Category: Music

"My painting went from gentle sweeping strokes to stabbing motions."

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

There was snow this morning for the first time. Not a lot, just a little bit in the air. Now that it’s December and there’s a bit of snow in the air, I’ll allow myself to feel like Christmas is getting close. T-Bone and I were talking yesterday about how we’re feeling stressed, like we’ve left gift shopping and decorating far too late because the merchants have been decked out for the season since Nov 1…or earlier, if you’re The Bay.

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Speaking of Christmas-overload: the Globe and Mail discusses the now-ubiquitous Christmas Musak. I suppose it’s not fair to pick on yuletide Musak though; it’s awful all year round. Instead, what worries me is that I’ll have to hear the same shit Christmas music every day for the next month; “Wonderful Christmas Time” by Wings, anyone?

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Met M2, KP and DI for some food & drink last night at the Rebel House. I haven’t seen them in a long time, so it was good to catch up and have a few laughs.

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If you liked Shaun Of The Dead, you’ll be as excited about Hot Fuzz as I am. Check out the trailer(s). Bonus points for excellent use of an Eels song too.
[tags]snow, christmas season, musak, rebel house, shaun of the dead, hot fuzz, eels[/tags]

I'll just have to find some other trappist ale

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

We had dinner at Volo tonight with my university friend Farmboy and his wife. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…pasta n’ beer. I’m sad, though; they no longer carry the delirium tremens.

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Kristen Bell: even hotter in high definition. Hooray for technology.

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It would seem that …And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead might be self-destructing. I’m glad I saw them when I had the chance.
[tags]bar volo, kristen bell, and you will know us by the trail of dead[/tags]

This publicity stunt is making me thirsty

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The Long Blondes disc Someone To Drive You Home starts off well but takes a dive around song #3. It gets up off the mat for song #8, but quickly falls back down again.

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My cold has pretty much left my sinuses and moved on to my throat. I’m a pretty hack machine right now. On the plus side I worked from home today (so as not to spread my illness around) and am getting a bunch of stuff done that I just can’t seem to get to in the office.

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I’m not totally sure what to make of the Michael Richards thing. I saw the clip and the apology, and maybe I’m just cynical, but I kinda think this is a stunt. Richards’ career is in the tank. He’s never managed to break out of the “Kramer” stereotype. He looks at Mel Gibson, who got tons of free press over his drunken anti-semitic tirade (and who’s essentially gotten off scot free after doing a pile of apologetic interviews and talk show appearances) and thinks, hey, I can do that. Maybe the guy in the audience was a plant, maybe Richards just seized on the first black person he saw; either way, he knew it would get him attention.

Maybe it really is as Richards says, and it was all just a colossal fuck-up. Either way it’s deplorable. But I can pretty much guarantee you Michael Richards will get a primetime interview and some morning show appearances out of this. In a world where OJ nearly gets on TV talk shows and bookstore shelves saying “If I Did It”, anything is possible.

[tags]long blondes, someone to drive you home, michael richards, mel gibson[/tags]

Fun with Yam and Sharp

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

A few things we found out last night while testing out the new TV and stereo:

  • Raptors games in hi-def look freakin’ amazing. The Lakers uniforms were so yellow it got hard to look at, and you could see every tragic after-effect of all that surgery on Dyan Cannon’s face.
  • The New World looks stunning on the new TV (and sounds equally stunning in surround sound) but not stunning enough to keep me from nodding off. Star Wars Episode III looks awesome too.
  • If I put the sub-woofer on anything higher than -5, the neighbours will likely kill me.
  • I can’t get the universal remote to control the amp — maybe the codes in the book aren’t made for this new model? — but I did accidentally stumble across the code to control my Soundbridge.
  • Speaking of the Soundbridge, even 128-bit MP3s streamed across a wireless connection sound brilliant on this stereo. The guy who came to set it up was surprised how good it sounded, considering what poor sound you get when you plug an iPod into a real stereo.

[tags]new tv, new stereo, sharp aquos, yamaha, definitive speakers, the new world movie, star wars episode iii, roku soundbridge, raptors, lakers, dyan cannon, hdtv[/tags]

Adverse to human health and happiness indeed

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The Bush administration has appointed Eric Keroack head of the federal Office of Population Affairs, which is responsible for federal family planning program and budgets. Dr. Keroack is also the medical director of A Woman’s Concern, “an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion.”

My guess is that this is Bush’s way of saying “fuck you” to the Democrats, who can do little about this, if anything at all.

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Making a Johnny Cash / Neko Case concert CD doesn’t make much sense. Then again, maybe it makes all kinds of sense.

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If you haven’t checked out today’s Daily Dose of Imagery, you really should. In general, if you don’t look at that site every day, you really should.

[tags]bush, eric keroack, office of population affairs, johnny cash, neko case, daily dose of imagery[/tags]

Since when does "card" rhyme with "world"?

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

More musical pain: corporate bonding a la David Brent. [via]

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The 2007 rock n’ roll hall of fame nominees have been announced: R.E.M., Van Halen, The Stooges, Patti Smith, The Dave Clark Five, Chic, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Joe Tex and The Ronettes.

The first five I agree with. Grandmaster Flash and The Ronettes I could live with. I have no freaking idea who Joe Tex is, so I’d be surprised if he/she/they made it. If Chic gets elected, I will make it a goal in life to visit Cleveland and piss on the hall of fame, nay, on the very essence of rock n’ roll.

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I watched Cinema Paradiso (imdb | rotten tomatoes) over the weekend. I liked it a lot; I’m really annoyed that I read an article several months ago giving away the last scene (the article was about films that make men cry, and this was a popular choice), but it was still very worthwhile. Highly recommended, unless you’re my mother or Stanzi, in which case you’ll cry for the last 20 minutes.

[tags]bank of america, rock n’ roll hall of fame, cinema paradiso[/tags]