« Previous Day | Main | Next Day »

21 December, 2004

Sonia Dada, Redux

A few days ago, I mentioned that I bought the "Test Pattern" CD/DVD by Sonia Dada. Well, it arrived today. I'm blown away. I can't believe they can sell this much entertainment for a mere $13.95.

It's on the indie label, Calliope -- which I can't even find a Web site for. If they can turn a profit on this product, this proves once and for all that the RIAA has absolutely no reason to survive.

Pay your 14 bucks, and you get a normal CD. But wait, there's more! You also get a DVD that features all of the music remixed for 5.1 surround sound. Each remixed song is accompanied by a visualization -- kind of like the Winamp visualizations, but with a lot more creativity. In addition, the DVD has a 30-minute high-quality video that features music from the CD. I've watched the video twice, and I'm sure I'll watch it many more times.

I can't even describe the music. It combines rock, gospel, Motown, world, and who knows what else. Bottom line? It's all very listenable, and I think it will appeal to a broad range of serious music lovers. And it gets better each time you hear it.

Now here's a deal for you: Click here to buy it from Amazon. That link includes my Amazon Associates ID, so I'll get a small pittance from each sale. If you don't think this CD/DVD is worth $13.95, send it to me (P.O. Box 68797, Tucson AZ 85737) and I'll write you a check for $13.95. I'm sure one or two will take me up on the offer, but if you have any musical taste at all, you'll thank me for turning you on to this group.

I may or may not actually make any money from this offer. But the one or two fools who can't appreciate good music will provide a few give-aways for future contests.

Buy it. You'll love it. Trust me.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Son Seals Dead

Another bluesman bites the dust. From the Chicago Sun-Times: Blues pioneer Frank 'Son' Seals dies.

Frank "Son" Seals, a blues singer and guitarist who electrified the Chicago blues scene with his gritty performances, has died. He was 62.

In 1973, Alligator released Seals' debut album, "The Son Seals Blues Band." He was part of a group of emerging Chicago blues musicians that included Hound Dog Taylor and Lonnie Brooks.

I've got that CD, but I haven't listened to it in years. I'll give it a listen as a small tribute.

Here's a link to his listing at the Alligator site.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Winter Solstice

Thank to Doc Searls for the good news:

We passed the Winter Solstice at 6:43am (PST) this morning.

For now on, the amount of daylight will be increasing every day -- at least for the next six months.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Matthew Lesko

Something tells me that Matthew Lesko is a very famous celebrity -- but I've never heard of him.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Favorite Links Of 2004

I'm taking nominations for your favorite links of 2004. These can be links that I've posted, or links that I overlooked. Post 'em in the Comments section.

If we get enough responses, I'll include them in my 2004 Year In Review post.

* * *

By the way, here's the preferred way to post a hyperlink in a comment:

1. Copy the URL from your browser's address bar
2. Type: [URL=
3. Paste the copied link (Ctrl+V works if you're using Windows)
4. Type a closing bracket: ]
5. Type the descriptive text -- the text that will be underlined
6. Type: [/URL]
7. When you preview your comment, please click it to make sure it actually works.

Here's an example that show what the Comment input box might look like:

And here's how it would look in the actual comment:

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Bush Signs 'Em, Rumsfield Doesn't

This is interesting: Signature row turns up heat on Rumsfeld.

David Hackworth, a retired US army colonel turned writer, reported that Mr Rumsfeld had used a mechanical signature writer to sign his name on letters of condolence to relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Although the charge was initially denied by the Pentagon, Mr Rumsfeld issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging the practice and promising to halt it.

The image here shows that Rumsfeld can actually write. He's signing his autograph onto a photo of him from an issue of Vanity Fair magazine for Florida businesswoman Patricia Du Montaking (source)

What about George? The official word from the White House is that Bush actually signs the letters to families of the dead with a real pen. No wonder he's Person of the Year!

Rejecting the charges, the White House spokesman Allen Abney told the armed forces newspaper Stars and Stripes that the president did personally sign all condolence letters.

I wonder if they use one of these Autopens?

(via Metafilter)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Fake Paradise

I don't know if this is funny or sad. From We Make Money Not Art: Tropical paradise in a zeppelin hangar.

Near Berlin, a former zeppelin hangar has been transformed into Europe's largest covered leisure resort (five million cubic metres).

Tropical Islands offers 850 sun-loungers on its two beaches, waterfalls tumbling into tranquil lagoons, a rainforest, sunrise projected on to a 450ft long screen, speakers disguised as boulders broadcasting bird song and insect noises appropriate to the time of year and day...

I wonder if you can order a fake cocktail to drink while you watch the fake sunset? Do they sell placebo insect repellant?

Here's a link to the original site (in German)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Tabasco Addiction

From Things That Make You Go Hmm: My fuel: Tabasco.

I've written about my Tabasco addiction before...

Seriously, this last week we went to Costco where you can buy everything in large amounts. We bought a case of the large bottles which rang in at a little over $100 USD... A large bottle will last 4-5 days when we are around and home, so a case of 24 large bottles will last 4 or 5 months.

Yikes! Around our a house a small bottle lasts about a year.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

The Hand Collector

The Hand Collector collects hands -- photos of hands, that is.

(via Burp)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Query Letters

A blog by some Hollywood movie guy: Query Letters I Love. Apparently, he's in charge of reading movie ideas submitted by people. The blog contains excerpts. For example:

May we present for your consideration, "THE FEAST," a fast-paced, clever, "Thanksgiving-themed" horror/thriller that's not only unique and terrifying, it's destined to become a modern holiday "classic."

SYNOPSIS: A quiet, back-to-nature "Thanksgiving in the woods" turns into an unrelenting nightmare when a group of teens looking to escape the commercialism of the holidays, unearth an ancient prophesy that revives a long-dead, bloodthirsty Native American tribe. As the night unfolds, the kids spend the holiday battling an unending onslaught of demonic, revenge-seeking Indians spirits who are out to extract a violent revenge for the wrongs done to them four centuries ago.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Health Posters

A bunch of official Chinese Public Health Posters.

Here's an example:

Translation: How to prevent the plague. Wipe out the rat. Eliminate the louse.

(via PCL Link Dump)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Calendar Reform

I like this idea, but it will never happen: A Proposal for a Better Calendar.

Wouldn't it be convenient if your birthday, Christmas, and the Fourth of July--not to mention most other major holidays--all fell on the same day of the week, year after year? Wouldn't it make life--or at least planning--easier, for instance, to know that Dec. 17 would always fall on a Saturday or that January 1--New Year's Day--would always be celebrated on a Sunday?

Richard Conn Henry, professor in the Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy at The Johns Hopkins University, thinks it would. He has designed--using computer programs and complex mathematical formulas--a new calendar that would make it happen.

Under Henry's plan, each new 12-month period is identical to the one that came before. Each month has either 30 or 31 days. January, for instance, would have 30 days, as would February, April, May, July, August, October, and November. March, June, September, and December would all have 31 days.

The coolest part:

Drop leap year entirely and institute, instead, a one-week "mini-month" between June and July every five or six years. In honor of his personal hero, Sir Isaac Newton, Henry has dubbed this seven-day period "Newton." His computer calculation ensures that "Newton Week" brings the new calendar in sync with seasonal changes as the Earth circles the sun.

I'm sure the month of Newton would turn into a big party week.

(via Slashdot)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Seeing Bohemian Rhapsody

A Flash presentation of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody set to photos. Somebody spent a lot of time making this.

If you like this sort of thing, check out Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire.

(via thirdredeye)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Edible Shot Glasses

It's about time: Raspberry Gummi Shot Glasses.

Take jello shooters to a tasty new extreme. Chill these jiggers for 30 minutes, then it's bottoms up.

Drink. Eat. Repeat. No clean-up and no evidence.

(via Not Martha)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

The Year In Spam

CNET's "2004 in review" article on spam: No end in sight?

The nation's first federal law regulating spam, called the Can-Spam Act, took effect Jan. 1, 2004, and set off a string of lawsuits and new state regulations criminalizing unsolicited bulk e-mail.

The year also marked the 10th anniversary of the first spam message, in what continues to be a serious threat to the efficacy of e-mail.

Despite the many efforts to curb spam, it continued to swell. In North America, spam accounted for 38 percent of the 31 billion e-mails sent each day this year, up from 24 percent in 2002, market researcher IDC reported.

Wow, I wish my email contained only 38% spam.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Planting Design

From the Herald Sun: Plants sow seeds of hate.

A floral foul-up has left a city street lined with swastika shapes in a week of major Jewish celebrations. Gardeners hired by Melbourne City Council intended to arrange the purple and white pot plants into neat geometric shapes.

But they left six 3m garden beds along Swanston St displaying large Nazi symbols.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Digital Ceramic Tiles

This is kind of cool: Digital Ceramic Tiles.

Dominic Crinson specialises in digital design for interiors. products include ceramic tiles, wallpaper and flooring. We sell a standard range of designs transfered to these materials. We can also create site specific designs.

Dominic Crinson's designs can be processed onto ceramic wall & floor tiles, wallpaper, carpet and fabric.The images can be repeated as patterns or used as a single image across the whole surface.

(Thanks Ferret)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Strange Zoo

Here's a poorly designed site that's also extremely ugly. It specializes in unusual animal photos -- mostly snagged from other sites on the Web: Strange Zoo.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Everyday Low Wages

A report by the Democratic Staff of the Committee on Education and the Workforce: Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price We All Pay For Wal-Mart [PDF file].

The retail giant Wal-Mart has become the nation's largest private sector employer with an estimated 1.2 million employees. The company's annual revenues now amount to 2 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product.

�Wal-Mart's success is attributed to its ability to charge low prices in mega-stores offering everything from toys and furniture to groceries. While charging low prices obviously has some consumer benefits, mounting evidence from across the country indicates that these benefits come at a steep price for American workers, U.S. labor laws, and community living standards.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Periodic Landscapes

Periodic Landscapes: A Visual Interpretation of the Table of Elements.

Visual Elements features a series of computer generated landscape views and models based on various patterns and relationships within the periodic table.

From the north-east with the pillar representing the high values of hydrogen in the foreground, and to the west the peaks of helium and fluorine. The transition metals straddle the centre.

(via Ursi's Blog)

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Improving Production Levels At The Saint Factory

Catholic news: Saint-making Pope is ready to ditch the miracle clause.

Candidates for sainthood will be exonerated from the requirement to have performed a miracle under guidelines being considered by the Pope.

Already under fire from some Roman Catholics for running a "saint factory", the Pope is preparing to overturn a centuries-old rule that candidates for canonisation must have performed "medically inexplicable" posthumous miracles.

The Pope, 84, has created 482 saints in his 26 years as pontiff -- more than all his predecessors put together -- and has beatified 1,337 people.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Bird's Eye View

At Animal Planet: Bird Technology.

Soar the virtual skies with Tilly the golden eagle and find out how miniature cameras, or mini-cams, are helping scientists unlock the secrets of animal flight.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Stupid Questions

Got a stupid question? Or maybe you like to answer stupid questions. In either case, Stupid Questions Answered is for you.

Here's an example, submitted by Nathan B.

How do we know that we all don't see different colors? I mean I could see a green crayon, To me this might look purple and to you it might look red. But we were both brought up saying it was green. (I am in 6th grade and have always wondered about this).

I've always wondered about that myself.

Posted on 21 December, 2004

Mariachi Christmas Musc

It just doesn't seem like Christmas without mariachi music. Here's "Tijuana Christmas" by The Border Brass.

(via Memepool)

Posted on 21 December, 2004