From Turkey to Bulgaria and Back

Sooo... back in 2003, I went on a trip to Bulgaria via Turkey for a month with Jessica Naugle. And a I made an audio travelogue on a little hand held recorder. Came back, transferred it all onto tape with and ADAT machine I picked up off my friend Sonny Walker (who recorded my first American Chamber Music EP), edited it, played it for friends and family... and there it sat... for thirteen years.

Now listen, this was 2003. There was no Soundcloud, no Bandcamp, and Myspace launched August 1, 2003, the very same day we started our trip. So, on ADAT tape it slept. As platforms and hosting has become basically free on places like Soundcloud and Bandcamp, I'd been thinking of popping this bad boy onto the web. So, I did!

Here it is:

It was a pretty great trip. Both Bulgaria and Turkey are totally worth checking out.

In case you want notes on the sounds, here are the comments I tagged up on Soundcloud:

0:05:

We rode a lot of trains on the trip.

0:20:

And we had to find ways to entertain ourselves.

1:38:

This was taken from a whirling dervish performance in Istanbul, if I recall correctly. At the train station. I think it's a thing.

1:52:

The sound of a real mechanical recorder. It's tape folks. Actually, I like that little warp.

2:06:

This is one of my favorite recorded moments: outside a mosque, everyone coming up and washing their feet. Hey, it's Turkey, it's hot, let's wash our feet in nice cool water. Was very communal and everyone was in great spirits.

2:19:

The ezan in Istanbul.

3:37:

Love these crickets.

3:48:

This is in Bulgaria. We were just hiking and came across this natural bubbling spring.

4:09:

I really like how audio-telegraphing these religions and regions are. The ezan in Turkey, church bells in Bulgaria.

5:45:

Aaaand then we came across this abandoned train tunnel. Just in the middle of the forest. Was very creepy. So we bang shit and made weird noises. Had a blast.

7:07:

Pretty sure this is a harbor on the Black Sea.

7:37:

Back to civilization. Sofia, Bulgaria.

7:39:

Jessica laughing. Probably at me.

7:44:

Street Busker, his English singing wasn't half bad.

8:01:

Crickets. Nighttime in Bulgaria.

8:17:

An organ grinder. Like a real old school, monkey in a funny hat and vest working the organ, organ grinder. Was awesome.

8:39:

Then we came across an outdoor music festival. Don't think we ever really figured out what it was for. Just happened.

10:31

Street musician. He was playing a tiny little bagpipes. Bagpipes, folks, aren't just from Scotland: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagpipes

10:49:

Same festival. Marching drums.

11:38:

And then we had to go back to Turkey. We flew in and out of Istanbul so we got back on the rails.

12:40:

We were terrible. But had a great time.

12:55:

Istanbul rail station. Don't know why they had such light and airy music.

13:20:

Medley of my favorite moments.

Rila Monastery, Bulgaria, where you can spend the night with monks.

All Art Of the Past Must Be Destroyed

Pierre Boulez died this week. What bummer. Still, he was around a long time. This guy was doing all sorts of great things back in the day. You should check him out sometime.

One of the greatest things he said, something that's stayed with me for a while: 

Okay, anyhow, here's some tunes by ol' Boulie:

Also, this list he compiled of the best of 20th Century music is a great list. The list is here.

Mr. Burns

Going through some posts I started last year and for whatever reason forgot to finish, or in the case of this one, forgot to press "Post." Weird. This is a little late for most, as it's not playing in SF anymore, but if it comes round to theater near you. Check it out:

I don't rate plays, because I don't go to them, but saw Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play: it was fantastic. Go watch it. Here's a pretty good podcast about it.

James Tiptree Jr

Hey, y'all! Bit of good news: seems someone cares! And I don't think it's just my mom!

I got on the recommended reading list for the James Tiptree, Jr award, for "The Body Corporate," which went up over at GigaNotoSaurus in September. An award is always cool, but what's even more cool is that I actually follow this award. I wrote my entry essay for Clarion West on Science Fiction and Gender, which ever since my friend Jef Samp lent me an anthology of androgynous-themed science fiction (it had some plucky name like Andropunk or something; I'll have to dig around) in High School I've always had an eye out for gender in science fiction. I wasn't ready for it then, in High School, kinda blew my mind, but that anthology stayed with me and I've always thought that gender and sexuality were two secret subversive weapons of Science Fiction, both in literature and in Fandom. It's something I toy with from time to time. So it'd nice someone noticed.

So, to whoever you are out there: You've got good taste.

Check out the list here.

Oh, and a Clarionmate from my year also got nominated, check out her story here.

Sounds: Deafheaven - Baby Blue

Sounds: Solvent - Think Like Us

This is good:

Sounds: Jonzun Crew - Ground Control

Time to get back to sharing good musics that I've picked up along the way. This one was a great find. If you know anything about my current band, Face Tat, you'll hear obvious similarities. I certainly did. Caught this track at an underground show in Oakland right after getting off tour and I was pissed. "Who's stealing my sound?" When I asked the DJ she said it was the Jonzun Crew, from 1983. I was blown away. Never heard of them. And when I saw their look, I was blown away:

Fuck yeah!

Apparently they were a Afrofuturistic take on the Parliment Funkadelic. You think? Anyhow, this track just slays. Love the vocoder. Can't believe this is a band that time almost forgot. Except one of the crew went on to help produce the New Kids on the Block. Yeah.

Give an ear: 

Behold: Face Tat - Open Up Your Arms

Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!? Face Tat's got a new single out! It's off our upcoming Spring 2016 full length. The track is called "Open Up Your Arms."

Check it:

We wrote this pretty quick, in early 2015, with the first batch of songs ideas for this album. I bought a new keyboard off a main damie of mine, Roger Thomasson, a Roland Gaia SH-01, and started futzing around with it, trying to figure that beast out and quickly came across this massive crackly bass sound. It just booms. Especially live. After that, we put that drone on it, which came off my microKORG, which is probably the best most capable little synth I've ever had the pleasure to work with. It comes with so many good stock sounds that you can easily manipulate into your own. The knobs at the top are pretty intuitive and if you really want to get deep in it, you can actually build sounds from the ground up with the function selectors that change what the knobbies affect. I mean, you really can do that with any modern synth: Akai, Nord, even the Gaia, it's just that I learned on the mK first and their approach is so easy to interact with, it's my go-to. And I hear it everywhere. Everyone's got one but they're so customizable that its sound doesn't get played out. I saw Flying Lotus last year and heard him drop this bass line that I immediately knew came from a mK. And sure enough, later on I saw an interview with him talking about his gear and bam, right there is a mK and he even goes on to talk about it. Anyhow, enough of the Korg plug here. (Korg, sponsor our next tour, dammit!)

That weird chime sound is actually from my Roland Octapad SPD-30, which is a cool little midi drum pad. Got some stock effects. Ran some chimes on the Octapad with some reverse delay and then futzed with the tuning of each cluster of notes. Meaning, lots of microtones. Like I'm playing A-C-A in the first part, but the C is tuned a few cents up, while the second A is actually a different pad and it's tuned a few cents down from the other A. With the delay it creates this shimmery, pretty, slightly discordant effect that lends itself to the dark feel of the song. Like our engineer who mixed this for us said: "This song is all about the feels." And they're pretty dark feels.

I rounded it out with that key solo also off the Gaia, which is a great sound that just dominates. Which is why it's only played twice in the song.

Mike started channeling more metal with his guitar around the time we started this album, which I'm sure you noticed. He put a ton of layers, different guitars, a bass guitar, and different room and close mic position, tried a few different amps, all to get that deep, deep chug. I'm sure he could say more about the guitars, a lot more, but he's not here right now. We through on vox and even some vocoder and used Ableton Live to write up some drums, and boom, there you have it. It didn't take us long to separate out the backing vocals into that more round-like give and take at the end, which he and I were both pumped about.

We mixed it over at Different Fur and then threw it up onto Bandcamp and into your ears. You are welcome.

Cool Cat I Met On The Street The Other Day

I met this cool cat on the street the other day. So I made a video of our encounter. This is it. I was listening to the Album Leaf at the time. Thus:

Music - The Album Leaf - the Outer Banks

Short Story: The Body Corporate - GigaNotoSaurus (2015)

Hey, y'all. A bit of news:

Sold a short story to GigaNotoSaurus: "The Body Corporate."

This is one of those that went around to everyone and they all "loved" it but no one wanted it. Love might be the new hate.

Luckily, someone did love it: Rashida J. Smith! An editor who put up with my many nits with a smooth grace.

This story was written in response to a friend of mine who wanted to write a story about natives vs. corporates. He pitched it to me and by the end of the discussion I had so many ideas that I had the start of my own short. So, thanks Mike. I stole your idea.

Oh, that and the "Grimly" at the end of the story was directly inspired/a riff on this terrible creature:

Malaysian Assassin Bug!

http://www.arkinspace.com/2012/05/assassin-bug-malaysias-macabre.html

Check it out!

Ancient Modern New York

There's three things amazing about this video:

First, that it's amazing. I mean, just look! Ancient Modern New York!

Second, they had tons of stuff. I mean, I know this. I seen Once Upon a Time in America! And Gangs of New York, a documentary made in real-time, that showcased how wonderful New Yorkers used to be at throwing knives. But seriously, just like at the advent of writing, human civilization already had economics and art and oral literature and metallurgy and music and painting and math and geometry and architecture. Ancient humans had many of the thing we have today. Just no television. Or BuzzFeed. And just like then, Ancient Modern New Yorkers had cars and huge buildings and rail cars and subways and tons of large structures. Duh. Still, it's crazy to see it, and realize that they didn't have frikkin' cameras, especially motion picture cameras, up until that point. Especially given that we've evolved into such a visual society. Thus ----> Buzzfeed gifs.

The third amazing thing is that at 4:10 seconds the video shows a building being demolished. Only it wasn't. It was deconstructed. And you know why? Cause with all the things that they did have back in the good ol' days, they didn't have bulldozers (circa 1923). They barely had cars.

Now, they've had cranes in one form or another since Ancient Egypt. But even up until late 1800s most of the cranes were big, bulky, built in place, and a combination of pulleys, cables, and hydraulics that were man or machine powered (some were hydropowered). Point is, they didn't build a crane for a wrecking ball, because A- the resouces (one of the first recorded uses of a steel wrecking ball was in the 1880s) and B- what were they going to do with the rubble? If you watch the demolishment of the building they didn't knock it down and bulldoze it, they took it apart brick by brick! Or maybe sledgehammer by sledgehammer, wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow. It was more deconstructed, piece by piece. This also makes sense as many buildings back in the day were recycled into new buildings and homes. After World War II locals west of Aushcwitz reused bricks from krema gas-chambers to construct farmhouses. Course, that was in part because they were impoverished by war, but still.

The past is a crazy place.

Face Tat's on Soundcloud

Yeah, I know. Christmas came early this year. Or maybe it's just late from last year. Face Tat got itself a Soundcloud page and one of the things we put up on it was an ambient piece we did for Subliminal Message #2, a little dealie thing/live performance/ambient listen-in that we were invited to do at the Tides theater. And it looks like we're going to do it again for Subliminal Message #4 at the DeYoung Museum for a month long residency. They're be more about that later, but yeah, Face Tat's going to have some tunes up at the DeYoung for a month. In the meantime, you can take a listen to what we did last year. For my part I did a lot of breathing and monotone droning on an E note. I think I had allergies that day and started doing the deep breaths cause I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. Eventually, I did catch my breath and I didn't die, which is how I'm here typing this right now. Check the player if you want some trippy tunes, bra!

On the Challenge to Not Read Straight White Cis-Gendered Males for a Year

Identity politics is always tricky, but I really don't understand what the big deal is. Author K. Tempest Bradford has thrown down the gauntlet: "What if I only read stories by a certain type of author? Instead of reading everything, I would only look at stories by women or people of color or LGBT writers. Essentially: no straight, cis, white males." She's challenged people to read other voices for a year.

In the past, I've done personal challenges (though I'd never call them challenges, just more like personal goals) similar to this. Never before for a year. And never before exclusively. I'm even in one right now. I've been trying to read mostly female crime fiction writers. Just finished Megan Abbott's Die a Little and am starting Ruth Rendell's Live Flesh. (If people have recs, please leave a comment.)

I totally get the part that people feel about discriminating against one group. But there's definitely an argument that the group she and supporters are targeting is the dominant and over-represented group, so therefore, it's pretty much impossible to effectively discriminate against. And let's be real, this challenge will do nothing to Jonathan Franzen's book sales. But even more to the point, so what? If she wrote it different and said, "Hey, I read no straight, cis, white males for a year and this is what I found..." then would anyone care? Is it the fact that she's trying to enlist others? Is she even though? It's a challenge, you don't have to accept it. If I went for a two year masters in black studies and only read black authors for a year, would you give a shit? And if at a party I said to you, "Hey, you should get a master's in black studies and only read black authors for two years. Heck everyone should!" would that be me enlisting others for discrimination? No. I don't think so.

I've seen some object to the slashed through Neil Gaiman book (to which he responds: "For anyone hoping for outrage, I think that @tinytempest's article at [link] is great, & don't mind being the posterbook"),as if it that means that she's going to go out and start burning books, starting with American Gods (which, if that's true, I have some matches; I kid!). And there's some unfortunate click-baity stuff even on the website, making it sound like she's calling for a boycott. But really, it's a challenge. Not a judgment or a policy. She's not calling for the banning of a type of author. She's saying, hey, try it, see what happens. And as any non state sponsored challenge that is not overseen by any board, judges, or referees, you're free to interpret the rules how you see fit. You can only read QUILTBAG authors. Or only transgendered. Or only black. I wonder if that's it, that the language she uses in the article sounds discriminatory: I'm not going to read X group. I wonder if she reworded it: Hey, I'm only going to read QUILTBAG black and Asian writers for a year, and I challenge you to do the same.

She includes a list of authors which is great and the most value for this kind of challenge (although Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is on there, and he's a married and Italian, which I guess doesn't count as a white European and that book is not exactly underrepresented, seeing as how it's been adapted into a movie starring Sean Connery as well as a stage play, a video game, etc.). See, I've done this before, and found under appreciated voices and books. I've gone through stages of only Scottish Authors, only Horror Authors, only Female Authors, only Non-Fiction, which has forced me to seek out authors I wouldn't have stumbled upon. And that's where I agree with her the most. Often times I've looked for a subset group to seek out and then you go to the bookstore and you realize: Hey, these authors aren't that easy to find. At the end of every aisle is Franzen or or the Hunger Games or J.K. Rowling or George R.R Martin or J.R.R. Tolkien or some other R.R. or whatever hot author popular author they are shoving in your face (unless it's Green Apple Books!). Then you have to remind yourself, no, I'm not here to read a Sue Grafton mystery, I'm here to find discourses on Edwardian lesbian poetry.

I mentioned this to Eileen Gunn, about how if anything, this would be a great resource for making participants go and seek out other voices, and she pointed me to the Carl Brandon Society's resource reading list, which taking one look at is a great place to start, especially for black writers and for Native American writers, an extremely under represented group.

Finally, she's only talking about a year. She's not calling for a lifetime ban. It's a challenge and an experiment. Hell, I'd love it if some right-wing Analog-writer Sad Puppy Award thumping author did this challenge and wrote about it. Even if at the end of the year they say: "Learned nothing! Waste of time!" But mostly I've seen them bitching and crying discrimination on the webs. White men crying about "not being included," even though the challenge is open to all. But often it's the hegemony that cries out the most when it's not invited to the part... even when it is.

(After saying all that, I'm not going to be doing this anytime soon [maybe midway through 2015, but probably not until 2016], because of my backlog:

And this doesn't even include my Kindle reading list.

But in the meantime, I'll be putting together a killer reading list.)

Hark! Er, Behold! New Face Tat Release, It's Your Funeral:

Hey, Hey, Hey Kiddies,

Well, it looks like we got ourselves a new batch of music from our favorite crime-fighting duo: FACE TAT!

It's Your Funeral, has dropped and you should have a listen, here.

And to make matters worse, they also released an album length video at the same time! Don't worry, it's only a three song EP, so it's not too long. Also, you don't have to stare at it the whole time. You can put it on in the background while you work or clean your toilet and dutifully ignore it while fulfilling your role as a supportive friend. Thanks, guys! Actually, on the real, I dare you to watch and not get mesmerized.

The video is pretty cool. What starts as a screen saver turns into... well, something more. It's computer graphics from 1968 I got off the Internet Archive. There's a linky on the Youtube info section. Check it out. Better yet, check it out, then buy it, then tweet it, then let the world know! Or just watch below.

A little something I wrote got turned into a radio drama

I mean, the title kinda says it all. I wrote up a piece of flash fiction for a contest that the Wisconsin Public Radio radio show To The Best of Our Knowledge threw earlier this year. I didn't win. Then, outta the blue, they contacted me and said they're turning my piece ("Reset") into a radio drama. So, I guess I did win something. Anyhow, here's the link to just my piece: [link]. I'm pumped to hear this in the context of the whole show. That is all.

This Is Beautiful Forever: Scene 27, Our Robocop Remake

For Your Friday: Allie - Mimi King

This:

Sounds: Eff Yeah! Tears For Fears covers Animal Collective - My Girls

Today just got gooder:

I did this:

45 mile adventure: 35 mile bike ride, 5 mile hike in, 5 mile hike out. Over Mt. Tamalpais. Starting elevation 195 feet, max elevation 1578 feet, total gain 2221 feet. 

We got a late start, Angel, Aaron and I. Ate a delicious if huge kale and mushroom omelette. We wanted to leave around 10 but didn't get going until 11:30 in the A. Aaron took us to a coffee shop and we stopped for lunch in Mill Valley before he turned back (not cause he's a wimp. He's not. He's Broyalty! But, broyalists have have dainty ankles, not really built for riding over mountains). Made a few water stops. Okay, I made a bunch of water stops, but Angel powered on, like "whatev". Coming down the coast-side of Mt. Tam into Stinson Beach: totally awesome. The last bit over the rolling hills of Bolinas, that was painful. So ready to be done. But we finished the ride and then donned our packs and hiked into Wildcat Campground by 7:45 in the P. In the dark. Total badasses.

Then it was food, whiskey, and sleep under the stars. Well, fog, really.

What can I say? It was totally awesome.

map.

Sounds: Capricorn One - Scare Tactics. Simplicity Through Fear

Simplicity Through Fear. That's how the writer/musician/soundsist behind Capricorn One, Chrs Ovr, described this piece. Totally awesome. Get your scares on:

Space Burgers Will Be Printed

NASA's looking to print food. Yup. Print:

The 3D printing component will deliver macronutrients (starch, protein, and fat), structure, and texture while the ink jet will deliver micronutrients, flavor, and smell.

Yum. Nothing says 'delish' like ink-jet delivered flavor and smell.

Still, I'd eat NASA excreted burger-paste to explore the stars. Sign me up!

Prophecy! In the future, ketchup will be excreted!

3D Printing: Food in Space

Music Video: Snake Plissken - Face Tat, Dungeon Mistress

Just a lil' something I cooked up for our track "Snake Plissken," off of Dungeon Mistress. Enjoy. Or don't. I don't really care.

I'm lying. I really do care.

Talented Cat Singing Banana Phone

Did I stutter?

The New Samsung Apex Wearable Computer

"For my career I do need internet and TV and my dick sucked all the time." -Andy Hold, Brooklyn, NY.

Pretty Much Exactly How It Went Down

Once again, Life imitates Taiwanese Television News Anime: Wendy Davis' Texas Filibuster

"...And it was free."

Sounds: V/VM - Lady in Red (Chris De Burgh)

Warning: This Video Contains Flashing Lights - Dance Floor Dale

Jack Vance - Interview

Jack Vance died recently. Obit. Interview (1 of 12):

This Rules: How To Dance

Right?

Behold: Face Tat - Face Tat, Dungeon Mistress

Here's a little video I rustled up for my latest musical project: Face Tat. It's a remix of the Public Domain film Gamera vs. Viras (US - Destroy All Planets). Enjoy:

London. 1927. Color.

London in 1927 from Tim Sparke on Vimeo.

Interview With An Artist: Revo

Revo Dubois is one of the most talented Bay Area artists that you've yet to hear about. Yet to, cause while he's just getting going he's young, hungry, and about to make some waves during his upcoming residency at New York's School of Visual Arts. And this isn't just some residency, this is some fancy shit. Prestigious one might say. That one being me. And he's got some ambitious plans to get there. During his month long residency  this summer he's going to paint 100 pieces and put together a book to raise funds for his tuition. His campaign is here. 

I sat down with him (read: emailed him some questions) for a little interview to try and get the word out about him, his art, his residency, and his campaign. Here we go. 

Five words or less: describe yourself, as artist or otherwise:

Colorful, coded, narrative, language, pluralist

Tell us about your latest project, this residency. Where is it, when is it, how are you getting there, and how big of an opportunity is this for you?

This current project is called "Beyond the Void". The goal is to make 100 pieces in a month. The ending result will be a book documenting the process, and explaining the works. It takes place at The School of Visual Arts in New York. The Kickstarter funds the materials, and a few other expenses. This is one of the biggest opportunities I have gotten in awhile. This allows me, as a West Coast artist, to experience what is going on the other side of the country. Also allows me to network with other artist from around the world. 

You say that your work is infused with a mythos, an autobiographical mythos that's really a language made up from symbols and references from your life and popular culture. You even say that "deeply personal messages" are on display. Do think that makes your work cryptic and/or challenging for viewers to engage with?

To a degree I think it does make it cryptic and challenging, but I feel like people aren't challenged any more. They just want the bright package, the blockbuster movie, the Superbowl commercial. I think that if you treat people like idiots they eventually become that way. They fall into that persona, but if you challenge them to think about what is going on, to think about the meaning of things, and their relationship to the world, then they blossom. They bloom into people looking for more... more reasons, more answers... the subtext to the meaning of life.

What do you wish you knew about art/painting/creating before you got started?

How much networking and being out there is important, but I think it's all a combination of luck and being a part of the art world. Also to remember that everything is subjective. Art and music are realms where people get pick and choose. Not everyone is going to enjoy what I do, or what some other artist does. 

How does your latest work match up with your earlier work? More specifically, how has your work changed and how have you evolved as an artist through your career, and is there a strong through-line  stylistically or contextually, in your work?

It syncs up well with a lot of my older work. I have those moments when I look at an old piece and see that I was trying to convey the same message even back then just less sophisticated. There was always this astral plane, and these figures roaming within them. The only series that I feel have their own vein are the ones I call "Splatter Paintings". They stand on their own in the most basic fashion, but even those are based around important people in my life. My series "The Bright Grime" was where I began to create messages in my work. This would lead to "Cognition". 

That series came about through analyzing a lot of writing I did. The themes were mainly Art, Sex, and Death. At the time I would always paint this girl with red hair. I knew that she was Death always trying to steal my heart, so I decided how would I personify these other themes in my life. It grew from there.

Favorite movie?

Pulp Fiction, I like the idea of telling a story in broken parts. It forces the viewer to pay attention and look for clues on how each event occurred. Plus it is also full of symbolism.

A runaway trolley is hurtling down the tracks toward five people who will be killed if it proceeds on its present course. You can save these five people by diverting the trolley onto a different set of tracks, one that has only one person on it, but if you do this that person will be killed. Is it morally permissible to turn the trolley and thus prevent five deaths at the cost of one?

Wow. Where did that come from... I'd rather switch with that one person. 

Anything else you want to say?

This is a scary moment for me. I was never big on change, but I hope to get all the funding needed for this venture. I have 2 days left. I don't know what I'm going to do if I don't make it. I guess we'll see. I'm just thankful for people out there who care.

-----------------

Check the vid:

Sounds: Broken Social Scene - Sweetest Kill

This song sounds good.



End of line.

A Bat Drinking In Slow Motion

Bats have very hairy, very long tongues. For drinking nectar in midflight, of course. Observe:

Sounds: Modern Skirts - Under Bridges and Overpasses

I like this song. Modern Skirts:

Steven Soderbergh Talks at the SFIFF56

...and we listen:

We Are But Blades Of Grass Tossed Into An Uncaring Wind

"We are but blades of grass tossed into an uncaring wind. All effort is vain, all order an illusion." -- Coach Jack Del Rio, 2008, then head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Wringing Out A Washcloth In Zero-G

Just what I said:

Sounds: Goat - Goatman

This was too easy, cause this song is just too good:

Non-Linear Storytelling: A Sweet Infographic

Just what I said. Cool visual breakdown of Non-Linear Storytelling. Did I Stutter?

Mars Rover "Accidentally" Draws Penis

That's right, we've finally left our mark and have show the universe that we plan on fucking over the Red Planet next: Curiosity "Accidentally" Draws Penis on Surface of Another Planet.

Three Years of the Sun in Three Minutes

Three years of video, taken every 12 seconds, condensed into three minutes. From NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory in three minutes. What more do you need to know? Watch!

William Gibson speaks at NYPL

...and we listen:

Where the hell is the famous 'No Rules Burger'!?

Sounds: Lower Dens - Nova Anthem

This is a good song:

True Fact: This is dumb: Pee Pants

Modern technology now allows you to piss yourself:

No more having to take off those pesky pants!

http://mypeepants.com/

MC Pee Pants: Please sue.

New Song:

I wrote this for a friend who just moved and I think I tapped into a little emotional reservoir, a cistern of happy/sadness, a (let's see how long we can keep this up) amphora of clashing forces, a septic tank of hope. That was a bit much. Didn't mean for this piece to be so somber, but really, I've had three of my best, closest friends, friends who make San Francisco home for me, move away in the past two years. What's this whole growing up, moving on bullshit? At the same time, pretty crazy stoked for all of them: starting new adventures, lives, living in new cities/countries. It's a mixed emotional bag: love that they are expanding their lives, sucks they they are leaving. The only constant is change. And thus:

The Robots Have Risen, And They Are Here To Rock

Four-armed robotic drummer and robo-guitarist cover AC/DC. Nothing more need be said:

Cookies All The Way

As a fellow creme hater, I'm 100% behind David Neevel's latest invention: an OSM. Oreo Separator Machine. It's an acronym. This dude spent 0.04 years on this amazing invention. He also had to keep his neck warm. It was a slog, but well worth it. Cookie technology has been pushed into the 21st century. Finally:

Also, his website is dickbird.org. Lovin' it.

Worst Fleshlight Ever

Wish I'd said that. Got that from a redditor, who was talking about this:

Jiminy Christmas! Some dude caught that bowfishing! I guess that goes without saying. How else could you catch that thing? Oh, right. Harpoon. My friend, Mikey G, said that "fish" was rather phallic looking (but he says that about everything). Said it was a dick with teeth. Which is now the name of my latest screamo band: Dick With Teeth.

via Reddit.

Sweet Review of "Guppies"

I mean, the headline says it all: got a sweet review of my short story "Guppies" in Dark Dimensions No. 12, which is up over at Wattpad. My story and the magazine.

Here's the beef:

And thanks KimFry.

M. Night Shyamalan's Real Genius

Coming in August of '85, M. Night's latest twisty thriller, Real Genius, directed by Martha Coolidge and remixed by dondrapersayswhat.

Zoochosis: Case 5 - Fate

I like the original title better: Mousocracy. But Patrick Scott ended up using rats. Rats! I'd like to take more credit for co-writing this, but in truth Patrick came up with most of this on his own. And even more in post production. The whole Mouse Kingdom? That was Patrick. Bomber that turns into a croissant (favorite part!). Patrick. In fact, the only thing I wrote that ended up in the final cut was the scientists taking notes. I wrote that. And I'll gladly take an oscar for that, thankyouverymuch.

Check out the rest of his crazy work here.

For $360 People of Color Can Learn About White Privilege

I'm not making this up. It's the White Privilege Conference, as presented, if the photo on the front page is representative, by white people. Specifically, Quakers:

Don't get me wrong, totally acknowledge white privilege. In fact, who better to discuss it than white people? And what better way to show it than throwing a conference and charging everyone, including people of color, $360 to attend, but only charging predominantly white Quakers $160 to attend? And why should people of color come to the White Privilege Conference?

People of color learn from this conference that White supremacy, White privilege, racism and other forms of oppression are designed to destroy you. 

Saw this on Nick Mamatas' Livejournal.

National Crystal Meth Hallucination League

From the Comedy Central and the Onion.

Langer: 562  Snakes: 1



Totally awesome.

That's Nature: Ever Seen An Actual Meteor Strike?

Me neither. But here's a comp of the meteor that struck Russia. This is totally amazing/scary/beautiful:



Not to make light, mind you. More than a 1000 people were injured from the impact. More here.

Woman Has Orgasm In Restaurant For No Reason

You may remember the befuddling little film I mentioned previously, called UFO: Target Earth (1974). Well, what I didn't mention then was that about half-way through the film this scene happens:

Now, what first got me was the music. Right off the bat, that tune, "Country Love" caught my ear. Probably because I can't believe anyone would let themselves be recorded singing like that. Second, the lyrics. Let's review:

I wish I had a hundred dollar bill
Just one for ever'day
I would spend them all aw'my true love
But their not send her away
Cause it's that Country Love
Country Love, get while you can
It's only Saturday Night in the country, boy
And it's Christmas everyday for the city man.

Those people pretending to act are yapping over this classic song, so that's as close as I can get the lyrics. There's something in there like "Whatchu going do when the well runs dry?" But that's enough for our discussion, which is: This Fucking Song Rules.

A hundred dollar bill. Really? Just a hundred dollar bill? That's all you wish for? I know, it's 1974. That's a lot of money back then. My little online inflation calculator says that $100 is about equal to $488 in 1974. But, still, not a $1K? Or a $1M? And I have no idea what "But their not send her away means." I mean, I might have heard it wrong, but take a listen, you tell me.

And why exactly is it Christmas everyday for the city man? Cause, as a city man lemme tell you: it's not Christmas everyday.

Now, after all that, this woman has an orgasm, which three onlooking dudes apparently can sense a mile away. They're just gawking at her! And let me state: I didn't edit this in the least. The music, the dudes gawking, the painful acting, the inexplicable orgasm, the little boy crying out for no reason, it's all just as it was presented in the film. I even kept the cut to the next scene in there just so y'all could see the craziness. 

Anyhow, enjoy. 

True Fact: Facts

Objective facts... are debatable.

True Fact: Clams

Despite the easy laughs and quick jokes, we have no statistical or demonstrable evidence that clams are happy. End of discussion.

True Fact: Sharting

It's a life choice. People chose to shart.

Blade Runner Convention Reel: Drool.

Wow, this footage makes the movie look even older. It also makes it feel more gritty and real. For Blade-heads:

Sounds: Film School - He's a Deep, Deep Lake

First time I saw Film School was when they opened for Cat Power at Bimbo's for Noise Pop. I want to say that was in 2003, and if it was, then I've been listening to these dudes for ten years. Jesus. Makes me feel old. Well, actually, the graying hair is wakes me feel old. And all these kids on my lawn. 

Still, Film School rocks it:

'The Directors' - Conversations from a Boy-Hole

Curious that The Hollywood Reporter's round-table interview with 'The Directors' includes not a single woman. Mimi Leder? Kathryn Bigelow? Jane Campion? Sofia Coppola? Julie Taymor? A single A-List female director would have been nice. I don't know how much contrast that would have produced, but at times this conversation feels like a good ol' boys club, like bunch of dudes hanging out in a man-cave Boy-Hole. Sexist much Hollywood? Shocking! And all white dudes, but for Ang Lee. 

That being said, much of the conversation about work and art and time and motivation are pretty universal concepts, and pretty interesting to listen to/watch. And, of course, Tarantino steals the show by shouting, "I have to keep their dick hard!"

Check it:

Ps- note to Affleck, cause I know you're reading: tuning forks don't go out of tune. I know that wasn't your analogy, but I just want to point out to you that it's flawed and that you might not want to be associated with such fallacious ideas. Tuning forks don't go out of tune. That's the whole point of the tuning fork. That's why people use them. They stay in tune. They do, however, fade away...

Bad Writing

Here's what it is: A documentary by Vernon Lott on Bad Writing featuring interviews from: David Sedaris, Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Nick Flynn, Steve Almond, Yusef Kumonyakaa, Lee Gutkind, D.A. Powell, Kim Barnes, Robert Wrigley, Claire Davis, Daniel Waters, Lynn Emanuel, Daniel Orozco, Mark McGurl, David Nadelberg, Josh Olson, Brenda Shaughnessy, Alex Steele, Michael Wiegers, Miles Corwin,  Sally Wofford-Girand, Jenni Ferrari-Adler, Jillian Weise, and Scott Rice… just to name a few, hmm, yes?

I think it's only streaming for free for a few more days. Check it out or check out the website here.

"Unidentifying Object" Sigur Ros / UFO Target Earth Mash-Up

For this other project I'm working on I did this little mash up of Sigur Rós's "Refur" (B-side of "Sæglópur") with footage and voices from this incomprehensible 1974 movie called UFO: Target Earth. It's a pretty amazing piece of cinema, as the movie lacks all plot, character development, comprehension, and sense. That being said, these people, their voices so flat and non-actory, I think they sound beautiful. I've already used these people speaking in another piece, but right here was the first. Be sure to turn it up and Check It Out:

And if you really want to see the movie it's available from the Internet Archive right here.

Sounds: Beach House - Troublemaker

This is a sad Beach House song. (Shocking.)

Zoochosis: Case 1 - Aliens

My main damie, Patrick Scott, got his latest Zoochosis web-series picked up by Machinima Prime. Equal parts funny, sad, gross, and provocative. Check it out:

If'un you wanna check out more of his work, click'em right here.

Karl Schroeder: Emotions

"There are no distinct emotions. You have learned that in the human heart, love resides within such and such a circle, hate there in another, and between are pride, jealousy, all the royal and plebeian emotions. We say instead emotion is one unbounded field. Our way of life causes us to cross this field, now in one direction, now another, again and again on our way to the goals to which or world has constrained us. The paths crisscross, and eventually, the field has well-travelled intersections, and blank areas where we have never walked. 

We name the intersections just as we do towns but not the empty fields between them. We name these oft-crossed places  love, hate, jealously, pride. But our destinations were made by the conditions of our lives, they are not eternal or inevitable.  

We know that the answer to human suffering lies in changing the ratio of emotions so grief and sorrow lie neglected, even nameless, in an untravelled wild." 

-Karl Schroeder, Ventus.

High on Fire w/ Goatwhore @ Slim's

Went for another round of metal with my main damie Mike G! This time we went down to Slim's to see High on Fire. And who opened? Goatwhore. GOAT. WHORE. I really just wish I could have been there when they had the band name discussion:

Dude who made up Goatwhore: Yo, dudes. Thanks for all coming down--

Other Bandmember: Dude, you called a band meeting, course we came down.

Dude who made up Goatwhore: Yeah, well, thanks. I just want to go ahead and thank you all again. I know how difficult it can be to juggle jobs, life, kids, and still be totally committed to this righteous project that we have embarked upon, but have yet to name. 

[Nods and affirmations around the room]

Dude who made up Goatwhore: Which brings me to the next point of order. Now, before you all respond, I just want you to take a minute and let this name work its way through your mind. Let it trickle down. Just think about it, is all I'm saying. Goat... whore. Goatwhore. One word.

[Chins are rubbed. Long hair is flicked back over shoulders. Ponderous looks and a few 'hmms' bounce around the room.]

Some other guy (probably the bassist): Well, like, I don't dislike the name or nothing, but I mean, we're probably going to have to drop most of the free jazz improvisational shit we were doing.

Some other, other guy: Yeah, and all that adult contemporary stuff we were working on, that's just out the window.

Dude who made up Goatwhore: Listen, guys, this is an opportunity for us to focus and hone our sound. I mean: Goatwhore. The name says it all. Who seconds the motion?

And well you can see where it went from there, cause right after that meeting the lead singer went out and bought these bad-ass bracers:

Goatwhore: Bracers, bro!

Also, I love how their Wikipedia entry describes them as a "blackened" death-metal band. Like they was just left in the pan longer than normal metal, what with some black-pepper and spices. Which is apt, cause these dudes are spicy!

Dark Goatwhore

They also had an amp that said "God Has Twelve Dicks", which I didn't know was common knowledge until that show:

You heard it right, God has twelve dicks.

After that, High on Fire graced the stage. They rocked, of course, but the greatest lesson I took away from the High on Fire show was that that this guy showed me that no one should ever feel shy about going around shirtless:

Embarrassment is for mortals. I earned this physique! 

High on Fire @ Slim's

High on Fire: Wailin'!

High on Fire bassplayer is PISSED!

...and evil.

And finally, guitarist Matt Pike showed his Shoggoth nature while executing an epic solo:

A Shoggoth, mid-solo.

Sounds: Liars - The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack

Last song/video I post for 2012. And it's a goodie. A slow builder, for sure, but well worth it. Check out Liars' The Other Side of Mt. Heart Attack:

Sounds: Twin Shadow - Castles In The Snow

I like this song.


Artist: Twin Shadow.

Sounds: The Horrors - Sea Within a Sea

I like this song. Especially when the synth comes in. Dude's accent sounds local band fake.

I need a stagecoach - Hipster Thanksgiving

This... is hilarious. And I've been to this Hipster Thanksgiving. Spot. On.



And now I'm off to delete my Facebook account.

Zoochosis' New Series

Man, this looks slick. This is the trailer/teaser for Patrick Scott's new Zoochosis series coming out on Machinima Prime. Drool:

Mist Giant, False Rival - The Interview

It's the end of 2012 and the entire world, so we of Mist Giant thought we'd round out the year by releasing our third album, False Rival. It's up and free over at Bandcamp. Well, it's name-your-own-price, so if you just can't bring yourself to take it for free you can alleviate your conscience with PayPal or a major credit card.

To give a little taste of what's in store for listeners I went ahead and did a little interview with the album. Check it:

Mark Pantoja: Tell me a little about yourself.

False Rival: First, thanks for having me. Often people only talk to band members about albums and their music, completely ignoring us, the actual works of art, so, just, yeah, thanks for having me here.

MP: No problem.

FR: And a personal thanks, too, you know, for taking part in my creation.

MP: It was my pleasure.

FR: Right on. Okay, so yeah, I'm a eight track album, more of a EP really, but I think there's plenty of meat in me for people to really get into. I was recorded and mixed of at Studio SQ this summer and mastered by Bruce Leighton at Datastream. (Thanks guys, for helping to make me the album I am today!)

MP: Tell us about the recording process. Did you come into focus before recording, as a concept, or are you more a document of an organic studio process?

FR: Shit man, getting all wordy on me. Hell, I don't know, man, I'm just an album. You tell me. 

MP: Well, most of the material we had written and performed live for the last year, part of a third or fourth wave of live songs we put together. The first lead track, track two, Catch & Release, was written early summer, so it's actually the newest song on the album and kinda represents a new direction of open/organic song writing. That song more or less coalesced during the studio process.

FR: So, didn't have a concept for this album? For me?

MP: No, nothing as formal as that, other than our releases have tended to be the strongest songs we have at the time of recording, so they're, more or less, a snapshot of our musical maturity at that moment. So, what I'm saying is that you are so 2012. 

FR: Cool.

MP: Yeah. Okay, well, thanks for coming down.

FR: Thanks for having me.

Waylines Magazine: Going (Semi-)Pro

Listen, we're all getting pretty saturated with the online tipjar that is Kickstarter. But that doesn't mean that there aren't good projects out there nor does it mean that you shouldn't check out some of the better ones.

One of the things I took away from my Kickstarter campaign was a sense of community. Not only was Kickstarter a project in a global marketplace (I had support from all over the US, Singapore, Canada, and Australia), where family members and random strangers could throw me their support because, but it was also an opportunity for me and project campaigners to give back to our backers and the greater community. I released my project as a copyleft Creative Commons for anyone to download, distribute, and remix/mess-with (as is this entire blog). And so I tend to be drawn to projects that try to instill a sense of community and openess in their final product. Which is why I'm a backer of Waylines Magazine's Kickstarter Campaign.

Waylines Magazine is a new magazine from a good friend of mine and fellow Clarion West 2011 and editor over at Ideomancer David Rees-Thomas and some dude I've never met but seems like a very talented filmmaker and graphic designer (he did the Waylines Layout) Darryl Knickrehm. Besides being an online magazine, they're going to pay to put out videos and short films as well. And the best part of their Kickstarter is that the more they raise the more they give back. Many Kickstarter campaigns just pocket anything extra they make, which is fine if that's how you run your campaign and get people to support. But the great thing about Waylines is that for each tiered goal they make they are going to reward authors, filmmakers, and Waylines contributors. They've already reached the goal of going from token payment to semi-pro and now with 52 hours left at the time of this post, they are trying to raise another $500 to go pro, paying all contributors pro rates! 

Hey, even if you don't want to support at least swing by their campaign or website to check what they're all about. Here's their campaign video: