Internet Porn

Wow... what a great set of "stats"... and she's got a nice tush too. Amazing that the internet porn industry is worth close to 3 BILLION dollars! If the internet was a newspaper, the "serious news" would be the same size as one of those little "call me now" porn ads at the back.

The Mesopotamians: They Might Be Giants

I haven't heard about these guys since "Dr Worm".. but this is bloody funny. They sound a lot like Cake i think.
There's a very obscure intertextural reference to a bad haircut that makes one of the Mesopotamians look like a "Mohenjo Daran".... this is funny as Mohenjo Daro was one of the city-states of the Indus Valley that independently developed 'civilization'. (From memory the Harappans were another). Got to love that ancient history! -my favourite book is one i bought when i was 21- the "Oxford History of the World". Here's a link to my previous entry on Gilgamesh.

Pocoyo

The BAFTA Award winning Pocoyo (not to be confused with 'TroTro' the whinging donkey) is one of my favourite shows on TV- and i'm not actually kidding! My 2 year old son loves it too.. we often watch it in the mornings on our little kitchen TV. Unfortunately, another parent (nameless) wiped most of the episodes off the hard drive so the ones that remain are especially priceless. Each episode is a little work of art. There's a fascinating blog by one of the animators- interesting to see how the characters have evolved- particularly Pato, the exploding duck.

Maira Kalman

"I'm trying to figure out two very simple things- how to live, and how to die- period. ...and i'm also trying to have some meals and have some snacks."

Maira Kalman

Amongst other things, Maira is a children's book author- there are now a few of hers on my amazon wish list (for the kids) including "What Pete Ate A-Z".

Kings of Leon: Bucket

Kings of Leon - The Bucket

Crammed with vocal hooks, simple but compelling guitar lines and a gloriously throbbing wall of sound.

I love KOL .. remember exactly where i was when i 1st heard this song a few years ago ... entire album is incredible... but as always i like their old stuff better than their new stuff.

Inner Life of a Cell

This incredible animation shows what happens when a leukocyte slows down inside a capillary and gets ready to sqeeze through the lining endothelial cells... bear in mind this sort of thing happens probably billions of times a second when you have a cold! I particularly like the 'walking protein'.

One thing that i've been wondering about for a while about is the fact that proteins are built from 1-dimensional linear chains of amino acids- coded for by linear chains of DNA/RNA. What an inefficient way to make a 3 dimensional structure. It's like having to bend a "chair" out of a single very long length of coat-hanger wire, rather than just banging 4 legs on to a base.



Maybe life began as self-replicating (linear) RNA and the process was adapted to serve the building of "bodies" made of (linear) amino-acid chains.

There MUST be a better nano-construction method- and i'm sure the Aliens will have discovered it.

The Rapping Rabbi: Matisyahu

This guy is a bona-fide Yeshiva boy - and not a bad 'beatboxer'.. but i think the Jamaican accent is probably not authentic! Still, i think he's great!

Soil & Pimp Sessions: Japanese Jazz on Crystal Meth

These guys ("Soil and Pimp Sessions") are amazing- frenetic, kooky inspired Jazz. They've got the same manic energy as the old " Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra "from a decade ago- loved their version of "Hit the Road jack". Their lead singer was a flamboyant bald dude know appropriately enough as "Cleanhead Gimura" (RIP).

All Access: Middle Ages - funniest thing i have ever seen.

"Prepare to catapult back to a time when the knight-life was the right life- and the serf was never up!"


"Sometimes i think your brain's full of chowder Martin Luther!" has become a catch-phrase in our household. (from the most indulgent church ever episode).

Click here for all the episodes.

Louis Prima + Benny Goodman: why don't they make music like this anymore?

I discovered Louis Prima only recently and have downloaded (ahm.. bought) everything i can find. He still isn't regarded as a serious jazz singer / composer- but more of a lounge act along with his "straight-man" wife Keeley Smith- whose breasts appear to defy the laws of physics in this video. Cute nose-wiping shtick.

Louis' tune "Sing Sing Sing" was nicked 1 year later by Benny Goodman to become his signature tune. Benny i discovered decades ago - my grandfather had a thick double LP of his concert at Carnegie hall- this was the VERY first jazz i had ever heard...

Swing is Back! Hooray. Ms Auguilera is a good looking young woman.

Computer Camp Love

My god this is such a GREAT song.. bloody funny! The video is even funnier- esp those confused looking Norwegian school students and the guy with the monobrow.... i wonder if that's Ketil



I was so impressed- i emailed the band:


Hi DataRock....

You Guys Rock!

I've emailed a link to computer camp love to all my cool friends .
Keep up the good work! Maybe you'll be famous. Do the "Grease" people know you nicked their lyrics? You could be in BIG trouble.

RM

Hi!

no i don't think the grease people know. let's hope they never will...
anyway, thanks for your interest and support. hopefully we'll come to australia in january next year.

best ,

ketil

Isn't the internet amazing? You can hear a song, visit the band's website, watch the video and email the bass player and get a reply all within 6hours.