Travis Barker is tripping

I guess that Travis Barker is still doing his band thing with Mark Hoppus, but he definitely seems to have plenty of extra time on his hands because he has been officially Travis-Barker-remixing every other hip hop song that hits #1 on the charts.  I mean, I guess they're amusing but how many times is he going to do this?  Is he straining for legitimacy or is this just for fun?  Does he want to go on tour with Flo Rida?  I've always been pretty lukewarm on ridiculously overt rap/rock combinations, but I find these videos' intimacy appealing on some level.  When even little kids can be rock stars, I guess it makes sense that even rock stars can live out their fantasies to be rap drummers in the comfort of their own home.  Over/under on one of these tracks hitting Rock Band DLC is eight months.

Kanye's blog is the craziest, most wonderful blog on the internet.

With blog titles like "I'm posting anything that glows," you know that you're going to be in for something awesome.  Kanye West is well known for his eclectic tastes and his blog is certainly no different.  I promise you, a more bizarre collection of fancy tech toys, high fashion, and old school rap beats you will not find on the internet.  Kanye's blog is a special place and I mean that in more than one sense.  Enjoy.

[kanyeblog]

Forgotten Heroes: Vera Rubin

If there's anything more attractive than a female astronomer [just look at the sexy curves on that integral symbol], I haven't thought about it in the last five minutes.  And of course, if you're going to be a female astronomer, it doesn't get much hotter than discovering proof of dark matter.

I think that Vera Rubin's lack of fame, compared to, say Marie Curie, has to do with the fact that she's still alive and that most people don't have an even rudimentary knowledge of what dark matter/energy is or does.  I certainly didn't until a very, very basic History Channel show I caught the other day.  Watching this show, I couldn't help but get the feeling that watching it didn't give me the full idea.  Whenever I watch something on the pseudo-educational television channels that I have a pretty good knowledge about, it comes off as insultingly simple-minded and often just wrong.  It doesn't make me enjoy knowing a little bit about dark matter and dark energy any less, but it has given me enough humility to not go around and brag about my knowledge. 

Anyway, the bottom line is that Vera Rubin doesn't get enough respect and I probably have a completely misconceived view of what dark matter and energy is all about.   

Belated Best of 07 Entry

[youtube - better audio, unembeddable]

Pros & Cons of Steel Cut Oats

Pros

• Tastes better than Quaker Oats.
  
• Comes in a cool metal can that you have to pop the lid off with a knife.
• Alton Brown likes to use them.
• Named after one of my buddies.
• Irish.

Cons

• More expensive.
• Takes a lot longer to cook.
• Can't or shouldn't make oatmeal cookies out of them.
• Recipe on the side of the can is too much for one sitting and I'm too chained to the suggested recipe to do anything else.

Counter-arguments

• The 45-minute or so cooking time is the perfect interval in which to get ready for the day ahead.  Shower, dress, Jeopardy.
• Good taste knows no price.
• I lost the recipe to my favorite oatmeal cookies.

Conclusion

• I will never go back to Quaker Oats.

Forgotten Heroes: Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann

Usually artists who craft objects aren't seen as serious as graphic artists.  However, the Ruhlmann exhibit at the Met just floored me.  These totally impractical objects which belong in a movie [Hitchcock preferred] exude luxury of a past time.  Ruhlmann was an art deo designer and maybe, if you were rich beyond belief, you could fill your home with the cabinets, tables, and rugs that he's designed, you probably wouldn't be able to pull it off unless you're Cary Grant or Ingrid Bergman and frequently drink Scotch from a decanter while reading the evening newspaper in your smoking jacket.

The smooth lines and cool wood grains are definitely not surfaces for me to eat off of, but that doesn't mean they aren't incredibly interesting and worth checking out [which they are].  I don't have the vocabulary to properly describe why he's awesome but trust me...  For these reasons, Ruhlmann is a forgotten hero.

The Burden of a Singular Vision: The Curse of Stephin Merritt's Magnum Opus; or, Why Method Man Was Better Than Wu Tang

Ok, so the Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side has brought out a new album.  I'm not going to engage in a full blown review here, but I will say that with the limited exposure I've had to it so far, it is a nice little album.  Like i, it has a unified theme based on its title and embraces the three minute standard song structure.  Like every Merritt-approved project, it has snappy, witty, misanthropic, self-loathing lyrics.  

However, the sad truth is that when discussing Stephin, there is 69 Love Songs, and there is everything else.  It is the album which, obviously, has the most songs, has the broadest scope, and widest range of emotional expression.  At least in my musical world, it is a monolithic work.  Everything else which even aspires to anything less than a massive, life-defining project appears ancillary.  That by no means implies that other Merritt works are per se bad, but they will inevitably pale in the comparisons to 69 Love Songs.

How does this relate to the Method Man show I saw last year and the Wu Tang Clan show I saw last week?  Conventional wisdom states that 36 Chambers is the unmatched, monolithic work in the Wu Tang catalog.  Forever, while an ambitious and high-reaching double album, is generally considered as falling short of the high standard set by 36 Chambers, and the other albums, at this point, are comparatively irrelevant.  When any one act or album acquires a symbolic significance, that burden can very rarely be shaken.  

Method Man has a great energy and stage presence.  His show was amazing.  Also, he has the freedom that his group doesn't.  He is affiliated with a highly respected group but doesn't have one awesome, killer album to live under.  The entire group, live, seems a little bored and disinterested.  People still love them because their songs are great, but these forces keeping the group together [possibly] against their will, or at least only due to convenience instead of passion, result in some subpar products.  The ability to start anew without a history is always refreshing.  But I'll still enjoy the shows in the meantime.

Forgotten Heroes: The Union Army Balloon Corps

There are a lot of silly stories that have to do with the Civil War but perhaps none I've heard are sillier than the story of the Union Army Balloon Corps.  For this reason, the Union Army Balloon Corps and the Chief Aeronaut of the Union Army [with an appropriately awesome Civl War era name] Thaddeus C. S. Lowe are forgotten heroes.  

The very existence of a Balloon Corps which took hot air balloons up in the air for recon purposes is incredible enough, but the actual story of the Corps is even more entertaining.  The wikipedia page [from which, of course, I have learned everything I know about the Balloon Corps] has a host of information, and it seems that the Balloon Corps has some serious success in its time.  However, they ultimately were looked upon as a joke by the military establishment.

Maybe this isn't as amusing to anyone else as it is to me, but I just love creating this almost certainly false image of Lowe in my mind as a strong, true hearted adventuring type but also a seriously geeky scientist and balloonist.  It's kind of sad, in a way, that he was at the forefront of reconnaissance but was laughed at in his time.  But he will get his share of glory here.

Achewood's Mini-Renaissance

Achewood has always been excellent.  The first year or so is kind of minimalist, but still incredibly enjoyable.  Once the normal cast got set, though, it really took off.  It's had its ups and downs over the course of its now lengthy life, but I'm pleased to say that I think Achewood is right now in the midst of a mini-renaissance.  

When discussing Achewood, the most prominent characteristic is of course the unimaginably unique voices that the author, Chris Onstad, has developed for each character.  While it is true that the different players, their varying dialects, and their improbable interactions are the best part of Achewood, I particularly enjoy trying to make a composite of each character to get at the person of Onstad himself.  If I had to take a guess, I would say that Onstad is most accurately portrayed by one character in Téodor... the mildly overweight, music-loving cook.  

The mini-renaissance [i.e., the past two strips in long-form color format] has been focusing mostly on inner thoughts of Téodor, his past, and his candid inner thoughts.  It might be much to call these strips touching, but they are affecting in a way no web comic has ever been.  The main themes seem to be remembrance of things past, assessing an importance to an unimportant detail of something from memory.  The distinction between these strips and the normal Achewood strip is emphasized by the color, which is fantastic.  The formatting is slightly non-linear for both.  I really just can't express how amazed I am by these two simple strips, just check out 1/11 and 1/14 for yourself.  And the best part - there are at least two more to come.

[Also in a mini-renaissance: the vlog Rocketboom hosted by adorable and consistently hyper-intelligent Joanne Colan... more Joanne the better, I say.]

Tina Fey and Jimmy McNulty: Two similar but very distinct unhealthy obsessions

I had best intentions when I came back from break, I really did. Some things I've accomplished. Like, I took a drunk walking tour/tribute to my hometown. I've not spent a ton of money so I can save up for spring break. I've finished all the cooking stuff I wanted to do and didn't have to pay for it. I've played a lot of video games. I've written more people facebook messages than I probably have in the past six months combined.
Other things didn't go quite so well. Catching up on periodicals and novels, not so much. Finishing "The Wire," sorry, didn't happen. However, it wasn't for a lack of effort. Much to the contrary. I blame Netflix (or more particularly, Netflix users) for not shipping me the DVDs in time. (I will, however, finish before episode 3 airs.) However, I credit Netflix and their "Instant Viewing" for stoking the fires of another addiction, an addiction to 30 Rock.
I could write a really long post about how much I love 30 Rock. It would probably highlight that almost every character is excellent in their roles and their screen time. It would definitely highlight my not so inexplicable attraction to Tina Fey and her character's hopeless, pathetic personal life and crippling inadequacies. Definitely a lot about the stellar soundtrack and Alec Baldwin's near perfection. But I have to wake up at 5am tomorrow so I won't.
I don't mean this to denigrate The Wire in any way, though. I really, really loved Homicide: Life on the Street, which was written by the writer of The Wire. The Wire is, in many ways, even better because of the creative freedoms HBO offers a cop drama. A sitcom can get away with a little artifice (though HBO sitcoms are also excellent), but a cop show should be honest. The Wire is by far the most honest and believable show I've seen probably since Homicide. I don't think that's an overstatement or a coincidence. Slowly, but surely, these sources of top notch tube entertainment are running out and I'm going to shudder from withdrawal when that day comes. The Wire season 5 is only 10 episodes long and in all likelihood, 30 Rock's season will be cut short by the strike. It doesn't really help that BSG could be extremely affected by the strike as well. There has been a looming reference on its wiki page that the strike could preclude the series' conclusion entirely...

Jay Leno and the joys of spontaneity

Have you seen Leno recently?  He's bad, just bad.  His best line is like "That's stupid, that's just stupid" or something relating to the size of Kevin Eubanks' dick.  It's almost as bad as the zings on this blog.  

Despite this, Leno is worth watching because his humor is at about the level of our local channel 10 talk show "Lars From Mars."  Yes, when Leno is spontaneous, he can be mildly amusing.  Give it a try, if only for 10 minutes.

Anyway, the bottom line of this worthless post is to shout out to the glory of internet humor.  Watch rocketboom, for instance.  So witty, so hot, so worthwhile.  Take a chance during this strike, peruse internet humor.

There Will Be Blood

So I saw the latest PTA flick last night.  Yes, it definitely meets most expectations.  It is the best movie he's made, Daniel-Day Lewis is beyond belief and clearly has given the best performance I've seen this year [though to be honest I haven't seen many of the other movies that are up for awards.]  So, you should definitely see it when it comes your way.  Here's some more particularized observations.

Acting aside [and as mentioned, it is uniformly brilliant], the most impressive aspects of the film are the color palette and the use of the soundtrack.  While Boogie Nights was awash with primary colors and the vibrancy of its era, Magnolia with its sleek steel grays and shiny blacks, and  TWBB is pervaded by a washed out gray, tan, navy, and of course, dull black landscape.  This, of course, matches perfectly the desolate feel of the oil fields and the inner landscape of DDL's character.    Along with that stylistic choice goes the soundtrack.  Instead of a period soundtrack, the music is tense strings, confused piano tracks, and general dissonance in most instances.  A period soundtrack could have easily been used, but I think this choice reflects the decision to completely de-nostalgize the film.  Another film depicting a similar era used a washed out image with a catchy, period soundtrack to present a positive, charming view of the era.  TWBB strongly contrasts from this approach.  Every choice backs up the desolate, yes, bloodless, nature of the time and DDL's character.

The movie is not perfect, however.  There do seem to be some wandering themes that I do not entirely comprehend at this point.  If the basic theme is that greed is evil, then I get it, but there are more than a few loose ends that I didn't completely tie up for myself by the end of the movie.  There are a lot of spiritual themes, oil/blood/salvation all thematically mixed up together, father/son/brother issues abound, and even a bit of policy criticism, which you might expect from a film loosely based on an Upton Sinclair novel.  It is evident that DDL's character is filled with greed, rage, and hate but I didn't take much more away from the film than that he is despicable.  

In the final analysis, however, the film's grand scope make it a must to see on the big screen.  If you wait to see it on DVD, you won't be getting the full experience and there really isn't a more compelling movie out there to see right now anyway.  PTA kind of set this character up as a new Charles Foster Kane, and it doesn't fall too terribly short.

Diminishing returns

Things I have cooked during winter break: oatmeal cookies, bread, pork chops, roast beef, and French onion soup.  I've been approaching all of these experiences like a science project.  With the right equipment, the right ingredients, things tend to turn out more often than not.  Indeed, due to excellent recipes, I have been able to minimize the importance of 'technique' or 'experience,' both of which I have frighteningly little.  

Yet, the most confusing item on that small list is without a doubt the French onion soup.  I trusted my recipe completely, even though it turned out to take about three or four hours to make.  Compare that with a Rachel Ray recipe I looked up just for fun that takes less than 45 minutes.  Now, I don't care quite enough to make a Rachel Ray French onion soup just to figure out how much better a soup with about three more hours of work is.  Just saying.  Why a soup which can be relatively simple when in the hands of a television personality turns into a complex mess in my hands is one of those mysteries not meant to be figured out.  At least all the work is done and the only thing left is to broil up that Gruyére.  Mmm.

In other Rachel Ray-related humor, check out this blog post.  If it confuses you, (and there is every reason why it would) spend a little time at this website.

Playing Super Mario Galaxy has been the most satisfying single player experience I've ever had with a video game.

I've been having some fun during this winter break.  I've been reading some good books, watching some good television and movies, and cooking some interesting dishes.  However, I've been floored by Super Mario Galaxy.  The game is amazingly well designed and entirely entertaining.  In fact, it is the most fun I've ever had with a single player video game.  I realize that this is a strong statement, but here's my comparison with some of my other favorite games.  And yes, I realize by doing this I am revealing my dire dorkiness to anyone who reads this, so it's probably good that very few people do.

Final Fantasy VI/VII, Final Fantasy Tactics & Chrono Trigger

The Final Fantasy games and Chrono Trigger are undeniably great.  The complex narratives and battle systems enthralled me as a kid and still do.  However, these games do not test dexterity, reflexes, or problem solving in the same way that a platform game doe

s.  The greatness of these games lies in their storylines, creative fantasy settings, and acquiring powerful equipment and spells.  [best exhibited in Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI, respectively.]  Although it's [again] dorky to admit it, getting the best sword in the game is fun.  These aspects of the game are enjoyable on kind of an intellectual level whereas the fun in Galaxy is a more visceral, true "game-y" type fun.  

Super Metroid & Symphony of the Night

Metroid and Symphony are fantastic but suffer when the player runs into a brick wall where you have no clue what you should be doing or where you should go.  This leads to total confusion as to what the player should be doing.  This means you have to take a humiliating trip to Gamefaqs.  When the original Metroid [an even more befuddling game without any direction given to the player] came out  the Internet did not exist, so most confused kids were basically fucked unless they had Nintendo Power.  For the patient type, this exploration aspect is indeed a lot of fun.  However, I prefer the more well-established goals in games such as Galaxy. You might criticize this quality as excessively linear, but I prefer some restrictions in a game.

Legend of Zelda

Nintendo's other flagship series presents a strong challenge to Galaxy on many levels.  It has produced four truly amazing games, including Ocarina of Time, which is generally held as the greatest game ever made.  However, I would draw a distinction between greatness and fun.  Ocarina is great because it combines many of the elements of the games already discussed such as an immersive fantasy universe, acquisition of items which permit you to explore a large digital world, genius level design and near perfect controls.  Yet, where Ocarina evokes awe and reflection, Galaxy evokes bliss.  Everything about Galaxy is giddily primary colored, from the art direction and the soundtrack to the actual gameplay.  Galaxy contains a diverse array of mini-game like tasks, preventing it from feeling stale at any point in the journey.  In this sense, my euphoria when playing Galaxy is very subjective.  For whatever reason, I enjoy the tone of the Mario games with their storybook simplicity.  

Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Yoshi's Island, Super Mario 64

Which leaves the remaining truly great Mario games to evaluate.  Galaxy is very similar to 64.  Surely, 64 is the more important game, but Galaxy builds on that framework in nearly every way.  The side-scrollers present an equally strong challenge.  I really have no rational basis upon which to declare Galaxy the more enjoyable game.  I think, however, it comes down to this moment in my life and what video games mean to me.  In all likelihood, summer 2009 will be the last time in my life when I can truly devote any meaningful time into fanatically playing games.  Given recent gaming trends, especially games by Nintendo, I would expect to casually play games into the foreseeable future, but not in the same way as the past.  From that perspective, Mario Galaxy [and soon, Smash Bros] are kind of a capstone to my career.  So, Galaxy takes on a special significance to me in this way.  It has been an incredibly long time since I felt this way playing a video game, and it has reinvigorated this aspect of my life.  Gaming can be pure fun, and Galaxy is console single player fun incarnate.