Sunday, June 28, 2009

Meteorology: Clouds

Eerie "popcorn" clouds were seen in the NY skies this week - apparently, they're Mammatus clouds (and, yes, "mammatus" is from the same root as "mammary").

The Daily Mail has amazing photos of another new cloud formation, Asperatus clouds.

Check out Flickr for more photos of Mammatus and Asperatus clouds. I love this one. Ooh, I think I caught someone cheating on Flickr - here's one of those Daily Mail photos (by Ken Prior) being passed off as her own!

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Music: Jim James

Jim James of My Morning Jacket is going by the name Yim Yames for some side projects, including an album of George Harrison covers. You can download "Behind That Locked Door" in exchange for your email address. (You can also preview it on his site.) He is also in Monsters Of Folk, a supergroup with M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis.

Bonus: live cover of "The Rainbow Connection".

YouTube: Michael Jackson Covers

Michael Jackson was a sad, twisted, horrible person, but we can still enjoy other people singing his songs.

And here's a playlist of all the songs, for your convenience.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Music: Songkick

The New York Times had a piece on Songkick, a website that allows you to track your past (and upcoming) concerts. I dug out my diaries from 1988 and 1989 and started adding some that I attended. I couldn't believe how many "gigs" (as we used to call them) I went to when I was a lad. In 1989 alone, I saw Neil Young, Kelly Willis*, Cowboy Junkies, REM, Tanita Tikaram, the Go-Betweens, Jonathan Richman, the New Bohemians (with Steve Forbert supporting), the Cure and the Pixies. That's sick!

By the way, I added the Pixies for October 21, 1989. Someone else had added the Pixies for the same date in London. This fan page shows October 21 free, between London and Austin dates, so if they flew over in time for the Dallas concert, they must have been a little jet-lagged.

* Kelly Willis was lead singer for a group called Radio Ranch, who supported the Wagoneers.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Humour: John Hodgman

John Hodgman roasts Barack Obama - good stuff. But get a load of those stony-faced Radio and Television Correspondents in the audience - what a shower of dullards.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Media: Sana Syed

I saw a very cute reporter on Dallas-area CBS affiliate, KTVT, the other day - Sana Syed (watch the Six Flags bankruptcy video). Much as I enjoyed seeing her, it wasn't even close to the ecstacy experienced by this OKC blogger:
"There was so much beauty pouring out of her I didn’t know where to look...Her hair was on its game, gleaming like wet black silk, flowing down in Sana’s patented little S-curve as it hit her shoulders....Her skin was as beautiful as if someone had airbrushed her with a light caramel-colored satin. Her lipstick was exquisite."

Then again, he talks about all the female news people this way, gushing over their beauty and fashion. I'm guessing he has a well dug in his cellar, with a little news desk at the bottom. He lowers makeup in a bucket and says, "It puts on the eye shadow and it turns to Camera 3 to recap the headlines."

Methinks Sana got out of Oklahoma just in time.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

MP3: Magnet Magazine

Magnet Magazine has some great free MP3s:

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Advertising: Photo Shenanigans

Toronto city guide photoshops black guy's face into stock photo of what looks like a Latino family (and did it really badly too). This was caught by someone using TinEye, mentioned here recently. Toronto is still using the photo.

What is it with Canadian tourist boards and their lack of visual ethics? Recently, they were promoting Alberta with film of kids on an English beach. What makes it worse is that Alberta is landlocked.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Monday, June 08, 2009

Media: Fox Business News

Amusing clip of Fox Business "reporters" playing "pass the parcel" with breaking story none of them knows anything about. Expect a Daily Show parody tomorrow.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

Music: Delays

Pardon the, uh, delay, but may I recommend Delays? I usually don't like male singers with high-pitched voices, but I'll make an exception here. You may hear echoes of the La's, Fleetwood Mac, the Hollies, the Cocteau Twins, the Charlatans, the Posies..

Upon further review, I can only recommend these three videos from their first album ("Faded Seaside Glamour"). The later stuff is a bit too discoey for me.

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Music: Rae Spoon

Please just listen to the streaming album from Rae Spoon before doing any research on this Canadian artist.