Saturday, September 23, 2006

michael myers mushroom mask

Happy first day of autumn!

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Thursday, September 14, 2006

cry me a rhythm

96 Tears--? and the Mysterians
To Cry You a Song--Jethro Tull
Lament--King Crimson
Wailing Wall--Todd Rundgren
Sob Story--Minor Threat
And of course...
The Weeping Song--Nick Cave

Monday, September 11, 2006

now reading

I'm currently reading Needle in the Groove by Jeff Noon, a cyberpunk novel that plays with language by updating Burroughs' cut-up technique. Noon uses the metaphor of the remix, splicing and dicing sentences, running words through imaginary filters and phase shifters, playing with meaning like a literary DJ. This approach is demonstrated further in a recent collection called Cobralingus.

So I'm off to do a little bit of reading before the sandman shoots me in the face. Night all.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Thursday, September 07, 2006

embrace the random ix

Here's one I came up with recently. Go to Bing Translator and type in a snippet of a favorite paragraph, poem, or play. Translate that snippet into another language. Then translate the resulting translation back into English.

Alas, Poor Yorick.
I knew him, Horatio.
A fellow of infinite jest.

Alas, Yorick pobre.
Le conocía, Horatio.
Un compañero de la broma infinita.

Wings, poor Yorick.
It knew him, Horatio.
A companion of the infinite joke.


Or:

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

...transmogrified into Japanese and back becomes...

As for the woodchuck which when the woodchuck can install the wood with the chuck, is possible to install which rank wood with the chuck?

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

my tax dollars put to good use

Towpath Pedestrian Bridge, Valley View Ohio

Sunday, September 03, 2006

autumn hymms

Autumn has arrived rather early in my corner of the world. No complaints here, as fall is my favorite season by far. Fall feels like possibility: change is everywhere, and new friends and places become oddly abundant.

There are certain albums that I associate with autumn. Some of them were released in autumns past. Others were played constantly on my car's tape deck as I commuted back and forth from Kent State. Here's a brief list of music that feels like fall:

Skylarking -- XTC
Another Green World -- Brian Eno
Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man -- Guadalcanal Diary
The Sensual World -- Kate Bush
Songs for Drella -- Lou Reed and John Cale
Just for a Day -- Slowdive
Broken Toy Shop -- E
Private Parts and Pieces -- Anthony Phillips
Big Science -- Laurie Anderson
Blonde Exodus -- Chris Connelly and the Bells
The Brunt -- Either/Orchestra
Taproot -- Michael Hedges