For your Sunday dose of Shoegaze, here’s San Francisco’s Slowness (who describe themselves as a “drone pop band”) with “Walls of Blue,” a steady-state song that sounds like an extended riff off the end of Pink Floyd’s “Time.”
Shoegazer Sunday: Slowness’ “Walls of Blue”
November 17th, 2013They’re Dogs! And They’re Playing…Magic?
November 17th, 2013I don’t back that many Kickstarters, but this one is tempting, especially since I do like the iconic work of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge, and appreciate the conniptions he induces in the Art Police.
The problem is, I’ve never played Magic: The Gathering. But I bet there are enough people out there who have to make this Kickstarter, which is currently 30% away from their $1,000 goal.
(Hat tip: Moe Lane.)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
November 14th, 2013Since I’ve reached the age where being “cool” is impossible anyway, I can link things others might find corny, like this version of The Tokens revisiting their big hit “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”:
This, of course, was an adaptation of Solomon Linda’s “Mbube”:
But the Tokens version is better and more interesting, despite the fact that they could be mistaken for 4 Jacks and a Jill. It’s obvious lead singer Jay Siegel still loves singing this song even after four decades.
But my favorite version, which sort of combines the sensibilities of the two, is Ladysmith Black Mombazo and all-girl acapella group The Mint Julips covering it, from a PBS special called Spike and Company Do It Acapella from back in 1990.
Last 3 Days To Get in On the 2014 John Picacio Calendar
November 11th, 2013I meant to put a word in on the 2014 John Picacio Calendar Kickstarter but Stuff and Things got in the way.
Anyway, now that it’s in the last three days, your time to join it is running out. The project is already funded, but I get the impression it won’t be sold in stores.
It’s also a chance to support his ongoing Loteria card project:
If you like art and need a calendar, you might want to go over and get in while the getting is good…
Shoegazer Sunday: DIIV’s “Wait”
November 10th, 2013For your Sunday doze of shoegaze, here’s New York’s DIIV with the NSFW-ish “Wait.”
2013 Comikaze Cosplay Expo Video
November 9th, 2013Putting this up because I’m sure that John DeNardo will want to know about it for SF Signal, and in no way because it has lots of attractive, scantly clad women in it…
Silly me. I didn’t even know the U.S. had a cosplay expo.
Also: Oh my…
Library Additions: Odd Gaiman and Swanwick Items
November 6th, 2013If you collect everything an author wrote (or, in my case, everything they wrote which has been published as a separate items), you can end up with things that stray fairly far from what most people think of as “books.” Here are two recent acquisitions that may cause more than one collector to go “What the hell?”
The Day of the Dead Memes
November 1st, 2013Here, on the Day of the Dead, it’s time to remember those who were once briefly (if inexplicably) popular, but which have now largely passed from our consciousness.
I’m speaking, of course, of dead memes.
Once they roamed wild and free across the Internet, but now these memes are largely dead in popular culture. Consider this a Whitman’s Sampler of the once-popular memes.
The Dancing Baby
This computer-generated dancing baby was one of the first Internet memes, so popular it evidently showed up on an episode of Single Female Lawyer Ally McBeal. (Kids: Ask your parents what an “Ally McBeal” was.)
Mahir (I Kiss You!!!!)
In the early days of the Internet, people started putting up home pages willy-nilly with only a basic understanding of HTML and little-to-no taste or guiding aesthetics. It was a different era, when Geocities roamed the land.
Into this era stumbled Mahir Cagri, a Turkish man with diverse interests and a shaky grasp of English. “I like music , I have many many musicenstrumans my home I can play. I like sex.”
If you had an email address in 1999, chances are pretty good someone forwarded you Mahir’s page…
Hamster Dance
Basically rows of animated gifs of cartoon hamsters dancing to a silly, sped-up song. There were many offshoots and parody pages as well. I remember an “Objectivist Dance” page with animated dollar signs…
Bert is Evil
A website that claims Sesame Street‘s Bert is an agent of historical calumny, and has the photoshops to prove it.
Briefly flared into worldwide consciousness after 9/11 when radical Muslims incorporated an image of Bert with Osama Bin laden into a street sign supporting the terrorist.
All Your Base
Are belong to us.
Domo-Kun
A Japanese plush mascot chasing a kitten in divine retribution for your Onanistic sins.
Badger Badger Badger
A short animation of badgers, mushrooms, and snakes set to self-referential music, in an infinite loop. The surrealist Internet hit of 2003.
David After the Dentist
Woozy little kid gets filmed after dental surgery. Hilarity ensues.
Boxxy
Teenage girl makes video. 4Chan gets hold of video. Flamewar so epic that 4Chan grinds to halt ensues.
So look on these dead memes, ye mighty lolcats and ponies, and know that one day you too will pass into obscurity…
See also: Charles Mackay’ Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
I Would Totally Buy This Halloween Prop…
October 31st, 2013…if it weren’t $5,100.
Also, this is nicely creepy: