new Neko Case

By reposting this brand new track from her upcoming album, Neko Case and Anti Records will make a donation to Best Friends Animal Society. Win/Win.

Can't wait for her new album.

Here is some info on Best Friends:

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, Best Friends Animal Society is one of America’s foremost animal rescue organizations. Founded in 1984, Best Friends advances nationwide animal welfare initiatives by working with shelter and rescue groups around the country. On any given day Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the nation’s largest facility for abused, abandoned and special needs companion animals located in southwestern Utah, is home to approximately 2,000 dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, birds, and other animals. The society also publishes Best Friends magazine, the nation’s largest general interest, pet-related magazine with approximately 300,000 subscribers. For more information, visit www.bestfriends.org.

been awhile since I posted...

so here's some random pictures to contemplate.














w00t! It's Yanni!

Best Dad Ever.

My next project.

Cool Ad

I've seen other pictures of this ad around the internets, but I can't remember where... oh well. but it's an awesome concept and an even better execution. I wonder what it cost to produce? Hope they sold a bunch of paint.

Amazing Guiness Commercial

now I'm thirsty.

amazing photo!

This is a photo of a dragon fly with dew drops.

Here is a link to a larger version: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6687694

Logo for $1

I'm too exhausted to go off on a rant here. Low ballers like this make me think I need to reconsider my career choice. The saddest part is that more people will start using these bargain logos , and I'll have to look at them.

hmmm!?!?

It's wood!

Hockey Mom Goes Crazy - NWS Language

NWS. Careful when you play the video... there's some pretty bad language. hahaha.

I've been dealing with some really stupid hockey parents lately (not nearly this bad, mind you). Just seeing how nuts this lady is, has really helped me to laugh off the delusional attitudes.

Free Rice!

I think this is a pretty cool idea. You basically revisit the SAT vocabulary test, and match words with their meanings. For each word you answer correctly, this organization will donate 20 grains of rice for the U.N. to distribute to those in need. The total donations per day are in the millions! I played for 10 minutes and got to vocab level 38 (which appears to be my limit, lol), and I donated 7,120 grains of rice.

go here to play: http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Post up your score in the comments.

LaCie Hard Disk by Neil Poulton

Pretty awesome design. $400 for a 1TB, which is maybe a little high, IMO. This one has a fanless cooling systen, which I don't know if it will be problematic down the road. Another downside is that it's only USB 2.0, which is not right for my needs. I already own a 250GB LaCie triple-interface (USB 2.0, FireWire 400/800) designed by F.A. Porsche, which has a similar look. More info on the Poulton drive can be found here.

I'm in the market for a new 1TB drive and am leaning towards the Iomega ultramax, which features a RAID 0 (or RAID 1) array consisting of 2 replaceable 500 GB drives... the fan can be a little noisy, but I like idea of being able to replace the drives should one fail. here is a pic:



Still undecided on which way to go. I need the space now, but will likely be upgrading my 1.5GHz PowerBook to a intel-based MacBook Pro (once they get they're anticipated speed bump). The dilemma on the external drives is whether or not FireWire 800 will still be supported, or if Apple will switch to eSATA or USB 3.0.

Charles & Ray Eames postage stamps

Add some style and design history to your snail mail. Due out this summer.

more info: http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2007/sr07_084.htm

Josh Ritter on Letterman

Song performed: "To the Dogs or Whoever"

I first heard Josh Ritter a few months ago... found him on a tangeant of a tangeant in iTunes. His new album The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter is phenominal. It's rare to find something as complete and cohesive these days. I haven't checked out any of his other material yet, but plan to eventually.

Here is a link to a great interview.

MC Vadar

2009 Acura TSX teaser

I hate teasers. Acura will unveil the redesigned TSX/Euro Accord at the Geneva Auto Show in March. They are also expected to do something at the Detroit Auto Show.

Click here to see more teaser pics.

Click here to see actual Spy shots of the new TSX.

Judging by the spy photos, I'm hopeful it won't look like the European market "Tourer" wagon concept (not a huge fan of the station wagons... bad experience as a teen. Lol), which can be seen here. Or visit http://www.honda.co.uk/accordconcept/ to see more.

Snowboarding with a Suburu

This guy is crazy.

First post - Why I love the New Pornographers

This is a cover of "Your Daddy Don't Know" by the 80's band Toronto (performed by The New Pornographers). Pure 80's cheese, fake mullets and all = totally awesome!

I love this band... their musicianship is outstanding, and they still know how to have fun as evidenced by this video. This video is not necessarily typical of their music, but just look at the level of effort they went to for a joke.

I seem to go through cycles listening to this band. At times, it seems they're all I want to hear... while other times their music sounds flat and repititious. Their music is intelligent, layered, textural and poppy. I used to hate music that had a pop sound, but can now appreciate how difficult it must be to make something sound cohesive and poppy. I've been listening to them for several years, and picked up Challengers when it was released in 2007. Challengers is definitely more mellow than their previous albums, I actually had a hard time getting into it at first. Only recently, I gave it another listen and have been completely absorbed by it's consistency and subtle genius. Pretty much any band with Neko Case is a surefire winner in my book.

If you've never heard these guys, I highly recommend starting with Electric Version, followed by Twin Cinema, Challengers, and lastly Mass Romantic.

visit http://thenewpornographers.com/ for more. Support this band.