Since one of their songs popped up on Pandora.com, I've been a fan of the band Artichoke.
Their masterpiece is a two-volume CD set called "Twenty-Six Scientists (Anning - Zeno"). It's a collection of musical biographies of scientists both famous and obscure. Each song is different and each song is great. I just got volume two in the mail last week and I'm still listening to it. If you, or someone you know is a scientist or just likes science, you really need this.
To introduce you to the band, and in honor of the upcoming Carl Sagan Day, here's a biography of one of the most famous astronomers of all time
Galileo Galilei
It is the only bad thing about the albums: no Carl Sagan song. Ah well. They've also got a fabulous "kids" album called "26 Animals". Scientifically accurate and damned catchy, it's an album that you wouldn't mind your kids playing over and over.
Listening to while posting: "vulture" by Artichoke
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Post Halloween
The Horror Movie Mini-Fest was a moderate success. Booze and conversation flowed freely and much food and candy were consumed.
KickEnemyMen came up from Maine and stopped in Burlington to visit his childhood friend YogaGirl. He knew we'd want her to come (but would forget to ask her), so he brought her along. Step-Brother-in-Law came with his two puppies (well, young dogs) Kermit and Thumper. We love them, but the cat was... unimpressed. Cranky J, his wife R and little daughter Starbuck (hee!) made a surprise visit and Cranky was happy that he got to see me tipsy.
AndreZero and ScienceGirl came, too. It was going to be a bit of fun because ScienceGirl hates the portrayal of scientists in film and one of the films I got was the fabulous "I'll show them all!"-type scientist film "X- the Man with the X-Ray Eyes".
Also to be had were "THEM!" (still a pretty good film despite the effects. The girl whose family was the fist to die by THEM! was still extraordinarily creepy) and "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (not bad either. The effects are not astounding, but you can still feel that they were astounding in the day. The only bad thing was the soliloquy tacked onto the end; but the continuity of the light of the moon shining on the shrinking man was nicely done).
Cranky J, R and Starbuck left just after THEM! as did AndreZero and ScienceGirl (who had to be in the lab the next day). X went in next, but the disc started randomly pausing, so in went TISM. Overall, lots of basic enjoyment of the movie with some ROTFL MST3k moments.
SBiL introduced us all to a drink that is, in a way, like disc golf: it sounds stupid in description, but in reality is a kind of awesome. The drink is a bottle of Guinness in a glass with a shot of butterscotch schnapps. No, really! It is a kind of awesome and a truly great winter drink.
We all stayed up late sobering up. YogaGirl headed home around midnight and then we all hit the rack (SE, the cat and I in our bed, KickEnemyMen on the library futon and SBiL and the puppies on our living room futon). In the morning, all four of us walked down to the local breakfast place, The Flour Shop for the kind of breakfast that keeps you going until about two in the afternoon.
After that, SE had to do some art errands, so KEM and I met YogaGirl in Burlington and we walked around for to or three hours. KEM is a geocacher and we tried to do some finding, but we were 0 for six; who puts urban caches without hints? Sheesh! YG and KEM said goodbye, then back to our house to pack KEM up.
KEM's visits were always short, but I got to give him a cool birthday present: A big bottle of VERY good stout and a VERY tasty bleu cheese (a combo I tried at a beer and cheese pairing at our local natural food store ).
Whew! So a great weekend.
To finish off the party post, here's a shot of SBiL not quite enjoying X with Thumper. She is the cutest Lab mix ever:
Also, last night I posted an update to Death of a Friend!
Listening to while posting: "Zeno of Elea (490bc - 430bc)" by Artichoke
KickEnemyMen came up from Maine and stopped in Burlington to visit his childhood friend YogaGirl. He knew we'd want her to come (but would forget to ask her), so he brought her along. Step-Brother-in-Law came with his two puppies (well, young dogs) Kermit and Thumper. We love them, but the cat was... unimpressed. Cranky J, his wife R and little daughter Starbuck (hee!) made a surprise visit and Cranky was happy that he got to see me tipsy.
AndreZero and ScienceGirl came, too. It was going to be a bit of fun because ScienceGirl hates the portrayal of scientists in film and one of the films I got was the fabulous "I'll show them all!"-type scientist film "X- the Man with the X-Ray Eyes".
Also to be had were "THEM!" (still a pretty good film despite the effects. The girl whose family was the fist to die by THEM! was still extraordinarily creepy) and "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (not bad either. The effects are not astounding, but you can still feel that they were astounding in the day. The only bad thing was the soliloquy tacked onto the end; but the continuity of the light of the moon shining on the shrinking man was nicely done).
Cranky J, R and Starbuck left just after THEM! as did AndreZero and ScienceGirl (who had to be in the lab the next day). X went in next, but the disc started randomly pausing, so in went TISM. Overall, lots of basic enjoyment of the movie with some ROTFL MST3k moments.
SBiL introduced us all to a drink that is, in a way, like disc golf: it sounds stupid in description, but in reality is a kind of awesome. The drink is a bottle of Guinness in a glass with a shot of butterscotch schnapps. No, really! It is a kind of awesome and a truly great winter drink.
We all stayed up late sobering up. YogaGirl headed home around midnight and then we all hit the rack (SE, the cat and I in our bed, KickEnemyMen on the library futon and SBiL and the puppies on our living room futon). In the morning, all four of us walked down to the local breakfast place, The Flour Shop for the kind of breakfast that keeps you going until about two in the afternoon.
After that, SE had to do some art errands, so KEM and I met YogaGirl in Burlington and we walked around for to or three hours. KEM is a geocacher and we tried to do some finding, but we were 0 for six; who puts urban caches without hints? Sheesh! YG and KEM said goodbye, then back to our house to pack KEM up.
KEM's visits were always short, but I got to give him a cool birthday present: A big bottle of VERY good stout and a VERY tasty bleu cheese (a combo I tried at a beer and cheese pairing at our local natural food store ).
Whew! So a great weekend.
To finish off the party post, here's a shot of SBiL not quite enjoying X with Thumper. She is the cutest Lab mix ever:
Also, last night I posted an update to Death of a Friend!
Listening to while posting: "Zeno of Elea (490bc - 430bc)" by Artichoke
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Here's a song for Halloween brought to you by Arkonbey (with a little help from Dame Agatha Christie, David Suchet and Apple's Garage Band ™)
Under The Sun (31 Oct 2009 0031 EST)
listening to while posting: "Under The Sun" by Arkonbey
Under The Sun (31 Oct 2009 0031 EST)
listening to while posting: "Under The Sun" by Arkonbey
Sunday, October 25, 2009
a drawing!
I've mentioned before about Jake Parker's "Inktober" and how much it has been both inspiring and daunting me. So, I grabbed a brush pen and tried to do a finished work (which is something I haven't actually done in a long time, what with Obscure Tales and all). I also wanted to try to use lots of black. I'm afraid of black, it seems and Jake's lack of fear of black has forced me to address this deficit.
The subject you may recognize as the model I scratchbuilt from a giant Easter egg.
I drew it how I wanted to build it: in a diorama with an open front hatch, a fairing over the leg hinges and a figure with binoculars. But, the terrible plastic of the egg and the lack of winter-clad 1/48 scale figures shot this down.
The drawing itself was drawn with red lead (straight, with no graphite pencilling; I'm inordinately proud of this) and inked with a Pigma brush pen and done rather large. I didn't do anything in Photoshop other than blowing out the pencils and resizing.
I know, I should be working on Death of a Friend. I am, I just had to do this.
I do wonder if Jake would be creeped out or flattered that effect his Inktober drawings are having on me. I'd also wonder how he'd do a pair of daytime moons with just a brush pen. I could not figure that out...
Listening to while posting: "They Got Lost" by They Might Be Giants
The subject you may recognize as the model I scratchbuilt from a giant Easter egg.
I drew it how I wanted to build it: in a diorama with an open front hatch, a fairing over the leg hinges and a figure with binoculars. But, the terrible plastic of the egg and the lack of winter-clad 1/48 scale figures shot this down.
The drawing itself was drawn with red lead (straight, with no graphite pencilling; I'm inordinately proud of this) and inked with a Pigma brush pen and done rather large. I didn't do anything in Photoshop other than blowing out the pencils and resizing.
I know, I should be working on Death of a Friend. I am, I just had to do this.
I do wonder if Jake would be creeped out or flattered that effect his Inktober drawings are having on me. I'd also wonder how he'd do a pair of daytime moons with just a brush pen. I could not figure that out...
Listening to while posting: "They Got Lost" by They Might Be Giants
Sunday, October 18, 2009
DoaF update!
I said Sunday posting, and I deliver! That's just the kind of guy I am.
Death of a Friend
Bought a Pigma brush pen. Jake Parker's "Inktober" has inspired me to get one. That and Jake mentioned that my rabbit girl and guy drawings had more life than any other stuff I've posted yet. That was with another brush pen that I found harder to control; the Pigma may be easier. Though, I wonder if I should use the hard to control one and relinquish some control...
Listening to while posting: Selected Shorts on Vermont Public Radio
Death of a Friend
Bought a Pigma brush pen. Jake Parker's "Inktober" has inspired me to get one. That and Jake mentioned that my rabbit girl and guy drawings had more life than any other stuff I've posted yet. That was with another brush pen that I found harder to control; the Pigma may be easier. Though, I wonder if I should use the hard to control one and relinquish some control...
Listening to while posting: Selected Shorts on Vermont Public Radio
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Egg-cellent
The next installment of Death of a Friend is pencilled and one of two pages are inked. I'm shooting for a Sunday posting.
In other news, I won an award.
Listening to while posting: harpsichord music blasting on Vermont Public Radio blasting from upstairs
In other news, I won an award.
Listening to while posting: harpsichord music blasting on Vermont Public Radio blasting from upstairs
Friday, October 9, 2009
Quickie Post
Inspired by Jake Parker's "Inktober" (a whole month of ink drawings, with pen, brush and brush-pen), I grabbed the Pentel brush-pen that Sweet Enemy got for me last year. I remember not liking it, which is why it sat in my caddy since then.
I find that still really don't like it; I don't hate it, but it won't be my weapon of choice. It is temperamental, dispensing heavy ink or ink so light the lines look like the printing on the faux-distressed shirts from A & F. The point also doesn't behave. It is VERY pointy, but holds little ink. While the belly is very thick and only gives up ink to the point grudgingly.
Ah, well. I'm still looking for the magical tool, I suppose.
Here's the offering. Sort of based on a light-hearted, rather romantic comic I drew for SE years ago and may revisit (especially after the grim Ghost of Delilah Gray:
Listening to while posting: The sound of the lentil/vegetable stew I made last night bubbling in the kitchen.
I find that still really don't like it; I don't hate it, but it won't be my weapon of choice. It is temperamental, dispensing heavy ink or ink so light the lines look like the printing on the faux-distressed shirts from A & F. The point also doesn't behave. It is VERY pointy, but holds little ink. While the belly is very thick and only gives up ink to the point grudgingly.
Ah, well. I'm still looking for the magical tool, I suppose.
Here's the offering. Sort of based on a light-hearted, rather romantic comic I drew for SE years ago and may revisit (especially after the grim Ghost of Delilah Gray:
Listening to while posting: The sound of the lentil/vegetable stew I made last night bubbling in the kitchen.
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