Bendito Machine

A peculiar but cute animated short. The visual style reminds me a little bit of Larry Marder's Tales Of The Beanworld, or maybe the webcomic "When I Am King".

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One of life's mysteries

Solved. (If you buy their explanation, anyway.)

Looks like the t-shirt had it all wrong.

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Mr. Rogers goes to Washington

In case you ever doubted that Fred Rogers ("Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood") was one of the greatest people ever- not that you would- check out this video clip of him testifying before Congress in 1969, making the case for funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Very, very powerful.

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Is it really turtles all the way down?

Not quite... I see a few other animals, too. (Click the image to zoom.)

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The "Angry Left"

The idea of an "angry left" (or "shrill, intolerant liberals," used interchangably) is one you're going to hear tossed around a lot this year, as the U.S. heads into midterm elections. Glenn Greenwald presents a brilliant summing-up of how the "angry left" meme works:

So, to re-cap the rules: (1) When a pro-war politician gives a pro-war speech as part of a graduation ceremony, and students in the audience heckle and boo him, that shows how Deranged the Angry Left is -- because they heckled a pro-war speech. (2) When an anti-war politician gives an anti-war speech as part of a graduation ceremony, and students in the audience heckle, walk out and even riot, that also shows how Angry the Left is -- because they "provoked a near riot" by pro-war students.

Orwell warned us there'd be days like this.

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Danielson Ships

So, the album that has been rocking my world for the last week or so is called Ships, by Danielson. Danielson is the guy who usually calls himself Brother Danielson, of the Danielson Famile, though his real name is Daniel Smith. He produced Sufjan Stevens' best album, and now he's outdone himself with Ships, which is huge, noisy, playful, and incredibly joyful.



Not bad for a guy who often plays while dressed like a tree. (More in the complete post, incl. a couple of songs.)


Danielson's famously squeaky voice (often compared to a frenzied Muppet) has calmed down a bit on Ships, and his melodies have never been stronger or catchier. He's still writing songs about God, too, but they've gotten more mystical and less dogmatic, maybe taking a cue from labelmate and friend Sufjan Stevens. Here are three songs from Ships for y'all to check out:

• Ship The Majestic Suffix
  
• Bloodbook On The Halfshell
  
• Kids Pushing Kids
  

...plus one from the Danielson Famile, for a little background and comparison (also, it's just a cool tune):

• Cutest Lil' Dragon
  

Like usual, these links will work for seven days. Let me know what you think of the songs!

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Ready for takeoff!

Me: ready for takeoff!
Originally uploaded by lee_3dhighway.

Yes, that's me wearing an old-style pilot helmet and sitting in the cockpit of a biplane. :D We took a biplane ride while we were in Key West... what a rush!

Also took a trip out to the Dry Tortugas and did the inevitable Duval crawl. Had a great time, but it's nice to be home.

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Graffiti in the airport bathroom

Graffiti in the airport bathroom
Originally uploaded by caterina.

This is the most amazing little photo... I love it. :)

Coincidentally, we're going to be flying tomorrow, to Key West. See y'all next week.

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Radio Show Alert!

HEY! The first episode of the radio show I recorded last weekend with my Dad is airing this Saturday at 4PM (that's Pacific Daylight Time) on Steve.FM, so check it out if you're so inclined! It runs 2 hours (exactly), and, well, it's got a lot of cool music in there.

If you don't want to be spoiled, check it out!

If you do want to be spoiled, the playlist is here.

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Live Long Enough To Find The Right One

Via The SLOG, here's a really cool French safe-sex ad; it's about 3 minutes long, but it's definitely worth the watch (QT file). Also, last year's campaign, which isn't quite as good, but still great. by the same guy, Wilfred Brimo. (Also QT.) Neither are necessarily safe for work, so you might take care in that aspect, but definitely check them out when you get the time.

Also, hosted by the folks who did last year's, a music video by Brimo as well.

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When Harry Met Terry?

Wow... could it be true that Terry Gilliam is slated to direct the next Harry Potter movie?



According to this article, Rowling wanted Gilliam for the movies from the start... that would explain why it took three movies for the series to really find its feet.

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Uzumaki

For some time I've been a fan of this strange, STRANGE little Japanese film called Uzumaki.

Based on a Japanese comic book series, it concerns a small town whose inhabitants become fascinated by, then consumed (sometimes literally) by spirals.



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Spirals in sushi, spirals in hair, spirals in the smoke from the town crematorium... this movie looks like Edward Scissorhands-in-hell, and is genuinely creepy in a cartoony, weirdly funny way. When people start getting twisted into spirals themselves, in various gruesomely inventive ways, one young schoolgirl (who else? this is a Japanese flick after all) sets out to discover why spirals are taking over her town.

Now it appears the comics themselves (link goes to an excellent review) are being issued here in the U.S., which is GREAT news, unless it makes anyone in Hollywood think an American remake of the film is needed.



THAT would be too scary even for me.

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Root, root, root for the home team....

I'm proud of Atlanta today.

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It's too cloudy to see the stars tonight....

...but using this cool little online planetarium, I was able to see what I'm missing in tonight's sky. I figured out the latitude and longitude of my house using this site. (Some other choices for non US-ians here.)

I like setting the date on the planetarium back to the day I was born, the day I moved to Atlanta, etc, to see what the view was like on those nights.

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