Saturday, November 28, 2015

Lots of New Music Out There

There's lots of new music out there or, if not already out, coming soon. Here are a few that have caught my attention (in no particular order).

Colin Edwin is posting on Facebook and Twitter that he and Jon Durant have started working on their next album as Burnt Belief (link is to website for previous album). Status = waiting patiently

I just discovered Trey Gunn's 2-disc "best of" album called I'll Tell What I Saw. Status = just ordered.

A fan (presumably) compiled all of the free tracks released on King Crimson's website into what looks like 34 albums (volumes they're called) sorted by performer. The site is called The Forbidden Files. Status = have started downloading. (Warning: lots of ad crap.)

TU, the duo of Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto, have a live recording called Official Bootleg that I just discovered. Their Live in Russia album is a favorite of mine. Status = just ordered.

The duo of Colin Edwin and Alessandro Pedretti (aka Endless Tapes) have a debut album up for pre-order. Brilliant Waves is due for release in January. Status = bookmarked

Ilimaq is a collaboration between composer John Luther Adams and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche. Percussive and ambient? Status = thinking

The latest album from progressive fusion band Naked Truth was recently released. Status = listening and enjoying.

And to round it out, I'm currently enjoying my annual purchase of this year's album, Lab 2015, from the University of North Texas' One O'Clock Lab Band. Status = enjoying


Gratitude turns what we have...

A new short film about the adventures of Scat, that squirrel from Ice Age.

The quantum energy states of a hydrogen atom contains the formula for pi. Pause to consider.

One reason why the engineer-turned-marketer can be the hardest person to work for: stop being such a perfectionist.

If you're in the DFW area, take time to visit the Dallas Museum of Art for Jackson Pollock: Blind Spots, the only U.S. stop for this exhibit of Pollock's black drip paintings.

If you're in Tehran (?), an almost literally hidden treasure is the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. (If you think about it, it's surprising that these works haven't been destroyed by now by the nut-jobs who run that country.)

And while I'm not one to judge, Russia may be a bit out of the way to go see Sly Stallone's paintings.

Adolph Gottlieb, Burst, 1973. source
If you have two hours to spare, watch this 1976 interview with art critique extraordinaire Clement Greenberg in which he says Adolph Gottlieb is a vastly under-appreciated painter (better than De Kooning, Klein, and maybe even Still).

(Lots of art today.) The Jones family's latest addition to the art on display at AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) is Ellsworth Kelly's White Form 2012. If you are not aware of it, the stadium has an impressive collection of artworks that you can enjoy in person (they're on display in public areas that everyone can see during games) or online via their own Facebook page.

Ridley Scott says that Alien: Covenant will be the sequel to Prometheus. And it's nothing like Neill Blomkamp's proposed Alien film in which a grown-up Newt would've starred.

Ever wonder why airplane propellers look funny when photographed? Here's why.

ICYMI, the Raspberry Pi Zero sells for $5; a computer for a fiver. (Yes, I know. It bothers me too. Why not call it the Pi Five?)

...into enough. ~anonymous

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Reality leaves a lot...

Star Trek predicted the future: researchers have developed transparent aluminum.

Mystery Science Theater is one of the two funniest TV shows I've even seen, the other being Most Extreme Elimination Challenge. There's a Kickstarter campaign to bring MST back and it's already exceeded its goal of $2 million.

A new gene here, a new gene there and soon you have a blue strawberry.
Aviation nerds: watch time-lapse video of a Spitfire being reassembled.

History buffs should enjoy this high-resolution 3D photo tour of Ellis Island.

College majors with the highest starting salaries. Yes, comp sci and engineering are #1 and #2. But check out #6.

Distance to the nearest grocery store. Longer lines identify food deserts.
Fourteen more maps. And a video history of counties in the U.S.A.

Writing a novel or screenplay? You're in luck. The 37 basic plots were documented back in 1919 for your reference. #13 Disastrous situation precipitated without criminal intent: fatal indiscretion.

Or you can just consult the Writer's Guild of America's list of the 101 funniest screenplays. #4 is Airplane!

NASA's Voyager spacecraft includes 116 images to introduce humans to extraterrestrials. But I bet there are a lot of humans who'd benefit from understanding them too.

The periodic table of  jack o' lanterns. (Only a month late.)
Neuroscience explains why bass instruments are fundamental to music.

UCSB has made available recordings made from old cylinders.

Color photos from America in 1910.

Brice Marden, Uphill 4, 2014. From his exhibition at Matthew Marks Gallery in NYC.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit from a long-lost 1928 film, Sleigh Bells.

And in other "lost things" news, does anyone know how to assemble a whale skeleton?

Just in time for holiday shopping comes the history of electronic music in poster form - Electric Love Blueprint (detail shown above).
From the rumor mill: Chrome OS is going to be rolled into Android.

Average marriage age worldwide. source (This map's data legend can use a little Tufte-esque improvement to make it more legible cuz I can't tell what age is indicated by the color for the U.S.)
Have you ever wondered where you can touch another person on their body? Well worry no more. Science has mapped that out for you.

Nutscaping. Think about what that might be, then click the link. On a related note, there's still time to fund the Scrote'n'Tote.

And now, a dance party.

...to the imagination. ~John Lennon