Scrapheap Symphony

I stumbled upon this amazing video of old printers playing Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A'Changin'." I can't tell you how wide my smile was when I listened to this! So much awesome in one video.

So here, for your edifying pleasure is the video as well as the 'making of' video.





Discovered via Laughing Squid

Christian Marclay's "Clock"

I found this the other day. It is amazing. It's a 24 hour film that's a meditation on time, literally. It took 2 years to splice the work together from hundreds of films where characters check or refer to the time at all hours of this film. It's currently being shown at art galleries.

The amazing part of this film is that it's synched so that at every moment a clock is seen, it matches the exact same time in the real world. It's mind bogglin because not only does the moment when a clock have to be timed within its own clip, but all the clips have to match up in relation to each other. It makes my head hurt.

"The Clock" Christian Marclay



Here is a clip to give you an idea of how the film is pieced together.




And out of this wonderful clip I discovered Smokey Robinson "The Love I Saw in You was just a Mirage"

It's wonderful and strange to think how the internet provides an ease of jumping off into completely unrelated subjects.



And that song, for some reason, led me to Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose "It's Too Late to Turn Back Now" which feels oddly fitting. Enjoy!

Catch Up

Hello

It's been awhile. I've moved and finally have internet again. In the intervening period I've spent some time finding some amazing things online.

Keely Smith with "Stormy Weather"

I couldn't tell you how I discovered her but I like her because she has such a powerful voice. She projects and puts such emotion into her songs. I'm just sorry she isn't more well known now. Most likely she was overshadowed by her partnership with her musician husband, Louis Prima.



The Mills Brothers with "Basin Street Blues"

These guys are amazing. They worked from 1928 - 1982. That. is. insane! Their voices are amazingly mellow and distinct. They were known for doing instrumental sounds with their voices and their harmonies! Just listen!



Thomas Tallis with "If Ye Love Me"

He was a composer active during the Elizabethan period. As a rule I love choral music and this, it's just perfect.



Luisa Tetrazzini with "Una voce poco fa"

I distintly remember listening to Pavorotti and then getting distrated for the next few hours by various opera singers and how they've been rated by the opera community. I stumbled upon Tetrazinni. The recording is scratchy but the purity and clarity and range of her voice is amazing.



I've also been catching up on my shows as the tv season has started up again.

Community "Remedical Chaos Theory"

This is one of the best episodes I've seen for the show. It was crazy and funny and heartfelt, the best of all worlds.



Downton Abbey Season 2

Oh my. The British always make the best tv, including this beautiful and heartbreaking series. The dialogue, the costumes, the setting, everything, especially the time period are superb. I've been catching up on Season 2 and I can't tell you how much I am hoping for a Mary & Matthew reconciliation. Every episode I wring my hands in their scenes together. Julian Fellowes isn't going to make it easy for them, especially since the Spanish Flu has yet to rear it's head.




Sherlock Season 2

I discovered this by accident and love it! I can't imagine anyone else playing these iconic characters apart from Martin and Cumberbatch now. But you know what? 3 episodes do not a season make! Season 1 was too short and now you're making me wait until 2012!? Not acceptable. I only have clips like this to console me for the meantime.



The Supersizers

This is an amazing show that charts the history of food through the ages. A food critic and broadcaster will dress for the era and test the food by actually consuming a day's worth of food from that period. I love this show so much! It's crazy to see how much the attitudes and the meals change throughout time. And these guys are hilarious in their reactions to the food.






"Thank you Jeeves" by P.G. Wodehouse


I've also started reading P.G. Wodehouse and I am blown away. The man is hilarious and his use of diction while mostly stuck in its own era, has surprising moments of modernity.



That's all I have for now but I'm glad to get back into a routine with the blog. I'm so behind with book reviews it's not even funny.










"Titus Groan" by Mervyn Peake

The story has been spoiled for me as I watched the miniseries several years ago. Peake's diction and descriptino is sumptuous and original. I can't wait to finish it and move on to the next book in the series.

Space Shuttle Wake Up Music

Did you know that astronauts have a wake up playlist? As far back as 1965 astronauts have been serenaded out of sleep. I found this list entirely by accident but was pleasantly surprised. As well, it was interesting to see how tastes changed over the years, how what was popular crept into the playlists.

In 1965 Mission Control varied the crew's diet with Beethoven, Chopin, Puccini, Lizst, Handel, Rachmaninoff. In 1966 it was 'My Favourite Things' from "The Sound of Music". In '69 it was Sinatra. Last year it was Muse and Jay Z. Some songs were specifically selected by the astronauts themselves, giving us insight into their personalities and musical tastes.

If you're interested in checking out the playlist for yourself please click here.

William Tell Kazoo

Sometimes you just need a little William Tell Kazoo in your life to put a spring in your step. Please to enjoy!

MysteryGuitarMan

One of the geniuses of YouTube. Enjoy!

Community Rap

More awesomeness from "Community" thanks to DJ Steve Porter.

Christmas Movies - A Must-See List

After returning from a blasphemous remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" thanks to false advertising, I realized that having good Christmas movies to watch at this time of year is essential. So I have compiled a list of movies that have been put through a rigorous test (by "rigorous" I mean I've seen them more than once and loved them)

They may not be the best movies but they make me smile.

Edit: December 9/08 - Melanie over at The Indextrious Reader has reminded me of several movies that I've left off this list.

"A Charlie Brown Christmas"

Every Christmas we get a tree license and go cut down a tree in the wild and every year I've made sure we never came home with a "Charlie Brown" tree



"A Christmas Carol"

This is the Alastair Sim version, the truly creepy and classic one. If you want to go authentic then this is the one. This is also the one that I never stayed in the room for when I was a kid. Sim and this movie terrified me on a level not seen until I experienced the Sesame Christmas special.




"A Christmas Story"

There are too many classic scenes from this movie. I personally love the Ovaltine sketch



"Christmas in Connecticut"

Dennis Morgan in uniform *sigh*

"Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

I love the narrator of this little gem though I never understood why the Whos have antennae



"Home Alone"

When I first saw this I really wanted to booby trap my house. Unfortunately I didn't have access to the wonderful props that Kevin McAllister did. I had no bowling balls, no blow torches, no rifles or tarantulas



"Hook"

I love this film. Spielberg did a great job! Maggie Smith is grand as always and Williams, well, what is there really to say about Robin that hasn't been said already. He makes me laugh.



"In the Good Old Summertime"

Don't let this title fool you. It ends around Christmas and is a musical retelling of "The Shop Around the Corner". Also, it has S.Z. "Cuddles" Sakall and Buster Keaton. What more could you want in a movie?



"It's a Wonderful Life"

For the record, my favourite film



"The Nightmare Before Christmas"

Stop motion animation - be still my heart



"Meet Me in St. Louis"

The Halloween scene used to scare me as a child but now I love every minute. Everyone once in a while I find myself singing "Under the Bamboo Tree". I love this song and Margaret O'Brien is adorable!



"Miracle on 34th Street"

This is the glorious classic that I was supposed to be watching tonight. Instead, someone decided it would be a good idea to show the public the dreck that is the 90s remake. I felt a chill of terror as soon I saw the opening credits in colour. Now at least I can definitively say that the remake is blasphemous and the original retains the charm and magic it had when I first saw it



"A Muppet Christmas Carol"

Michael Caine was perfect and Gonzo, oh Gonzo my little narrator. And Penguins! Did I mention the Penguins! Though again, the third spirit gave me the creeps. Christmas films always seemed to be accompanied by some creepy association with death. For example, I never liked the cemetery scene in "It's a Wonderful Life".



"A Muppet Family Christmas"

I love this movie because for the first time I saw the Sesame Street gang and the Muppets in the same room. That's when I noticed how similar some characters where. Animal vs Cookie Monster for example. There are some amazingly quotable lines in here, including the one about the icy patch.



"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

"I wanna be... a dentist!" That sentence makes me lol every time I watch it. Also, Burls Ives is the man!



"The Santa Clause"

I'm still undecided as to whether it would be awesome or awful to have Santa as your dad



"Scrooged"

Murray is so nutty in this one! Also, my boy Robert Mitchum is in this movie.



"A Sesame Street Christmas Special"

After Alastair Sim this was the scariest movie I saw as a child. That is until my parents brought home E.T. for me to enjoy. But that's another story. If you've seen this movie then I'll refer you to the scene where Big Bird's sleeping on the roof, waiting for Santa. It's an insidious movie as it starts off harmless enough. (For the record I would have loved to ice dance with Big Bird. Isn't he the most adorable giant canary you've ever seen?)



"The Shop Around the Corner"

Jimmy Stewart stars in this cute little film. True story, he really was in love with his co-star Margaret Sullivan.



"While You Were Sleeping"

Peter Gallagher and his eyebrows end up engaged to Sandra Bullock by happenstance. The only problem is she ends up falling for his brother. Also, the grandmother is the mother from "Mary Poppins" (votes for women and all that)



"White Christmas"

I watch this every Christmas. It was my first introduction to Danny Kaye. At the time I didn't know what a hilarious and accomplished wordsmith he was.

The Pan Canadian New Folk Ensemble

I know that post title is a mouthful but I just saw this group down at a local cafe. It was the topping on a perfect day.

I found out about this gig late in the game but as soon as I heard there was a banjo involved I was all in. They're a newly formed group, currently on tour and stopped in to Victoria after their gig in Whitehorse went belly up. The "ensemble" includes songwriters Kim Barlow, Christine Fellows, Old Man Luedecke as well as Jordy Walker, Alex McMaster and Alison Corbett.

The cafe used to be an old warehouse or bakery I think and has been converted into this very awesome cafe. The owner, David Cardinal, only serves fair trade coffee/teas and organic vittles. He also makes a mean London fog, my favourite drink.

But on with my story. We arrived just as the doors opened but we might as well have been late. The place was packed. We found a small space at the back as a variety of people had "reserved" seats for their friends. (I won't go into how much I detest "seat savers") I joyfully paid for my delicious London fog when we discovered that there was a cramped space near the front that afforded a better view. (By this I mean we could actually see the performers) Our view meant sitting on the floor and trying to avoid getting stepped on.

The best part about the night was how friendly, funny and quirky the group was. The space was intimate and slightly cramped but cozy. They told us humourous stories like how "Old Man Ludecke" went to go see his idol in New York only to be told off because of the carbon footprint he'd made driving down. Their songs were strange, their lyrics, weirder. One song was about flying a bush plane up north, another about a poor gingerbread man biting off his own legs (ew). But they were my kind of strange and the songs were lyrical and beautifully orchestrated. They were inclusive, encouraging us to sing along to what they called a song in the style of "environmental balladry". (I'm pretty sure this is a new niche genre)

The point is, they were amazing, I had a great time and it was really nice to go out, have tea and listen to great talent, even better, Canadian talent! This song, "Little Bird" was my favourite of the night. So gorgeous!