Pomplamoose is, in my opinion, the finest and most talented example of “videosong,” a musical medium with the following guidelines:
What you see in the video track is what you’re hearing on the audio track — no lip-syncing. Both are recorded simultaneously.
Everything you hear must be shown at some point — no sounds with mysterious origins.
There is usually some use of multiple video streams such that many (if not all) of the streams being heard are simultaneously being seen. I really dig it, as it’s an incredibly geeky and educational medium. It promotes the sharing of techniques and showcases skills in a very honest way.
It also doesn’t hurt that Nataly Dawn is adorable, and a bit enigmatic in that she sings with talent and confidence, but the expression on her face betrays apparent surprise at her abilities. “Wait, did I just sing that?”
12. Don’t play the lottery…you might win. Any unearned wealth, or wealth that is disproportionate to the objective value you provide will destroy you. Lottery winners and Sports/Movie stars share a common bond of disproportionate rates of depression, addiction, and suicide.
The best tip, statistically, is to buy the biggest, heaviest, newest, most airbag-laden vehicle you can afford, and always buckle-up.
These men did not fall for the facile “realism” that proclaims itself too sophisticated and clever for moral issues; they knew that nothing is more realistic than to call things by their right names—to celebrate and cherish and proclaim the goodness of freedom, and to attack the tyrant and the slavemaster with whatever tools one has.
Put This On is now on my list of daily must-reads. It’s a blog and a video series about how to dress like a grownup (presumably for men, I haven’t seen any tips for women). The aforelinked post about Levi’s 514 jeans being a great bargain gets my nod of approval. Dressing like a grownup has been one of my projects this year. I’ve just now returned from the tailor to get a pile of button-down shirts brought in for a more flattering fit.
Halloween is my least favorite holiday (or rather, holiday eve). At its very best, it can be a celebration of the season and a diverse display of clever costumes. But more often than not, it’s about store-bought licensed character costumes, more candy than a person should ever eat in a year, and the worst of all: trick-or-treating.
Trick-or-treating is a vile concept. Children are taught to impatiently ring the doorbells of their neighbors (or complete strangers), demand candy from them, and threaten violence if they don’t comply. “Give me candy, or I will do something evil to you or your property” is what “trick or treat” means. It’s a protection racket! That kid wearing a New Jersey Mobster outfit isn’t in costume — he’s in uniform.
Okay, okay, so most children aren’t aware of the “trick” portion of their greeting — it is just habit. But what about the entitlement mentality that is being fostered? We’re too busy teaching kids about what color stripes Nemo has, for their costume, and not enough time teaching them to question our silly traditions. “Do you think people have to give you candy on Halloween?” is a much better question than “which Power Ranger do you want to be?” Why aren’t we teaching them to question why a stranger would feel obligated to give them candy one night out of the year?
I’m done. I’m not going to play. I’m tired of spending an entire evening handing out diabetes starter kits to ungrateful snots in repetitive costumes. Actually, my favorite type of trickster is the uncostumed tag-along friend. They get it. They know it’s not about the costumes. It’s about the candy you get to take from people who paid for it and the fact that very few of those people would have the balls to tell an uncostumed candy fiend to fuck off and at least attempt to add some frivolity to their looting. So thank you, too-cool-to-wear-a-costume kid. Thank you for exposing the absurdity hiding behind your 11-year-old friend’s Walmart-bought pole dancer outfit.
Next: why my future children going to tell your kids that Santa and the Tooth Fairy aren’t real and why I’m going to back them up when you you get all worked up about it.
Update: Gravel and styrofoam in our mailbox. See? It’s a threat. And not an idle one. We weren’t even here. We went to the movies and to Hooters (which was just as awesome as you’re imagining).
This 2008 post I made about opting out of the “mandatory” and incredibly invasive American Community Survey has turned into a 200 comments and growing forum for people to share their experiences with census worker harassment. There are even Census Bureau workers responding. I’m taking a hands-off approach—it’s fascinating! For the record, I’ve no received no further contact from the Census Bureau after I sent the survey back marked “2 adults” with no other information.
Next, the handheld checkout devices will be swapped out for specially-equipped iPod touches. A new scanner accessory will interact with point-of-sale software on the iPods.
When iPhone OS 3.0 came out with support for external peripherals, I asked my local Apple Store contact when they’d be migrating to iPod Touches. “I hope fucking soon, man,” he responded, as the Symbol device froze yet again and he had to re-enter all my information with a stylus.
Sarah is pregnant! Due date is in early-to-mid May. We have names, but aren’t going to tell anyone until it has been bestowed. She’s doing well and we’re both very excited. Well, as “very excited” as two clinically scientific biology dorks can be. Ultrasound conversation: “There’s your baby!” Our response: “…yep, looks good.” Home conversation: “You know what this means… I get to buy a video camera!”
