Spring is on the way. Have a great weekend.

12:08 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

All Smiles
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All Smiles

I don't know much about All Smiles except that it's the product of Jim Fairchild (ex-Grandaddy guitarist), features musical collaborations with the likes of Janet Weiss, Joe Plummer (Black Heart Procession), Danny Seim (Menomena), and Ten Readings Of A Warning comes out on April 24th. I guess I know more than I thought.

» All Smiles - Moth In A Cloud of Smoke

09:18 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Knocked Up
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Knocked Up

Judd Apatow has had a long line of overlooked comedy - The Ben Stiller Show, The Critic, Undeclared, Freaks and Geeks, etc - and then he seemed to hit a nerve with The 40 Year Old Virgin. His new project, Knocked Up looks like it could be a vulgar-ly entertaining good time (i.e. NSFW) but it's hard to tell if it will be funny because of the sheer volume of 'inappropriate' language or if there will be some weight to carry it along. Either way, it's nice to see someone finally giving Seth Rogen more than a sidekick or background role. Watch the trailer here.

09:02 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

LOST Moment
» If this LOST Moment is legit then it contains some seriously major spoilers. It is amusing but in watching it you will have the answer to several questions posed earlier in the season. Link via What's Hot in the Lunchbox?

08:47 AM » [ Comments (1) ]

Things My Boyfriend Says
» Travis linked up Things My Boyfriend Says and I must agree - the boyfriend says some funny things.

08:43 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Mooninite Terror
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ATHF

Given the recent hub bub surrounding the Adult Swim controversial Mooninite Terror it is only appropriate that you watch the full-length trailer for the forthcoming Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. Personally I think the whole 'terror alert' that has arisen from the guerilla marketing incident is completely blown out of proportion and makes me wonder exactly what people think the 'terrorists' are going for in terms of a battle plan. I mean, a crudely drawn alien giving people the bird attached to a bomb? Is that really their M.O. ?

08:41 AM » [ Comments (7) ]

February 01, 2007
Andre The Drinker
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I am not one to following wrestling but I've always had an earmarked interest in Andre The Giant, partially for his involvement in The Princess Bride and partially for the iconic nature of Shepard Fairey. So, when I was sent this article about The Greatest Drunk On Earth I was pretty glued to the page. It's a long read but ultimately very satisfying to read the exploits of Andre's off the mat behavior. I guess when you're over 7 feet tall and weigh more than 500 lbs you're bound to get away with whatever it is that you wish to get away with - particularly drinking 7,000 calories of alcohol a day.

Who knows how much of the article is complete speculation but it's entertaining and seemingly informative. The best of both worlds. Monsieur Hale.

03:26 PM » [ Comments (5) ]

Bizarre Hotels
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If you're headed to Europe and looking for a place to stay with a bit of the twist on the typical hotel environment you may want to check out Fassldorf - rooms made from old converted beer barrels - or De Spark Hotel - rooms housed inside drainage pipes. Oddly enough, the drainage rooms look very modern and somewhat comfy.. though I assume anyone with a bit of claustrophobia should stay away.

This link brought to you by Ryan Hale.

03:18 PM » [ Comments (1) ]

Hale Links: Volume 35
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Unfortunately not wearable but the Transformer Shoes appeal to two crowds of overly nerdy collectors - the shoe geek and the toy afficianado.

The preceding link was brought to you by Ryan Hale.

03:16 PM » [ Comments (0) ]

DST changes
» According to this article it appears that Daylight Saving Time will occur three weeks earlier this year (2nd Sunday in March) and end one week later (1st Sunday in November). Just a heads up.

11:50 AM » [ Comments (0) ]

Question
» When was the last time you had a donut? I think it's been awhile for me.

11:47 AM » [ Comments (12) ]

Photographers of 2007
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David Ellis

Getty Images is running a feature entitled New Photographers 2007 in which they have compiled a list of photographers they feel may very well change advertising imagery during the year 2007. There seem to be quite a few nude / semi-nude shots mixed in to all this that really don't do anything for me in terms of creating something innovative in the world of photography. However, some of the artists like David Ellis or Martin Wolf Wagner stray from that sort of 'nude for nudes sake' mentality and create some great shots. I couldn't begin to make a comprehensive list of what's incredible here because there is so much to sort through.. good luck, it's worth your time.

11:39 AM » [ Comments (2) ]

13 Photos
» 13 Photographs That Changed the World - I'm not sure if all thirteen of these literally changed the world but they are incredibly iconic and memorable shots for sure. The Ansel Adams 'The Tetons - Snake River' photo is, unsurprisingly, gorgeous.

11:22 AM » [ Comments (0) ]