New video for Tower Defense went out today for "Under the Sea." I released their record In the City on my lil label and the band has been consistently putting out new videos to promote it. They are a relatively unknown band and it's tough work! I applaud them for it and I hope you take the time to dive into the album... especially if you're the type that enjoys a bit of post-punk mixed with harmonies.
There's a photo making the rounds recently in which Joe and Jill Biden are posed with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. It's innocent enough at first glance but if you look at it for more than 1 second, the Biden's look absolutely enormous. It's bizarre and hysterical. If you want to understand why this photo - which is not Photoshopped - looks this way; turn your attention to this great distortion explainer that runs through the differences between optical and perspective distortion. It's a very nerdy bit of photography insight but an interesting read.
If we're being honest, I just wanted to save that image to my site so I can revisit the weirdness whenever I want.
Because I've been watching a lot Taskmaster lately, I'm also being exposed to other British shows featuring the same comedians (which I appreciate). I recently came across Romesh: Talking to Comedians in which Romesh Ranganathan sits down in a cafe and has a chat with a random comedian. It's like Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee but without the vintage cars and a lot more accents. The clips on YouTube are short (it's unclear if there are longer episodes elsewhere) so it's low commitment.
Thanks to YouTube recommendations, I've found myself being immersed in clips (and full episodes) of the British gameshow Taskmaster. It's a fairly simple concept, every season five different comedians are given random and absurd tasks to accomplish, ostensibly in competition with one another. The solutions to the given problems are often absurd, occasionally brilliant and usually quite funny.
I must admit, I had not heard the name John Swartzwelder before seeing several friends tweetabout him and this New Yorker interview. Maybe you hadn't either? He's considered one of the "most revered" writers of early episodes of The Simpsons and holds the record for most episodes written (fifty-nine). He is elusive and does not tend to give interviews. He is also, unsurprisingly, very funny.
Even with zero context about Swartzwelder, it's a great read. There are lots of funny little quips throughout but I rather enjoyed this description of how he writes:
How much time and attention did you spend on these scripts? Another “Simpsons” writer once compared your scripts to finely tuned machines—if the wrong person mucked with them, the whole thing could blow up.
All of my time and all of my attention. It’s the only way I know how to write, darn it. But I do have a trick that makes things easier for me. Since writing is very hard and rewriting is comparatively easy and rather fun, I always write my scripts all the way through as fast as I can, the first day, if possible, putting in crap jokes and pattern dialogue—“Homer, I don’t want you to do that.” “Then I won’t do it.” Then the next day, when I get up, the script’s been written. It’s lousy, but it’s a script. The hard part is done. It’s like a crappy little elf has snuck into my office and badly done all my work for me, and then left with a tip of his crappy hat. All I have to do from that point on is fix it. So I’ve taken a very hard job, writing, and turned it into an easy one, rewriting, overnight. I advise all writers to do their scripts and other writing this way. And be sure to send me a small royalty every time you do it.
Carve out some time for the full read, it's worthwhile. I'll be diving into one of his self-published books next.
I don't consider myself a hardcore Rick & Morty fan. I enjoy it but I'm not lining up to get any Szechuan Sauce if you know what I mean. However, I am a huge Paul Robertson fan. I believe I saw Kings of Power 4 Billion % back in 2008 and have done my best to stay clued in for the last thirteen years.
Robertson has done a lot of promos for Adult Swim over the last few years and quite a bit of promo for Rick & Morty specifically. Stylistically, they are not the same but the insanity, mania and attention to detail that Robertson brings is, clearly, a good fit.
The Eternal Nightmare Machine is ostensibly a commercial for Rick & Morty Season 5 but it's a 17-minute short film that is quintessential Robertson. Required viewing.
I realize you may not have a NY Times subscription to read this full article but I implore you to at least sign up for a free account to read this opinion piece on Let’s Launch a Moonshot for Meatless Meat.
The author is a vegan but not a militant one. The majority of the article spells out the risks of continued meat consumption - more novel coronavirus scenarios, more environmental dangers and intensified cruelty to animals. That last bit is probably where most folks put up their guard but if you've done the least bit of Googling, there's no way to rationalize away that the quantity of animals being consumed en masse are suffering. Even if you make sure to go to some meat market where the animals are treated well, that doesn't waive the cruelties of the entire system.
The most interesting part of the piece is that it's not a guilt-inducing doom-and-gloom overture, it's offering some real solutions through technology. Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods are making great strides in alternative meats and there's more non-dairy milk substitutes available now than you can shake a stick at; we just need to throw more money at those kinds of undertakings to supercharge them.
I've been a vegetarian for around 5 years; a very small portion of my entire life but I fail to see how anyone could read this and not decide that curbing their meat intake was a good idea.
I'm intrigued by this Andy.works project of No More Boring Apps; a suite of "every day apps" (Timer, Weather, Calculator) that reimagines the experience to be something more playful and more visually stimulating. The code behind the apps is a game engine capable of 3D, animation, physics and more; so it's a far cry from the skeuomorphism or ultra-flat apps that most of us have become accustomed to.
I'd love to speak more to how these apps function but there is a payment plan involved; $15 per year for access to the apps and some "Skins" to customize them. Frankly, that's not a lot of money at all for something fresh and different but it's also, obviously, a hurdle that most of us aren't used to facing when it comes to installing apps. Free is the thing I suppose.
I will be keeping my eye on the app suites and see what else comes from it. They look great and the marketing materials are top notch.
filmed in the late 90s (obviously), with a great twist end. there’s a load of performances from this channel if you’re willing to dig through the archives
Been a bit quiet on the blog lately (more on that later) but I'm happy to announce one of the projects I've been working on is now out in the world!
Jay Leo Phillips has been a musician that I've admired for a long time. His work in the post-punk Apollo Up has been a mainstay in my listening for 17 years. His previous album One Million One Million One Million was one of those overlooked gems that I wish more people had discovered. Fortunately, it's not too late. You should check that out.
But today, Jay releases his new EP DAYS, a six song (mostly) instrumental offering that has serious echoes of The Sea and Cake, Tortoise and instrumental Jim O'Rourke. If those references are complete gibberish to you, don't worry, you'll still like it.
Truth be told, Jay was a bit concerned that the EP was so different from his previous work that folks might not enjoy it. His prior work is highly energetic - you could even call it "blazing" or "frantic" at times - but this EP is chilled out and devoid of his Elvis Costello-y baritone vocals.
I'm happy to report that his concerns are unfounded and it's a damn good listen. Obviously I enjoy his entire body of work but I like that he's branching out and letting listeners know he's capable of more than just one thing. I hope you'll enjoy the release and stay tuned in for future work; whatever it may be.
I worked with Forest for a good chunk of time at VHX. He is good at maths, he is smart and he is empathetic. This is one of the best write-ups on fitness I've encountered in a long time. It's self aware and not, at all, focused on trying to make anyone healthier. I do suggest you read.
I watched this entire video of the Human Eye Webcam and now you should too. It's mostly disgusting and unnerving but also sort of cute.
You can read more about it here or here if you want to know why such a thing would exist. TLDR: it's an art project to make ya think about surveillance.
Great NYT piece on underwater photography and finding a lot of beautifully bizarre, and often minuscule, creatures in the deep dark of the ocean. It's a worthwhile read about the initiatives for finding potential new species but, honestly, its mostly eye candy to peep these delightful weirdos.
