quality workday distractions
By Jeff Lyons on May 14, 2008 in Music | 0 Comments
MixWit is a cool website where you can easily make a mix tape online and you do not need to upload your own music. It uses music that is readily available online and the selection is pretty good. Here’s my first attempt, some new and some old gems.
Just press “Play” button on cassette to enjoy some goodness:
By Jeff Lyons on May 14, 2008 in Television | 0 Comments
Dishy Brits Am I the only one watching “Last Restaurant Standing” on the BBC? I think so, no one around the water cooler chimes in when I try to shoe horn it into a conversation.
The odd thing about this reality show is almost all of the contestants are easily likable and not a bunch of fame-seeking whores like the majority of the low-brow louts on American shows (except for the mostly classy “Top Chef”… Mmmm, Padma…).
{BTW, Gordon Ramsey is boiling away ever last ounce of respect he once had with his Jerry Springer castoffs making mush on “Hell’s Kitchen.” What the hell?}
There was only one detestable annoyance on the “Last Restaurant Standing,” Jacqui, and of course she just happened to be a Yank. The Brits have no time for cutesy crap and made short work of her, kicking her fat ass off in an early episode. Bully for them.
Since you don’t watch the show, here’s the deal. Last night was the finale and the steady 8-course-serving Jeremy and Jane beat the Wonder Twins, Jess and Laura. These perky and talented blonde twins probably should have won and I’m sure there was a bit of tumult across the pond when they did not get the nod from the host and esteemed restaurateur Raymond Blanc. To add fuel to this grease fire, I did some quick googling and found out the winners have already bagged out of the the restaurant they won!
From the eatery’s website:
“As some of you may already know, Jane and Jeremy have decided to take a break and have stepped down from Eight at The Thatch. It was a very hard decision for them to take, as they were thrilled to have had the chance of running their own restaurant here in Thame and achieved so much in the time they were here. Although it has not been possible for them to continue… blah blah blah”
Quitters! Boo! I’m sure the Wonder Twins are a bit peeved, but I am also sure they are now celebs in England and probably have many opportunities at their feet. Let’s just hope they keep their flat-but-oddly-pretty faces out of the lad mags.
Definitely catch this series on repeats, it’s a nice mellow change of pace from the bang you over the head fake drama we’re used to.
Spooky! Also on BBC America, “MI-5″ is brilliant! Picture that dumb-ass, “Kiefer sure got himself in another pickle” show “24″ but actually good! MI-5, a show about the United Kingdom’s counter-intelligence and security agency, is no nonsense, stylish and very balanced; chock full of complex characters, intelligent Frederick Forsyth type writing and some unexpected brutality that is not just for shock value. Don’t watch the show now, go to Netflix and start at the beginning, Season 1, Vol. 1. It will be easier to follow. Trust me!
By Jeff Lyons on May 14, 2008 in Music | 0 Comments
Our boy Russ needs you to vote for Throatmeal, a horribly unpleasant moniker that is in the running for Worst Band Name on the Tunecore website. Go here and vote for the Throat! Throatmeal that is:
By Jeff Lyons on May 12, 2008 in Movies | 0 Comments
Being an X-Files fan I was very excited for another big screen adventure starring my old pals Mulder and Scully, but after viewing this pedestrian little teaser, I’m now a bit wary. Some chick runs afoul of an Ice Road Trucker and he makes a popsicle out of her? Is that the best Chris Carter and Company can do after 10 years?
Let’s hope it’s just a bad trailer and there’s more to the film than another lame hunt for another lame serial killer. I want a bunch of cool-looking aliens (of the non-friendly variety), some major screen time for my main man A.D. Skinner and a visit from that lovable Peacock family.
After thirty seconds of research, I see the film only tackles one particular case and does not touch on the myriad of unanswered questions from the X Files mythology. That is actually good news because I can’t remember any of those nerdy questions and don’t really care anymore. I have three notebooks full of unanswered Lost questions to occupy my precious time.
By Russ Starke on May 9, 2008 in Music | 0 Comments
CD: In Advance of the Broken Arm
This is the most oddly compelling record I’ve heard in a long time, and I hereby declare it genius. A grossly overused word, but completely justified in this case. This album, and most likely this artist, will be misunderstood in the same ways Philip Glass and Frank Zappa are misunderstood. There’s more innovation in these 45 minutes than most of us will be able to conjure up in a lifetime. Strong, I know. But I friggin’ LOVE this.
So, what does it sound like? Well, picture all of your sister’s old dolls, the ones you mutilated and buried in the back yard, rising from the dirt beneath a full moon…they spend some time organizing and scheming, and then all show up in your bedroom wielding tiny knives. These are the songs they’d be singing.
Where to begin… Marnie Stern is a girl who clearly spent quality time with her Don Caballero, King Crimson, and early Residents records. Her songs are dense layers of sound with polyrhythms, trance-inducing melodic lines, and dissonance a-plenty. The less adventurous might casually listen to this and say, “Wow, that sounds like a bunch of people noodling and making a lot of noise.” To be fair, there are plenty of bands out there who pretend to be really “deep” and wail away making a lot of loud, happy accidents with an “I meant to do that” air about them.
By Scott Shrake on May 9, 2008 in Scott Shrake | 0 Comments
I get it so often, and I got ‘nem ol’ Mitteilungszwang again Mama! Mitteilungszwang is German for “the need to tell something.” I seldom do anything about it. But tonight, white wine spritzer in hand, laundry in machine down in ‘nem basement, headphones on, a song is opening up a door into the explaining of the week that was and the persistence of memory.
It was the summer of 1991 in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Germany. George H.W. Bush was the president of the United States. I had fallen in with a certain crowd of Americans, the bad-boy/girl clique of our study abroad contingent, who were mostly nice people from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan.
Not us, though, we went to shows by bands like Poison Idea, Big Chief, and the Sisters of Mercy, as they toured through Germany. I remember them all. I saw Poison Idea in Frankfurt, and they were three morbidly obese guys, so fat and worn out they gave the concert sitting right on the stage floor, positioned like panda bears. Meanwhile the audience did “Pogo tanzen” — slamdancing, but in Germany it wouldn’t be the same without lots of potential bodily harm, so the floor in the packed room was covered with empty bottles.
By Jeff Lyons on May 7, 2008 in Art | 0 Comments
The two covers of the latest issue of The New Yorker should make you happy. (The first cover flaps over the second cover.)
Author and cartoonist, Daniel Clowes (Ghost World), made himself a spiffy retro robot and put it to good use. Allowing technology to be as exciting or mundane as its owner pleases the emerging neo-Luddite in me.
It’s a solid issue with a fairly interesting article on photo retouching in the fashion world. Basically, there’s one hotshot retoucher in the biz, Pascal Dangin, who everyone uses when they want to make sure Drew Barrymore looks ten years younger and ten pounds lighter when she appears on their magazine’s cover.
By Jeff Lyons on May 7, 2008 in Music, Time Wasters, Videos | 1 Comment
UsedWigs World News reported on the popular act of “Sleevefacing” sweeping the globe back in 2007. Now, there is a comprehensive site, www.sleeveface.com, filled with a panoply of creative takes on “obscuring or augmenting any part of their body or bodies with record sleeve(s) causing an illusion.” I love this very dumb activity very much and I don’t know why.
Website: www.sleeveface.com
By Jeff Lyons on May 6, 2008 in Daily Distractions, Music, Time Wasters, Videos | 0 Comments
Mann Oh Mann! Hooray for West Philly, two great shows are coming to the Mann Music Center in June:
The Mann, located in scenic Fairmount Park, is a great place to see a show in the summer. Get there early and tailgate on the expansive lawn, lots of trees and lots of shade. You should also check out some Philadelphia Orchestra shows during the week at the Mann starting in July.
Pack some food and wine, chill out on the lawn, stare at the sky and say to yourself… “I love classical music… I hope they play the theme to Indiana Jones or that song from Apocalypse Now.”
Helpful Drinking Tip: Most lawn seats at concert venues like The Mann are sloped, so you might want to pick up these ingenious little wine glass holders to secure your beloved beverage, a must for all outdoorsy winos.
Seymour + Fergies = One Happy Drunk! Celebrate the glory of the spring season with Brian Seymour! He’ll be performing one gigantic set filled with guitars, pints, palaver, a gospel choir and pyrotechnics this Saturday at the almighty Fergie’s Pub! (Gospel choir and pyrotechnics not guaranteed.)
Cruise to Mars: Celebrity cruises are popular with all types: gay folks (Rosie), complete losers (John Mayer) and TV geeks like us. I’m saving my pennies so I can go on the Veronica Mars Cruise, but I just might wait until the Celebrity Guests are announced. Don’t want to be stuck on boat all week chatting up C-listers like Duncan Kane and Beaver Casablancas.
Some Time Wasters:
Video: “I Will Possess Your Heart” by Death Cab for Cutie. A tad longish, but I dig it, very hypnotic, like most of their tunes:
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