5 Random Links (Holiday Edition)

1. Zork vs. Hamlet -- Text based adventure with the tortured Dane...

2. sonic scope quarterly .pdf magazine

3. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (and others) by a Japanese beatboxer

4. Rodeohead (mp3) -- a c&w medley of Radiohead (also check out the Tron Rock Opera.

5. bizarre record collection

St. John's Wort

Liz rented "St. John's Wort" (a.k.a. Otogiriso) this week and after all the storms yesterday, we finally had a chance to watch it... similar to "Ringu" (The Ring), it shared stylistic DNA (TV's tuned to dead channels, color manipulation) and a sense of forboding mixed with a "twist" ending (that could be seen coming from a mile away).

I liked it, Liz... not so much.

5 Random Links

1. Hey Hey 16k (flash)

2. CRT track (mp3)

3. Alton Brown

4. Zube Tube (mp3)

5. Smartelectronix Competition

5 Random Links (all music related issue)

1. Adrian Belew Commericals (Windows Media)

2. Yamaha Pulls Out Of Pro Synth Market

3. Microtonal Wikipedia

4. Computer Music at Bell Labs

5. A cover of Joe Jackson's "Sunday Papers"

Swimming Pool

Liz rented this the other day (mostly because it starred Charlotte Rampling). Brief Synopsis: English mystery writer (Rampling) takes a much needed summer vacation to her publisher's house in the south of France to get her mojo back. Tension and jealousy ensue when the publisher's daughter Julie -- the tarty Ludivine Sagnier -- shows up unexpectely and begins bedding half the countryside. You begin to get the sense that something isn't quite right at this point -- and it isn't.

As in "Adaptation" once the murder is committed, things go downhill quickly -- Rampling's character gets almost giddy as she helps Julie dispose of the body and burn all the evidence. I'll skip the spoilers in case you want to watch it... and as someone pointed out elsewhere, there are worse things in the world than sitting in the dark watching Ludivine Sagnier naked for almost two hours.

Smell-O-Rama

While out on my daily walks I've had the chance to sample the many and varied aromas of my neighborhood: laundry, cinnamon(?!), barbecue, freshly mown grass and it's evil twin ChemLawn. That shit makes the back of my throat seize up like a mofo.

In my tiny little hamlet, there's been talk that the three lakes of the village have been getting damaged by the Canadian Geese that like to hang out. We have some in our smaller lake in the back yard as well. There been an increase in algae that they think is coming from the goose crap, so they either want to shoot the geese, or put out feed that causes the goose eggs to die. Like the geese one day said -- "hey, I know, lets start going to those lakes!" They've been here longer than the village, dumbass. I think some folks just don't like all the noise they make this time of year because it's egg laying time and they get very territorial when other geese try to come around their nests.

Then, somebody pointed out that, because the lakes are all fed by the runoff drains and storm sewers from the rest of the village that perhaps the lakes were getting filled up with lawn chemicals. Hmmm... you think? Every time I walk by these run-off after a rain, I can see and smell the shit in the water.

Since then, things have been quiet from the "kill the geese" camp, although I know they'll make a comeback soon enough...

5 Random Links

1. July/August 1977 Synapse Magazine

2. Dead Man Eating

3. Typoholism

4. CyberPanHandling For Tuition

5. BurgerPerfect