I am in here.

Hey, if any of you lucky so and so's are attending, and you see Darick Robertson at the WildStorm booth, tell him Christian said 'hi'.

I tell ya, one of these days I'm going to actually make it to that event.

Inside Scientology/Dianetics
How I Joined Dianetics/Scientology and Became Superhuman
By Robert Kaufman

Robert Kaufman died of cancer on 29 July 1996. During the final years of his life, Robert Kaufman revised the manuscript of his book, Inside Scientology (published in 1972), but could not sell it to a publisher. In late 1995, with his health failing, he gave a copy of the WordPerfect files to Keith Spurgeon <spurgeon@is2.nyu.edu> for distribution on the Internet.

In August 1996, Keith emailed the files (which are in somewhat haphazard form) to Dean Benjamin <drb@cs.cmu.edu>, who edited the manuscript and formatted it for the World Wide Web in November 1997.

txt format: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BKYT7M6K
---
A great look at one man's experience in Scientology.

We picked the sweet peas that we grew in the parking strip - yum. And so easy to grow!

I got a new midi keyboard for my birthday (it feels so childish to say that I got something for my birthday, at age 41), and since it connects to the computer, that means there will be tears. I'm very keen on upgrades and new software, but like with childbirth, the memory of the previous events' pain fades greatly over time. So Wednesday disconnected the old keyboard and threaded the new USB cable through the maze in the new computer desk, sweating profusely from the activity. Then I did it again with the printer's USB cable because the first one was too short. When I started up my music program (Sonar), nothing played, not even songs that had no MIDI data. I flailed around at the app's settings for a while, rebooting and resetting, and poking uselessly at the new semi-weighted keys, thinking about how this was nearly all I used the PC for, and how it was now totally broken. To my credit, I did not punch anything or throw anything, though I was deadly quiet for the rest of the day.

And yesterday I finally remembered the ordeal from last keyboard, downloaded the newest version of ASIO4ALL audio driver and installed it. Wa la, as the French say. Of course I didn't write this information down - I'm sure I'll remember this experience, since it was so painful.

R.I.P. Miss Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues.

She could love you like a woman, or fight you like a man.

Hi. I'm a lazy fellow nowadays, relying on facebook to represent me to the world. I'm closing in on the end of the concept album; I have lyrics to finish for track 1, i'm recycling the tune from an old song for track 6, and then two more. Ten in all.

Also, uh, corn will be served.

someone somewhere posted some multitracks of some songs, and it's fun to remix them

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I5RPXUNG

killer queen (x2), superstition, long train runnin'

just goofing around, isolating the parts I like best.

1. Instant Christian song: substitute "baby" with "Jesus".
2. Just for me: exchange "words" for "worms".

If he died Friday, and rose Sunday, today was the only non-Jesus day after the year 1 AD

Victor Borge:
2-man Hungarian Rhapsody: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcV19rylSZc
Happy Birthday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZaLo0JfT6E
Rachmaninoff (audio only, which is better): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjOg37xt7c0

Senor Wences: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPGZZdN0F9E

Foster Brooks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8L-ZZSc8JU

Borge is so clever in his wordplay, especially for a non-native English speaker. And his physical comedy is amazing as well.
Wences is fast, and most of his comedy is in his characterizations rather than constructed jokes.
Brooks is just drunk, and who don't love that.

http://popshifter.com/

I've got some articles about concerts and music, and we do a loving tribute to Cramps frontman Lux Interior. Plus there's mondo good things about SMELLS. A first, I think, for pop culture zines.

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/cramps-frontman-lux-interior-dies-1003938315.story

Thanks to The Automatik for the info.

I did a interview! Also, other people did fine fine things. Drew from Toothpaste for Dinner!
I talk about comics and Muse and Radiohead!

It's a great issue, people. Fun for the whole family, I'm pretty sure.

http://www.popshifter.com/

A vanity project. We finally brought down all our favorite books, freeing up space in the upstairs bedroom. There's still an awful lot of stuff up there, like tons of travel guides, scientology books, and various children's works, but these are the best of the best.

Thanks to andrewhickey for the link.

Poland revolutionized poster art in the late 50s, after tiresome Soviet Realism.

50 movie posters:
http://wellmedicated.com/inspiration/50-incredible-film-posters-from-poland/

And a wider variety. Check out the circus posters. I remember having one as a child:
http://www.theartofposter.com/

I dreamt that I was in Guns N' Roses, and that Axl loved me because I was a crazy-drinking MF. Having quit drinking in real life, I volunteered to drive us all somewhere so I wouldn't have to join in. Plus we helped Axl move out of his room, which was full of stuff. I remember being constantly on eggshells around him, and choosing the most non-confrontational words. "Your room is...full."
Because he is volatile and crazy. Outside, we watched a space shuttle launch, and I spun around to ask the group if that was the Columbia. I knew that I was in the past, and was afraid that I was going to watch the disaster again.

boosh.

RIP Ricardo Montalban. You smooth bastard, you.

I was reading Slash's autobiography (which is called Slash) and he mentions that he values live albums more than studio albums to get a sense of the band and how great they are. You can hear if they're a good *band* and also listen to their greatest hits, and feel the excitement of a live performance.

He listed some of the albums that got him into rock (including the Kinks' Give The People What They Want, which to my estimation is not a live album), and I got to thinking about seminal live albums that I MUST have. So naturally I turned to the internet, and here are some of the lists I found. They're pretty varied, but some notable releases are common, like James Brown at the Apollo and The Who Live at Leeds. Have a look at them. What are your Essential live albums?

( Read more... )

Merry Bowiemas! The old man is 62 years old today.

And Elvis would be 74, but is instead dead.