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Web Junk
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"Sabbath went from 'Children of the Grave' to 'Children of the Sea.'" Master of Reality, the second Sabbath album that Children of the Grave appears on, is the only Christian leaning album. And bassist Geezer Butler was the lyricist, not Ozzy. And compared to say Technical Ecstasy the Dio albums are evil as fukk.
I met Dio for the first time in 2007 at the Spectrum as he invited to join him and the band after the show. I've met alot of celebrities but he's the only rock star I ever truly wanted to meet. He was down to Earth and in my opinion was more a hippie than a heavy metal God. When I see right wing religious groups going out of their way to thank God for the death of the person I consider the most influential Heavy Metal star of all time, I can see why he wrote about the hypocrisy that exists in organized religion. I met Wendy, his wife, the last time I was invited and my thoughts are for her. As much as I would like to show up and take a pipe to the knees of the protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church, it is not what Ronnie would want. It's all very sad and I find it ironic that Wendy has asked devout Dio fans, like myself, to turn the other cheek. RIP Ronnie. You will be missed in Philly!
Hey, look, I'm not gonna sit here and praise Technical Ecstasy. Master of Reality was Black Sabbath's third album, and the first one that "Children of the Grave" appeared on so... what is your point here? Why did you make me google that? Why didn't you google that? As for whether Sabbath was Christian-leaning outside of Master of Reality, we'll just have to disagree. (Off the top of my head: "War Pigs" and "Into the Void" and "Black Sabbath" seem pretty pro-God, at least.) Anyway, the holy trinity early Sabbath worshiped most often is pot, coke and Tony Iommi.
Sorry, it was a long day and I brain farted while trying to snap you on Sabbath cred. My bad. Yeah, basically they were just really fucking high and so I've always thought that reading any kind of ideology into their lyrics is a pretty fruitless endeavor. I think that was actually the reason why Dio always vibed less "evil" (he does), because you know he's just this big D&D dork whereas Ozzy was totally fingering through piles of his own vomit at the end of each night looking for undigested pills. Ozzy was sicker in the head, but self-destruction also always eventually ends up making for bad records, even if you get some legendary stuff along the way.
Good article, Patrick. Too many fans ignore the lyrics, which are indeed pro-Christian and present from the albums Black Sabbath to Never Say Die where we find Butler's non-religious, pro-spiritual stance alongside social criticism, anti-war, protest and lament songs. I've just finished the 2nd draft of a book on the subject tentatively entitled Black Sabbath: The Illustrated Lyrics.
Who cares what came before We were only starlight One day, then nevermore Because we're whispers in the wind Once upon a time The world was never blind Like we are Right now it seems You're only dreams and shadows If wishes could be eagles how you'd fly This is your life This is your time What if the flame won't last forever This is your here This is your now Let it be magical Who cares what came before We're only starlight Once upon the time All the world was blind Like we are This is your life This is your time Look at your world This is your life
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| thatswhatbeasaid.com |
There's a fun little web site collecting some of Bea Arthur's finest quips/abstracts. I recognize a couple from The Golden Girls — which, ask any work-from-homer, has a three-hour block every afternoon on some channel or another — but I think That's What Bea Said would be remiss if it didn't mine the Maude/Celebrity Roast years.
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| Google Maps is the Best |
At 15th and Walnut, apparently.
That's where you'll find the Brooklyn twosome Fan Capturing like right now soon. They just posted the clue (as expected, it was a set of co-ordinates: 39.949707 -75.165456). So run, little kiddies! Run! Only 6 of you will get to be like captured or whatever!
Oh yeah: The password is "kidneybean" so yell that like a maniac at everybody you see. Or type it into a secret dance-pop kiosk. Not sure.
UPDATE: Hmm, the MGMT site for this wild goode chase says the password is "kidneybeans" but their Twitter says it's "surfbum." So, better yell/type both things. Also their tweet takes the fun our of geocaching by giving the address (1429 Walnut) along with the longitude/latitude. Kinda lame. Either way Google Maps give you the location right away.
Also: I guess MGMT won't technically be there until 3:30.
Oh: When you get there, look for the soaking wet person with a flag. That's the person to yell at. You should yell something like "Kidney bean is two words, you surf bum!"
And: If you are one of the lucky six, you gotta have the next two hours free to hang with MGMT on an adventure. I heard you're all gonna go see The Hurt Locker.
HA HA LAST UPDATE: Final word on this lil pubstunt goes to our pals at R5Productions, via Twitter:
@citypaper If by MGMT you mean a record label interns playing the new MGMT cd in a van
This has been: An update to my earlier post today: MGMT Mystery! Publicity Stunt! Geocaching!
I was one of the first people there today- the crew took us in a van to the Mutter Museum, where we got to listen to the new album (via an oldschool CD walkman that was taped shut, preventing us from stealing the CD and leaking it online?). Then they took the CD walkman back, and sent us on our way. Womp Womp.
Yea!! we went to the nyc one.. dude. lamest stunt ever..we love mgmt but this is LOWWWW
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| Will captured fans be released? |
I kinda don't know what to do with this info. So I'll just barf it out on you.
Today at 2:30pm EST (rain or shine) MGMT will reveal a clue to a secret location in the Philadelphia area on whereismgmt.com.
Fans will be given an hour to show up, but they must come quickly because there are only a certain number of spots for the adventure that lies ahead.
For more information pleae visit: twitter.com/whereisMGMT
Nikki Bennett
Columbia Records, Digital Media
blah blah etc.
Okay, so this is apparently not to promote a show, but some kind of meet-n-tweet. They're calling it a Fan Capture, which sounds maybe a lot more awesome that what it will turn out to be which is some kind of photo- op/ticklefight with the Brooklyn duo. Yesterday, for an NYC event, they gave out GPS coordinates and a password. I like MGMT and all but it's raining. And I am tired of typing "Brooklyn duo." But I like mystery and adventure.
Gene Kelly once said that if Fred Astaire was the Cary Grant of dance, then he was the Marlon Brando. It's an accurate comparison ' with Astaire as the elegant twinkle toes and Kelly as the working man in T-shirt in jeans. So in honor of tonight's Kelly/Astaire double feature of Singing in the Rain and Top Hat at Ibrahim Theater at International House, there's only possible way to handle the situation ' CAGE MATCH.
At the screening tonight, Dexel prof. Paula Marantz Cohen will argue for the side of Astaire, while the Bryn Mawr Film Institute's Andrew J. Douglas will argue for Kelly. But one topic that probably won't be discussed: Who would win in a fight? So, in a to-the-death battle, which one would take the top prize?
Pros
- Elegant
- Looks excellent in formal wea
- Seduced Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, despite being way older and way less attractive
- Humble; often said he is so revered as a dance icon because Ginger Rogers made him look good.
- Best Astaire Top Hat number (one of Astaire's best solo performances):
Don't forget "No Strings" or "Cheek to Cheek," which are also awesome.
Cons
- Super skinny, doesn't bode well for Astaire in the ring.
- Sometimes a dancer can be too light on his feet:
Gene Kelly
Pros
- Incredibly athletic
- Accomplished director: Singin' in the Rain, It's Always Fair Weather, etc.
- Has one of the all time greatest asses in show business
- Best Kelly Singin' in the Rain number:
Donald O'Connor is a fantastic dancer, but see at how Kelly just owns him in the this scene. If you look closely, Kelly is both more controlled and expressive. The title number and "Good Morning" ain't too shabby either.
Cons
- Likes it a little too rough: Legendary dancer Cyd Charisse's husband once said he always knew when she spent the day dancing with Kelly because she would come home bruised and battered.
- Prone to choreographing ridiculously long dance sequences that have little or nothing to do with the plot (see Singin' in the Rain's "Broadway Melody," An American in Paris' 17-minute dance sequence)
- Xanadu ' oh, who am I kidding? That's totally a pro.
- Prone to hallucinatory fits:
Conclusion
It's a tough one but I'm going Kelly on this. The power behind his dancing and his feel for framing dance sequences gives him the cinematic edge. Even if we are going solely on the to-the-death-cage-match parameters, Kelly's physical prowess only demonstrates that he could snap Astaire like a twig. Now it's your turn:
Top Hat and Singin' in the Rain double feature, 7 p.m., $5-$8, Ibrahim Theater at International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 215-387-5125.
The whole "match' is really pointless. The two were both great artists: dancers/ choreographers, dance directors/actors/producers etc. etc. More talent in each than in ten other people. As far comparisons of their dancing I love what Cyd Charisse said: they are like apples and oranges, but both are delicious. She should know, having worked with both men.
Faithful Clog readers will remember that on Tuesday I told you about how Madam Tussaud's version of Wolverine was hitting up the FYE on Broad. What we didn't know was that Wolverine would be visiting ultimate Philly icon Rocky Balboa. And then we saw this picture:
That's a fightin' stance if we ever saw one. The only possible conclusion: Rocky v. Wolverine Cage Match!
In a to-the-death battle, who would win? Let's take a look at both sides:
Wolverine
Pros:
- Adamantium skeleton
- Ability to regenerate
- Has claws
- Is a mutant
Cons:
- Penchant for married women
- Poor attitude
- Canadian
Rocky
Pros:
- Hometown advantage
- Namesake movie won Best Picture (beating four superior movies: Network, Taxi Driver, Bound for Glory and All the President's Men)
- Everyone loves an underdog
- Lots of heart
Cons:
- Wife is incredibly annoying (especially in Rocky II), brother-in-law is a douche
- Is human
- Is super old
'
But, look, here's what it all comes down to:
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| This one is my fave. Doesn't the minivan in the back make him look like he's a pissed off soccer dad, ready to kick some ass? |
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Everybody reads. The question is how fast. The other question is: Does everybody read?
The New York Times ran this piece on Sunday about how people aren't really reading like they used to. Kids are more into the web and not as much into books and blah blah blah. I couldn't get through it. Skim the whole thing here.
For a more intriguing, if no less inconclusive (yikes), perspective on the whole Reading: It Still Happens? debate, check out what Sven Birkerts had to say. He's the editor of Agni literary magazine and a devout print man with a million thoughts on the subject. Skip through it all here.
What got me thinking about all this is something ex-Philadelphian Beth Staples had to say at her Hayden's Ferry blog regarding print versus online publishing. "if we know we can — at least to a certain extent — take back or delete what we've put forth online, does it change the seriousness with which we submit it?"
Read the whole thing here (it's short).
Anyway all of that is preamble/excuse for me to direct your attention to a dizzying little device called Spreeder. All you do is copy text from somewhere, paste it into Spreeder and hit play. The words then begin to pop up on screen one at a time, 300 of them per minute. I just gave it a shot and while it didn't lose me, it wasn't exactly comfortable. Still, I can see this thing coming in real handy. A step close to the dream of downloading entire volumes of knowledge into the brain. I want that.
Here's Spreeder.
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Or perhaps you prefer pink?
I guess this could be useful: It's a free white noise generator, with a dial to fine tune the density if the static to your preference. There's also a "pink noise" option. What's pink noise? Well it seems a bit bassier. For a more technical explanation, let's consult the grey noise generator that is Wikipedia:
Pink noise or 1/f noise is a signal or process with a frequency spectrum such that the power spectral density is proportional to the reciprocal of the frequency. For pink noise, each octave carries an equal amount of noise power. The name arises from being intermediate between white noise (1/f0) and red noise (1/f2, more commonly known as Brownian noise).
Not to be confused with the brown note.
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Pour your grains out.
Okay, so there's this Web site where you pour sand. You just hold down the mouse button and it come pouring out of the cursor. You can change colors, of course. You can even implement a gradient, regularly switching between any two colors of your choosing. The whooshing sound is mesmerizing, like the ocean, like highway traffic. Kinda sucks you can only draw mountains, but at least they're pretty mountains.
So fun!
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