Monthly Archives: May 2010

It seems all I’ve done lately is look to the past for inspiration. Digging through old photos, books, and music, I’m not certain what it is I’m looking for, besides something — anything — that will shake me out of this deep depression that’s had me so bogged down. That’s why I think I’ve been obsessing over old books,…

“How does it become a man to behave toward this American government today? I answer that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it…” Excerpt from Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience used in an advertisement for the Writers and Editors War Tax Protest launched in opposition to the Vietnam War. View the full-sized advertisement here. The list of those…

“[Galt] MacDermot’s music is popular with collectors of jazz and funk. Working with jazz musicians such as Bernard Purdie, Jimmy Lewis and Idris Muhammad, MacDermot created pieces that prefigured the funk material of James Brown. In recent decades, his work has become popular with hip-hop musicians including…“

Kenny Strasser is quite possibly the world’s worst ‘yo-yo master.’ But that doesn’t mean he isn’t an expert at pulling off an elaborate hoax. Strasser, also known as Kenny Strassburg or K-Strass, has made multiple appearances on local television in Wisconsin and Missouri over the last month, claiming to be an expert with a yo-yo who just so happens…

“Yeah I was poor, dirt poor. I was born poor. My father worked in the sewers. Then came the depression. They closed down the schools. No more school. All I had to wear was one suit, nothing but patches, but clean. We ate meat once a year. My Palm Beach was Hell’s Kitchen.

It’s impossible to deny how pervasive advertising has become. I suppose that’s what happens when giant corporations — with seemingly bottomless ad budgets — are hell bent on separating you from your money. McDonald’s wants you to shell out cash and choke down a bunch of McGriddles. Apple wants you to worship at its altar, buy an Ipad for…

When Vic Chesnutt died this past December, admittedly, I had heard his name for years, but knew little about his music. Turns out that was a major loss on my part. For years I avoided the work of what I viewed as singer/songwriters, probably because, for whatever reason, I had a bad mental picture of such people in my…

Spotted this collection of pencil-drawn logos and artwork in a strip mall parking lot in Apollo, Pennsylvania, a few weeks back. Two teen metal dudes walked past me as I snapped photos. I was laughing at the time. They looked at me like I was a crazy old man. Then I realized they probably drew the skull full of French…

Bob Odenkirk starring in the ‘Manson’ sketch he wrote for The Ben Stiller Show. “You want to talk to Mrs. Wilson? Why don’t you want to talk to Charlie? You think if you don’t talk to me, I’ll go away. But I can’t go away, because I’m not even here. I’m the ghost of a phantom of a shadow…

In this instructional video, bike safety guy Sam uses rap — and more thumbs ups than The Fonz — to teach a bunch of kids wearing florescent-colored clothes how to ride bikes. And at 3:55, he launches into an unrivaled robot freakout as the credits roll. (via Dangerous Minds)