Appropriate New Year's Eve song:

Posted at 06:19 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

We noted James Brown's passing last week. After that, I started poking around and discovered a live James Brown concert available for free download at NPR.

Since his death on Christmas, sales of his CDs have (not surprisingly) soared. As we noted, 1962 "Live at the Apollo" and the 1991 four-CD box set "Star Time" were both fast ways to get into the Godfather of Soul.

The WSJ's Jesse Drucker points out that other discs have quickly made Amazon's top 10 "Movers and Shakers" list. Beyond those seminal live and boxed set discs, Drucker points out "numerous other albums and collections highlighting key periods for the artist." Below are his selections of key recordings (comments are a mix of his, mine and other reviewers):

'Foundations of Funk: A Brand New Bag: 1964-1969'

Funk 101:  This double CD captures the true origins of funk with "Out of Sight," the 1964 hit that put an unprecedented emphasis on rhythm, and then heats up several degrees with "Cold Sweat." From  "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" to "Say It Loud-I'm Black and I'm  Proud," to live versions of "Licking  Stick-Licking Stick" and "Mother Popcorn," this recording is funkalicious.

'Funk Power: 1970: A Brand New Thang'

After Mr. Brown's core band quit in frustration in 1970, it was quickly replaced by a new backing ensemble, featuring the thumping bass of an 18-year-old Bootsy Collins. John Corbett wrote: "This is the edgiest, meanest, leanest lineup maestro James Brown ever assembled, and the music they made in this single year is still among the freshest, most soul-stirring funk on earth decades later."

'Live at the Apollo, Volume II, Deluxe Edition'

Lesser known than the first Apollo record, this two-CD concert from 1967 was reissued in 2001 with unreleased tracks. A nearly 24-minute-long medley features "There Was a Time." Rickey Wright wrote: "This second Live at the  Apollo caught Brown giving full stick to both his classic soul-ballad style and the funk his band was developing practically in front of the crowds' ears."

'James Brown's Funky People, Parts 1-3'

Three separate collections capture Mr. Brown's production work on recordings by members of his musical entourage: the J.B.'s, Bobby Byrd, Marva Whitney and others. Parts of Lyn Collins's "Think (About It)" are among the most sampled in hip-hop history -- "It takes two to make a thing go right." For old school rap and hip hop  freaks, this CD is the mutherload of beats and funky grooves.

'James Brown's Funky People, Parts 2'

You will instantly recognize Bobby Byrd's deep, resonant voice from James Brown's "Sex Machine; Lynn Collins is the featured diva on Funky People Pt. 1, "Hip-hop fans will recognize "Blow Your Head" as the source for Public Enemy's very first song, "Public Enemy #1". If you love simple basslines, funky rhythms and soul full voices, you will find every track is a winner.

'James Brown's Funky People, Parts 3'

This one fills in gaps left in the previous parts, including some rare historic moments. "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothin' evokes the future funk crawl of Sly Stone; Also on this dsic: the "criminally underrated female vocalists Lyn Collins (in a fiery "Giveit Up") and Vicki Anderson."

Good funky stuff! 

>

Source:
Music: Soul Man
JESSE DRUCKER
December 30, 2006; Page P2
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116742964500162760.html

Posted at 07:51 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

When James Brown died, I posted the usual obit here. But when I got this email from my blogless friend Rob Fraim, I knew it required posting. Here is Rob's recollection of the Godfather of Soul,  James Brown:

I was saddened to read of the death of James Brown.  Not just because he was a true music innovator (he was), and not just because he was a great showman (which was certainly the case), and not even because he influenced everyone from Prince to The Rolling Stones to Dr. Dre (which point is undeniable.)

No, in addition to all of the accomplishments noted above, I was sorry to hear of Mr. Brown’s passing because…James Brown saved me from getting a butt-kicking in the 7th grade.

What possible link between The Godfather of Soul and a junior high school kid in small-city Virginia, you ask?  Well, be careful what you ask for, as they say.  Now you’ve done it.  You asked and you have to listen to my story.

The year was 1970 and I was making the move from the 6th grade (translation: big shot in elementary school) to the 7th grade (translation:  lowest of the low in junior high.)  Now, that’s a challenging enough proposition in and of itself – as many of you likely remember.  But my experience was all the more “interesting” due to a few factors:

1)      I was just over 5 feet tall and weighed 140 pounds.  Not exactly “height and weight proportionate” as they say.

2)      This was the first year of what was, at the time, a rather hotly debated program which proponents called “desegregation busing” and opponents called “forced busing.”

As to Item #1, time and nature eventually took care of that.  I grew 7 inches in the 8th grade without gaining weight and became less of a target.  But remember, right now we’re talking about the 7th grade and the Growth Spurt Salvation was a long way off.

Regarding Item #2 I had no strong sociological opinion at the time on the issue. Heck I was only 12.  With the passage of time I have come to recognize that there were definitely some positive effects of the busing program - not only in societal terms but also on a personal level.  I know now that it was ultimately a healthy and broadening experience and that it had a part in developing some of my present viewpoints and values.

However, that is now, and back then was then, and all I knew in the 7th grade was that I was getting my butt kicked on a semi-regular basis.

The eventual breaking down of the racial barriers and the friendships that were ultimately forged were still a long ways away.  The first few months of that year were tense – marked by obvious racial divisions, frequent bomb threats that led to evacuations of the school, and lots and lots of fights – which invariably came down upon racial lines.

As noted, in the 8th grade my life changed.  Not only did being a lot bigger mean that I could  dispense the butt-kickings myself if required, but I was just less… oh, I don’t know…tempting, to those who were in the mood to kick some little guy’s behind.

So the 8th grade was ok.  But the 7th grade - yow.  First day – fight.  Second day – fight.  Third and fourth and so on and so on – suggestions that fights were in the offing.  It doesn’t sound like a big deal now – mainly a lot of “give me your lunch money or else,” some pushing and shoving, and so forth.  But when you’re 12 years old that sort of thing is kind of scary.

Now if someone had found me another nice little chubby 7th grader to square off with – someone with whom a fight was more fair – hey I’d have been good to go.  Black, white, I wouldn’t have cared particularly.  Just give me another 5-foot tall chunkster trying to steal my lunch money and it would have been Go City.   But it wasn’t little guys after me.  It was big guys.  Now, just go to any junior high school and you’ll see an incredible span of kids – some who look like they’re 9 years old and some who look like they should be in the NFL (or in the case of my school, on a chain gang.)  And it was the homicidal defensive lineman that I was contending with (or at least that was how it seemed at the time.)   And given the racial divide at the time and the enemy camps mentality that existed, all of my nemeses were black.

(If you’re wondering where James Brown comes into this and whether he rolled in, flung off one of those great capes he wore, and hollered “Please, please, please – stop beating Robbie up!” just stick with me.   In a minute I’ll get to J.B. and how he saved me.)

Back then – pre-iPod and boombox days – kids often carried little battery powered radios.  They were called transistor radios and if you remember that you are officially old just like me.  The sounded terrible and had lousy reception and it was all AM radio, but we thought they were cool.   Well, as you would imagine the radio station selection also was broken down along racial lines.  The white kids played rock-and-roll and Top 40 on AM station WROV and the black kids played soul and R&B on AM station WTOY.   As if skin color didn’t clue you in which group was which, all you had to do was listen and the schism was apparent.

To the black kids, James Brown was The Man.  James had moved from his earlier, more melodic (though always with a fantastic beat) work to his intermediate stage – which he himself later described as much more rhythm-driven.  And there ain’t no dance tune like a J.B. dance tune.

And on top of that he was singing about two things that resonated with his fan base at Ruffner Junior High School.  He sang “Say it Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” – which touched the consciousness of the black kids, and he sang about “Hot Pants” and being a “Sex Machine” which was sure to get the appeal to just about any teenager.  The white kids by and large weren’t paying attention yet (stubborn refusal to like black music) but the black kids were loving some James Brown.

And so was one chubby little white kid.

I’ve written here before about my long-time love of the blues and how from the time I was a tyke the blues just hit me where it counts.  Well, rhythm and blues is just another step from there and soul music and funk are just harder hitting versions.  So I liked what I heard.

Well, one young teacher – in a naïve attempt to bring down the walls – decided to have a discussion period in class one day about what the kids liked and didn’t like, TV shows, food, music, etc.  Sort of a gather ’round the campfire, make S’mores, and get-to-know-you kind of deal.  I think she thought that we’d all see how very much alike we really were after all doggone it, and end up singing “Kumbaya” and having group hugs.  (This was 1970 after all.)

Of course, it didn’t work.  I can’t remember what the first round-the-room poll was, but this discussion was going nowhere.  Then she said, “Well, let’s ask everyone their favorite radio station and their favorite group or singer.”  Oh Lord, did she not see where this would go?

Inevitably it was like this:

White kid:   WROV – The Beatles
Black kid:     WTOY – James Brown
White kid      WROV – Led Zeppelin
Black kid       WTOY – James Brown

Then she came to me.  “So Robbie, what’s your favorite radio station and performer?”

Me:                 “WTOY and James Brown.”

You know in the cartoons when a surprised person does the back-and-forth-and-back-and-forth thing with his head – complete with eyes all bugged out?  That was the reaction in the room.  Not so much from the white kids, who just sort of looked at me in confusion.  Instead, the double takes were from the black kids.

Now, the storybook end to this story would be that everybody got up, joined hands, got misty-eyed and sang a rousing chorus of James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good).”  However, after a momentary pause the preference poll resumed and predictably, went right back to original pattern of black-white-black-white/James-not-James-James-not-James.   My variance was but a brief, bright ray in the ongoing struggle that continued after that, and continues to this day.

But after class several black kids caught me in the hall.

Them:  “Do you really like James Brown?”
Me:       “Yeah, he’s cool.”
Them:  “He’s the baddest.”
Me:       “Yeah.”

And interestingly enough, the butt-kickings eased off after that.  And, true item – I saw one of the lunch-money stealers heading my way one day and saw another kid stop him and tell him to leave me along.  His rationale?  Honest to goodness: “Nah, he’s all right.  He likes James Brown.”

As I look back on integration/forced busing now I can see both the positives and negatives in the idea.  The debate raged back then and if busing were an issue now the debate would continue.  It wasn’t much fun at the time, but as I mentioned before I think there were some long-lasting positive results in terms of bringing down barriers and so forth.   I’ll spare you the “some of my best friends are black” line that often rings so hollow - although if you were to meet my brother-in-law and my two nephews, or the folks I go to church with, or if you were to show up at my house in my lily-white neighborhood and meet my son’s friends who are hanging out at the house I think you’d get my point.

Can I credit James Brown with all of that?  Not really.  Back then I just liked his music.

But I can thank  Mr. James Brown for one thing.  I got noticeably fewer butt-kickings and managed to keep a lot more of my lunch money thanks to him.  So artistry and talent and showmanship aside, I appreciate him for that.

And with all due respect to Gerald Ford, who also passed away recently and who by all accounts was a fine man, he was nowhere to be found in 1970 at William Ruffner Junior High School and offered precious little relief to a certain beleaguered 12-year old.  No, that particular job required more soul, more funk, more James.

“Going down to the crib
Let all hang out
Where soulful people knows what it's about…

Said the long-hair hippies and the Afro blacks
They all get together across the tracks
And they party!
Oh, on the good foot
You know they dance on the good foot
Dance on the good foot”

-- James Brown – “Get on the Good Foot”

Posted at 02:55 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

One of my favorites:

I was a huge Genesis fan, saw them live outdoors in Forest Hills years ago (check out The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, amongst others), and continued with Peter Gabriel long after -- he was the creative force behind the band, and he continues to be a unique original to this day. He still puts on a great live show, check out any of the concert DVDs --  Growing Up Live is ~10 bucks; Secret World Live and Still Growing Up are both excellent).   

Not many artists will name their first 3 solo releases eponymously. In order, they are:

Peter Gabriel   
Peter Gabriel 
Peter Gabriel 

Also worth checking out are Security and So

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Amusing:

Posted at 06:42 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

12 Days of Christmas video clip, re-worked Indian style. Performed by animated popstar, Boymongoose and Indian boyband.

Too cute:

Posted at 04:37 PM in Humor, Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

That's not what anyone wanted for Christmas: Soul and funk legend James Brown passed away at 73:

NYT/AP: "Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's ''Fame,'' Prince's ''Kiss,'' George Clinton's ''Atomic Dog'' and Sly and the Family Stone's ''Sing a Simple Song'' were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.

If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator."

If you are not familiar with the Godfather of Soul (kids today!) then here are a few CDs you should know of to complete your musical education:

Live at the Apollo: the seminal live performance, and why Brown was known as the hardest working man in show business.

Star Time: phenomenal 4 disc set, covering all of JB's contribution to to American music;

For those of you interested in a single disc, 20 All-Time Greatest Hits! pulls the best of the best off of the box set. 

And lastly,  James Brown's Funky Christmas: Just because its that time of year . . .

Other JB videos worth checking out:

I Feel Good

Super Bad

Living in America

Move On

Eyesight

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Merry Christmas!

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Thanks to John B who tips us to this wonderful piece of music, first heard on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". Their Christmas episode featured a group of New Orleans musicians, organized by the Tipitina's Foundation, playing a beautiful and original arrangement of "Oh Holy Night" for the show, featuring:

 

Musicians benefiting from The Tipitina's Foundation
Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Trumpet
Kirk Joseph, Sousaphone
Roderick Paulin, Saxophone
Frederick Shepherd, Saxophone
Stephen Walker, Trombone
Mervin "Kid Merv" Campbell, Trumpet
Bob French, Drums

 

Play/Download MP3 Audio

Play Video

 


For more info, see the The Tipitina's Foundation Mission

The Tipitina's Foundation a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has worked diligently to uplift the music community of New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, the Foundation responded by rebuilding New Orleans' music culture. Initially, the Foundation addressed the immediate needs of our exiled musicians and allowed them to carry on with their lives. Now the foundation is using the legendary music club, Tipitina's Uptown, as the center of its relief efforts by hosting a newly-opened Music Co-op Office that allows musicians to conduct their business activities during the daytime, free legal and accounting seminars, free music lessons for music students, regular Master Seminars, and help with housing information. An important aspect of the rebuilding process has involved finding replacement instruments for both professionals and music students alike. So far the foundation has given away over $500,000 of new instruments. Through these efforts, the Tipitina's Foundation is saving the musical traditions of New Orleans.

Posted at 06:30 PM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Appropriate Chritmas Eve song:

Posted at 06:16 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Eric Idle gives us his charming perspective on the holiday season!

click to play
Play Eric Idle's A Lovely_Christmas_song
(You can always right click/option click to download)

Posted at 06:00 AM in Current Affairs, Film, Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Clever and amusing: 

Bugs Bunny is deceased! Wile E. Coyote? Roadkill. And Donald is one dead duck. That’s the premise behind Animatus, an exhibit by artist Hyungkoo Lee that envisions cartoon characters from Warner Bros., Disney, and other studios sans fur, feathers, and flesh. The challenge in creating the 3-D polyester-resin skeletons was that the creatures exist only in a 2-D universe. To reverse-engineer their underlying structures, Lee applied a bit of Forensics 101. By observing the anatomy of each character’s real-life counterpart and incorporating human kinesiology, he was able to figure out how an accident-prone anthropomorphic animal’s femur or spinal column would look. Lee studied, sketched, and sculpted the skulls of birds, felines, mice, and other creatures to get the cranial features just right. The resulting noggins are realistic enough to give the most sharp-eyed art patron pause. If you want to check out Animatus, you better order a rocket-propelled sled from Acme. After its debut at the Arario Gallery in South Korea, the ossified menagerie headed to Turin, Italy, where it will be on display through January.

Source:
Looney Bones    
Daniel Dumas
Wired, December 2006
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/play.html?pg=6

Posted at 06:04 AM in Art & Design, Humor, Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Funny:

via GMSV

Here's what Wikipedia has to say on the subject: 

Pachelbel's canon in popular culture

The Pachelbel canon may represent the most extraordinary instance of the crossover phenomenon in all of music. During a short period in the early 1970s it went from being a quite obscure work of early music to a universally familiar cultural item^{[citation needed]}. It was played in countless versions in its original notes and instrumentation, as well as in arrangements for other instruments and in adaptations into other musical genres. The process shows no sign of abating.

• The popularization is thought to have originated with the release of a 1970 recording of the work (Erato 98475) performed by the Paillard Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Jean-François Paillard. It was also brought to recognition by what is often considered as the best recording of Pachelbel Canon, arranged and performed by Karl Münchinger with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra in 1970.

• The canon was first adapted musically in a pop song by the Spanish vocal group Pop Tops on their 1968 hit "O Lord, Why Lord?", which made modest chart showings in both the USA (peaking at #79 on the Hot 100) and the Netherlands. Later that year it was adapted by the Greece band Aphrodite's Child on their hit Rain and Tears. In more recent times, Australian-British string quartet bond played a modified, more updated version of the Pachelbel Canon in their song Lullaby on their 2004 album Classified.

• The soundtrack of the film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser by Werner Herzog features the Canon; it was also used in the film's trailer.

• The second half of Brian Eno's pioneering 1975 ambient music recording Discreet Music consists of a series of versions of Pachelbel's canon to which various algorithmic transformations have been applied, rendering it almost unrecognisable. The chord progression of the canon also surfaces in Eno's 1983 Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks recording on the track Always Returning. In 1991, RCA released a compilation CD called Pachelbel's Greatest Hit. It contained eight different versions of the piece, including performances by James Galway, Isao Tomita, and the Canadian Brass. Also released that year was the P. D. Q. Bach album WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio, a spoof of classical radio and the canon's ubiquity there (WTWP stands for "wall-to-wall Pachelbel").

• Mark Knopfler, known to have gone through a classical musical training, seems to have been inspired by the harmonies in Dire Straits' "Tunnel of Love" (1980).

• Used as the main theme in the Academy Award winning 1980 film Ordinary People.

• In 1984, Japanese singer/actress Togawa Jun's song "Mushi no Onna" was adapted from Canon in D with lyrics.

• Also in 1984, The movie Electric Dreams featured a duet between a Cello player and Edgar the sentient computer.

• In 1998, French film director Gaspar Noé used the Canon in his film Seul contre tous.

• In 2000, The song was featured as part of the opening tune for Arthur's Perfect Christmas.

• The song plays a prominent role in the 2002 Korean comedy "My Sassy Girl." (The song is actually a variation composed by George Winston).

• Snapcase, a former metalcore band from Buffalo, New York adapted the melody and chord progression of the Canon for the song "ID/Hindsight" off of their 2002 album End Transmission.

• Banya released a rock version of Canon titled Canon-D (Part of the Memories #1) for the game Pump It Up Exceed 2. The music in the game is accompanied by an anime-style music video background.

• In 2005, a video of a young Taiwan guitarist calling himself JerryC, short for Jerry Chang - who arranged and performed an energetic rock version of Pachelbel's Canon on electric guitar. Over 50 guitarists have published a "Canon Rock" video.

• A guitar rendition of the same played by Korean guitarist funtwo is one of the most watched Youtube clips of all time.

• In 2006, a Korean video featured a remix of hip-hop canon in D with a beatboxer, turntables, traditional Korean instruments called gayageum, and breakdancers or b-boys, Last For One.

• A slightly modified version of the canon is played on three alto saxes and one baritone sax annually in the Plymouth Canton Marching Band.

• The song is present in the animated version of the manga Ichigo 100%.

• A revised version of this song can be found in the Canon Groove, a popular song for the online game Audition Online.

• Canon in D is featured on the 2006 album, Piano Love Songs, by pianist Bradley Joseph.

• Rob Paravonian's comedic take on 'Canon in D' in popular music.

via Wikipedia

 

Posted at 06:07 PM in Humor, Music | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

terrific graphic depiction of the internet via hello eboy:

Posted at 06:36 AM in Art & Design, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Over the past six months, Baghdad has been all but isolated electrically, Iraqi officials say, as insurgents have effectively won their battle to bring down critical high-voltage lines and cut off the capital from the major power plants to the north, south and west.

The battle has been waged in the remotest parts of the open desert, where the great towers that support thousands of miles of exposed lines are frequently felled with explosive charges in increasingly determined and sophisticated attacks, generally at night. Crews that arrive to repair the damage are often attacked and sometimes killed, ensuring that the government falls further and further behind as it attempts to repair the lines.

And in a measure of the deep disunity and dysfunction of this nation, when the repair crews and security forces are slow to respond, skilled looters often arrive with heavy trucks that pull down more of the towers to steal as much of the valuable aluminum conducting material in the lines as possible. The aluminum is melted into ingots and sold.

What amounts to an electrical siege of Baghdad is reflected in constant power failures and disastrously poor service in the capital, with severe consequences for security, governance, health care and the mood of an already weary and angry populace.

“Now Baghdad is almost isolated,” Karim Wahid, the Iraqi electricity minister, said in an interview last week. “We almost don’t have any power coming from outside.”

That leaves Baghdad increasingly dependent on a few aging power plants within or near the city’s borders.

Source:
Iraq Insurgents Starve Capital of Electricity   
JAMES GLANZ
NYT, December 19, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/19/world/middleeast/19electricity.html

Posted at 06:33 PM in War/Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

click for video

Sexual Consent via boingboing

Posted at 06:05 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Hilarious!

Bits & Pieces via the moneyshotblog

Posted at 06:10 AM in Art & Design, Religion | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

How cool is this:

Posted at 06:17 PM in Design | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Composite photo of planes taking off from a busy airport:

flickr

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Another installation of Sunday with the Beatles:

I can't disagree with this commenter:

"John Lennon/Paul McCartney: One of the best song writing teams of the 20th century. George Harrison had his share of great songs and who could forget Ringo's "Octopus's Garden?" These guys stand the test of time"

Posted at 06:09 AM in Music, The Beatles | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Retro-drug-war-style filesharing short film about P2P downloading in the style of an old Reefer Madness educational short, using a ton of stock footage from the Internet Archive.

Too funny: 

via boingboing

Posted at 06:22 AM in Current Affairs, Music, Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Via Under the counter, comes this must-have device:

Its crunch time for procrastinators who need that special gift for their filthy rich friends and family. We are quite smitten with the Ambient Orb here. With the S&P 500 down today it has turned an unfamiliar color...we prefer the green glow it has been steadily emitting. Of course, you can always unplug it.

Posted at 07:05 PM in Current Affairs, Humor, Shopping | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Charlie Brown Christmas - Performed by the Cast of Scrubs:

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Another in oir continuing series of free Amazon videos: the great Mrs. Elvis Costello Diana Krall,  From This Moment On

click for video:

Another CD in our ever increasing wish list

Posted at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2006

As expected, there were a few surprises in store for us as we pored through your submissions for our first Word of the Year online survey. Either the vast majority of you out there in the Merriam-Webster online community are big fans of The Colbert Report, or Time Magazine was right on target when it honored the show's host Stephen Colbert earlier this year as one of the most influential people of 2006. By an overwhelming 5 to 1 majority vote, our visitors have awarded top honors to a word Colbert first introduced on "The Word" segment of his debut broadcast on Comedy Central back in October 2005. Soon after, this word was chosen as the 16th annual Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society, and defined by them as "the quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than concepts or facts known to be true."

Merriam-Webster's #1 Word of the Year for 2006 based on votes from visitors to our Web site:

Click on each of the other words in the Top Ten List for their definitions in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

1. google
2. decider
3. war
4. insurgent
5. terrorism
6. vendetta
7. sectarian
8. quagmire
9. corruption

Previous Words of the Year

Source:
Merriam-Webster's Words of the Year 2006
http://www.merriam-webster.com/info/06words.htm

Posted at 06:02 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

This has to be one of the funniest magazine corrections ever:

Then there was this awful error in Us Weekly magazine:

via Regret The Error

Posted at 05:02 PM in Media | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Way cool timepiece

click for video

Posted at 06:09 AM in Art & Design | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

James Taylor's Holiday Album

River
click for video

Posted at 06:08 AM in Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Its architecture day here, via Wired.

"The world's cities are getting taller – and fast. Between 2001 and 2012, almost as many skyscrapers will be constructed as were built in the entire 20th century. While vertical metropolises like Hong Kong and New York continue to mint monoliths, the most dramatic changes are happening in lower-profile places. Thanks to globalization and the steady migration of people to urban cores, cities that once had only a few high-rises are morphing into mini-Manhattans. Miami, for example, had only five skyscrapers (buildings more than 150 meters, or 492 feet, tall) in 1999 but will have 71 by 2012. Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, will soar from two in 1999 to 90 by 2012. Here's a snapshot of the world's fastest-changing skylines."

The full version is here

Sources:
Manhattan Projects
Patrick Di Justo
Wired, December 2006
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/start.html?pg=6

Posted at 07:24 PM in Art & Design | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Wired:  Billowing glass. Rippling titanium. Swooping steel. The engineers and designers at Permasteelisa turn the world's most daring buildings into reality.

Excerpt:

"Take a look at a major city skyline. Buildings have become more complicated, like engineering riddles that seem to defy both physics and common sense. For leading architects, every commission is an invention, an intricate one-of-a-kind experiment. Gehry, of course, is the leader of the starchitects, conjuring from his computers shapes so modern and complex they're practically baroque. But Gehry and his fellow designers don't actually build what they dream up – that's not their job. They rely on a new breed of contractor, the kind that can translate an architect's lofty vision into a physical structure. For the InterActive HQ, Gehry turned to a longtime collaborator, the Connecticut-based branch of Permasteelisa, the Italian curtain-wall couturier. The firm has spent nearly a decade figuring out how to fabricate the sort of brainteaser building "envelopes" that have made Gehry a household name. Permasteelisa has quietly erected the facades of some of the most significant buildings in the US, from Thom Mayne's Federal Building in San Francisco to Yoshio Taniguchi's MoMA in Manhattan. Permasteelisa also engineered towers for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Norman Foster, and the new partnership of Cook+Fox. "They've become the go-to people when you have a difficult job," says architect Richard Cook, for whom the company is fabricating the shell of One Bryant Park, a conspicuously asymmetrical 55-story tower in Manhattan. "We can be thinking whatever we want, but if you can't build it, what's the point?"

Source:
Edifice, Complex
Karrie Jacobs
Wired, December 2006
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.12/building.html

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Amateur video of the Beatles song

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What is the origin of the name for each of the 50 states?

- Alabama, Means "tribal town" in the Creek Indian language.

- Alaska, after the Aleut word "alaxsxaq" meaning "the mainland."

- Arizona, based on Pima Indian word "arizonac" for "little spring place."

- Arkansas, a French interpretation of the word "acansa," in Sioux meaning "downstream
place."

- California, comes from "Califia" a mythical paradise in old Spanish romance word.

- Colorado, means "Reddish" or "Color Red."

- Connecticut, Based on Mohican and Algonquin Indian words for a "place beside a long river."

- Delaware, for the early Virginia governor,
Lord De La Warr.

- Florida was a Spanish territory, and the name is in Spanish too. Florida means "Flowered."

- Georgia, Named for King George II of England

- Hawaii, which of course is in native Hawaian could be based on their word for homeland, "Owhyhee."

- Idaho, is just an invented word.

- Illinois, word in Algonquin Indian for "warriors."

- Indiana, from "Land of the Indians."

- Iowa, Indian word for "a beautiful land."

- Kansas, from the Sioux Indian for "south
wind people."

- Kentucky, based on the Iroquois Indian word "Ken- tah- ten," meaning "land of tomorrow."

- Lousiana, Named in honor of France's King Louis XIV, this territory had French influence.

- Maine, assumed to be a reference to the state region being a mainland, different from its
many surrounding islands.

- Maryland, named to honor Henrietta Maria, wife of England's King Charles I.

- Massachusets, Named after local Indian tribe whose name means "a large hill place."

- Michigan, for the Chippewa Indian word "meicigama" meaning "great water" (for the
big lakes).

- Minnesota, based on the Dakota Sioux Indian word for "sky-tinted water," referring to the
Minnesota River or the state's many lakes.

- Mississippi, probably based on the Indian "mici zibi," loosely meaning great river.

- Missouri, named after the Missouri Indian tribe.

- Montana, based on the Spanish word "Montaña" that means Mountain.

- Nebraska, Name based on an Oto Indian word that means "flat water," referring to the Platte River.

- Nevada, comes from a Spanish word that means "snowy" or "snow-clad."

- New Hampshire, named after the area of Hampshire in England.

- New Jersey, named after the area of Jersey in England.

- New Mexico, from the country of Mexico.

- New York, named after the city of York in England.

- North Carolina, named in honor of England's King Charles I.

- North Dakota, for the Sioux or Dacotah Indians.

- Ohio, comes from the Iroquois Indian word for "good river."

- Oklahoma, a Choctaw Indian word for "red man."

- Oregon, may have been derived from that of the Wisconsin River shown on a 1715 French map
as "Ouaricon-sint."

- Pennsylvania, for the Admiral William Penn, father of the state's founder, William Penn.

- Rhode Island, after "Roode Eylandt" by Adriaen Block, Dutch explorer, because of its red clay.

- South Carolina (see North Carolina).

- South Dakota (see North Dakota).

- Tenessee, named after Cherokee Indian villages called "Tanasi"

- Texas, comes from the Spanish "Tejas" when it belonged to Mexico (they exchanged the J for X as an English contribution).

- Utah, from the Ute Indians (people of the mountains).

- Vermont, from the French "verts monts,"
meaning green mountains.

- Virginia, named for England's "Virgin Queen," Elizabeth I.

- West Virginia (see Virginia).

- Washington, after the first President of the US.

- Wisconsin, from the word "Ouisconsin" believed to mean "grassy place" in the Cheppewa tongue.

- Wyoming, Indian word meaning "large prairie place."

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John Lennon:  October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980

John Ono Lennon, MBE (born John Winston Lennon, October 9, 1940 – December 8, 1980) was an iconic English 20th century rock and roll songwriter and singer, best known as the founder of The Beatles. He and fellow-Beatle Paul McCartney formed the massively successful Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership throughout the 1960s, writing songs for The Beatles and other artists to record.

Lennon's songwriting was often full of pain and hope. His melodies were at times beautiful and at times dark. His lyrics reflected his personal and career demands, philosophical outlook, his unease with his fame, and current events. As a writing pair, Lennon's hard-edged and McCartney's optimistic styles complemented one another. The Beatles, largely under Lennon and McCartney's influence and with their record producer George Martin, revolutionised rock music with their lyrics,

instrumentation, harmony, and electronic effects, changing the nature of popular music at the time and paving the way for the music of the 1970s,  1980s and beyond. In his solo career distinct from The Beatles, Lennon wrote and recorded songs that became icons of the age, such as "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance".

Lennon, on television and in films such as A Hard Day's Night (1964), and by press conferences and interviews, revealed his rebellious, iconoclastic nature and quick, irreverent wit. He channeled his fame and penchant for controversy into his work as a peace activist, artist and author.

He had one son, Julian, with his first wife, Cynthia; he later married his second wife, avant-garde artist Yoko Ono, and they had one son, Sean. John Lennon was murdered in New York City on December 8, 1980 by a deranged fan, as he and Ono returned home from a recording session; he was, and continues to be, mourned throughout the world.

In 2002, respondents to a BBC poll about the 100 Greatest Britons voted Lennon into eighth place.

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9 to 5 Paintings:

Create art while you work! If you find yourself spending more and more time answering email, and less and less time making art then why not do them both at the same time? Turn your emails, internet browsing, and report writing into digital paintings. 9 to 5 paintings are a visual representation of your daily computing routines.

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This is just not right . .  .

via taleofthetape.net

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The Marcos TSO GT2

Sleek, loud and fast, the TSO, still in prototype, could have easily been mistaken for a Bond car. It was also Marcos's first new release since Mr. Stelliga took over the classic British brand in 2001. From early reports, it seemed like the company had a hit. Car critics in England were gushing over it. The TSO beat other British and American sports cars in comparison tests, and appeared on ''Top Gear'' -- a popular prime-time TV show in England about car culture -- to high praise.

But even as the prototype was impressing journalists and dealers, inside the Marcos studio there was a raw fiberglass model of the exoskeleton on blocks, in the throes of cosmetic surgery. A pair of designers were busy sanding, shaping and analyzing the lines and edges, with one important question in mind: Is it British enough?

''This car has got to be quintessentially British,'' Mr. Stelliga said at the time. ''Everybody around the world has this resonance with British sports cars. It's got to sound British. It has to have the big British muscles on the back. It's got to have the E-Type Jaguar front end.''

>

Source:
The Sporty British Look, by Design
RICHARD S. CHANG
NYT, October 25, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/25/automobiles/autospecial/25marcos.html

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Amusing take by Rick Ellis:

1) "Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer" by Elmo And Patsy

2) "Jingle Bells" by The Singing Dogs

3) "Last Christmas" by Jimmy Eats World

4) "The Little Drummer Boy" by Jessica and Ashlee Simpson

5) "The Christmas Song (Holiday Remix)" by Christina Aguilera

6) "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney

7) "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" by Jeff Foxworthy

8) "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto" by James Brown

9) "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee

10) "What Can You Get a Wookie for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" from "Christmas In The Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album"