OK, so I bought these tickets a while back, and just realized that the show is this week: Bloc Party with Broken Social Scene at the Greek Theatre this Friday. I haven't found a date yet, so if anybody wants to come with me, drop me a line. FWIW, I'm not really into Bloc Party at all; I'm going because Broken Social Scene is one of the most fantastic bands on the planet, and I hear they put on an amazing live show. If you haven't heard them yet, do yourself a favor and pick up their latest album. It's so fucking good, and believe me: I don't use those words very often to describe rock music (not that it's really all "rock" per se, but you know what I mean).

Also, I somehow totally missed the fact that Milosh and Dntel are playing at the Rickshaw Stop next wednesday. That should definitely be worth checking out.

The Tricky show got bumped to October... d'oh. I also could have sworn tickets for the Massive Attack/DJ Shadow show on September 22nd had sold out, but apparently they haven't yet. Get 'em while the gettin's good.

Also: Junior Boys, September 26, at Bottom of the Hill. The new album should be out very soon now; check out this very interesting review if you're into that sort of thing. Fanboys (and girls) like me can pre-order the new "In The Morning" EP (with a friggin' Morgan Geist remix!) from Domino.

OK, back to work.

Now Feeling: busy

Well, after a few false starts and some serious tweaking, Digg labs went live this morning. Mike and I architected the whole visualization system and I built the underlying framework for both pieces. Stack is my take on real-time digg activity, and swarm was built by Aaron, our summer intern.

So far the response has been tremendous; the only complaints of any significance are coming from angry Linux users who can't run either piece because Flash 8 isn't available for their OS yet. Stack should be capable of running in 7 very soon, which should assuage most of the criticism we've received so far. In general, though, people seem pretty pleased. Somebody's even already decompiled the controller swf and discovered what he thought to be a hidden message relating to the whole Ted Stevens "series of tubes" meme. (Check out the Daily Show segment if you've no idea what I'm talking about.) I'm glad people are getting a kick out of that.

Anyway, sorry I haven't been updating very regularly lately. July has been a crazy month so far, and I've been lacking serious sleep for a very long time. But before I pass out on the couch tonight, I must do the following: laundry, make some panzanella, drink a glass or three of wine, and start to watch a movie. I deserve it, dammit.

Now Feeling: accomplished

First off: sorry I've been so out of touch lately. Life has been a little crazy, and I've been in hermit mode trying to finish up some music and cool work projects. More on The Orb show, stupid hipsters, Python, and long-distance relationships in a bit.

Anyway, I'm playing on KZSU's Spring Equinox show from 10:45 to 12 this morning. Tune to 90.1FM in the bay, or listen online at kzsu.stanford.edu. Happy Spring, peeps!

Now Feeling: nervous

Pitchfork: Junior Boys Ready Second Album. I think I just peed my pants a little bit.

Two shows coming up that you should not miss:

• Friday, March 17: The Orb @ Bimbo's (SOLD OUT!)
• Wednesday, April 12: Jamie Lidell and Jimmy Edgar @ The Great American Music Hall (tickets here)

Now Feeling: giddy

I'm back. Got in a little while ago and haven't been able to sleep yet, so I'm sampling some new music. Funny: I'm subscribed to the iTunes Music Store's RSS feed for new electronic releases, and one of the records that popped up tonight was Brown, Origami and Andrew Phelan - Don't Ever Stop. What I'm surprised didn't make the cut was Milosh's new album, Meme. Downloading now... should be good for rainy day listening tomorrow. On the same sleepy emo tip, be sure to check out the new Dub Tractor album, Hideout (on the excellent City Centre Offices imprint). The new Jimmy Edgar also sounds pretty hot (Junior Boys fans: download now, plz kthanks).

Joel sums up why I'm so hesitant to send any of my music out until I know that it's "done":

I've talked about this before—it's the Marimba phenomenon—when you get premature publicity, lots of people check out your thing, and it's not done yet, so now most of the people that tried your thing think it's lame, and now you have two problems: your thing is lame and everybody knows it.

Actually, this is the reason I'm weary of putting anything out before I know that it's really good (music, DJ mixes, photos, web sites, etc.). Not that I'm getting any premature publicity, but still... You know what I'm saying.

Now Feeling: tired

In case you missed it, the House Republicans elected a new majority leader today. His name? John Boehner, R-OH. His opponent? Roy Blunt, R-MI. My favorite quote from the article linked above:

After the vote, Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., called Boehner "a fresh face."

Now Feeling: amused

I haven't smoked since I was in New York, but the thought of a cheese-filtered cigarette has me craving one all of the sudden.

Our opening last week was riotous. Join us again for a night of Scrabble, Boggle, Twister, Bingo, and great music courtesy of our rotating residents:

Cubik
Daps
Hickory
Ganacheau
Shazbot

...and quite possibly an appearance by the inimitable Forest Green!

Every Thursday from 7pm 'til midnight @
The Canvas Gallery
1200 9th Ave at Lincoln

2005 was a good one. Sure, there was lots of crap: more totally uninspired dance tracks, unlistenable emo-core, and obnoxious rock. But amongst all that crap, there were also some shining nuggets of awesomeness. Here are some of my favorites:

• Jamie Lidell - Multiply
  Certainly one of the most surprising albums of the year. Check out this video from one of his appearances in London.
• Bitstream - Domestic Economy 7
  More next-level shit from the guys that single-handedly revived my interest in electro.
• Gorillaz - Demon Days
  Thank you, Danger Mouse.
• Felix Laband - Dark Days Exit
  Acoustic guitars, crunchy beats, whistling synths and bizarre vocal snippets. More, please.
• Kelley Polar - Love Songs Of The Hanging Gardens
  Kelley puts his prodigious musical talents and experience with Metro Area collaborators Morgan Geist and Darshan Jesraniz to work, producing a sparkling collection of disco-infused gems. Fans of Italo should not miss this.
• Thomas Fehlmann - Lowflow
  I know, this came out in 2004. But if I recall correctly it was late in the year, and I only started listening to it in January. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and certainly Fehlmann (of The Orb)'s best work to date. Crunchy downtempo with sexy dub-tinged beats, co-produced by Dabrye—no wonder it's so good!

• Andi Teichmann - Fades
• Audion - Suckfish
• Boards Of Canada - The Campfire Headphase
• Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning
• Broadcast - Tender Buttons
• Caribou - The Milk Of Human Kindness
• Dandy Jack And the Junction SM - Los Siete Castigos
• Maetrik - Casi Profundo
• Matthew Herbert - Plat Du Jour
• Modeselektor - Hello Mom!
• Monolake - Polygon_Cities
• Seven Ark - Noise Of The New
• The Orb - Okie Dokie It's The Orb On Kompakt

Where's a good place to get film developed in the city? I have 3 rolls of 120 (shot with my new Holga), 4 rolls of 35mm (probably shot on my N70 about 5 years ago), and a disposable camera (found in my college dorm when I was moving out).

Also, does anyone have tips for having the 120 film developed? It's all 160 ISO and forgot to put batteries in for the flash, so would it be a good idea to have everything pushed a stop? I've never shot 120 or had to had prints made of it; is there anything else I should know? Anything about the Holga in particular that I should be aware of?

My mom came back from cleaning up her crazy aunt's apartment in December and brought with her an old Yashica TLR. It was in bad shape, but I brought it to a camera repair shop when I was visiting and the guy said it was salvagable. I think I'm going to steal it next time I'm down there. :)

Stamen hasn't worked out the details of the project's second phase yet, so I'm unemployed for the time being. This is actually great because I have 524 errands and 17 loads of laundry to do today, and there was no way any of them would get done until Saturday if I had to work. My bed was everything I'd imagined it would be.

Dropped my bike off for a tune-up today and now I'm over at the cafe next to Amoeba having a cup of coffee and a bagel (it dawns on me now that I didn't have a single one while I was in New York). My fridge is completely empty and my apartment is a disaster; neither of these statements will be true by the end of the day.

Fuck it, I'm going to Amoeba. I'll write something more substantive later.

Awesome.

In the nation's first case to test the legal merits of intelligent design, the judge, John E. Jones III, issued a broad, stinging rebuke to its advocates and provided strong support for scientists who have fought to bar intelligent design from the science curriculum.

Judge Jones also excoriated members of the Dover, Pa., school board, who he said lied to cover up their religious motives, made a decision of "breathtaking inanity" and "dragged" their community into "this legal maelstrom with its resulting utter waste of monetary and personal resources."

Don't get me wrong: I love the lights, the smell of evergreens, scarves, snow, "peace on earth" and all that, but really... fuck christmas.

[Ah shit, looks like skiplogic beat me to it.]

Now Feeling: distracted

I rode 18.4 miles yesterday, and 19.8 today. The ride up the hill by the cliff house was noticeably easier than the last time I did it, which can mean only one thing: I'm actually getting in shape. About friggin' time.

Now Feeling: accomplished

I decided to do a little self-portraiture tonight. It didn't take me long to discover that, since my bathroom mirror is divided into vertical thirds, there wasn't enough room (using the 50mm, at least) to get any shots that were unobscured by the gaps between pieces. So I decided to make the gaps part of each photo. Here are some of the stranger ones:

"Danger Twins"


"Split Personality"

That's my new motto. It's working out fabulously so far.

First of all, this weather is lame. Rain + Wind + Cold = Teh Suck.

But I will not be deterred from riding to work! I just need to buy some geeky weather-resistant pants. And gloves with fingers. And a splash-guard for my rear tire. This shit adds up, but in the long run it's sure as hell cheaper than driving ($10/day to park), and probably even taking MUNI ($3/day with the new). I just need to avoid getting sick again.

Oh and speaking of sick, Trentemøller owns you. Did you know that he's also responsible for that Windowlicker edit that came out earlier this year? Hotness: his remix of Sharon Phillips' Want 2 / Need 2 is available on the iTMS (as is Sunstroke on Poker Flat).

I'm off to Atlanta until Monday. Have a nice Thanksgiving, everyone!

Popular Science has an article on their site about the quest to make colored bubbles. I know it sounds stupid, but this turned out to be one of the most fascinating things I've read in a long time. Not only are colored bubbles just fucking cool, but the potential applications for color that disappears are amazing (skip to the last page of the article for some examples).