Sometimes the front falls off

I'm at KTB's house in Chicago, and it's been fabulous to discover that I'm not on my own in one of my quests: to grown-uppify my home. Man, it's hard. It started with nice furniture. Ok, I've got a bedroom set and a new couch with microfiber. Microfiber, by the way, is incredible; I spilled red wine on it and was able to clean it up completely with a damp, dirty sponge. I know!

Then I bought bookcases at Ikea, and inherited a used tv stand, so I can use what my tv was on as a coffee table. And I think I'm fine. I'm done. Place looks all grownup, right? So I ask the first person who comes over. And she says the picture frames don't match. The desk is light colored wood, while the rest of the room's wood is a dark brown or black. And then there's the tapestry covering the wall behind the tv. And the tapestry covering the door to the rest of the house. It still looks like a college kid lives here.

So things are needed. A set of little shelves from Bed Bath and Thunderdome. More bookshelves or storage units, maybe. All in dark brown or black. And I think this is what I want, but I keep hearing Tyler Durden's voice in my head, telling me that eventually the things you own end up owning you.

Check out this video my friend Barka made for Phish's Shafty

Holy Death Star, Rob Cockerham is auctioning the Light Sharpener on Ebay.

My dad got me interested in Astronomy a long time ago. We like it for different reasons. I think he enjoys the puzzle of locating objects in that jumbled mess up there. He likes to find asteroids and messier objects. He knows his constellations and can always call out the name of the planet glowing most brightly. Wikisky.org seems created just for him. It's an interactive map of space that can, for instance, not only tell you where NGC 4438 is, but what it is, and show you what it looks like through my dad's expensive telescope.

If the vast mysteries of space aren't your bag, maybe you'd like to see what the ten most puzzling ancient artifacts are.

I'll be in Los Angeles for a few days for work. Hopefully I'll have a chance to sightsee, maybe play a little Hipster Bingo.

While I'm gone feel free to meditate on the affects of advertising on the English language. Remember to keep breathing. Don't get distracted.

When I was 23 I hung out almost exclusively in Catonsville. Most nights I would drive home to Ellicott City. It was about 15 minutes in the car. I remember really clearly how I wouldn't listen to the radio on those drives home. I was always talking to myself, singing to myself. Those were the days when I'd find myself pulling over to scratch down a poem, or to dig out my tape recorder to whistle a melody that I just couldn't let disappear. And sometimes I'd interview myself.

One of my favorite interview questions was about how my musical tastes formed. I saw an obvious progression, from the Cure to the Grateful Dead, and of course, from there on to jazz and then onto Phish. From all this introspection about something so common I was able to pinpoint moments in favorite songs that I may have connected with moments in other favorites from years past.

Your favorite music doesn't change. Music evolves. And it's amazing that we have the senses to evolve along with it.

***I was never into metal, but if I was this would be even cooler.

I enjoyed DrawerGeeks so much that I had to go looking for more. Toon Club is another community blog for artists to explore similar topics. And coincidentally, right now they're on monsters, too.

I need a new pair of shoes for fall. Something for everyday running around. I'll probably end up with a pair of skate shoes. And this is how I'll lace them.

Friday is my birthday, btw. Well, at least on planet Earth. If I lived on Mercury I'd have to wait until Nov 13. And I'd be almost 150 years old.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

In 2006 Forbes Magazine listed the 15 richest fictional characters. Coming in at number 15 is my favorite pixelated plumber, Mario.

Good for him. Because if he'd been born in the Soviet Union he never would have been able to keep all those gold coins.

And last on our trip down 32-bit lane, wtf, Mario?

I feel like I've posted this link before, but I'm too lazy to check and you're too drunk to remember, so here's Diego Goldberg's The Arrow of Time. It's a head shot of each member of his family, once a year, from 1976 (just him and his wife), to the present (5 of them, and the kids are grown). It's spellbinding to move up and down the page, seeing the things that change, and realizing the things that don't.

When you're done that, Exopolis made you a mix tape.

It shouldn't be a secret that I love playing music. I'm currently expressing myself with my guitar better than I ever dreamed possible, and I started practicing the accordion this weekend. I love playing music more than listening to it, and when I am listening to it I'll often dissect it in my head. That's one of the things I love so much about the Beatles: there is so much going on in the music, so much to do. One of my favorite books is the Joy of Music, by Leonard Bernstein. It's weird to read about music, but this book breaks it down and helps the reader understand why certain licks or chords or rifts just sound right. Which brings me to the article responsible for my rambling.
A Flood of Flat-Sevenths investigates how the Beatles created the atmosphere around the songs on Revolver. It's a tough read, and maybe only for serious musicians (I have to admit I keep getting lost and it will take several rereads to really get it), but definately worth a skim at least.

I shouldn't leave those of you who don't want to invest hours and brain cells to my peculiar hobbies, so here's something for the rest of you: a seemingly infinite progression of images forming images.

Back after a two year hiatus, huh? And most of my old links don't work right. Sounds familiar.

I bet you're wondering what brought me back? Why the renewed interest? It's a combination of two things, actually. StumbleUpon, and Thrunk. Thanks SU for helping me love the web again, and thanks Bones for reminding me I have a civic duty to share my golden tickets.

Ok, first up: DrawerGeeks. Every Friday a character is sent to the contributing artists, and they create a picture of that character. There's lots of superhero art which is right up my alley...but what really turned me on about this site was the page of recreations of children's drawings. Absolutely incredible, and an interesting look at how different people interpret the same picture.

There's a lot to look at there, so if you're tired now here's a great site to take a load off.