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April 30, 2012

Felicia Day's Geek And Sundry

Our fave geekstress and a chainsaw. What more could life possible offer?

Posted by Snaggy at 04:59 PM

Zach Wahls on being raised by two moms.

BTW, Zach Wahls will be appearing as a guest on the Daily Show this evening.

Posted by Snaggy at 10:36 AM

April 29, 2012

Standup Barack

Gotta love it when someone isn't afraid to tear into himself!

via Kara Swisher!

Posted by Snaggy at 01:50 PM

April 22, 2012

April showers bring April forum tidbits

Snaggy asks Anyone not on Dropbox yet? (Dropbox spam), and finds Long lost son finds home via Google Earth, ...The MoMan talks Sex Robots, ... Ashitaka takes a stand on the Stand your ground law, ... GrumpySteen notes Canada officially has the coolest currency in the world, ... and JoT was on France 5!

Posted by Snaggy at 01:49 PM

April 18, 2012

Got Happy! Elvis Costello and the Imposters in Vancouver

Last week Nitrozac and I has the extreme pleasure of seeing Elvis Costello and the Imposters perform in Vancouver. The venue was the Orpheum Theatre, a gorgeously restored vaudeville house, packed to the roof with 3000 or so hipsters of all ages. The show, his Spectacular Spinning Songbook, features a 100 foot tall giant spinning wheel of songs and surprizes (well, it wasn't quite 100 feet tall as joked by Elvis, but it was exciting just the same), go-go girls, and audience participation galore.

Elvis and band (Steve Nieve on keyboards, Davey Faragher on bass and backup vocals, and Pete Thomas on drums) emerged from stage left and burst into a quick set of I Hope You're Happy Now, an awesome cover of Nick Lowe's Heart of the City, Mystery Dance, and Uncomplicated. Then it was time to bring someone up on stage to spin the wheel, to decide the next song. This part of the show is genius. For Elvis and band, it keeps the performance fresh and different every time, and for the audience, it's a chance to actually be a part of the show, and determine it's direction. It was so much fun watching people take to the stage, jumping up and down in excitement, spinning the giant wheel, and dancing in the go-go cage.

Elvis played up the vaudeville act, at times donning a top hat and heading out into the crowd himself to pick contestants. Check out this YouTube video of some of that below:

The band was rocking. Thomas on drums was solid as usual, and Faragher on bass was spectacular, especially in demanding songs like Chelsea. Steve Nieve was, of course, his usual genius with the cheesy fill-ins and gorgeous organ riffs, and magnificent on cascading keyboards in songs like King Horse. There was even a theremin in his arsenal for a touch of camp.

And Elvis himself was in great form. He belted out the hits with fury, and crooned his way to glory. I'm always pleasantly surprised at how good a guitar player Elvis is, and he proved it again and again that night. He shone in the slower numbers, especially during a very poignant Shipbuilding, and the quirky Slow Drag with Josephine. At one point Elvis stepped away from the mic, and sang un-amplified to the audience. The crowd went hear-a-pin-drop silent, and in that glorious old hall, it felt like time had reverted back to the 1920's.

Best line of the night goes to Elvis: "Some of these songs are my friends. Some of them have, frankly, betrayed me."

Elvis didn't play everything I had hoped to hear (how could he have?), but the list was impressive: Watching the Detectives, Alison, Clubland, Radio Radio, Everyday I Write The Book, Watch Your Step, New Lace Sleeves, Chuck Berry's No Particular Place to Go, and Johnny Cash’s Cry, Cry, Cry, a Rolling Stone's cover Out of Time, and of course Lowe's (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.

My one complaint is that the venue's design didn't offer any kind of a dance floor. People were squirming and bopping in their seats, dying to get up and dance, but alas, there wasn't really anywhere to do that without being un-Canadianly rude to others.

After the show, I had the extreme pleasure to talk with Pete Thomas, and thanked him for the amazing show, and all the great music over the years. Pete mentioned (with a grin) how this was the first time in a long while that they had played some of these songs, and that Elvis has just sprung some of them on them in the spur of the moment. He also remarked (a little wistful) that they were one of the last of that generation of bands to still be playing live. That was a sad thought, as so much great music came out of the post-punk era. Pete thought that they probably had another ten years left in them, so that's good news, although I'm hoping for twenty more! Nitrozac and I also met Steve Nieve, another one of my musical heroes, and he very kindly signed Nitrozac's iPhone, directly with his finger, using the program Brushes. Soon a very gracious Elvis came out to sign autographs on records and CD cases. If you've ever had the pleasure of meeting him, you know how warm and generous he is. He too signed Nitrozac's iPhone, although his iPhone penmanship couldn't match Steve's!
Steve Nieve iPhone signature:

Elvis signing Nitrozac's iPhone...

Elvis's iPhone penmanship...

If you have any chance at all, be sure to catch Elvis Costello's show, it's a blast! Two and half hours of solid fun, laughter, pure pop, poignant moments, a giant wheel of songs, and everything you'd want in a mix of vaudeville and rock n' roll. And oh yeah... go-go girls!

Posted by Snaggy at 09:34 AM

April 13, 2012

Nitrozac's latest painting.. Little Android.

Nitrozac has a new painting up for auction, and it is a cute one! It's Little Android, and depicts, well, a little Android!

As Nitro explains...
Overall, Android looks very clean and simple, and I wanted to reflect that in this painting. I painted him entirely by hand, all those razor-sharp edges are by my hand, and I didn't mask off any lines. It was a pleasurable challenge. The background is simple but much more complex and detailed. Again, by hand, I stippled the deep blue glow using a teensy tiny brush, and then added more speckles dispersing out to the edges. The effect is striking. From a distance it blends in and the Android is very crisp and sharp with a hazy blue glow. Up close you can see the detail and it morphs into a universe of tiny star-like dots with the Android emerging from it dramatically, clean and fresh.

Click here to bid!

Posted by Snaggy at 03:15 PM

April 10, 2012

Forum Tidbits for freaky afterimages

TheMoMan has awesome news and had an amazing Spring Break, ... TheWitchdoctor rins Lotus 123 and has a Need for Speed, and has a Coding Question, ... zorgon spys Girls Around Me and their ilk, ... Snaggy shares a Freaky afterimage demo, ... and The Famous Druid presents the worst relaxation video EVER!

Posted by Snaggy at 09:25 AM

April 06, 2012

Slow Motion Car Crash

While you munch down on easter candy, enjoy Slow Motion Car Crash by artist Jonathan Schipper. It's an installation in which a car slowly crashes into a wall... at the rip-roaring speed of 7 millimeters per hour. Check out the time lapse...

check out week three here.

via Laughing Squid!

Posted by Snaggy at 06:13 PM