I had never heard of “chavs” before today, but this NYT story of a 22 year old British “lout” who won the lottery a few years back is hilarious. So much for the refined British stereotype; when does the NASCAR UK season start?
The BBC this evening reported that the UN says it may pull its humitarian aid workers out of Sudan (where over 2 million people depend on their assistance) due to the danger in the region.
The Grand Rapids Press today ran an incredible story about a Sudanese former slave who says that Americans need to just “wake up”.
If you are wondering why this matters to you, I recommend Peter Singer’s “One World”.
Last week I was driving across the great state of Michigan, and as I passed through the GM town of Lansing (where they like to say more cars are made than any other city), I saw this billboard. It wasn’t extremely legible while driving by at 70 plus, but I got off the highway, turned around, and got my camera out so I could get a shot as I passed a second time.
It reads as follows:
Dear Gracious Heavenly Father,
Forgive us our sin of being dependent upon the Automobile Industry and not on You. Please restore invention, productivity, and prosperity.
In Jesus Name,
A Michigan Citizen
I stopped on the other side of Lansing for gas, and the station had run out.
Robert Moog died Sunday at 71 from an inoperable brain tumor. It’s hard to imagine what music today would be like if Moog had never invented electronic synthesizers. In his honor I’ll be listening to Stereolab this morning.
Robert Moog, Creator of Music Synthesizer, Dies at 71 - New York Times Obit
Finally! Last.fm has put up a (semi) functional Mac player. First track played on the new site: Shackblu by Plaid. *BLISS*
Here’s a “video ode to the American Hillbilly” that was posted on BoingBoing.net. Lots of goodies everyday there, but this one in particular bears repeating. Hilarious.
Lastly, in today’s New York Times, you can learn the surprising title behind the acronym CBGB & OMFUG.
I had never heard of the US festival before, but if I could go back in time. . .
Check out this lineup, and when your mind is sufficiently blown, go here for details and pics.
1982 US Festival
Schedule of Performers
in order of appearance:
[source: Festival program & T-Shirt]
Friday Sept 3rd
Gang of Four, The Ramones, The English Beat, Oingo Boingo, The B-52’s,
Talking Heads, The Police [Rankin' Roger from the English Beat joined the
Police at the end of their set].
Saturday Sept 4th
Dave Edmunds, Eddie Money, Santana, The Cars, The Kinks, Pat Benatar, Tom
Petty & the Heartbreakers.
Sunday Sept 5th
Grateful Dead [start time 9:30 am], Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet, Jackson
Browne, Fleetwood Mac.
Of Note:
~The Grateful Dead played at 9:30 AM~
~Rankin’ Roger from the English Beat joined the
Police at the end of their set~
More details will be posted as we find
them and dust them off.
If you have any memories, tell us!
1983 US Festival
Schedule of Performers
in order of appearance:
[source: Festival program]
Saturday May 28th:
Divinyls [11:20 - 11:50 am],
INXS [12:20 - 12:55 pm]
Wall of Voodoo [1:25 -2:40]
Oingo Boingo [2:40 - 3:40]
The English Beat [4:10 - 5:10]
Flock ofSeagulls [5:40 - 6:40]
Stray Cats [7:10 - 8:20]
Men At Work [8:50 -10:00]
The Clash [10:30 - midnight].
Sunday May 29th:
Quiet Riot [12:10 - 12:50 pm]
Motley Crue [1:20 - 2:20]
Ozzy Osbourne [2:50 - 4:00]
Judas Priest [4:30 - 5:40]
Triumph [6:10 - 7:20]
Scorpions [7:55 - 9:10]
Van Halen [10:00 - midnight]
Monday May 30th:
Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul [9:15 - 9:50 am]
Berlin [10:15 -10:50 am]
Quarterflash [11:15 - 11:50 am]
U2 [12:20 - 1:10 pm]
Missing Persons [1:40 - 2:40]
Pretenders [3:10 - 4:10]
Joe Walsh [4:40 - 5:50],
Stevie Nicks [6:20 - 7:30]
David Bowie [8:00 - 10:00 pm]
Note: www.last.fm is back up after a 3 day facelift and is looking good. New features, but mac player still not up at press time. (I’m just a fan)
Last night there was a huge blaze about thirty minutes east of Grand Rapids in Ionia County. It was on the property of Herbrook Farms, and when it was all over, there was one 500 ft long chicken coop burned to the ground and a quarter million chickens dead.
The Herbrook operation houses 2 million hens at the site, which is only one of many. The chickens are hatched somewhere outstate and brought here to Michigan, and their eggs are harvested starting at around 6 months of age. The eggs that are collected are sent all over the midwest and beyond.
Thinking about those hens, I remembered a good animation I saw a while back that likened the massive farm feeding operations to the Matrix. Suitably enough, it was called “The Meatrix.” Maybe you’ve seen it.
As I thought about that fire, I had a vision of 250,000 tired, abused, fed up, hens. After weeks of secret midnight meetings, they put their plan into motion. The first spark caught and in my mind I see a quarter million chickens going out in a blaze of glory.
The Herbrook organization also distributes eggs from organically fed, free range (or at least cage free) hens, because there are customers who are willing to pay extra for them.
FREE THE CHICKENS!!!
I still rock out. A lot.
I rock out to old school acid.
I rock out to thumping shit.
I rock out in my headphones.
Everyone should own a good pair of headphones.
I recently downloaded Dee-Lite’s greatest hits. I’m rocking out.
Now you can listen to my personal radio site at www.last.fm.
Rock Out Today.
I thought I had discovered the best radio station ever (with respects to WDET) at www.radioparadise.com, which is absolutely fantastic, but www.last.fm is something completely next level.
This is interactive to the state of the art. This is a music website that utilizes a program called an audioscrobbler. An audiscrobbler notes every mp3 you play on your computer. Itunes, winamp, whatever you install it for. As you play cuts, it keeps a record, and this is used to calibrate a music station just for you. You can listen to other stations (you have to at first), and you will hear some fantastic music. I’m not sure about other genres but this station has it locked when it comes to electronic stuff. I’d list my playlist, but you’d be better off getting your own. Incredible music here. Really, if you like any electronic music, you must check this out. I’ve just heard cuts I’ve never heard from Plaid, Wagon Christ, a Funkstrorung mix of Bjork, and Model 500. Awseome, really. www.last.fm do yourself a favor and check it out.
And if you’re keeping score at home, I just went to the bar and blew it with the smoking thing.
PPP = Platinum Pied Pipers, more on this later.
Been trying to quit smoking lately. What will I talk about at parties now? I’m not trying cold turkey or any other impossible insanity. I’m engaged in one long running effort to quit that has lasted years and through a number of false starts, but I think this time we got momentum. I’ve rolled my own for years. I thought, takes longer, more complicated I’ll end up smoking less. Not really, but I did enjoy it more and it saved me a hella chedda.
Platinum Pied Pipers, from Detroit, brand new debut that I’m listening to currently, I’ve heard some buzz, starting from Scott Z. who mentioned these guys to me 2 months ago after Kraftwerk played the State, like “Oh, that guy, yeah, now he’s in PPP,” like I’m supposed to know about ‘em. I didn’t then, but I’ve noticed the name bouncing around since.
Next came the experiment with the gum. Not my first time, mind you, I’d tried it on a plane a few years earlier, but never bought a box. But this was different . . . serious [three dots . . . elipses? . . . correct usage? . . . doubt it].
I’m a happy customer at emusic.com and saw in my email the debut was out, and available for download. . .[!!!!] . . .sweet. My monthly account renewed 2 days later and I had forgotten about it. I got JOE PASS - VIRTUOSO, 5 new (and pretty good!) JOSH WINK cuts, one 20 minute track by the DECEMBERISTS (a true emusic bargain at .25 per track), my long lost PRODIGY - EXPERIENCE, M.I.A.’s hit and three remixes, and one GLOBAL COMMUNICATION remix of somethin. emusic is really pretty sweet.
Then last week I was in Chicago with some friends and felt some mild bronchitis shit. Second time in 3 months, real mild then too, but that’s bad news. I decided, that’s it. I’m making some changes. I don’t think I’ve bought any cigarettes since, and I’m down now to 2 a day. Only 1 since I got up this morning, and now it’s almost 2 am.
But then today I remembered. I had 4 downloads left, so I got the three cuts mentioned in the enthusiastic writeup at emusic. I guess these guys are producers, and the vocals are all guest. It’s very good. At the moment I’m thinking Erykah Badu, but the it’s hard to tell if the music complemement the vocals or the other way around. I’m now listening to those 3 tracks for the 3rd time in a row. This is slick. Reminds me a little of Outkast - Aquemeni, which is one of my favorites. This will be impressing some people, I think. If I was really slick, I’d post a mp3 or something.
This nicotine withdrawl feels like some kind of science experiment. it’s not fun, really, but it’s very interesting to think about, and endure. I’ve been dealing in part by spending a lot more time writing; it guess it keeps the hands busy (no jokes you perverts). In a way, a state of withdrawl is like a whole altered mindstate as well, like the reverse of getting high - getting low. It’s almost a contest, really, your logic versus your conditioned craving. Its surely not as pleasing, but not necessarily any less interesting, if you happen to stop and think about it. Everyone should do it, really. It’s enlightening.
Something completely different:
I today discovered something called www.last.fm when I did a google search for “talking heads popular favorites.” I’m in the middle of molding my own personlized radio stream with every track I listen to (like PPP) on my itunes, whether I’m online or not, through a program called an audioscrobbler. Soon you will able to patch into my own personalized station. Joy!
This post is brought to you by the letters N I C and F I T
Here’s your prize at the bottom of the box. I hope you waited and didn’t dig like I did for any magical plastical fantastical toy in my Count Chocula. Yesterday.
