Ugly dolls

The Times had an article about this set of plush toys. Here's the actual site for you to learn more about them. If anyone's looking to get me one, I like orange. :-)

Remember the Pingu?

Here's round two. This one's a lot harder for me. I can't quite see what's going on. So far my best score is 75.7. You can play it here.

Classic 80s games

Looking to play Frogger or Moon Patrol (I used to love Moon Patrol, though I played it on my Apple IIe rather than the Atari 2600)? You can right now. Just click here.

Resisting Ethics

A few months ago, I designed a cover for Resisting Ethics, left. The editors didn't like it and so I went through a couple of rounds and came up with the design on the right. They approved it and the mechanical just about went to press. I got a call yesterday and was told that the author somehow managed to see the initial design somewhere and loved it. They asked if I still had it somewhere so that we could go back to it. I do and we will.    

Spin/Spun

I'm heading off to Connecticut today and probably won't have time to update this blog before next week so I thought I'd post today. The Stars' Comeback EP is a cute bit of indie pop, incorporating electronic beats on one track, string arrangements on another. One song even makes me think of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, as much for the lyrics as the simple piano and bass that supports the song. Romantica is the latest Luna album. I had stopped listening to them after Penthouse but caught this one playing at the Grey Dog Cafe. I couldn't place it at first, and had to ask the waitress. Then it all clicked. Somehow, after seven albums, they've managed to come out with a new album that reworks their sound to very good effect. One song, interestingly, has a very "Radio Song" intro to it... I've been listening to a lot of classical music this week to calm my nerves (it's been a bit frustrating this week) and so I've been listening to Mitsuko Uchida's renditions of Mozart's solo piano work. It's a hefty box of music to get through, but it was just what the doctor ordered. And the new Norah Jones. I thought her first album was really boring. The new one delves a little more into roots music, and I find that it's much more grounded. Plus the production and engineering on it are great. I love the way the bass sounds on the first song. It's still doesn't keep my interest all the way through, but it's a marked improvement over the last.     As far as singles are concerned, there's only been one that I keep returning to again and again. And that's Norma Fraser's "The First Cut is the Deepest" from the Studio One Soul compillation that came out a while back. I heard that song for the first time in a Brooklyn cafe cum record store (I can't for the life of me remember the name at the moment) and then had to buy the record. I've since worn out that one groove.

What to rent?

Always wondering what video you should rent? This site makes recommendations based on your personality profile.

Norah Jones

Norah Jones released her new album today, which is getting a fair amount of attention. I thought her first album was kind of boring, and was surprised it recieved the attention it did. I'm liking the new one more. It has more of a country feel to it that I like. And I really like the way the bass is miked on the first song. All Things Considered conducted an interview with her where she said she was moving in that direction. And she mentions Gillian Welch as someone she liked. I do like Gillian Welch. Her Hell Among the Yearlings was receiving a good amount of play a few days ago in my apartment. And the Dolly Parton cameo rocks.

A sad day for courier

On Feb. 1 the State Department decided that official written materials should be set in Times New Roman as opposed to Courier New, saying it is easier to read. The NYTimes documented the typographic shift in this Week in Review piece. Interestingly, the article chooses the retain the aside "This article is written in Times New Roman," which is true in the paper, but my browser renders the site in Verdana.

The Weekly Top Four(-ty)

This week it's a bit of an eclectic mix. Last weekend was so cold I found myself listening to reggae to warm up. The Trojan Box Set: Tighten Up was the perfect answer. Three discs of the stuff served up warm, the bass thumpin'. Squarepusher's Ultravisitor starts off beautiful, melding melodic synths with beats that jump in and out, building his songs slowly into long meditations. Somewhere in the middle it gets a little too busy and noisy, but then mellows out for the end. There's an odd mix of the midieval that seems to pop out now and again. Movietone's Blossom Filled Streets is a folky bit of dream pop that floats by on Kate White's voice. And Latyrx's The Album is the underground hip hop album that marries DJ Shadow and Cheif Xcel with Lateef and Lyrics Born. The title song, with the dual channel raps, is a neat bit of production.     Top singles include Enrique Igelsias's "Don't Turn Off the Lights" and "Escape," The Flaming Lips' "Flight Test," Squarepusher's "Iambic 9 Poetry," and the Notwist's "Consequence."

States Within States part deux

Apparently the editor was married to the concept of having the second part of the title within the "a". The title had to be pretty big to accomodate the "within states" part, so here's what I ended up with: You can find the original more elegant design below.

Mona Lisa smile?

Here's kind of a funny little site that subjects the Mona Lisa to a few other emotional exhibitions.

Mr. Picassohead

Channel your inner Picasso and see what portraits you can create here. Two of my examples below:  

Money makes the world go 'round

So how much does the average New Yorker make? A dog walker makes 50k a year. Meanwhile, Wolverine makes that in a week singing and dancing. Maybe it's time to think about changing careers. See how you stack up by reading this article. (courtesy gothamist)

Super Bowl Ads

Only watch the game for the ads? You don't have to anymore. Here's a link to ifilm, which lays them all out. Think of all the time saved!

Good Men Good Women

Just saw this movie, which balances the story of an actress preparing for the role of Chiang Bi-Yu, a Taiwanese revolutionary active in the anti-Japanese resistance in the 1940s China, and a Communist party member in 1950s Taiwan, with that of Bi-Yu herself. The film operates on three levels, as the actress is also confronted with her own past as a man who has stolen her diary faxes her pages daily. These pages telll of her tumultous past with a Taiwanese gangster. Hou Hsiao-Hsien slowly weaves these disparate threads slowly into his film, offering no explanation and forcing the viewer to piece the stories together. The character of the actress, and the character for which she prepares to play, are juxtaposed, as the actress sees herself in the recent past, and herself in the role of her character in the more distant past of Taiwan's history. A fascinating film, Good Men Good Women, while slow, rewards patient viewing, and is worth seeing again from the beginning after the final frame to see how the stories influence each other, building towards the final few frames.

My World

My World allows you to create a customized map of the world indicating the countries you have visited. I've been to 22 countries, counting for only 9% of the world. As the song says, "There's such a lot of world to see . . . " You can do the same for states in the USA. Here I did a little better. I've made it to 32 or 62% of the country: Looks like it's time to plan some more trips . . .

Pepsi iTunes ad

Little Rabbit forwarded me this link to the Pepsi superbowl ad. The type isn't so great unfortunately, nor the editing either. It almost looks like it's a rough cut. Also, I kinda wish they used the original version of the song, but oh well. I wish a lot of things.

In heavy rotation

Henry asked me a week or two ago what I was listening to. That week it was an odd assortment of Chinese pop music. But thinking back on that I thought it might be fun to post every Friday the albums that are in heavy rotation, based on the play count in itunes, or some data fascimile thereof.         This week, I've rediscovered New Order's Power, Corruption, and Lies, and discovered Francoise Hardy's The Yeh-Yeh Girl from Paris. The former is a classic of synth pop, establishing New Order's sound as separate from Joy Division. The latter is a clean slice of 60s French pop. Rounding out the top four are Missy Elliott's This is Not A Test and Jay Chou's Fantasy. Missy's moves on from Under Construction by mining a more modern, stripped back sound. Again, it's all about her crazy lyrics and Timbaland's inspired beatmaking. While the entire album doesn't stand up, the production carries the day. Jay Chou is a Taiwanese pop star known for writing his own music and playing his own instruments, blending rock and hip hop into the traditional Asian pop scene. Top singles this week include "Age of Consent" by New Order, "Anywhere But Here" by Hilary Duff, "Crossroads" by Cream, "Pure" by the Lightning Seeds, and "Tecumsah Valley" by Steve Earle.

The WD-1 DJ-Trainer

It's more a keyboard than a DJ, but at least you can mix your own grooves to work to. Funk up your workplace with this.

Little Rabbit's Brooklyn View

Little Rabbit just got a slide scanner and he's finally gotten around to putting up some of his images online. Check out his Brooklyn view.