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New (to me- or sometimes old to me, uncovering originals of remakes I previously liked) music from last month - kind of a weak month overall, maybe it's the summer break effect...

4 star:
Amen Brother (The Winstons)
(The source of the famous "Amen Break" but the song itself is a banger - I like how even without hearing a vocal you know the lyrics are "Aaamen / Aaaaaamen")
One Tree Hill (U2)
(I actually fell for this song on a "Tufts Amalgamates" a cappella CD that was weirdly important to me in my college years...)
To Turn You On (Roxy Music)
(I prefer the Nataly Dawn cover but there the haunting roots of this song are laid out here.)
Rock Around the Clock (Bill Haley and His Comets)
(I think I had this on that McDonald's "Shake Burger and Fries" mix tapes...)

3 star:
Get Down (feat. Genesis Lynea) (SIX)
Yuppies In The Sky (Tom Paxton)
Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (Buddy Rich)
Bob ("Weird Al" Yankovic)
Africa (Weezer)
vampire (Olivia Rodrigo)
Kiss Me (Sixpence None the Richer)
Harlem Shuffle (Bob & Earl)

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	Candy The Bouncing Souls	Rock cover. from a playlist Boys Will Be Girls, maleish cover of femaleish songs
★ ★ ★ ★	Live a Little Florrie	Nice horns and drums and vocals. Arun trying to zone in on the kind of music I dig - modern but with brass + good percussion is a good bet!
★ ★ ★ ★	Lola The Raincoats	Man, the idea that the original made it so big just blows me away. And also that Weird Al used it for a parody... from a playlist Girls Will Be Boys, femaleish covers of maleish songs.
★ ★ ★ ★	You Were Cool The Mountain Goats	God, such a resonant song - I can also think back to the people being treated badly in high school, how we got to bear witness to people working out lots of things about their identity, and we were hardly ever kind enough about it. I hope the kids today are better. I listen to John Green's The Anthropocene Reviewed podcast, and The Mountain Goats are profoundly important to him. I couldn't find a version to buy so I had to make a rip.
	Righteous Rocker (Hard Rock Version) Larry Norman	Not a bad funky 70s rocker. Why can't all Christian music be so light handed? via the movie "Knives Out"
★ ★ ★ ★	Uproar (feat. Swizz Beatz) Lil Wayne	Excellent well-hooked new hip hop. My friend Jonathan Z is probably the most adept at catching songs I'll dig...
★ ★ ★ ★	Coolin' With Da Homies Savan Kotecha	Kinda inane like everything in Eurovision (I keep my chains low (woo), they droppin' to the floor / They're really, really, really low, they're droppin' to the floor, uh / I don't need gin and juice, I got a caffe latte) but hella catchy from the Will Ferrell‎ Eurovision Song Contest movie, in-movie done by Swedish act Johnny John John.
★ ★ ★ ★	Only So Much Oil In the Ground Tower of Power	Not my favorite Tower of Power song but not bad. BABAM played a Filk version of this at an Extentinction Rebellion Die-In protest
	You Gotta Hear This Funk Band Key & Peele	Pretty authentic sounding Parliament/Funkadelic sound, even if the end joke falls a little flat. Random Youtube recommendation
	Got Your Money (feat. Kelis) Ol' Dirty Bastard	Older hop hop, dig the "Blacksploitation" aspect of the video. Random Youtube recommendation
	Land of the Living Kristine W	Clubby Pop. Another from Arun's set of music
	Mbube Lebo M	From the new CGI Lion King. Mentioned in Cracked's Black Creators Who Got Their Material Stolen though sadly I liked the percussion in the Disneyfied version better.
★ ★ ★ ★	Power to the People (Ultimate Mix) John Lennon & The Plastic Ono Band	Probably don't need another white dude protest song but I do dig the percussion of this. Ibram X. Kendi's "How to Be an Antiracist" mentions the Black Christian group Soul Liberation as their famous song, but I couldn't find reference to them doing it.

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I just finished "Art of Atari" by Tim Lapetino, about all the art that tried to push the clunky pixels the Atari 2600 could offer into new worlds of drama. (Also with a side trip into the industrial design of some of the hardware.)

I learned my favorite Atari artist was Hiro Kimura. Probably the best find of the book's author was this unused art for Pac-Man- I just love the weight of the ghost monster concept.


He also did Yars Revenge and Joust and a bunch of others. But growing up it was the B+W illustrations inside the manual for "Berzerk" that really grabbed me, the nod to Da Vinci and then the internal workings diagram that I think is a nod to some classic Astro Boy:



Another specific influential (on me) cover was Terry Hoff's art for Star Raiders (reused for Solaris) - I must've drawn starfighter cockpit interiors based it dozens of times as a kid:
So, I know 3 people who claim to be a little interested in the "new music playlists" I posts, and Diane specifically mentioned she likes knowing more about the history. I used that smidgin of interest to justify a whole lot of codin'... (in fact I made a somewhat modernized version of the old database programs I use for so much of my personal information.)

So here's the result, feedback welcome. It's the song name, a possible link to a video, artist name, a brief description, and then where I ran into it, and then stars for 4 and 5 star things...

★ ★ ★ ★	Philosophers East vs West Epic Rap Battles of History	One of the more well-researched and clever ERBs. ERB's new season made me hunt for an old favorite.
★ ★ ★ ★	Sexy Nation Army Azoo	Powerful little mashup. References on tumblr
	Three Little Birds (Stephen Marley & Jason Bentley Remix) Bob Marley & The Wailers	Nice remix. I tried to make some lyrics more true to my philosophy, with mixed results... The original was playing at a Panera.
★ ★ ★ ★	Old Town Road (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) [Remix] Lil Nas X	I kind of think "Big + Rich" did the whole cowboy/hiphop thing better, but still good. Once NasX said "deadass thought i made it obvious… " at the end of pride I wanted to grab this one...
★ ★ ★ ★	Soul Thing Tony Newman	Nice R+B Funk Dave B introduced this as a possibility for JP Honk.
	Eight Foot Two, Solid Blue, Has Anybody Seen My Martian Gal Allan Sherman	Cornball joke song, I like the 1950s hightech aspect of it tho A band in the Ocean Grove NJ 4th Parade were playing the original of this, and I thought of this version from my childhood.
	Nevermind Dennis Lloyd	Nice pop. ???
	Had Some Drinks Two Feet	Good slow grind. Something on tumblr?
	Carry That Weight The Beatles	Classic Beatles (I've had a blind spot for some of their later albums) Saw the Navy Band Cruisers OGNJ - a bit propagandish but not bad R+B. This was in a medley.
	Screen twenty one pilots	ok if weirdly juvenile-vibe hiphop. This sarcastictonystark tumblr entry...
	La Tortura (feat. Alejandro Sanz) Shakira	Spanish pop this tumblr post about her athleticism - scooching across the floor just using torso and butt muscles is pretty amazing!
★ ★ ★ ★	Indomitable (feat. Northern Cree Singers) DJ Shub	I always dig mixups of modern western music with classic First People's stuff- this is the first I've heard that has the traditional singing style with some English lyrics ("throw your hands in the air...") "Tribe Called Red" announced a new song which I wasn't as crazy about, but it got me searching around and finding this.
	Taste of the Good Times Will Beeley	Lowkey country, and authentic by a guy who truckered for years... Some public radio had a piece on him.
	Stand Up Tall Dizzee Rascal	UK Hiphop Bassline Junkie was a recommendation off of one of my all time favorites Golddust but I couldn't find a download for it in the US, found this instead by the same arist.
	Astral Weeks Van Morrison	Gentle music... I remember hearing how someone played it the morning after a first night together, and the couple was married for years and years after... Some novel mentioned this, maybe the Sally Rooney I was reading...
	The Biggest Ball of Twine In Minnesota "Weird Al" Yankovic	Heard this epic song live in Boston! 99% Invisible podcast talked about the biggest twine balls, and played this song which I hadn't heard for years.
	Luigi Supper Mario Broth	All 5 tracks of Luigi humming or whistling the Luigi's Mansion theme at various levels of scardness, all at once... this Supper Mario Broth linked to this.
★ ★ ★ ★	True Affection The Blow	Art pop. I really liked their live train station a capella version of how naked are we gonna get and figured they had other songs I'd probably like
	Everybody Eats When They Come to My House Cab Calloway and His Orchestra	Interesting rhyming game song - kind of like a prototype for "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".... The Judge John Hodgman podcast mentioned the lyrics.
★ ★ ★ ★	Forevermore Katie Herzig	I remember the root of this song from my childhood Most interesting version I could find on iTunes...
	Fué en un Café Los Apson	The classic spanish cover of "Under the Boardwalk" Torito Pinto plays this song...
★ ★ ★ ★	Boy Meets Girl The Exploding Voids	Pop from Germany... I think with authentic, personal footage from a USA roadtrip I might be this band's biggest American fan, because of my deep adoration of As It Comes (one of my top 3 ever songs).

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Man, my muttonchops are going gray - but the gray is taking its timing moving forward, so I'm worried I'm going to look like I'm making a goatee which was never my intention. By the way full endorsement of short beard as an excellent compromise of laziness and not looking like an unkempt beast.

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Rats have a "random mode" they gets activated in certain unfamiliar situations - they stop trying to make best guesses based on past experience. They think humans might sometimes benefit from a previous strategy... I can see it both in shaking free from preconceived notions, and also if playing against some kind of adversary, making oneself less predictable...

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Wanna get me some ataraxia!

• Living In America (James Brown) Have trouble not thinking of the Weird Al lyrics but this is pretty great.
• Wicked Game (Hula Hi-Fi) "Hula-fied" cover, very sweet.
• Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) I realized maybe I like this song so much because it reminds me of Regina Spektor's That Time...
• Tighten Up, Pt. 1 (LP Version) (Archie Bell & The Drells) We dance just as good as we want!
• Lay Low; Stay Workin' (Khodi Dill) Used as the theme to the youtube series Movies with Mikey which I'd also reccomend.
• Whoopin' Blues (Leroy James) I play this song with the New Magnolia Jazz Band
• Blow, Blow Tenor (Yockamo All-Stars) Another New Magnolia Song
• Fate Don't Know You (Desi Valentine) Hangover from last month's Desi Valentine kick.
• Ode To The Bouncer (Studio Killers) Odd, "virtual" pop group; I kind of love the visuals especially of the main singer, and her dripped paint mascara and fertility goddess curves.
• Opposites Attract (feat. The Wild Bunch) [7" Edit] (Paula Abdul) Decided I didn't have enough MC Skat Kat. The Roger Rabbit visuals are pretty good!
• She Watch Channel Zero?! (Public Enemy) Furious intensity.
• Get Down Tonight (KC and the Sunshine Band) Heard "Booty Vortex" cover this before New Magnola went on in Somerville... such a classic.
• No Shoes (The Roches) New song for Porch-i-Oke; some tricky rhythms.
• I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me (feat. Scarface) (Parliament) Good to see these guys back, but I think I'm too square to really get it.
• I Can't Get No Nookie (The Masked Marauders) Weird pseudo-band made up for a Rolling Stone article, supposedly of rock's all-stars...
• In the Dub of the Mountain Step (Peer Gynt, Op. 46: In the Hall of the Mountain King - Edvard Grieg) (DJ Zadok) I'll always dig the core song of this.
• American Pharaoh (Jase Harley) Song that influenced "This is America".
• We Are Going To Rob It (Daniel Pemberton) From Ocean's 9, great heist music

Decent month for me finding music, especially for funk and r+b. As usual in descending "man you should hear this!" order, with stuff I called 4 stars instead of 3 in red...

• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho (Coleman Hawkins / Major Holley) Haruki Murakami's story Kino: "Kino sat on a stool and listened to the Coleman Hawkins LP with the track 'Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho.' He found the bass solo by Major Holley amazing." It starts at 5:20 or so, a bowed solo with singing that makes it other worldly.
• I Smell Smoke (Mystikal) I really dig Mystikal's voice so I looked for more of it. In this funny little slice of (gangster) life song, I really, really, really love the onomatopoeia for knocking ... "DHOONK DHOONK DHOONK DHOONK" is so much better than "knock knock knock", and in fact I think the entire song is built around that as a rhythmic phrase.
• Runs In the Family (Amanda Palmer) Man, I've never heard a song talking about emotional illness so powerfully.
• Hey Hi Hello (feat. Fran Hall) (Hollywood Wildlife) from "Orange is the New Black", good percussion.
• Hey Hey Hey (Hollywood Wildlife) Another great percussion one by the same folk, and while I'm not a My Little Pony fan I do kind of love the GIF someone put with it.
• Knockin' (Carolina Chocolate Drops & Luminescent Orchestrii) I guess I prefer the silkiness of the version by L.O. alone compared to the scratchiness of this one, but it's still such a good song.
• jonesiver (Nick Lutsko) Alex "Info Wars" Jones insane rants as a Bon Over song. It's amazing how what a nice sound it is.
• (Do The) Push and Pull, Pt. 1 (Rufus Thomas) A trailer for HBO's new series "The Deuce" used this. Great R+B.
• Shining Star (Earth, Wind & Fire) Can't front on these guys! Sound guy played this song at a JP Art gig.
• Brighter Than the Sun (Colbie Caillat) Another wedding song. So bright and cheerful, and also a great percussion sound.
• Twentysomething (Jamie Cullum) Melissa introduced me to this kinda smart smooth song - nice art student video.
• Goody Two Shoes (Adam Ant) I've always liked this song but never knew it very well.
• Hair Up (Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani & Ron Funches) Good sounding club pop from an insipid looking movie... but I like that it samples "Hall of the Mountain King".
• Wonderwall (Paul Anka) Lounge cover.
• Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In) (The Wright's) On the Flintstones Pebbles and Bamm Bamm sang this song. Thinking about the lyrics too deeply, I'm not sure if it has great advice for people who might be struggling with depression ("smilers never lose, and frowners never win", along with talk about "the devil".)
• The Winker's Song (Misprint) (Ivor Biggun) Goofy novelty song. Heard about it in news stories about a radio station pirate that loves this song
• I Want Stacy's Mom (Fountains of Wayne vs. Lena Horne vs. The Wiseguys vs. Karen Young) (G3RSt) Kind of a weaker mashup, just Stacy's Mom plus decent percussion for the most part.

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I don't mind that people wallow in ignorance, I just wish they wouldn't splash so much.

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Great point that rings true - Trever Noah: Donald Trump Is Everything People Thought A Black President Would Be Second Best Photos of 2009. Several years have had some bonus images thrown in, but 2009 was strong enough that I thought it could use its own runner-up gallery dozen.

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In its essence, technology is something that man does not control.

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It was a rough month for me and iTunes; I realized that 180 or so songs were just gone, so I had to spend a lot of time digging them up from archives and what not. (and it's frustrating, because I'd prefer to use "smart" playlists based on "Added" dates, but iTunes doesn't let you backdate files.) Not sure what caused that; my dalliance with Apple Music, some bungling on my part, or what, but now I'm out to be a lot more careful with my music collection.
4 stars in red.

• Cocaine (John Martyn) (Gin Wigmore) Strong cover.
• Love Train (The O'Jays) Nice R+B.
• Money (Pink Floyd) Pink Floyd lives in that gap in my teenage music experience; it's an ok song, despite the sound fx beat there's not a lot of rhythm to it.
• Know Your Presidents (Reggie Cous) Via tumblr... it's the presidents!
• Love Letter (To My Muse) (Paper Waves) Local group who did JP Porchfest, I know one of the members from School of Honk.
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) (Stevie Wonder) Stevie Wonder also lives in that gap in my music background, but he's fantastic, I really like how he captures that old R+B and blended it to something so fresh.
• National Emblem March (Clemson University Marching Band) Heard this in Ocean Grove, decided to find a version with just brass, no strings.
• Devil Devil (MILCK) Nice dark song.
• GHWT Expert Bass - Rondo (Guitar Hero World Tour) Always like Rondo ala Turca, this is a fun version even with all the video game glitches in it.
• Track Suit (Minor Mishap Marching Band) School of Honk does this song. Love the percussion, kind of like DC's Go-Go rhythm.
• Formation (Beyoncé) Acoustically really interesting, and I love that "Lets get in formation / Lets get information" play, the subtle differences in the two lines.
• Shake Hands with Danger (Jim Stringer) You can get the original MP3 from the safety video MST3K was ripping on. It's catchy.
• Flashdance...What a Feeling (Yael Naim) Soft cover really brings out the beauty.

Good news: My blog, my linked in profile, and my production site seem to be spots 1-3 on Google (not sure if the fact I'm searching from the same geographical area helps that or not.)

Bad news: #4 is a "Kirk Israel" twitter who is not me. And the profile picture is some dude in a hunting outfit posing with a dead deer.

Maybe I need to get back on to twitter, and use "Kirk Israel" instead of my zenlike "Kirk Is".

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Pretty good visual month! Highlights are motorboat innertube on the 3rd, fireworks on the 4th, echo-y church chapel on the 10th:
July was terrific for music, especially R+B wise... The first 4 songs here I all rated 4 stars.

• Apache (Fat Boy Slim Remix) Apache is a song that has been sampled all over the place, like Missy Elliot's We Run This. I wanted to find a version that wasn't as ridiculous and racist as the Sugarhill Gang's version... this remix draws heavily from The Incredible Bongo Band's Version and is pretty slammin'- love that drumbreak.
• What Is Hip? (Tower of Power) Knew about this song, but the live version (heard it at the Milky Way at the JP Porch Band after party) kicks up the speed a notch and is great.
• Hard to Handle (Otis Redding) The big horns and big piano mean the original is better than the Black Crowes cover (which is pretty good too.)

I was contacted by local musician Chandler Travis, and asked if I could jump in for the Chatham 4th of July parade... here were 4 songs we did (plus Iko Iko, which I'm trying to bring back to my own Honk Band)

• Graciously (Chandler Travis Philharmonic) Starts a little slow, but I dig the simple bass riff, and then it builds beautifully, and the refrain "Gra-cious-ly" is really resonant.
• Bob What's-Is-Name (Chandler Travis Philharmonic) Another catchy song with subtle-y terrific lyrics.
• It's Time to Make a Change (Madison's Lively Stones) Gotta love this tuba. Ya gotta!
• Tootie Ma Is a Big Fine Thing (Preservation Hall Jazz Band & Tom Waits) Waits' gravel voice works pretty well here.

Some acoustically interesting bits--

• Little Numbers (BOY) Great indie piece. I'm a little distracted because phone numbers aren't "7 little numbers" any more.
• Superstarr Pt. Zero (k-os) The sample of Pal Joey Hot Music has one of the most complex beats I've heard in a hiphop piece.
• Wait (The Whisper Song) Remix (Busta Rhymes, Free, Lil Scrappy, Missy Elliot, Mr. Collipark & Ying Yang Twins) Probably the sexiest hiphop song ever; the gimmick of the whisper from the original is pretty effective. (I like the poured scotch sound at 0:12)
• Down the Road (C2C) Groovy blues/house remix.

Novelty Songs...

• Mission Statement ("Weird Al" Yankovic) Love the vacuous joy of business speak set against a decent cover of Crosby Stills & Nash and the white board video is enjoyable on its own terms.
• Yakety Yak (The Coasters) Don't talk back.
• My Girl's Pussy (Harry Roy & His Orchestra) Single entendre from the 1930s...

Misc

• We Can Work It Out (Stevie Wonder) Getting back to the R+B, a good cover.
• Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys (Johnny Paycheck) Of all the versions I had to pick, I think I grabbed this one because I love the name Johnny Paycheck. (Err but this is the Jennings/Nelson version)
• Don't Let Me Die (R. Kelly & JAY Z) Nice big sound to this hiphop, plus you don't hear too many songs where the MC lets himself sound scared.

--Another month, another Second Every Day. Still trying to think if it's better for me to make it personally significant (i.e. a reminder of what happened that day) or visually interesting. I think the latter. Electric Sheep has a sketchblog!:

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Life can't be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years.

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As a programmer, you should be afraid of code, and eliminate as much as possible.

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"penultimate" is my absolute second favorite word ever

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http://www.quora.com/Jobs-1/Whats-something-that-is-common-knowledge-at-your-work-place-that-will-be-mind-blowing-to-the-rest-of-us A quora on Surprising insider knowledge for various industries...
--An Alien Bill I commissioned from Madam Luna -- also, there was a version with a pink background. Nice Osamu Tezuka (creator of Astro Boy) influence!

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Heh, 8/02/11 -> 802.11 day. Cute Wifi joke! (That won't come around too often!)

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Damn it I'm already sick of reading "double dip". Sometimes I think I'm just addicted to fretting. Feed the need, economy!
click for fullsize This is the view off the patio of my company's cafeteria, overlooking Newbury Street. It is made with a super-nifty iPhone 4 program called You Gotta See This -- it utilizes the new gyroscope in the thing and is well worth the $2 price.

The photo is quite a lot like the collage FoSO shot with my borrowed Kodak DC20 back in like, '96 or '97 -- but now it's a heck of a lot easier.

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Your life's Episode IV starts at 30. Everything before that is just prequels.

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http://www.slate.com/id/2261955/ - I guess what technology has given nerd romance in 'Net dating it is taking away with the rise of e-readers...

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http://technologizer.com/2010/08/01/the-great-operating-system-games/ - heh, just thinking about GORILLAS.BAS and Space Cadet Pinball. Seriously, someone out there is the best 3D Space Cadet player... I wonder who...

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Strangely hungry this AM. Might end up being a 3-Atomic-Fireball morning.
(via and ap link)

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When someone over powers us and we let them have their way, we "say uncle." Isn't that creepy?

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Plant mass comes from the air - not water or dirt. Animal mass comes from plants and other animals. We are all fancy clouds.

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Amber's cat digs being pet while fed and vocalizes her complaint when that's not the case. That's kind of a spoiled cat but can't blame her. In Jersey for a family reunion.

Trying to figure out why the Cheesequake (great name; I always read it as some sort of dairy-based seismic event) service area was so bustling with high schoolers or young college students at 11:30PM. Admittedly a Friday night, but still.

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Passage of the Moment

"Besides, yesterday was my birthday--I was eighteen."
"Why didn't you tell us?" they said indignantly.
"I knew you'd make a fuss over it and go to a lot of trouble." She finished the champagne. "So this is the celebration."
"It most certainly is not," Dick assured her, "The dinner tomorrow night is your birthday and don't forget it. Eighteen--why that's a terribly important age."
"I used to think until you're eighteen nothing matters," said Mary.
"That's right," Abe agreed. "And afterward it's the same way."

I was hoping for another Great Gatsby but so far it's not it. Though I didn't "get" Gatsby when I first read cliffnoted it in high school... I figure you have to be through at least one heartbreak to understand it. I'm not sure what I'd have to be through to get this book...

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"we do not remember days we remember moments" - seen in a McDs in CT... trite but true

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"a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down" - not a good slogan for diabetics. So, scary bridge tragedy in Minnesota.

Just the other week some public radio show had a piece on our infrastructure that is showing many signs of wear and tear.

It seems like this bridge had been recently inspected, but still. Seeing as how it coincided with the schedule groundbreaking of a new half-a-billion ballpark (that I think had some public funding controversies), I wonder if people will be re-evaluating that whole situation.

I guess there are some political cheapshots to be had here, about pouring billions into Iraq's infrastructure (and sometimes to very little avail, the number of failed projects there is alarming) and neglecting our own.

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Alphabet of the Moment

--Type the sky on slanted.de. An alphabet made from the negative space of neighboring buildings, looking up.

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Emoticons of the Moment

Amy Cohen, an author and a former dating columnist for The New York Observer, joked that she could "tell the whole story of a relationship in emoticons: Happy, happy, happy, sad, happy, sad, sad."

As the article points out (but with distracting commas) that's
:)   :)   :)   :(   :)   :(   :(  

I learned something else: it seems common for Russians to forgo the eyes on smilies but multiply the smiles, and just do something like ))))

And like I kisrael'd a few years ago, Japanese online folk tend to do eye-centric, horizontal smilies, ^_^ but they're helped by a font with more characters.

Strolling from the local second run cinema last night, the lights went out on the block...then on, then out. It was a very localized problem, though. You forget how rarely you see a street without any lights on, just headlights from cars going past making crazy twisted shadows. Disturbing on a visceral level. (Especially with vague, Y2K-hangover neuroticism about some sort of EMP taking out the grid for a prolonged time.)

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Quote of the Moment

She had a Mount Rushmore T-shirt on. Those guys never looked so good. Kind of bloated. But happy. Especially Jefferson and Lincoln.

I'm not sure of the transcription, the two different references I could find put the Jefferson and Lincoln reference a little earlier.

Good flick though, unhurried, a bit melancholy and aware of its own finite nature. And some good music.

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Art of the Moment

click for fullsize "February", by Timna Woollard from Where The Heart Is.

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Politics of the Moment
I was feeling kind of smug, hearing about how Castro was handing over power not to some technocrat, but to his brother. Reminded me a bit of North Korea too. Suddenly having a father/son set of presidents with only one political opponent between them doesn't seem so bad! So take that, communist dictatorships!

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Music of the Moment
I had never heard of the show UFO 'til Bill wrote about it, but I agree, it has some of the hippest music ever, as you can hear in this UFO audio / Star Trek visual mashup.

The other thing that video reminds me of... those visuals of the Enterprise passing a planet must have been pretty amazing for TV in the '60s.

For people in the western Boston 'Burbs there was a fantastic thunderstorm last night.

Its been so long since I've seen something like that, maybe it's been relatively quiet thunderstorm-wise for the past few years.

I remember there was once a big one when I was in first or second grade, but somehow I slept through it. My teacher, a nun, told me that it must be because I was so good and innocent or something, but even then I had a neurotic enough theology that I didn't feel that innocent.

But thunderstorms are by their nature a humbling experience...so much power and noise and light, almost completely out of human control.

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Article of the Moment
Slate on Hollywood's Death Spiral. The big problem for them seems to be the decreasing window between the "Only in Theaters!" time and when you can go pick it up from Best Buy. I'm always amazed by the factoid that theaters make most of their money at the concession stand...(Especially when tickets cost like $10 per person.) It's like I can "stick it to the man" just by avoiding their absurdly sized drinks and bags of greasy popcorn.

And after buying that video projector last year...not that I have the full "home cinema" feel, but it's really nice to have such a big picture to look at. Right now Ksenia and I are on a "Sex in the City" kick... a good blend of "chick-flick" with a dab of sex and skin now and then. But kicking back and watching 2 or 3 episodes at a pop is a great luxury.

Thoughts of the Moment

--Here's the history of Thoughts of the Produce Section, plus three more examples here, here, and here. This one I drew at the same meeting that produced that page of tiny doodles.

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Geek Javascript of the Moment

Unix Date:

--Just need something quick and dirty to go from Unix "seconds since 1970" timestamps to something more human readable. Not as quick and dirty as I hoped, it took me a bit to realize that javascript was thinking in milliseconds, so I had to muliply by 1000. Duhhr!

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Article of the Moment
Golfing across Mongolia, one stroke at a time. He's hitting a golfball across the entire dang country, he went 1,234 miles. Crazy and awe inspiring. I suppose if I liked golf at all it would be even cooler.

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Feature of the Moment
Slate has a pretty hard hitting series Dispatches from Fallujah...it's a few steps to getting my head around what it's like to be one of the guys over there... Quote of the Moment

Among the highest and best uses of poetry, third only perhaps to the poxing of our enemies and the commemoration of our dead, is the wooing, outright, of our darlings.

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Catalog of the Moment
I'm pretty sure that American Science & Surplus is the same company that put out a catalog I loved so much in high school, and their website is even cooler. Here's a bit of their history. I think their biggest attraction would be for people who like to build electronic and other homebrew projects, but it's fun to read through. I also admire their use of the web, especially the links under "Jarvis' Idea Corner" on the lower left of every page.

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Article of the Moment
In Slate, Christopher Hitchens reminds us that Bob Hope wasn't that funny. It kind of violates the idea of saying nothing but good of the dead, but still, I wish I had seen this a few days ago when all the tributes were going on. The other night I was watching Fox's 30 Seconds To Fame. People do any dang stunt to curry the audience's favor, and they have only 30 seconds to do it it...less if the audience boos you off. Fox furthers us down the path towards true short attention span theatre! But the audience always picks some of the suckiest ones for the three finalists...

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Quote of the Moment

Bad habits are hard to break. Especially if you like them

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Link of the Moment
Telemarketers use scripts; here's one to use back at them. Luckily, we don't seem to be as flooded with them as other people are. Maybe it's because we've been moving every year or so for a while.

bob s. and i kirk head robotech bodyslam