Beat-boxing MADNESS

Holy crap. I had to share this. Do you think he had help by some post-production? Hands on a Korg perhaps?

My Golden Birthday

Just wanted to check-in and let the blogosphere know that I am not dead. In fact, I am pretty stoked on life at the moment! My boyfriend has been in town from Birmingham, AL, for the last week or so, meaning that blogging has been close to the last thing on my mind.

Also, I just had my golden birthday yesterday, so I have officially entered my mid-to-late 20s! We celebrated by driving to Seattle last night to meet up with some friends, get some food and beer, and see Helms Alee perform. They were incredible as always and this time they played 4 or so new songs, some still instrumental. It was rad. Oddly enough, the show wasn't advertised much and the room was pretty empty when they played. Way more people showed up to see them the last two times I've seen them in Bellingham (see evidence here and here - can you spot me in both images?)

This performance is from almost two years ago in Wenatchee, WA:

Remix vs. Original

Being somewhat of a musical purist, I am usually not too fond of remixes. Especially when people mess with Björk's music. She is no stranger to remixes either; she released an album of remixes called "Telegraph" and her singles almost always include remixes. I just never really like them.

Until now. Watch the original video for "Declare Independence" (directed by mastermind Michel Gondry) on top and then watch the remixed video and song. I like the remixed song and video much, much better. The original is probably my least favorite song on "Volta," so I guess this isn't too surprising. Anyway, check out the remix (below the original version) and how much better it is.





What remixes do you like more than the original?

The Pixelator

How cool is this? This video makes me want to create some sort of art installation using a lot of televisions and a lot of pixelators.



From their web site, http://jasoneppink.com/pixelator/

"Pixelator is an unauthorized on-going video art performance collaboration with the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority, Clear Channel Communications, and its selected artists.

Since 2003, the MTA has made available for exhibition purposes 80 LED screens located at subway entrances across New York City. Unfortunately, the high cost of exhibiting (an estimated $274,000 per month per screen) prevents most artists from having access to these facilities. While the MTA's effort to create more opportunities for video art exhibition in public spaces is to be commended, selected works remain wholly fixated on commercial goods and media conglomerate events, a short-sighted curatorial choice that regrettably ignores the full potential of these promising exhibition spaces.

In an attempt to broaden the scope of MTA's video art series, Pixelator takes video pieces currently on display and diffuses them into a pleasant array of 45 blinking, color-changing squares. Since the project is an anonymous collaboration, the resulting video is almost entirely unplanned and unanticipated, with the original artists helping to create new works of art without any knowledge of their participation.

(Translation: Pixelator turns those ugly, blinding video billboard ads into art.)'

X-Men X-Travaganza

It just came to my attention this morning that my favorite cartoon growing up, and the reason I got into comic books as a kid, was recently released on DVD! X-Men, volume 1 and volume 2, are available now on Amazon.com for only $17.99 each. I have very fond memories of this cartoon, especially since the movies were all disappointing. They plan on releasing at least two more volumes to finish up the entire series. The only bummer? No commentary or any extra features :(



I was also thinking today about how awesome it would be to see the original X-Men Arcade game on Xbox Live Arcade. Honestly, they wouldn't have to touch up the graphics or anything - just include 6-player online support and it would sell like hotcakes. It was never released on any home console and really deserves a release...



And lastly, the awesome Angry Video Game Nerd posted his review of the classic X-Men and Wolverine games on the NES, plus a brief look at the Genesis games:

Ms. Pac-Man Nikes

I would totally sport these Ms. Pac-Man inspired Nike Dunks if I had the spare money. Unfortunately, I am sure they'll be expensive and hard to find. Select retailers will be carrying them in May, so hit up your favorite shoe boutique or pre-order at UNIV.

(original Kotaku.com story here)

Torche - Healer & Across the Shields (videos!)

Ever since I received Torche's "Healer / Across the Shields" record, I've been itching to post the music videos that came with it on DVD. Well, finally someone ripped them to youtube and "Across the Shields" is now a featured video on Myspace Music. So check em out already!!

Torche - Headbangers Ball - MTV Shows

Tiptoeing through the Tulips

I made my first trip to the Skagit Valley tulip fields last night. Ever year, thousands of tourists from all over the world visit Skagit Valley for the Tulip Festival. I've lived in Skagit and Whatcom counties most of my life and never bothered to make the trip. I was in the area with my sister, niece and nephew, so we decided to get off I-5 and take a look around. The best part of the visiting the tulips is the photos. Unfortunately I only had my Sidekick with me, but my sister Angela took some better shots with her digital SLR.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2 on XBLA!

When Street Fighter II HD Remix came out on XBLA, every serious gamer wondered, "What about MvC2?" because that's the game we all really wanted. Well, Capcom has finally granted our wish and announced the release of the game over Xbox Live Arcade and PS3 Store. And the unusual part? They are making every single character from the game available from the start! Quite an attitude change from the recently released Street Fighter IV.

This game is the main reason I bought a Sega Dreamcast back in the day. I have many fond memories of playing this game with friends for hours during my first year of college. That opening theme music while selecting your characters always drove us crazy. I am glad they are keeping that in tact, for nostalgia's sake.

Check out the (sorta cheesy) trailer below: