Halloween, last minute celebration.

Hey Seth Green- Happy Halloween!

I'm watching Idle Hands.



I need to get the 1999 film Dick, while I'm back in the 90s.

I never go to shows anymore...

First and most importantly...

Love our Earth. She has given us so much. It's time we start taking care of her.

Give your two cents for the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference, Dec 7-18th:

Be a citizen of Hopenhagen.

Now on with the shows...

Wish I was at Limelight seeing George Acosta. Too late for me. That's okay, I've seen him twice before. Plus I'm not sure I want to go to Limelight by myself...

Maybe someone will see Deadmau5 with me on November 19th? $15+ $3 service fee... not bad.

And if I have the funds I'd really like to see Regina Spektor at the Ryman (Nov 16 @ 7:30). It is a great venue; I've seen Ben Folds, Coldplay, and Damien Rice there. Excellent, excellent, excellent.

I'm going to listen to my new Pandora Station

Trance in my Pants (and I need to Dance)

I'd really like a shopping spree at Tower...

Except there aren't any Tower locations in the US anymore... used to be one in midtown Nashville and Opry Mills... no more. Thanks mp3s. Or Limewire, etc. What's the efficient way to pirate music these days? Tangents?

Anyway, I've apparently missed the release of Eleisha Eagle's last four albums (although I don't think I can even buy physical copies of her albums; thanks music pirates that made CDs practically obsolete) and Royksopp's Junior and I need this album (and so do you):

Listen and watch XX by The XX.

Write up from "Rough Trade Shops" (some too cool for school UK music site):

THE XX

xx

Release Date: 17/08/2009

the xx are four precocious 19 year olds from south west london who provide the hushed minimal strokes of young marble giants and early cure but through the minds of a young act obsessed with the r&b turns of ciara and aaliyah, having gone so far as to cover the latter's 'hot like fire' as the b-side for their first single, 'crystalised' and having first been picked up after recording a sensational version of womack and womack's 'teardrops'. having signed to xl sub-label young turks earlier in the year the band began to record with a host of the finest producers going, including brazilian giant diplo and up-and-coming hotshot kwes the four eventually settled with the option of recording at xl's in-house studio, with 'xx' eventually produced by the band themselves. this is an inspired, broken and uplifting record, packed with melancholic charms that recalls the suburban disillusion of the previous burial records and portishead's 'dummy'. this is a remarkable debut record from a remarkable new act.

I haven't heard the whole thing yet but I am digging everything so far. I haven't been able to search for new tunes, and I certainly am not hearing anything on 102.5 The Party (although they do play "Heaven" by DJ Sammy [click for video, pump up the volume and DANCE] as much as I probably would).

I'll spend some time setting up Pandora so I can expand my listening beyond my iPod and NPR. Pandora doesn't have Eleisha Eagle as an artist? I am so emailing them. She has to go on my "Piano Stories" station with Ben Folds and Regina Spektor...

Custom shoes (without busting out the markers)

Harrison told me about this, and it is super fun to play with.

I've been trying to get some pink/grey shoes... so

Ones I made:

Pink & Grey

View and customize this design.

and

Heartz & Grey

View and customize this design.

You can design slip ons or lace ups (classic or "era") for $60-$70. Not bad. I do need new sneakers...

Cooool...

Personal light show? Sign me up!

Introducing the Procyon, a "light and sound experience."

"With special light-bearing sunglasses over your closed eyes and headphones over your ears, you are immersed in colorful dancing geometric patterns and entrancing sounds. The light and sound pulse rate shifts from state to state as the session progresses; mental activity will follow the pulse rate of the machine."

Awesomely features:

• 255 shades of each color (red, green, blue)
• Multiple visual effects (color phase shift, pulse width modulation, etc.) enable complex light-show-like sessions
• Multiple color waveforms (sine, pulse, triangle)
• Each color channel is independently programmable, facilitating the development of unusually subtle and complex states of mind

"Light and sound is an effective tool for anyone who wishes to explore altered states of consciousness, awareness expansion and sensory stimulation, psychedelic-like visual imageray, and those seeking an entertaining path to relaxation."'

At the somewhat reasonable price (compared to video gaming systems) of $299 (List price), it pays for its self after just 30 uses! :)

Although next time I have $300 laying around, I might be sporting these cool new shades.

This guy. Is great.

Meet Wayne Obertone, my favorite "basement league" table tennis player.

His "always be prepared" outlook on pant wear (note the suspenders AND belt) and possible ability to read minds in order to win pingpong games has captured my heart.

Read a little about him, or watch him play.

I know I will.

Something useful on the internet? Get out of town!

My favorite new online spot for inspiration is Colour Lovers: colors, palettes, and patterns.

The colors Duke! The colors!

Not that I was getting a flu shot, but I'd be boycotting them if I was...

When I have an income, I think I will "tithe" some to NPR.

So listening to WPLN, Nashville Public Radio, this afternoon, I was increasingly disgusted by the H1N1 vaccine situation.

Setting aside that I'm not sure so many people should be getting flu/H1N1 vaccines (that's a whole other dialog); there is a shortage of the H1N1 vaccine because not enough vaccine was produced.

Hmm, wonder I, how is the vaccine produced?

As usual, All Things Considered reads my mind and tells me. They use scientific words, but in laymen's terms:

baby chick abortions that have been infected with the flu.

Not only does this have moral implications for the mistreatment of animals, but this outdated process (approved by the FDA 60 years ago) is slow and strength of the virus (and therefore vaccine) varies. The process takes about 2 months and one or two eggs is a single dose of vaccine.

No wonder we're always running out.

Better, more predictable in strength and numbers, vaccine can be made from canine kidney tissue cells. The cells of a single kidney can be (theoretically) multiplied indefinitely. No need to kill dogs (or even abort chickens) to save human lives here. This method takes only a few days, not months, and can't spoil like the egg vaccines.

But why isn't this method being used? I'll give you a hint: it makes the world go 'round. And it isn't love.

Yes, because "the egg-based production of flu vaccines is well established and cost -effective."

Thank you NPR and Robert Belshe, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at St. Louis University, who was enlightening me today.

Here is the actual article from NPR. Read it. Or listen via Podcast.

Hmm, maybe he can use Peanut's kidney when he dies?

Basket Case

Derogatory term for mentally ill person (or poorly run organization); someone in a hopeless mental condition.

Comes from the WWI slang for newly "useless" soldiers that were injured so badly that all four limbs had been amputated, and they now had to be carried around in baskets.