Saturday, December 26, 2009

Rays






Big Mama

Holy snappin' fuck, is this ever good!

Left, Right... Right, Left

I was looking for something with Billy Cobham in it and I came across the video below. I'm not especially knowledgeable about jazz but a couple of things in this clip really struck me as being remarkable. The left/right hand playing of the pianist is (to me, anyway) incredible. And if you watch the drummer's (Billy Cobham's) right hand, he switches from matched to traditional grip at will.

I have dreams about this sort of thing...

I'm the Man

Fucking outstanding...

Sixteen

Yeah...



I'm beginning to feel my inner YouTube... [Shit, can I take that back?]

Friday, December 25, 2009

Gimme Shelter

No comment.

Power



I was nice yesterday...

By the way, anyone know where I can get one of these cool Nietzsche Christmas sweaters?


[Image Source: Big Fat Whale. Via.]

Gerbils

I'm not a tech kinda guy or anything, but the one time of year I feel like posting at Facebook you'd think they'd have a few more gerbils workin' them exercise wheels...

Thursday, December 24, 2009

... to town.

I could have sworn the last time I asked she said wanted to fly the space shuttle. Now I guess she wants to join the circus...



Actually, she's been practicing the unicycle at school and wanted one of these (an older girl in our condo has one, ya know?). A lot cheaper than a space shuttle...

Oh, I almost forgot. Merry Christmas!

... is coming...

Safely in bed...



[Have you ever noticed how hard it is to take a picture of someone when they're asleep without making them look like either a complete dork or a corpse? It's hard to find that happy medium...]

Santa Claus...

Given the recent Tooth Fairy incident, I figured I'd better milk Santa for all he's worth this year. It'll probably be his last...





Not finished yet...

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Vending Machines, No. 89


Paint It Black

YouTube binge continues...

My guys...

Lola

A tune that, when I first heard it at the tender age of 10 or 11, meant nothing to me lyrically. The double entendres escaped my innocent brain. Heh.

Just Dropped In

YouTube binge in effect...

I fucking love this tune. A masterpiece:


This tune forced me, by way of psychotronic rays, in my youth... I think, to adopt the ways of Satan, or something...

Tom Jones

I remember when I was I kid that my mom was a big fan of Tom Jones. I doubt I'll ever truly understand what my mother saw in Tom Jones (I have my suspicions), but the guy was and is a terrific singer. I dig Tom Jones...

I feel a YouTube binge coming on...

Friday, December 18, 2009

Them Crooked Vultures

So the other day I was wonderin' to myself, what ever became of John Paul Jones, the bass player for Led Zeppelin? And bing! (heh) there he is playing with Josh Homme and Dave Grohl. And I mean playin'. Shit, this be some ROCK:


Career tip for popsters, hipsters, and other such: if you want anyone to remember who the fuck you are 5 minutes after you've left the building, learn how to play your instruments. And never, ever, mock those who can.

Cones

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Here There Be Wild Boars

Seen on the main campus of the university I work at:



Beware.

UPDATE: An anonymous commenter has directed me to this clip of wild boars wandering the streets of Kobe.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Kid with a Camera: Pics of Dad with a Hangover

Actually, I can't recall if I was really hungover when these pics were taken (but then I guess I wouldn't, would I?).







Tip for future fathers: Girls are amused by different things than boys. Get used to it. Fast.

Wow

You don't see this every day.



[Via: Sadly, No!]

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Kid with a Camera: Self Portraits

My wife and daughter have gone to the in-laws for the weekend. They even took the dog with them. So, I'm basically just bouncing around the condo looking for something to amuse myself. As I whined last night, I'm pretty much dried-out as far as blog post ideas go, and I've got no pics of my own to post right now. However, I stumbled upon some pictures that my daughter took that I'd completely forgotten about, and thought that it might be fun to post some of them.

Regular readers know (or at least probably sense), of course, that I'm one of those fathers who's put his daughter into a special category usually reserved for divine beings or people who have lived long enough actually to have accomplished something. I will never apologize for that (although I certainly understand if you're less than thrilled with my kid's pics). Don't say you weren't warned.

A couple of nights ago I watched my daughter type "egg" into YouTube's search field and then watch her favorite video (go ahead, do it!). I can't even begin to express what a thrill this was for me. It thrills me that she likes to take pictures. I've done next to nothing by way of editing her pics (generally only setting levels automatically; no cropping, etc.). I've given her photos a rough thematic organization, and I hope that after she sees a few of these posts she'll want to start her own blog. Of course that will require being able to upload files, writing, etc. If she's interested, I can't wait to help her.

Anyway, here are a few pics my daughter took of herself:








I really like that last one. Girls are so... strange...

Vending Machines, No. 88

Search and Destroy

I'm probably nothing like Iggy Pop...


The Stooges-Search and Destroy
Alt. Link
 
... that's my problem...

Damn YouTube

I got nothing to say these days, and no pictures to post, so I thought I'd look up some tunes on YouTube and basically coast a bit. Doesn't look like it's gonna happen tonight. For some strange reason I can watch videos that are embedded (so it seems) everywhere except on YouTube. When I go there and click a video they tell me that I need the latest version of Flash. I've downloaded and installed the piece of shit about 20 times now, but I still can't watch a video at YouTube. This also means, of course, that I can't embed anything.

Now I'm left with writing about how I've got nothing to post about. It's like the Seinfeld of blogs: a blog about nothing. A more clever person might use this as an opportunity to complain about YouTube, but I don't really see the point. I mean, it's not like we pay for the fucking thing, so why complain if it's an utter piece of shit once in a while? Well, it's really an utter piece of shit more than once in a while, isn't it? But it's free, so complaining about it probably comes across as being a bit ungrateful. And seriously, shouldn't we be grateful for all the wonderful things YouTube has given us?

Wow. I'm already tired of talking about YouTube. Lucky I wasn't posting about American Idol or something! Speaking of shit, isn't American Idol a bit like three (now four?) losers sifting through a pile of shit and debating which one is the tastiest? And I thought teaching English in Japan was a tough gig! Just goes to show, no matter how bad off you think you are, there's somebody in a worse situation. I mean, I have the luxury of changing the channel, but those poor saps have to act like they give a shit... And that fucking "music"... Please...

I can see this post beginning to degenerate. Soon I'll be railing against people who hum to themselves as they walk down the street or something. You can't really hear them, but you just know they're humming some awful tune... This time of year probably some Christmas tune... Damn them... If you're going to walk down the street humming tunes there should be a law that says they have to be White Zombie tunes or something... I could live comfortably in a world like that...