On smugness and religion

So not to talk about religion, but I was at coffee a minute ago in my building and overheard some young, overly confident dude in a suit debating at (rather than with) some colleagues. They didn't really seem to care.

He was going on and on about how the Catholic Church is the true church and Catholics are the chosen people, how so many wars have been fought against the Catholic Church, how all atheists are smug assholes, and how the church has never, ever made a mistake in dogma. Of course, it's hard to say somebody else is smug when you just said your religion is correct and has never made a mistake.

And I'm kicking myself that I didn't ask what about that whole thing where the Earth is the center of the universe and Galileo was convicted of heresy for saying otherwise? Maybe you could make the argument that it wasn't officially dogma, but I mean, close enough.

Hipsters on video

so for some reason, this 9 second video I made is one of the most popular one I have on Youtube, even more than ones that I consider way more awesome, like Massanutten Extreme, snowboarding down 13th Street, and Teddy getting tackled by a wolf at the Presidents Race.

It's of hipsters in Williamsburg. Enjoy?

On photobombing

so I just discovered my new favorite website, This is Photobomb, dedicated to, what else, photobombing. It's a hilarious site and a hilarious thing to do: even celebrities like Nathan Fillion and the dudes from Mythbusters do it. I went through and found a few photos of me on Facebook photobombing friends, check them out:

at bocce

on Halloween

hiking

and finally, EPIC TRIPLE PHOTOBOMB!

1860s tributes vs. today's tributes

So I was browsing Wikipedia and saw the above odd image in the discussion page for Abraham Lincoln. It's called The Apotheosis and was done in 1865 (after Lincoln's assassination) by an unknown artist. It reminded me of the terrible crying eagle pictures that appeared after 9/11, also by anonymous artists. Funny to see how corny sentiments continue through all eras. Although in my opinion the Lincoln/Washington is a bit more touching and less dumb than the eagles.

Music Jam: John Talabot - "Families"

so John Talabot is a Spanish techno guy, and I love this jam.Via Pitchfork.

JOHN TALABOT / Families (Ft Glasser) by Young Turks

Lots of what I've heard of him is good, it's sort of mellow, interesting electronic music. Great for putting on at work and cranking on stuff. Check out his Myspace too -- I like "Sunshine" and "Afrika" a lot.

It's baseball season

So here's a bunch of pictures of Pedro Serrano from Major League.

New York City no wave and post-disco

so I'm getting into the New York no wave/post-disco stuff from the late 70s and early 80s: ESG, Liquid Liquid, Bush Tetras, Konk etc. I made a playlist on Youtube if you are so inclined, below.

Any other jams you'd suggest? I didn't put on anything like A Certain Ratio since they aren't from NYC, but still are awesome.

I tend to like the more up-tempo stuff that isn't so jazzy. I want to have a dance party and play it all.

Discovering samples: Pharoahe Monch = Destroy All Monsters

so I always think it's fun when I'm listening to music or watching something and I notice that it's sampled in another song: better so when I'm not expecting it. It's like putting together a puzzle. For example, the other day I was watching Destroy All Monsters, one of the Godzilla movies where aliens take control of Godzilla and his monster buddies. I noticed that the main, recurring theme from the movie is sampled in the Pharoahe Monch song "Simon Says." Check it out. (There are some bad words in the Pharoahe Monch song.)

Chromeo - "You're So Gangsta"

so this isn't really a video, but it's the best I can find. I am loving this jam lately. Chrome-o-o-o-o-o.

Rant: I hate ads about surprise cars with bows

You suck, Lexus

So I hate ads about cars with bows. Supposedly, people buy a car for a loved one and surprise them with it, often involving some elaborate or (supposedly) cute trick, like kids opening a giant box or lifting a giant Christmas stocking to reveal the car with a giant bow. There's so many of these ads on TV, and they suck.

The entire premise is bogus. They're trying to make it seem like it's this common, normal thing, everybody gives surprise cars with giant bows -- but they don't. They're too big and complicated for that, there are so many decisions you'd need to make for it to be the perfect car for the recipient. It's hard enough to buy clothes as presents, but a car?

What if you spent $30,000 on a surprise car, but the person really wanted another car, or another color, or another year, or some other option you didn't get? You'd have to talk to the recipient endlessly about what they want in a car, and then it'd be pretty obvious that they're going to get a car, which would thus ruin the fun. You'd need to check all the different reviews of the cars too, but you wouldn't be able to tell or ask the person what the good things and bad things about the car are ahead of time.

And anyway, who spends $30,000 on a Christmas present? Or are they just marketing to rich people?

Why not just go to the dealership together and pick one out? The only time I'd ever think a surprise would work is for an old or classic car. This guy loves red '67 Chevy Impalas, so I bet he'd be happy with a present of one. However, all these ads are for new car surprises, not old ones.

The giant bows are also bogus. I don't think anybody actually puts a giant bow on their surprise car present, assuming they actually exist. And where would you even get one? There are some web sites, of course, but it looks like they're mainly aimed at car dealers. (Related, that website is for a company based in Wapwallopen, Pennsylvania. What a weird name.)

The entire premise is dumb. They're trying to create this fake tradition to sell cars. No thanks.