Store Wars. A Star Wars spoof encouraging people to buy organic veggies. Surprisingly goofy and well-made.
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03:37:49 PM,
Friday 15 July 2005
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You should be buying Warren Ellis's new series, Desolation Jones. Modern noir in a Los Angeles that's a holding pen for ex-spooks, most of whom have disturbing backgrounds and attitudes. Go read the five page preview of #2, I dare you not to have your interest piqued.
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11:57:42 PM,
Monday 11 July 2005
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Wow, 3 gotten, 2 almost gotten. I need to make those music quizzicals less obscure.
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10:44:37 PM,
Monday 11 July 2005
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Hey Liz! Banjo lessons via Podcast!
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03:32:54 PM,
Friday 1 July 2005
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My rule was I had to at least be somewhat familiar with the track. May have made it too easy, tho. (NOTE: Some of these quotes are not song lyrics.)
1. Knowing I love you inside out and upside down. I'm upside down. (Robyn Hitchcock: Daisy Bomb)
2. I can't believe you came here today. And took me away. took me away. and if you focus very hard. the train will come for you at last. (The Rapture: Heaven)
3. Make my plans to conquer the country. I'm waiting for you to get out of your situation with your job and with your wife. (Belle & Sebstian: Asleep on a Sunbeam)
4. Now I don't much about football, but my instincts tell me this is my windfall. (The Streets: Not Addicted gotten by Andrew)
5. Lying awake and intent on tuning in on you. (Buggles-Video Killed the Radio Star. Gotten by Julia)
6. You're a corporate whore and, uh, end of story. And yes, I have been offered commercials and I've turned them down. (Bill Hicks: Orange Drink)
7. how about tree? No! Double tree? Hell yeah! Meeting adjourned! (I had my heart set on quadruple tree. well, we were almost there.) (Mitch Hedberg: This CD in Stores, gotten by Dan)
8. How many times must we say, this kind of inflation cannot kill us. (The New Pornographers: Wild Homes)
9. cheer them on to their rivals. (The Decemberists: 16 Military Wives)
10. I owe you nothing, but sometimes you owe me you owe me you owe me I E I A E A A A A! (The Billy Nayer Show: A)
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(9)
11:11:58 PM,
Thursday 30 June 2005
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| Your IQ Is 10 |
 Your Logical Intelligence is Plantlike Your Verbal Intelligence is Insectoid Your Mathematical Intelligence makes us wonder if you are a Monkey Your General Knowledge is, well, if you managed to avoid shitting yourself while taking this test, congratulations! |
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respond? (9)
03:47:42 PM, Thursday 30 June 2005
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| Your IQ Is 60 |
Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Below Average Your Mathematical Intelligence is Below Average Your General Knowledge is Below Average |
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12:13:50 AM, Thursday 30 June 2005
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Dang, I really like how iTunes implemented podcasting. Soooooooo much better than iPodderX. I'm not crazy that all they have on the front page of their directory is the corporate shit, but some digging reveals they have most of the shows I listen to, which is good. What's that? You want a list of the podcasts that I listen to? Well, here they are, but I will admit they're not all great and definitely revel in my fannish side.
Michael and Evo's Dragon Pages (Wingin It, Cover 2 Cover, Slice of SciFi)
-Probably the best produced show I listen to. These guys are basically nerdy talk radio guys. They occasionally say incredibly ignorant, uneducated things ("What's a McGuffin? Is that even a word? Who would know that?"), especially when talking about politics, but they're generally cheerful, and silly, and their shows are long, and fairly informative about subjects I'm interested in but don't really follow. So once a week I draw my cartoon listening to nothing but them. Plus, they're excited about Serenity and seem genuinely happy to be a big voice in podcasting.
The Animation Podcast
This one only has four episodes, but they're all good. Clay Kaytis is a pro animator, and he interviews pro animators. The discussion occasionally goes over my head (although he's good about annotating the episodes), but it's all solid, informative stuff.
Comic Geek Speak
A definite 'quantity over quality' podcast. A bunch of guys in a basement bullshit about comics. I sometimes wish they read something other than the Big Two (Marvel/DC superhero stuff), but their discussion on comic filing was hilarious, and they all seem to like each other. They put out like 200 of these a week.
Comic Rants
Angry reviews and opinions on print and webcomics. Kind of hard to take in-your-face opinions about comics seriously, but his arguments aren't idiotic, and he doesn't just read superheroes, so that's nice.
Geek Fu Action Grip
Mur Lafferty is apparently the current Geek Queen of the Podcasts. She lives in Durham, and recommended the great Chapel Hill Comics to me, and her podcast is one of the best-scripted out there, so yay Mur.
Mark Kermode's Movie Reviews
I love the way this guy reviews movies. He's not afraid to call a piece of crap a piece of crap, and his hyperbole is highly amusing. May grate after a while, but right now it's my favorite movie podcast (out of the two I listen to). It's clearly part of a larger show, but is enjoyable nonetheless.
Reel Reviews
Solid, semi-scholarly movie reviews in a Roger Ebert vein. Good stuff, although my confidence in MIchael Geohagen's taste was damaged pretty badly after following his glowing recommendation for the reprehensible Chopper. Still, fun to listen to, and he has a nice voice.
Superburst Mixtape
Laugh at Warren Ellis's taste in music.
The Comicology
I like Neil Gorman. He's an Ÿbergeek, he sounds like an Ÿbergeek, and his concerns are Ÿbergeeky. His show sounds like ass on a pancake (only Comics Geek Speak has worse production), his roommate occasionally interrupts the show, yet through it all you can tell he really loves comics, he's unabashedly excited about books he likes, and he radiates this really nice vibe that says, "Hey, I like these books, you should, too." He also thanks you for listening at the end of each podcast, which is just adorable. This is probably the podcast I look forward to most each week (even though he updates a little more often).
The Pocket and the Pendant
A 'podiobook' done through the Dragon Page. A solid YA sf/adventure book about time stopping for everyone but a few kids, and the mysteries produced by this turn of events. It's pretty neat, and another long podcast. Has some nice production touches, like nice background themes, and the author's voice isn't half-bad, although sometimes it feels a little ragged.
I used to listen to Brian Ibbott's Coverville, but his taste in music is just so far from mine that I always feel like I've wasted my time with his lukewarm, Adult Alternative-friendly cover mixes. So I don't listen to him any more. I may just be overly picky.
In general I don't listen to music podcasts, I find mp3 blogs are much more satisfying for scratching that itch.
So what, if anything, are you all listening to?
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(12)
01:43:16 PM,
Tuesday 28 June 2005
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We went to Charlotte this weekend and saw a Pops concert featuring movie music. During the Star Wars music they had a dude dressed as Darth Vader come out and menace the crowd. He was accompanied by a lone, overweight-under-the-armor speeder bike trooper.
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08:23:51 PM,
Monday 27 June 2005
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The Evens 'Mt Pleasant Isnt' is this odd little piece of drum-driven pop. Apparently the band is made up of Fugazi's Ian MacKaye(sp?) and minor DC scenester Amy Farina, and this song is really, really good. I never got into Fugazi much, but this sound seems far removed from a raging punk legend, and I like it. My only complaint is that it just sort of ends, but that just makes me want to listen to it again. Anyway, I'll probably include it in a future mix, but if you really want it hella now, catch me on AIM or e-mail me or something.
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08:23:50 PM,
Monday 27 June 2005
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Billy West is my new hero.
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(1)
12:51:18 PM,
Wednesday 15 June 2005
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Has any band done a decent cover of a Talking Heads song OTHER than 'Psycho Killer'?
(inspired by this Coverville episode, which convinced me that Brian Ibbott and I have fatally different tastes in what makes a good cover. I mean, I like Slippery People and all, but that 10 minute version by the Staples Singers was nigh-unbearable. Don't get me started on the rest.)
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(5)
10:13:52 PM,
Monday 13 June 2005
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Charles Stross has set up a website to promote his upcoming book Accelerando. It's a novel in a self-proclaimed subgenre called 'Singularity SF'. To explain what this is to us uncool poltroons on the outside of SF fandom looking in, he's created a wiki called The Tough Guide to the Singularity.
Content aside, TiddlyWiki, which the Tough Guide is built on, is quite beautiful. I think it's the perfect wiki for the upcoming Lexicon game. It will make crosss referencing very easy, because the panes stay open and are all on the same screen. Plus, there's an index bar on the right showing you all the stuff that's been updated recently. Just gorgeous, really. I have no idea how hard it would be to implement, considering it's all java-ey and whatnot.
UPDATE: I've tried out TiddlyWiki for myself, and it would not be a good solution for a large group. Saving changes involves saving a copy of the wiki to your HD, and then overwriting the whole thing with that save. In addition to being a security risk, this could lead to people losing entries far, far too easily. I will probably use it for its stated purpose, a personal journal. I have a bunch of research and story ideas for The Mule I wouldn't mind putting somewhere. A shame, it's set up perfectly for the Lexicon game other than that.
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09:12:38 PM,
Wednesday 8 June 2005
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Action Philosophers is a highly amusing comic that takes a pretty humorous looks at the titans of Thought. Check out the Plato preview and order it today!
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(1)
08:50:58 PM,
Sunday 5 June 2005
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I did this comic loop jam. It was fun. I think I might do it again, once I get some of my other art commitments out of the way.
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(2)
03:47:01 AM,
Wednesday 1 June 2005
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I'm quite enjoying The Pocket and the Pendant 'podiobook' (an audiobook that is podcast for no charge). The production quality is pretty good, the author is a decent reader, and the music actually isn't half bad (characters and places have themes!). The story is also a good young adult modern sf/fantasy adventure story about a world where time suddenly stops. The protagonists are a bunch of kids who, for some reason, aren't affeected by the 'time stop' and are caught up in solving the mystery. Good stuff, amazingly high quality for a free production.
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(3)
12:47:42 AM,
Tuesday 31 May 2005
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So the Dr. Who theme is one of the all-time great TV themes. The original version, especially, has an immensely harsh sound that's great. Here's 40 years of evolution of the theme, and here are a bunch of remixes (although they aren't really remixes so much as new arrangements as far as I can tell).
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(8)
10:52:57 PM,
Wednesday 25 May 2005
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The excellent rap/techno/world/whatever track 'Galang' by MIA is the free download of the day from the iTunes Music Store. Go listen now!
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05:27:33 PM,
Wednesday 25 May 2005
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I'm really enjoying Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton. His other stuff is amusing, as well, but Skullcrusher is what hooked me.
I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don't like it
What's with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don't like monsters so much
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01:26:42 AM,
Monday 23 May 2005
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So Mike and Debbie came back to our house Thursday to avoid the huge thunderstorms they'd have to drive through to get back to DC. While talking with them, I said, thinking out loud, "You know there's really no reason I couldn't come with you to Dave's graduation party."
And so I did. Mike and I met Jason Derleth (he of the very interesting NASA blog posts of late), and had a wonderful drive out to the spit of land David Bohannon's graduation party was on. He was extremely surprised to see me, considering earlier in the week I had said I wouldn't be coming. Caught up with some people, ate some food, had an extremely civil political discussion. I also tried an excellent bourbon which tasted of vanilla and maple syrup and fire and made me all tingly. I can see why people like the stuff, although just a touch was more than enough for me.
Then I took the train home this morning. I love travelling by train. The big seats, the countryside rolling by. It's really idyllic and stress-free. A great way to travel.
Now I'm home (I finally met our next-door neighbors, nice people, I'm going to have dinner with them sometime this week) and writing my new Fight Comic, 'The Mule'.
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12:18:17 AM,
Monday 23 May 2005
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Edward J Grug III has drawn a strip for his new character (named after me), Remi The Raccoon Who Is Far Too Sarcastic For His Own Good. Good clean, lemon-squirty fun.
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(2)
11:42:25 PM,
Sunday 22 May 2005
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So, if you go to Google Maps, type in your zipcode and the word 'brothel' (without the apostrpohes), you get some interesting results. Apparently the bookstore near us is a brothel, as is the movie theater.
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(5)
12:05:11 AM,
Saturday 14 May 2005
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If you like Soul Coughing, go and download the 5/4/05 Mike Doughty show from Archive.org. It is completely unlike Soul Coughing, although there are SC songs, but it is wonderful nonetheless. Plus, the stage banter is great. I love 'Madeleine and Nine'. Go buy his new album, 'Haughty Melodic' if you like what you hear.
Got him on my mind 'cause of the Louise Brooks comics I've been doing.
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03:18:08 AM,
Wednesday 11 May 2005
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Haven't linked to Warren Ellis in a while, so here's a speech he gave recently on writing.
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(2)
08:46:54 PM,
Monday 9 May 2005
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Liz and I had a wonderful camp out at Bear Island a barrier island that's part of Hammocks Beach State Park on the Eastern Shore of North Carolina. It's unreal. The island itself is half marsh (on the inland side) and half dune beach (on the seaside). The sand is very fine, and the vegetation is alien and surreal on the dunes. Lots of bent, twisted trees, driftwood, and flowering scrub. It's so odd, but so beautiful.
The beach itself is quite nice, with warm water near the marsh inlet, and cooler water along the beach. When the tide is out, it's probably 50 or 60 feet to the water from the dunes. When the tide is in, the water is right up at the dunes, the entire beach disappearing beneath the waves. The shelling is quite good. Liz found a number of very beautiful scallop shells, as well as assorted snail shells and even a shark's tooth!
We camped out on the island, and that was very nice. The sound of the waves was soothing, and the beach got very dark, despite being near civilization. The campsites are set back from the beach, amidst the dunes, which provides both privacy and a closer look at the fragile dune ecology.
A wonderful trip. I feel totally rejuvenated, despite overdoing it the first day and being completely exhausted when we came home Sunday. This is just the first of many trips both to Bear Island and to other parks around North Carolina.
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(3)
03:32:10 PM,
Monday 9 May 2005
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If anyone's interested, I've put up a printable version of the Reservoir Dorks poster (based on this photo from Neil's Croquet batch). It's PDF, and I'd appreciate it if someone could see if it actually looks okay printed out, my printer apparently hates PDFs.
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(7)
03:36:20 AM,
Thursday 5 May 2005
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Man, you people look very different without your glasses. Dang Johnnies.
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(1)
01:34:57 AM,
Thursday 5 May 2005
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Little Hits and You Ain't No Picasso are two very good music blogs I've discovered recently. Little Hits has been a very pleasant surprise with some excellent pop tunes and commentary, while You Ain't No Picasso is posting some great indie rock bootlegs.
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02:57:30 PM,
Wednesday 4 May 2005
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I'm enjoying the conversation on the importance of the Iraqi elections over on Politcal Animal (Kevin Drum). I'm going to have to start reading Dan Drezner, not because I agree with him, but because he's willing and able to discuss things in detail and address criticism. It's good stuff, and there's very little shouting. Well, except in the comments, but political blog comments are always like that.
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02:45:47 PM,
Wednesday 4 May 2005
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Has anyone ever wanted to rewrite and re-storyboard an entire movie because it had a lot of promise but was awful despite lots of Mad Ideas?
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(4)
10:55:28 PM,
Sunday 1 May 2005
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Things that are blowing my mind right now:
Journey of the Sorcerer (orchestral version from Hitchhikers Guide movie OST)
Sharknife by Corey Lewis
Daft Punk is Playing at My House by LCD Soundsystem
Finder: Dream Sequence by Carla Speed McNeil
Skin Is, My by Andrew Bird
Black Maria by Kevin Young
I'd say more, but my mind is being blown here, people.
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(6)
03:11:13 AM,
Sunday 1 May 2005
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I enjoyed the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie. It was not a pristine adaptation of the book, but it was a very Adamsian romp through space and adventure. Trillian has always been my least favorite character, and so her massive change in the movie was quite a welcome surprise (combining her a bit with Fenchurch from the dour 'So Long and Thanks For All The Fish). I felt that there was just enough exposition in the movie without making it feel overly packed, and everyone should watch the credits for a classic Guide bit. Not great, but certainly a good bit of entertainment.
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(1)
05:48:48 PM,
Saturday 30 April 2005
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Oooh! Chris Walla, guitarist for Death Cab for Cutie and producer on the Decemberists Picaresque, interviews ultracrush author/cartoon voice Sarah Vowell. [Salon link]
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04:13:29 PM,
Friday 29 April 2005
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Thank you, Moss and Julia, for the very funny multi-levelled gift. The typos and poor grammar were especially amusing. Hulk smashed the rain!
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(2)
06:04:55 PM,
Thursday 28 April 2005
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Back from Passover. It was good. Very busy, not much to report. Go check out the Serenity trailer in lieu of interesting stories.
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08:20:32 PM,
Tuesday 26 April 2005
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Click here for a new Sleater-Kinney song
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12:30:52 PM,
Friday 22 April 2005
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