The Empty Collection

The Cosmopolitan

2009-02-16T17:48:00.001-06:00

My review

This is a beautiful book, Stonecipher's best so far, filled with wisdom about how we belong to space and time and our desire to escape from the limitations and accidents of our place of time of birth. What a wonderful collection of prose poems.

View all my reviews.

Weirdness

2008-11-20T12:27:00.003-06:00

I am pondering the really strange dream I had featuring: Gary Panter; a traveling musical revue; resentments over the possible murder of a brother also somehow involved in the revue, who was maybe my brother or Gary Panter's brother or some rival of Panter's brother; an investigative trip on my part to Kansas City that was going to solve the brother question; John Erler in the elementary school auditorium watching said musical revue; and the staff of my son's elementary school, one of whom was daubing her bloody lip on her white t-shirt, pulling me aside and warning me about getting embrolied in the whole "murdered brother" incident. A weird one.

Uggh

2008-10-15T21:16:00.001-05:00

I don't think McCain did himself any favors with the snarky scare quotes around the phrase 'health of thee mother." What do you think, ladies.

Harsh McCain/Palin debate liveblogging

2008-10-15T20:46:00.001-05:00

How exactly does having a baby with Down's Syndrome for five months mean you know more than practically anyone else in America about families with special needs?

Deep Thought

2008-10-01T07:31:00.002-05:00

Second grade Sarah Palin was much better informed about her world than Governor Sarah Palin.

Tintin

2008-09-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

Tintin and the Secret of Literature by Tom McCarthy

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This guy is scary smart. Would have give it five stars, but I haven't read that much Tintin. So why did I even pick this up in the first place? I'm a nerd.....

View all my reviews.

Amazing record collection

2008-08-20T01:29:00.001-05:00

I have dreams filled with rooms like this guy's collection.

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.

Pacific Coast Highway

2008-08-18T08:33:00.001-05:00

It's really really beautiful. And they really really don't have cell phone coverage out there. You have been warned.

Blarggghh update

2008-08-17T22:11:00.002-05:00

Well, phone is not dead, but I had to f'ing restore it to the factory settings, so I lost all 50 some photos I had taken on our trip to San Fran and Sonoma, including some sweet ones of Emmett and Lacey. Sigh. At least it all seems to be back and actually working.

Blarrrrgh!

2008-08-17T19:31:00.001-05:00

Just back from California trip, with a bazillion emails to deal with, and instead? What happens? The new version of iPhone 2.0.1 decides to totally gack my phone. As in it might be f'ing bricked in "Restore Mode." Blaaaarggghhh.

The least true email ever

2008-08-06T08:03:00.003-05:00

In my inbox this morning. Oh the irony......

Getting ready for bed

2008-07-31T23:01:00.002-05:00

But just thought I should put down that today, on my 9th wedding anniversary, Lacey and I watched, after many urgings from others, Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible Sing-Along Blog. Very fun, but I'm glad I watched it streaming over on Hulu rather than downloading from iTunes.

Speaking of Dr. Horrible and Neil Patrick Harris, turns out some wag has turned Doogie Howser's old web journal from the TV show into a blog/

http://doogiehowsermd.blogspot.com/

Hat tip, Roy.

The Red Balloon

2008-07-24T21:58:00.001-05:00

Hey, if you're in Austin and you haven't seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to go check out Tounge and Groove's production of the Red Balloon. I saw it tonight and it's fantastic. But don't just take my word for it.

Story of a Sign

2008-07-24T12:40:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of Brenner, a very sweet little short film. Enjoy.

HISTORIA DE UN LETRERO (THE STORY OF A SIGN)

Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction

2008-07-23T10:50:00.003-05:00

I've been remiss in posting these. I'm not a Halo player, but I've been working for the past few months for the really cool dudes at Rooster Teeth Productions on their latest Red vs. Blue series, RvB: Reconstruction. Take a look. I play Agent Washington in the series. I'm having a blast doing it.

Chapter 1

Hmmm. No embed code. You can check it out here.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Montreal so far

2008-07-16T09:57:00.003-05:00

No pictures since I didn't get an iPhone this past weekend--Austin was all sold out before I left. So far my impression of Montreal is that it's a pretty sweet city. Went to a restaurant last night with the guys where the service was Europeanly paced. I ordered the lamb. Then walked over to the Hyatt where the check in for the festival is and happened to end up getting interviewed for the local XM Radio Comedy Channel. Also, we are obsessed with the nearby convenience store Couche-tard, which is like a Canadian 7-11. The expression means "go to bed late," but because we are juvenile comedians we are calling it the Couch Tard.

Also, saw Chelsea Peretti coming out of the hotel. Then I ran into Chuck Watkins from Austin, which was a surprise. He was looking royally hung over.

Off to tech and rehearse and meet Bob Odenkirk and Bill Hader.

Just for Laughs

2008-07-14T20:23:00.003-05:00

So, I was going to post this over on the improv forums, but then I thought it's better to just leave this little musing here where I can let creep out a little anxiety rather than just have it look like I'm tooting my own horn.

So, Backpack Picnic was one of three or four sketch groups selected to attend the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, and we depart tomorrow. Our shows are on Wednesday and Thursday. Two 15(?!) minute sets, and no video projection, thus robbing us of our most distinctive troupe aspect. Actually, as a stage troupe we hardly exist, but as an online troupe, we are one of the most prolific in the country (36 sketches and 1 TV pilot in the last year, baby). By far, this will be the biggest industry event I've ever been to, and I think that and the fact that Backpack has a TV Pilot in the can with Fort Ricky is making all of us a little anxious at the prospects of what might happen. I don't think anyone is letting it go to their heads, but still it's hard not to get a little curious about what this might all mean. Bob Odenkirk and Bill Hader are hosting the show, so even from a meeting cool folks standpoint, it'll be pretty rad. Our recent road pals the Apple Sisters will be playing as well, so it will be good to see them, too.

Actually, it's kind of weird how not nervous I am. Excited if something good does happen, able to roll with new projects if something doesn't. Maybe this is because I'm so peripheral to the whole Backpack endeavor that I don't have too much of my reputation wrapped into this thing. Or maybe it's because I've been having weird and good breaks lately, a run of good luck, that makes me not worry about it that much. Or rather, I think that the luck is the result of just being in a good headspace--like how they say you always find a relationship when you're not particularly hungrily looking for one. Let's hope it's something like that, eh?

Wish me luck.

A Power Stonger Than Itself

2008-07-12T15:14:00.000-05:00

A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music by George E. Lewis

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was pretty much a perfect little non-fiction book (ok not that little, it clocks in at over 500 pages) for me. An oral history of an artistic moment I'm totally intrigued by and which is not written about enough, a meditation on and observation of the intricacies of creating and sustaining an artistic community, and a scholarly but not overly academic and abstract work about the socio-economic forces involved in the production and reception of art. Primo. George Lewis, in addition to being a great trombone player and composer, is a natural and fluid writer.

View all my reviews.

Prolific Beat era artist Bruce Conner dies

2008-07-12T12:44:00.000-05:00

Dang. I really like Bruce Conner's work. There's a great section on him in Greil Marcus's The Shape of Things To Come. Prolific Beat era artist Bruce Conner dies

My quick take on Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button

2008-07-09T22:04:00.002-05:00

The Bottomless Bellybutton by Dash Shaw

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'd give it more of a 3.5. It's weird, I really liked the book and like Shaw's style, but the payoff was a little thin for me. Also, checking out his other work, the guy's got the most lush sense of color of anyone in indie comics today, so it's a little disappointing that this work was so monochrome. Thematic choice? Maybe, but I think his usual varied palette could have done even more thematic work. Decent, but not mind-blowing. Definitely a cartoonist I'll be watching, though. Damn kid's only 25 and has a really solid grasp of sustained narrative.

View all my reviews.

This looks like a concert

2008-06-17T15:42:00.001-05:00

Tee-hee, originally uploaded by Shy LaBoof.

Only thing that would make it weirder is if Zach Galifianakis were also in here, lipsynching.

Carpet Bros.

2008-06-15T20:22:00.002-05:00

A lot of this kind of stuff isn't funny. This show isn't those shows. I like where this is going. It made me laugh out loud more than once.

I love it!

2008-06-13T22:31:00.002-05:00

This video is so awesome. Wonderful, upbeat, simple song, great David Byrne delivery, arbitrary appearance from Dizzee Rascal, and tons of naked people cavorting with clever graphics. Enjoy.

THE BPA 'TOE JAM' FEAT. DAVID BYRNE & DIZZEE RASCAL

Ponytail

2008-06-12T22:59:00.002-05:00

Is there a band more joyously alive right now?

Ponytail

2008-05-14T16:06:00.002-05:00

I missed seeing them several times during SXSW, but I'm really looking forward to the new Ponytail album. I liked their previous, debut effort, Kamehameha, a lot. Here's a taste of the new record. A little Deerhoofy, a little bubblegum, a lot of dada. Yes!

New Backpack Picnic: Organ Rejection

2008-04-07T11:23:00.000-05:00

Finally, I have found the Gnap! episode

2008-04-06T20:42:00.001-05:00

This made an impression on me at a young age. So much that I named a theater company after it.

Smurfs- the purple smurfs
Uploaded by cartoon_playhouse

Leroy vs. Leeroy

2008-04-05T07:57:00.002-05:00

So, I'm not much of a gamer and it was only recently that I found out about the Leeroy Jenkins video.

I get it's popularity, and when Leeroy tears off into the chamber it's genuinely funny. But c'mon people. Leeroy's entry on wikipedia is longer and more detailed than the entry for jazz man Leroy Jenkins. For shame.

Oh my God--Food Fight!

2008-02-29T19:53:00.001-06:00

Thanks Madeline. This is great!

Salto

2008-02-27T10:17:00.002-06:00

Another link, this time from Music for Maniacs. This really makes we want to see this film. I know next to nothing about the Polish New Wave,except for this guy in the glasses is in some Wajda movies and is known as the Polish James Dean.

Possibly the greatest thing on the internet

2008-02-27T09:49:00.001-06:00

A 1969 IHOP commercial. From the fine folks over at Coudal.

Oh man

2008-02-15T23:05:00.000-06:00

As a child of the 70s, I'm so glad that TV used to have stuff like this for children. Check out the fly little guy dancing at the top of the fire escape. Seven minutes of fucking musical perfection. On a kids show.

h/t Magpie.

Jeremy Jay--Airwalker

2008-02-13T14:24:00.001-06:00

H/t my man Jeff Britt. Not great, but catchy.

I really like this show

2008-02-13T13:36:00.000-06:00

And haven't posted it yet. But enjoy.

One of many nutshells...

2008-02-13T13:03:00.002-06:00

of why I like Obama. This, from Matthew Yglesias, hits it right on the head, I think:

And that's one of the things Obama has that Hillary Clinton doesn't. If instead of Clinton or Obama, I were the one sitting in the White House, and I had some kind of appealing-but-controversial initiative I wanted to propose and for some reason I had to pick a Senator to be the "public face" of the initiative I'd pick Obama in a heartbeat. He's the kind of person whose support for an idea makes the idea seem more compelling than it otherwise would have. You can imagine him getting people interested in things that didn't previously interest them, or convincing people that steps they used to think were too risky are, in fact, necessary. Clinton, like lots of perfectly admirable Senators from Carl Levin to Jim Jeffords and beyond, doesn't have that extra bit. It's the difference between a person who has to change his policies to become more popular, and a person who makes policies more popular by espousing them. Obviously, that's a quality that exists on a continuum, but Obama seems to me to be much further toward the "makes more popular by espousing" side of the spectrum.

Hahhahahahah

2008-02-11T22:13:00.000-06:00

Hanne Hukkelberg - A Cheater's Armoury

2008-02-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

h/t Walrus Music Blog

I wish I could make as good a use of table knives

2008-02-07T21:34:00.000-06:00

Whabamfpfpf arraarar

2008-02-06T08:41:00.000-06:00

From my friend Adam Whisner. I cannot stop laughing.

From Tim

2008-02-04T15:45:00.000-06:00

He like Inland Empire a lot, and sent me this link saying he feels pretty much the same way as this reviewer. Now I'm going to have to see this film.

This looked grosser than it tasted

2008-02-04T14:57:00.000-06:00

I don't like ground meat in general, but it was ok. Oh right, I'm posting it because I make a little appearance at the end. This show is filmed at the same studio where we shot the pool footage for Lamborghini Poster.

Superbowl today or something

2008-02-03T19:04:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'll go along with this

2008-02-02T21:46:00.001-06:00

I'm behind

2008-01-30T08:36:00.000-06:00

Here's a bunch of Backpack Picnic videos released in the past month or two, starting with today's eponymous release.

The Painting:

Waiting Room:

Mystery Shoe:

Lamborghini Poster:

Philadelphia, the new Baltimore

2008-01-29T14:41:00.000-06:00

Remember how in the last year or two there's been all this hype about Baltimore, with acts like Dan Deacon and that whole scene? Well, I'm thinking in 2008, Philly will be the new Baltimore. Just saying.

A quick political observation

2008-01-29T10:29:00.000-06:00

Obama might not be JFK, but it might be helpful to remember that JFK wasn't JFK either, at least not how he's been sanctified in American political memory.

One of my favorite publishing houses

2008-01-28T21:24:00.000-06:00

I subscribe to a lot of RSS feeds 'cause I like information overload--makes me feel like I'm getting stuff done when I'm really just wasting time. A lot of those feeds get marked as read even when I haven't read them 'cause time isn't infinite. One feed I always read, though, is the news updates from Picturebox. Damn, these guys just put out one great art/comic/headfuckery publication after another. A latter day Fantagraphics (another fave publishing house) will have to do a Popeye on all this stuff and reissue it as classic American visual culture. But you can get this stuff right now. Highly recommended.

freeloveforum

2008-01-28T09:39:00.000-06:00

One of the fun things about going on tour is meeting new sketch groups from around the country. We shared the bill with these guys from New York, and all of us in Backpack really really really liked this video sketch.

Coal

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Links for 1/16/08

2008-01-16T09:50:00.000-06:00

Time Out Chicago loves on Backpack Picnic.

Kyle Gann is curating a festival in Seattle, a city of which he's fond.

Lance Mannion's kids go on stike.

Get a couple mp3s from Pharaoh Sanders.

Glenn Greenwald gets a testy email from John King.

David Newiert takes a gander at some of Ron Paul's supporters.

Gravel in '08, baby!

2008-01-07T21:25:00.000-06:00

90% Mike Gravel
90% Barack Obama
89% John Edwards
88% Dennis Kucinich
87% Hillary Clinton
87% Chris Dodd
83% Joe Biden
77% Bill Richardson
42% Rudy Giuliani
26% John McCain
23% Mike Huckabee
23% Tom Tancredo
21% Mitt Romney
21% Ron Paul
11% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Who knew? Apparently I am a Gravel man, although he's tied with Obama in estimation.

The best ad in the history of the world:

This is just awesome

2008-01-04T20:25:00.000-06:00

I thought it was interesting, Stockhausen and Ike Turner passing away around the same time last month. Check out this mashup from composer Miguel Frasconi of one of each of their works.

(Hat tip to Night after Night)

OK, I lied

2008-01-04T15:41:00.000-06:00

Another post.

This video really makes me want to see Great World of Sound.

Happy 2008

2008-01-04T15:36:00.000-06:00

Wow. I haven't blogged in quite some time. Busy busy busy, and that's not going to change in January, so things might be a little sparse for the next month or so.

In the meantime, one of my recent discoveries has been the Walrus Music blog. They've got a lot of good stuff over there, and I like the sensibilities of the staff. This post from today is not to be missed. Seriously, go over and make yourself a little tiny bit ill.

Backpack Picnic: Lamborghini Poster

2007-12-11T14:14:00.000-06:00

Posted without further comment. Enjoy.

Backpack Picnic: Interview Switcheroo

2007-12-05T08:19:00.000-06:00

Stump the Chef

2007-12-01T11:21:00.000-06:00

This was a really tasty dish. I make a little appearance at the end. Man, am I always that twitchy?

NaBloPoMo is OVER

2007-12-01T09:01:00.001-06:00

But it doesn't mean I'm going to stop putting posts up here. But really people, all the slim blog traffic dwindles to zero? Are you assuming I won't keep this up?

Uh wait?

2007-11-30T11:28:00.000-06:00

Are we at the end of November already? I guess so. I guess I win or something. But there is so much left to blog about. So I guess I'll just have to continue blogging.

Because Roy has to find something to waste time on, right Roy?

Many leaves turned

2007-11-29T15:39:00.000-06:00

Making some big changes in my life. Ask me about them some time, in person.

Off to get the boy, and to engage in one tiny new leaf--mail art! Will you get one?

Some advice

2007-11-29T13:14:00.000-06:00

First piece of advice, based on a dream last night:

Don't go to Iraq. It's fucked up there, with the US Army reduced to fighting insurgents house to house with slingshots. If you do go, don't take your four-year old son. If you do take your four -year old son, make sure he's with you, otherwise you'll find out that something vaguely dire has happened to him--this is also the moment you discover he's along for the trip, incidentally. If your son is harmed in some way, discourage your wife from leaping onto a steam train to rush to his side if she is without a ticket, because otherwise she will be accosted by surly Iraqi women for not riding legitimately and you, her husband, will be forced to run alongside the train, beseeching your suddenly materialized guide and interpreter to help you with the oddly shaped coins in strange denominations (39?!) that you must now throw through the open window of the train compartment to your wife to pay for her ticket and arrest the onslaught of irate Iraqi widows.

Second piece of advice:

Go read Mo on Miranda July. I find much of what she says sage, although I personally am not that keen on the bite your tongue school of thought. Then again, Mo gets in fewer dustups than I, so she's perhaps onto something.

This one's going out to Monique

2007-11-28T09:28:00.000-06:00

Given all her digging through the Mailer archives, I wonder if Monique came across any of his campaign ephemera. If not, here's a little ditty from 1969. Courtesy the fine folks at Arthur Magazine and their blog, Magpie.

The Machine

2007-11-27T10:22:00.000-06:00

Emmett has lately been saying that he doesn't like doing art--he's too self-conscious about it and too self-critical, which is heartbreaking to watch in a 4 and half year old.

But yesterday he treated me to this. It's a machine, which he often but not always pronounces as "bachine", for making blueberry and cranberry muffins. The little thing off to the side is the remote control used to turn it on. It combines his two passions, construction equipment and kitchen assistance into one item. Right now it is my single favorite piece of art in our house.

Backpack Picnic: Soccer Bullies

2007-11-26T16:31:00.000-06:00

I'm not in this one, but enjoy nevertheless.

Today

2007-11-26T16:13:00.001-06:00

Man, the weather has really jacked up my sense of time. Today sort of slipped through my fingers, even though I managed to get a lot of work done for SVT, got my back realigned at my chiropractor, went to the gym, went to get stuff from our storage unit (twice!), went grocery shopping and still farted around online a tad, namely looking at recaps of the awesome Pats-Eagles game last night (which would have only been better had the Pats lost), but I still feel like I haven't accomplished jack. Which I haven't, because I haven't accomplished anything, but instead have performed errands.

Adulthood? One big never ending errand. And here is a tiny violin grown cobwebby from your lack of playing it when I whine.

losers

2007-11-25T17:02:00.001-06:00

losers, originally uploaded by Alamo Drafthouse.

Not me today--I'll actually blog a little something. Man, this weather has given me a case of the blahs.

The Chiefs lost today. Me, maybe not in my fantasy league. More about pro football soon?

Today

2007-11-24T14:20:00.000-06:00

Emmett continues to fight some kind of illness--now with blothcy rash and fever!--and I continue to need sleep.

And thus, we will spend today and tomorrow watching The Iron Giant, Toy Story 2, and The Jungle Book, all checked out from I Luv Video.

Word

2007-11-23T21:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday

2007-11-23T17:30:00.000-06:00

Running out of gas

2007-11-23T14:22:00.000-06:00

Not literally. Just dialing in the first post-tryptophan blog post. Nap soon. More blogging, not quite as soon.

True Sign that One is a Domestic Dork

2007-11-22T14:49:00.000-06:00

The rapt attention paid to the video here and momentary implementation of techniques contained therein.

Butcher’s Method Takes Carving Off the Table - New York Times

Thanksgiving Greetings

2007-11-22T07:54:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving Greetings, 1907-1915, originally uploaded by Gatochy.

Have a good one. It's finally chilly here in Austin.

Today's unlikely aesthetic pleasure pairing; or listen up, b***ches!

2007-11-21T21:50:00.000-06:00

Here's today's bizarre juxtaposition. My friends Jeremy and Mike work over at G4, and they have hipped me to G4's little online show, Freestyle 101. I was already a fan of Gift of Gab, but this is, so far, my favorite installment of the show. You can tell it's improvised, in that it's constantly brushing up against going of the rails. Every once in a while you can hear the gears grab the teeth in his mind at the exact moment you're thinking he's missed the beat. But hey, he outlasts the sample and brings it home a capella. Fierce.

Unrelated, I buzzed over to Kyle Gann's blog about contemporary classical music and composition this afternoon, something I don't do frequently enough.I was reminded, while over there, that Gann is an expert on and scholar of reclusive American composer Conlon Nancarrow, whose fiercely rhythmic oeuvre consists entirely of works for the player piano(!).

So, because this is the kind of dude I am, i.e. concerned about the likelihood that Gift of Gab and Conlon Nancarrow, whose works offer not much in common except that they are by American dudes each pursuing their happiness, have ever been paired anywhere (likelihood: .0005%), I hereby declare them kindred souls and marry them, artistically, here.

A taste on the Nancarrow piece Gann deems most important. Math robot boogie-woogie.

Conlon Nancarrow – Study for Player Piano No. 41a

And treat yourself. The Nancarrow album has been transcribed for two players of regular pianos, so while not exactly Nancarrow's thing, it's the one album of his compositions that I have. And everybody should own Blackalicious' (Gab's group) Blazing Arrow.

A Tale of Two Cities

2007-11-21T19:20:00.000-06:00

Lacey on Coke Zero, Emmett on Melted Chocolate, making a pie and getting ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow.

The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory: Thanksgiving appetizers 2007

2007-11-21T08:25:00.000-06:00

Today's already off to a better start. Man, I love that Chris Onstad's writing.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve!

Tough

2007-11-21T07:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday turned into a hard day. Let's hope today is easier.

My friend Tim

2007-11-20T15:46:00.000-06:00

Is coming to Austin in a couple weeks. He's the main dude and frontman of the band The Actual Facts, and I just discovered today that some of their tracks are available in their entirety over at Last.Fm Have a listen.

The Actual Facts – A Better Computer

Clarification

2007-11-20T14:33:00.000-06:00

Realized that my previous post could read as snotty. If you are currently in a sketch troupe in Austin, I want to state that I am including you alongside me and Backpack Picnic when I wonder why there aren't more sketch troupes in Austin. There are a handful of us doing sketch. Why not more? There are so many people doing improv, you would think there would be more sketch artists. It is puzzling. That is all.

Jonathan Winters

2007-11-20T10:40:00.000-06:00

Eighty-two years old and still in the game. Beautiful acting and comic timing from this legend. Check it, yo.

Backpack Picnic: Old Computer

2007-11-20T09:17:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, BPPN won the AIC award for best sketch troupe. Which is great, but also a little strange to me considering we don't perform live very often and half of us live in LA. So not strange to me in the sense that we don't deserve the award, but strange that this town doesn't have more sketch competition for us, more people doing quality work with a local following and constituency. Austin's filled with literate comedic actors and writers, so why not more sketch? Strange.

Anway, enjoy today's episode.

2007 AIC Thanksgiving Photo 1

2007-11-19T12:36:00.001-06:00

2007 AIC Thanksgiving Photo 1, originally uploaded by Danu.

Let's hear it for improv in Austin.

You got a problem?

2007-11-19T12:30:00.001-06:00

AIC Banquet 005, originally uploaded by sadogre.

I didn't think so.

Our house looks clean

2007-11-18T08:44:00.000-06:00

Apparently having a party on Sunday and in-laws arriving for Thanksgiving week the next day makes for good housekeeping. It looks like adults with self-respect live here.

Lest we degenerate into bickering factions

2007-11-17T21:45:00.000-06:00

A nice little snippet from an email I received today with regards to tomorrow's AIC banquet.

In the event that I can't get by, please share my congratulations with the group on such a strong year. I continue to be so impressed by the talent and the level of commitment everyone in this current improv scene has toward making this a real community in which everyone has a place and everyone prospers. In my time here, I've seen this happen in other areas of the arts scene and it's always an inspiration. That's no less true of you all than anyone else. Celebrate yourselves, and keep up the great work. I look forward to seeing more.

This from an Austin art person who know whereof he or she speaks. I think I will read this tomorrow if I can.

Sometimes I think

2007-11-17T14:45:00.000-06:00

How amusing it is that people can't seem to let things go and exist in some gummy vat of self-justification and cries for validation. But as with dreams, I am reminded that everything annoying and scary is just me annoyed and scared by myself. Enough haunting of cyberland, time to clear my mind by sweeping leaves.

My piece for the SVT holiday show this year will either be widely panned or beloved by all. Or somewhere in the middle. Where are those leaves?

Yards, Art, Black Dice

2007-11-17T10:46:00.000-06:00

Maybe not much posting today. Will mostly be getting the yard and house ready for hosting the Austin Improv Collective's annual banquet and awards ceremony.

We may also go check out some stuff with the East Austin Studio Tours. This year there are even a couple of locations in Windsor Park, our neighborhood.

Also, after talking about Miles Davis yesterday, I got to thinking about this band, and how they exist in the microclimate opened up by experiments like On the Corner. Again, not for everybody, and hardly riveting from aspect of performance, but still a thing exerting the shape of itself.

Miles Davis: On the Corner box set

2007-11-16T10:27:00.000-06:00

This kind of stuff doesn't appeal to tons of people, but I have to say I'm excited about the release of The Complete On the Corner Sessions by Miles Davis.

If you want to get a feel for the music and this history in Miles' career, you can check out the video over here. Sidenote--why the hell doesn't Amazon let you embed their videos?

jesuslolcat

2007-11-16T09:57:00.001-06:00

jesuslolcat, originally uploaded by bellatrixamici.

Courtesy of my pal, Kaci.

Zyzzybalubah

2007-11-15T16:04:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday Emmett came down with strep. We could tell he was feeling really poorly after school and he started running a fever. We almost never let him watch TV on school days, but he felt so crummy that we let him just veg out on the couch and watch TV. He wanted to watch Pee Wee's Playhouse.

The one episode I paid any attention to while Lacey and I were cooking involved the entire Playhouse being abducted into outer space by a fleshy-headed alien named Zyzzybalubah, which, in the opening moment of the episode was also established, improbably, as the word of the day.

I thought to myself, hey, there's a decent name for an improv group. Turns out there's a quirky band from Philadelphia (lots random observations connecting me to that city these days) with the name already. They're pretty decent, although their sound is not quite as weird/raucous/Pee Wee Hermanesque as their name and accompanying visual would suggest. But I'm linking to them, so I guess that's a recommendation or something.

just follow the bouncing ball...

2007-11-15T13:42:00.001-06:00

just follow the bouncing ball..., originally uploaded by snailbooty.

Just 'cause. I love this guy's art.

I think they mean a different David Mitchell

2007-11-15T13:04:00.000-06:00

In my inbox today:

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

As someone who has purchased or rated books by David Mitchell, you might like to know that Oxford American Handbook of Clinical Dentistry (Oxford American Handbooks in Medicine) will be released on November 26, 2007. You can pre-order yours by following the link below.

Home today with a sick boy

2007-11-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

Emmett picked up a case of strep throat at his day care. Blog posting will be light to non-existent today as I take care of him (which means sitting on the couch and watching every episode of Go, Diego, Go ever created). I think we're both going to go take a nap shortly.

I always forget about Shana's blog. Go read her wrap up of our time in Philly.

Rhys Chatham: Waterloo, No. 2

2007-11-14T17:14:00.001-06:00

Get a taste. Hell yes this is classical music and tough as a boot. Listened to this track a bunch if times today. Yay, paradiddles.

Rhys Chatham – Waterloo, No. 2

Jasper Redd!!

2007-11-14T16:47:00.000-06:00

Just felt like posting this.

Clip from *A Comic Calling*

Add to My Profile | More Videos

This is pretty amazing

2007-11-14T12:44:00.000-06:00

http://jamphat.com/rap/

Just go check it out. Hat tip Dave Buckman.

Sun City Girls: Space Prophet Dogon

2007-11-13T19:04:00.000-06:00

Some time a while back--okay, maybe a long while back--I stumbled across what I thought was a sonic similarity between too seemingly disparate acts--Sun City Girls and Doseone's project, Subtle. So I spent part of today trying to locate the tracks that suggested this comparison and couldn't find them.

Somewhere in all of this was the seed of a post mentioning the fact that Dax Pierson of Subtle was injured near my home town, Atlantic, Iowa, a few years ago. Why does that matter? I don't know, except thew thought of an African-American experimental hiphop musician being treating for serious spinal injuries in the dead of winter in my hometown hospital says something bleak and true about our country. And he lived and is still making music, and that also says something bleak and true to me.

Anyhow, what I did find was this little gem off of Sun City Girls' Torch of the Mystics. Like a lot of American stuff I like, it's dramas seem private but not perverse, and the stakes feel real. Like Pere Ubu, they're another band that I don't know as well as I probably "should." I got into this particular album, as happens to me a lot, well after it was released, in this case because of an interview I saw with members of Pavement (this was in maybe '95 or '96) where each listed 10 or so of his favorite or most influential albums. Can't remember whose list this was on, but it was several years after the interview that I finally got this.

Oh, members of SCG are also responsible for one of the best, toughest "world music" labels out there, Sublime Frequencies. Man, I should put some of the Iraqi stuff up here next. Maybe tomorrow.

Anyway, enjoy the track. To me it sounds like majesty.

We can haz sponsrz?

2007-11-13T11:16:00.000-06:00

You may have noticed a little doo-hickey on the bottom of the embedded Backpack Picnic sketches recently, pointing you toward a website called Popmatters. It resembles the now defunct Stylus Magazine in its alloverness--it's maybe even more allover than Stylus was, which had something of a music focus. I think Pitchfork is always the template for these kinds of online review/hipster clearinghouse publications, but maybe that's not quite fair or accurate. Overall, I think them stack up quite nicely.

At any rate, we now have sponsors, which is really cool. Be a pal, huh, and go check out their site--if they do well, then we do well, then we make more comedy, or something like that.

Gack

2007-11-12T22:31:00.000-06:00

Something about putting one of those embedded dealies (either the Amazon link or the imeem player) makes blogger freak the hell out and renders the post ineditable. So, rather than going back and fixing all the crap grammar and typos in the previous post, y'all'll just have to live with them, because I don't want to refind all the html embed code.

Good night.

Sanctimony

2007-11-12T22:05:00.000-06:00

Not much posting yesterday, as you you can obviously tell by looking at the blog. Lacey and I got a ton of work done on our backyard, however, in anticipation of our hosting the AIC awards banquet this coming Sunday.

This is going to seem like a weird thing to talk about, but discussions today on the Austin Improv forums reminded me that this post of mine accounted for the single highest blog traffic day for me, by a factor of four or so. It is also a post about which no one at any time ever said a single word to me, even though I have proof that quite a few people read it. Oh well. I should also say I stand by my central assertion, that one need not like what you like, nor is it proof that one has a chip on one's shoulder against what you like. It merely means that one has other interests. Nor should one feel ashamed of stating those priorities or having opinions. One need not be part of the informed cognoscenti to hold those opinions, and one isn't disqualified from haviing opinions for lacking the correct pedigree and credentials.

But enough of that, because I want to turn both me and my argument around and talk about sanctimony. I'm all for getting polemic in public ways. We're artists, and while people in the arts often have tender egos, their often terrific verbal sparrers and polemicists. That's all fine and good. I love having things I believe and trying to articulate them.

Buuuuuuutttt......

I hate when that position-taking element creeps into the art itself. Lacey and I have been watching a ton of Weeds lately, which overall is pretty good. My single biggest complaint about the series, of which we've watched almost the first two seasons, is the revival and reinsertion in the culture of this song by Malvina Reynolds. Take a listen:

In season one, this version played before every episode. Seriously, it's catchy as hell and worms its way into your brain. In season two, it's reinterpreted by different artists, so now there are 12 more versions of it floating around out there.

Here's my beef with the song. I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiments expressed in the song. Heck, overall I'd say I probably agree with them. My problem, then, is that the song agrees too much with itself. There's no doubt in the assertions put forward in the song, a dreadful air of superiority, which renders it propaganda. This is why satire is killingly hard, because it's hard to make art that doesn't end up just coming across as preaching.

I have the same beef with Lemony Snickett's little holiday trifle from McSweeney's, The Latke That Couldn't Stop Screaming, which showed up at my house recently becuase I got a McSweeney's Books subscription. The sentiment of the book I agree with (all religious cultures in America should be afforded their place in the sun rather than being shoehorned into the Corpotate XMAS mono culture)--it's the haughty tone I can't stand. It made me think to myself "Go screw yourself, silly overpriced hipster children's holiday book--I'm a goy who knows what a latke is so get over yourself."

Which I guess is not that far from my reacting to sentiments and discussions outside works of art which dictate to me what sentiments are "acceptable." I don't mind agreeing with you, I just mind being told I have to.

The world's best candy bar; or, Why I love my wife

2007-11-12T19:26:00.000-06:00

Okay, there are many more reasons than this, but part of the Lacey's and my continued appeal to each other is our shared history. Spend enough time with someone and all the stuff that at one point in your life mattered to you is only really shared by your partner.

Tonight, Emmett ate a Kit Kat bar from his Halloween stash. This led to Lacey and I having a debate as to which was better, Kit Kat or Twix. We both came down ever so slightly on the side of Twix, but then Lacey reminded me that neither compared to the world's best candy bar, Nestle's Lion Bar. We used to get these when we lived in Prague, and for the life of me, other than the Cadburry Schwepps corporatioon's desire to keep my weight below 300 pounds, I do not know why this candy bar is mostly unavailable in the States.

Seriously, this is an awesome candy bar. I find that you can get them on Amazon. Lacey and I are thinking about getting some for stocking stuffers this Christmas year.

Also, Lacey and I could never figure out how to order these from our downstairs potraviny (grocery store) in correct Czech grammar. Rather than bore you with the byzantine ins and outs of Slavic declensions, we could never get the staff there to look at us with anything other than complete bafflement when we attempted another permutation on what we hoped would translate as "One Lion Bar, please." We usually had to resort to pointing and saying "Lee-ohn jako Lev." Which is the Czech pronunciation of the English spelling of "lion," followed by the czech for "like a lion."

The Empty Collection

The Cosmopolitan

My review

Weirdness

Uggh

Harsh McCain/Palin debate liveblogging

Deep Thought

Tintin

My review

Amazing record collection

Pacific Coast Highway

Blarggghh update

Blarrrrgh!

The least true email ever

Getting ready for bed

The Red Balloon

Story of a Sign

Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction

Montreal so far

Just for Laughs

A Power Stonger Than Itself

My review

Prolific Beat era artist Bruce Conner dies

My quick take on Dash Shaw's Bottomless Belly Button

My review

This looks like a concert

Carpet Bros.

I love it!

Ponytail

Ponytail

New Backpack Picnic: Organ Rejection

Finally, I have found the Gnap! episode

Leroy vs. Leeroy

Oh my God--Food Fight!

Salto

More video goodness

Possibly the greatest thing on the internet

Oh man

Jeremy Jay--Airwalker

I really like this show

One of many nutshells...

Hahhahahahah

Hanne Hukkelberg - A Cheater's Armoury

I wish I could make as good a use of table knives

Whabamfpfpf arraarar

From Tim

This looked grosser than it tasted

Superbowl today or something

Yes, I'll go along with this

I'm behind

Philadelphia, the new Baltimore

A quick political observation

One of my favorite publishing houses

freeloveforum

Links for 1/16/08

Gravel in '08, baby!

This is just awesome

OK, I lied

Happy 2008

Backpack Picnic: Lamborghini Poster

Backpack Picnic: Interview Switcheroo

Stump the Chef

NaBloPoMo is OVER

Uh wait?

Many leaves turned

Some advice

This one's going out to Monique

The Machine

Backpack Picnic: Soccer Bullies

Today

losers

Today

Word

Yesterday

Running out of gas

True Sign that One is a Domestic Dork

Thanksgiving Greetings

Today's unlikely aesthetic pleasure pairing; or listen up, b***ches!

A Tale of Two Cities

The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory: Thanksgiving appetizers 2007