I got this great disco compilation for Christmas. This song is my current favorite:
Change-Angel In My Pocket
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLL3xW5X5Jc”%5D
This is a break-up/independence song to rival “I Will Survive” and its bass line is excellent. Plus…is that cowbell I hear? Oh yeah.
PBS Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M3moEeErr8″%5D
I like that this is set in the early 20th century. It’s good for me to change up my period piece periods once in awhile. Plus the dresses are great and not so heaving-bosom centric.
Paleo-Future
I’m excited to sift through the archives of this blog/site. I love past predictions for the future – which I guess falls under the handy name of “paleofuturism”. And the fact that there are so many vintage visuals on the site just makes it better – you get the crazy sci-fi thinking AND the retro design inspiration.
Lienzo de Quauhquechollan
Online exhibit and dynamic digital map created by the Universidad Francisco Marroquín. According to the site, it was “voted “Best Virtual Map Presentation” at ESRI Conference in San Diego, California” — and with good reason. I was impressed by how fluid the dynamic map navigation is, and how vibrant the images are, even when zoomed in to the max. The presentation of the map’s history and the layout of the site in general are really nice, in my opinion. And the “digital restoration swipe tool” is just cool. I was excited to be able to find something like this for a patron who was just starting to do research on the Lienzo.
Eufloria
I started playing this game last night. Who knew empire-building could be so relaxing?! “Eufloria is an ambient game of space exploration and conquest that employs surprising themes of plant growth and bio mechanical evolution” — and it’s loosely based on Le Petit Prince. The colors and music are wonderful, and the navigation is quite novel (at least for a newbie like me). I am hooked.
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBXpNpwDFzw”%5D
“Taylor . . . does possess one of the most purely beautiful among current countertenor voices, and uses it with skill and poise in predominantly slow music in which reliable intonation and breath control are so important. He also enjoys the best instrumental backing overall, with the mixed violins and viols of the Theatre of Early Music offering lush, consolatory warmth and lithe rhetorical springiness as required. . . . [P]erhaps ultimately his performances are the ones which make the strongest all-round appeal to the senses.” — Lindsay Kemp, Gramophone
Last night my pardner and I saw Rush play the album “Moving Pictures” (and more) in its entirety at Pittsburgh’s jaw-dropping (and vertigo-inducing) new arena. I can’t believe those guys have been killing it like that for so many years. WHAT A SHOW.
“Musically, do we even have to bother saying that it was epic and tight? Or do you already know that Mr. Lee, underrated guitar hero Alex Lifeson and drum god Neil Peart are a Swiss watch of a machine? […]
From “Moving Pictures” Rush moved toward a third hour with Mr. Peart’s funtastic drum exhibition and, at last, ’70s show-stoppers like “Closer to the Heart,” the “2112 Overture” and a reggae-fied “Working Man.”
It was so generous that at the end it was hard to imagine any of the 13 shows the band played at the old arena topping this one. Thirty years from now people will wish they had a time machine to go back to Thursday night.”
I found out about the following collaboration between Jasiri X, Cynik Lethal, and Paradise on the anti-racism blog Stuff White People Do. I first saw Cynik Lethal perform a couple years ago in East Liberty. His music is awesome.
(from YouTube)
A few months ago, Tim Wise wrote a widely circulated article called, “Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black ” which challenged America to take a close look at the hypocrisy of the Right Wing. Now, a Pittsburgh rapper is accepting his challenge in true Hip Hop form. Jasiri X has released a video called “What if the Tea Party was Black.” The Hip Hop artist says that he got the idea when Paradise,a member of the pro-black rap group X-Clan, forwarded him a copy of Wise’s article. “I saw the article and I liked the concept,” says the rapper. So Jasiri hit the studio with producer Cynik Lethal while Paradise grabbed his video camera and they went on their mission to defeat the Right Wing propaganda machine.
LYRICS
What if the tea party was black
Holding guns like the Black Panther Party was back
If Al was Rush Limbaugh and Jesse was Sean Hannity
And Tavis was Glenn Beck would they harm they families
If Sarah Palin was suddenly Sistah Soaljah
Would they leave it with the votes or go and get the soldiers
Yall know if the tea party was black
The government would have been had the army attack
What if Michael Baisden was on ya FM dial
For 3 hours every day calling the president foul
Would they say free speech or find evidence how
To charge him with treason like see he’s unamerican now
What if Minister Farrakhan prayed for the death
Of the commander in chief that he be laid to rest
Would they treat it as the gravest threat or never make an arrest
Even today he’s still hated for less
What if President Obama would have lost the election
Quit his job so he could go talk to the left and
Bash the government for being off of direction
Fraught with deception
And told black people they want all of our weapons
And we want our own country and called for secession
Would he be arrested and tossed in corrections
For trying to foster aggression
Against the people’s lawful selection
Our questions
What if the tea party was black
Holding guns like the Black Panther Party was back
If Al was Rush Limbaugh and Jesse was Sean Hannity
And Tavis was Glenn Beck would they harm they families
If Sarah Palin was suddenly Sistah Soaljah
Would they leave it with the votes or go and get the soldiers
Yall know if the tea party was black
The government would have been had the army attack
What If black people went on Facebook and made a page
That for the death if the president elect we prayed
Would the creators be tazed and thrown in a cage
We know the page wouldn’t have been displayed all these days
What if Jeremiah Wright said that everybody white
Wasn’t a real America would you feel scared of him
If he had a militia with pictures that depict the president as Hitler
They would kill and bury that
Wait
What if Cynthia McKinney lamented the winning of the new president
And hinted he wasn’t really a true resident
With no proof or evidence
Would the media treat it like a huge press event
They would have attacked whatever group she represents
They would have called her a kook on precedent
And any network that gave her due preference
Would be the laughing stock of the news so our question is
What if the tea party was black
Holding guns like the Black Panther Party was back
If Al was Rush Limbaugh and Jesse was Sean Hannity
And Tavis was Glenn Beck would they harm they families
If Sarah Palin was suddenly Sistah Soaljah
Would they leave it with the votes or go and get the soldiers
Yall know if the tea party was black
The government would have been had the army attack
150 Animal jumping [May Subd Geog] [sp 85005205]
* 450 UF Animal leaping
* 450 UF Jumping behavior in animals
* 450 UF Leaping behavior in animals
Humans jumping animals: “Gaito Loka becomes a man during his initiation ritual, sometimes called cattle jumping. Male friends and relatives hold the animals in place as the jumper runs along their backs. Afterward, the young Hamar man must adhere to a strict diet including blood, milk, and honey until he marries.” – National Geographic
150 Stop‑motion animation films [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010000786]
450 UF Object animation films
450 UF Stop‑action animation films
450 UF Stop‑motion animated films
450 UF Stop‑motion films
550 BT Animated films
vegetables and Star Wars to encourage us to buy organic!
[Youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocLbfdaONrs”%5D
150 History painting [May Subd Geog] [sp2008007183]
680 Here are entered works on narrative painting that depicts several figures enacting a scene usually drawn from classical history or mythology, or from the Bible.
550 BT Painting
150 Art objects in art [Not Subd Geog] [sp2010001816]
150 Bananas in popular culture [May Subd Geog] CHANGE GEOG [sp2006007645]
* 680 Here are entered works on the representation of bananas in popular culture.
150 Gifted Hawaiian children [May Subd Geog] [sp2010001320]
450 UF Gifted children, Hawaiian
450 UF Hawaiian gifted children
550 BT Gifted children—United States
550 BT Hawaiian children
The world’s oldest playable organ: Notre-Dame-de-Valère at Sion (Switzerland)
The slideshow in the linked article has a cool shot of the bellows.
This page on Organ Oddities mentions that the St. Andreas at Ostönnen organ in Westfalia, Germany may be older. Specifically, “the Ostönnen organ is older in terms of acoustics but the Sion one in its optical appearance.”
The slowest piece of organ music in the world: composed by John Cage – “ASLSP” – “As slow as possible”. It is still in progress and is supposed to last over 600 years! Apparently it’s a really big deal when they add a pipe or change a note:
In 1985 John Cage (USA, 1912-1992) wrote a piece for piano which in 1987 he transcribed for organ, “ASLSP” – “As slow as possible”.
In 1997, during an organ symposium in Trossingen (Germany), a group of organists, artists, organbuilders, theologians and philosophers had the idea to take this title literally and perform the piece over a period of more than 600 (!) years.
The only instrument that could be considered for such a performance was the organ. So specifically for this project Romanus Seifert & Son organbuilders (D, Kevelaer) built an organ that will grow along with the project. The first chord was struck on February 5, 2003, the next changes of tone are scheduled for November 5, 2008 and February 5, 2009. The final tone is said to be sounded in 2639.
Update: I cannot believe the coincidence of this. After I wrote about John Cage’s “ASLSP”, I picked up a Pittsburgh City Paper and saw that Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church is launching its Lenten Concert Series with a five-hour performance of the piece, by organist Robert Morehead. What are the odds of me learning about the existence of this composition in the morning and then reading about it in the paper later the same day?!?!?! It’s so bizarre that I could discover such a weird thing and coincidentally be able to go see a performance of it, without having to travel to Germany. WOW.
150 Crime in music [sp2009009410]
680 Here are entered works on the depiction of crime in musical compositions. General works on the relationship between crime and music are entered under Music and crime.
550 BT Music
681 Notes under Music and crime
150 Landscapes in music [Not Subd Geog] [sp2009009236]
680 Here are entered works on the depiction of natural landscapes in musical
compositions.
550 BT Music
Mood films [Not Subd Geog] [sp2008025676]
680 This heading is used as a genre/form heading for films that emphasize a mood or
atmosphere rather than a plot.
555 BT Fiction films
The record for the above heading indicates that there’s a genre of Japanese fiction film to which the term “mood film” has been applied. A friend suggested that something like Wavelength might be considered a “mood film”. However, it also seems to be a common term in the advertising field, where it refers to things like this. According to NTC’s Dictionary of Advertising, 2nd ed, a “mood commercial” is a “commercial message designed to establish a particular atmosphere.” Or perhaps a commercial that encourages you to match your fridge to your mood?
Odeon of Agrippa (Athens, Greece) [sp2009008379]
410 UF Agrippa, Odeon of (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Agrippeion (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Ōdeio tou Agrippa (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Odeion of Agrippa (Athens, Greece)
410 UF Odeum of Agrippa (Athens, Greece)
550 BT Theaters—Greece
I’m including this next one not because I’m a Potter fan, but because I find it bizarre and amusing that there was probably a discussion (or a lively debate?) about whether Hogwarts should be considered a place or an organization. I guess imaginary places are as worthy of accurate subject headings as real places, or, um, organizations…?
150 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary place) CANCEL
(C) 150 Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary organization) [Not Subd Geog] [sp 00002633]
450 UF Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Imaginary place) [EARLIER FORM
OF HEADING]
150 Legislators’ pets [May Subd Geog] [sp2009009244]
550 BT Pets
In My senator and me : a dog’s eye view of Washington Senator Kennedy’s dog, Splash, follows the senator around for a day and introduces readers to the White House.
