I read an opinion recently in a nation-wide Sunday publication [Parade Magazine] suggesting that organ donation should be mandatory by default, unless a person acts and chooses to “opt out.” Think that one through, and it should scare the hell out of you.
Training the bot is pretty cool. How it was made is cooler:
[Found here. Don’t worry, it’s a safe site. They had a coordinated WOT report attack years ago by some people who didn’t like their opinions. If you subscribe to WOT, please mark the site as safe. They don’t deserve this unwarranted abuse. Never have. SFK. SFW.]
Redwood logging in 1946. Dangerous work. [Found here.]
Hypnotizing art “installations.”
Maxim Zhestkov (b.1985, Russia) is a media artist and director whose practice centres around the influence of digital media on shifting the boundaries of visual language.
He grew up in a small town on the Volga river named Ulyanovsk. From childhood, Maxim was fascinated by art, physics and computers which led him to university, where he studied architecture and fine art.
I’m kinda in an odd mood, change of the seasons, sun angles and all, so let’s roll with it.
“Psychotic Reaction” by The Count Five, peaked at No. 5 in 1966 on the Billboard Hot 100. Classic garage band / early psychedelic rock. Since then it’s been covered by a number of indy/punk/rock bands, including this one by The Cramps in 1983:
Meh. I can do without that, but this one’s not too bad:
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers probably did the best cover of ‘”Psychotic Reaction” in 1991, preserved the soul of the original.
The intro is cool, song starts at 2:20.
Have a great weekend, folks. Be back here tomorrow for more stuff and stuff.
“I saw a sign that said, ‘NEXT REST AREA 25 MILES.’ I said, “That’s pretty big.”
Steven Wright was/is/will be pure awesome, and your pastor never has to block Wright’s commentaries from his 12 year old daughter either. Heavy duty clean comedy.
Ten Years After was (is) one of my favorite blues-rock bands before I knew what blues-rock was. Those English whiteboys played it nasty.
Next up is Edgar Winter, one of the whitest of the white boys, playing one of the biggest instrumental rock hits ever. Personally I liked his brother Johnny‘s stuff better, but so what.
Now about Rick Derringer…
Okay, I’m going to roll the dice and ask you loyal followers an honest question. What was your favorite song / band when you were 20 years old? Leave your answers in the comments below. I’ll try not to cringe.
Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ll do more stuff tomorrow.
Laverie Vallee, known better as Charmion, was a Sacramento born trapeze artist who possessed strength and a physique most men would be envious of. However, she was most well known for her risqué striptease performances. The act was incredibly impressive and provocative for the era. One of her greatest fans was Thomas Edison. As a result of that adoration, on November 11, 1901 Charmion committed a simplified version of her act to film for Edison. Charmion eventually retired to Santa Ana, California. She passed away on February 6, 1949 at the age of 73.
[Video found here. It’s silent. Talkies didn’t become commercially viable until the 1920s, so don’t crank up the volume and blow your speakers later.]
The Al Cohn Quartet at the Sanremo Jazz Festival 1987. Al Cohn (1925-1988) was one of the greatest improvisational jazz saxophonists of all time. Now check this out:
That’s Shaye Cohn, Al Cohn’s granddaughter, playing stride.
Now check THIS out:
Shaye Cohn – Cornet, Piano, Fiddle, Accordion, Banjo & Spoons
Craig Flory – Clarinet & Saxophone
Barnabus Jones – Trombone, Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar, Vocals
Todd Burdick – Tuba
Gregory Sherman – Vocals, Guitar & HarmonicaMax Bien-Kahn – Guitar & Banjo
Jason Lawrence – Banjo & Guitar
Robin Rapuzzi – Washboard & Drum set
Erika Lewis – Vocals & Bass drum
Dang. I’ve been impressed with Shaye Cohn’s stuff for years without knowing her pedigree, and now I know where she got it from. Note how she cues the band while playing.
Have a great weekend, folks, and we’ll do something else tomorrow.
Amazing. The contents of clay cylinders found during the excavation of ancient Babylon is evidence that soapmaking was known as early as 2800BC, and these guys in Nablus are still doing it the ancient way, by hand. Why?
Nice animation that must have taken a while to make [via].
Fishing with John (with Japanese subtitles). From the Utoobage comments: “The problem with other fishing shows is that they are too polished, too normal. And they don’t have enough Tom Waits.”
I don’t know what Fishbone was yammering about here, but I like the vibe.
As long as a tune was good, I never paid much attention to lyrics, but sometimes, years later, I found that the songs I liked a lot weren’t about what I thought they were about at all.
Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for stuff.
