Friday, November 05, 2004
This is the funniest thing I've read ever.
One of her multiple personalities is that of a fifteen year old poor black girl named Alice from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. Baez decided to share with us Alice's views on the election. Amazed and horrified I watched a rich, famous, extremely white folksinger perform what can only be described as bit of minstrelsy—only the painted on blackface was missing. Alice, the black teenager from Arkansas Baez was pretending to be, spoke in a dialect so broad and thick that it would put Uncle Remus and Amos and Andy to shame. Baez' monologue was filled with phrases like, "I'se g'win ta" to do this that or the other and dropping all final "g's." Baez as Alice made statements like, "de prezident, he be a racist," and "de prezident, he got a bug fer killin'."
Link stolen mercilessly from M&M at POF.
One of her multiple personalities is that of a fifteen year old poor black girl named Alice from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas. Baez decided to share with us Alice's views on the election. Amazed and horrified I watched a rich, famous, extremely white folksinger perform what can only be described as bit of minstrelsy—only the painted on blackface was missing. Alice, the black teenager from Arkansas Baez was pretending to be, spoke in a dialect so broad and thick that it would put Uncle Remus and Amos and Andy to shame. Baez' monologue was filled with phrases like, "I'se g'win ta" to do this that or the other and dropping all final "g's." Baez as Alice made statements like, "de prezident, he be a racist," and "de prezident, he got a bug fer killin'."
Link stolen mercilessly from M&M at POF.
Okay, that's it. We're not waiting for this to come out on DVD. I think 97% fresh is just about the highest rating I've seen, with the only negative reviews coming from folks who are still upset about "Iron Giant".
Thursday, November 04, 2004
If you're thinking of buying a new home in Michigan, check out this site we designed: NewMIHomes.com.
Wednesday, November 03, 2004
Tonight's very good episode of Lost impressed me yet again. While so far no episode has been as compelling as the David-Fury-penned "Walkabout" (episode 4), this one (Episode 7: "Moth") actually contained a positive scene involving Catholicism -- in a confessional, no less! I was worried when I saw the preview, that this was just going to be "tonight, on a very special episode of 'Lost'", but actually the story was quite good and you really got an appreciation for Charlie's anguish.
And, like every other character on the show they've featured so far, you begin to get the feeling (since episode four) that the horrible experience of crashing this island, with this horrible whatever on it (which really has only killed one person so far) is offering each of the characters their own unique shot at redemption.
Next week: is Sawyer really evil or what's his deal? And will we ever meet any of the 32 extras supposedly on the island with our cast of 14 principals, too?
In other news, color me gullible (though not quite "The Deep Dark Secret of M. Night Shyamalan" gullible), but tonight's episode of Ghosthunters really creeped me out, especially that weird lower-torso apparition.
And, like every other character on the show they've featured so far, you begin to get the feeling (since episode four) that the horrible experience of crashing this island, with this horrible whatever on it (which really has only killed one person so far) is offering each of the characters their own unique shot at redemption.
Next week: is Sawyer really evil or what's his deal? And will we ever meet any of the 32 extras supposedly on the island with our cast of 14 principals, too?
In other news, color me gullible (though not quite "The Deep Dark Secret of M. Night Shyamalan" gullible), but tonight's episode of Ghosthunters really creeped me out, especially that weird lower-torso apparition.
So Cokie Roberts is on NPR this morning, talking about Kerry's (then imminent) defeat. They're breaking down the vote demographically and Cokie mentions that the 18-to-29-year-old vote came out very strong for Kerry. "So what happened?" asks the NPR commentator.
"There just weren't enough of them!" replies Cokie.
No kidding..
"There just weren't enough of them!" replies Cokie.
No kidding..
Tuesday, November 02, 2004
Film-Maker Who Criticised Islam Murdered
A Dutch film-maker who received death threats after making a movie criticising the treatment of women under Islam was murdered in an Amsterdam street today.
A suspect, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, was arrested after a shoot-out with officers that left him wounded, police said.
...
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called on the Dutch people to remain calm and not to jump to conclusions.
Hmmm... And what conclusions might those be?
A Dutch film-maker who received death threats after making a movie criticising the treatment of women under Islam was murdered in an Amsterdam street today.
A suspect, a 26-year-old man with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, was arrested after a shoot-out with officers that left him wounded, police said.
...
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende called on the Dutch people to remain calm and not to jump to conclusions.
Hmmm... And what conclusions might those be?
Sunday, October 31, 2004
The Order
Okay, so I thought I'd rent a creepy movie for Halloween. And I heard that "The Order" was filmed in Rome, partly in the Vatican, and it has Mark Addy in it so how could one go wrong. I thought it might be too scary, since it's rated "R", but it turns out it's only rated "R" for general dumbness.
The movie starts out pretty good: Heath Ledger and Mark Addy are the last two members of an order whose primary vocation is to get rid of demons, ghosts, the undead, etc. They're on the trail of a Sin Eater (everyone knows what those are, right? Right?!) and the first 30 minutes or so they see some creepy things (nothing too unsettling, though, if you've watched seven season of Buffy and five of Angel) which are pretty consistent with the legitimate accounts of demonic activity and you think, this might be a good movie: these two guys track down the sin eater, and there's a big fight, probably one of the heroes dies, but it's cool, because that's what heroes do.
But, no. (SPOILER ALERT!). This movie believes in putting the interesting stuff first and then making the rest of the movie really boring. Eventually, Heath Ledger's character runs into the Sin Eater who, in about five minutes, convinces him to have sex with the crazy art chick (who he exorcised in the past), not be a priest anymore, and (it's debateable whether or not he was tricked into this, because it was pretty obvious) become a Sin Eater himself.
Sins, when eaten, by the way, look like a cross between the robot squids from the Matrix and the jellyfish from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon.
There are some nice thematic elements in there (Heath Ledger, when researching the occult practices at an old bookstore is advised to stay on the path -- literally: the basement of the bookstore has a path etched into it and wandering off of it brings one uncomfortably close to a very hungry hound) but overall we probably should've rented Exorcist III: Legion, if we wanted a good creepy movie. At least Mark Addy's character survives, but we never get to see him make good on his promise to free Heath Ledger from his curse (which he seems pretty cool with by the end, anyway).
Until someone goes back and makes this the movie it should've been, I say give this one a pass.
Okay, so I thought I'd rent a creepy movie for Halloween. And I heard that "The Order" was filmed in Rome, partly in the Vatican, and it has Mark Addy in it so how could one go wrong. I thought it might be too scary, since it's rated "R", but it turns out it's only rated "R" for general dumbness.
The movie starts out pretty good: Heath Ledger and Mark Addy are the last two members of an order whose primary vocation is to get rid of demons, ghosts, the undead, etc. They're on the trail of a Sin Eater (everyone knows what those are, right? Right?!) and the first 30 minutes or so they see some creepy things (nothing too unsettling, though, if you've watched seven season of Buffy and five of Angel) which are pretty consistent with the legitimate accounts of demonic activity and you think, this might be a good movie: these two guys track down the sin eater, and there's a big fight, probably one of the heroes dies, but it's cool, because that's what heroes do.
But, no. (SPOILER ALERT!). This movie believes in putting the interesting stuff first and then making the rest of the movie really boring. Eventually, Heath Ledger's character runs into the Sin Eater who, in about five minutes, convinces him to have sex with the crazy art chick (who he exorcised in the past), not be a priest anymore, and (it's debateable whether or not he was tricked into this, because it was pretty obvious) become a Sin Eater himself.
Sins, when eaten, by the way, look like a cross between the robot squids from the Matrix and the jellyfish from the Spongebob Squarepants cartoon.
There are some nice thematic elements in there (Heath Ledger, when researching the occult practices at an old bookstore is advised to stay on the path -- literally: the basement of the bookstore has a path etched into it and wandering off of it brings one uncomfortably close to a very hungry hound) but overall we probably should've rented Exorcist III: Legion, if we wanted a good creepy movie. At least Mark Addy's character survives, but we never get to see him make good on his promise to free Heath Ledger from his curse (which he seems pretty cool with by the end, anyway).
Until someone goes back and makes this the movie it should've been, I say give this one a pass.
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
Another really good episode of Lost tonight. It's amazing how they can weave four or five plots together, and yet somehow show you in a handfull of flashbacks a really amazing story about a person, and then tie that all back in with the four or five plots that are running.
If you're not watching this show now -- don't bother. You'd be hopelessly, how do you say... "Lost". Actually, I take that back, start watching it now and let the episode guides on the show's homepage or the encore rebroadcasts on Saturday night fill you in.
If you're not watching this show now -- don't bother. You'd be hopelessly, how do you say... "Lost". Actually, I take that back, start watching it now and let the episode guides on the show's homepage or the encore rebroadcasts on Saturday night fill you in.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Monday, October 25, 2004
We taped last night's episode of "Boston Legal" mainly because in the preivew we caught a glimpse of René Auberjonois who played "Odo" (one of my favorite characters) on "Deep Space Nine" (my favorite show of all time). Kevin Miller was also in last night's episode. It was pretty good. Good acting and a butt-load of the moral ambiguity which big-3 Network viewers are just discovering. We don't generally care for courtroom dramas (they're usually preachy and boring) but we may watch this one again. Because Rene is in it, and he's awesome to watch.
Sunday, October 24, 2004
This is the moment that every back-up band lives for: when the pre-recorded track fails and the star walks off-stage, there is nothing left to do but ROCK. Watch the video and judge for yourself.
What I can't understand is why fans would be so upset by stars lip-synching. Where do they do they think music comes from these days?
What I can't understand is why fans would be so upset by stars lip-synching. Where do they do they think music comes from these days?
The other movie we rented, which I watched by myself just now, was Aero-Troopers, a computer-animated sci-fi tale which was made by like 12 people, pretty much all multi-tasking (Mark Hamill is credited as both the voice of the narrator and the Voice Director) and a single person did the character models, as opposed to Pixar's (or even Big Idea's) legion of modellers. So you have to expect the DIY element, right there.
I disagree with the IMDB reviewer that it's not worth a rental. I think it is worth a rental, if only for the really cool air-ship and robot designs. The animation quality is just about at the sub-Capcom videogame cutscene quality, though, so don't expect "Monsters, Inc." or anything. But there are some cool elements (the airships, the whole sky-world setting) and I think anyone around the age of ten (there is some computer-animated blood which may disturb younger viewers) will get a big kick out of it.
Actually, the movie's official page, or as official a page I can find for either it or production company "NueArt", says it was released in 2001, not 2003. If that's the case, I can cut the animation a little more slack. Creative Light, the distributor, also produced Mark Hamill's Comic Book: The Movie which I want to see sometime.
I disagree with the IMDB reviewer that it's not worth a rental. I think it is worth a rental, if only for the really cool air-ship and robot designs. The animation quality is just about at the sub-Capcom videogame cutscene quality, though, so don't expect "Monsters, Inc." or anything. But there are some cool elements (the airships, the whole sky-world setting) and I think anyone around the age of ten (there is some computer-animated blood which may disturb younger viewers) will get a big kick out of it.
Actually, the movie's official page, or as official a page I can find for either it or production company "NueArt", says it was released in 2001, not 2003. If that's the case, I can cut the animation a little more slack. Creative Light, the distributor, also produced Mark Hamill's Comic Book: The Movie which I want to see sometime.
Fr. Bryce likes it, and it it is pretty good: The New Atlantis, A Journal of Technology and Society.
Patrick Madred addreses the question Is it a sin to vote for a pro-abortion candidate? in a nine-minute video.
Link via New Advent which has a rather illuminative ASCII chart on their front page.
Link via New Advent which has a rather illuminative ASCII chart on their front page.
Some music for me to check out from this month's Keyboard magazine, when I have a few minutes:
Joe Deveau - Classic songwriting and very good keyboard chops. Also a great website in terms of design (and a swanky Flash audio player).
Spiraling - their new EP is called "Challenging Stage" and they use old videogame sound effects and classic synths in an alternative rock setting. Sounds a bit (okay, more than a bit) like Jellyfish. I'll have to get their CD when I have the $$.
And apparently Bernie Worrell is involved in a new project. It's with Buckethead, though, and those albums with Buckethead in the 1990s did nothing for me. Actually, though, the audio samples sound pretty cool (mainly the title track, "The Big Eyeball in the Sky". I'll probably pick it up -- after I get the Bernie Worrell bobblehead doll .. or wait for the Wooples animation to download.
Dzihan-Kamien. Electronic-type music with an orchestra.
And The Neville Brothers have a new album out. I'll have to get it because it's a Neville Brothers album that's funky.
And they played two tracks of Joanna Newsom on the U of M college radio station as I was driving through Ann Arbor on Friday. It's awful, but it's so compelling, that I may have to add that to my wish list.
Joe Deveau - Classic songwriting and very good keyboard chops. Also a great website in terms of design (and a swanky Flash audio player).
Spiraling - their new EP is called "Challenging Stage" and they use old videogame sound effects and classic synths in an alternative rock setting. Sounds a bit (okay, more than a bit) like Jellyfish. I'll have to get their CD when I have the $$.
And apparently Bernie Worrell is involved in a new project. It's with Buckethead, though, and those albums with Buckethead in the 1990s did nothing for me. Actually, though, the audio samples sound pretty cool (mainly the title track, "The Big Eyeball in the Sky". I'll probably pick it up -- after I get the Bernie Worrell bobblehead doll .. or wait for the Wooples animation to download.
Dzihan-Kamien. Electronic-type music with an orchestra.
And The Neville Brothers have a new album out. I'll have to get it because it's a Neville Brothers album that's funky.
And they played two tracks of Joanna Newsom on the U of M college radio station as I was driving through Ann Arbor on Friday. It's awful, but it's so compelling, that I may have to add that to my wish list.
Saturday, October 23, 2004
So tonight we watched Aladdin (Special Edition) and Spartan which we rented from our local Powderkeg Video store (obscure Parker Lewis reference there). "Aladdin" was much better than I remember it being when I saw it in the theaters, and the new Disney Home Theater Enhanced 5.1 Surround mix they're putting on these DVDs now sounded awesome (basically, they completely remix the audio, optimising it for home theaters, and it sounded great). Lots of funny stuff in that movie (though it's no "Emperor's New Groove"). And yeah, I admit the songs really are good.
After 'Xander went to bed, we watched "Spartan", which is a little less plot-twisty than most of Mamet's stuff (for good or for bad) and with a lot more of the people getting shot. For those of you who admire women with the Clarabelle Cow physique, Alexandra Kerry has a small role in the movie. Mamet gets extra points this time around for not trying to get away with casting his wife, Rebecca Pidgeon, in the 18-year-old president's daughter role. There are some funny lines in this movie, but because it's a Mamet film, you're not really sure what they mean.
After 'Xander went to bed, we watched "Spartan", which is a little less plot-twisty than most of Mamet's stuff (for good or for bad) and with a lot more of the people getting shot. For those of you who admire women with the Clarabelle Cow physique, Alexandra Kerry has a small role in the movie. Mamet gets extra points this time around for not trying to get away with casting his wife, Rebecca Pidgeon, in the 18-year-old president's daughter role. There are some funny lines in this movie, but because it's a Mamet film, you're not really sure what they mean.
Friday, October 22, 2004
Child's Play
About two weeks ago we received from Amazon, Vtech's V.Smile (yeah, I don't know how they got away with naming it that, either) educational videogame system. The system came with one "Smartridge" ("Alphabet Park Adventure") and we also ordered "Winnie The Pooh: Honey Hunt". The reason we did this was because 'Xander had been getting into our games quite a bit (he loves anything with Mario or Pac-Man) and we figured he might as well learn something while he's playing (also, with the V.Smile, he can start it up himself, and doesn't have problems getting through the menus, etc.).
Anyway, technologically, the V.Smile is like one step above a Sega Genesis. No 3-D, the games are sprite-based, but a lot of space on the Smartridges is allocated for digital audio so the charater animations are usually two or four-frame jobbies. The software seems to have been developed in the UK (where the V.Smile is pretty popular, I gather) so the characters have British accents.
The controller is pretty awesome (the colored buttons light up!) but doesn't take having a cup of water dumped on it very well (it took three days for it to try out to the point where it functioned again -- fortunately, that time frame was also the one in which the extra controllers shipped to Toys R' Us, so now we have two controllers -- and some of the games are two-player simultaneous).
Anyway, 'Xander really enjoys the games. Both games are platformers, with educational bits thrown in, and each includes a "Learning Zone" which is four mini-games. You can make it so you can't lose, too, which is good because when 'Xander first got it he thought it was hilarious to make the Alphabet kids fall into the water ("Whoa-whoa-whaaaaaa!!! SPLASH!") or have Pooh fall in the thorns and go "Ouch!" and rub his bottom. Which, admittedly, is kind of fun.
So for $50 for the system, one controller, and one game (you supply either an AC adapter or 3 C-cells, which seem to last five or six days of 1 to 2 hours of play a day), if you have kids who are 2 or 3 or 4 and they're taking up too much computer time or not letting you play your Gamecube, this is a good deal.
About two weeks ago we received from Amazon, Vtech's V.Smile (yeah, I don't know how they got away with naming it that, either) educational videogame system. The system came with one "Smartridge" ("Alphabet Park Adventure") and we also ordered "Winnie The Pooh: Honey Hunt". The reason we did this was because 'Xander had been getting into our games quite a bit (he loves anything with Mario or Pac-Man) and we figured he might as well learn something while he's playing (also, with the V.Smile, he can start it up himself, and doesn't have problems getting through the menus, etc.).
Anyway, technologically, the V.Smile is like one step above a Sega Genesis. No 3-D, the games are sprite-based, but a lot of space on the Smartridges is allocated for digital audio so the charater animations are usually two or four-frame jobbies. The software seems to have been developed in the UK (where the V.Smile is pretty popular, I gather) so the characters have British accents.
The controller is pretty awesome (the colored buttons light up!) but doesn't take having a cup of water dumped on it very well (it took three days for it to try out to the point where it functioned again -- fortunately, that time frame was also the one in which the extra controllers shipped to Toys R' Us, so now we have two controllers -- and some of the games are two-player simultaneous).
Anyway, 'Xander really enjoys the games. Both games are platformers, with educational bits thrown in, and each includes a "Learning Zone" which is four mini-games. You can make it so you can't lose, too, which is good because when 'Xander first got it he thought it was hilarious to make the Alphabet kids fall into the water ("Whoa-whoa-whaaaaaa!!! SPLASH!") or have Pooh fall in the thorns and go "Ouch!" and rub his bottom. Which, admittedly, is kind of fun.
So for $50 for the system, one controller, and one game (you supply either an AC adapter or 3 C-cells, which seem to last five or six days of 1 to 2 hours of play a day), if you have kids who are 2 or 3 or 4 and they're taking up too much computer time or not letting you play your Gamecube, this is a good deal.
"There's a lot of people saying, 'What?'"
Stranger takes over Ga. woman's house
One too many episodes of "Trading Spaces" I would suspect.
Stranger takes over Ga. woman's house
One too many episodes of "Trading Spaces" I would suspect.
Where have I been?
This article was the first I'd heard of Big Idea's bankruptcy, sale, downsizing, and move to Tennessee.
This article was the first I'd heard of Big Idea's bankruptcy, sale, downsizing, and move to Tennessee.
Thursday, October 21, 2004
I apologize to anyone who was hypnotocized by staring at the cat animation two posts down. LostMarble released Moho v5 this week and I was trying some of the .swf exportation enhancements they made (the full version of the test animation with the techno music soundtrack in Real and Windows media player formats can be found on the LamToonS.net page).
Anyway, now that Moho v5 is out (and I could afford the $19 upgrade fee), maybe I'll do another cartoon. Or maybe I'll make another game. Or maybe I'll actually do some work around the house instead. No one can know for certain....
Anyway, now that Moho v5 is out (and I could afford the $19 upgrade fee), maybe I'll do another cartoon. Or maybe I'll make another game. Or maybe I'll actually do some work around the house instead. No one can know for certain....
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
"Lost" again
Another interesting episode, but nowhere near as well-written as last week's Fury episode (which they might be showing again on Saturday). I have to keep changing the channels between commercials, though, because the other shows they're advertising are just so awful. I think the AFA is on to something (they usually are). I signed up for (putting pinky to chin) One Million Dads. I think if I'm any of the dads on that page, I'm the De-Niro-esque "Fed up with the trash on television?" dad.
Seriously -- putting Unrestrained Domestisluts right after one of the best shows on TV? Whassup widdat?
ALSO -- if you emailed us today, our email provider was down, so we probably didn't get it (grr.). Try emailing us again. Though I'm still not getting email... maybe later it'll work.
Another interesting episode, but nowhere near as well-written as last week's Fury episode (which they might be showing again on Saturday). I have to keep changing the channels between commercials, though, because the other shows they're advertising are just so awful. I think the AFA is on to something (they usually are). I signed up for (putting pinky to chin) One Million Dads. I think if I'm any of the dads on that page, I'm the De-Niro-esque "Fed up with the trash on television?" dad.
Seriously -- putting Unrestrained Domestisluts right after one of the best shows on TV? Whassup widdat?
ALSO -- if you emailed us today, our email provider was down, so we probably didn't get it (grr.). Try emailing us again. Though I'm still not getting email... maybe later it'll work.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Mac users:
Could you try the game and let me know if the "Start" button on the intro screen works (i.e. brings you into the game)?
Thanks!
Could you try the game and let me know if the "Start" button on the intro screen works (i.e. brings you into the game)?
Thanks!
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Once again Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has turned me into a big girl. Tonight's family was an obviously Catholic family, which made it cooler for us (I know it shouldn't matter...). I must say, though, that the coolest moment for me was when they unveiled, in the garage and driveway, the brand new 2005 250 Superduty (for dad) and Mustang GT (which probably wasn't even on sale when they filmed the show) for the sick little girl's sister. Those are both awesome cars.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
I'm pretty much finished with the Mugg game for now. You can now score higher (thanks to higher-scoring drops) and there's some other neat touches as well, including a ranking at the end, depending on your score. How high can you get?
The Trenchant Professor Mugg vs. Doctor Doughnut in "The Coffee Reign"
The Trenchant Professor Mugg vs. Doctor Doughnut in "The Coffee Reign"
Friday, October 15, 2004
Star Trek: Enterprise has officially become a good show. I stopped watching it after the pilot, and only started up again this third season in repeats. Tonight's episode had a number of really neat payoffs: the temporal cold war (which I guess was what the first two seasons, and the third, were about) is over, we got to see the Enterprise bomb 1940s-era Manhattan (while being fired upon by Stukas outfitted with plasma cannons), and the Enterprise finally came home (and was welcomed by a very friendly armada). I almost cried (and would have except the show still has that goofy themesong which -- I loathe to admit -- is starting to grow on me even though "it took a long time... getting from there to here").
Next week's episode looks pretty silly, but the week after that Brent Spiner shows up (I wonder if he'll sing? I don't care about that, but it would be really cool if his character's last name was "Sung" -- and if you get that reference, please leave a comment below so I'll know you're cool) so that's pretty neat.
Next week's episode looks pretty silly, but the week after that Brent Spiner shows up (I wonder if he'll sing? I don't care about that, but it would be really cool if his character's last name was "Sung" -- and if you get that reference, please leave a comment below so I'll know you're cool) so that's pretty neat.
CafeteriaCatholics.com has a very amusing and smartly animated Flash cartoon about our choice this November. However amusing, the cartoon bizarrely overlooks the entire notion of "proportionality" (which would say one ought to weigh the 9,000,000 babies which would be killed during the average presidency if a pro-abort pol is elected against the handful of murderers, terrorists, and rapists who would be executed if a pro-death-penalty -- and pro-life -- politician was elected).
David Alexander, as per usual, is right on track.
David Alexander, as per usual, is right on track.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
I tweaked the jumping formula in the Professor Mug game. Not only do you start off jumping a bit faster, but as you get more coffee your speed increases (as it did in the first alpha version) but now the height of your jump increases too (the effect of more caffeine). This causes a negative feedback loop: you're faster, but the higher jumps mean more chance you won't catch certain drops (just like in real life, drops have to fall into the top of the mug to be caught) and it also increases the liklihood that Dr. Doughnut will snag a drop or two of your coffee (you're more exposed up there in the air).
All in all, I think now higher scores are possible, and the game is faster-paced and more exciting. Let me know if I'm wrong. I'm going to work on this over the weekend, when I feel up to it (i.e. not in a robotussin-induced haze).
All in all, I think now higher scores are possible, and the game is faster-paced and more exciting. Let me know if I'm wrong. I'm going to work on this over the weekend, when I feel up to it (i.e. not in a robotussin-induced haze).
Oh, and by the way, John Kerry is a total slime, too. I can just imagine him employing his own unique brand of statescraft.
"Now, you better withdraw from Chechnya, Vladimir. I wouldn't want to have to remind the world how wonderful it is that you are so loving and supportive of your necrophile son."
"Now, you better withdraw from Chechnya, Vladimir. I wouldn't want to have to remind the world how wonderful it is that you are so loving and supportive of your necrophile son."
Way to go, Meredith! Photo and comments in the New York Times New York Post New York Daily News!!
Who's this Michael Malice guy, though? He seems about as informed as a club foot.
Who's this Michael Malice guy, though? He seems about as informed as a club foot.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
Okay, Victor, so NOW what do you think of "Lost"?
Since I saw just the second episode, I've watched the first, third, and -- tonight -- the fourth episode (written by David "He got the mustard out" Fury!!). And it's now probably my favoritist show on television. I really like how they tell the story of each character through the flashbacks: what got them on the plane, and what the island they're stranded on (though haunted/infested with monsters/cursed/etc.) can actually offer them (usually redemption in some form or another). Pretty nifty show, for a major network. Tonight's episode was the best so far. Since it was written by David Fury it was funny, scary, witty, and poignant (remember when the Fury could do poignant?) all at once. So I (along with like 550,000,000 Americans apparently) like the show now.
Since I saw just the second episode, I've watched the first, third, and -- tonight -- the fourth episode (written by David "He got the mustard out" Fury!!). And it's now probably my favoritist show on television. I really like how they tell the story of each character through the flashbacks: what got them on the plane, and what the island they're stranded on (though haunted/infested with monsters/cursed/etc.) can actually offer them (usually redemption in some form or another). Pretty nifty show, for a major network. Tonight's episode was the best so far. Since it was written by David Fury it was funny, scary, witty, and poignant (remember when the Fury could do poignant?) all at once. So I (along with like 550,000,000 Americans apparently) like the show now.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Nothing says "You know, for kids!" like virtual knee surgery!
As everyone knows: avoid the temptation and you'll avoid the consequences.
As everyone knows: avoid the temptation and you'll avoid the consequences.
Sunday, October 10, 2004
Victor makes a Flash GAME?!?!
One thing I've wanted to do for quite a few months now is to make my own Flash Game. Finally, I got a book or two on it and this weekend decided to make a game in Flash. What you're about to see is no where near finished (a lot of graphic flourishes need to be added, including a real title screen and instruction screen instead of something I threw together in five minutes, and the soundtrack and soundeffects are only placeholders -- though I kind of like the background music I threw together in Acid in about 3 minutes, it's growing on me -- and I need to tweak the collision detection, and maybe add a play mechanic or two, and add a better game over screen) but you might have fun for a few minutes playing it. If you manage to score above 100, let me know (my best so far is 71)!. I'll be adding on to this over the next couple of weeks, so check back often.
The Trenchant Professor Mugg vs. Doctor Doughnut in "Coffee Rain" (very early beta version).
One thing I've wanted to do for quite a few months now is to make my own Flash Game. Finally, I got a book or two on it and this weekend decided to make a game in Flash. What you're about to see is no where near finished (a lot of graphic flourishes need to be added, including a real title screen and instruction screen instead of something I threw together in five minutes, and the soundtrack and soundeffects are only placeholders -- though I kind of like the background music I threw together in Acid in about 3 minutes, it's growing on me -- and I need to tweak the collision detection, and maybe add a play mechanic or two, and add a better game over screen) but you might have fun for a few minutes playing it. If you manage to score above 100, let me know (my best so far is 71)!. I'll be adding on to this over the next couple of weeks, so check back often.
The Trenchant Professor Mugg vs. Doctor Doughnut in "Coffee Rain" (very early beta version).
Friday, October 08, 2004
Wednesday, October 06, 2004
Mark Shea: England and the UK: A Cross-Cultural Channel Surfing Odyssey
This is a good one and made me laugh.
This is a good one and made me laugh.
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Monday, October 04, 2004
Brian Regan was on Dennis Miller's show tonight (rebroadcast?). He seems to be a very funny guy. We'll have to check out his DVDs. Also on was the guy from Mulsims for Bush (and Bush and Bush and Bush and Bush).
Note to Dan Ackroyd:
If you're not going to make a third movie, then, this sort of thing is going to be pretty much inevitable.
Pretty nifty little film-school project.
If you're not going to make a third movie, then, this sort of thing is going to be pretty much inevitable.
Pretty nifty little film-school project.
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Okay, this is cool:
Vic Tracker 2.0
Here's an audio example (with multiple overdubs and vocals by SAM, of course). The main Vic Tracker webpage also has some untreated examples. I didn't know the Vic had this much funk in it.
That rocks.
Vic Tracker 2.0
Here's an audio example (with multiple overdubs and vocals by SAM, of course). The main Vic Tracker webpage also has some untreated examples. I didn't know the Vic had this much funk in it.
That rocks.
It's WordSpud! Hard to say if the game is any good because there aren't any other players online. But it's worth it just for the themesong. Every game should have an adorable themesong.
Sent this to our Pastor and Pastoral Associate (but not Associate Pastor, because we don't have one of those) after Mass (where they played "The Rainbow Connection") today...
Greetings,
Out the outset of this letter I must state that I am already predisposed against the sort of piano tinkling which accompanies now every "quiet time" during the Liturgies at St. Kenneth. Because the Mass is also called "The Lord's Supper" I suppose the feeling is that a little dinner-time lounge music is appropriate for the consecration and other times during the Mass when, perhaps, in the past we would not have been distracted from some quiet reflection by such tinkling.
But as disposed as I am, personally, against this Liturgical Lounge piano (if I wanted random piano noodling with my Supper, I'd go to the Holiday Inn), I recognize that for some a little Bach ("Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" being one of my favorite interludes) can put them in the right frame of mind to receive Christ, and so it is at least tolerable. But when the tune is "The Rainbow Connection" -- as was the case this Sunday at the 11:30am Mass, identified by myself not only by my own intimate knowledge of the piece (growing up as I did in the late 1970s and early '80s) but also by those Parishoners standing around me -- something must be said.
"The Rainbow Connection", written by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams is featured at the climax of Jim Henson's "The Muppet Movie" at a point in the movie when all of the traditional structures and mores of society have come crashing down around the rainbow children who are (judging from the lyrics of the piece, found here: http://www.whysanity.net/muppets/rainbow.html) "under the spell" of the "Rainbow Connection" (whatever that might be). In short, "The Rainbow Connection" is a song which celebrates atheistical humanism and is therefore inappropriate for playing at any time in a Roman Catholic Church -- but particularly most inappropriate during the Eucharist, when our thoughts should be on our Lord, and not on "the lovers, the dreamers, and me."
Ideally, we'd be working towards a renewal of our Catholic Christian heritage in music, discovering anew the great composers of our long history and the hymns which celebrate our Catholic Christian faith and worldview (not limited to Catholic composers, of course). I'm encouraged that myself and the other members of Generations X and Y (who are not the future of the Church, incdentally, but who ARE the Church) are "going back to their roots" as it were, both musically and in terms of the fundamentals of our faith (an acquaintance of mine, Pete Vere, has recently written a book to this affect). It seems inevitable, therefore, that one day the tunes by Marty Haugen and Dan Schutte which celebrate above all else congregational navel-gazing and which have for the last 40 years defined a generation of Churchgoers unable to articulate the basic tenets of their faith will ultimately come to represent nothing but a passing fad (albeit one, again, running now some 40 years).
Thank you for your time in considering this matter. Please pass this note along to our current musical liturgist at your own discretion, as I'm not sure who that is at the moment. I recognize that whomever it is, they are probably woefully underpaid (if they're paid at all), and underappreciated. Still, playing music from "The Muppet Movie" during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, just seemed like something which shouldn't be let go without a letter or e-mail of some sort.
Warm Regards,
- Victor Lams
Greetings,
Out the outset of this letter I must state that I am already predisposed against the sort of piano tinkling which accompanies now every "quiet time" during the Liturgies at St. Kenneth. Because the Mass is also called "The Lord's Supper" I suppose the feeling is that a little dinner-time lounge music is appropriate for the consecration and other times during the Mass when, perhaps, in the past we would not have been distracted from some quiet reflection by such tinkling.
But as disposed as I am, personally, against this Liturgical Lounge piano (if I wanted random piano noodling with my Supper, I'd go to the Holiday Inn), I recognize that for some a little Bach ("Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" being one of my favorite interludes) can put them in the right frame of mind to receive Christ, and so it is at least tolerable. But when the tune is "The Rainbow Connection" -- as was the case this Sunday at the 11:30am Mass, identified by myself not only by my own intimate knowledge of the piece (growing up as I did in the late 1970s and early '80s) but also by those Parishoners standing around me -- something must be said.
"The Rainbow Connection", written by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams is featured at the climax of Jim Henson's "The Muppet Movie" at a point in the movie when all of the traditional structures and mores of society have come crashing down around the rainbow children who are (judging from the lyrics of the piece, found here: http://www.whysanity.net/muppets/rainbow.html) "under the spell" of the "Rainbow Connection" (whatever that might be). In short, "The Rainbow Connection" is a song which celebrates atheistical humanism and is therefore inappropriate for playing at any time in a Roman Catholic Church -- but particularly most inappropriate during the Eucharist, when our thoughts should be on our Lord, and not on "the lovers, the dreamers, and me."
Ideally, we'd be working towards a renewal of our Catholic Christian heritage in music, discovering anew the great composers of our long history and the hymns which celebrate our Catholic Christian faith and worldview (not limited to Catholic composers, of course). I'm encouraged that myself and the other members of Generations X and Y (who are not the future of the Church, incdentally, but who ARE the Church) are "going back to their roots" as it were, both musically and in terms of the fundamentals of our faith (an acquaintance of mine, Pete Vere, has recently written a book to this affect). It seems inevitable, therefore, that one day the tunes by Marty Haugen and Dan Schutte which celebrate above all else congregational navel-gazing and which have for the last 40 years defined a generation of Churchgoers unable to articulate the basic tenets of their faith will ultimately come to represent nothing but a passing fad (albeit one, again, running now some 40 years).
Thank you for your time in considering this matter. Please pass this note along to our current musical liturgist at your own discretion, as I'm not sure who that is at the moment. I recognize that whomever it is, they are probably woefully underpaid (if they're paid at all), and underappreciated. Still, playing music from "The Muppet Movie" during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, just seemed like something which shouldn't be let go without a letter or e-mail of some sort.
Warm Regards,
- Victor Lams
Friday, October 01, 2004
|
Blogging Degree
From Go-Quiz.com
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Borrowed from dot.commentary it's McSweeney's Internet Tendency: Life Lessons (a.k.a. Tips From the Mario Brothers Instruction Booklet).
McSweeney's is the online answer to the question: if you gave a million pretentious GenX and GenY'rs a computer and a keyboard and some form of Internet connection, and time in this dimension went on to infinity, every once in a while those prententious authors would resynthesize something funny. Which isn't really a question at all. It's a statement.
McSweeney's is the online answer to the question: if you gave a million pretentious GenX and GenY'rs a computer and a keyboard and some form of Internet connection, and time in this dimension went on to infinity, every once in a while those prententious authors would resynthesize something funny. Which isn't really a question at all. It's a statement.
Click here to play my radio.
The only cooler than that is LazyTown Radio. Don't overlook the button on that jukebox that will play all the cool NickJr. cartoon themesongs (Dr. John sings the Littleburg theme song!).
The only cooler than that is LazyTown Radio. Don't overlook the button on that jukebox that will play all the cool NickJr. cartoon themesongs (Dr. John sings the Littleburg theme song!).
This was on POF, too, but it was so interesting I had to link to it as well: Shape of Days 'Blog on North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel. Fascinating stuff.
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
So Victor, what do you think of ABC's "Lost"?
Well, Victor, I have never seen a single episode of "Alias" (too boogee) and I missed the first episode of "The Lost" or "Lost" or (for some reason their minimalist logo makes me think of this) as I call it "Toast" but I don't think I missed that much. Judging from the second part of The Pilot (get it? it's the first episode but it's also about a plane crash, and the pilot -- nevermind) I didn't miss much. Cut out all of the pointless walking scenes, the gratuitous sunbathing, stripping, bathing scenes, and the excessive commercials (literally when the show began it was five minutes of show, five minutes of commercials, four minutes of show, four minutes of commercials, etc.) and you're left with about 17-18 minutes of story and plot. It's not a bad story or a bad plot, but I think it'd make a much better 90-minute survival horror movie than a show about bathers who hike and don't really all get along that well for stupid reasons and runs for however long they plan on this show lasting.
Well, Victor, I have never seen a single episode of "Alias" (too boogee) and I missed the first episode of "The Lost" or "Lost" or (for some reason their minimalist logo makes me think of this) as I call it "Toast" but I don't think I missed that much. Judging from the second part of The Pilot (get it? it's the first episode but it's also about a plane crash, and the pilot -- nevermind) I didn't miss much. Cut out all of the pointless walking scenes, the gratuitous sunbathing, stripping, bathing scenes, and the excessive commercials (literally when the show began it was five minutes of show, five minutes of commercials, four minutes of show, four minutes of commercials, etc.) and you're left with about 17-18 minutes of story and plot. It's not a bad story or a bad plot, but I think it'd make a much better 90-minute survival horror movie than a show about bathers who hike and don't really all get along that well for stupid reasons and runs for however long they plan on this show lasting.
Woohoo! Thanks for the Propers, Karl!
I can't believe I never sent you a CD, especially since you zapped that book out to us. If you email me your address I'll make sure you get a CD. And Victor (The Other), your CD is sitting here on my desk, addressed, I just need a stamp. And Don -- THANK YOU FOR THE CD. I should get around to giving it a dedicated listen hopefully this weekend.
I ama behind.
I can't believe I never sent you a CD, especially since you zapped that book out to us. If you email me your address I'll make sure you get a CD. And Victor (The Other), your CD is sitting here on my desk, addressed, I just need a stamp. And Don -- THANK YOU FOR THE CD. I should get around to giving it a dedicated listen hopefully this weekend.
I am
Monday, September 27, 2004
RC informs me that I need to update my blogroll with some deletions and corrected URLs, so I'll be doing that at some point in the future.
Also, my stats tell me more folks are listening to my music, which is good, but I was just wondering if I was mentioned on another 'blog recently (trying to account for the increase in traffic and reciprocate). Unfortunately the only thing out of the ordinary in my referrer URLs stats is an increase in hits from Mark Shea, but I'm not sure that's it.
Oh, well. More to come.
Also, my stats tell me more folks are listening to my music, which is good, but I was just wondering if I was mentioned on another 'blog recently (trying to account for the increase in traffic and reciprocate). Unfortunately the only thing out of the ordinary in my referrer URLs stats is an increase in hits from Mark Shea, but I'm not sure that's it.
Oh, well. More to come.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Is there any worse feeling than the night before you go back to work after a week's vacation? I'm not sure there is...
It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have so much fun hanging out as a family. When I'm at work now I'll be thinking about how I could instead be at a museum or park or singing "Older" with 'Xander.
If only I could make a living with music or something... but I guess I'm just not that talented, unlike some people (link, and yes it's a parody, via POF).
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Cookbooks by Peter Kreeft
"Angels and Lemons" - when egg-white-based cakes go sour
"Back to Fondue" - traditional answers for the modern question "what do we do with all this cheese?"
"Fundamentals of the Flan" - inspiring essays mostly about custard
"Ecumenical Jello" - for those times when there doesn't seem to be any room for agreement... or jello
"Handbook of Crispy Apologetics" - hundreds of answers to the question "why is fried food so tasty?"
"How to Win the Culture War" - a rousing call to arms indentifying the real issues at heart when good yogurt goes bad
"Making Sense out of Stuffing" - yeah, we don't know why he wrote this book, either
"Refutation of Morel Relativisim" - Intelligent, engaging dialogues between Mario Botali and someone who just doesn't care about mushrooms that much
"Socrates meets Emeril" - the father of philosophy kicks it up a notch
"Angels and Lemons" - when egg-white-based cakes go sour
"Back to Fondue" - traditional answers for the modern question "what do we do with all this cheese?"
"Fundamentals of the Flan" - inspiring essays mostly about custard
"Ecumenical Jello" - for those times when there doesn't seem to be any room for agreement... or jello
"Handbook of Crispy Apologetics" - hundreds of answers to the question "why is fried food so tasty?"
"How to Win the Culture War" - a rousing call to arms indentifying the real issues at heart when good yogurt goes bad
"Making Sense out of Stuffing" - yeah, we don't know why he wrote this book, either
"Refutation of Morel Relativisim" - Intelligent, engaging dialogues between Mario Botali and someone who just doesn't care about mushrooms that much
"Socrates meets Emeril" - the father of philosophy kicks it up a notch
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
I'm really sorry, Eddie...
The good Doctor asked me to post his latest KVR-VST.com contest entry for him. The theme this month was "Solo", so only one intstrument could be used, but any amount of processing could be done to that instrument. The instrument was the HUMAN VOICE (albeit six tracks of it). So with apologies to the late, great Eddie Harris, it's...
"Cold Duck Time! (Internal Monologue Version)"
It's under two-minutes long, it's in .mp3 format, it didn't take me more than an hour to make, and it's free. What else do you want from me? Oh, all right: here are all the other entries for this month. As usual, the efforts from Ixox (using only a flute bought for half-a-euro in Europe) and Plunge (using only an mbira) are excellent.
Update: link fixed. Thanks, RC!
The good Doctor asked me to post his latest KVR-VST.com contest entry for him. The theme this month was "Solo", so only one intstrument could be used, but any amount of processing could be done to that instrument. The instrument was the HUMAN VOICE (albeit six tracks of it). So with apologies to the late, great Eddie Harris, it's...
"Cold Duck Time! (Internal Monologue Version)"
It's under two-minutes long, it's in .mp3 format, it didn't take me more than an hour to make, and it's free. What else do you want from me? Oh, all right: here are all the other entries for this month. As usual, the efforts from Ixox (using only a flute bought for half-a-euro in Europe) and Plunge (using only an mbira) are excellent.
Update: link fixed. Thanks, RC!
Monday, September 20, 2004
I promised myself I wouldn't be drawn into this game (or any game which requires controllers especial) but after looking at that partial tune list, I don't see how I will not.
Everybody do the Hu, he coup...
This is probably the most obscure Ohio Players reference of all time.
This is probably the most obscure Ohio Players reference of all time.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
As promised...
Here's some new music for you. This song I started back in January and just finished writing the lyric today and recorded it. I'll probably tweak the mix later on next week, but here it is for now. 'Xander's only heard it twice and is already singing along, so I take that as some indicator of success.
"Pixel" by Victor Lams (.mp3 format, 192kbps) (right-click to save-as).
Here's the lyric in case you can't figure out what it's about.
Here's some new music for you. This song I started back in January and just finished writing the lyric today and recorded it. I'll probably tweak the mix later on next week, but here it is for now. 'Xander's only heard it twice and is already singing along, so I take that as some indicator of success.
"Pixel" by Victor Lams (.mp3 format, 192kbps) (right-click to save-as).
Here's the lyric in case you can't figure out what it's about.
God willing, I'll be posting a new (demo version) song tonight, a bit later. One that will for sure probably be on the new EP whenever that comes out eventually. So check back for that. If you want a sneak preview of the song, stare at your computer monitor for about 60 seconds then close your eyes really tight.
Friday, September 17, 2004
Thursday, September 16, 2004
And this, more than anything else, is the main reason I gave up Philosophy. Maybe in another 100 years or so we'll be able to do Philosophy again, honestly, but until then we don't really need Philosophers.
We need ass-kickers.
Er, I mean, we need artists: musicians and writers and painters and sculptors. That's what we need.
UPDATE: While no one taped the debate, Fr. Bryce was nice enough to pass along his own outline for the debate (in Word format) just in case anyone was interested in reading it. Here is the same document in HTML format.
We need ass-kickers.
Er, I mean, we need artists: musicians and writers and painters and sculptors. That's what we need.
UPDATE: While no one taped the debate, Fr. Bryce was nice enough to pass along his own outline for the debate (in Word format) just in case anyone was interested in reading it. Here is the same document in HTML format.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Sunday, September 12, 2004
FUN!
This weekend was the Plymouth Fall Festival, so of course we went downtown so 'Xander could ride some of the rides (he has a way to go before he reaches that magical 42" mark, thank goodness) but he had a blast, even on the kiddie rides.
There were tons of people, rides, food, booths, and music -- all in all, one of the great things about living in this town. Anyway, the cover band for this afternoon ("Mass Transit") played the usual (for Metro Detroit anyway) set of Stevie Wonder, Jr. Walker, and Temptations but then busted out into "Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys. This is a really excellent song and I'm happy to hear that, even after only being out for something like a year, it's already entering the canon of great cover band tunes. Check it out (most Public Libraries should have their self-titled debut album) because it's a really great song.
Imagine if Santana was actually three young brothers who could actually play guitar, write songs, and sing very well and that puts you in the ballpark of Los Lonely Boys. I do think it's a bit of a cop-out, though to be bi-lingual as it really cuts down on the number of unique verses you need to write for a song: simply sing the first verse over again but in Spanish instead of English and that's your third verse or bridge.
Hmm. Maybe I should have Babel Fish translate some of my stuff into Portuguese and do some stuff like Jobim.
This weekend was the Plymouth Fall Festival, so of course we went downtown so 'Xander could ride some of the rides (he has a way to go before he reaches that magical 42" mark, thank goodness) but he had a blast, even on the kiddie rides.
There were tons of people, rides, food, booths, and music -- all in all, one of the great things about living in this town. Anyway, the cover band for this afternoon ("Mass Transit") played the usual (for Metro Detroit anyway) set of Stevie Wonder, Jr. Walker, and Temptations but then busted out into "Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys. This is a really excellent song and I'm happy to hear that, even after only being out for something like a year, it's already entering the canon of great cover band tunes. Check it out (most Public Libraries should have their self-titled debut album) because it's a really great song.
Imagine if Santana was actually three young brothers who could actually play guitar, write songs, and sing very well and that puts you in the ballpark of Los Lonely Boys. I do think it's a bit of a cop-out, though to be bi-lingual as it really cuts down on the number of unique verses you need to write for a song: simply sing the first verse over again but in Spanish instead of English and that's your third verse or bridge.
Hmm. Maybe I should have Babel Fish translate some of my stuff into Portuguese and do some stuff like Jobim.
"Gee. Thanks, mom."
"I guess I should say, too, that if my mother, who is pushing 60 (at least judging by that photo) ever became feeble and useless, I would drag her kicking and screaming to the nearest Soylent Green production facility."
"I guess I should say, too, that if my mother, who is pushing 60 (at least judging by that photo) ever became feeble and useless, I would drag her kicking and screaming to the nearest Soylent Green production facility."
Just sitting here listening to some of the late, great Eddie Harris' music. There's probably no better way to pass the time. He's probably my favorite jazz saxophone artist of all time.
It's been ages since I've just listened to music (don't really have a good spot for that), but I'm going to have to try to make an effort to do it more often.
It's been ages since I've just listened to music (don't really have a good spot for that), but I'm going to have to try to make an effort to do it more often.
As much as I love TMBG, I have to admit that this is just wrong on so many levels.
Poking around, though, I did find the stage setup diagram for their most recent tour. That was kind of neat to see.
Poking around, though, I did find the stage setup diagram for their most recent tour. That was kind of neat to see.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
I did another mix of "...and we lost" (.mp3 format) fixing some of the vocals (particuarly the ending bit) and putting a nice Beatles flange on the chorus guitar part.
Anyway, thinking about it now, this song is as much about the 9/11 attacks (or more particularly our country's reaction to them) as it is about anything, so redoing it today just seems, after the fact of course, appropriate.
Anyway, thinking about it now, this song is as much about the 9/11 attacks (or more particularly our country's reaction to them) as it is about anything, so redoing it today just seems, after the fact of course, appropriate.
Friday, September 10, 2004
All in a Day's Work
If I were writing up this true story for Reader's Digest, it might go like this:
Working for a Head Start program in an urban, inner-city area near Detroit, our friend has seen more than her share of unfortunate children's names. This fall, however, when the new class of four-year-olds arrived, she encountered probably the saddest one of all: a young boy named (phonetically) "Sha-theed". Not a bad name, she thought, until she read the actual spelling the child's name on the class list: "S-h-i-t-h-e-a-d."
If I were writing up this true story for Reader's Digest, it might go like this:
Working for a Head Start program in an urban, inner-city area near Detroit, our friend has seen more than her share of unfortunate children's names. This fall, however, when the new class of four-year-olds arrived, she encountered probably the saddest one of all: a young boy named (phonetically) "Sha-theed". Not a bad name, she thought, until she read the actual spelling the child's name on the class list: "S-h-i-t-h-e-a-d."
Usually the Flash games at BigIdea.com (VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins, etc.) are pretty lame. But this one is actually pretty cool. Apparently it's about shooting a ball of duct tape into a funnel of doom but if you change the premise of the game in your own mind (which isn't that difficult given the simple graphics) so what you're really doing is trying to launch a graviton mine around the moons of Bajor into the wormhole in order to stop a Jem Hadar fleet from invading the Alpha Quadrant, then it's really quite fun.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Complete Savages
This sounds like something that might be fun. We hear that Mel actually directed the first two episodes, so we'll definitely watch those.
This sounds like something that might be fun. We hear that Mel actually directed the first two episodes, so we'll definitely watch those.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Well, it's almost 11pm and so far no headline has appeared on DrudgeReport with the words "Polyphonic Spree" and "fiery tour bus accident" in it so the jury is still out on whether or not this was a good day.
"Shoot me now,
Don't stop bleedin',
You'll be dead and you'll never think
your song is good when really it sucks,
When you're car nage..."
And now, like Doom taking a drink of water, I feel 10% better. Seriously, though, Tim DeLaughter is to good music what David Koresh was to organized religion.
"But, Victor. Your music isn't any better!"
Yeah, but at least I don't pretend to be the Messiah and wear a robe and fly up into the sky on strings.
"Shoot me now,
Don't stop bleedin',
You'll be dead and you'll never think
your song is good when really it sucks,
When you're car nage..."
And now, like Doom taking a drink of water, I feel 10% better. Seriously, though, Tim DeLaughter is to good music what David Koresh was to organized religion.
"But, Victor. Your music isn't any better!"
Yeah, but at least I don't pretend to be the Messiah and wear a robe and fly up into the sky on strings.
Monday, September 06, 2004
New version of "..and we lost." (mp3 format, 192kbps). You can still download the old version at the old link, if you really want it. I added a very brief harmony section and made some other minor changes.
And you can now stream it (in WindozeMedia and RealMedia format) from my AcidPlanet page.
ALSO -- I'm really glad RC liked it. He's one of my toughest (and therefore best) critics. At least one of my toughest critics who doesn't only use profanity.
And you can now stream it (in WindozeMedia and RealMedia format) from my AcidPlanet page.
ALSO -- I'm really glad RC liked it. He's one of my toughest (and therefore best) critics. At least one of my toughest critics who doesn't only use profanity.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Saturday, September 04, 2004
This isn't really finished yet, but the only way I can move onto something else is to post this. I'll probably tweak this tomorrow evening, but here's a new one:
"...and we lost" .mp3 format. 192kbs (because while I like 256 kbs, this is still a "draft") and it's just over three minutes.
Not sure what to say about the lyric on this one except that it's stream of consciousness almost and if it's anything it's a sort of a null-protest song. Beyond that you'll have to figure out what it means on your own because I can't help you; I guess you could say its meaning is hermeneutically sealed.
I'll post updates to this entry as I tweak the mix.
Update: link in this post now goes to the tweaked version.
"...and we lost" .mp3 format. 192kbs (because while I like 256 kbs, this is still a "draft") and it's just over three minutes.
Not sure what to say about the lyric on this one except that it's stream of consciousness almost and if it's anything it's a sort of a null-protest song. Beyond that you'll have to figure out what it means on your own because I can't help you; I guess you could say its meaning is hermeneutically sealed.
I'll post updates to this entry as I tweak the mix.
Update: link in this post now goes to the tweaked version.
Friday, September 03, 2004
StarTrek.com: Interview with Andrew Robinson
Appropos of nothing. I just found all the cool interviews and timelines there. Nifty.
Appropos of nothing. I just found all the cool interviews and timelines there. Nifty.
I'm pretty pissed off about the 200 dead Christian schoolchildren in Russia. If we were really serious about this war on terror in this country, there would be F-117A Nighthawks lighting up Chechnya tonight.
Not that the Nighthawks would be needed in Chechnya's case. You could probably do the job with a couple B-17s. I'm angry enough at this point to volunteer for the belly-gunner role for something like that.
Not that the Nighthawks would be needed in Chechnya's case. You could probably do the job with a couple B-17s. I'm angry enough at this point to volunteer for the belly-gunner role for something like that.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Nice speech tonight (way to throw the pro-lifers a bone, Dubya!), but what really made us laugh was this political ad from the Club For Growth.
It's called "Are You Rich?" Here it is in Quicktime. Or go to the Club For Growth's Multimedia Page and scroll down to August 5th for other streaming formats.
It's called "Are You Rich?" Here it is in Quicktime. Or go to the Club For Growth's Multimedia Page and scroll down to August 5th for other streaming formats.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
McSweeney's: An Open Letter to Officials of the United States Government Regarding What's New in My Reproductive Area
This piece effectively illustrates that an essential element in all good satire (which is to say, satire) is truth. If you don't have truth on your side, your piece will read like something written by a High School sophomore sitting in a creative writing class, frustrated by their parents' divorce (which isn't to say that Ms. Weinstein isn't a High School sophomore sitting in a creative writing class, frustrated by her parents' divorce, of course).
This piece effectively illustrates that an essential element in all good satire (which is to say, satire) is truth. If you don't have truth on your side, your piece will read like something written by a High School sophomore sitting in a creative writing class, frustrated by their parents' divorce (which isn't to say that Ms. Weinstein isn't a High School sophomore sitting in a creative writing class, frustrated by her parents' divorce, of course).
Monday, August 30, 2004
This may just be the best Casio SK-1 page on the web!!!!
I loved my Casio SK-1. I still love it. And some day I shall dig it out of the closet and play with it again.
I loved my Casio SK-1. I still love it. And some day I shall dig it out of the closet and play with it again.
No matter where I go in life, or what I manage to accomplish, this picture will always make me laugh.
"You guyyyyssss! No! Sssshhhh.. You did NOT!"
Heh. Heh. Heh. I wonder if they'll take that part out when they broadcast the awards. I sure hope not!
"You guyyyyssss! No! Sssshhhh.. You did NOT!"
Heh. Heh. Heh. I wonder if they'll take that part out when they broadcast the awards. I sure hope not!
Ack!
Didn't get any further than the headline on this latest Shiavo hackjob. This could only be considered a "right-to-die" case if Terry had ever expressed a desire to die. This can only be considered a "right-to-kill" case. Gotta love our media.
But then, no one ever said Michael Schiavo was a great man.
And yes, that is a newly remixed and remastered version of my song. I've been meaning to at least do something about the vocals and since I don't have time to re-record them, I just reprocessed them (a closed door can work wonders).
Victor Lams - "Not a Great Man" 192kbps .mp3 format. Lyric here.
Didn't get any further than the headline on this latest Shiavo hackjob. This could only be considered a "right-to-die" case if Terry had ever expressed a desire to die. This can only be considered a "right-to-kill" case. Gotta love our media.
But then, no one ever said Michael Schiavo was a great man.
And yes, that is a newly remixed and remastered version of my song. I've been meaning to at least do something about the vocals and since I don't have time to re-record them, I just reprocessed them (a closed door can work wonders).
Victor Lams - "Not a Great Man" 192kbps .mp3 format. Lyric here.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
It's been a rainy, wet weekend (well Friday was pretty nice). We did go to Jackie's MOPS group's picnic today, though, and 'Xander got to play with all of the other preschoolers. Very much fun.
I've been working on a song this weekend, but fell victim to My Curse: a nearly complete instrumental arrangement and no idea what the lyric is going to be about yet. Oh, well. You can listen to the music here, and maybe this week I'll write some words for it. I'm trying to balance the profound with the pro-fun, but on the other hand, I do this music making stuff because I enjoy it, not because I hold any delusions about it changing the world. So maybe I'll go with what first popped into my head, as ephemeral as that is.
And just because I know one person who will be interested: we're on the verge of the release of Lost Marble's Moho v5.0. This version adds some pretty substantial Flash .swf file exporting as well as added 3D capabilities (while still retaining it's 2D animation character) and new bone strengths. The beta is downloadable (for Mac and PC as a demo version) and it looks WICKED AWESOME. Can't wait to make some cartoons with this (particularly since the upgrade from v4.6 to v5.0 requires, as the other upgrades have done, only a very small fee: in this case, $19).
Oh, well. That's it for this weekend. Hope yours was a blast.
I've been working on a song this weekend, but fell victim to My Curse: a nearly complete instrumental arrangement and no idea what the lyric is going to be about yet. Oh, well. You can listen to the music here, and maybe this week I'll write some words for it. I'm trying to balance the profound with the pro-fun, but on the other hand, I do this music making stuff because I enjoy it, not because I hold any delusions about it changing the world. So maybe I'll go with what first popped into my head, as ephemeral as that is.
And just because I know one person who will be interested: we're on the verge of the release of Lost Marble's Moho v5.0. This version adds some pretty substantial Flash .swf file exporting as well as added 3D capabilities (while still retaining it's 2D animation character) and new bone strengths. The beta is downloadable (for Mac and PC as a demo version) and it looks WICKED AWESOME. Can't wait to make some cartoons with this (particularly since the upgrade from v4.6 to v5.0 requires, as the other upgrades have done, only a very small fee: in this case, $19).
Oh, well. That's it for this weekend. Hope yours was a blast.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Jay Maynard (aka. Tron Guy) does his best Evan Coyne Maloney impersonation and interviews Michael Moore fans for Jimmy Kimmel.
Very, very funny. And I'm glad Kimmel (of all people) could convince Maynard to put on a pair of briefs underneath his Tron unitard. Link via POF.
Very, very funny. And I'm glad Kimmel (of all people) could convince Maynard to put on a pair of briefs underneath his Tron unitard. Link via POF.
Friday, August 27, 2004
Ow! A cut!. I want a purple heart now for skinning my elbow on the curly slide at the park. That really stung for a few minutes there.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Missionaries To The Preborn: Great Lakes American Atrocities Tour - August 2nd-13th, 2004
We had more physical confrontations on this Tour than on any other Tour in the past. Several pro-abortion people were arrested along the way. No one from our group was arrested. We also ran into some bad police situations in a few places. In Pontiac, MI for example, some rank and file officers who were mad because they didn't get to impound Ron Brock's truck and confiscate all our literature, got in their squad cars, road up and down the street, and as they passed our people said derogatory things over their squad car PA system like - "How much are you getting paid" and "Blow up any buildings today?"
Silly pro-lifers. If they wanted a warm reception in Pontiac, they should've pretended to be crack dealers.
Really remarkable accounts and photos (bad metaphor aside: "Cars were often backed up like cordwood along this Tour"). It bears repeating: when people get upset by the photos of abortion, they have to realise that what they feel revulsion towards is not the pictures, but the reality represented:
This woman drove up the curb and stopped abruptly just before hitting our people with her car. She was cussing, screaming and crying. Several minutes later she attacked Pastor Matt. is the caption for this photo.
Jared has some strong words for them, too.
The situation is probably reaching a head though, apparently, as folks can no longer stomach the reality or abstract themselves from it. As one photo caption reads: "There were more physical confrontations on this Tour than any others in the past." Passion can be a good thing; it means we're not completely dead yet.
We had more physical confrontations on this Tour than on any other Tour in the past. Several pro-abortion people were arrested along the way. No one from our group was arrested. We also ran into some bad police situations in a few places. In Pontiac, MI for example, some rank and file officers who were mad because they didn't get to impound Ron Brock's truck and confiscate all our literature, got in their squad cars, road up and down the street, and as they passed our people said derogatory things over their squad car PA system like - "How much are you getting paid" and "Blow up any buildings today?"
Silly pro-lifers. If they wanted a warm reception in Pontiac, they should've pretended to be crack dealers.
Really remarkable accounts and photos (bad metaphor aside: "Cars were often backed up like cordwood along this Tour"). It bears repeating: when people get upset by the photos of abortion, they have to realise that what they feel revulsion towards is not the pictures, but the reality represented:
This woman drove up the curb and stopped abruptly just before hitting our people with her car. She was cussing, screaming and crying. Several minutes later she attacked Pastor Matt. is the caption for this photo.
Jared has some strong words for them, too.
The situation is probably reaching a head though, apparently, as folks can no longer stomach the reality or abstract themselves from it. As one photo caption reads: "There were more physical confrontations on this Tour than any others in the past." Passion can be a good thing; it means we're not completely dead yet.
To the pure, all things are pure. For everyone else, there's Earth Erotica, "Exploring the Sensual Contours of Earth's Body".
"Yosemite National Park? Yeah... I'd do it."
"Yosemite National Park? Yeah... I'd do it."
Monday, August 23, 2004
Okay, I wasn't actually fishing for birthday wishes (mainly just marking the occasion) but it sure was nice to receive them! Thank you, all, and with any luck we'll all make it back here next year.
Now do yourself a favor: drop whatever you are doing right now and run, do not walk, to the nearest place of DVD rentals and sales and make, buy, or rent "The Triplets of Belleville". This was in my birthday haul this year and is an awesome, awesome film. If you thought animation was dead or had somehow reached it's pinnacle in "Finding Nemo" (as I had), this will restore your hope and faith in the sheer craft of it all.
More on my birthday booty later.
Now do yourself a favor: drop whatever you are doing right now and run, do not walk, to the nearest place of DVD rentals and sales and make, buy, or rent "The Triplets of Belleville". This was in my birthday haul this year and is an awesome, awesome film. If you thought animation was dead or had somehow reached it's pinnacle in "Finding Nemo" (as I had), this will restore your hope and faith in the sheer craft of it all.
More on my birthday booty later.
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Dr. Apostrophe X emailed me this afternoon:
Hey, V! Could you post my KVR-VST.com entry this month? I thought everyone could use a dose of the Funk. And Funk goes best with a healthy dose of nasty dubble entendre. "Knock me up" I'm told can mean "pay a visit to" in the UK (as in "knock upon the door of me"), although in the states it pretty much just means to impregnate someone. It ends with a fadeout because all songs in the 1970s ended with a fade out.
So, I know I'll regret posting this but I do owe the good doctor a favor a two...
Dr. Apostrophe X - "Knock Me Up" 2 minutes, .mp3 format. If you promise not to cross the streams, you can listen to Windoze Media and Real Media formats at System193.net.
Hey, V! Could you post my KVR-VST.com entry this month? I thought everyone could use a dose of the Funk. And Funk goes best with a healthy dose of nasty dubble entendre. "Knock me up" I'm told can mean "pay a visit to" in the UK (as in "knock upon the door of me"), although in the states it pretty much just means to impregnate someone. It ends with a fadeout because all songs in the 1970s ended with a fade out.
So, I know I'll regret posting this but I do owe the good doctor a favor a two...
Dr. Apostrophe X - "Knock Me Up" 2 minutes, .mp3 format. If you promise not to cross the streams, you can listen to Windoze Media and Real Media formats at System193.net.
Friday, August 20, 2004
What would you get if an athelete from Iceland combined creepy-looking puppets, nonsensical Euro-Disco techno music, and a flying airship? I'm guessing it would look a lot like LazyTown, which premiered on Nick Jr. this week.
It's a pretty cute show thanks to the set design and goofy European sensibilities (whenever that music starts with the "utz-utz-utz-utz" bass drum, I can't help but laugh). Also, as Jackie pointed out, it has the distinction of being the only kids show on television with a a decent villian (the actor playing Robbie Rotten must be a pretty good physical comic, too, even though I can't find anything on him on Google).
See for yourself in this music video.
"When I move,
I'm feeling all right.
Bing! Beng! Bang!
And I'm ready to go.
Jump high,
From left to right,
And you'll be going strong!"
It's a pretty cute show thanks to the set design and goofy European sensibilities (whenever that music starts with the "utz-utz-utz-utz" bass drum, I can't help but laugh). Also, as Jackie pointed out, it has the distinction of being the only kids show on television with a a decent villian (the actor playing Robbie Rotten must be a pretty good physical comic, too, even though I can't find anything on him on Google).
See for yourself in this music video.
"When I move,
I'm feeling all right.
Bing! Beng! Bang!
And I'm ready to go.
Jump high,
From left to right,
And you'll be going strong!"
Thursday, August 19, 2004
I found the link to philosophy.com in the recently-visited list of our web-browser and I was really excited.... For about five seconds, until I clicked on the link.
I also love that picture Drudge keeps running of Hanoi Kerry. It makes him look like the elusive Yeti. Well... even MORE like the elusive Yeti than usual.
BBC News: A woman who {bumped uglies with] US presidential hopeful John Kerry says she [was convinced] to take down [a very embarassing website].
This is the purpose for which web cache was invented.
At least we now know whatever gave Kerry the idea that he could possibly be the next president:
As a homicide detective, Nora Davis must solve a rash of murders and disappearances on the planet Earth2. Nora, along with her brother Remy and her partner Preston, are youth-geni, the youth of the genetically engineered. Born with superior traits, the three must use all their resources in an effort to save their planet.
Earth2? Hmmm.. maybe this is where Edwards' other America is located? I wonder if Barak Obama thinks he's youth-geni or not? Actually, this book might provide a lot of insight into the Democratic party as of late, if only I could convince myself that it wouldn't be better for everyone involved to just flush the $8.50 down the toilet.
This is the purpose for which web cache was invented.
At least we now know whatever gave Kerry the idea that he could possibly be the next president:
As a homicide detective, Nora Davis must solve a rash of murders and disappearances on the planet Earth2. Nora, along with her brother Remy and her partner Preston, are youth-geni, the youth of the genetically engineered. Born with superior traits, the three must use all their resources in an effort to save their planet.
Earth2? Hmmm.. maybe this is where Edwards' other America is located? I wonder if Barak Obama thinks he's youth-geni or not? Actually, this book might provide a lot of insight into the Democratic party as of late, if only I could convince myself that it wouldn't be better for everyone involved to just flush the $8.50 down the toilet.
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