Reading Offline: Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments
by Alex Boese
Really odd book about various "scientific" experiments, some gruesome, many just insane. Have't yet gotten to the elephants on acid part, but am definitely freaked out by the "let's decapitate an animal and try to keep just the head alive" chapter. Ugh.
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay
by Nancy Milford
I never read much of Millay before, but Milford wrote a really interesting biography of Zelda Fitzgerald, so I was interested to see her next book. Still in the first chapter, but the prolog was amusing in itself. I always appreciate reading the background of how the author started on the book.
Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
by Anthony Bourdain
I gave this to Jon as a gift a while back and only just recently remembered I never did borrow and read it myself. Am very amused so far. Sadly it's not the updated edition I've linked to - preface in our copy's dated Nov. 2000. Wonder what's been added/changed/corrected.
The New Kings of Nonfiction
by Ira Glass
Collection of nonfiction articles previously published in various magazines. Bought a while back in an airport and there are still a few articles I haven't finished reading. I really liked the Bill Buford article that became Among the Thugs.
...About?...
Batgrl is a pop culture junky who loves to mess about with cameras and video games. And is constantly amused by Jon, who she did honest and truly did meet online. Though she's been blogging since the '90s, evil sp@m'rs managed to break the old blog, and thus there's only more recent stuff here. (No great loss, actually!)
Currently the header graphic up there has the following quote - I'll add the line I took out to save space:
"But there’s no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake
And the science gets done and you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive."
This is taken from the song that plays once you've completed the game Portal, which I have watched Jon playing on and off since he bought it. (One of the many games that I have yet to pick up as I've been playing around with Warcraft, Hellgate, and Puzzle Quest - the last making even me shake my head at my own silliness in game choices.) I've been reading a lot about Portal though because it's been all the buzz various game sites online and the two or three gaming magazines we subscribe to. But I had never actually heard the song. And then, on another one of the many websites that suck up my time, I saw this:
Yes it's Moxi, a frighteningly cute robot - but more importantly it's an Interbot robot - I remember when everyone was linking video of Quasi. Random videos of dancing robots - it's why the internet was invented.
Anyway. So I want to find our more about the song, specifically the lyrics and through the amazing power of Google I find the blog entry: Portal: The Skinny on Jonathan Coulton's blog:
"This all came about when a couple of Valve folks came to one of my shows in Seattle long ago, and followed up with me afterwards asking if I’d be interested in working with them in some capacity. I’ve long been a fan of Half-Life, so I said yes yes yes. We got together to talk about a couple of ideas, and somehow we decided it would be a good idea for me to write a song in the voice of one of the characters in the game, something that would sort of tie up the story arc at the end.
The character is this hilarious passive aggressive personality, which is obviously a perfect subject for me. I write about that sort of thing all the time. I got an advance copy of the game when it was nearly finished, played through it, talked with the writers, and tried to get inside this character’s head as best I could. I bought my first ukulele specifically to record this song, it just seemed right for it. (Or maybe I wrote the song that way so I could buy a ukulele, hard to say.)"
And then I realize - wait, this is the guy who wrote Code Monkey! The song that also came alive via net release - Coulton did a song a week podcast for some time - you can still subscribe to it via iTunes. Like many songs it found its way onto YouTube where it gained a new life - some of you will already know of this one - as The Code Monkey Dance (YouTube). Which is a girl named Emily dancing to the song in her dorm room, very tame and cute, though she is in pajamas. So apparently Coulton sees this on Youtube - and then starts to see other people at his concerts doing this dance to the song. And so the meeting of the memes occurs and Coulton asks Emily onstage during a concert to do the dance (YouTube link). (I love at the end where he explains "I don't know if you know how fuckin cool that is!") That concert footage happened just recently, as in it was just uploaded December 8. I've been a quiet Coulton fan for some time - but damn, the Portal song clinches it. I can NOT stop listening to it, especially as it's sung in this great electronic voice.
Does this mean I've played Portal yet? Nope, it's on the list. I don't look forward to actually completing it though as I'm notoriously bad at puzzle games, and especially jumping requirements. As in "quick, jump over the flaming pit before the ceiling collapses" kind of jumping. Good thing that doesn't happen often in life or I'd be in trouble.
Another meme I can thank Coulton for helping me find - the Baby Got Back oddness. My linkfest started with Coulton's cover of the song - Coulton singing it live (YouTube link) - because somehow I can't find a page on his site to link to for it, though I feel certain that I somehow heard it via a link on his site, probably here. (The links on his site take you to yet more concert video, lots to choose from out there.) If you haven't heard the original Sir Mix A Lot song in a while and want to refresh your memory, YouTube can help you with that as well. (But of course knowing YouTube it's possible that link will die sometime.) So within a few days of listening to that I also catch a couple dancing at their wedding to Baby Got Back (YouTube link) - which is indeed hysterical. I think I heard about it on television before I actually saw that video. And thus the couple achieved fame. Turns out they're from San Diego - I think I saw them on local news:
SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego bride and groom's twist on their wedding dance turns them into Internet sensations and earns them a spot on the Ellen show.
Michelle and John Brubaker, of San Diego, appeared on the show Tuesday. They showed off their moves, which they choreographed themselves, to the song, "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot.
They debuted their routine at their wedding reception in September. The video begins with them slow dancing to a song by the Righteous Brothers, and then it sounds like a needle scratches the record. Then "Baby Got Back" begins, and the couple breaks out their dance moves.
The clip became a hit on YouTube, earning 2 million page views. The Brubakers told Ellen the video was posted while they were on their honeymoon.
...After garnering huge Internet interest, they were invited on the "Today" show this week to talk about their dance floor moves.
Michelle and John choreographed the number, first making their wedding guests think they would slow dance to The Righteous Brothers.
Then it broke into "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-A-Lot.
What happened right before the dance?
"I went to the bathroom and closed the door and started practicing by myself because I was scared I was going to forget everything," said the dancing groom on the "Today" show.
"Imagine a guy who walks into the bathroom and sees you practicing the spank," Matt Lauer joked with Brubaker.
I'm just trying to imagine what it must be like to come back from your honeymoon and then realize that for a long long time random strangers will approach and say "hey, aren't you...?" In five years I'd love to find out what response they have to someone asking them about Baby Got Back. Will the song continue to come up again and again, without warning? Will they be asked to do the dance in public at inopportune times?
Ahem. Back on topic. To give you an idea of what really makes people love Coulton, let me share the lyrics to Re: Your Brains. Because while you really have to hear Code Monkey to enjoy it - you can read this one and get it:
Re: Your Brains
Hey Tom it's Bob from the office down the hall
Good to see you buddy, How you've been?
Things have been okay for me except that I'm a zombie now
Really wish you'll let us in
I think I speak for all of us
When I say I understand
Why you folks might hesitate to submit to our demands
But here's an FYI, You're all gonna die screaming
All we wanna do is eat your brains
We're not unreasonable
I mean no one's gonna eat your eyes
All we wanna do is eat your brains
We're at an impasse here
Maybe we should compromise
You open up the door
We'll all go inside and eat your brains
I don't want to nitpick Tom but is this really your plan?
Spend your whole life locked inside a mall
Maybe that's okay for now but someday you'll be out of food and guns
And you have to make the call
Not suprise to see you having thought it through enough
You never had the head for all that bigger picture stuff
But Tom that's what I do
And I plan on eating you slowly
All we wanna do is eat your brains
We're not unreasonable
I mean no one's gonna eat your eyes
All we wanna do is eat your brains
We're at an impasse here
Maybe we should compromise
You open up the door
We'll all go inside and eat your brains
I like to help you Tom in any way I can
I sure appreciate the way you're working with me
I'm not a monster Tom
Well, technically I am
I guess I am
Got another meeting Tom
Maybe we could wrap it up
Know we'll get to commonground somehow
Meanwhile I'll report back to my colleagues
Who are chewing on the door
I guess we'll table this for now
I'm glad to see you take constructive criticism well
Thank you for your time
I know we're all busy as hell
And we'll put this thing to bed
When I bash your head open
All we wanna do is eat your brains
We're not unreasonable
I mean no one's gonna eat your eyes
All we wanna do is eat your brains
We're at an impasse here
Maybe we should compromise
You open up the door
We'll all go inside and eat your brains
And the link to the song above the lyrics - you can download the song from there. I've downloaded some of his songs - but am going to make a point of actually buying one of his albums. I want this guy to have plenty of cash to eat well, pay the bills, and then produce more music.
Speaking of gaming and Jonathan Coulton - here's a Warcraft machina of Creepy Doll (You Tube link). Which will probably only be interesting to those who are into Warcraft, but hey, guilty.
This was a triumph
I’m making a note here: huge success
It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction
Aperture Science
We do what we must because we can
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake
And the science gets done and you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive
I’m not even angry
I’m being so sincere right now
Even though you broke my heart and killed me
And tore me to pieces
And threw every piece into a fire
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you
Now these points of data make a beautiful line
And we’re out of beta, we’re releasing on time
So I’m glad I got burned, think of all the things we learned
For the people who are still alive
Go ahead and leave me
I think I’d prefer to stay inside
Maybe you’ll find someone else to help you
Maybe Black Mesa
That was a joke, ha ha, fat chance
Anyway this cake is great
It’s so delicious and moist
Look at me still talking when there’s science to do
When I look out there it makes me glad I’m not you
I’ve experiments to run, there is research to be done
On the people who are still alive
And believe me I am still alive
I’m doing science and I’m still alive
I feel fantastic and I’m still alive
And while you’re dying I’ll be still alive
And when you’re dead I will be still alive
Still alive
Still alive
