296 - new book

After taking a slight break from reading, I am back at it. It is an easy habit to not read.



I just finished Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. I really enjoyed Devil in the White City so much that I was looking forward to reading this one. And it did not disappoint. Larson writes non-fiction like it is reading a mystery novel.

This story follows two characters at the turn of 19th century, Marconi as he is inventing through trial and error wireless telegraphy and Dr. Crippen a little timid man who murders his overbearing wife and flees with his clueless lover.

Essentially, because of this new wireless technology and peoples appetite for a "killer-on-the-loose" scoop, it seems like this story may bet the first OJ/White Bronco chase that caught the world's attention.

...more interesting things to say, but I won't.

295 - Destination Postcard

Some friends of ours in Lawrence (we go way back to the days at the University of Kansas) have created an arts group called B.A.L.M. - beauty, art, life movement. BALM will hold events/gathering for artists around the Lawrence/Kansas City area to meet and share work with each other. These events usually revolve around a theme. One event was to create "destination" postcards. The results were pretty good and Darin (Mr. BALM) worked it out to show these postcards at the Art Affair Gallery in Baldwin, KS home of Baker University.

Here are the three postcards that I submitted to the show:


Raingirl in Paris
4X6, mixed media
$60

I guess I have been creating a series of Raingirl images. At some point I should try to put them all together in a book or something. On this piece I thought of the destination of where I first saw Raingirl and took her picture in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris on a rainy spring day.

This postcard was created using chipboard, graph paper, grocery bag, ink, acrylic paint, a map of Paris, and yellow architectural trace paper.


Conversation
4x6, mixed media
$60

...or maybe my better working title was "two old birds." This was a photo I took of two old ladies in one of Venice's many piazzas. They just looked classic or maybe timeless is a better word. Their apparel is great and they fit in with the Italy's old architecture. It's like right on queue they got up and left their homes and arrived at the right time to meet.

This postcard was created using chipboard, graph paper, grocery bag, ink, prisma color marker, and a photo.

Migration
4x6, mixed media
$60

The previous postcard got me thinking about geese and migration and the images of those birds and that process. It is Autumn here in Kansas. The trees are losing their golden leaves and the geese are heading south. I just wanted to celebrate one of my favorite seasons of the year.

This postcard was created using chipboard, greentint Stenobook lined paper, ink, prisma color marker, acrylic paint, and crayon on newspaper clippings.

294 - Daylight Savings Time

Just curious...with the extra hour we gained this weekend, do you use it for an extra hour of sleep or for an extra hour of awake time?

Me...

I always use it to stay up later. It's not really 3am; it's only 2am.

293 - October Music

Maps - We Can Create
Listen here.


Maps is a British band making beautiful dreampop and shoegazer music. To me there sound is somewhere between Chapterhouse (whirlpool album) and somtimes the harmonies of the Stone Roses. The music features electronics, fuzzy/noisy guitars, drum machines, loops, spacey bass, and whispery vocals. A lot of the recent dreampop/shoegazer records lately have all featured female vocals, so it is a nice change to here male vocals in this genre.

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Listen here.

Only a band as big and daring as Radiohead can stick its nose up to the music industry by releasing their new album without a label or distribution. There are two options for the new album - (1) a special editions set which includes the new cd, plus a bonus disc of new material, special artwork and packaging, and the new album on 2 vinyl records. Something like that...I am trying to remember off the top of my head the details. This comes at a price of 40 pounds which is about 80 U.S. dollars. Or (2) pay what you feel is right for the album and download the mp3 files to your computer.

Paste Magazine has an online poll to try to gage what people are paying for the new album, since the band hasn't or isn't planning to release the results. Inspired by Radiohead, Paste Magazine is offering a special limited time offer to name your price for 11 issues of their magazine. If you are a music fan, I highly recommend Paste.

I like In Rainbows. Much, much better than Hail to the Thief. The music sounds like Radiohead, but I would say a bit more spacious and mellow. At least the last 3/4 of the album gets into this great vibe and everything flows really well.

Oh, how much did I pay? 2.46 pounds which is roughly about 6 U.S. dollars.

Starflyer 59 - Ghosts of the Future (issue 3 and 4)

Listen here.

Yes, two more brightly colored vinyls came in the mail. Dust off the old record player and give them a spin. The surprise highlight was the b-side to issue 3 being a cover of the Smiths' Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.

The myspace page only includes one song off of these issue - Spooky. Spooky happens to be an instrumental that fits in great with the Halloween season and the Munsters or Adam's Family.

CocoRosie - The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn

Listen here.

This album came out earlier this summer, but I knew it would make a great fall album so I put it off until the season was just right. This is a weird album and I love it! The sounds are crazy. CocoRosie is comprised of two sisters and they both sing or take turns on the same times. One sister has a real raspy voice, kinda like a cheap version of the old jazz singers and the other one has a real pretty and possibly operatic voice. I don't know if one is a classically trained opera singer??? But the contrast between the two voices really works well for the kind of otherworldy music they make. On this record quite a few songs have the Trip-hop vibe thing going on with psuedo white-girl rapping. The atmosphere of this album is of the new old - new music that sounds old. I am not sure how to describe it...it's not polished, it's warm, sounds like an old radio??? Oh, and the lyrics are a bit fairy tale-ish.

Mum - Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy
Listen here.

Sad news - Mum was playing in Lawrence Halloween night. I would have loved to have seen them. Oh well, I can't see every good band that comes by in this phase of my life.

Mum is another band with that new old sound. They used to be described as electronic, but I am not sure that is all true anymore. This album has made me question if rock music is even relevant anymore. Come on! What's new with rock music? Nothing. It is the same old, same old. Sure there are some great songs and good bands. But they are not really making any new ground, they no longer lead a rebellion in thought and teenagers no longer have exclusive rights to this music. Rock music is old and dying. Mum just reminded me of the new breed of bands who is making music artfully and with no limits as to what can make a song. Long gone are the days of a guitar, bass, and drums. Today's musicians can play a multitued of instruments and are creative to make new sounds or new sounds that sound old...not retro. Sorry, a little rant that just came out of nowwhere. (Brian, I wish you were here. We could have one of those 2 hour conversations on the state of music.)

The new Mum album...hmm, can you tell I like it. It is an improvement from their last one. They were getting a bit predictable, but this new album is louder (if you can make a quiet band loud), they have a different vocalists (very good - I like his sounds) and overall the music is very organic sounding with natrual instraments as well as electronics.

I must add that bands from Iceland take the most care to creating a wonderful CD package.

292 - Candy

Yesterday was Halloween.

Candy was everywhere.

All sorts of chocolate bars, candy corn, lollipops, jellies, and gum.

In the office, at church, at people's homes as well as ours.

My boys brought home way too much.

How many pieces did I eat yesterday?

None.

How many have I eaten today?

None.

Why?

Crazy - maybe.

or...

just to see if I could

and let they hype pass.

(...it's killing me, too!)