Short 5 minute documetary on circuit bending...

Circuit bending is taking old toy instrument and messing with them to make them do things the OEM never intended you to do with them...



Edit: Check out this response!



Apparently, this guy takes off his shirt in every episode ha ha...

12 second clip of Mark Mothersbaugh form DEVO...

new crap tuesday 2/27/07

Music

"Explosions In the Sky" "All of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone": More of the same instrumental crap that sounds good when I'm stoned, not so much when I'm not. I think there are enough instrumental bands out there and this one kinda get lost in the fold. No radio singles here(which is a good thing mind you). Try it out, maybe you'll fall in love.

!!!"Myth Takes": !!!(chick chick chick) is a band I have ignored for quite some time, mainly cause of the fans. I didn't realize they were a dance band(hey I can't keep track of every group). I was pleasntly surprised when I played it for the first time. They sound like a more dancy version of gang of four. Yes they play the forbidden drumbeat(un tiss un tiss un tiss un tiss) but they do some good things with it unlike the other bands that rely on it. Lots of multi-instrumentalization is present. The strangest track to me is "Must be the moon"...

Green Day "1039/smoothed out slappy hours": Good old fashioned pop punk from before green day was a huge successfull band selling out stadiums and stuff.

Ladytron "604": Haven't actually checked this one out yet, though I'm sure it's more of the same... For the uninitated, Ladytron plays electronic pop stuff...

Sisters of Mercy "A mecifull release": Well that was all the information given at billboard.com. I'm guessing it's a re-release of an old album. Check out the wiki for more info


Arcade Fire "Neon Bible" Yaaaaaawwwwwnnnnnn.... I tried it, I want my bandwidth back...

DVD


stranger than fiction: This movie did poorly in the theaters. Good for a movie theater employee, bad for the business. This film could have been so much more. I did laugh out loud more than once and overall I think it deserves a rent.




Well, I'm already behind so hopefully next weeks one cometogether better...

Literature-Map and listal.

I have a del.icio.us account for letting people know about websites and stuff. But every once in awhile there is something so amazing that I'll have to post about it. Here is one of them.

Listal is a catalouging website/social network. Yes, social network ala myspace. While I won't go on a full scale tirade about how much myspace sucks I will say that I secretly wish my friends would all migrate over to listal. You can keep track of all the books, dvds and cd's you own and also the movies you watch. You can also see other members collections which is always fun and it can help you keep track of what you loan to people.. It has a ton of features like groups and voting/rating of stuff. Everyone should join up.

The next site is http://www.literature-map.com/ . It's just a neat lil recomendation site for authours. Just check it out. It's unique.

Another Phillip K. Dick story adapted for screen.

The guy that did the screenplays for Total Recall and Navy Seals adapted a PKD story called "The Golden Man".  The guy who directed xXx: State of the Union (2005)Die Another Day (2002) Along Came a Spider (2001) "The Sopranos" (1 episode, 2000) The Edge (1997) Mulholland Falls (1996) Once Were Warriors (1994) Thunderbox (1989) is making this one and (sit down this is big news....) it's going to star Nicholas Cage!!! I know, I can barely contain myself.

But seriously, what is the deal with Cage being in action movies???

trailer...




Other PKD stories turned into film...

• A Scanner Darkly (2006)
  
• Paycheck(2003)
  
• Minority Report(2002)
  
• Impostor (2002)
  
• Total Recall(1990)
  
• Blade Runner (1982)
  

When I thinkof baseball, I don't think of indie rock...

Some of the songs for the MLB 2007 video game are...

• 311 "Down"
  
• Bishop Allen "Middle Management"
  
• Cities in Dust "Emergency"
  
• Death From Above 1979 "Little Girl"
  
• Dixie Witch "Set the Speed"
  
• Editors "Munich"
  
• Five Horse Johnson "I Can't Shake It"
  
• Greatdayforup "Man's Ruin"
  
• Les Savy Fav "Hold On To Your Genre"
  
• Nerf Herder "High Five Anxiety"
  
• Nirvana "Breed"
  
• Sublime "Summertime"
  
• Tapes 'n Tapes "Insistor"
  
• The Jealous Sound "Naïve"
  
• The M's "Plan Of The Man"
  
• The Pixies "Mr. Grieves"
  
• The Specials "A Message to you Rudy"
  
• The Stooges "I Feel Alright"
  
• The Thermals "A Passing Feeling"
  
• The Walkmen "The Rat"
  
• Wolfmother "Woman"

Hmmmmm. Apparently the 2k6 game had all matador records artists...

I wish I woulda done this when I was a kid...

Dateline : Santa Fe, New Mexico

Some damn kids thought it would be funny to take some  and record some  with a lot of    on them and place them under the  of the . 

I think it it is very  


Proof it happened

It's funny because it's true.

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/22/wwgwbd_flow_chart.html

For the Salem readers...

The Painted Veil is playing at Salem Cinema... I want to see but dunno if I can find the time. Lemme know if I really should "make the time" cause I can't tell by the trailer...

Just so you know... I watched ghostrider... and yes, it sucked...

Really, what more can I say? I get to see free movies and I took someone to see it who likes comic books alot. I wanted to see Bridge to Terbithia. I've seen everything else at my work. Norbit sucked as well. But we won't get into that.

There is a special sneak preview of "Wild Hogs" this weekend. I'll try to act all smug and say I won't be attending for obvious reasons. But for people who know me IRL, they already know I'm working. But I still won't see it when it comes out unless I get REALLY bored. I don't care if William H. Macy is in it.

At the movies today...

The number 23... Joel Shumacher. Original screenplay by a first time writer. I'm gonna see it but I don't have high expectations. Jim Carey in a completely serious and I think comedy free thriller about a guy obssesed with numbers.



The Abandoned... Writer Director Nacho Cerdà's 1st feature length film I think, don't quote me on that. It's a spainish director but it says it's in english??? It looks like it has some style.



Reno 911: Miami... No brainer, if you are reading this you probably know what it is and probably already have an opinion formed as to whether you will like it or not. But come on, old school "the state" crew. Need I say more? Showalter is credited for crying out loud. I'm gonna support it as long they don't eat babies alive.



The Astronaut Farmer... Writer Director Micheal Polish newest about a retired astronaut who builds his own rockets much to the chagrin of "the man". It's PG, Billy Bob Thorton is the lead. It's at my work so I might watch it but I'd have to be bored unless I hear a ton of rave reviews.



Amazing Grace... Michael Apted director of at least 1 bond movie(I'm too lazt to see if he directed more than 1) and has directed TON of television. Inspiration tale about emancipation in Britain a couple of centuries ago I think. Some church group pre ordered 50 tickets from me one day.

Also out right now maybe worth seeing...

Bridge to terbithia... I haven't seen it yet but it looks better than ghostrider.

Breach... looks promising

WTF is up with night at the Museum still running?

Essential Oil Wars!

I recieved a comment on one of my previous articles about manboobs (a common subject here at of what it is) with a link to web-site that says something different is going on with the Scientific American study. Something about flwaed research? Maybe it's damage control from the essential oil industry...

Anyway, heres the site... http://www.aromaconnection.org/. And the study. You decide...

Lavender/Tea Tree Study Debunked

Neither lavender oil nor tea tree oil can be linked to breast growth in young boys
Robert Tisserand
Background

In a recent report, a correlation is alleged between commercial products containing lavender and tea tree oils and breast growth in young boys. Three cases were seen in boys aged 4-7, who had all been using such products. In each case, the breast growth reduced to normal parameters within several months of ceasing to use the products. Subsequent laboratory testing showed that both essential oils had estrogen-like properties (Henley et al 2007).

In the report, no information is given about any of the constituents of the products used. The information given about product use is sparse, and we do not know for certain whether any of the products contained lavender or tea tree oils, since they were not analyzed by the researchers.
The cases

Case one
In the first case, "The patient’s mother reported applying a "healing balm" containing lavender oil to his skin starting shortly before the initial presentation." No further details of the product or its use are given, but a healing balm sounds like something that might only be applied to a small area of skin. If so, then it is unlikely that any ingredient could have entered the boy’s blood in sufficient concentration to cause gynecomastia within a short time period.

Case two
In the second case, a styling hair gel was applied to the hair and scalp every morning, along with regular use of a shampoo. Both tea tree and lavender oil are cited on the ingredient list of both products.

In a subsequent website report, it is claimed that the two hair products used in this case were manufactured by Paul Mitchell, and that these were analyzed by a competitor. The shampoo was said to contain "very low concentrations" of tea tree oil, and the content in the hair gel was "virtually undetectable". Lavender oil concentration was not checked (Neustaedter 2007).

Dermal absorption of fragrance from shampoo application has been estimated to be 80 times less than that from body lotion (Cadby et al 2002). If the website report is genuine, considering that shampoo is a wash-off product, and that there was only a negligible amount of tea tree oil in the hair gel, tea tree oil can be ruled out as a possible cause of this boy’s gynecomastia. However, liberal use of a hair gel rich in lavender oil could result in moderate dermal absorption of lavender oil constituents (Cal 2006).

Case three
The third case involved "lavender-scented soap, and intermittent use of lavender-scented commercial skin lotions". This sounds as if there may not be very much natural lavender oil present. Further, soap is a wash-off product, and the use of lavender lotion is described as "intermittent". Whether any absorption of genuine lavender oil took place at all seems doubtful.

Since dermal absorption of soap fragrance is some 266 times less than that from body lotion, it is virtually impossible that the fragrance in a soap could be absorbed in sufficient quantity to cause any physiological effect (Cadby et al 2002).

Of great interest is the statement that, in this third case, a fraternal twin used the same skin lotions, but not the soap, and did not develop gynecomastia. It would be reasonable to assume that, since the soap could not be responsible for the effect, and since the twin used the lotions without any problem, the gynecomastia in this third case must have been due to some cause other than essential oils.
The in vitro testing

The in vitro evidence shows weak but definite endocrine disrupting effects for both lavender and tea tree oils. The second case was the only one in which tea tree oil was involved. Tea tree oil was tested because it was deemed to be "chemically similar" to lavender oil. However, apart from the fact that both are essential oils, they have little in common chemically.

The composition of the essential oils tested is not given, nor is any other information about them, apart from the supplier. Since they do not appear to be organically grown, biocide content is a possibility.
Discussion

It is unusual in such reports not to name the products suspected as being responsible for the effects under discussion. In the circumstances, it is also curious that the labeled ingredients were not cited. It is even more surprising that no attempt was made to ascertain, retrospectively, whether any constituents of lavender or tea tree oil were detectable. If the products are not named, no one else can test them either.

Even assuming that one or both of the essential oils were present at some level, we do not know what quantities of essential oil constituents may have penetrated the skin, but we do know that transcutaneous absorption from fragrances takes some time. The amount that could find its way into the blood from a wash-off product such as a shampoo or soap is negligible, because the time of skin contact is so short. Skin absorption from tea tree and lavender oil constituents is measured in hours, not minutes, in and some instances even leave-on products result in minimal dermal penetration (Cal 2006, Reichling 2006).

The Henley et al report mentions that none of the boys had been exposed to any known endocrine disruptor, such as medications, oral contraceptives(!), marijuana or soy products. However, no mention is made of other known endocrine disruptors, such as organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, polychlorinated dioxins, alkyl phenols, pthalates and parabens (Darbre 2006). Both pesticides and phthalates have been found in essential oils, and both phthalates and parabens are commonly found in cosmetic products.

It is, therefore, entirely possible that other ingredients in the products caused the gynecomastia. Pesticides, PCBs and dioxins are found in the environment, often in food, and it is also possible that some local surge of environmental hormone disruptors caused these cases in Colorado.

No attempt was made to identify the constituent(s) responsible for the in vitro effect, but it is reasonable to expect that any hormonal action in an essential oil would be due to one or two constituents, or even contaminants. It is noteworthy that, while in vitro hormonal effects from essential oil constituents have been previously reported, these are generally very weak, and have been estimated as being at least 10,000 times less potent than 17β-estradiol (Howes et al 2002).

There is no evidence that the effect seen in vitro would take place in vivo, and much more research would be needed before any definite determinations could be made. Many estrogenic substances have previously been identified from plant sources, and very weak activity is typical of these phytoestrogens (Chadwick et al 2006, Howes et al 2002).
Conclusions

As the report states, breast growth in pre-pubertal boys is extremely uncommon, yet three cases are reported within a short period of time, and all in the same clinic. Considering that some 200 tonnes per annum are produced of both lavender and tea tree oil, that most of this goes into personal care products, and that very little of the evidence presented for these 3 cases is convincing, the press reports of caution are premature.

Even if one or more of these cases was linked to product use, any connection with either lavender or tea tree oil is unproven. Other known endocrine disrupting ingredients in the products could have played a role. Furthermore, we do not know what other factors, such as dietary or environmental, may have played a part.

The in vitro work reported by Henley et al (2007) does indicate a hormonal effect. However, this cannot be extrapolated to estimate actual human risk, especially without knowing more about the essential oil constituents causing the in vitro effects seen. No connection was established between the in vitro work and the three cases, and the case for tea tree oil having an effect on prepubertal gynecomastia is especially weak. Phytoestrogens generally have a very weak hormonal activity, and it is implausible that the amounts of essential oil that enter the body from product use would have a significant effect. Further research will hopefully clarify these issues.
References

Cadby PA, Troy WR, Vey MG 2002 Consumer exposure to fragrance ingredients: providing estimates for safety evaluation. Regulatory Toxicology & Pharmacology 36: 246-252

Cal K 2006 How does the type of vehicle influence the in vitro skin absorption and elimination kinetics of terpenes? Archives of Dermatological Research 297: 311-315

Chadwick LR, Pauli GF, Farnsworth NR 2006 The pharmacognosy of Humulus lupulus L. (hops) with an emphasis on estrogenic properties. Phytomedicine 13: 119-131

Darbre PD 2006 Environmental oestrogens, cosmetics and breast cancer. Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 20: 121-143

FMA 2007 http://www.fmafragrance.org/sub_pages/020107henleyresponse.pdf


Henley DV, Lipson N, Korach KS, Bloch CA 2007 Prebubertal gynecomastia linked to lavender and tea tree oils. New England Journal of Medicine 365(5): 479-485

Howes M-J R, Houghton P J, Barlow D J et al 2002 Assessment of estrogenic activity in some common essential oil constituents. Journal of Pharmacy & Pharmacology 54:1521–1528

Neustaedter R 2007 http://www.cureguide.com/Natural_Health_Newsletter/Lavender_Dangers/lavender_dangers.html

Reichling J, Landvatter U, Wagner H, Kostka KH, Schaefer UF 2006 In vitro studies on release and human skin permeation of Australian tea tree oil (TTO) from topical formulations. European Journal of Pharmaceutics & Biopharmaceutics 64: 222-228

Contact: Robert Tisserand

Email:rtisserand@onepost.net

Buttocks in the history of art.

What a great website.

Live video of Against Me!

A video of Against Me! playing live has surfaced and I found it on one of my favorite blogs, "Late Night Wallflower". No word on whether the blog was named for the Jakob Dylan band but my suspicions say no.




The track is high energy and very punk rock. I like it though I hope the album has some ballady stuff. Did I mention they are on a major label(sire).

Here is the video for problems...

Lavender and tea tree oil makes man boobs!

Scientific American says 

The lavender and tea tree oils found in some soaps, shampoos, hair gels and body lotions can produce enlarged breasts in boys.

Holy crap.

Dinosaur jr. album preview

Dinosaur jr. has a couple tracks from the new album entitled beyond that you can stream on myspace. The tracks are pretty high energy and see on par with previous albums. Check out their pictures as they look like they should be older. But they do look kinda old in this video. Sometimes I think James Iha and Billy Corgan stole the over the top shredding from J. Mascis.




Here is the video for "Feel the Pain " directed by Spike Jones though I couldn't find anything on the net to verify that.

Children need to know what scrotums are...

"The New York Times" alerted me to this interesting little news story. The Newberry Medal winning book this yeah has the word scrotum on the first page.

there it is on the first page of “The Higher Power of Lucky,” by Susan Patron, this year’s winner of the Newbery Medal, the most prestigious award in children’s literature. The book’s heroine, a scrappy 10-year-old orphan named Lucky Trimble, hears the word through a hole in a wall when another character says he saw a rattlesnake bite his dog, Roy, on the scrotum.

“Scrotum sounded to Lucky like something green that comes up when you have the flu and cough too much,” the book continues. “It sounded medical and secret, but also important.”

I don't see what the big deal is, except I'm sure parents and teachers don't really want to go through explaining what a scrotum is. If I had a kid I wouldn't care. I think children should be informed of body parts and know what they are so that they aren't scarred for life when they see 
them for the  first time. 

Suicidegirls News had a pretty funny article about the whole debacle.

Stop illegal downloading!

Celebrity Endorsed PSA

Add to My Profile | More Videos

I just came up on an advance of the new Poison the Well album "Versions"

I was checking the oink top 10 today and was pleasantly surprised to find a leak of the new PTW album "versions". After an initial listen I must say it's the most unique album of theirs so far.

It has electric piano and lots of mellow stuff. Gone are the riff riff chugga chugga breakdowns and it now has a kind of Hope Conspiracy and American Nightmare feel too it with maybe a little bit of the Converge's "You Fail Me" album feel as well. So strange...

Gone also is the clean whiney singing and the outright growls back an forth. Don't get me wrong, there is clean singing and screaming, but the vocal style has changed up a TON.

Here is a fan video of them doing Smashing Pumpkins "Today"



And here is the video for "botchula"...

A little late for Valentines day but....

The Taxrap Cometh

In one of the dumbest marketing campaigns I have ever seen, you tube and Turbotax have a contest for the best tax rap. Headlining the whole things is none other than Vanilla Ice! Here is his introduction to the contest.



Here is Ice's Tax Rap...



This one ain't too bad...




This one is a lil bit disturbing...




Here is a segment on CNN for the contest...

ROFL!

From a "Good Housekeeping" magazine circa 1955.
Source= Connected Internet

Famous people drink too...

From the mental floss blog...

I’ll Have What Her Majesty’s Having (famous folk and their drinks of choice)

Mangesh, Feb 16, 2007 18:59:29 GMT

The sad truth is, we can’t choose a brand of jeans unless a celebrity endorses them. Just can’t do it. Nor can we pick a rental car service until we know some sort of professional athlete is comfortable shilling for their brand. That’s why we’re forgoing those no-name Nectarini’s we order night after night for a delicious celebrity-endorsed beverage. Because if it’s good enough for the Queen, Ernest Hemingway, or even Lyndon B. Johnson, then darn it if it isn’t good enough for mental_floss.

Queen Elizabeth II – More than tea, Her Majesty prefers a Gordon’s gin and tonic. Oh, and don’t forget the lemon slices. The British Queen takes 3 of them with each drink.

Lyndon B. Johnson – Scotch and soda. When it was hot outside, the former president loved to drive slowly around his Texas ranch in an open top convertible, taking long pulls from a large foam glass. When his cup runneth lower, Johnson simply dangled it out his window. Immediately, a Secret Service agent would run forward, grab the cup, race back to the service car following the president’s, re-fill the beverage, then hustle back to hand it off to the Prez. Secret Service with a smile.

Ernest Hemingway – While he always portrayed himself to be a man’s man, Hemingway loved daiquiris. It’s true! The man who loved boxing, fishing and bull-fighting also loved syrupy drinks– particularly the ones made at the Floridita Bar in Havana, where they substituted maschino liqueur for sugar in the diabetic writer’s rounds.

Oprah Winfrey – Lemon Drop Martinis. What can you say? I guess all the money in the world simply can’t buy class. (Just kidding, Oprah. Let’s help the healing begin, though. Invite us on your show and we’ll talk through this.)

Rush Limbaugh – Nothing by Port wine for our portly friend.

Adam Clayton Powell – The first African American to become a major figure in Congress drank Scotch with a healthy shot of milk. Supposedly, the milk calmed his ulcers while the scotch worked on his nerves.

Winston Churchill – Despite being a big fan of martinis and having a mother who was responsible for the invention of the Manhattan cocktail, Churchy preferred sipping on Johnny Walker Red!

So, what about whiskey- that delicious drink of drinks?
Sure, you’ve seen it on the list above, but it’s still a dicey choice. Here’s a quick for and against:
FOR: Frank Sinatra loved him some Jack Daniels.
AGAINST: Janis Joplin. While she loved her Southern Comfort, and always carried a fifth on stage with her, she’s not exactly a ringing endorsement for drinking.
FOR: Hunter S. Thompson – Wild Turkey on the rocks. If you’re going for an authentic Thompson though, you might need to add pills to taste.
AGAINST: Saddam Hussein – While he asked for hot water laced with honey for his last meal, Hussein’s drink of choice was whiskey on the rocks.

Maybe this is just a little sad...

Heads Up: Penolope Trailer

Suicide Girls news says that Mark Palansky is the next Burton. His short film "The Same" is kinda creepy. But his IMDB profile is unimpressive as he work for Michael Bay.

Here is the trailer for his first feature length film Called "Penolope" starring Christina Ricci.

Heads Up: New Wes Anderson film is shooting.

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0838221/

Need I say more???

This is a commercial where he is on the set shooting the movie...

Ha Ha Fox News Has It's Own Version of the "Daily Show"

New show coming up called the half hour news hour or something like that. It looks just like the Daily Show only with a conservative slant instead. I personally am conservative in the economic fashion and liberal in the social aspects, so it would be nice to see a comedy show that doesn't have a huge liberal slant on some stuff. But this show looks pretty bad...

Super Mario Bros played entirely with feet...

Had to share this one...

Just what I waiting for! A Milli Vanilli Biopic!!!

NME is reporting that a Malli Vanilli biopic is in the works.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0965381/






Same writer as "catch me if you can"

Name Change and were back!!!

Sooooooooooo, I changed the name of my weblog and had to screw around with the template and stuff so I am still fixing some thing but posts are resuming and a new daily format is coming together with dvd and new cd reviews con tuesdays and movie reviews on thursdays and some other surprises as they come, in honor of the blog going back up, here is a pretty neat video of a 30 foot puppet that takes like 10 people to operate...