Sunday, July 23, 2006

I can't believe they run the planet

This is an example of american brilliance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DClkE64nFDY

This is why people left for north america a zillion years ago to get away from the fools... Can I come back? I think they followed me here.


Today's Song of the Day is "Concerto Grosso Op. 6 No. 10 in D Minor: i. Overture" Performed by Capella Istropolitana, Conducted by Josef Kopelman, Composed by George Frideric Handel in 1739.

Crazy Fact: He fought a duel with the composer Matheson over the accompaniment to one of Matheson’s operas. Wow!

njoy

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

A First

Well, I'm not sure what to think.

I was going to send this song yesterday. Today I noticed that this song is ranked the number one download at iTunes Store. That's never happened before.

I'm always sending some god awful bowie song from the 70s or some jazz tune from the 40s and the like. I'm not sure what to think. I really like this song. It's stuck in my head. You'll probably like it too.

This is Weird.


Today's Song of the Day is "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley off his 2006 album "St. Elsewhere."

Crazy Fact: One of the member of this duo, Danger Mouse, concocted The Grey Album, a bootleg that mashed the vocals from "The Black Album" by Jay-Z with music samples courtesy of "The White Album" by the Beatles. Sounds great but we'll never hear it, due to a cease-and-desist order. Copyright is killing this artform.

njoy

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Who by fire.

Hey they're making a feature documentary about Leonard Cohen. I guess that means they think he is going to die soon.


Today's Song of the Day is "Chelsea Hotel No. 2" by Leonard Cohen off his 197 album "New Skin for the Old Ceremony."

Crazy Fact: This song is about Janis Joplin.

njoy

Sunday, July 16, 2006

To Enoble The Geek

I believe there are four pillars of classic geekdom:

Lord of Rings (D&D, Frazetta, Sorcery, Undead...)
Comics (Super Heroes, Graphic Novels, Manga...)
Space (Star Trek, Star Wars, sci-fi...)

What I always thought was interesting about Geekdom is it's really just an imaginative view of reality. Swords and Sorcery is just a fantasy of the past, super heroes/villans and monster movies/comics are present filtered through a what-if-o-tron and Sci-fi is just an imaginative look at the future. They are all a magical view of the world, past present and future. Whether it's 'the Force' or 'Genetic mutation', or 'Spells' it's the manifestation of the possiblities.

It accepts and endulges the unknown. An exaggeration maybe, but I think it taps the awe the amazement of a child, new to this strange world, that we've all felt. When the rules of the world are strange to us, it's feels like magic, like there are no limits. If you think about what might have been if we were never told the limits (true or false) we have the view of the geek.

I'm inspired. I'm officially declaring my intention to make a GeekSAT. I need contributors (Ulo, Caleb, Jason, Mike I'm thinking of you dorks.)

I'm going to make a geek test. The higher the score the bigger a geek you are. Official rating and ID Card will be presented to you after marking. I was inspired by this Article: Meet the Geek Elite.

You better know you HitDice, Vampire Clans, Supervillans, Programming languages and be able to name every GI JOE and GoBot. So listen up. If you have an unhealthy collection of uncool knowledge, form a question and answer and sent it to me. JUST DO IT!

For example:

1. Name one wizard from Lord of the Rings who wasn't mentioned in the Peter Jackson version.
2. Name three Droid from Star Wars.
3. Who endows mortals with the Power Cosmic?


Today's Song of the Day is "Get Off Of My Cloud" by The Rolling Stones off their 1965 album "December's Children (and everybody's)"

Crazy Fact: This is the last Stones album in which cover material accounted for 50 percent of the content.

njoy

Saturday, July 15, 2006

Who needs PR when you have a Monopoly

RIAA is out of control. Two new facts have come to my attention:

RIAA Says Ripping CDs to Your iPod is NOT Fair Use.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004409.php

Lyrics Sites Next Targets For Content Groups?
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1989235,00.asp

So it's not legal to make the music you've bought into mp3s and it's not legal to download lyrics for a song you've bought as either an mp3 or a CD.

If they could they would ban it from libraries. There is no doubt in my mind that if the idea of the library was concieved of right now, it illegal or sued by the RIAA. Hell they still might sue them.

This is an ugly sort of greed. They have sued 18,000 people for downloading music in the name of musicians, no musician has seen a cent of that money.

They can shit where they eat because they have a monopoly. Lyrics?! Are they going to sue me if I sing a song walking down the street? not today, but it's coming.


Today's Song of the Day is "Both Hands" by Ani DiFranco off her 1989 debut "Ani DiFranco."

Crazy Fact: Here is a musician that made a career for herself without a record company doing what a musician should do; performing non-stop, writing non-stop and recording non-stop. Is she worried about piracy? On her CDs it reads "Copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing." very very cool.

njoy

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Pictures

This one is about amazing pictures.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=395512&in_page_id=1770

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artsyscience/51311029/in/set-72157594150554407/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alternate/sets/199123/


Today's Song of the Day is "Don't Stand So Close To Me" by The Police off their 1980 album "Zenyatta Mondatta."

Crazy Fact: The Police most recently reunited to play Sting's wedding in 1992.

njoy

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Take a walk on the Geek Side.

ok ok ok so you've heard me talk about this "Geek Beer" thing that happens in the Computer Science Building, well Now I can bring it home to you in pictures and most importantly movies:

If you want to see the geeks rock. Go here.

Just incase you forget or don't know. Almost every friday of the year all the little geeks come out of their little geek holes, away from their bright screens, away from there little geek tasks and log out of their little geek machines. Each one excited to socialize and frolic again at 'Geek Beer' with all the other geeks. They put on there most geekiest finery, one geek will where his authentic 1984 "Commodore 64" T-shirt; another will put on her "I 'heart' Steve Jobs" head-band. Still another will the lucky Twenty-SIded Die which brought Korack the 12th Barabarian such glorious victory's against the imagined Spider Lord Loth's Drider's in "Q1 Queen of the Demonweb" in his best-friends wood panelled santuary so many moons ago. Perhaps it will again bring luck tonight and get him some victorious putang. Oh sweet nectar yet untasted!

(HAHAHAHAHA!)

Once there they all gather nervously watching each other, drinking cheap beer (2.50!) playing video games. and when they get drunk enought they fucking rock out. I hear the best version of "Fake Plastic Trees" in my life at geek beer, it was awesome. Some of the those geek girls can really belt it.

ok I'm done I got shit to do.


(please turn this one up...)

Today's Song of the Day is "White Unicorn" by Wolfmother off their 2006 album "Wolfmother."

Crazy Fact: No these guy aren't Sabbath these guys aren't even from the 70s these guy started in 2000. I think this is the band Dennis should have formed. I can totally see you writing, singing and recording this all with ectatic joy.

njoy

Monday, July 10, 2006

Oh My Canadian Ass

The computers are pretty packed in here in the Com Sci building. Not much room for air. I can hear people breathe behind me and beside me. It's not the sound I'm afraid of, it's the smell.

You see shitty thing is that farting is much more embarrassing than just the sounds they make. It's the smell that really gets me. Pushing it into the seat just isn't enough anymore. You see, I've learned to cook with my slow-cooker. Only slow-cooker chili can cook-up deep-down gas of that potency. Hot, Long and Silent. These slow-cooked creepers are deep-down deadly. (wow. illiteration. weird.) I'm powerless to stop these perfect killers.

First I try one out. Let it out, listening. Nothing. Excellent, no-one will know it's me. Stage one is a success. I wait a few seconds and take a whiff just to see what I'm dealing with here. When this monkey can't take his own smell... well I'm in trouble. It's bad, unnatural. The mantra in my head it "He who smelt it, delt it. He who..." I'm starting to sweat.

There a few ways you can tell if Canadians you don't know can smell your ass. First, they clear their throats. Then, eye's darting to identify the source. When that finds nothing their next move is to make excuses to look around 'naturally' to search out the tell-tale signs of the perpetrator pretending not to smell it. It's those scared lying eyes that give you away.

Look we've all done it. we all know what to look for. I've never been blame for a smell i didn't make and i've denied many smells i did. People know. They just know.

Eitherway, I'm sure people know. Next time I left, and released my shame on the way to the john. Hung around in the can for a while and came back. Didn't the bastard follow me. I just packed up my bags and when home where a can fart fearlessly and sit infront of the fan.


Today's Song of the Day is "West End Blues" by Louis Armstrong off the 1923 album "The Hot Fives Vol. 3."

Crazy Fact: "West End Blues" became one of the first recordings named to the Grammy Hall of Fame.

njoy

Friday, July 07, 2006

Ride the Lightning

People really do get hit by lightning. That's fucked up. So this guy gets hit by lightning and blames his iPod. dude. You got hit by lightning... and you are a-fucking-live. be happy shit-wit. It's pretty funny that he was listening to Metallica when he got fried. Maybe he stole the songs off napster?


Today's Song of the Day is "Battery" by Metallica off their 1986 album "Master of Puppets."

Crazy Fact: In 1986 their tour bus crashed while traveling in Sweden, killing Bassist Cliff Burton.

njoy

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Nice quick to the point

This is a great article well written, on writing. I needed to share it. Really it's short and everybody should read it. It'll only take a second.

http://www.badlanguage.net/?p=185

Gotta go.


Today's Song of the Day is "The Garden" by Cut Chemist off their 2006 album "The Audience's Listening."

Crazy Fact: Yes I sent a new one. crazy. bite me.

njoy

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Late Canada Day

I meant to post this for C-Day. whatev'

The self-appointed guru of canadian music known as 'ghomi' 'the ghosmeshster' and more formally as Jian Ghomeshi has made the top 50 Canadian songs of all time list.

The 50 Tracks

Ian and Sylvia, "Four Strong Winds"
Barenaked Ladies, "If I Had $1,000,000"
Neil Young, "Heart of Gold"
Stan Rogers, "Northwest Passage"
The Guess Who, "American Woman"
Gordon Lightfoot, "Canadian Railroad Trilogy"
Joni Mitchell, "Both Sides Now"
Leonard Cohen, "Suzanne"
Joni Mitchell, "Big Yellow Taxi"
Gordon Lightfoot, "Early Morning Rain"
Bruce Cockburn, "Lovers in a Dangerous Time"
Stompin' Tom Connors, "The Hockey Song"
Tom Cochrane, "Life Is a Highway"
Blue Rodeo, "Try"
The Band, "The Weight"
The Tragically Hip, "New Orleans is Sinking"
Bryan Adams, "Summer of '69"
Bachman-Turner Overdrive, "Takin' Care of Business"
Anne Murray, "Snowbird"
Sarah McLachlan, "Angel"
k.d. lang, "Constant Craving"
Spirit of the West, "Home For a Rest"
The Guess Who, "These Eyes"
Neil Young, "Rockin' in the Free World"
Gordon Lightfoot, "Sundown"
Buffy Sainte-Marie, "Universal Soldier"
The Tragically Hip, "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)"
Alanis Morissette, "You Oughta Know"
Bruce Cockburn, "Wondering Where the Lions Are"
Gilles Vigneault, "Mon Pays"
Trooper, "Raise a Little Hell"
Blue Rodeo, "Hasn't Hit Me Yet"
Rush, "Tom Sawyer"
Hank Snow, "I'm Movin' On"
Martha and the Muffins, "Echo Beach"
Men Without Hats, "The Safety Dance"
k-os, "Crabbuckit"
Rough Trade, "High School Confidential"
Sam Roberts, "Brother Down"
Paul Anka, "Diana"
Ron Hynes, "Sonny's Dream"
Leonard Cohen, "Tower of Song"
The Crew Cuts, "Sh'Boom"
Parachute Club, "Rise Up"
Sloan, "Coax Me"
Maestro Fresh Wes, "Let Your Backbone Slide"
Tommy Dorsey, "I'll Never Smile Again"
Rush, "Fly By Night"
D.O.A., "Disco Sucks"
Wilf Carter, "My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby"

hmmm...


Today's Song of the Day is "Home For A Rest" by Spirit of the West off their 1990 album "Save This House."

Crazy Fact: I haven't heard this forever... and it's on this stupid list.

njoy

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Dig it.

Well most of us have settled into the idea that we can't be sure of truth of any article from a large news organzation. Either they have an agenda to push (biased) or they are pandering to their audience (tell'm what they want hear don't ruffle there feathers) or they are afraid of getting sued (corporate pressure). All these things consistantly keep the truth filtered out of the news.

Well I found something really cool.

www.digg.com

Digg uses a non-hierarchaical editorial system. What that means is that members (300,000 of them) rate each article as the read it. They either 'digg it' (+1) or 'bury it' (-1) or nothin'. This raises the stories rank possibly to the front page if it's dugg enough. Membership is free and without bullshit. I heard it's the ranked 4th on the internet as an information source. holy. And you can comment on articles and comments can also be dugg or buried. and anyone can submit an article. very very cool. check it out. I'm addicted.

I feel like I just wrote an infomercial for digg. I kinda feel dirty. weird. anyway CNN, NYT, Yahoo! news, google news are kinda pissed. fun. I think this song explains how I feel about the big media organizations.


Today's Song of the Day is "Girlfriend in a Coma" by The Smiths off their 1987 album "Strangeways, Here We Come."

Crazy Fact: The first time The Smiths were seriously misinterpreted was in 1983 when "Reel Around the Fountain," a song that had been aired on a BBC radio session, was alleged to condone child abuse.

njoy