It’s alive!
And just like that, my winter break from work is over. It lasted but 24 hours. These are the joys of working in retail, I suppose. Everyone else gets to relax and eat with family or friends who are out of work for a bit, and I have one day off. And what do I get after a long day of work? I come home, burn my hand on some soup and get to listen to French prog-rock records alone. I guess it could be worse. I could be ill or something.
Last night’s Christmas orphan dinner was insane. In the friendly, comfortable, warm environs of Toluca Lake, a bunch of people who didn’t live in the house we took over came together for a mighty feast. With a very large Turkey, a full roasted Chicken, Lamb, stuffing, meatballs, Shaun’s mac ‘n cheese, mashed potatoes, garlic bread with artichokes, jalapeno and cheese crescent rolls, a bunch of things with vegetables in them that I didn’t even want to think about let alone touch, and a half-dozen desserts that no one saved stomach space for, it was a Christmas dinner unlike any other I’ve ever had. Then again, I’ve only ever had two Christmas dinners.
In other news…
• This story from Discovery News couldn’t have been more timely! A “singing mouse” was made with some genetic modifications by Japanese scientists. I wonder if any of them were on hand Friday night when this singing mouse stood up on stage at a Thai restaurant in Hollywood to sing “Sweet Caroline” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.” As soon as Autumn gets off her butt and breaks free from her food coma, there will be video footage of a real singing mouse. [story]
• This article is really depressing. Some guy in Kentucky claims that a “mythical creature” crossed his path, so he killed it. The “grayish, wrinkly skinn[ed]” creature had no fur, and when it strolled out from the woods onto this guy’s front yard he “feared what it was” and shot it dead. But if you look at the picture attached to the article…it’s clearly a hairless cat. So the guy shot a cat on his front lawn. Nice goin’, rural Kentucky. You stay classy. [story]
• Here’s a good one: “Researchers have found evidence for ‘Chronesthesia,” which is the brain’s ability to be aware of the past and future, and to mentally travel in subjective time.” That makes perfect sense of course, because a perfect example of a brain exhibiting “time travel” capabilities occurs during masturbation. The brain can both recall past sexual adventures as well as subjectively manifest and “recall” future sexual encounters. I don’t know why it took a bunch of science and teams of researchers to figure this one out. Any thirteen-year-old boy has already discovered and ignored evidence of Chronestheia. [story]
• Think it’s cold here in Los Angeles? 54 degrees and a little drizzle? Well, guess what? There’s a mini ice age coming soon so you’d better fucking get used to it. That’s right, kids, an Australian news source has published an article about some guy who apparently “predicted the current weather,” but he also predicted the future weather, and that prediction calls for the coldest temperatures in 200 years starting in 2035. Which means mom and dad probably won’t live to experience the harsh weather. They’d be in their 90s by then. Shit, I’ll be fifty years old. Oh God, there’s no way I’m going to live to be 50. It’s just not going to happen. Bad genes, bad behavior and a generally dour outlook on life doesn’t bode well for me. Do me a favor, someone visit my grave in 2035 and describe for me how cold it is? Thanks. [story]
• Don’t read this one, ma. I know you’ve been checking the blog lately in the hopes of seeing some photographs of your son, but all you’re going to remember if you read today’s post is that a woman being prepared for burial in Brazil wasn’t dead yet. She was *thisclose* to being buried alive. That’s her in the picture at the top of this post. It’s weird, she kind of looks like you, mom! Right? Doesn’t she? Isn’t burial while still alive your biggest fear? You used to tell me it was your biggest fear. You probably don’t remember it because you were high on sleeping pills at the time, but you definitely said it. I wouldn’t make that shit up, it’s too random. I might have embellished other stories about you being pilled out of your mind and saying funny stuff, but the two things I will not lie about are that you’ve developed a stunning snoring problem over the past ten years and your biggest fear is being buried alive. [story]
• In case you haven’t gotten enough Year-End lists shoved down your throat, here’s an About.com list of the top ten paranormal news stories of the year. The list includes such memorable stories as the ghost hunter who got killed on some railroad tracks, the sale of the Amityville Horror house, and a bunch of photographs and videos of ghosts. Because in 2010 that kind of shit can’t possibly be faked. God, why do people even bother anymore? It’s called Photoshop. It can put a ghost on Obama’s dick if you want it to. What is wrong with people that they believe in shit like that? I will never, ever understand it. [story]
• Oh, yeah. Also this started yesterday at about a quarter to noon while I trying to drive down Sunset towards the 110-North entrance (about six blocks from my apartment — you should’ve seen the cavalry that showed up at Innes), and ended pretty much at Nicci’s house. Ah, Christmas morning in East Los Angeles. Don’t read this one either, ma. [story]
[Image courtesy of The Telegraph]
December 27th, 2010
French prog, a strange beast that. Strange in that there are so few good French bands from the 70s. I would say Heldon/Richard Pinhas, Magma, Pulsar, Atoll and Ange are about it. Next door in Italy however there were scores of truly great bands.
So why, I’ve oft wondered, didn’t an artistic and romantic culture such as France produce more great prog?
December 27th, 2010
Although by sheer number France can’t compare to Italy’s prog output, there are some real monsters in the French canon: Red Noise “Sarcelles Locheres” and Horrific Child “L’Etrange Mr. Whinser” would be among my top recommendations. Those are up in the $$$ range that I can’t quite afford, but they’re pretty widely available online through different prog blogs. I’ve got a 70s reissue of the Moving Gelatine Plates record, which is probably one of my favorite French prog records of all time. I think I paid $30 for it. There are more modern reissues available pretty widely. Italy wins with a larger number of far out bands, but France did have a few heavy hitters of its own!
December 28th, 2010
Thanks for the heads up on Red Noise and Horrific Child.
I do recall cd reissues of at least some Moving Gelitine Plates albums a couple years ago… wish I’d grabbed them. Will see if they’re OOP or still reasonably priced.