Ruminating on the importance of milestones and why we ascribe importance to numbers that end in fives and zeroes. Culminating in some "I'm still here!" moments from yours truly.
In memory of some great pieces of art, that in many cases (but not always) were accompanied by great music, I conceived some ideas for a series of posts that will hopefully make you and I rethink about some of these great visual works. Maybe we'll even listen to the music too. Because that what I did many Sunday afternoons when I was fourteen, listen to albums, read liner notes, and gaze for inexplicable hours at covers.
The five covers above are not necessarily all favourites, but do share a quality; they're all incredibly detailed, noisy and busy. Often we look at such things as whole pieces instead of checking out the details. I've tried to find some very hi-res versions of these covers, so you could re-examine them with new eyes.
It's amazing that while the covers themselves never change, we do, and somehow that makes all the difference.
1) Cream - Disraeli Gears
2) Nektar - Recycled
3) The Rolling Stones - Their Secret Majesties Request
4) Big Brother and the Holding Company - Cheap Thrills
5) Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
I was grasping at a way to express a mood and found Steve Jobs to be the straw that sucked the most.
via nfb.ca
With my podcast yesterday about the Canadian government trying to throttle the sharing of the Ministry of Natural Resources scientists, what follows is another short gem from the National Film Board. Since the Harper government doesn't want us to find out about a 13,000 year old post-ice age flood, perhaps we can interest them in a Canadian scheme to drill through the earth.
From the www.nfb.ca website:
"Everyone has wondered what it would be like to dig right through to the other side of the Earth. This animated short takes that notion one step further. Here, the probe is accomplished by an ingenious machine dubbed Old Chucknose, which with the help of amazing gadgetry, bores through every layer of the Earth’s crust and centre."
A little bit longer, at 14 minutes, than what I usually post, but surely you have to have a 15 minute break some time during the day.
While I always presume my government is manipulating my access to the truth and keeping me in the dark, I get confused when their idiocy outreaches their mandate. I didn't know the Conservatives were in power 13,000 years ago. Must have been the "good ol' days" we always hear about.
via vimeo.com
I'm convinced that the love I garnered for tragicomedy and existential storytelling while doing English and Dramatic Arts degrees has been reborn via animation on Vimeo. Not a week goes by that I don't find simple, yet incredibly effective pieces of bizarre, surreal, and often touching pieces of storytelling that extend far beyond most feature length films.
Umbra is yet another example on Vimeo where even the simplest concept, when shaped to a spiral, is genuine and thought-provoking. Thanks to Malcolm Sutherland and team for a unique 5 minute slice of Lemmings for Godot.
I'm proud to say that one of the other podcasts I've done almost as long as lovehatethings is about to hit its 100th weekly episode.
DyscultureD was started as a way for Mike Vardy and myself to express our ramblings from the poetic to the idiotic about the dysfunctional nature of pop culture from a Canadian and world perspective. We've since added Andrew Currie along the way, and through 100 episodes have thrown various guests, interviews and indie music into the mix.
Every week we spend about an hour relentlessly critiquing all things web, tech, gadget, media, film, television, celebrity, and politics from a uniquely Canadian perspective. We liberally drop F-bombs. We complain bitterly. And we have a great community of live listeners who join us in the chat every week.
I would invite you, next Wednesday evening to join us by listening to the live stream and joining the chat at 9:30pm EST for the pre-show and for the full bonanza at 10pm.
You can listen to back episodes at www.DyscultureD.com or subscribing on iTunes or a like podcast aggregator.
I'm really proud of the work we've done with the podcast over the past two years, because whenever someone asks me where they can go to get a weekly dose culture from a Canadian perspective, I answer "Don't get dyscouraged. Get DyscultureD."
Taking religion to task, exploring belief, and recommending a great alternative now that the Quran's not being burned in Florida.
via vimeo.com
I'm certainly not an aficionado of electronica. I kind of like most of it, but it rarely blows me away. This much is true in the soundtrack to inter // states video by Woob. The video however, is something to behold. Absolutely beautiful. I almost want to mashup some old Philip Glass below it and chant Koyaanisqatsi. A beautiful job by Samuel Cockedey. Check it out in HD fullscreen: awesome!