Thursday, 16 August 2012
Marianne Faithfull - "Summer Nights"
Nice old song, to be played on a warm dusky evening, reminiscing.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Moonrise Kingdom
Lovely film by Wes Anderson about a very young teenage love story... or rather, what can happen when children and parents switch roles.
For the adults in this film seem as simpleminded (focused) as children, as dificult to see through more complex situations as a teenager might... Yet the young kids behave like adults; wise, smart, computing...
Small island, small community. A scout runs away, with a "very troubled" girl from a local family.
Bill Muray, Tilda Swanson, Bruce Willis, Edwart Norton.
For the adults in this film seem as simpleminded (focused) as children, as dificult to see through more complex situations as a teenager might... Yet the young kids behave like adults; wise, smart, computing...
Small island, small community. A scout runs away, with a "very troubled" girl from a local family.
Bill Muray, Tilda Swanson, Bruce Willis, Edwart Norton.
Breaking Bad (series, season 1)
Interesting, though not every episode is as strong.
Only 7. Sometimes there are scenes that make you wonder why they took the trouble.
Particularly the first episode, with the van driving off like crazy into the dessert, is pretty impressive.
Probably gonna watch this in season-split installments.
Only 7. Sometimes there are scenes that make you wonder why they took the trouble.
Particularly the first episode, with the van driving off like crazy into the dessert, is pretty impressive.
Probably gonna watch this in season-split installments.
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Underworld - "Beautiful Burnout" (Oblivion With Bells)
still amazing, must be breathtaking during roadtrip.
Friday, 10 August 2012
the Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale
Last of the trilogy. Good fun, though a few things bugged me: the "bat"... it looked more like a Terminator. Batman is known for his sleek stuff. Not this weird thing.
The fact that he lived after all... okay, but at least don't show him anymore. Show only Michael Caine nodding.
But catwoman is sexy, and all in all it was fun.
Last of the trilogy. Good fun, though a few things bugged me: the "bat"... it looked more like a Terminator. Batman is known for his sleek stuff. Not this weird thing.
The fact that he lived after all... okay, but at least don't show him anymore. Show only Michael Caine nodding.
But catwoman is sexy, and all in all it was fun.
Thursday, 9 August 2012
Difficult books
These I'll probably never read:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/tip-sheet/article/53409-the-top-10-most-difficult-books.html
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/tip-sheet/article/53409-the-top-10-most-difficult-books.html
How long is a good idea?
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/08/09/several-short-sentences-about-writing-klinkenborg/
“You can say smart, interesting, complicated things using short sentences. How long is a good idea?”
“If there is a magic in story writing,” admonished Henry Miller, “and I am convinced there is, no one has ever been able to reduce it to a recipe that can be passed from one person to another.” And yet, famous advice on writing abounds.
In Several Short Sentences About Writing (public library), author and New York Times editorial board member Verlyn Klinkenborg does away with much of the traditional wisdom on writing and dissects the sentence — its structure, its intention, its semantic craftsmanship — to deliver a new, useful, and direct guide to the art of storytelling.
Klinkenborg writes in the introduction:
Like most received wisdom, what people think they know about writing works in subtle, subterranean ways. for some reason, we seem to believe most strongly in the stuff that gets into our heads without our knowing or remembering how it got there. What we think we know bout writing sounds plausible. It confirms our generally false ideas about creativity and genius. But none of this means it’s true.
[…]
Unlearning what I learned in college — teaching myself to write well — is the basis of what I know. So is a lifetime of reading and a love of language.
[…]
This is a book full of starting points. Perhaps they’ll help you find enough clarity in your own mind and your own writing to disvoer what it means to write. I don’t mean ‘write the way I do’ or ‘write the way they do.’ I mean ‘write the way you do.’
A short sampling of advice:
Know what each sentence says,
What it doesn’t say,
And what it implies.
Of these, the hardest is knowing what each sentence actually says.
There are innumerable ways to write badly.
The usual way is making sentences that don’t say what you think they do.
The only link between you and the reader is the sentence you’re making.
You can’t revise or discard what you don’t consciously recognize.
These assumptions are prohibitions and obligations are the imprint of your education and the culture you live in.
Distrust them.
Speaking to the power of ignorance and the negative space of knowledge:
What you don’t know about writing is also a form of knowledge, though much harder to grasp.
Try to discern the shape of what you don’t know and why you don’t know it,
Whenever you get a glimpse of your ignorance.
Don’t fear it or be embarrassed by it.
Acknowledge it.
What you don’t know and why you don’t know it are information too.
Complementing E. B. White’s case against absolutism when it comes to brevity and length:
You can say smart, interesting, complicated things using short sentences.
How long is a good idea?
Does it become less good if it’s expressed in two sentences instead of one?
[…]
There’s nothing wrong with well-made, strongly constructed, purposeful long sentences.
But long sentences often tend to collapse or break down or become opaque or trip over their awkwardness.
They’re pasted together with false syntax.
And rely on words like ‘with’ and ‘as’ to lengthen the sentence.
They’re short on verbs, weak in syntactic vigor,
Full of floating, unattached phrases, often out of position.
And worse — the end of the sentence commonly forgets its beginning,
As if the sentence were a long, weary road to the wrong place.
[…]
Writing short sentences will help you write strong, balanced sentences of any length.
Strong, lengthy sentences are really just strong, short sentences joined in various ways.
Klinkenborg synthesizes our arsenal of writing thusly:
What you’ve been taught.
What you assume is true because you’ve heard it repeated by others.
What you feel, no matter how subtle.
What you don’t know.
What you learn from your own experience.
These are the ways we know nearly everything about the world around us.
Unusual and unusually useful, Several Short Sentences About Writing comes as a fine addition to these essential books on how to write better.
“You can say smart, interesting, complicated things using short sentences. How long is a good idea?”
“If there is a magic in story writing,” admonished Henry Miller, “and I am convinced there is, no one has ever been able to reduce it to a recipe that can be passed from one person to another.” And yet, famous advice on writing abounds.
In Several Short Sentences About Writing (public library), author and New York Times editorial board member Verlyn Klinkenborg does away with much of the traditional wisdom on writing and dissects the sentence — its structure, its intention, its semantic craftsmanship — to deliver a new, useful, and direct guide to the art of storytelling.
Klinkenborg writes in the introduction:
Like most received wisdom, what people think they know about writing works in subtle, subterranean ways. for some reason, we seem to believe most strongly in the stuff that gets into our heads without our knowing or remembering how it got there. What we think we know bout writing sounds plausible. It confirms our generally false ideas about creativity and genius. But none of this means it’s true.
[…]
Unlearning what I learned in college — teaching myself to write well — is the basis of what I know. So is a lifetime of reading and a love of language.
[…]
This is a book full of starting points. Perhaps they’ll help you find enough clarity in your own mind and your own writing to disvoer what it means to write. I don’t mean ‘write the way I do’ or ‘write the way they do.’ I mean ‘write the way you do.’
A short sampling of advice:
Know what each sentence says,
What it doesn’t say,
And what it implies.
Of these, the hardest is knowing what each sentence actually says.
There are innumerable ways to write badly.
The usual way is making sentences that don’t say what you think they do.
The only link between you and the reader is the sentence you’re making.
You can’t revise or discard what you don’t consciously recognize.
These assumptions are prohibitions and obligations are the imprint of your education and the culture you live in.
Distrust them.
Speaking to the power of ignorance and the negative space of knowledge:
What you don’t know about writing is also a form of knowledge, though much harder to grasp.
Try to discern the shape of what you don’t know and why you don’t know it,
Whenever you get a glimpse of your ignorance.
Don’t fear it or be embarrassed by it.
Acknowledge it.
What you don’t know and why you don’t know it are information too.
Complementing E. B. White’s case against absolutism when it comes to brevity and length:
You can say smart, interesting, complicated things using short sentences.
How long is a good idea?
Does it become less good if it’s expressed in two sentences instead of one?
[…]
There’s nothing wrong with well-made, strongly constructed, purposeful long sentences.
But long sentences often tend to collapse or break down or become opaque or trip over their awkwardness.
They’re pasted together with false syntax.
And rely on words like ‘with’ and ‘as’ to lengthen the sentence.
They’re short on verbs, weak in syntactic vigor,
Full of floating, unattached phrases, often out of position.
And worse — the end of the sentence commonly forgets its beginning,
As if the sentence were a long, weary road to the wrong place.
[…]
Writing short sentences will help you write strong, balanced sentences of any length.
Strong, lengthy sentences are really just strong, short sentences joined in various ways.
Klinkenborg synthesizes our arsenal of writing thusly:
What you’ve been taught.
What you assume is true because you’ve heard it repeated by others.
What you feel, no matter how subtle.
What you don’t know.
What you learn from your own experience.
These are the ways we know nearly everything about the world around us.
Unusual and unusually useful, Several Short Sentences About Writing comes as a fine addition to these essential books on how to write better.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Food Inc.
Impressive, as dark as you think it will be, documentary about the food industry. The meat, the corn, the soybeans, the Big Corporations, the involvement with politics.
Not happy. Not at all. Gripping.
Not happy. Not at all. Gripping.
Werner Herzog - "Grizzly Man" (2005)
Intriguing documentary about "Grizzly Man", who lived with grizzlies for 13 summers until he and his girlfriend / partner got eaten by them.
Not so much the nature side of things, but the human take on nature was intriguing.
Not so much the nature side of things, but the human take on nature was intriguing.
- his overwhelming love for the animals, to the point of fake
- the practical "well, you could wait until he got eaten" viewpoint
- the adolation of all he did for them
- the Inuits (?? no, others, from Alaska), who basically saw his involvement with the bears as infringement. Plus, it might make the bears trust people. Utterly wrong.
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Raising Arizona
crazy early film by the Coen brothers (their 2nd film?) in which Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter steal a baby.
Amazing scene where John Goodman emerges from the mud in sweeping rain when escaping from prison.
Running gag; leaving the baby behind.
Amazing scene where John Goodman emerges from the mud in sweeping rain when escaping from prison.
Running gag; leaving the baby behind.
the Glad Version - "Under the Pines" (Make Islands)
started off with a Muse-like sound.
Interesting.
2012-08-24 - update:
Listening to the whole album now. Not that inspiring.
Interesting.
2012-08-24 - update:
Listening to the whole album now. Not that inspiring.
Friday, 3 August 2012
Man Man - "Black Mission Goggles" (Six Demon Bag)
La-la-la-esque circus cabaretesque a la Gogol Bordello.
Jump with me!
Jump with me!
the Residents - "How To Get A Head.Road" (Roadworms)
Crazy song, half sung and shouted by a lost girl, haunting lyrics and a mental sound.
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Wonderfully insane scientific headlines
It is well known within organic chemistry circles that there is a very strong bias toward L rather than D homochirality in the structure of earth's organic compounds. A recent paper offered a speculation about a possible explanation of the bias:
If there was … right circularly polarized light with energy in the uv or higher irradiating the asteroid belt when the amino acids were present on a particle that later came to Earth, this could account for the small excesses of the L anantiomers seen in the α-methyl amino acids.
And what did the PR/media machine do to make news out of this finding? It ultimately mutated into headlines such as:
Claim: Advanced dinosaurs may rule other planets
The paper was entitled "Evidence for the Likely Origin of Homochirality in Amino Acids, Sugars, and Nucleosides on Prebiotic Earth." It did not exactly make a claim that advanced dinosaurs may rule other planets. What it talked about was the possible existence of right circularly polarized light irradiating the asteroids before there was life on earth. (It is thought that the amino acids forming the basis for life on our planet could well have come from the asteroid belt via meteors, and their structure might be affected by light polarization. Some meteors found in Australia contain materials that have a bias in the direction that earth compounds favor.)
Robert McHenry provides an interesting and perceptive analysis of the way in which the science reporting got from possible light polarization biases to smart velociraptor civilizations on other planets. And as he notes, to be fair to the media we have to acknowledge that the absurd metamorphosis was considerably aided by an ill-considered (indeed, frankly silly) throwaway remark at the end of the serious organic chemistry paper by Ronald Breslow that is being reported on. Wrapping up his paper, Breslow said:
An implication from this work is that elsewhere in the universe there could be life forms based on D amino acids and L sugars, depending on the chirality of circular polarized light in that sector of the universe or whatever other process operated to favor the L α-methyl amino acids acids in the meteorites that have landed on Earth.
And then he overreached and added this:
Such life forms could well be advanced versions of dinosaurs, if mammals did not have the good fortune to have the dinosaurs wiped out by an asteroidal collision, as on Earth. We would be better off not meeting them.
McHenry wonders "what imp of the perverse induced him to add" those two extra sentences. Handing those sentences to the university PR men can only be compared to give a bottle of Coke a good two-minute shake before handing it to a thirsty person.
This Discovery News analysis by Ian O'Neill re-examines the story, though in the process it makes things still worse with the headline "DO INTELLIGENT DINOSAURS REALLY RULE ALIEN WORLDS?", and a link to the idea of dinosaurs developing a space program, and an insanely inappropriate picture that clearly shows the silhouette of a large sauropodal herbivore, rather than the sort of smart predator that might have signed up for the dinosaurian space program had there been one. (Come on. An apatosaurus is not going to pass the physical.)
We're still a long way from sensible science reporting industry. Faced with a choice between trying to give an accurate sense of what has been done and writing a sexy piece with an utterly insane eye-catching header and lede, they'll take the sexy insane eye-catching line every time.
Language Log frequently deconstructs some of the nonsense that gets published about linguistics and cognitive science. For a typical example, take a look at Mark Liberman's analysis of results about baboons (Papio papio). What the research shows is that baboons may perhaps be able to become subconsciously aware of letter frequency in orthographic stimuli that they have been exposed to (stimuli of which they do not understand one single word, of course). Where the headlines went with it is well illustrated by this random example:
Reading time at the zoo: the baboons that excel at English.
You could hardly make this stuff up. Except that science reporters do, every single day.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4105
If there was … right circularly polarized light with energy in the uv or higher irradiating the asteroid belt when the amino acids were present on a particle that later came to Earth, this could account for the small excesses of the L anantiomers seen in the α-methyl amino acids.
And what did the PR/media machine do to make news out of this finding? It ultimately mutated into headlines such as:
Claim: Advanced dinosaurs may rule other planets
The paper was entitled "Evidence for the Likely Origin of Homochirality in Amino Acids, Sugars, and Nucleosides on Prebiotic Earth." It did not exactly make a claim that advanced dinosaurs may rule other planets. What it talked about was the possible existence of right circularly polarized light irradiating the asteroids before there was life on earth. (It is thought that the amino acids forming the basis for life on our planet could well have come from the asteroid belt via meteors, and their structure might be affected by light polarization. Some meteors found in Australia contain materials that have a bias in the direction that earth compounds favor.)
Robert McHenry provides an interesting and perceptive analysis of the way in which the science reporting got from possible light polarization biases to smart velociraptor civilizations on other planets. And as he notes, to be fair to the media we have to acknowledge that the absurd metamorphosis was considerably aided by an ill-considered (indeed, frankly silly) throwaway remark at the end of the serious organic chemistry paper by Ronald Breslow that is being reported on. Wrapping up his paper, Breslow said:
An implication from this work is that elsewhere in the universe there could be life forms based on D amino acids and L sugars, depending on the chirality of circular polarized light in that sector of the universe or whatever other process operated to favor the L α-methyl amino acids acids in the meteorites that have landed on Earth.
And then he overreached and added this:
Such life forms could well be advanced versions of dinosaurs, if mammals did not have the good fortune to have the dinosaurs wiped out by an asteroidal collision, as on Earth. We would be better off not meeting them.
McHenry wonders "what imp of the perverse induced him to add" those two extra sentences. Handing those sentences to the university PR men can only be compared to give a bottle of Coke a good two-minute shake before handing it to a thirsty person.
This Discovery News analysis by Ian O'Neill re-examines the story, though in the process it makes things still worse with the headline "DO INTELLIGENT DINOSAURS REALLY RULE ALIEN WORLDS?", and a link to the idea of dinosaurs developing a space program, and an insanely inappropriate picture that clearly shows the silhouette of a large sauropodal herbivore, rather than the sort of smart predator that might have signed up for the dinosaurian space program had there been one. (Come on. An apatosaurus is not going to pass the physical.)
We're still a long way from sensible science reporting industry. Faced with a choice between trying to give an accurate sense of what has been done and writing a sexy piece with an utterly insane eye-catching header and lede, they'll take the sexy insane eye-catching line every time.
Language Log frequently deconstructs some of the nonsense that gets published about linguistics and cognitive science. For a typical example, take a look at Mark Liberman's analysis of results about baboons (Papio papio). What the research shows is that baboons may perhaps be able to become subconsciously aware of letter frequency in orthographic stimuli that they have been exposed to (stimuli of which they do not understand one single word, of course). Where the headlines went with it is well illustrated by this random example:
Reading time at the zoo: the baboons that excel at English.
You could hardly make this stuff up. Except that science reporters do, every single day.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4105
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Senna (2010)
fast-paced (d'oh!) documentary about Formula 1 legend Senna.
Impressive doc.
"Senna. You are three times World Champion. You are the fastest man on earth, and you love fishing. Why don't you go fishing"
Good editing to switch from the tears of people during his funeral to their happy moments years before.
Impressive doc.
"Senna. You are three times World Champion. You are the fastest man on earth, and you love fishing. Why don't you go fishing"
Good editing to switch from the tears of people during his funeral to their happy moments years before.
Monday, 30 July 2012
M.G. Vassanji - "The Book of Secrets"
A nice read... yet.
Ehrgh. It took me too long to finish this. Reading too many books at the same time, over too long a period. I think that ruined part of it, made me miss out on the overall story.
The first part, the diary of ADC Corbin, was intriguing. It reminded me of "The Pianotuner", but whether it was the writing or the mood, I cannot say. I think the latter.
Then the story continues with people finding the diary, wondering about it. Using it as a shrine for their beloved, murdered, wife...
To a lesser degree, this seemed a bit like mr Bolaño and his South American friends: descriptions of what happens, but in a distant voice. There is seldom real emotions running bare on the page. Am I too insensitive to "get" this kind of writing? Perhaps.
I liked the story; its settings are wonderful. It isn't boring, yet at the same time, it did not pull me along. I made myself finish the second half in less than two weeks, but that was largely to "be done with it".
Ehrgh. It took me too long to finish this. Reading too many books at the same time, over too long a period. I think that ruined part of it, made me miss out on the overall story.
The first part, the diary of ADC Corbin, was intriguing. It reminded me of "The Pianotuner", but whether it was the writing or the mood, I cannot say. I think the latter.
Then the story continues with people finding the diary, wondering about it. Using it as a shrine for their beloved, murdered, wife...
To a lesser degree, this seemed a bit like mr Bolaño and his South American friends: descriptions of what happens, but in a distant voice. There is seldom real emotions running bare on the page. Am I too insensitive to "get" this kind of writing? Perhaps.
I liked the story; its settings are wonderful. It isn't boring, yet at the same time, it did not pull me along. I made myself finish the second half in less than two weeks, but that was largely to "be done with it".
Saturday, 28 July 2012
VAST - "Tattoo of your name" (April)
Swinging song from one-man (Jon Crosby) band VAST.
Hard to describe. Singer-songwriter. Minor chords.
Hard to describe. Singer-songwriter. Minor chords.
Metronomy - "The Bay" (The English Riviera)
Strange. Starting off with minimalistic plink-y-plonk.
Then singing... it reminds me of something that escapes me.
Close harmony vocals at times. Very synthetic.
Other songs : "The Look", "She Wants", "Corinne"... okay. Sometimes the synthy 8bit sound reminds me of Castlevania. Or any Nintendo game.
"Trouble Underlined" has a wonderfully wet burbling to it.
Then singing... it reminds me of something that escapes me.
Close harmony vocals at times. Very synthetic.
Other songs : "The Look", "She Wants", "Corinne"... okay. Sometimes the synthy 8bit sound reminds me of Castlevania. Or any Nintendo game.
"Trouble Underlined" has a wonderfully wet burbling to it.
Friday, 27 July 2012
Chris Rea - "Steel River Blues" (The Blue Jukebox)
A sax, a slow voice, whispered hihats.
Soothing in its melancholy.
Soothing in its melancholy.
Gregory Page - "La Valse De Virginie" (Love Made Me Drunk)
First thought: Yann Tiersen.
Second thought: Yann Tiersen.
Third: this is *so* Yann Tiersen.
Mr Page probably has to deal often with this reaction...
(Oh? I've blogger about him before? There is "Gregory David Page" in my labels. Assuming it is him.)
Second thought: Yann Tiersen.
Third: this is *so* Yann Tiersen.
Mr Page probably has to deal often with this reaction...
(Oh? I've blogger about him before? There is "Gregory David Page" in my labels. Assuming it is him.)
Thursday, 26 July 2012
the Paris Review - all interviews
http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews
amazing stuff.
update 2019-07-23 - reading "The Paris Review - Interviews vol. 1"
Dorothy Parker
There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.
amazing stuff.
update 2019-07-23 - reading "The Paris Review - Interviews vol. 1"
Dorothy Parker
There's a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it; wisecracking is simply calisthenics with words.
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Coldcut - "Philosophy" (album)
I like their "Re:volution" album a lot... or do I like the Ninja remix of those songs?
Their "Philosophy" album... it really doesn't do anything for me. Silly '90's songs.
Their "Philosophy" album... it really doesn't do anything for me. Silly '90's songs.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Rock 'n Roll junkie
Neerlands knuffeljunk... have I seen this documentary?
Sweet and friendly, in a rough, shoot-it-up-your-vein way.
Also, it proves I do not like his (former) manager. Not honest:
- "you fired some of them"
- him: "well.." (ramble ramble nonsense nonsense difference-of-opinion, had-to...)
If you had to fire them, you had to fire them. Have the balls to admit it. Don't try to pretend it was "just one of those situations where there was no other way out of it." Bullshit. Grow a testicle, please.
Sweet and friendly, in a rough, shoot-it-up-your-vein way.
Also, it proves I do not like his (former) manager. Not honest:
- "you fired some of them"
- him: "well.." (ramble ramble nonsense nonsense difference-of-opinion, had-to...)
If you had to fire them, you had to fire them. Have the balls to admit it. Don't try to pretend it was "just one of those situations where there was no other way out of it." Bullshit. Grow a testicle, please.
Debra Cowan - "Alcohol" (Fond Desire Farewell)
slow carnavalesque, alcoholic, a waltz for the slow self-side of society.
Madeleine Peyroux - "Between the bars" (Careless Love)
so sad, so beautiful, so lonely in the night
(supposedly a cover from an Elliot Smith song with the same name?)
("You won't but you might"... ouch....)
Drink up, baby
Stay up all night
Things you could do
You won't but you might
The potential you'll be
You'll never see
Promises you'll only make
Drink up with me now
And forget all about
Pressure of days
Do what I say
And I'll make you okay
And drive them away
Images stuck in your head
People you've been before
That you don't want around anymore
That push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
Drink up, baby
Look at the stars.
And I'll kiss you again
Between the bars
Where I'm seeing you there
With your hands in the air
Waiting to finally be caught
Drink up one more time
And I'll make you mine
And keep you apart
Deep in my heart
Separate from the rest
Where I like you the best
Keep the things you forgot
The people you've been before
That you don't want around anymore
That push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
(supposedly a cover from an Elliot Smith song with the same name?)
("You won't but you might"... ouch....)
Drink up, baby
Stay up all night
Things you could do
You won't but you might
The potential you'll be
You'll never see
Promises you'll only make
Drink up with me now
And forget all about
Pressure of days
Do what I say
And I'll make you okay
And drive them away
Images stuck in your head
People you've been before
That you don't want around anymore
That push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
Drink up, baby
Look at the stars.
And I'll kiss you again
Between the bars
Where I'm seeing you there
With your hands in the air
Waiting to finally be caught
Drink up one more time
And I'll make you mine
And keep you apart
Deep in my heart
Separate from the rest
Where I like you the best
Keep the things you forgot
The people you've been before
That you don't want around anymore
That push and shove and won't bend to your will
I'll keep them still
Friday, 20 July 2012
Stephen Colbert and Neil deGrasse Tyson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg
Amazing interview.
Amazing interview.
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
John Cleese on creativity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VShmtsLhkQg
Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
"The Carpet Weavers"
A story spanning centuries and generations. The plot intrigues enough to pull you along but most of all, the writer shows an amazing ability to jump back and forth between times, places and protagonists, reveiling enough to tell the story yet keeping most of it hidden, the absence of details hidden at an incredibly large universe and history.
Though a few people are paramount to the story (because they played key positions in the plot) none is *the* protagonist, thereby telling a vast tale that transcends normal humans, weaving ("ahem") a pattern literally larger than the universe.
Monday, 16 July 2012
words
- gorgonize - to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on: Stupefy or petrify
- dactylion - an anatomical landmark located at the tip of the middle finger.
- enantiodromia - the changing of something into its opposite.
- hamartia - the character flaw or error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall.
- ktenology - the science of putting people to death.
- montivagant - wandering over hills and mountains.
- ostentiferous - bringing omens or unnatural or supernatural manifestations.
- ultracrepidarian - a person who gives opinions and advice on matters outside of one's knowledge.
- yonderly - mentally or emotionally distant; absent-minded.
http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/07/02/project-twins-unusual-words/
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Darrin James Band - "Had Enough Of Me" (Thrones Of Gold)
"a dose of imperfection"
Jazzy, swingy, plinkyponk piano! Wonderful!
Jazzy, swingy, plinkyponk piano! Wonderful!
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Friday, 13 July 2012
Fun - "We Are Young"
Very '80's, very familiar sound, particularly the single-syllable low-high glide. (on fiii-iiiire)
But the name doesn't ring a bell at all.
But the name doesn't ring a bell at all.
Katzenjammer - "Lady Marlene" (A Kiss Before You Go)
oh it is my current mental state, I know this, but the sadness of this song eats away at my thoughts.
Velvet and satin and puppets on strings
Everyone's dancing with Lady Marlene
Fear is the color of all that they wear
Mother of pearl palace cold like her heart of stone
Silently soldiers dance till they fall
Icicle chandelier shining so cold
They are draped in red in her masquerade
Lady Marlene takes your hand and commands the...
Wind to blow
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
Oh the north wind blows
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
Murk is her grip on the world
Calamity rules when a flag is unfurled
Turn your backs on Marlene and let there be love
Pallid and pale, you all fall asleep
As the north wind blows
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
Oh the north wind blows,
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
(Oh the north wind blows)
(Ghosts to the sky above)
(Deep in despair they cry)
(Where is the love?)
(Oh the north wind blows)
(Ghosts to the sky above)
(Deep in despair they cry)
(Where is the love?)
Velvet and satin and puppets on strings
Everyone's dancing with Lady Marlene
Fear is the color of all that they wear
Mother of pearl palace cold like her heart of stone
Silently soldiers dance till they fall
Icicle chandelier shining so cold
They are draped in red in her masquerade
Lady Marlene takes your hand and commands the...
Wind to blow
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
Oh the north wind blows
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
Murk is her grip on the world
Calamity rules when a flag is unfurled
Turn your backs on Marlene and let there be love
Pallid and pale, you all fall asleep
As the north wind blows
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
Oh the north wind blows,
Ghosts to the sky above
Deep in despair they cry
Where is the love?
(Oh the north wind blows)
(Ghosts to the sky above)
(Deep in despair they cry)
(Where is the love?)
(Oh the north wind blows)
(Ghosts to the sky above)
(Deep in despair they cry)
(Where is the love?)
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Firewater - "Diamonds And Gold" (Songs We Should Have Written)
Slow, slightly cabaretesque, gypsy hints.
Slightly sad.
Slightly sad.
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter - "The Long Earth"
Wonderful book. Clear traces of Pratchett, yet muted, which is not a bad thing.
Intriguing thought about an endless amount of worlds, and people discovering how to Step through them.
Good read, though the end seems rather sudden, and it doesn't answer a whole lot of questions.
Intriguing thought about an endless amount of worlds, and people discovering how to Step through them.
Good read, though the end seems rather sudden, and it doesn't answer a whole lot of questions.
Saturday, 7 July 2012
"irrealis mood" in English language
("irrealis mood"... awesome!)
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4049
Consider how were is normally used in the 1st person singular and 3rd person singular. When I say I wish I were with you right now, I'm talking about the situation in an alternative unreal world. (Hence the term "irrealis mood" in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language; we'll come back to that.) The were in such cases is not a past tense form. What I'm saying is that I wish the actual world could be modified to an alternative one, mostly the same as here, except that in the alternative one I'm with you right now. The verb were is talking about the present time in an alternate universe that realizes my wish.
How could we put the statement, I wish I were with you into the past? How to describe that same wish as experienced way back when? There isn't a suitable past tense form corresponding to the irrealis. (Intuitively that's because its uses tend to be future-oriented: what's in the past is already fixed and the wishes either came true or they didn't. Wishes are mostly about possible futures.) There is a long tradition of incorrectly calling irrealis were the "past subjunctive", but it is nothing of the kind.
This does not mean it is impossible to talk about wishes you once had that came true (or failed to come true) at a later point in the past. It seems to me that you could say When I was a child I wished I was a bird, and slightly better (because it expresses the habitual character of having a wish at an earlier age) would be When I was a child I used to wish I was a bird). For a slightly different meaning, where you are looking back to an early wishing period about an even earlier longed-for birdhood, you could say When I was a child I wished (or used to wish) I had been a bird.
What does not sound like idiomatic English to me (in fact I think it might actually be grammatically impermissible, so I'll prefix it with "?*") is: ?*When I was a child I wished I were a bird (or ?*When I was a child I used to wish I were a bird).
I think someone, either Tomczek or his editors at the Huffington Post, had a little moment of panic about was and were, a moment of nervous cluelessness, and plumped for the wrong one. He means to talk about the things he wishes now that people had told him back then.
Nervous cluelessness of this sort is a strange phenomenon: what could make someone uncertain about how to say things in their own language, the one that they think in, the one they have been using fluently and effortlessly for decades? I think I can go some way to explaining what triggered it.
It is only the verb with the basic stem be that has a special form for the irrealis. Other verbs use the preterite form in the relevant contexts (the one that also serves to express the simple past). And even be only has a distinct irrealis form in the 1st and 3rd singular, because in all other person and number combinations the irrealis and the preterite have the same shape.
Moreover, in less formal styles, and for some people all styles, that's true even for be. Some people never say I wish I were a bird or I could make the meeting if it were tomorrow; instead, they say I wish I was a bird or I could make the meeting if it was tomorrow. They don't have a special irrealis form for any verb, not even be in the 1st and 3rd singular. They just have a special use of the preterite, which can do either the past time reference job or the irrealis job.
Now, it is a tradition among very bad English teachers to teach something completely false about informal style: they teach (though they don't put it this way) that everything informal is ipso facto incorrect and you should never use it at all. This is the sort of idiocy that leads to Americans believing that you mustn't ever put a preposition at the end of a clause. Who did you talk to? is informal, and sounds like an ordinary person talking; To whom did you talk? is very formal, and sounds like a stuffy prig talking. It is a tradition among very bad English teachers to regard sentences with stranded prepositions as simply bad. (Serious usage books never actually say this; but apparently, somewhere out there, a lot of teachers do.)
Such prejudice against ordinary less-formal English leads to similar banning of the preterite as substitute for the irrealis. Because if I was the president is more informal than if I were the president, the former is tagged as "wrong".
Somehow, I conjecture, the feeling that was is sometimes "wrong" led to either Tomczek or a subeditor looking at "wish I was told" and changing it to "wish I were told". That's my guess. I can't prove it. (And of course, it's still a puzzle why anyone was considering "wish I was told" when "wish I had been told" would make more sense.)
I'd love to know the sequence of events (email me, Huffington Post editors: Gmail, surname as username). But I do know that the headline as it was published is not grammatical in Standard English as I know it, and we need an explanation of why competent native speakers write things that are not grammatical in their own language, because that's what I think must have happened here.
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4049
Consider how were is normally used in the 1st person singular and 3rd person singular. When I say I wish I were with you right now, I'm talking about the situation in an alternative unreal world. (Hence the term "irrealis mood" in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language; we'll come back to that.) The were in such cases is not a past tense form. What I'm saying is that I wish the actual world could be modified to an alternative one, mostly the same as here, except that in the alternative one I'm with you right now. The verb were is talking about the present time in an alternate universe that realizes my wish.
How could we put the statement, I wish I were with you into the past? How to describe that same wish as experienced way back when? There isn't a suitable past tense form corresponding to the irrealis. (Intuitively that's because its uses tend to be future-oriented: what's in the past is already fixed and the wishes either came true or they didn't. Wishes are mostly about possible futures.) There is a long tradition of incorrectly calling irrealis were the "past subjunctive", but it is nothing of the kind.
This does not mean it is impossible to talk about wishes you once had that came true (or failed to come true) at a later point in the past. It seems to me that you could say When I was a child I wished I was a bird, and slightly better (because it expresses the habitual character of having a wish at an earlier age) would be When I was a child I used to wish I was a bird). For a slightly different meaning, where you are looking back to an early wishing period about an even earlier longed-for birdhood, you could say When I was a child I wished (or used to wish) I had been a bird.
What does not sound like idiomatic English to me (in fact I think it might actually be grammatically impermissible, so I'll prefix it with "?*") is: ?*When I was a child I wished I were a bird (or ?*When I was a child I used to wish I were a bird).
I think someone, either Tomczek or his editors at the Huffington Post, had a little moment of panic about was and were, a moment of nervous cluelessness, and plumped for the wrong one. He means to talk about the things he wishes now that people had told him back then.
Nervous cluelessness of this sort is a strange phenomenon: what could make someone uncertain about how to say things in their own language, the one that they think in, the one they have been using fluently and effortlessly for decades? I think I can go some way to explaining what triggered it.
It is only the verb with the basic stem be that has a special form for the irrealis. Other verbs use the preterite form in the relevant contexts (the one that also serves to express the simple past). And even be only has a distinct irrealis form in the 1st and 3rd singular, because in all other person and number combinations the irrealis and the preterite have the same shape.
Moreover, in less formal styles, and for some people all styles, that's true even for be. Some people never say I wish I were a bird or I could make the meeting if it were tomorrow; instead, they say I wish I was a bird or I could make the meeting if it was tomorrow. They don't have a special irrealis form for any verb, not even be in the 1st and 3rd singular. They just have a special use of the preterite, which can do either the past time reference job or the irrealis job.
Now, it is a tradition among very bad English teachers to teach something completely false about informal style: they teach (though they don't put it this way) that everything informal is ipso facto incorrect and you should never use it at all. This is the sort of idiocy that leads to Americans believing that you mustn't ever put a preposition at the end of a clause. Who did you talk to? is informal, and sounds like an ordinary person talking; To whom did you talk? is very formal, and sounds like a stuffy prig talking. It is a tradition among very bad English teachers to regard sentences with stranded prepositions as simply bad. (Serious usage books never actually say this; but apparently, somewhere out there, a lot of teachers do.)
Such prejudice against ordinary less-formal English leads to similar banning of the preterite as substitute for the irrealis. Because if I was the president is more informal than if I were the president, the former is tagged as "wrong".
Somehow, I conjecture, the feeling that was is sometimes "wrong" led to either Tomczek or a subeditor looking at "wish I was told" and changing it to "wish I were told". That's my guess. I can't prove it. (And of course, it's still a puzzle why anyone was considering "wish I was told" when "wish I had been told" would make more sense.)
I'd love to know the sequence of events (email me, Huffington Post editors: Gmail, surname as username). But I do know that the headline as it was published is not grammatical in Standard English as I know it, and we need an explanation of why competent native speakers write things that are not grammatical in their own language, because that's what I think must have happened here.
Friday, 6 July 2012
Kyteman Orchestra - "Mushroom Cloud"
Have I never heard this before? It's amazing.
- "Preaching to the Choir" is impressive.
- "Angry At the World"
- 7/8 is crazy and wonderful
Thursday, 5 July 2012
Tangerine Dream
where do I know Tangerine Dream of? Aren't they Dead Can Dance ish?
Ok, way more electronic. Think Alan Parsons Project.
Ok, way more electronic. Think Alan Parsons Project.
- Tyger - bit flakey, slick 80's
- Ricochet, pt 1 - long, electronic, okay
- Purple Haze - woah, guitars!
Dubstep dispute
very short, 4 robots disputing the way only dubstep robots can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbIEamupKLw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbIEamupKLw
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Inga Liljestrom - "Bullet" (Elk)
Very eerie, vague, dreamlike singing and music.
Definitely not for every moment of the day (or night), but intriguing.
Definitely not for every moment of the day (or night), but intriguing.
idiocy vs lunacy
... the word "idiot" comes from a Greek root meaning private person. Idiocy is the female defect: intent on their private lives, women follow their fate through a darkness deep as that cast by malformed cells in the brain. It is no worse than the male defect, which is lunacy: they are so obsessed by public affairs that they see the world as by moonlight, which shows the outlines of every object but not
the details indicative of their nature.
http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_06.php#019141
the details indicative of their nature.
http://www.bookslut.com/blog/archives/2012_06.php#019141
Monday, 2 July 2012
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - misc
Amazing. I must have vinyl of him to play on random picnics.
- Little Demon
he took the Fourth of July / and put it in May - I Am the Cool
- You put a spell on me
- Ice Cream man
- Constipation blues
- Frenzy
- I Hear Voices
I so much want to be / where I was before I was me - Strange
how many chews in a gum / how many blanks in a blanket - Portrait of a Man
- I Love Paris (old fashioned, swinging)
- Life Goes On (truly crazy, dialogue-voiced)
- Shut Your Mouth and Shit (amazingly crazy)
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Edward Elgar - "Enigma Variations, For Orchestra, op 36"
This is were Rob Dougan got his famous strings for "Clubbed to Death" got from!
Monday, 25 June 2012
Decemberists - "Chimberly Sweep"
Nice song, except for that girly high voice somewhere in the beginning.
Hooverphonic - "Magenta" (Blue Wonder Power Milk)
a bit mesmerizing. Thought I didn't like the newer Hooverphonic stuff, but this is pretty nice.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
Tindersticks - "Desperate Man"
She knows, what happens when I'm without her
How this ring itches on my finger
Does she let me go to help me remember
Remember how I came in?
I was desperate then
Remember what I am without her
And that's a desperate man
How far I go, when I'm without her
How fast and how long that slide, I'll always take that ride
It itches on my finger, helps me remember
Remember how I came in
I was desperate then
Remember what I am without her
And that's a desperate man, yeah
She knows, what happens when I'm without her
She sees the problem, she understands the irony
When I'm slumped there in that seat
And slobbering of how much I love her
Hey, bartender, let me tell you about when I walked in
I was desperate then
If I could find my way back to loving her
I'm a desperate man, yeah, I'm a desperate man, yeah
How this ring itches on my finger
Does she let me go to help me remember
Remember how I came in?
I was desperate then
Remember what I am without her
And that's a desperate man
How far I go, when I'm without her
How fast and how long that slide, I'll always take that ride
It itches on my finger, helps me remember
Remember how I came in
I was desperate then
Remember what I am without her
And that's a desperate man, yeah
She knows, what happens when I'm without her
She sees the problem, she understands the irony
When I'm slumped there in that seat
And slobbering of how much I love her
Hey, bartender, let me tell you about when I walked in
I was desperate then
If I could find my way back to loving her
I'm a desperate man, yeah, I'm a desperate man, yeah
Friday, 22 June 2012
Operatica - misc
Classic with beats.
Anybody thinking Enigma? Yes, though more melodious (and less Gregorian chants) but after a while things become repetitive.
Anybody thinking Enigma? Yes, though more melodious (and less Gregorian chants) but after a while things become repetitive.
Thursday, 21 June 2012
Mass noun, the plural of 'vinyl'
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4017
If you don't hang out with millennial hipsters, you might not have noticed that the cool kids are listening to music on turntables playing old-fashioned vinyl records, with many of these records being newly released rather than rescued from thrift shops. And you might also have missed a fascinating case of peeve emergence: the "rule" that one of these objects is called a "vinyl", while (say) three of them should be called "three vinyl", never "three vinyls". So instead of "many of these records", I could have written "many of these vinyl", but not "many of these vinyls". This is an issue that some people feel very strongly about.
Thus Dave Segal, "What Is the Plural of Vinyl?", 12/28/2010:
There's even a eponymous web site thepluralofvinyl.com — which would be more convincing if it didn't misspell "independent":
This is a lovely peevological case study. In the first place, of course, the "rule" is a doubtful one at best. Vinyl is a mass noun, like beer or cheese or glass, and as such, it doesn't have a plural. Not having a plural is basically what being a "mass noun" means — a mass noun refers to stuff that comes in variable but conceptually undifferentiated quantities that are measured rather than counted.
But English also has a general morphological process that Arnold Zwicky has called "Countification", whereby the plural form of a mass noun can be used to refer to more than one type or instance of the named category of stuff. Thus we can talk about "Mexican beers" to refer to brands of beer associated with Mexico; and you can give your order to a waiter by saying "two beers".
Countification has become lexicalized in the case of some mass nouns, like beers, wines, cheeses, waters, bronzes, rubbers, and so on.. But it's available in principle for pretty much any mass noun, where NOUNs might be used to mean "types of NOUN" or "instances of NOUN". Thus (members of the gang aside) blood doesn't have a common countified plural bloods, but the 1854 Notes of M. Bernard's Lectures on the Blood tells us that "All the analyses already given have been general, as others will be given hereafter when the blood of particular parts, or when particular bloods are described"; and also that "… in this respect all bloods do not resemble each other"; and that "The distinction of color does not exist in the foetus; in it both bloods [i.e. arterial and venous] have exactly the same tint". You may be able to think of a mass noun that can't plausibly be countified, but I haven't come up with one.
What about the zero-plurals like deer, fish, sheep, shrimp, etc.? Does vinyl belong in that group? As far as I know, the only significant regularity there is the zero-plural-for-game-animals pattern discussed in "The European Council legislates English morphology", 10/5/2003; "We have deer and elk and bear and mice around here", 5/26/2004; "Psycholinguistics in the logging industry", 6/6/2004; "Chad back in the news", 5/30/2008. But vinyl records are not exactly game animals; except that maybe, on second thought, the folks who administer tar and feathers to users of "vinyls" are also people who hang a brace of vinyl on their wall as a sort of hunting trophy.
Another pocket of regularly zero-plural nouns is ethnonyms in -ese: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese – vinyl is clearly not a member of that group. And there are a few zero-plural units of currency: yen, yuan, rand, … Beyond that, there are sporadic examples like cannon and aircraft.
So "the plural of vinyl is 'vinyl'" is an invented "rule", more or less the opposite of the general patterns in the language, which a convinced minority has promoted to the point where "people are tarred and feathered for saying 'vinyls'" in some settings. This is an unusually pure case of peevological emergence, without either tradition or logic on its side, and also (as far as i can tell) without any single authoritative figure behind the idea.
If you don't hang out with millennial hipsters, you might not have noticed that the cool kids are listening to music on turntables playing old-fashioned vinyl records, with many of these records being newly released rather than rescued from thrift shops. And you might also have missed a fascinating case of peeve emergence: the "rule" that one of these objects is called a "vinyl", while (say) three of them should be called "three vinyl", never "three vinyls". So instead of "many of these records", I could have written "many of these vinyl", but not "many of these vinyls". This is an issue that some people feel very strongly about.
Thus Dave Segal, "What Is the Plural of Vinyl?", 12/28/2010:
This issue came to my attention twice
yesterday: once on Twitter, where someone griped about people using the
term "vinyls" to describe more than one record; the other instance
occurred while perusing Sonic Boom's holiday zine, in which a clerk
informed its readers that vinyl is indeed the plural term for vinyl (the
same principle applies to fish, buffalo, and sperm).
I am guilty
of occasionally using vinyls, but it's always deployed in a
tongue-in-cheek manner. When you know the rules, you can break them—but
only once every three months. It's in the manual. Trust me.
"The plural of vinyl is vinyl", Drowned in Sound 2/23/2012:
Just a
heads-up, so you can stop saying/typing "vinyls". Cos doing so makes you
sound like you buy your music exclusively from Urban Outfitters.
No need to apologise. We've all been out of our depth at one point or other. And we learn from our mistakes, yeah?
Some other plural options: records, LPs, albums, vinyl records.
This has been a public service announcement. Thank you for your avoidance of this increasingly widespread "vinyls" wrongness.
"vinyls" 6/1/2012
having
a bit of an argument with someone that has only just started buying
records that the plural of vinyl is vinyl. not vinyls. but he went to
uni and is about 20 so obviously he is right. anything i can say to shut
him up? is vinyls a real word?
"Amputechture vinyls", The Comatorium 5/11/2012:
Man, I
hate to be the school marm but… "Vinyls" is not a word. The plural of
vinyl is "vinyl" like deer is the word for multiple deer. Or you could
say records. Not trying to be a jerk, just educating. I've been on some
forums where people are tarred & feathered for saying "vinyls."
"Zzz Records' Frequently Asked Questions":
How many vinyls do you have?
Vinyl.
What?
The plural
of "vinyl" is "vinyl". To answer the previous question, though, we have
about 12,000 LPs in stock, as well as some assorted 12″ singles and
45s.
Comment on unkut.com:
That’s cool man. I’m a wax fiend too. But
just so you know there is no such word as “vinyls.” The plural of vinyl
happens to be vinyl and I’ve never heard someone with a vinyl
collection use the term “vinyls.” Usually its some mp3 downloading kid
who has never held a record in their life saying this incorrect and
highly frustrating word.
And so on, and on, and on.There's even a eponymous web site thepluralofvinyl.com — which would be more convincing if it didn't misspell "independent":
Show your
support in the fight against vinyls with a plural of vinyl shirt,
available at your local independant [sic] record store …
This is a lovely peevological case study. In the first place, of course, the "rule" is a doubtful one at best. Vinyl is a mass noun, like beer or cheese or glass, and as such, it doesn't have a plural. Not having a plural is basically what being a "mass noun" means — a mass noun refers to stuff that comes in variable but conceptually undifferentiated quantities that are measured rather than counted.
But English also has a general morphological process that Arnold Zwicky has called "Countification", whereby the plural form of a mass noun can be used to refer to more than one type or instance of the named category of stuff. Thus we can talk about "Mexican beers" to refer to brands of beer associated with Mexico; and you can give your order to a waiter by saying "two beers".
Countification has become lexicalized in the case of some mass nouns, like beers, wines, cheeses, waters, bronzes, rubbers, and so on.. But it's available in principle for pretty much any mass noun, where NOUNs might be used to mean "types of NOUN" or "instances of NOUN". Thus (members of the gang aside) blood doesn't have a common countified plural bloods, but the 1854 Notes of M. Bernard's Lectures on the Blood tells us that "All the analyses already given have been general, as others will be given hereafter when the blood of particular parts, or when particular bloods are described"; and also that "… in this respect all bloods do not resemble each other"; and that "The distinction of color does not exist in the foetus; in it both bloods [i.e. arterial and venous] have exactly the same tint". You may be able to think of a mass noun that can't plausibly be countified, but I haven't come up with one.
What about the zero-plurals like deer, fish, sheep, shrimp, etc.? Does vinyl belong in that group? As far as I know, the only significant regularity there is the zero-plural-for-game-animals pattern discussed in "The European Council legislates English morphology", 10/5/2003; "We have deer and elk and bear and mice around here", 5/26/2004; "Psycholinguistics in the logging industry", 6/6/2004; "Chad back in the news", 5/30/2008. But vinyl records are not exactly game animals; except that maybe, on second thought, the folks who administer tar and feathers to users of "vinyls" are also people who hang a brace of vinyl on their wall as a sort of hunting trophy.
Another pocket of regularly zero-plural nouns is ethnonyms in -ese: Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese – vinyl is clearly not a member of that group. And there are a few zero-plural units of currency: yen, yuan, rand, … Beyond that, there are sporadic examples like cannon and aircraft.
So "the plural of vinyl is 'vinyl'" is an invented "rule", more or less the opposite of the general patterns in the language, which a convinced minority has promoted to the point where "people are tarred and feathered for saying 'vinyls'" in some settings. This is an unusually pure case of peevological emergence, without either tradition or logic on its side, and also (as far as i can tell) without any single authoritative figure behind the idea.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Puppini Sisters - misc
Who knew... Three girls (no sisters) inspired by the Andrew Sisters, covering songs like "Wuthering Heights" and "Walk Like an Egyptian" in '40's close harmony style.
Also, I seem to have listened to them before...
It's fun, but many songs in a row slowly turn you cwwwwazy.
Also, I seem to have listened to them before...
It's fun, but many songs in a row slowly turn you cwwwwazy.
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Jill Tracy - "Diabolical Streak" (album)
All songs very much the same dark cabaretesque style as "Evil Night Together".
She's also done some shorts (music, voice-over).
Definitely look into. Tres nice.
She's also done some shorts (music, voice-over).
Definitely look into. Tres nice.
Monday, 18 June 2012
Pareidolia
when the brain arranges random stimuli into a significant image or sound; faces in the moon, animals in clouds.
The word comes from the Greek words para- ("παρά" = 'beside', 'alongside', 'instead') in this context meaning something faulty, wrong, instead of; and the noun eidōlon ("είδωλον" = 'image', 'form', 'shape') the diminutive of eidos. Pareidolia is a type of apophenia.
The word comes from the Greek words para- ("παρά" = 'beside', 'alongside', 'instead') in this context meaning something faulty, wrong, instead of; and the noun eidōlon ("είδωλον" = 'image', 'form', 'shape') the diminutive of eidos. Pareidolia is a type of apophenia.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Kurrel the Raven - "Furry"
Seriously, don't ask how I got here (it was actually rather logical, but without context such a song makes you wonder), quite amusing Ozzie-song.
I've written a little song about furries.
It is a rap song.
I hope you like rap songs.
I know I do.
I will magically count to 4, and the beat shall appear.
1, 2, 3, 4.
Are you grooving yet? I hope so!
Grooving is what this song's about.
Grooving to furry information.
Hello!
Furries are diverse - let me say that first.
And it's this one fact which confuses the worst.
We don't all have costumes or collect stuffed toys,
so allow me to separate the signal from the noise.
First off, what's furry? That's an easy thing to tell:
It's an animal that happens to be human as well.
In technical terms we call it anthropomorphics,
But it's easy to explain without all the linguistics;
If it walks like a person but meows like a cat,
You've got yourself a furry - it's as simple as that!
If it talks like a person and flies like a bird,
Then it's still a furry even though it sounds absurd.
'Cause even though birds have feathers and not fur,
Mammals are the commonest type of furry in the world
So the word comes from them. Even starting with a fly,
You'll end up with a furry no matter how hard you try.
That's a furry. That's a furry, that's a furry.
I will sing it.
That's a fuuurry. That's a furry, that's a furry.
That's a furry you know.
So, that's a furry character but what about the rest?
A furry is a person to whom furries are an interest.
So both the character and the viewer are furry -
It'll all make sense soon, so don't worry.
Most furries never meet face to face.
We come from everywhere, all over the place.
There's furries in the Americas and in the EU.
There's furries in Asia and Australasia too.
On the Internet we gather from the soil of all nations:
All ages and races; both genders; a range of educations.
Here we are, all the furries are we,
Whether artists or congoers or strictly RP.
Now to help with the furry jargon here's some quick education:
RP is roleplaying in a made-up situation;
A fursona is a furry you pretend to be,
Usually one you make up yourself for other people to see.
In furry lingo, one word stands out:
And that word is yiff and this is what it's all about.
Or maybe I'll shut up and move right along,
Because you can't define yiff in a polite sort of song.
And that's without touching scritching or spooge,
When it comes to furry-speak, there's a veritable deluge.
But that's about the quota for the second verse done,
So join in the chant and have some fun!
Furry. This is furry. This is furry.
This is furry, furry!
Furry!
(We're not furbies, by the way.)
To make a furry's easy - anyone can do it:
You take your favourite animal and mix a human through it.
You modify the product - is it real or cartoony?
Is it two legs or four? Is it straight? Is it loony?
Does it have a pair of wings sprouting out of its back?
Does it have an extra set of legs that other furs lack?
Can it talk or does it speak with psychic communication?
Is it you? Is it not? Is it just speculation?
Once you have your fursona all sorted out,
You can take a walk and see what we are all about.
Some of us have gone and made a costume for effect -
But that's a different story - fursuiters on the left
and to the right we have the artists, who are numerous in style:
Anyway you like it, they can draw it with a smile!
But keep in mind that in the mix is every sort of thing
And not all of it for children, which can be a bit of a sting.
Experimentation is the order of the day;
Imagination keeps our minds at play.
Now the next verse is long so I'm going to abort
And start the chant early to keep the third one short.
We're Furry. We're Furry. We're Furry. Furry.
So Furry. So Furry. So Furry! aaaaah....
Up to the downside of all this furry fun:
Some people don't get it not all, just some.
Misinformation and lies are afoot!
It's crap up with which I shall not put!
Hey MTV! Hey Vanity Fair!
Take a bow, Eurotrash and Marie Claire!
And a special shout out to - you know what? I don't care.
If I bitch about detractors, it's a total waste of air.
I'm only a furry to have fun, say what you like.
Anti-furry propaganda can take a long hike!
And it's not just that we're all completely squeaky clean,
Only sometimes the normal world thinks it has a right to be mean.
And normal? Who'd wanna be? It's not for us!
You can heckle us all you like from the Boring Bus!
And if you need to put a weirdo down to feel bigger,
then you're a sad sort of person and you're sicker than Doug Winger.
Some furries are odd, some furries are mean,
Some furries draw pictures which are rather obscene.
Some furries believe things which are strange to me!
But remember what I said about furry diversity?
'Cause it's not a bad thing for the world to know us,
But just the kooky stuff is not a fair part to show of us.
We don't mind curiosity, 'cause that's what we're about,
But any future journalists had better watch out!
One extra singe doesn't do a lot of damage;
We furries have dealt with quite enough spammage.
With all that said, the tide is turning.
The wounds are healing and we're quickly learning that:
Best paw forward is the way to go!
Put your best paw forward and away you go!
Put your best paw forward and away you go!
That is if you've even got a paw. Um. I don't know.
I'd rather be furry and use my imagination
And die a happy death instead of bitter stagnation.
I'd rather express than repress and then get depressed
And then get stressed about my situation.
Well I've laid it on you birdy style, the good and the bad,
The fun and the games and the problems we've had.
So sayonara people, now you know what we're about.
This is Kurrel on the microphone, over and out!
I've written a little song about furries.
It is a rap song.
I hope you like rap songs.
I know I do.
I will magically count to 4, and the beat shall appear.
1, 2, 3, 4.
Are you grooving yet? I hope so!
Grooving is what this song's about.
Grooving to furry information.
Hello!
Furries are diverse - let me say that first.
And it's this one fact which confuses the worst.
We don't all have costumes or collect stuffed toys,
so allow me to separate the signal from the noise.
First off, what's furry? That's an easy thing to tell:
It's an animal that happens to be human as well.
In technical terms we call it anthropomorphics,
But it's easy to explain without all the linguistics;
If it walks like a person but meows like a cat,
You've got yourself a furry - it's as simple as that!
If it talks like a person and flies like a bird,
Then it's still a furry even though it sounds absurd.
'Cause even though birds have feathers and not fur,
Mammals are the commonest type of furry in the world
So the word comes from them. Even starting with a fly,
You'll end up with a furry no matter how hard you try.
That's a furry. That's a furry, that's a furry.
I will sing it.
That's a fuuurry. That's a furry, that's a furry.
That's a furry you know.
So, that's a furry character but what about the rest?
A furry is a person to whom furries are an interest.
So both the character and the viewer are furry -
It'll all make sense soon, so don't worry.
Most furries never meet face to face.
We come from everywhere, all over the place.
There's furries in the Americas and in the EU.
There's furries in Asia and Australasia too.
On the Internet we gather from the soil of all nations:
All ages and races; both genders; a range of educations.
Here we are, all the furries are we,
Whether artists or congoers or strictly RP.
Now to help with the furry jargon here's some quick education:
RP is roleplaying in a made-up situation;
A fursona is a furry you pretend to be,
Usually one you make up yourself for other people to see.
In furry lingo, one word stands out:
And that word is yiff and this is what it's all about.
Or maybe I'll shut up and move right along,
Because you can't define yiff in a polite sort of song.
And that's without touching scritching or spooge,
When it comes to furry-speak, there's a veritable deluge.
But that's about the quota for the second verse done,
So join in the chant and have some fun!
Furry. This is furry. This is furry.
This is furry, furry!
Furry!
(We're not furbies, by the way.)
To make a furry's easy - anyone can do it:
You take your favourite animal and mix a human through it.
You modify the product - is it real or cartoony?
Is it two legs or four? Is it straight? Is it loony?
Does it have a pair of wings sprouting out of its back?
Does it have an extra set of legs that other furs lack?
Can it talk or does it speak with psychic communication?
Is it you? Is it not? Is it just speculation?
Once you have your fursona all sorted out,
You can take a walk and see what we are all about.
Some of us have gone and made a costume for effect -
But that's a different story - fursuiters on the left
and to the right we have the artists, who are numerous in style:
Anyway you like it, they can draw it with a smile!
But keep in mind that in the mix is every sort of thing
And not all of it for children, which can be a bit of a sting.
Experimentation is the order of the day;
Imagination keeps our minds at play.
Now the next verse is long so I'm going to abort
And start the chant early to keep the third one short.
We're Furry. We're Furry. We're Furry. Furry.
So Furry. So Furry. So Furry! aaaaah....
Up to the downside of all this furry fun:
Some people don't get it not all, just some.
Misinformation and lies are afoot!
It's crap up with which I shall not put!
Hey MTV! Hey Vanity Fair!
Take a bow, Eurotrash and Marie Claire!
And a special shout out to - you know what? I don't care.
If I bitch about detractors, it's a total waste of air.
I'm only a furry to have fun, say what you like.
Anti-furry propaganda can take a long hike!
And it's not just that we're all completely squeaky clean,
Only sometimes the normal world thinks it has a right to be mean.
And normal? Who'd wanna be? It's not for us!
You can heckle us all you like from the Boring Bus!
And if you need to put a weirdo down to feel bigger,
then you're a sad sort of person and you're sicker than Doug Winger.
Some furries are odd, some furries are mean,
Some furries draw pictures which are rather obscene.
Some furries believe things which are strange to me!
But remember what I said about furry diversity?
'Cause it's not a bad thing for the world to know us,
But just the kooky stuff is not a fair part to show of us.
We don't mind curiosity, 'cause that's what we're about,
But any future journalists had better watch out!
One extra singe doesn't do a lot of damage;
We furries have dealt with quite enough spammage.
With all that said, the tide is turning.
The wounds are healing and we're quickly learning that:
Best paw forward is the way to go!
Put your best paw forward and away you go!
Put your best paw forward and away you go!
That is if you've even got a paw. Um. I don't know.
I'd rather be furry and use my imagination
And die a happy death instead of bitter stagnation.
I'd rather express than repress and then get depressed
And then get stressed about my situation.
Well I've laid it on you birdy style, the good and the bad,
The fun and the games and the problems we've had.
So sayonara people, now you know what we're about.
This is Kurrel on the microphone, over and out!
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Queen - Making of "A Night At The Opera"
How about that; the very first time I write something about Queen... not so suprising as I've been a fan for so long that I have been drifting the last decade, drifting to faraway lands.
But this documentary proved again; I am a Queen fan and always will be.
The documentary itself is okay; it was mostly the footage and the few gems of Freddy Mercury talking that completely gave it its glamour.
But this documentary proved again; I am a Queen fan and always will be.
The documentary itself is okay; it was mostly the footage and the few gems of Freddy Mercury talking that completely gave it its glamour.
Thursday, 17 May 2012
Choke
Interesting film. Not extremely good, but fun enough.
Fun to watch after reading some of Chuck Palahniuk's essays. You can see the hidden guns, the mind-method vs heart method.
It's a good example of one way of story telling.
Fun to watch after reading some of Chuck Palahniuk's essays. You can see the hidden guns, the mind-method vs heart method.
It's a good example of one way of story telling.
Tuesday, 15 May 2012
Stereo MC's - "Breeze" (Deep Down & Dirty)
Never thought I was much fan of them. I know their name, but I cannot remember ever listening to them with pleasure. Nor with distaste. Just nothing special.
This is a rather intriguing song. Even though they use a vocoder.
This is a rather intriguing song. Even though they use a vocoder.
Little People - "Basique" (Mickey Mouse Operation (Mumbe Jumbo/Illicut))
Pandora on a roll... seems I have listed them before, but it's catchy triphoppy with a soft bite. ahem.
Kid Loco - "Don't Forget The Fourth Track" (the Graffiti Artist (OST))
Slow hip hop in the lazy French style of Serge Gainsbourg (yes, I stole that description from Pandora).
Jack White - "Love Is Blindness"
Haven't heard this song in quite some time. Jack White's version is good, his screaming and high voice fits the craziness.
Monday, 14 May 2012
The Quiet Earth
Australian post-apocalyptic sci-fi flick in which an energy grid has "removed" all humans, yet those who were dying at the moment of happening, survived.
Okay, fun enough, but am not crazy about it. The very last scene... I don't know what they wanted to accomplish with that, but it did not make much sense.
The usualy "almost-going-crazy" apocalyptic-survivor stuff.
Okay, fun enough, but am not crazy about it. The very last scene... I don't know what they wanted to accomplish with that, but it did not make much sense.
The usualy "almost-going-crazy" apocalyptic-survivor stuff.
Ink (2009)
Impressive fantasy film in which a man has to battle his demons to get his daughter back.
Impressive visually, some gripping sound effects. The little girl plays really well.
The first 1/3rd of the film is confusing yet keeps you on the edge of your chair.
Impressive visually, some gripping sound effects. The little girl plays really well.
The first 1/3rd of the film is confusing yet keeps you on the edge of your chair.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Mark & Clark Band - "Worn Down Piano"
Took me two days to refind this song; strange, because when listening to it, I remember so many lyrics (and other details) I should have been able to find it much faster...
Thursday, 10 May 2012
16 Horsepower - "Golden Rope" (Low Estate)
Sad, haunting...
there you are / hanging by the golden rope
there you are / hanging by the golden rope
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
Boards of Canada - "Amo Bishop Roden" (In A Beautiful Place Out In The Country)
Instrumental. Echoing strings and a dry, intense beat.
Laura Marling - (various)
folk-y.
Not everything good. Sometimes she hit the minor chords like Alanis Morissette; good ("Don't Ask Me Why")
Not everything good. Sometimes she hit the minor chords like Alanis Morissette; good ("Don't Ask Me Why")
- Captain and the Hourglass : uptempo, nice
- Old Stone - melancholy
- Night Terror - haunting
- My Manic and I - simple, fast
- Night after Night - some Leonard Cohen ish influences, both in song and music
Monday, 7 May 2012
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
Typically Jim Jarmusch; from the steady-cam-on-character-with-song start, to the disjointed fragments of how people live their lives, not shunning the difficult silences. The audio that keeps running just 1 sec after the fragment has turned black... the acting, which wasn't too good, yet at the same time felt pure because those are people who do not act, who are simply who they are...
Pretty amazing, though not a film you watch out of sheer fun.
Screamin' Jay Hawking - "I put a spell on you"
Pretty amazing, though not a film you watch out of sheer fun.
Screamin' Jay Hawking - "I put a spell on you"
Saturday, 5 May 2012
The blind activist
Fantastic post about why the media is still referring to Chen Guangchen as the "blind activist", even though some bristle that it is irrelevant. Fantastic because it is so simple and logical (in hindsight)
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3936
Alan Greenblatt of NPR wonders why news outlets insist on continuing to draw attention to the blindness of Chen Guangchen, the Chinese activist who recently escaped house arrest and who has been at the center of international attention this past week.
Greenblatt writes[1] (NPR online;5/4/2012):
Chen has been repeatedly referred to as "the blind activist" or "the blind activist lawyer" by news outlets such as The New York Times, The Associated Press and The Washington Post. The Economist's current cover story is headlined "Blind Justice."
On Wednesday, NPR decided not to label Chen a "blind activist"….
Descriptions of Chen as blind may have stuck in part because of the way he burst into broad Western consciousness last week—not through his longstanding campaign against China's one-child policy, but by escaping house arrest and trekking 300 miles to Beijing. The fact that he is blind made the story that much more dramatic.
"We're sticking with 'blind' because Chen's name might not be familiar to readers, but they may be aware that there's a 'blind activist' in trouble," says Blake Hounshell, the managing editor of Foreign Policy.
But it doesn't seem like a useful shorthand to Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley, and regular contributor to NPR's Fresh Air.
"It was relevant, obviously, in reference to his escape," Nunberg says, "but the continued use implies a relevance that just isn't there. I don't think it's a 'PC' thing - the point would be the same if he were, for example, 6′7″."
I disagree with Geoff Nunberg's claim that referring to Chen as "the blind activist" necessarily "implies a relevance that just isn't there". I think that Blake Hounshell is spot on in thinking of the phrase as a useful and efficient way of identifying Chen to readers. Hounshell is on to a phenomenon that is known to psychologists as a "conceptual pact" in which conversational partners tend to persist in using referring expressions that were originally introduced, even after they've long outlived their initial contextual relevance.
The process was first studied experimentally[2] by Susan Brennan and Herb Clark. They noted that in a given context, speakers do usually craft their referring expressions to contain as much information as is needed or relevant—for instance, in a context where the speaker is trying to get
the hearer to be able to pick out one particular fish from among several others, he might refer to "the striped fish", but in a context with a single fish, he would simply say "the fish".
What if a speaker has previously specified "the striped fish" as a way of disambiguating reference, but then later refers to that same fish, now in a context that only has the one fish? He tends to re-use the more explicit "the striped fish", even though this information is no longer relevant or necessary in the immediate context. The existence of a conceptual pact trumps contextual relevance.
Hearers, it seems, have expectations that are line with this. When a referring expression is recycled, the usual inferences of relevance become suspended. For example, normally hearers assume that an adjective is more than a mere grace note accompanying a noun, that it's earning its keep by
serving some useful purpose. I've measured this myself by looking at people's eye movements as they follow instructions to move various objects around. Suppose they see in front of them a tall pitcher, a tall glass, and a second shorter glass, and they hear the beginning of an instruction
that begins with "Hand me the tall…" At this point in time, they tend to look at the glass, not the pitcher. They assume that the speaker has gone to the trouble of specifying "tall" because it's needed to distinguish between the glasses—otherwise, the speaker could have just said "Hand me the pitcher." This shows that hearers normally do imbue words with maximal relvance. But, all bets are off if the speaker has previously referred to the pitcher as "the tall pitcher". Now, the mere fact of having used the same expression some time ago seems to be reason enough to include the word "tall".
I can appreciate that continuing to refer to Chen's disability might rankle, much as one might bristle at a continued description of someone as "the black candidate". For that reason alone, writers might be justified in jettisoning a previous "conceptual pact". But there is perfectly reasonable psychological motivation behind the lingering impulse to use the offending phrase, which is why writers face a quandary in the first place, and why NPR had to make a decision about this as a matter of policy.
Links:
[1]: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/05/04/152037877/a-factor-in-a-much-larger-life-debating-chen
-guangchengs-blindness (link)
[2]: http://psych.stanford.edu/~herb/1990s/Brennan.Clark.96.pdf (link)
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=3936
Alan Greenblatt of NPR wonders why news outlets insist on continuing to draw attention to the blindness of Chen Guangchen, the Chinese activist who recently escaped house arrest and who has been at the center of international attention this past week.
Greenblatt writes[1] (NPR online;5/4/2012):
Chen has been repeatedly referred to as "the blind activist" or "the blind activist lawyer" by news outlets such as The New York Times, The Associated Press and The Washington Post. The Economist's current cover story is headlined "Blind Justice."
On Wednesday, NPR decided not to label Chen a "blind activist"….
Descriptions of Chen as blind may have stuck in part because of the way he burst into broad Western consciousness last week—not through his longstanding campaign against China's one-child policy, but by escaping house arrest and trekking 300 miles to Beijing. The fact that he is blind made the story that much more dramatic.
"We're sticking with 'blind' because Chen's name might not be familiar to readers, but they may be aware that there's a 'blind activist' in trouble," says Blake Hounshell, the managing editor of Foreign Policy.
But it doesn't seem like a useful shorthand to Geoffrey Nunberg, a linguist at the University of California, Berkeley, and regular contributor to NPR's Fresh Air.
"It was relevant, obviously, in reference to his escape," Nunberg says, "but the continued use implies a relevance that just isn't there. I don't think it's a 'PC' thing - the point would be the same if he were, for example, 6′7″."
I disagree with Geoff Nunberg's claim that referring to Chen as "the blind activist" necessarily "implies a relevance that just isn't there". I think that Blake Hounshell is spot on in thinking of the phrase as a useful and efficient way of identifying Chen to readers. Hounshell is on to a phenomenon that is known to psychologists as a "conceptual pact" in which conversational partners tend to persist in using referring expressions that were originally introduced, even after they've long outlived their initial contextual relevance.
The process was first studied experimentally[2] by Susan Brennan and Herb Clark. They noted that in a given context, speakers do usually craft their referring expressions to contain as much information as is needed or relevant—for instance, in a context where the speaker is trying to get
the hearer to be able to pick out one particular fish from among several others, he might refer to "the striped fish", but in a context with a single fish, he would simply say "the fish".
What if a speaker has previously specified "the striped fish" as a way of disambiguating reference, but then later refers to that same fish, now in a context that only has the one fish? He tends to re-use the more explicit "the striped fish", even though this information is no longer relevant or necessary in the immediate context. The existence of a conceptual pact trumps contextual relevance.
Hearers, it seems, have expectations that are line with this. When a referring expression is recycled, the usual inferences of relevance become suspended. For example, normally hearers assume that an adjective is more than a mere grace note accompanying a noun, that it's earning its keep by
serving some useful purpose. I've measured this myself by looking at people's eye movements as they follow instructions to move various objects around. Suppose they see in front of them a tall pitcher, a tall glass, and a second shorter glass, and they hear the beginning of an instruction
that begins with "Hand me the tall…" At this point in time, they tend to look at the glass, not the pitcher. They assume that the speaker has gone to the trouble of specifying "tall" because it's needed to distinguish between the glasses—otherwise, the speaker could have just said "Hand me the pitcher." This shows that hearers normally do imbue words with maximal relvance. But, all bets are off if the speaker has previously referred to the pitcher as "the tall pitcher". Now, the mere fact of having used the same expression some time ago seems to be reason enough to include the word "tall".
I can appreciate that continuing to refer to Chen's disability might rankle, much as one might bristle at a continued description of someone as "the black candidate". For that reason alone, writers might be justified in jettisoning a previous "conceptual pact". But there is perfectly reasonable psychological motivation behind the lingering impulse to use the offending phrase, which is why writers face a quandary in the first place, and why NPR had to make a decision about this as a matter of policy.
Links:
[1]: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/05/04/152037877/a-factor-in-a-much-larger-life-debating-chen
-guangchengs-blindness (link)
[2]: http://psych.stanford.edu/~herb/1990s/Brennan.Clark.96.pdf (link)
Friday, 4 May 2012
William Gibson - "Spook Country"
Looking forward to a new W. Gibson, but kind of disappointed.
It's set in today's time; I love his cyberpunk stories and the strangeness of them, the familiarity with which he throws around the weirdest stuff, everything so familiar to him yet as a reader you grapple to understand it all.
And that's what bothered me most here; he mentions a dozen times she "grabbed her Powerbook". Ok, we got it, a laptop, fine. And a big boss, someone who presumably can create a darknet at will, "hasn't set his WEP". First of all, that guy should know to set his WPA2, not WEP, second, and more importantly, it's a password. Doesn't matter what or how!
The repeating of (fake) brandnames or styles in cyberpunk works well, nay, is necessary because the reader is utterly unfamiliar with them. You need the repetition to slowly form a full image of something in your mind. With day-to-day objects like laptops and the such.. we don't need that.
Also, the characters, the story; it all gets only mildly interesting. The clou, I couldn't really care much about it.
The style, short chapters of 3 - 6 pages, cycling through the three storylines gives a nice impression of everything happening at once, without getting lost.
Yet, at most a 6.
It's set in today's time; I love his cyberpunk stories and the strangeness of them, the familiarity with which he throws around the weirdest stuff, everything so familiar to him yet as a reader you grapple to understand it all.
And that's what bothered me most here; he mentions a dozen times she "grabbed her Powerbook". Ok, we got it, a laptop, fine. And a big boss, someone who presumably can create a darknet at will, "hasn't set his WEP". First of all, that guy should know to set his WPA2, not WEP, second, and more importantly, it's a password. Doesn't matter what or how!
The repeating of (fake) brandnames or styles in cyberpunk works well, nay, is necessary because the reader is utterly unfamiliar with them. You need the repetition to slowly form a full image of something in your mind. With day-to-day objects like laptops and the such.. we don't need that.
Also, the characters, the story; it all gets only mildly interesting. The clou, I couldn't really care much about it.
The style, short chapters of 3 - 6 pages, cycling through the three storylines gives a nice impression of everything happening at once, without getting lost.
Yet, at most a 6.
Antichrist
Finally saw the (in)famous Lars von Trier. Not at the best moment, I must admit.
It's intense and brutal, but gripping nonetheless. I understand people looking away, but I couldn't, and both actors do an amazing job.
The three beggers felt a little bit like a sudden cheat, but only in hindsight; so it probably doesn't mean that much.
It's intense and brutal, but gripping nonetheless. I understand people looking away, but I couldn't, and both actors do an amazing job.
The three beggers felt a little bit like a sudden cheat, but only in hindsight; so it probably doesn't mean that much.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Tool - "The Pot" (10.000)
Who are you to wave your finger?
Ya' must have been out your head.
Eye hole deep in muddy waters.
You practically raised the dead.
Rob the grave, to snow the cradle.
Then burn the evidence down.
Soapbox, house of cards, and glass,
So don't go tossin' your stones around.
You must have been high.
You must have been high.
You must have been.
Foot in mouth, and head up asshole.
Whatcha talkin' 'bout?
Difficult to dance 'round this one
'til you pull it out, boy!
You must have been, so high.
You must have been, so high.
Steal, borrow, refer, save your shady inference.
kangaroo done hung the juror with the innocent.
Now you're weeping shades of cozened indigo
Got lemon juice up in your...EYE!
When you pissed all over my black kettle
You must have been HIGH, HIGH
You must have been HIGH, HIGH
Who are you to wave your finger?
So full of it.
Eyeballs deep in muddy waters
Fuckin' hypocrite.
Liar, lawyer, mirror, show me.
What's the difference?
kangaroo done hung the guilty with the innocent.
NOW!!
You'll weep or, change the cozened indigo.
Got lemon juice up in your high eye.
When you pissed all over my black kettle
You musta been!
So who are you to wave your finger?
Who are you to wave your fatty fingers at me?
You must, have been, out your, mind!
Weepin' shades of indigo
Shed without a reason
Weepin' shades of indigo
Liar, lawyer,
Mirror for ya,
What's the difference?
kangaroo be stoned
He's guilty as the government
NOW!!
Will you weep or, change the cozened indigo
Got lemon juice up in your, EYE!!
EYE!!
Now when you pissed all over my black kettle.
You musta been HIGH, HIGH, HIGH, HIGH.
Eyeballs deep in muddy waters
Your balls deep in muddy waters.
Ganja, please, you must have been out your MIND!!!!
["Kangaroo" refers to "kangaroo courts", which were mock courts established to prove people guilty without a fair trial or any real evidence - most of the court cases dealt with marijuana users]
Ya' must have been out your head.
Eye hole deep in muddy waters.
You practically raised the dead.
Rob the grave, to snow the cradle.
Then burn the evidence down.
Soapbox, house of cards, and glass,
So don't go tossin' your stones around.
You must have been high.
You must have been high.
You must have been.
Foot in mouth, and head up asshole.
Whatcha talkin' 'bout?
Difficult to dance 'round this one
'til you pull it out, boy!
You must have been, so high.
You must have been, so high.
Steal, borrow, refer, save your shady inference.
kangaroo done hung the juror with the innocent.
Now you're weeping shades of cozened indigo
Got lemon juice up in your...EYE!
When you pissed all over my black kettle
You must have been HIGH, HIGH
You must have been HIGH, HIGH
Who are you to wave your finger?
So full of it.
Eyeballs deep in muddy waters
Fuckin' hypocrite.
Liar, lawyer, mirror, show me.
What's the difference?
kangaroo done hung the guilty with the innocent.
NOW!!
You'll weep or, change the cozened indigo.
Got lemon juice up in your high eye.
When you pissed all over my black kettle
You musta been!
So who are you to wave your finger?
Who are you to wave your fatty fingers at me?
You must, have been, out your, mind!
Weepin' shades of indigo
Shed without a reason
Weepin' shades of indigo
Liar, lawyer,
Mirror for ya,
What's the difference?
kangaroo be stoned
He's guilty as the government
NOW!!
Will you weep or, change the cozened indigo
Got lemon juice up in your, EYE!!
EYE!!
Now when you pissed all over my black kettle.
You musta been HIGH, HIGH, HIGH, HIGH.
Eyeballs deep in muddy waters
Your balls deep in muddy waters.
Ganja, please, you must have been out your MIND!!!!
["Kangaroo" refers to "kangaroo courts", which were mock courts established to prove people guilty without a fair trial or any real evidence - most of the court cases dealt with marijuana users]
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
Tool - "Wings for Marie (pt 1)" (10.000 days"
Amazing intro... haunting. Think Linkin' Park's crazy song "Session".
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Bottleshock (2008)
Very feel good, with an overwhelming amount of beautiful Californian scenery. You'd think that for me, it must be awesome, and though I greatly enjoyed the film, at one point the overly careful slightly-overburned imagery was a bit too much.
The film picked up a bit more speed in the second half, and all in all a wonderful treat for a late Friday night.
The film picked up a bit more speed in the second half, and all in all a wonderful treat for a late Friday night.
Miami Vice (2006)
Hyperrealism; the colouring, the dry shots (very subdued) during the shootout.
Cars / driving: not so much, but that was a personal thing to watch this film.
It works well. The style looks good. Some so-so acting. One strange shot of early-morning back to night time.
Cars / driving: not so much, but that was a personal thing to watch this film.
It works well. The style looks good. Some so-so acting. One strange shot of early-morning back to night time.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Melancholia (2011)
Lars von Trier (written & directed by)
Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland.
What is this about? The failure of humanity in the face of inevitability?
The fact that deep down inside, etiquette, culture mean nothing?
"It tastes like ash."
The wedding that ended before it really had begun. Inevitable.
The mother and father fighting. Inevitable.
Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland.
What is this about? The failure of humanity in the face of inevitability?
The fact that deep down inside, etiquette, culture mean nothing?
"It tastes like ash."
The wedding that ended before it really had begun. Inevitable.
The mother and father fighting. Inevitable.
TED - Best of the web - Richard Feynman
"I have a lot of fun imagining things. We can understand so much by thinking about things, and it should be fun. There are no questions at the end, no teacher asking questions. Otherwise it becomes a horrible subject."
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Andrew Lloyd Webber - "Jesus Christ Superstar"
Still don't know what it is with this album, but I love it. Certain songs and bits regularly come to mind, and every now and then I must hear it integrally.
Red Elvises - "Memoirs Of A Phuket Geisha" (Lunatics & Poets)
Melancholic, gypsy... it reminds me of this '80's British song that I cannot name...
Not all other songs from the same album are as exciting:
Not all other songs from the same album are as exciting:
- Ticket to Japan : also ok
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Devotchka - "Such A Lovely Thing"
Gypsy, Klezmer-ish, faster and faster until you rotate so fast you can't see your eyes anymore.
It's not their best song, but good.
It's not their best song, but good.
Dutch Pink - "Idols and Infidels"
Raw, Tom Waits, vaudeville-ish, stamping on the wooden tables with a pint.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Roger Zelazny - "The Last Defender of Camelot"
- "He Who Shapes"
using dreams to fix neuroses. Intriguing. - "Auto-Da-Fe"
my old classic from the penguin short sci-fi books. Still good. - "Damnation Alley"
Pretty amazing post-apocalyptic work. - "For a Breath I Tarry"
An almost poetic worded story of Frost, controlling the northern hemisphere after the last humans have died. - "The Stainless Steel Leech"
Well executed. Can learn from this. - The Engine at Heartspring's Center"
Strange story about a cyborg living near a euthanasy centre. - "The Last Defender of Camelot"
Amazing story about a thousand year old Lancelot.
E.S. Posthumus - "Tikal" (Unearthed)
instrumental, orchestral, very film-score ish, fast paced beat, angelic chorus
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Marianne Faithfull - "Counting"
Immmensily beautiful, not at all like the raw sound she's famous for.
Counting time you have stood at the foot of my ivory tower
And waited and called out my name by the hour and counted
On the wings of my heart strings to carry the sound
I have counted on pleading, you see how I need you, come down
And now between twililght and midnight I come to you
Down in my gown of soft moonbeams and starlight
Bright is the evening, the breezes have fenced us
Counting time you have stood at the foot of my ivory tower
And waited and called out my name by the hour and counted
On the wings of my heart strings to carry the sound
I have counted on pleading, you see how I need you, come down
And now between twililght and midnight I come to you
Down in my gown of soft moonbeams and starlight
Bright is the evening, the breezes have fenced us
Monday, 16 April 2012
Roger Zelazny - "He Who Shapes" (in: The Last Defender of Camelot)
Intriguing story. If it teaches anything, it is building up to the climax.
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Friday, 13 April 2012
Paul Oakenfold - "Zoo York" (Bunkka)
"Requiem for a dream" mixed with a haunting voice, even U96 "Das Boot" hints..
Cool!
Cool!
Tom Waits - "Ol' 55"
Well my time went so quickly,
I went lickety-split out to my old '55
As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
Now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
And I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you
That the feeling's getting stronger.
And it's six in the morning,
Gave me no warning; I had to be on my way.
Well there's trucks all a-passing me,
And the lights are all flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.
And now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
And I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you
That the feeling's getting stronger.
And my time went so quickly,
I went lickety-split out to my old '55
As I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
Now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Freeway cars and trucks...
I went lickety-split out to my old '55
As I drove away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
Now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
And I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you
That the feeling's getting stronger.
And it's six in the morning,
Gave me no warning; I had to be on my way.
Well there's trucks all a-passing me,
And the lights are all flashing,
I'm on my way home from your place.
And now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Stars beginning to fade,
And I lead the parade
Just a-wishing I'd stayed a little longer,
Oh, Lord, let me tell you
That the feeling's getting stronger.
And my time went so quickly,
I went lickety-split out to my old '55
As I pulled away slowly, feeling so holy,
God knows, I was feeling alive.
Now the sun's coming up,
I'm riding with Lady Luck,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Freeway cars and trucks,
Freeway cars and trucks...
J.D. Salinger - "Raise high the roof beam, carpenters"
I kind of liked the story, but feel I should like it more than I did. Reading was erratic, bits and pieces here and there. Did it shatter in my mind?
Should reread it after a couple of months. In one go.
Should reread it after a couple of months. In one go.
Thursday, 12 April 2012
Placebo - "In The Cold Light Of Morning" (Meds)
Haven't been listening much to Placebo for years now, but recently Pandora has been playing some and it's been good.
Newly discovered this one. Late-night song.
Newly discovered this one. Late-night song.
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
DJ Shadow - "Blood On The Driveway" (In Tune and On Time)
Interesting.
Part of the parlando ("I'm with you..") doesn't work that well for me. The singing much better.
Part of the parlando ("I'm with you..") doesn't work that well for me. The singing much better.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Depeche Mode - "Freelove (Flood mix)"
Ages since I heard this. Always have difficulty finding the name. For some reason "Enjoy the Silence" pops up in my mind.
Marianne Faithfull - "So Sad"
I'll probably log this song every time I (or Pandora) play it.
It's worth it.
It's worth it.
Sunday, 8 April 2012
Nothing
Watched it again when I wanted something lighthearted. Must admit I didn't watch it to the end, but was disappointed. It seemed... amateuristic? Not really, but definitely not living up to my expectations.
It's Immaterial - "Driving Away From Home (Jim's Tune)"
80's-sounding driving song. Not much electronics. A Supertramp-whiney synth.
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