September 18, 2007
The Pied Pi(ss)er of R&B
Despite ongoing legal issues, Robert Sylvester Kelly continues to reign as an icon of commercial rap/r&b. His 'direct' approach to lyrics - that behind the bizarre metaphors and often hilariously tasteless statements that have been the key to his longevity - also shines through in some of his biggest hits. Kelly's piece de resistance, Trapped In the Closet, which recently released 10 new 'chapters,' takes his penchant for crude storytelling to new heights. Featuring love-triangles, -pentagons, and -octagons, not to mention a well-endowed 'midget', the soap-like series is being credited with the creation of a new genre of music video. Not one to let the strange allure of his work speak for itself, Kelly describes TITC as "my alien."
Go See Cal, Go See Cal, Go See Cal
Did anyone in the history of Used Car Dealerships ever go to greater lengths to get you to go see him than Cal Worthington and his Dog, Spot? Warning: video contains music that cannot be unlistened to & will haunt you to the grave. [more inside]
Shift Option Rinse
Shift Option Rinse A charming video of a woman testing the keyboard-cleaning abilities of her dishwasher.
São Paolo sewer openings
Do You Have $20? Can You Rap?
Carleton has the book for you. Bonus portable breakdancing mat! Priceless '80s video from the soon-to-be sidekick to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air
In a white room
11:54
Surveillance Society Clock. "It's six minutes before midnight as a surveillance society draws near within the United States." [Via Danger Room.]
The Cold War Files
The Cold War Files. Interpreting history through documents.
Extended extension post
The Cooperative Extension Service, founded in 1914 in the US by the Smith-Lever Act, was established in concert with the land-grant universities to develop practical applications of agricultural research, and spread them to farmers and others throughout the country. As part of this education program, the extension programs have produced and collected an extraordinary amount of practical advice, easily accessible to the layman... [more inside]
The appeal of authoritarianism
Ian Buruma reviews World War IV: The Long Struggle Against Islamofascism, by senior neo-conservative Norman Podhoretz, in the New York Review of Books. The key to Podhoretz's politics seems to me to lie right there: the longing for power, for toughness, for the Shtarker [strong man] who doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything, and hatred of the contemptible, cowardly liberals with their pandering ways and their double standards. Since Podhoretz, himself a bookish man, can never be a Shtarker, his government must fill that role, and not give a damn about anyone or anything. [more inside]
This is how they roll.
Screw cheezburgers. All the fun of "LOLcats," but with badass roller derby girls instead. Talk derby to me!
Musical positions
Musical positions. Not safe for a music stand. And really, the triplet bracket belongs in the final measure.
Some Light Reading
Hatred and Profits: Getting Under the Hood of the Ku Klux Klan (50 page pdf).
Steven Levitt, of freakonomics fame, along with Roland Fryer, has just released a new academic paper that assesses the rise and fall of the KKK from a variety of perspectives.
From one of the authors ...It details the rise and fall of the Klan in the 1920s. Incredibly, the Klan had millions of members at that time, and most of them were reasonably well-educated. Based on a variety of data sources, we argue that, despite its size and education levels, the group nevertheless had little measurable impact on society or politics...
Cheap booze!
When happy hour's over, and it's time to cruise back to trash someone's loungeroom, continue the tight-arse tradition with Boozle!
Half of he Universe
The Horizon Simulation 70 billions particles : a new world record for a large scale simulation of the universe. [more inside]
W.H.N.I.O.W.H.I.C.B.T.F.A.C
Tanja Nijmeijer is a Dutch woman who joined the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). They found her diaries and a movie (Dutch version). [more inside]
George Lassos The Moon
Mare Tranquillitatis outside Flagstaff. "With high explosives, they terraformed a lunar surrogate right here on the surface of the earth." The excellent Pruned reports on the earth-bound moon model. USGS report.
Zork Map!
Sexual Healing
His father was a minister in the Apostolic Church, but, after a series of arguments about his son's womanizing and heavy cocaine use he ended up shooting his own son down.
The biggest of Motown's solo artists. Marvin Gaye often struggled with his brother-in-law, Berry Gordy over his desire to pursue different creative choices rather than following the tried and tested commercial formula. [more inside]
Plush Monsters
Customizable Robotic Idol Hatsune Miku
Hatsune Miku is the latest singing sensation to sweep Japan. No, she's not a new idol singer, she's Yamaha's Vocaloid2 software simulating the voice of vocalist Saki Fujita. Currently a #2 seller on Amazon, even at the cost of 15750 yen (about $137). But you don't need to buy the software to appreciate it. Check out Ievan Polka, Fly Me to the Moon, the theme from Princess Mononoke, and more!
Flash Personality Profiler
Imagini Visual DNA. A ten-webpage survey supposed to profile your personality. [via Robot Wisdom]
I have always thought that there is no more fruitful source of family discontent than a housewife’s badly-cooked dinners and untidy ways.
And *I* thought that it was cool that I got Columbus Day off...
Last Wednesday, residents of the Ulyanovsk province of Russia took the day off work in celebration of their newest holiday, Sex Day.
God, it's time we had a talk--call my lawyer.
From the same man who wrote poetry to the state treasurer and brought segregation back to Omaha Public Schools comes a new lawsuit... against God. Says Nebraska State Senator Ernie Chambers: "People might call it frivolous but if they read it they'll see there are very serious issues I have raised." PDF of suit alleging that God "has made and continues to make terroristic threats of grave harm to innumerable persons."
I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie... electric chair
Now the Musicologists Are Dangerous Too
"Dr. Nalini Ghuman {is} . . . a citizen of the United Kingdom and a professor of music at Mills College in Oakland, California. In August 2006 Dr. Ghuman was detained upon her return to the United States."
And nobody knows why. [more inside]
Link and the Hill
Legendary tremolo guitar king Link Wray discovered him singing gospel with the Mighty Clouds of Joy, and figured he might be the kind of rock'n'roll screamer he was looking for. If he was gonna sing the devil's music, though, he'd need another name, so they came up with a rather unlikely moniker: Bunker Hill. Just listen. [more inside]
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