It's SNOWING!!

So here's a soundtrack. I couldn't get all the songs I wanted on it though, so go listen to these elsewhere:
You Stay Here by Richard Shindell
Like the Snow by Kristin Andreassen
Christmas by Leona Naess

FYI

Ahm gittin tha band back togetha!

By that ah mean, ah've (at least temporarily) reinstated my PERSONAL BLOG. Cuz ah've gawt nuthin but time on my hands. Take a gander if you feel like it (ie, bored).

Octopus fruit!

Look at this crazy octopus fruit! Actually it's called "Buddah's Hand" Maya brought me one from Tan A once but we thought it was a lemon gone wonky. Turns out it's a real thing that grows all the time and one of the oldest members of the citrus family. You can learn more about it here. Get a really good look at it.

"Grown primarily as a novelty, this large yellow citron looks like a large, lumpy lemon. Known as "fo-shou" in China and "bushukan" in Japan, the impressive Buddha's Hand is considered a symbol of happiness, longevity, and good fortune. This traditional temple offering and New Year’s gift is closely related to the lemon. It has an intense and long-lasting fragrance which makes it an excellent choice for a table ornament. The rind is very thick and extremely aromatic and can be grated for use in recipes that call for lemon zest, such as biscotti, fruit compotes, casseroles, and soufflés."

Source

Thriller novel for Cinephiles

Job hunting leaves people with a lawt of time on thar hands, so ah've discovered tha Berkeley Public Library (on my shmance bike of kerse). Sometimes, ah can't find unread novels by my favorite authors, n end up takin somethin off tha shelves fer one reason er anutha, that ahm completely unfamiliar with. Theodore Roszaks "Flicker" was one of these books.

Online reviews seem ta compare it to tha "DaVinci Code," but this is not only entertaining and well written, but it also is able ta geek-speak to cinephiles in a comforting way. The basick story is that a film scholar, over the years, learns more and more about some "secret" and "evil" filmmaking techniques used by a relatively unknown German director named Max Castle. As the story develops, and Jonathan Gates discovers more about Max Castle's techniques, influence, and spooky-assed religion, we find that film could actually be tha eternal struggle between good and evil (or something like that.) Honestly, it's a good read fer no otha reason then it makes those of us who have spent waaay too much time payin attention to movies feel a lil less alone, n ah personally really enjoyed some of tha "discoveries" made about tha Cathars religion. Tha endin is somewhat predictable, but tha book moves pretty well, and when ah finished ah really wished ah knew someone else who'd read it so we couldve had some convos, etc. Apparently thars rumors that mr. Darren Aronofsky will be turnin this intae his new movie, but tha internet tells me he's denying those rumors, so who knows.

Saul Williams is NiggyTardust!

Saul Williams has a new album "The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of NiggyTardust!"....produced by none otha then Trent Reznor! It has a cover of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and best yet, ITS FREE! (or all but free)

By visiting The Official Order Form, you can choose to either download tha album at 192 kps for FREE, or pay a modest $5 to get it at 320 kps or FLAC lossless media (I don't know what that means exactly, sorry). From my preliminary listen, it is pretty kickass, and I'm not surprised (while the last couple NIN albums haven't blown my socks off, Trent will always be a top notch producer), n you gawta dig tha lack of mainstream marketing. It also comes w. beautifully designed liner notes in a pdf format, 33 pages of them, whether or not you pay the 5 bux.

Also available on the website is this player, which I believe will give you access to this album, as well as possible random broadcasts by NiggyTardust himself.



So what are you waitin fer....free or cheap awesome digital musick awaits!

also, ah bought this bike (it's a 2007 Brodie Dynamo. Ahm callin it tha "Dynamo Hum" from tha Frank Zappa song of tha same name, altho spelled differently):

Free Video and a comment or two...

So scouting around I found QuickSilverScreen, which has a variety of tv shows (altho nawt as many as it claims), cartoons, and even full-length movies. Warning, if a movie is in one single file, the audio/video synch will probably be way off, which I can understand could bother many cinephiles. Personally I can stand it for short periods of time.

So, as I'm job hunting, livin in tha burbs w.o transportation (altho I did just buy a bike) I have a lot of free time on my hands. This meant I decided to watch a movie that ah figure MUST be a classic, (if fer nae otha reason then it spawned at least 2 sequels, n some video games) Robocop! Were you aware that Red Forman from "That 70s Show" (Kurtwood Smith) as well as BOTH Leland Palmer (Ray Wise) and Agent Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) from Twin Peaks are supporting cast in this?

Also - speaking of movies w. sequels, did anyone else see that Sylvester Stallone, aftah his success w. tha new "Rocky" has written n will be starring in a new RAMBO? Action movies are totally tha ultimate in awesome, cheese, explosions, n random celebrity placement!

BTW, how am ah tha only one that wants a street named aftah them? SEVERE WAY...one of these days....one of these days.

Money Ghost Mix Tape

The new issue of RVA Magazine is out now which means a NEW MIX TAPE!
check it out at www.rvamag.com

My friend Emily found a $20 bill folded in fourths on the floor of her apartment one day. She had no idea where the money came from. She went to shower and when she came out she found another $20 bill folded in half on the floor by her dining room table. Where could this mysterious money come from? That night, we came up with the only logical conclusion; A MONEY GHOST!

I think we could all use a Money Ghost, to randomly leave us some scrilla. To tell you the truth, I’d also settle for a Sushi Ghost or a Sushi Money Ghost! Godzirra Rolls & $20 bills would just appear for you! Money Ghost, I dedicate this mix to you. Please come visit me. To hear this mix and more visit www.last.fm/user/RVAmix for mix tape comments and suggestions hit up Lauren@rvamag.com - LV

I Think I'm In Love!

"L'eclipse" is WONDERFUL a remix of the Sean Lennon song "Parachute" by Sean Lennon and Mathieu Chedid (also known as M.). Incredible.

I have to tell you that on this crisp autumn morning, am totally head over heels in love with BOTH of these boys! And this is one of the greatest love songs ever written in my opinion!

I met Sean Lennon once when I worked at the Ben And Jerry's booth at the Mayo Island Music Festival and Cibo Matto played with the Roots! I was star struck.

A dear friend of mine recomended M. to me and I loved his music instantly. Chedid also composed the music for the film "Les Triplettes de Belleville"

This is also a great video I don't know who directed it but I'd like to shake their hand. The end of the video is the best part. Oh la la!

ENJOY!

What Would Jesus Buy?

The Shopocalypse is upon us! I saw my first Christmas ad on tv just before Halloween, (a credit card ad, because debt is essential for the holidays) and I nearly threw up. You probably also know this is the time of year when I start ranting about my hatred of the consumerization of a religious holiday (which, incidentally, celebrates the birth of a man who turned away from material posessions). you know i love to shop but i hate the feeling that my man/mother/best friend won't love me as much if i don't buy them a diamond x-box.

Lucky for me, I can send everyone to see Rob VanAlkemade's What Would Jesus Buy? for a little temperance of their holiday spending. See! Rev. Billy and the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir! Be Amazed! at responsible shopping practices! Watch! and be entertained!

WWJB showed at SILVERDOCS this summer (i reviewed it) and is opening in limited theaters this month around the US - check it out! NY, Seattle, Baltimore and Oakland you're in luck, it's screening in your town - DC, Richmond, Hawaii, call your fav indie theaters and ask them to play the film!

Change-a-lujah!
don't get me anything.

Verbose Sustenance!

FreeRice.com lets you play word-games and for each answer you get right, they donate rice to the UN World Food Program. Improve your vocabulary & help people eat!

Sparkin it up with Mario

These two solid-state Tesla coils are able to generate enormous, spark-inducing RF energy at precise frequencies accurately enough to actually control the sound the spark makes while it's, er, sparking. What you're hearing is a carefully-controlled buzz, at massive power and current. No speakers. Just Mario!

Mario, and two giant gal-durn solid-state Tesla coils!

More fun about Tesla coils: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_coil

Haute Chocolate!

New York's $25,000 dessert sets Guinness record
By Vivianne Rodrigues

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A day after New York City came up with a $1,000 bagel, a local restaurateur unveiled a $25,000 chocolate sundae on Wednesday, setting a Guinness world record for the most expensive dessert.

Stephen Bruce, owner of Serendipity 3, partnered with luxury jeweler Euphoria New York to create the "Frrozen Haute Chocolate," a blend of 28 cocoas, including 14 of the most expensive and exotic from around the globe.

The dessert, spelled with two Rs, is infused with 5 grams (0.2 ounces) of edible 23-karat gold and served in a goblet lined with edible gold. At the base of the goblet is an 18-karat gold bracelet with 1 carat of white diamonds.

The sundae is topped with whipped cream covered with more gold and a side of La Madeline au Truffle from Knipschildt Chocolatier, which sells for $2,600 a pound.

It is eaten with a gold spoon decorated with white and chocolate-colored diamonds, which can also be taken home.

READ/SEE MORE HERE!

My geeky musick friends!

This is the set that I missed b/c I got lost and forgot to read the map correctly last Sunday. It's my friends Brian (0mnis0und) and Nate (Lamaat) making crazy musick. Brian is operatin tha MIDI NES (through a nintendo entertainment system, hence the video game sounds) and Nate is playin his 6-string electric cello. Both are using the sequencing program Ableton Live.



The full-set can be found at http://www.vimeo.com/375786. This performance took place at the 5th anniversary of RobotSpeak, on Haight St. in San Francisco.

Eight-limbed girl!

Eight-Limbed Girl Has Successful Surgery

BANGALORE, India (Nov. 7) - Doctors in southern India completed a grueling 24-hour operation Wednesday on a girl born with four arms and four legs that surgeons said will give the 2-year-old a chance at a normal life.

The surgery went "wonderfully well," said Dr. Sharan Patil, who led a team of more than 30 surgeons in performing the marathon procedure to remove Lakshmi's extra limbs, salvage her organs and rebuild her pelvis area.

READ/SEE MORE HERE!

Win I win the lottery...

Here are some lyrics from an excellent song called "When I win the lottery" by Camper Van Beethoven (from Richmond, VA!) I don't know why but when I hear this song, a comic book plays in my head to the lyrics. This is an idea I've had for a while now. Make comic books out of some great songs I like.
See also, Murder By Death, The Rollingstones, Lucero, REM, VCR, The Clash, etc.

Anyways see if a comic book doesn't flip pages in your head when you hear this song and tell me what you see. If you can't find it on itunes or somewhere else, it will be on the next mix tape and until then you can just read it and imagine David Lowery singing it to you.

Well I lost an eye in Mexico
Lost two teeth where I don't know
People see me comin' and they move to the other side of the road.

I robbed a liquor store or two
Made myself at home a few times
Borrowed myself a car when I needed it.

I got me a shack at the bottom of the road
Fixin' cars and givin' tows
Spend all my money on the lottery.

When I win the lottery
I'm gonna buy all girls on my block
A color TV and a bottle of French perfume
When I win the lottery
gonna donate half my money to the city
So they have to name a street or a school or a park after me
When I win the lottery

Never run a flag up a pole
Like Mr. Red, White, and Blue down the road
But I never called myself a hero for killing a known communist.

Now I can walk into any old bar
Find a fight without looking too hard
But I never killed someone I don't know just 'cause someone told me to.

And when I win the lottery
Gonna buy the house next to Mr. Red, White and Blue
And when I win the lottery
Gonna buy Post 306 American Legion, paint it red with five gold stars.
When I win the lottery.

When the end comes to this old world
The rocks will cry and the rest will curl up
And God won't take the time to sort your ashes(asses?) from mine.

'Cause we zig and zag between good and bad
Stumble and fall on right and wrong
'Cause the tumbling dice and the luck of the draw just leads us on.

And when I win the lottery,
gonna buy all the girls on my block
Silver-plated six shooters and a quart of the finest highland scotch
'Cause when I win the lottery,
the rocks will shake their heads and say that
God is good but surely he works in mysterious ways.
When I win the lottery.

Bike Safety and Monkeys!

OMG, two posts in a row from me!



This tasty lil treat was found on The Internet Archive which has tons of free videos whos copyrights are up or fall under some other sort of weird legal rammajamma. And yes, they have Nosferatu!

Watch out, all you Demons!

For Demon Hunter!





At first glance, I thought, "another basic metal band", especially as their latest album is lacks a lawt of tha overly harmonized choruses that pepper tha "lame musick that is still sorta nawt lame sometimes" metal genre. Howevah as you ken prolly see, they all have priest collars on! Ah couldn't find out if any of them were actually clergy, b/c ah couldn't find any mention of Christianity on their website. Wearin collars in a sacreligious way could be kinda finny anyway. Never fear tho, these boyz have tha faith, n while ahd nevah hold that against them, when ah saw tha musick video that tries ta make church RAWK, ah hafta admonish them. It's totally cool to be Christian (n these guys look sorta Catholic even) n love metal, n even mix them now n then. But sunday service (n this looks like a mass) is nawt metal, especially when yer video capitalizes on all tha mind-numbing, n none of tha "love of god". er even tha HATE of god. Nae horns dudes, nae horns.

Americana conference

EmmyLou Harris gave me homework today: listen to the Legend of Jesse James.

I just got back from hanging with the G'earls - they did a shape note song about Napoleon.

I'm in the same hotel with the weird floral bomb air fresher in the lobby, the slowly rotting glass-preserved chocolate sculpture, and the diamonds patterns in the all the carpet and wallpaper. Why do the hallways make me feel endless? But I do always like the way the elevators go so fast you get that funny feeling in your stomach on the way down.

or it could be the moonshine...

march of 1000 skeletons

Feliz dia de los muertos!

the flaming lips put on this march in oklahoma city. who says there's nothing cool happening in the midwest?

Halloween Mix Tape!

Mix with equal parts Thriller and Screamin' Jay Hawkins!

Halloween Party!

You have to admit that hair-do is pretty great!

Thanks to everyone who came out to the halloween party! it was a good time with lots of great costumes! You can see the pics here: HALLOWEEN PICTURES! I swear that I would skip pretty much any other holiday if we coudl have Halloween twice!

#1 of fucking everything

we win.

Very Superstitious

AP released a poll about belief in the supernatural today. best line:

Those who dismissed the existence of ghosts include Morris Swadener, 66, a Navy retiree from Kingston, Wash. He says he shot one with his rifle when he was a child.

23% of americans have felt the presence of ghosts. Apparently, single people, Catholics, liberals, and those who never go to church are most likely to see ghosts, so i guess if i've got three out of four (more or less) than it makes sense that i conjured up Klamoswa, the Egyptian ghost in the basement of 809. A single heathen, even at 13.

Also of note: Young men are more likely to 'seek out luck,' but i think they might have confused this phrase with 'getting lucky.'

So, what about you? have you seen a ghost? a UFO? monsters under the bed? are you scared to say 'bloody mary' in the dark bathroom? take the poll! share it with the world in the comments. it's halloween people, get creeped out!

I am the condom friend ever useful to you

Nirodh, meaning "The Protector," is also the brand name for the prophylactics featured in this video. Other fun facts include the way South Indian languages adapt English words by adding "u" to the end, as in "lubricant-u."

As you make your way through the seven-minute clip, notice how it moves from a more educational tone to a more elderly tone of wisdom about the folly of youth, followed by a string of brutal realities. But brace yourself once you clear halfway; buried in the tail end of the clip is a deeply graphic image that, as far as I can tell, is the sole purpose of the video.

Enjoy the goofy sound effects, if nothing else!

My New Friends

As many of you are well aware, I love aquatic life, especially things with funny faces or tentacles. Some science guys discovered a bunch of RARE new species of friends from under the sea. Check it out!


CLICK HERE to see the slide show of ALL of the NEW Sea Creatures!

Scientists discover rare marine species
By OLIVER TEVES, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 16, 7:36 PM ET

MANILA, Philippines - Scientists exploring a deep ocean basin in search of species isolated for millions of years found marine life believed to be previously undiscovered, including a tentacled orange worm and an unusual black jellyfish.

ADVERTISEMENT

Project leader Dr. Larry Madin said Tuesday that U.S. and Philippine scientists collected about 100 different specimens in a search in the Celebes Sea south of the Philippines.

Madin, of the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said the sea is at the heart of the "coral triangle" bordered by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia — a region recognized by scientists as having a high degree of biological diversity.

The deepest part of the Celebes Sea is 16,500 feet. The team was able to explore to a depth of about 9,100 feet using a remotely operated camera.

"This is probably the center where many of the species evolved and spread to other parts of the ocean, so it's going back to the source in many ways," Madin told a group of journalists, government officials, students and U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and her staff.

The project involved the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and National Geographic Magazine in cooperation with the Philippine government, which also provided the exploration ship.

The expedition was made up of more than two dozen scientists and a group from National Geographic, including Emory Kristof, the underwater photographer who was part of the team that found the wreckage of the Titanic in 1985.

The group returned to Manila on Tuesday after spending about two weeks in the Celebes Sea off Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines southernmost provincial archipelago nearly 700 miles south of Manila.

Madin said the specimens they collected included several possibly newly discovered species. One was a sea cucumber that is nearly transparent which could swim by bending its elongated body. Another was a black jellyfish found near the sea floor.

The most striking creature found was a spiny orange-colored worm that had 10 tentacles like a squid, Madin said. "We don't know what it is ... it might be something new," he said.

He said it would take "a few more weeks" of research to determine whether the species are newly discovered. He expects to release a report by early next month.

Madin said the Celebes Sea, being surrounded by islands and shallow reefs, is partially isolated now and may have been more isolated millions of years ago, leading scientists to believe that "there may be groups of organisms that have been contained and kept within" the basin since then.

"That makes it an interesting place to go and look to see what we might find," he said

Musick I'm Excited About

Currently there are actually a few thangs that are gittin me hawt n bothered, musick wise. Tha first is Ween's latest album, "La Cucaracha". It will be released on Tuesday, but you can listen to it here on myspace now! Ween is also on tour, which is awesome, and some tickets may er may nawt exist fer baltimore shows, among othas. Ah've bought tickets fer a Santa Cruz show, b/c that's how excited ah was.

Also, there's trailers being circulated (fer who knows how long, cuz ahm nawt really all THAT up w. this stuff) fer ZAPPA PLAYS ZAPPA ,live footage from Seattle/Portland shows last December. I saw this in Washington, DC last October and it was tha best musickal performance ahd evah seen. Ah may be biased, but these guys are rawkin tha hell out of some amazing tunes, and I can't help but advocate. They're also on tour, but won't be in Northern California so my loss could be yer gain....will be travelling to Australia as well, which has such a ring to it....

Checking out the Estradasphere Myspace page , ah see that they are releasing a dvd version of their most recent album "Palace Of Mirrors", which is totally fittin, as tha album feels like movie musick. Check out tha trailer, and then tha artsy write-up:



"Palace of Mirrors Live" is a psychedelic-sci-fi-gypsy-metal-jazz epic performed by the six musicians of Estradasphere, a live-cinema projectionist, and an innovative visual team. As the themes of the music associate with the enigmatic video projections, a dynamic film is created in which the members of Estradasphere are both the characters and the soundtrack orchestra. The mind melting Palace feature is counterbalanced by an entire opening set of 60's foreign/domestic film music, cartoon and bebop jazz, anachronistic Classical music interpretations, channeling of a non-existant American truck commercial, classic Estradasphere Gypsy Metal, and 50's Gospel favorites. Among the interpreted composers are Raymond Scott, Nino Rota, Frederic Chopin, Camille Saint-Saëns, Bud Powell, Sam Cooke, and Bernard Herrmann"

Estradasphere is also supposedly going to be opening up and supporting Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls sometime soon. Further investigation tells us some members are collaborating w. Secret Chiefs 3, who have affiliation w. John Zorn's Tzadik record label.... which is generally jewish folk/klezmer musick-on-drugs sounding musick. With a description like

" Spectacular arrangements of Masada compositions by mad alchemist Trey Spruance, mastermind of Secret Chiefs 3 and one of the most brilliant musicians around. Drawing upon an astonishing array of musical styles from Exotica and Surf to Ethiopian Funk and Gypsy Swing, Trey ’s colorful orchestral arrangements perfectly compliment the lyricism and dynamic rhythmic complexity of Zorn ’s evocative Book of Angels. Featuring some of the best musicians from the Bay Area, LA and Seattle scenes, this is one of the most compelling installments in the entire Masada series.",
can you help but be interested?

Apparently Breakdancing Godzilla benefits when I'm putting off packing.

get ready to fight, feminists!

Bush appointed anti-birth control advocate Susan Orr as acting deputy assistant
secretary for population affairs -overseeing the family planning unit of HHS Monday. She has railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives, saying: “It’s not about choice,” said Orr. “It’s not about health care. It’s about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death,” and "fertility is not a disease." (Because health care is apparently all about diseases.)

Orr will oversee HHS’s $283 million reproductive-health program, a $30 million program that encourages abstinence among teenagers, and HHS’s Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.

You can sign a Planned Parenthood petition against her, here, but note that she doesn't require a Senate Confirmation (for readers that actually have a senator), so you may just want to stock up... although hopefully she won't be 'acting' in this role very long. ugh.

prepare yourselves...

...for slutty-cat-nurses! look at how stroppy we will be!

wooo!! halloween costumes for everyone! did you vote for that?

seriously though, swan dress and occidental guest-geisha will make appearances at a party near you! if near is new york or a costume ball after thanksgiving in another city!

Please encourage dave to dress as Gary Gilmore from Cremaster Cycle. Also, kidnap him and bring him to the party near me.

Combat rigor mortis with Zombie Sutras

After all those years of shambling uncomfortably with stiff, deteriorating limbs, I've discovered that yoga is good for zombies too. Nothing's better after a rough night's sleep with your leg wrapped around your waist or a long day at the office with my head lopped over to one side than a soothing session of stretches to liberate the soul, the body, and of course the braaaaaaains. 

Of course, I always thought I was alone. But apparently, a film is in production about the growing zombie yoga community:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/taking-the-yoga-corpse-pose-literally/index.html?hp

So nice to find such warm, welcoming zombies. Even if their flesh is still cold.

"Deus Impeditio Esuritori Nullus"

ROME is the BEST show on television! I'm so hooked on this show. I just finished Season 2 on DVD. This action packed show is SO, SO GOOD! If you have cable, I think they are re-running season two on HBO now while they are preparing thie for the third season. I mean, you will already know the basic story line if you didn't sleep through history class, or ever read any Shakespeare, but, seeeeeriously guys, you should netflix this quick fast!

This show also brings to mind a plethora for excellent Halloween costumes! I love Nurse Ratched, but I wish I would have held out for Cleopatra... dang.

Old but interesting

A few people have been asking to see/hear me play a song so I put this on myspace, even though it's from the summer of 2006.

Although after spending a week in Nashville with bluegrass kids, I'd be lying if I didn't say my (lack of) guitar skill embarrasses me a bit. I guess I could practice...

Finally, a moral excuse for debauchery!

My seminarian friend pointed me here, as I'm sure he's aware that while I'm not a christian, I often wonder what kind of sexual acts really ARE appropriate for good-intentioned christians. Luckily, the authors of this website have done their homework, meaning EVERYBODY benefits! Anal Sex, BDSM, threesomes and much (much!) more have been been served up w. a side of holiness, and there's even bible quotes to back it up! Not for the easily embarassed! My favorite quote is currentely "There is no greater gift that a bride can give than to offer her pure, unsullied maidenhead to her husband on their wedding night." Classic insight indeed!

tiger beatdowns

shout-out to the newest member of the Tiger Beatdowns - the Brawling Barista! or, is it Eden Maya Dust? You decide with the poll at right. I love a poll!! don't you? (poll is non-binding)

PUPPIES

I think we all love puppies.

Ben.c's mother, Susanne, is a dog breeder--the legitimate kind. None of that puppy mill stuff.

Her dog, Jenn, is about 5 years old and reaching the end of her breeding time. She'd been having some reproductive issues, so Susanne had her artificially inseminated at Va Tech. When the vet checked in a few weeks later, there appeared to be TEN puppies baking in her doggy oven. As you can see by the picture there, she was quite a hairy pear.

Because Jenn is a little bit older, and the last of the line of Golden Retrievers that Susanne has been working on for some time, she wanted to ensure that she'd get the best chance of having a female puppy to carry on the line. So when the proper time rolled around, Jenn went away to the vet and had a C-section.

Ten happy, healthy, squirmy wormy puppies were born into the world, Jenn was stitched up, and everyone went home. After mom and babies were home for a while, Jenn started acting a little agitated. Susanne couldn't figure out what was wrong, and after a while, being awake for over 24 hours got to her, so she took a nap for an hour or two.

When she came back downstairs...there were ELEVEN puppies. The vet had apparently missed one and Jenn gave birth to it the old fashioned way, despite having had a C-section earlier in the day. Brave dog (and careless vet)! Luckily, all of the puppies are alive and well.

If you want more puppy pictures, Susanne updates this webpage every so often with pictures of the puppies. Check back for more cuteness.

Mobile Gem Sweater Museum

On this particularly beautiful but hopeless fall day I was feeling really down until I happened upon this:



Learn more about the mobile gem sweater museum and how to rock gold spandex pants at:
http://www.leslieandthelys.com/

Prison Tattoos

This is from Technibob.com
Back in 2001, the artists’ collective Temporary Services started a project with a prison inmate named Angelo in which they asked him to document how inmates adapt to their surroundings while confined.


The project, entitled Prisoners’ Inventions, resulted in this fascinating 119-page book of detailed drawings that explain exactly how prisoners build contrivances from all sorts of found materials.

The book documents everything from how to build an electric cigarette lighter out of paper clips, ice cream spoons and parts from a hot-pot, to an electric tattoo gun made from a bic pen, a walkman cassette player and a battery, to how to use your toilet to chill your soda.

This book, above all things, proves that necessity is truly the mother of invention. Maybe the best way to really get the most creative solution to technical problems would be to lock up engineers during the design phase of their projects.

The book can be ordered from the Giant Robot store for $12.00.

dear moustache

At least, if you've lost your mind, you've still got your moustache.

Mustache moustache mustasche

love,
moustache.

Nash Vegas

Well here I am at 5am (CDT) - didn't manage to make it to bed, which I knew was coming one of these nights.

The most recent hours of the morning were spent standing with a circle of musicians - strings, super fast fingers, faces contorting with out the usual permission or awareness of their owners.

Notes had colors - browns, reds, oranges - occasionally a green or purple would fly in, but few songs were in minor.

When the music paused between songs we just stood there looking at each other - tired, as if woken from a sleep. So enrapt with the being in the present that our minds cease to think ahead enough to put thoughts into sentences.

I need some breakfast.

jen

happy october everybohdy!

in honor of October and joining this fancy group of breakdancing godzillas, I'm unleashing a plethora of lazer kittens to save the world...

a dream from dave, illustrated by rose

hi again.
So really, the dragon was a mutated crow. it got the zombie virus or whatever, and started growing, and i accidentally taught it to breath fire, so it was a dragon.

i've really got to stop accidentally teaching zombie crows to breath fire, it only turns into trouble.

originally, i was in a school with a bunch of classmates, and we launched a defensive campaign against the invading zombies, but then they all ran away, died, or turned into zombies.

we had fancy-pants compound bows though, like they use in archery competitions. we fought off the first wave, and i decided to set out on my own to get the crow/dragon before it came back for us. it sort of sucked, because it was on top of one of those giant power line towers, so i had to climb up w/o it seeing me i got about halfway up before some jerk that followed me woke the dragon up, and i had to magically float back down, run away, and do the whole fall down/ roll over and shoot thing with my last arrow.

luckily, i got it.

by the time i got back there were only a few people left at the school, and we were getting surrounded again. we took the elevator to the top floor, cuz zombies can't accuratly push buttons, and shot arrows down at them, but then somehow i was the only one left. apparently i also decided that since no one else was around, i should probably finish up fighting the zombies naked, which seems like a bad idea, in hindsight.

but, i killed off all the zombies, and was down to 2 arrows, which i used on the two talking zombie crows that crawled through a small vent and started making fun of me. jerks.

Feist

What a great marketing tool. Get your song on a new i-pod nano commercial. It is one of those tunes that gets stuck in your head, "1 2 3 4 ..." So I found her, Canadian girl Feist. I like her video for "My Moon My Man" even if it does sort of feel rather familiar....
Somebody teach me how to upload a video to the blog!

read our friends.

Gullible zineenator CT publishes great prose "Metal Detector Days" in the lit-mag supplement of RVA Magazine Holy Moly (.pdf download, go to pg 30). RVA Mag should be so lucky to get writers this good for free all the time; but it'd be better if they paid them. Personally, I can't wait for him to get a book deal so I can engross myself in his paperbacks on the train home.

Mario in Brooklyn!

Happy Fall

So I'm going to Minneapolis and then Nashville for work and really what I'm most upset about missing is The Super Massive Cuddle Party in NYC. Sometimes Rose has all the luck.

Break Up Mix

The new issue of  RVA Magazine is out now and you can hear the Break Up Mix here. Special thanks to Jeff Schmack for the awesome art work for the mix in the magazine!

Halloween Costumes

I know it's early, but I'm already SO excited! I just decided what to be for halloween. I'm calling dibbs now. No biting unless you're in another city!
READY? Drum Roll please...



That's right! I'm going to be the fifth most evil villain ever! according to the Amercan Film Institute: Mildred Ratched RN (from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest of course!)

I have a great hair dresser I just need a brand new pair white sneakers (size 8.5) and a uniform, a nurse hat and maybe a neck brace. Should I be the scary, stern Nurse Ratched, or the defeated, post-choking Nurse Ratched?

What are you guys going to be for Halloween!?

Crazy Happy Fun Time Pizza

CLICK HERE! and the scroll over the descriptions to find out about this pizza's fruity ketchup, honey maple syrup dressing and hamburgs.

Also It Never Really Was, Dave Smooth Maya Bean, and Ohyouknowocto, are all CHILLAXIN' right now! What What!

frankentoys

i know some of you have plush-eating dogs. apparently, this crafter does, too, and is sweet enough to post pics on flikr. if i had a dog, and some carpet thread, a needle and some broken toys, i'd make one for the dog. because it'd be cute.

Disarm

Hi! Our friends at ToolBox DC have a clip of their film about worldwide landmines up on you tube. it was recently aired on AlJazeera English! congrats! so, check it out, vote! and spread it around. Part 1 is here, and you can see part 2 by clicking the link in the youtube page. I saw this doc in it's full length a year or so ago and it's an important subject, great access and footage, well-made and with a great soundtrack by ex-fugazi brendan canty. http://disarmfilm.com

10am Tuesday, at the 23rd Street C train station, I was walking up stairs, a stranger, walking downstairs, said, loudly and clearly, "Hi Rose!" Was it you? Identify yourself.

Summer's Days are Numbered Mix

Here is the new mix tape from the current issue of RVA Magazine. Just click the Play button to play it right from this BLOG for FREE!
You can download the new issue of RVA here:
http://www.rvamag.com/shared/webRVAV3i5.pdf

Poetry is Nifty!

I'm signed up for a daily poetry email that is sent by a local Maryland English teacher, Tex Tourais. The poems are super accessible and make me feel sophisticated when I've had too much of the myspace skank.

If you wanna get the poems send a note to: poemaday AT gmail.com - be sure to tell 'em jenhitt sent you.

Here's a sample:

No Time for Poetry by Julia Fields

Midnight is no time for Poetry.
The heart is much too calm
The spirit too lagging and dull.

But the morning!
With the sunshine in one's eyes and breath.
And all the pink clouds
Like chiffon in a dressing gown
And the orange-white mists
That leap and furl.

Ah, I should greet the morning
As though I never saw a morning before
And only heard that it
was this or that,
Gossip that was good either way,
There being nothing derogatory to say.

And in that strange-white mist
I'd be content to go upon the paths
with neither shoes nor hat
winding my way away from home
much like a
cornerless cat
Holding vibrations of laughter in my
Fur
That floated from who knows where
and goes who-less-could-care.

There are no orange-white mists
at midnight
They are a world away
And so
Midnight is not time for Poetry

©1974 American Negro Poetry: An Anthology

dear bg-ers: i got you this: (ny has everything)

xo rose

size doesn't matter

I'm fascinated that Virginia Samsel (Aaron's sister) has created this miniature art gallery in a locker at VCU, and it has been there for 5 years. I've never heard of it. Well, it was written up in last week's BRICK Weekly (the RT-D's sometimes lame stab at an alternative paper), so I learned that Locker 50b has a website here (where there are even do-it-your-self instructions!) and a My Space page. It was also written up in the Washington Post. Nice. anyone have any teeny-tiny art they want to display in my dollhouse?

Shift Happens

Hi-- this is an interesting little bit from YouTube that may be of interest to current or potential creators of content for the web, as well as educators, parents, and citizens of the world. As they say, "Shift happens" ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U

RCR tears it up! and some guy says something about it.

Booty Queen (River City Rollergirls) Punches Y101 Morning Sludge Sidekick in the face:

A toothless wonder comments about it in his YouTube Blog:

great idea!

I might have to start eating bagle sandwiches or pizza more often.




MICROWAVE PIZZA-ON-A-BAGEL

1 bagel
2 tbsp. pizza sauce
8 slices pepperoni
2 tbsp. shredded Mozzarella cheese

Cut bagel in half. Place cut-side-up on microwave-safe serving plate. Spread each half with 1 tablespoon pizza sauce. Top each with 4 slices pepperoni and 1 tablespoon cheese. Microwave on high, uncovered, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or until cheese begins to melt, rotating plate once.
NOTE: If heating only one of the halves, reduce time to 35 to 45 seconds.

Octopus!

OCTOPI are incredible!

Largest lake on an island in a lake on an island

:: Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on Luzon (PHI)

Naughty

Lauren Knockout has a new hot mix-tape of dirty, dirty songs for you to listen to on headphones and think NSFW thoughts at work, like me. Check her out on her new radio blog. you'll be glad you did - no one can match a mix with GWAR and James Brown.
also - where is everyone?

thrillah in manillah

sensibletron sent me this today, i gaped over it instead of working; now you can too.

yowzah!!

ok, i feel like i just came out of a documentary cave & realized there was a whole world out there. here are some things im excited about now that the Fest is over:
The Coney Island Mermaid Parade. they claim it's a family show, but it's only for boobs-& -performance-art-friendly families. like ours.
the Cyclone coaster is extremely fast & dangerous. nothing says Coney Island like carnies smoking on the platform & barking at you to "GET ON! Move IT!" & then they 'hold' your camera for you while you are worrying that a) your boobs are going to come flying out of your dress atop that first hill and b) [says ct] youre going to careen either into the projects or the ocean. did i mention this 80 y/o wooden coaster is still run by levers hand-cranked by that same carnie that's 'holding' you camera. ride it while you still can.
the Wonder Wheel is also reccomended, especially in a thunder storm, as Maya, Dave, Amy & I learned last year. Mermaid Queen pic by Dave Smooth. I'll let him post the rest of the gems here or on his exceptional photo blog.

Thunders storms are one of my fav parts of summer, and there's one about on now. hopefully the sky will finally pour the rain it's been threatening for the last few days & cool us off. its one of the better things going on the east coast (sorry seattle.)

new Bjork album Volta - i've heard it a little and am anxious to buy it, thou im not sure i'll spring for the Dolby Surround delux version. i do hope i can spring for the tour.

summer = doing nothing. i hope.
summer = random trips to random places. look out Atlantic City. gambling punks looking for a spectacle are coming to your shore.

oh and in hot literature news, JT Leroy is fake. ok that that's hot or news is questionable, but what is news is that Laura Albert, who concocted the whole story/character & essentially used JT as an elaborate pseudonym has been charged with fraud and fined, seemingly because a movie contract was signed with the pseudonym and there was money involved. Now, im no legal expert, but would anyone charge any of the other famous pseudonym-users with fraud (movies have been made in their names)? is this an issue of hurt feelings? or was she truly misrepresenting herself to gain the attention of the world that, in a quest for some kind of authenticity in their fiction, otherwise disregarded her writing?

a film about boobs and ninjas

Yesterday was not a good day, I needed the kind of help that only a summer movie can give. The plan was a mild beer buzz with fantastic four: the rise of the silver surfer, but I took a last minute zig to D.O.A.-dead or alive- the film version of the video game. I was so happy. Though there are many characters in this game (and film) the director lets you know right of the bat, with intros, that we only be following the story of the three hottest girls. And while I knew that any movie the is commercially viable will be PG 13, I must assure that 10 years of xena and the industry standard of pushing the envelope coupled with computer generated bras and things of the like make for plenty of side boob (thanks peter griffin) action and panty shots, some of which solicited out loud laughs from the audience.

The plot is simple the worlds bad asses meet to compete in a martial arts tournament with a $10,000 prize. After the opening montage we get a scene where everyone jumps out of a plane and climbs up a 10 story Buddha to look over a CG city. Then there is a montage of medical exams (in undies) followed by a montage of a bunch of fights, most of the characters featured will not appear again (even if they won their fights). The fights are perfect, they have no speech, no back story, last about 1 min tops, are super kung fu bassery (sometimes in wet t- shirts) and awesome sound effects. The foley artists that would normally hit steaks or break ears of corn chose instead to make the sounds guns being cocked and fired upon a punch being thrown. Ca-chick, boom.

After that there are a couple of flashbacks followed by approximately 10 scenes all of which fall into the following categories: 1. computer programmer with glasses macks on hot girl. 2. Sexual innuendos between 2 women. 3. Evil genius hints at a master plan. After enough booo-ring of that, almost 20 min worth, we get to the improtu bikini volleyball game. There were also bikini clad score keepers. And don’t ask, you know it was in slow-motion, slow motion montage.

Then the stupid plot came back and I was bummed. It turned out the bad guy was stealing everybody’s moves and downloading them into his brain with super special sunglasses. He becomes the best fighter with feathered hair ever, until his glasses get knocked off, he gets paralyzed by ninja acupuncture and then the island blows up.

Look, the movie is poo, poo on a stick, a poo stick getting waived about in a computer generated wire fighting universe. I script was no unlike a poorly translated incredible hulk Chinese bootleg. What you need to know is summed up by the New York Times reviewer: ”The prime contestants are a ninja princess (Devon Aoki), a pro wrestler (Jaime Pressly) and an assassin-thief (Holly Valance), who all possess a similar martial artistry and allergy to clothing” - JEANNETTE CATSOULIS. And it is an ideal forgot your troubles check your brain at the door movie if you like girls, otherwise rent white squall.

More Derby Goodness

The Today Show will be filming, and there's something about cake as well.....

Also, this is the same match-up from the action-packed championship bout from the premiere (last years) season. I'm hoping it's possible to cram both roller derby and closing night at the infamous SILVERDOCS on this monumental Sunday, but w. it Fathers Day and all, we'll see which activity reigns supreme.

Look I don’t want everybody to think I’m a one trick pony. I blog about bikes and beer. In the tradition of the worlds most popular drink being for everybody, here is Kodomo no nomimono: Japanese beer for children. Unfortunately, much like the beer for dogs that blogged of before, there is no booze in this beer. But unlike the dog beer, which is marketed to dog owners, this beer is marketed towards children, children who will be happier, cooler and pull chicks better if they drink this beer. Cheers.

if you know me you know that tost is hiring, and nothing makes you meet more people than putting a help wanted sign in a bar window. the most recent and depressing applicant is stefan baile. he is no more qualified than any number of people that swing by for the job, his exp includes farm hand, granite polisher and store clerk, he is almost exactly my age. he was also a decent first baseman for the boston red sox for four years. everyone wants to be a bartender.

seattle, buy 100 of these now

in my world of living in a studio apartment with 6 bikes, this is the best thing i ever saw. all the info is at biketree.com but gist is such, it stores bikes outside not in studio apartments, locks them, loads the bike for you, is solar powered and is from the future. as a people, we deserve a lot of the cool sci-fi stuff from the future now, and this plexi-glass fugly thing is a great start for me.

Fer all you crafty types.....

Make yer own paper wallet! Providin the instructions don't confuse you. I haven't tried this yet, cuz its not something I'm likely to do well, but I know some people have had good results.

It's all right here!

Everyone knows

It's DILDO! (probably not work-place appropriate, but I guess that depends on your workplace)

YAY YOGA!

May 12-18 is DC yoga week!

Which means FREE and $5 classes all over the city.

I wanna check out classes at Capitol Hill Yoga, Shakti Mind Body Studio, and the tantra workshop at Flow Yoga Center (right near Transformer).

You should come sweat with me!