For those of you lacking in experience with seventies progressive rock, Yes is the place to be when delving into the genre. Coming from across the pond they brought with them a dynamic sense of what rock is all about. From their multi-movement songwriting style to their odd time signatures and instrumental virtuosity their approach is hard to mimic for both its simplicity and its infusion of raw talent.
I found out today that Yes makes for very good programming music when I finished off a project for my Applied Algorithms class to their Ultimate Yes CD. Even their greatest hits is composed as an album rather than as a collection of songs, kind of like Pink Floyd's Echoes. James really introduced me to them when he randomly started dancing to "Roundabout" one evening and then let me rip their album(s).
I go through moods every once in awhile where I just can't get enough of "Starship Trooper," "Your Move," "Time and a Word," et al.
I'm sorry for the boring blogging delay. Sometimes, I am too busy living life to actively talk about it. You should listen to Yes regardless of my boring thoughts.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
For those of you who don't know, Jim Henson and the Muppets have a special place in my heart. I've been watching them in some form for most of my life since my parents first turned on Sesame Street for me. The colorful, animated characters have such an innocence in their character and their humor, and the effect they have on people reminds me a lot of the same way Charles Schulz was with his Peanuts. These simple characters reveal more about human nature and the meaning of life in the way they act and the jokes they tell than we are willing to admit sometimes, and it's very refreshing to me.
The Muppet Show was a television variety show hosted by some of Henson's most famous creations: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Statler & Waldorf, and the like. It was much like the late night variety shows of its day and ours with the host having a skit or routine of some sort and then having celebrity guests come on to promote something or perform something or just get some exposure. Like other variety shows, the Muppet Show also had its own house band for keeping the audience entertained, interacting with the host, and backing up other musical performers who appear. Unlike other variety shows, each player was a send-up of some famous band, player, or personality in the business. Their collective name was: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
The band was led by Dr Teeth, who was controlled by Henson and was a direct send-up of famous performer, Dr. John. It included Zoot, a mellow saxophone player; Janice, the hippie lead-guitarist and female hipster presence in the band; Sgt. Floyd Pepper, a pink-skinned bass player who was the show's king of cool (He was both a Pink Floyd and a Sgt. Pepper; hilarious!); and Animal, the id of every drummer with his out of control drum solos and rhythm patterns (He was played by Frank Oz, who also did Yoda in Star Wars; Wacky, no?).
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem represent the amazing creativity and ingenuity of Jim Henson's creature shop and their presence in pop culture was even enough to warrant a Robot Chicken skit where there was a mock VH1 Behind the Music show was made about them.
The Muppet Show was a television variety show hosted by some of Henson's most famous creations: Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Statler & Waldorf, and the like. It was much like the late night variety shows of its day and ours with the host having a skit or routine of some sort and then having celebrity guests come on to promote something or perform something or just get some exposure. Like other variety shows, the Muppet Show also had its own house band for keeping the audience entertained, interacting with the host, and backing up other musical performers who appear. Unlike other variety shows, each player was a send-up of some famous band, player, or personality in the business. Their collective name was: Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem.
The band was led by Dr Teeth, who was controlled by Henson and was a direct send-up of famous performer, Dr. John. It included Zoot, a mellow saxophone player; Janice, the hippie lead-guitarist and female hipster presence in the band; Sgt. Floyd Pepper, a pink-skinned bass player who was the show's king of cool (He was both a Pink Floyd and a Sgt. Pepper; hilarious!); and Animal, the id of every drummer with his out of control drum solos and rhythm patterns (He was played by Frank Oz, who also did Yoda in Star Wars; Wacky, no?).
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem represent the amazing creativity and ingenuity of Jim Henson's creature shop and their presence in pop culture was even enough to warrant a Robot Chicken skit where there was a mock VH1 Behind the Music show was made about them.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Homestar Runner
Homestar Runner is one of the most brilliant flash animation sites to be spawned in the wild, overgrown creativity fields of the internet. It was originally a children's story idea by two very creative brothers from Atlanta, Mike and Matt Chapman, but it has grown far beyond its original scope to become its own little full-fledged universe with animated updates of some kind nearly every week.
The brilliance is truly centered on the characters. Each one is fully fleshed out and well-developed enough to host their own series on another site, but that doesn't stop the creators from using no less than a dozen of them regularly. You have your straight-man and resident idiot/athlete, Homestar Runner; your arch-rival and doer of no good, Strong Bad; your intelligent hippie and girlfriend of Homestar, Marzipan; your evil sidekick and small furry thing, the Cheat; and the list goes on and on. My personal favorite is a man in an orange shirt named Bubs who is a con-man capitalist to the core. He runs a local convenience store and is always trying to sell the locals' stuff back to them at inflated prices.
A big part of the site is a regular segment called Strong Bad Emails, where Strong Bad answers an email from the week in a humorous fashion. They almost always involve some clever animation and music to illustrate some side adventure that is spawned from the text the email. The most famous example is a music video about a dragon, Trogdor, that terrorizes a medieval town which was spawned from a request to Strong Bad to show how good of an artist he is.
I'm sure most of have run across this gem of a site at one point or another, but if you haven't ever been there, you should. These guys were good enough to turn down deals with both Cartoon Network and Comedy Central to keep complete control of their animation for their site.
The brilliance is truly centered on the characters. Each one is fully fleshed out and well-developed enough to host their own series on another site, but that doesn't stop the creators from using no less than a dozen of them regularly. You have your straight-man and resident idiot/athlete, Homestar Runner; your arch-rival and doer of no good, Strong Bad; your intelligent hippie and girlfriend of Homestar, Marzipan; your evil sidekick and small furry thing, the Cheat; and the list goes on and on. My personal favorite is a man in an orange shirt named Bubs who is a con-man capitalist to the core. He runs a local convenience store and is always trying to sell the locals' stuff back to them at inflated prices.
A big part of the site is a regular segment called Strong Bad Emails, where Strong Bad answers an email from the week in a humorous fashion. They almost always involve some clever animation and music to illustrate some side adventure that is spawned from the text the email. The most famous example is a music video about a dragon, Trogdor, that terrorizes a medieval town which was spawned from a request to Strong Bad to show how good of an artist he is.
I'm sure most of have run across this gem of a site at one point or another, but if you haven't ever been there, you should. These guys were good enough to turn down deals with both Cartoon Network and Comedy Central to keep complete control of their animation for their site.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Radical Evolution
As I sit here with my new external hard drive backing up my files, I'm going to try and bang out some thoughts about Radical Evolution.
To start off, it was a pretty good book. It was chock full of incredibly interesting information which will change the way you think about the world. I can not wait to discuss this book in class for I am sure it will spawn some excellent debates about the direction and future of what it means to be human. Technology is rapidly changing our definition of human with the advent of artificial intelligence, gene therapy, and other super technologies, and Mr. Garreau knows this and wants to tell you about it before its too late and your caught by the impending tidal wave of the technological revolution!
What Mr. Garreau does not know is how to stay on topic for more than a page or two. I was very interested in what he was writing, but he moved from one anecdote to another to another with seemingly no connection between them. It was difficult to stay interested for more than ten or fifteen pages at a time unfortunately, which was a shame considering the gravity of his message. I made it though, and I'm glad I persevered.
It actually feels good to do summer reading for a class, but it is now time to move on to something hopefully more entertaining. I've been avoiding reading Pride and Prejudice since I tried reading the first two chapters of it for class in the tenth grade. I still managed a strong B on all the tests and quizzes involving it, but I avoided reading it once I realized what it was about. Well, I'm back to it now. As a favor to Kelsey I am going to buck up and give it another go. I am reserving my impressions, thoughts, critiques, and judgments until it is completed, but I can already tell you I will be passionate one way or another about this book, and I am only ten chapters into it.
I will say one thing though, Mr. Bennett is the hero of the novel. If he does not wind up being the true hero, he will always be my hero.
To start off, it was a pretty good book. It was chock full of incredibly interesting information which will change the way you think about the world. I can not wait to discuss this book in class for I am sure it will spawn some excellent debates about the direction and future of what it means to be human. Technology is rapidly changing our definition of human with the advent of artificial intelligence, gene therapy, and other super technologies, and Mr. Garreau knows this and wants to tell you about it before its too late and your caught by the impending tidal wave of the technological revolution!
What Mr. Garreau does not know is how to stay on topic for more than a page or two. I was very interested in what he was writing, but he moved from one anecdote to another to another with seemingly no connection between them. It was difficult to stay interested for more than ten or fifteen pages at a time unfortunately, which was a shame considering the gravity of his message. I made it though, and I'm glad I persevered.
It actually feels good to do summer reading for a class, but it is now time to move on to something hopefully more entertaining. I've been avoiding reading Pride and Prejudice since I tried reading the first two chapters of it for class in the tenth grade. I still managed a strong B on all the tests and quizzes involving it, but I avoided reading it once I realized what it was about. Well, I'm back to it now. As a favor to Kelsey I am going to buck up and give it another go. I am reserving my impressions, thoughts, critiques, and judgments until it is completed, but I can already tell you I will be passionate one way or another about this book, and I am only ten chapters into it.
I will say one thing though, Mr. Bennett is the hero of the novel. If he does not wind up being the true hero, he will always be my hero.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Bourne Ultimatum
Summer is a great season to catch up on movies. I really enjoy going the theater with friends for the overall quality of the shared experience. Like any technophile, I love me some gorgeous, widescreen DLP projection and humongous digital surround sound systems, but I also love the joy of the shared experience; the banter, the thrills, the jokes, and being able to look over and have a shared "could you believe how amazing that was!?"
In short, The Bourne Ultimatum was the best of the series. I saw the Identity on DVD over at a friend's house, and really enjoyed it. Afterwards I went to the theaters and saw the Supremacy, and left feelig nauseous from the drunk they pulled off the street to operate the camera for the movie. The plot was as good as the first one, but all of the "pulse-pounding" action sequences were impossible to follow for the camera's out-of-focus jittering. The Ultimatum had the best plotline of the series, and they toned down the swaggering, hand-cam action enough to where the action scenes could be enjoyed without a side order of tylonal for the headache.
The conclusion was tense all the way to the thrilling end, and all loose ends were tied up much better than in other unmentionable movies *cough*Matrix*cough*. I've always liked some FBI/CIA intrigue and Jason Bourne did not disappoint.
I also finally finished Radical Evolution! W00t! With only one week to go until classes, my summer reading is finally done! I'll probably post my impressions of it next. Next on the reading list is Pride & Prejudice.
In short, The Bourne Ultimatum was the best of the series. I saw the Identity on DVD over at a friend's house, and really enjoyed it. Afterwards I went to the theaters and saw the Supremacy, and left feelig nauseous from the drunk they pulled off the street to operate the camera for the movie. The plot was as good as the first one, but all of the "pulse-pounding" action sequences were impossible to follow for the camera's out-of-focus jittering. The Ultimatum had the best plotline of the series, and they toned down the swaggering, hand-cam action enough to where the action scenes could be enjoyed without a side order of tylonal for the headache.
The conclusion was tense all the way to the thrilling end, and all loose ends were tied up much better than in other unmentionable movies *cough*Matrix*cough*. I've always liked some FBI/CIA intrigue and Jason Bourne did not disappoint.
I also finally finished Radical Evolution! W00t! With only one week to go until classes, my summer reading is finally done! I'll probably post my impressions of it next. Next on the reading list is Pride & Prejudice.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Simpsons Movie
Last night, Brian and I went to see The Simpsons Movie. I was hoping that it would be as good as everyone has said its going to be, and I was not let down. The humor was nonstop and took many different forms. From sarcastic shots at the political process to bizarre sight-gags only possible in the cartoon medium, this movie was fully loaded with everything you could expect from the ever-witty cartoon. At an hour and a half, it was the perfect length to satisfy your humor pallet without leaving you bored before the end.
This is the movie that has endured such marketing hypes as officially declaring the state of residence of the town of Springfield (it's in Vermont, but in the vote Illinois ran a close second) and converting eleven 7-11s into fully functioning Kwik-E Marts, complete with Buzz Cola, KrustyO's, and Squishees. Clearly, this was not going to be an ordinary movie. When critics confirmed the validity of the enormous pitch given this movie with their 89% Rotten Tomatoes rating, you are looking at a movie you just can not miss if you've ever mildly enjoyed the cartoon.
Oh, and for the record, my favorite parts are always the ones that involve Homer and Bart. There is something magical about their send-up of an American father-and-son relationship that always makes me giggle, chuckle, or downright guffaw.
This is the movie that has endured such marketing hypes as officially declaring the state of residence of the town of Springfield (it's in Vermont, but in the vote Illinois ran a close second) and converting eleven 7-11s into fully functioning Kwik-E Marts, complete with Buzz Cola, KrustyO's, and Squishees. Clearly, this was not going to be an ordinary movie. When critics confirmed the validity of the enormous pitch given this movie with their 89% Rotten Tomatoes rating, you are looking at a movie you just can not miss if you've ever mildly enjoyed the cartoon.
Oh, and for the record, my favorite parts are always the ones that involve Homer and Bart. There is something magical about their send-up of an American father-and-son relationship that always makes me giggle, chuckle, or downright guffaw.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
756
So apparently, yesterday, Barry Bonds passed Hank Aaron's all-time record. Bud Selig and Hank Aaron weren't there. I guess people expected another slump like the one before number 755. I wonder how Mike Bacsik, the Nationals' pitcher who sent that poor fastball across the plate, is feeling right now. I don't think I would be feeling too badly if I was a major league pitcher, but I also would have walked Bonds on principle when he came up to the plate.
Beyond the actual breaking of the record, it makes you wonder what it really represents for the sport as a whole. The Onion, oddly enough, summed up my thoughts pretty well with its headline this morning: "Destruction Of National Pastime Given Two-Minute Standing Ovation." I don't appreciate what Barry Bonds represents to the sport of baseball. He is enhanced mechanically with his elbow pad which can perform a sort of physics magic trick to help him hit home runs, and he more than likely has been enhanced biologically with horse steroids which is evident when you track his stats and physique throughout the years.
You can call me a conservative loony and say that physical enhancements through technology is the future of humanity (Dr. Garner), but in the realm of sports, I believe technology should be highly regulated to ensure fairness and actual skill remain key factors in the competition. Beyond this, the sport becomes a three-ring circus where anyone with the money and the gumption can participate.
I honestly wish it could have been Griffey breaking the record right now. I've liked him nearly all of my life.
There is a silver lining though. A-Rod is on his way in a drug-free manner (for right now). As much as I despise rooting for the Yankees, I will gladly celebrate when Bonds is usurped by raw talent and incredible skill.
Beyond the actual breaking of the record, it makes you wonder what it really represents for the sport as a whole. The Onion, oddly enough, summed up my thoughts pretty well with its headline this morning: "Destruction Of National Pastime Given Two-Minute Standing Ovation." I don't appreciate what Barry Bonds represents to the sport of baseball. He is enhanced mechanically with his elbow pad which can perform a sort of physics magic trick to help him hit home runs, and he more than likely has been enhanced biologically with horse steroids which is evident when you track his stats and physique throughout the years.
You can call me a conservative loony and say that physical enhancements through technology is the future of humanity (Dr. Garner), but in the realm of sports, I believe technology should be highly regulated to ensure fairness and actual skill remain key factors in the competition. Beyond this, the sport becomes a three-ring circus where anyone with the money and the gumption can participate.
I honestly wish it could have been Griffey breaking the record right now. I've liked him nearly all of my life.
There is a silver lining though. A-Rod is on his way in a drug-free manner (for right now). As much as I despise rooting for the Yankees, I will gladly celebrate when Bonds is usurped by raw talent and incredible skill.
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