Daily Departures

Departing daily from the ordinary objects of my thoughts.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

A million bucks eh

Million Dollar Pixel Page progress report


Sometimes, what seems like the stupidest idea ever can make you a lot of money. Take the website that this picture is from; namely, The Million Dollar Homepage. The idea behind this interweb's is to have a website with a million pixels that will be sold for one dollar a piece. The pixels must be purchased in 10X10 increments, so, that means $100 per spot on the site.

The website was started by a University student in the UK with the idea of making enough to pay his way through Uni. Not only has he sold enough spots to pay that, he has sold all of them, and hence, is a million dollars richer. If you have more questions about website check out the FAQ.

Chuck Norris is NOT cool

I don't care what your friends say, I don't care what your kids say, heck, I don't even care what your mother says, Chuck Norris is simply not cool. If the image isn't evidence enough, just try to think of a single movie that stared Chuck Norris that was cool. I know what you are thinking. You're thinking that Delta Force was a cool movie; well, you're wrong. Delta Force was a cool movie until Chuck Norris showed up in it (which was thankfully not until a good way into the movie).

OK, enough bashing Chuck Norris. The point of this post was not to do that, but to point out a website that you should all go and read. The site is called Chuck Norris Facts. The site is best read as dozens and dozens of subtle and not-so-subtle jabs at Chuck Norris; some are a little less than savory, but all appear to be appeals to his coolness.

Three of my favourite Chuck Norris Facts:

(1) Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.

(2) Chuck Norris doesn't shave; he kicks himself in the face. The only thing that can cut Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris.

(3) There is no chin behind Chuck Norris' beard. There is only another fist.

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Five hundred and a conversation

The other day, I had this conversation with my good friend Anna:
Mark: Hey, Anna, have you been reading my blog?
Anna: Um, yeah... what is the URL again?
Mark: Are you serious? Ok fine, here it is: http://dailydepartures.blogspot.com.
.
.
.
Mark: Anna, you've not commented on my blog yet, what's with that?
Anna: You bloggers really have your whole self worth tied up with who reads and comments on your blogs don't you?
Mark: ...uhhhh... well, yes. So, are you going to comment?
Anna: Shameless you are.
Mark: I know; are you going to comment?
Anna: Ugh, fine.
Mark: Thanks, I feel better about myself now.
So, you see, bloggers love people visiting their blogs--I have now had 500 such visits. But what bloggers really love is when visitors leave comments. (This can be done by clicking 'comment' at the bottom of the post and then typing in a little note; sometimes about the post, or sometimes just to say hi.)

Don't worry, I'm not saying that you are obliged to comment or anything; just that, if you want to be a good person, this would be a good thing to do.

(If you didn't see the post directly below this one, scroll down and read it.)

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Gotta love the sarcasm...


This image is from one of my new favourite sites; namely, Daily Mumps. (There is also a link in the sidebar, now and forever. If you can't quite make out what the caption on the image above says, go and look at the original post.)

In the about section of the site the author--David Rees Thomas--says, of his site,
The Daily Mumps is not a real photo-blog. Think of it as a
kind of comic, with pictures of children instead of drawings.

Also, they're not real children, but tiny indigenous
laborers who pose in exchange for rice and strips of twine.

And we don't give them real rice and twine, either. Rycee-Twyne®
(a genuine Kraft imitation foodstuff) tastes almost as
good and has a kick-ass shelf life.
From this quote I hope that you all get an idea about the tone of the site. My best attempt at a description is: acerbic sarcasm--of a very playful type.

I highly recommend that you all check out the Daily Mumps Archive. Since the site is only a few months old, it only takes about 20-25 minutes to read through the entire site. Then, check back daily and see the ongoing drama unfold--OK, it's not really a drama, but I'm allowed some hyperbolic flare on my own site right?

If you don't feel like wading through the archives, then here are a few of my favourites:
It trampled our pringles
And he thinks we're buying him a gerbil
We thought of everything
He proved us wrong
And finally, Tough love

There are a whole bunch more that I could post, but I'll let you all sift through the archives for the rest of the gems.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Sundance Shorts 2006


If you know about the Sundance Film Festival, then you know what it is about. If not, then go check out the website. One great things available at that site is 50 of the best short films submitted to the festival. If you are the type of person--like me--who takes many short breaks during the course of working, then I highly recommend that you go and watch one short film per break.

Recommendation number one: Gopher Broke.
Story line: "No matter how hungry a gopher may be, there is no free lunch."

(Note: This is absolutely fine for all ages and locations! So, show it off.)

Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Procrastination par excellence


I am sure that there are at least a few people who read this blog that think I have too much time on my hands. Well, think that no more, for I give you penny stacking. Yes, you heard--and have now seen--correctly. Some people, as a hobby, build giant structures out of pennies, and other disc shaped objects (see the poker-chip tower below).

I think that I could replicate the tower pictured above, but as far as anything below this point, I am in serious doubt about my abilities. I don't actually doubt either the steadiness of my hand or my ability to procrastinate that proficiently, what I do doubt is whether or not I'd stay sane if I was half way through building such a monstrosity and it got knocked over. I doubt my sanity would survive... I doubt I'd survive. The monstrosity certainly wouldn't.





(Note: I did not find this in my most recent procrastination spell; that time was occupied by--of all things that I don't do--cleaning up my room.)

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Bjork goodness Part II

When I posted about Bjork before it was to point out not only how cool she is, but also how strange she is--the strangeness was evidenced by her most recent film role. This time I'm posting about Bjork not only to point out how cool she is, but also that other people agree with me about her strangeness--err, eccentricity.

Bjork was recently voted Most eccentric celebrity. The interweb was littered with articled about this proclamation; see One News, Yahoo News, and BBC News. If that still doesn't satiate your desire to read about Bjork, do a google search for Bjork "most eccentric".

From the pictures that I've posted of Bjork, I haven't given any good reasons for thinking that she has an eccentric image, but she does. Just in case there was any doubt, I thought that it would be good to confirm the fact by posting a couple other pictures. The first is one of her album covers--the album called, Homogenic--and the second picture is, well... eccentric.

Please don't be scared.



Monday, January 23, 2006

Pikasso by Manzer

Ladies and Gentleman, there is a new standard in what makes for a cool guitar. (OK, it's not really new but it is new to me.) The new-to-me standard has been set by Manzer with their guitar--I think I can call it that, right?--Pikasso I (pictured below).


According to the details,
This instrument took 2 years to build (approximately 1000 hours), and when the 42 strings are strung up to high tension, the Pikasso is under approximately 1000 lbs pressure. It weighs 6.7 kg or 14 3/4 lbs.
Quite impressive, I'd say; although, I don't know how much pressure an ordinary guitar is under, but I'd bet its not 1000 lbs.

Because I can't resist putting more pictures on here, also check out the fret board on this Harpsitarguitar.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Firefly


Recently, my roommate did a very bad thing. Essentially, he forced me to procrastinate by giving me a copy of the series Firefly, on DVD. Firefly aired originally in 2001 on Fox, but was canceled after only 15 episodes. As with most TV series', the actors don't "settle" into their characters for 10 or so episodes. With Firefly, the characters were developing with considerable depth by the 5th or 6th episode but at that point, there were really only 9 or 10 to go. Unfortunate.

The concept of this show is essentially, Old Western + Space Travel + issues that (roughly) confront people today. (So, there are no aliens or the like.) If that combination doesn't turn you on, I should point out that Firefly--as with all good TV shows--is about the people and what they happen to be doing is secondary. The series is primarily set on a ship called Serenity; which houses 8 regular crew members who are of very disparate backgrounds and personalities. This, combined with the smuggling lifestyle makes for a very interesting series.

(For more information check out Firefly on IMDB.)

When all that is done, you can go and see what Firefly character you are. [Hat tip: Jeremy]

Mal
You are Captain Malcolm Reynolds, aka. Mal or
Captain Tightpants. You saw most of your men
die in a war you lost and now you seek solitude
with a small crew that you are fiercely devoted
to. You have no problems being naked.


Which Firefly character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Friday, January 20, 2006

The most famous non-dead dead guy


I don't know how much I have to say aside from check out this.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

You got skills?

I'm not talking about cake building skills or even nunchuck skills, but rather skills in the true sense of the word. That's right, I'm talking about paranormal skills. Can you read minds, move things with the wave of a hand, or even predict futures from the faces of a few cards or the palms of hands?

Well if so, you can be rich. In fact there is a million dollars--yes, that's six zeros--waiting for you at the James Randi Educational Foundation, Million Dollar Challenge.

Yes, that is right, if you can demonstrate that you have some sort of paranormal ability in a controlled setting, they will pay you $10, 000 immediately and then the remaining $990, 000 within one week. There are lots of people who believe they have such skills and a million dollars is a lot of money, so I think that they should run out and get it. If I was convinced I had such skills, I know I would.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Like to knit? Like to be nice?

Great! You can make me these:

Yes, they are iPod Mittens. (<-- Follow that link for instructions on how to knit them.) I think that this is pretty neat. Not something I'd pay money for, but something that, if someone gave me money for it, I'd think it was most excellent.

Good knitting!

Monday, January 16, 2006

Baby baby baby

How unbelievably cool is this:

I found this at one of my favourite blogs; namely, Art Moco. And, honestly, when I saw it, my reaction was this childish giggle and the extreme desire to say "Awesome" like Ashton Kutcher's character, Kelso, on That 70s Show. Soon after I became enamored with the intricacy of both this and other works by Ron Mueck.

Anyway, there are more of these massively oversized heads, and the like, at the James Cohan Gallery website, at the Wikipedia, and on Google Images. There is even a "walkaround" video to be found here.

(Note: Some of these pieces of art are not suitable for all locations or all eyes (there are some less than clothed forms, but nothing sexual).)

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Music Don't Come From the Soul

It comes from your clothes. If you're wearing this dress anyway.

This dress is made from "a textile woven from recycled audio cassette tape." I know what you are thinking, "why waste all those good Def Leppard, Stryper, and Poison tapes?"

The amazing thing about this fabric is that it doesn't waste them, it makes them better. Since the tape doesn't lose its magnetism during the weaving process, it will still produce music--i.e. sounds that are undoubtedly as good as any 80's metal. All you need is a tape head that is still attached to the appropriate decoding and amplifying software. If you are still curious, look here for more info.

There is one last thing to mention, if you aren't so much a fan of the dress above, I should note that you can also buy flags and other such products. Or if you are the real Martha Stewart type, you can buy the fabric by the yard and make whatever your heart desires, perhaps even this little number. (I know it looks like a garbage bag, but come on... didn't you know?... garbage bags are back in.)

Isn't it exciting to know that music really can come from your clothes--most notably from parts of your clothes other than your zippers.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Osymyso; or, Mark's getting really really lazy

I know, I know, you don't have to tell me that all these posts about music that I've found at 3hive are getting tiring. I just feel like sharing the love though; and really, can you fault someone for something so honourable? Really?!


Well, the newest find--this is not really a band, but just something experimental--is called Osymyso. I don't want to say too much about the music that you can download at that link, but I will mention that Intro Expansion 1 and 2--the tracks I recommend--will take you on a strange, if not fragmented, trip down memory lane. I do think that goes for just about everyone... well, anyone who was either born after 1930 or was not terribly sheltered their entire life.

Enjoy.

The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir

(Aren't they all just so much cooler than me?)

This is now my third post that links to 3hive; really, if you haven't checked it out yet, please do, it's a great blog and resource.

I wasn't planning on posting on The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (or, SYGC for short), but given that two different people--of no relation whatsoever--mentioned to me that they really like SYGC, I thought I'd let more people know. (More pictures here.)

The link to the 3hive review is here. As always on 3hive, you can listen to at least one track from the artists in question. In this case there are two. I highly recommend the first track: namely, But You Never Thought It Would Be Like This.

In case you are wondering, and haven't clicked any of the links yet, SYGC is not from Scotland, not a choir, and does not do gospel. (They are also not this; just in case you were thinking that they were.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Goin' home

At 3pm--central time--I will be on a plane to Toronto. I spend the night in Toronto and then, I get to drive home. Yes, that is my home in the background of the picture (I live in the white building, not the colourful one). The picture is from the street fair which takes place every year in in September and all the fun people come out to it. More pictures of the fair can be found here.

I didn't think that I'd be excited about going home, but I am. I think I'm mostly just really really looking forward to having my own space again. Even though, I know that my apartment will be cold cold cold (the heat hasn't been on once in the last month). Anyways, I guess my next post will be from Syracuse.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Evangelical about fruit?

There are only a few things that I think it is worthwhile to be evangelical about, one of them is a particular kind of fruit. OK, not really fruit, but another, oh so juicy, fruit branded product (no, not Fruit of the Loom); namely, Apple Computers. (This is one of those things that I am evangelical about.) I use a Mac. I switched from a PC a year and a half ago now (the same time that I bought my own computer). I know Windows quite well and when I first switched, there were a few things that I didn't understand about the Mac. It turns out that the reason I didn't understand was that I was so used to doing things in the awkward, Windows fashion that it was hard to get my head into a more 'intuitive' way of thinking. There are a lot of "I HATE WINDOWS" tirades on the web, so I won't write another. Instead, I want to show people some of the newest sexiness that has fallen off the apple tree.

First, is the not-so-new-but-still-new iMac: Enough said.

The second fallen fruit is the brand new, Powerbook replacement, Macbook Pro Again, enough said.

Seriously though, both of these are spectacular computers and if you are in the market... check these out.

(One cool thing, if you look carefully at the top of each of these computers, you'll see a little black square. That is the famous iSight; a webcam that Apple seems to be able to make smaller and smaller without limit.)

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

This is Matisyahu


I don't think many people would be able to guess what sort of music Matisyahu creates if I gave them a dozen guesses. That said, this Hasidic Jew spits out the Reggae rhythms with the best. Matisyahu is not quite as mellow as some, but he's just as amiable.

If there is one thing that I like, it is mismatches. Matisyahu, who is my newest discovery on 3Hive, has a nice image/sound mismatch going. Although, I must admit that after listening to a dozen or so songs and looking at a number of photos, the mismatch is becoming less pronounced.

So, check out Matisyahu.

UPDATE: To see a video, see here.

Monday, January 09, 2006

Speaking of art


I like installation art. I guess what I really like, is conceptual art and installation pieces are almost always largely conceptual. I came across the piece photographed here on art moco--which is one of the links I have on my sidebar. (I'd recommend following the link, there are other photos of this artwork.)

This piece is by Gelitin. They are well worth checking out if you have the time or interest.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

Foodiness

This is Ganesh. Ganesh is, likely, my favourite non-western deity. My reasons for this are shallow and uninformed--namely, I like much of the artwork portraying Ganesh. (I also like a lot of the artwork portraying the Buddha as a short fat man; see here, here, and here.

Anyways, the reason for this post is not to go on and on about my artistic tastes, but instead to mention a restaurant that I went to this evening. I went to Ivory Bar & Grill. I really like Indian food and this buffet was very nice. For anyone who is not in Winnipeg, you will have to rest content with the links above and for anyone in Winnipeg, I highly recommend Ivory. Unless, of course, you don't like sitting under the ominous gaze of Ganesh.

100 hits

The title captures what I'm about to say in way more words; I have now had 100 hits on my site. (No, I won't post like this for each hundred hits.)

If I stay at this pace, I'll have 5200 by the end of one year. That'd be cool.

Confession time: about half of those hits are ME checking my own blog... I know, I know... what a loser I am.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Be careful

I was thinking about things to blog and I wasn't having any luck, but I knew that I wanted to post about something funny. So, when you want to find something funny what do you do? You google something funny. So, I googled: "The oh so crazy internet". The fourth hit was perfect. The title of the article is: MAN DATES GAL ON INTERNET FOR SIX MONTHS -- AND IT TURNS OUT SHE'S HIS MOTHER!.

I encourage you to follow the hyperlink and read the article, but for the more lazy readers out there, just read the quoted passage below.
"I walked out on that dark beach thinking I was going to hook up with the girl of my dreams," the rattled bachelor later admitted.

"And there she was, wearing white shorts and a pink tank top, just like she'd said she would. "But when I got close, she turned around -- and we both got the shock of our lives. I mean, I didn't know what to say. All I could think was, 'Oh my God! it's Mama!' "

But the worst was yet to come. Just as the mortified mother and son realized the error of their ways, a patrolman passed by and cited them for visiting a restricted beach after dark...

"But I really started to fall for her, because there seemed to be a sensitive side that you don't see in many girls.

"She sent me poems she had written and told me about her dreams and desires, and it was really very romantic.

"The truth is, I got to see a side of my mom I'd never seen before. I'm grateful for that."
I suspect that most people are over the idea that meeting someone online is unbelievably weird, but this is still unbelievably weird.

The moral of the story: Be Careful!

Friday, January 06, 2006

Textual similarities


Many people spend their entire lives both interpreting and analyzing religious texts. One field of study is cross-textual research (henceforth, "CTR"). Someone engaged in CTR might take two (or more) religious texts, say the Bible and the Qur'an, and look for similarities between the texts. These similarities may take the form of sameness of event, sameness of concept of the divine, sameness of moral principle, and so on.

I'm sure that many look down upon CTR because they see it as a the first step in a slippery-slope that leads to Religious Pluralism. I am very dubious of this worry; in fact, I think that if you press anyone who suggests it, it will quickly become evident that the worry is groundless.

That said, I think that CTR is quite interesting. In fact, I've wondered whether there isn't some set of rules that will allow you to translate one religious text into another. Of course, the set of rules will be different for each pair of texts. I can't claim to have discovered what any of the rules are, but I have discovered something nearly as exciting. One of the major problems with reading any religious text--of a religion that is not ones own--is that, it is extraordinarily distressing to read a text that purports to be about the divine, yet calls the divine by a different name than you do. What I have discovered, although not the rules alluded to above, a set of rules for making this reading of religious texts--from faiths other than ones own--easier. I call these rules, the Rules of Softening (henceforth, "ROS"). I name them thusly because they soften the blow of a non-familiar religious text.

Instead of listing the rules and letting my two readers go off by themselves to do the conversion, let me give you a few examples. Within Christianity, a central passage is known as the Lords Prayer. It is found at Matthew 6:9-13. The passage says:
Our Father in heaven
Hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we also have forgiven those who trespass against us.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
So, as a demonstration of the ROS, I will give translations into the religious language of Islam:
Our Imam in Paradise Hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in Paradise.
Give us this day our daily brecite.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we also have forgiven those who trespass against us.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Isn't that exciting? Now, let me give you a couple more examples from more well established religions.
First, Scientology--yes, the religion followed so astutely by the illustrious Tom Cruise.
Our auditor in Galactic Confederation Hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in Galactic Confederation.
Give us this day our daily space rations.
And forgive us our intergalactic political boundary crossings, as we also have forgiven those who cross our intergalactic political boundaries.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from engram.
And now, the famously intellectual and emotionally charging, Veganism:
Our typically young female in lentil soup Hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in lentil soup.
Give us this day our daily badhere to.
And forgive us our torturees, as we also have forgiven those who torture against us.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from flesh-devouring.
I don't know about you, but I find this all incredibly exciting and intellectually exhilarating. If you are interested in more applications of ROS, I'm happy to post more in the comments. Just let me know.

Credits: Thanks to these people for all their hard work. And thanks to Stephen for his expertise in the ways of Scientology.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

You think you've argued a lot!

I want to share an internet gem. A site that has brought smiles to the faces of millions. A site that can only be described by one acronym; namely, ROFLMAO.

So, the site is Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About. After mentioning a few arguments like: "How to cut a kiwi" (that's the fruit, not the person) and "How to eat a Kit-Kat bar," we are given classics like the following:
Margret doesn't like to watch films on the TV. No, hold on - let me make sure you've got the inflection here: Margret doesn't like to watch films on the TV. She says she does, but years of bitter experience have proven that what she actually wants is to sit by me while I narrate the entire bleeding film to her. 'Who's she?', 'Why did he get shot?', 'I thought that one was on their side?', 'Is that a bomb' - 'JUST WATCH IT! IN THE NAME OF GOD, JUST WATCH IT!' The hellish mirror-image of this is when she furnishes me, deaf to my pleading, with her commentary. Chair-clawing suspense being assaulted mercilessly from behind by such interjections as, 'Hey! Look! They're the cushions we've got.', 'Isn't she the one who does that tampon advert?' and, on one famous occasion, 'Oh, I've seen this - he gets killed at the end.'
There are many many many more to explore and enjoy

So now that everyone is laughing and happy, let me quell that feeling by saying something about the term 'argument'--a term which is, very near and dear to my heart. An argument, as is suggested by the site I linked to is not synonymous with 'heated debate'. Although arguments can be heated, they are not essentially so. An argument is a set of statements, some of which are premises and at least one of which is a conclusion. The premises purport to show that the conclusion is true. So, here's an example:
P1 - George Bush is an evil president.
P2 - All evil presidents are remembered.
C - George Bush will be remembered.

That is an argument. Furthermore, it is an argument that was presented in a non-heated manner by someone who is indifferent about the truth of the matter. Really, I don't have an opinion on whether George Bush is evil. Really... I don't... think... that...

Bjork goodness


Bjork is, hands down, one of the coolest musical artists around. On my mp3 player--the one with the famous four letter appellation--I have a playlist named Bjork goodness. If my mp3 player could also play video and I had Bjork's newest film, it would need to be in a playlist titled Bjork weirdness.

The movie is titled Drawing Restraint 9, is in Japanese, and is directed by San Francisco born Matthew Barney. I haven't seen the film, but a few of the articles that I've read depict it as so utterly weird that I feel compelled to see it. Take this article for example. Aside from mentioning that the film "features a vat filled with thousands of litres of Vaseline," the article had this to say:
It emanated from the imagination of Barney, a San Francisco-born artist, who hired the mothership of the Japanese whaling fleet, the Nisshin Maru, to sail in Nagasaki Bay with a huge steel basin on deck. Hours were spent filling the basin with Vaseline poured in through hosepipes.

According to the script, the idea was to use the petroleum jelly to show the "relationship between self-imposed resistance and creativity" by transforming it into a "vast sculpture", called The Field, which is "moulded, poured, bisected and reformed" on the ship over the course of the film.

With the jelly congealing and moving with the sea, the movie "tracks the descent of form into states of sensual surrender and formal atrophy". But many critics attending the film festival were baffled, and at a press screening the sound of seats flipping up as viewers left the cinema began early.

In the film Bjork and Barney, identified as "The Guests", arrive on the vessel and are dressed as a Shinto couple in mammal fur costumes by geisha girls. There is what the publicity material calls "a harrowing liebestod" in which Bjork and her partner become "locked in an embrace" as they "breathed through blowhole-like orifices on the back of their necks".

They then take out "flensing knives" to "cut away each other's feet and thighs".

The script said: "Remains of their lower body are revealed to contain traces of whale tails at an early stage of development, suggesting rebirth, physical transformation, and the possibility of new forms. Having reached a state of maximum disintegration, the sculpture of The Field is then reorganised and the ship emerges from a storm, sailing through a field of icebergs towards the open southern ocean."

The two stars are then seen as a pair of whales, swimming behind the ship, heading for Antarctica.

All that I can reasonably say about this has been said by my friend Chris; namely, that's fweird.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Mmmmm, speed


Have you ever wanted to go over 80mph on a non-motorized-bike? I have. All you need to do is somehow raise $25,000 to buy the bike pictured here. Then you need to turn your legs into high-powered machines. Then, you just have to get in the bike and keep pedaling. Someone has done it on that bike, have a look at this article.

Just think...if you could keep that up for a long time, you could ride from New York, NY to Seattle, WA in less than 40 hours!

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

It's official, I'm worthless

Or, my blog is anyways.



This is not really surprising given that this is the second post and I have only had 4 hits (at least 2 of which have been me).

I think that I decided that this blog will be a potpourri of different topics. Sometimes I may not even depart from the ordinary objects of my thoughts. It is of course permissible for whoever reads this to object if I start to go on and on about things that no one but me and a few other similarly inclined people care about--that's what the comments box is for, among other things--but in all honesty I'm not sure that it would stop me from posting whatever I feel like. It's my blog after all.

The idea is to post daily, but I guess we'll see whether that is feasible once school starts again. Hopefully it'll work this time and not die like the last.

3hive



Recently, I discovered an amazing site.

The motivation behind 3hive is to spread the word on new, or lesser-known, artists. I think that they do a fantastic job, in my humble opinion. Every day a new artist is added to the site. A picture of the album cover is displayed, a brief description of music is given, and a few tracks are posted for download. Yes, the tracks are FREE.

On the sidebar at 3hive, there is what they call the Navotron which allows you to search for past postings by (most notably) Genre, Artist, and Label.

Thus far, I have come across a few artists that I am really enjoying. I recommend J. Tillman and The Foxymorons.

There are months and months of postings to explore, so enjoy!

Sunday, January 01, 2006