transmission change. please correct yourselves appropriately. all new signals will be transmitted to the following universal resource locator: http://rocksinablender.tumblr.com/

please excuse the absence

It's been a bit. Let's reacquaint ourselves with a list.

- Finally saw True Stories several time. Realized David Bryne could crush your skull with his mind if he chose to. That's how awesome he is.
- Listened to Kate Bush "Hounds Of Love" several hundred times. Would like to spend time in Organon cloudbusting.
- Realized that the band in the previous post is worth more of my time than a single blog post and started a record label to release them on. Please welcome Vernadear Records.
- Spent some time at RQR studio with Mike while recording the band from the previous post, who will now be referred to as Over The Mountain. Mike and said band made a beautiful record.
- Started reading The Walking Dead. Exceeded expectations.
- Also started reading Kick Ass. Highly recommended.
- I'm Stoked every time I see Brian K. Vaughn's name in the credits for Lost.
- Wished I still had my Stop Making Sense DVD. Most entertaining and unique concert film ever.
- Had an amazing cup of Coffee here. May out do the amazing coffee from here.
- Tried to watch Tremors but the DVD froze. Upset.
- saw this. Upset... Stoked... Confused.

... I'll try not to leave for so long again.

Things From Pittsfield (part 3)

Keri Florence and Kaya Severson, otherwise known as Keri & Kaya play catchy indie folk that gets stuck and your in your head and you find your self humming 3 days after the last time you heard it. That is to say if you can go three days without it. I'm sure many people would make the quick comparison to Tegan & Sara, but don't fool yourself, while they may be influenced by them, they definitely stand there own. Keri & Kaya are 2 parts Pittsifeld and 1 part, that's a 3 part equation because I include Luis Granda (of Art Decade). Labeled as the handyman on their myspace Luis also plays third guitar for live shows. Perhaps similar to the creepy old guy who hid in the shadows and played bass for Hanson, except he's not creepy and not hiding in the shadows. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they continue writing and recording. Check out their myspace to hear sick jams or hear "At arms length" below.

















at arms length - keri & kaya

Things From Pittsfield (part 2)

I finally got my hands on the newest Davey G and The Keyboard album "Chairman of The Keyboard". Although not a current resident of Pittsfield (he lives in Baltimore) he is from there. I can only describe Davy G as a cross between Wesley Willis and Flipper, but that truly doesn't give him justice. Check out his myspace, here , to listen to new tracks from "Chairman Of The Keyboard" (i highly recommend Handshake) or listen to these classic anthems below.


wash the dish - from "prepare to be keyboarded"


sandwhich - from "have you experienced the experience?"

Things From Pittsfield (part 1)

This post is the first in a series of things from Pittsfield Massachusetts (my home town). Although it has a rep for being high in teenage pregnancy and full of drugs it's also produced some of the most creative people I've ever met. Here's an amazing set of photos on Flickr of North St. in Pittsfield by my friend Marc. I love how minimal and vivid these are.

Lemuria - Get Better

as seen here previously i've learned to put in this little flash audio player. So now i can begin more easily posting about the newest music in my life. Such as...














Here's the track "Dog" from Lemuria's new record Get Better.



Check out their myspace here.

All this is not really science, but only scientology.

Boing Boing posted a link here, showing a 1934 document written in german called "Scientology: Science of the constitution and usefulness of knowledge" by Dr. Anastasius Nordenholz. This is possibly where L. Ron Hubbard could have gathered the ideas that led to Scientology as we know it today, but it was not the first use of the word. Allen Upward coined the term in his self-published book "The New Word" written in 1908, published 1910. His use of the word however was quite the opposite of both Nordenholz and Hubbard's. Upward used the term to describe "science elevated to unquestioning doctrine".

"All this is not really science, but only scientology." - The New Word.






















Scientology Wikipedia here.
The Prophet and Profit of Scientology by Richard Behar here.
From the article by Behar: "Even though his fall guys insulated Hubbard from jail that time, he knew he was in trouble. "Hubbard told me at one time the biggest mistake we made was going religious and that we should have kept it straight as a business," says a former high "church" official who doesn't want his name used."

HDDVDRIP

Though the war is not officially over Microsoft announced that they will be discontinuing their HD-DVD add-on for the Xbox 360. Microsofts announcement follows one by Warner Brothers stating that all future release will be exclusive to blu-ray. This may also impact the Xbox 360. People looking to purchase a new gaming system will get the added bonus of a built in blu-ray player with their PS3 (which is also poised for another price drop soon). Your average blu-ray player runs about the same price as a PS3. How much this will actually effect the sales of the Xbox 360 is yet to be seen but with several solid exclusives coming out in the following year Microsoft is not worried about their position in the marketplace.

In releated news Sony announced a new 80gb PS3 bundle with MGS4 for $499.99 and the new red PSP bundled with God Of War.

(Pola)roid Rage

I've just put up about 60 new Polaroids on my flickr. Since Polaroid announced it's ending the production of all instant film i've been trying to gather all my Polaroid photos together to put up on the internet.

Their announcement reminds me of Children Of Men. Except instead of knowing there are no more babies we have no more instant film. We just have to wait for the last pack of it to be used. I wonder who or what the last Polaroid will be of. Something fucking rad I hope.

check out some fun projects you can do with the last Polaroid on earth here.

audio player

finally got around to learning how to put this flash audio player (by 1pixelout) in posts. now i just need to jazz up the color scheme.

The track above is The Puppini Sisters covering "Panic" by The Smiths.

robo-buddies

From IEEE Specturm:
"Dean Kamen's “Luke arm”—a prosthesis named for the remarkably lifelike prosthetic worn by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars—came to the end of its two-year funding last month. Its fate now rests in the hands of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which funded the project. If DARPA gives the project the green light—and some greenbacks—the state-of-the-art bionic arm will go into clinical trials. If all goes well, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gives its approval, returning veterans could be wearing the new artificial limb by next year.
read more here.

From BBC News:
"Humans and machines would eventually merge, by means of devices embedded in people's bodies to keep them healthy and improve their intelligence, predicted Mr Kurzweil.
"We'll have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries and interact directly with our biological neurons," he told BBC News."
read more here.

From Honda:
"Honda developed an intelligence technology that enhances smooth movement by enabling ASIMO to choose between stepping back and yielding the right-of-way or continuing to walk based on the predicted movement of oncoming people. Honda also developed a new intelligence technology related to ASIMO’s ability to perform tasks such as carrying a tray and pushing a cart. In addition, a newly added function enables ASIMO to automatically charge its battery when its remaining battery level falls below a certain level. Furthermore, a new comprehensive system was developed so that multiple ASIMOs can share tasks by adjusting to the situation and work together in coordination to provide uninterrupted service. For example, if one ASIMO is idled while recharging, other ASIMO robots will step in and perform assigned tasks."
read more here.

Read about robotics here.
and here: roboticstrends.com

Even More George

As made clear by the post below, i'm a fan of George A. Romero. Night Of The Living Dead is one of my all time favorite movies (the 1968 version, not to be confused with the 1990 version directed by Tom Savini). And even with the some what disappointing Land Of The Dead a few years back I'm still really excited about Diary Of The Dead. The story is told through the lens of a young documentary film maker who is filming the events that take place. Although it will no doubt be compared to Cloverfield for this reason Romero has had the idea of doing this film for quite some time. And chances are i'll like it better than Cloverfield. An interesting side note is that the official website for the films release is it's myspace page, which has alot of videos for your viewing pleasure.

Even More Martin

This is one of my favorite movies. The 1977 thriller from George Romero "Martin". What a creep.

More Martin

While looking up more info on Demetri Martin I came across this 224 word palindrome poem he wrote. The poem is from a special he did on the BBC "If I", which won the Perrier prize at the Fringe Festival, and was also his first one man show. It's almost more of a motivational speech than a comedy act. Highly recommended viewing.

"Dammit I'm Mad"

by Demetri Martin

Dammit I'm mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I'm in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level "Mad Dog".
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider… eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one… my names are in it.
Murder? I'm a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash,
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I'm it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I'd assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
"Sir, I deliver. I'm a dog"
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I'm mad.

Funny or Die Comedy Tour

Last night I went to Will Farrell's "Funny or Die Comedy Tour" promoted by his new movie Semi-Pro and his website "FunnyorDie.com". First I new the show was sold out, what i didn't realize was that it was in a full size arena. After finding that out i could only wonder would comedy like Zach Galifianakis' really work to crowd this big. I was very pleased to see it did. The other thing i was pleased about was the amount of ragging on college jock dudes and frat boys (the show was at Penn State). The show went as followed: Will Farrell comes out and says hi after being introduced by Will Arnett. He fought off ninjas and then went to a video of Andrea Savage out in the field. He then introduced Demetri Martin, who's act probably had me laughing the most. He also reminded me of Mitch Hedburg(r.i.p.) at times, except set to music or with visuals. After that Will Farrell fielded some questions from the audience then brought out Nick Swardson. Swardson was funny but the least of the show, is act also went the longest. After Him Ron Burgundy made an appearance and then announced Zach Galifianakis, who came out and put on the best show of the night. Like i said I laughed the most at Demetri Martin's act but that was mostly because i've seen Zach's act before. After Zach there was a little song and dance number featuring the whole cast and that the finish. All in all in exceeded my expectations and was definately worth the drive to PA. to see it.

See pictures on the funny or die Flickr page here.
check out the Funny or Die Tour webpage at funnyordie.com.

watch Demetri Martin

Devastation!

Polaroid has announced the closing of 2 of it's plants, laying off 150 workers and ending the production of Polaroid instant film. i'll be on ebay buying every pack i can afford.

read more here.

Black Death!

I was just searching flickr for some cool black metal photos and found this. Pretty much redeems may faith in humanity.

more info here!

hey there sexy

Microsoft has placed a bid to buyout Yahoo. There are many sites which fall under the umbrella of Yahoo, but most important to me is Flickr. Fear that Microsoft will steal away everything Flickr users hold dear and alter our a site we've all come to love many have began posting protest images. Most can be found under this group "MICROSOFT: KEEP YOUR EVlL GRUBBY HANDS OFF OF OUR FLICKR" (which just since yesterday has more than doubled in members). One of my favorites, and i'm not so sure it could be considered a protest image, is this sexy shot of Bill Gates...























-Learn more about the Microsoft / Yahoo bid here.

hibernaculum

a true mind melter. get on and enjoy the ride.

buy and hear it here.

David Lynch Ideas

coffee

Rumors of a new Mac Book Pro

From IGN:

"Further credential for the rumors has now come to light via the MiniBatteryLogger tracking logs. The public database has apparently identified a new MacBook model somewhere in the wild, notable for its system identifier label of "MacBookPro4,1". Current MacBook Pro models are labeled MacBookPro3,1, so the new identifier certainly seems promising.

Adding further support to the rumor, MacRumors.com reports that its sources have identified the IP address of the MacBookPro4,1 as originating from Apple. The site also notes that Mac OS X 10.5.2 also makes reference to the MacBookPro4,1, which means we should see the new models before the next OS X revision."

REZ HD

Just downloaded Rez HD on Xbox Live.

Tal Blevins, VP of Games Content at IGN: "This is the perfect game for stoners."

I would have to agree.

www.thatgamecalledrez.com

a week away..

And what a week it's been. I haven't had work all week so here's the highlights of how i've kept myself busy.

- Re-watching Lost season 3 prepping for this Thursday's premiere of season 4.
- Got the newest issue of Game Informer. Resistance 2 might be the only reason besides MGS4 to get a PS3. 60 player online.
- Went to the Queens mall. Mind melted. Stomach ruined.
- Saw Cloverfield. Liked the monster (spoiler), hated the people (spoiler).
- Got addicted to "escape room" room games.
- Relieved my addiction to "escape room" games when my R4 chip came in the mail.
- Could not find dill potato chips anywhere.
- Saw End Of A Year twice on Saturday. Both times were excellent.
- Went to bingo at the Mark Bar. Usually i hate shit like this but it ruled. Funny host and i won a $15 bar tab which was used immediately.
- Finally played Guitar Hero 3.
- Starting watching V the original mini series and V the final conflict. Incredible.
- Began reading Jem by Frederik Pohl. so far so good.
- Went to Mitsuwa and spent to much on junk food.
- Came across The Book Of Beings.

and that's pretty much the bulk of it.

Trooper Fashion

IGN posted an article about all the styles of the Stormtrooper, from Episode II to Episode VI. It's a nice summary of the Troopers and their evolution. I stare at the Stromtrooper helmet shaped mug on my desk everyday and ponder the things they've all been through.

The Many Looks of the Imperial Stormtrooper: read it here

Yoga Salad

I've been working on this webpage for Yoga Salad. It's a health and well-being website geared towards better, greener, healthier living through nutrition, exercise and education. Based in California, they offer private and group classes in Yoga and Wellness Coaching. There are a few pieces still being worked on but have a look.

YogaSalad.net