Himalountain

Radiohead is once again doing crazy awesome things to traditional music mediums. After being cut free from their label, they are doing the unthinkable for a successful band - making their music free and accessible to fans. The freedom they have applied to In Rainbows in general is fantastic: allowing fans to choose the album price, the Nude remix contest. With few exceptions, the record industry has not embraced or even really recognized the sea change brought on by digital media - not only music “piracy” but also the proliferation of fan remixes. Radiohead, Beck, NiN and a few others are catching on - and I’m glad to see it.

Now Radiohead made a music video for House of Cards using 3D imaging technology (no cameras or lighting) and provided the visualization data for users to play with and make their own music videos.

Here is the original video:

Check out the youtube group for fan-made videos.

Oh and here’s the data plus a “making-of” video.

If you haven’t read it already, you should also check out this interview in Wired of Thom Yorke by David Byrne (Talking Heads interview Radiohead - hee!). I also found Byrne’s accompanying opinion piece on the future of the recording industry really interesting.

Spaced, the TV show created by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright before they did Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (and Run Fatboy Run) finally comes out on Region 1 DVD tomorrow, July 23. The show aired in 1999-2000. I TiVo it whenever it pops up on BBC America but I’m pretty damned stoked finally getting the DVD.

As with Shawn and Fuzz, the style of Spaced is very silly and loaded with pop-culture and movie references: references not only in dialog but also in film making style.

Here is a clip from one of my favorite episodes:

Oh and did I mention they talk about Star Wars a lot?

For more about Spaced, go to the wikipedia entry (natch) or buy the DVD set here.

I’m taking advantage of actually having an internet connection this morning to counter Jundt’s BMX movie clip with a clip from my own 80s childhood. I loved book Teen Witch as a kid and one late night (this is when basic cable shows terrible old movies) I discovered that at some point, someone had made it into a film which diverges greatly from the book. Basic movie plot: frumpy girl finds out she’s a witch, gets a Tiffany makeover (based on a poster in her room), forces the high school quarterback to fall in love with her, and makes her best friend “funky”. Some other stuff happens I think but I don’t remember them ever resolving the whole “my boyfriend only loves me because magic makes him” thing. Oh and that tiny lady who played the organ in the wedding in 16 Candles is her witch “mentor”. Teen Witch the movie also is an amazing 80s time capsule, from an era when that new-fangled “rap music” was just being introduced to suburban America.

“Taste Test” is one of my favorite features on the Onion AV Club (the non-parody wing of America’s Finest News Source). The foods they taste range from probably good (Inverted Junior Mints) to foreign (Japanese Kitkats) to stupid (Mountain Dew “Quest” Doritos) to really really gross (Pickle Sickle). Most fall in the latter two categories. My favorite part of each review is the “Office Reactions” section.

(source: AV Club)

Yesterday’s review was of 2 new meat flavored Combos crackers: Cheeseburger and Bacon, Egg & Cheese. I’ve always been sort of freaked out by meat flavored crackers and by Combos in particular. I’m glad I’m not alone on this one.

A complete list can be found here.

(source: Gawker)

Detroit News infographic on baggy pants configurations that will get you in trouble in Flint, Michigan. This is like something from the Onion.

I spent the last weekend of my vacation back in New York. I had even less of a plan for this part of the trip than the rest of my two weeks and as a result didn’t get to see everyone I meant to (sorry DP, Tones). I just want to post the last few pics I snapped (still need to get the ones from my sister’s camera). For whatever reason, the lyrics to Truckin’ keep coming to mind…

Truckin’ got my chips cashed in. Keep truckin’, like the do-dah man
Together, more or less in line, just keep truckin’ on.

Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street.
Chicago, New York, Detroit and it’s all on the same street.
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

location: Brooklyn

Dallas, got a soft machine; Houston, too close to New Orleans;
New York’s got the ways and means; but just won’t let you be, oh no.

location: Greenwich Village (yes Vespas were parked on 3/4 of these street corners)

Most of the cast that you meet on the streets speak of true love,
Most of the time they’re sittin’ and cryin’ at home.
One of these days they know they better get goin’
Out of the door and down on the streets all alone.

location: Brooklyn (Cake Wrecks anyone?)

Truckin’, like the do-dah man. Once told me “You’ve got to play your hand”
Sometimes your cards ain’t worth a dime, if you don’t lay’em down,

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurres to me What a long, strange trip it’s been.

What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn’t the same
Livin’ on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine,
All a friend can say is “Ain’t it a shame?”

Truckin’, up to Buffalo. Been thinkin’, you got to mellow slow
Takes time, you pick a place to go, and just keep truckin’ on.

Sittin’ and starin’ out of the hotel window.
Got a tip they’re gonna kick the door in again
I’d like to get some sleep before I travel,
But if you got a warrant, I guess you’re gonna come in.

Busted, down on Bourbon Street, Set up, like a bowlin’ pin.
Knocked down, it get’s to wearin’ thin. They just won’t let you be, oh no.

You’re sick of hangin’ around and you’d like to travel;
Get tired of travelin’ and you want to settle down.
I guess they can’t revoke your soul for tryin’,
Get out of the door and light out and look all around.

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me;
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurres to me What a long, strange trip it’s been.

Truckin’, I’m a goin’ home. Whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,
Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin’ on.
Hey now get back truckin’ home.

Well I’m back in New York City for the last bit of my vacation. I had a really wonderful week in Ithaca. On Wednesday, my gracious host had to get some work done so I decided to go for a gorge walk. I started at the park at the bottom of Cascadilla Gorge - I lived a block away from there my last year in Ithaca in a horribly teeny apartment so I spent much of my time in the warm months in this gorge. In addition, this is the way I walked home from class on nice days. Check out the gallery and click through the images for descriptions:

Yesterday I went out to breakfast with my old adviser then spent the rest of the day with my gracious host. We went to Taughannock Falls (the largest single drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains, I’ll have you know), then walked around the Cornell Plantations and finally hit up the Ithaca SPCA and played with kitties. The drive to NYC was *mostly* uneventful and I found an amazing parking space which means I’m not going to move my car until I have to. My sister is here this weekend too and we’re meeting up in a bit. The Cold War Kids are playing a free concert in Brooklyn so I think we’ll be hitting that up later.

Took a day trip up to Watkins Glen yesterday for a day hike. The original plan had been to camp but the weather forecast said rain (it didn’t) so we just went for the day. After starting out the day with lunch at the Glenwood Pines (I almost cheated on my no mammal diet for a Pinesburger) we drove up to Seneca Lake and the Watkins Glen State Park. It was a nice hike up to the top of the gorge and I took tons of pictures. Check it out:

We took the long way back, driving up and over Seneca Lake, across to Cayuga Lake, then down to Ithaca hitting up wineries along the way until the tasting rooms closed at 5 (Why do they all have to close at 5?). The wineries along Seneca are a bit more chill than the Cayuga counterparts. Most do not charge for tastings which is awesome. We picked up 3 bottles - it’s tough for me to go tasting without buying a bottle at each winery. Luckily they were all pretty decently priced.

Had deep dish pizza at the Nines for dinner. As a bonus, we got corn nuggets (breaded & fried creamed corn) at both the Pines and the Nines so I was able to do a side-by-side comparison. Conclusion: the Nines makes it’s corn nuggets a bit gooier but they are both f’ing delicious.

I’m in Ithaca now - it’s kind of perfect weather and I’m about to go swimming in a gorge but first I wanted to post some rad pictures I took of the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges yesterday when visiting my friend’s office in DUMBO. This is is view:

I just spent 2 days outside of cell phone reception. That in and of itself was sadly a bit of an adventure for me.

Day 3

I picked up my sweet ride at the rental car agency and hit the open road, once again so happy I invested in that GPS receiver last year. On the radio they kept talking about a major storm headed east across Northern Vermont (crap crap crap) but I basically drove in front of the leading edge the whole trip so it didn’t catch up to me until I got to C’s apartment in Errol NH (pop. 300). When I got in C, who I haven’t seen in over 3 years, had just gotten back from the store to pick up a 12 pack of Labatt Blue (yes!) so we settled in for a night of beer drinking because it was starting to storm outside and we were in Errol NH where all the stores close at 7pm. I quickly learned that C loves Battlestar Galactica almost as much as I do and we watched that awesome boxing episode from Season 3. Rad.

Day 4

C had to go into work the next day (lame) but since it was raining like a mofo she left early (yay). C works for a logging company doing something that involves a lot of neon tape and hiking around the woods all year round. When it rains as much as it has this week, there’s really very little anyone in a logging town can do. Bonus for Juuulia. Plus it was C’s birthday so she deserved the damn day off. She took me to one of her sites so I could check it out. The isolation of living up there must be pretty tough. I’m pretty sure I’d react just like the Doctor in Northern Exposure.

and holy crap is it beautiful up there. So much green.

After the tour, C and I had the following conversation:

C “So… do you want to shoot some beer bottles in the gravel pit?”

J “OMG yes!”

So we brought a rifle and a box of empty beer bottles to a gravel pit (”Addie’s Gravel Pit” to be exact) just over the border in Maine and I shot a gun for the second time in my life. I was a significantly better shot this time - I think I hit like 5 or 6 bottles.

Actually it reminded me a bit of the driving range. Except I think I’m better at shooting.

Oh the gravel pit had pretty flowers too:

C and I returned to her place after first stopping the Inn in Errol which her friends own and we were fed delicious fish chowder (chowdah!). We made yummy salmon and home fries for dinner and settled in for more BSG and also American Gigolo - not my first choice but it was what C had Netflixed. Not a bad movie but you do see Richard Gere’s wang. And with that image burned into my retinas, I passed out only after going apeshit to kill all the mosquitoes I could find.

Day 5

Well and now I’ve made it back to Burlington. Tomorrow I head down to NY for part 2 of this vacation: “Wedding Fun!”