Pointless Website Blog

Cake Wrecks

2009-05-30T21:15:00.001-05:00

Click above. You're welcome.

Dog, get down from there

2009-03-14T12:00:00.001-05:00

http://doggetdownfromthere.tumblr.com/

Macanudo

2009-03-13T22:43:00.001-05:00

Fascinating pieces of fascinating

2009-03-11T19:17:00.001-05:00

First of all, it has become apparent that every album from the '90s is officially in every Goodwill now. The Rock Hill Goodwill seems to have some especially interesting stuff right now -- I walked out with a French cassette copy of Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin's infamous "Je T'aime, Moi Non Plus."

I assume that anyone actually reading this has heard about the Festus cave house at this point? The owners, who recently listed the house on eBay without actually selling it there, have managed to refinance the place, and they're expressing their happiness by throwing a giant party in their house built into a cave. Yep, giant cave party for 10 or 15 dollars. Color me intrigued.

Also! Dan Aykroid is coming into St. Louis to sign bottles of his wine at Randall's Wines and Spirits on the 18th from 4:30 to 6:30. How about that, eh?

Neocha's NEXT Chinese indie music player

2009-03-02T11:40:00.001-06:00

There's a website called Neocha that acts as a sort of Chinese underground music equivalent to the MySpace of today, or the MP3.com of 8 or 9 years ago, connecting local bands with potential fans from across the region, and sometimes across the globe. From LostLaowai's interview with the site's creator, Sean Leow:

When I first came to China in 2001, I was fortunate to meet some expats friends who were into the local music scene and also some Chinese friends who gave me really good music recommendations. Based on that, I started going to live shows and started to realize that there was good original music out there. But the biggest problem was — I had no good way to find out about shows. The information and content was not really aggregated anywhere. That’s one of the main reasons that we started Neocha.

All of this is fine and dandy, but if I were to take a wild guess, I would imagine that you, reader, probably can't read Chinese, making the website a bit of a slog to make your way through. Not to fear! Neocha created a self-contained, simpler than simple music player called NEXT that plays nothing but underground music from China pulled at random from its servers. If something like this were being done by MySpace, I probably couldn't flee fast enough from the user content, but a majority of Neocha's music seems to be pretty top-shelf stuff (this Nina Simone/Jeff Buckley cover notwithstanding). Most of the artist and song names are still in Chinese, but you can at least click on the album artwork and go to the artist's page and consult Google for answers from there. If you've got the time and bandwidth to spare, NEXT is a great little program to have around, and if you don't like what's playing at any given time, you can simply click the giant "NEXT" button. You'll probably find something you'll like.

Blur - Coffee & TV (England, 1999)

2009-02-23T12:38:00.001-06:00

I love this video, and if you haven't seen it before, now you have.

Yellow Magic Orchestra - Rydeen (Japan, 1979)

2009-02-11T16:22:00.001-06:00

One of the best-known songs by Japan's equivalent to Kraftwerk. Crazy special effects for such an early music video, huh?

Šarlo Akrobata - Niko kao ja (Nobody like me) (Serbia/Yugoslavia, 1980)

2009-02-02T18:41:00.001-06:00

This was part of the 1980 Belgrade new wave compilation album Paket aranžman.

Presented without comment

2009-01-29T18:47:00.001-06:00

Courtesy of WFMU.

Magnetic Fields - Strange Powers

2009-01-22T16:01:00.001-06:00

For your consideration, an Unsettlingly Real-Looking Felted Bacon Scarf.

The Good Pie in Midtown looks, well, good.

Stax Does the Beatles

2008-11-15T15:11:00.001-06:00

http://www.amazon.com/Stax-Does-Beatles-Various-Artists/dp/B000ULQVHK

Post-election Newsweek article

2008-11-05T15:37:00.001-06:00

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167581

Most of what you thought was true was indeed true!

Lisandro Aristimuño

2008-09-01T15:23:00.001-05:00

Fab, fab singer-songwriter from Río Negro, Argentina:

"El árbol caído"

Also, check out his MySpace - the songs may or may not improve your day:
http://www.myspace.com/lisandroaristi

Reunited Myster Science Theater 3000 cast in the Family Whatsitcalled Center Theater Thing

2008-08-25T17:33:00.001-05:00

For anyone who used to watch Mystery Science Theater 3000 back when Comedy Central was in its infancy and Joel still hosted the show: the original MST3000 lineup has reformed as "Cinematic Titanic," they've been releasing new DVDs making fun of B-movies. They'll be in St. Chaz on November 1st doing their thing live at the Family Whatsitcalled Center Theater Thing. Tickets are available online over yar.

Oh, also: did you know that you wanted to hear some Chinese indie-folk?

Wan Xiaoli (万晓利) - Fox (狐狸)

Royale

2008-07-20T23:42:00.002-05:00

Hiya! I'm doing another of my patented international music DJ gigs for the second time in a week - this one's at the Royale on Kingshighway tomorrow (this Monday the 21st) from 10pm-1am. Should be a good time, all!

Also:

The history of St. Louis and the Anheuser-Busch buyout as E-NUN-CI-A-TED PHO-NET-I-CAL-LY by Voice of America's international broadcast for English learners:
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2008-07-13-voa7.cfm

I've been getting into '60s Cambodian rock 'n roll lately, and this website has biographies and many, many song downloads of singers like Ros Sereysothea and Pan Ron. It's really fantastic stuff.

So what happened to all of these '60s Cambodian musicians, you ask? You don't wanna know. If you watch the trailer at that link (and you should), get ready to tear up, because it's awfully depressing. It should also be noted that the L.A. band Dengue Fever has been embarking on a sort of revival of older Cambodian rock with some very catchy results.

If this is exciting to anyone, I'm doing another SkyMall maxi-post soon, courtesy of my friend Steph.

Food.

2008-06-26T13:19:00.003-05:00

Domino's ‘Brooklyn Style Pizza’ Meets the Real Deal - I laughed.

Donuts! In the middle of the night! In Soulard! And they're good! St. Louis, prepare to better acquaint yourself with one John Do-Nut.
http://www.saucemagazine.com/drill.php?EstID=3577&page=AlphaSearch.php&Est=j
http://flickr.com/photos/mbk/sets/72157601371001083/

Here's a new one: e-mail spam for Chilean wine. Several of them in my Gmail. Spam for something that isn't pirated software and/or MALE ENHANCEMENT and/or porn, what a concept.

Meet Juana Molina!

Veruca

2008-06-24T20:22:00.002-05:00

Niche is amaaazing, and Food & Wine Magazine says that Niche chef Gerard Craft is one of the best new chefs in the country. Niche's pastry chef Matthew Rice started a bakery side operation called Veruca last year, which is next door to Niche itself.

I went yesterday, and snagged cupcakes (which were cheaper, and quite possibly better than either the Cupcakery or Jilly's), a house-made chocolate-peanut butter-granola-coconut-other stuff candy bar, a slice of a Coca-Cola-flavored cake, and one of the very best mocha lattes I've ever had. Not gonna lie, access to the culinary joy of Niche is generally gonna cost you, but everything at Veruca is pretty low-priced, with prices on baked goods starting at $1 and generally topping out at $3.

In short: if you live in St. Louis and haven't been to Veruca yet, there is something wrong with you.

Free movies

2008-06-20T13:15:00.001-05:00

Almost everybody probably knows about these already, but there have been and will continue to be free movies in various spots around the City of St. Louis. Lots of them.

Two things your life needs more of:

2008-06-17T18:25:00.001-05:00

Ricardo Tobar - IDM/electronic post-punk!

Ma Po tofu - It might not be on the menu (or not on the English language menu, at least), but any Chinese restaurant worth its 食鹽 can probably make it.

I'm doing another international music DJ spin this Thursday night at the Sci-Fi Lounge from 9-12, plus I'm told that $10 haircuts will be available. So hey, show up, make some friends, play some pinball, and groove on some music from, well, everywhere.

Also, I bought Marisa Monte, Amigos Invisibles, and Damon & Naomi albums from CD Reunion in St. Charlesland for a grand total of $10. Crazy.

Real-life cartoon characters

2008-05-26T20:09:00.001-05:00

Your childhood is terrifying.

Via Pixeloo

Egad

2008-05-24T18:31:00.001-05:00

SupersizedMeals.com is why we have an obesity problem in the United States.

Granted, Groceryeats makes Luther Burgers and deep-fried pancakes, but then, Groceryeats is way more awesome. SupersizedMeals just makes me feel ill.

Also, deep-fried Coke??

The piano has been emptying his savings account

2008-05-11T09:57:00.002-05:00

The good news: Tom Waits is not only embarking on one of his very rare tours this summer, he's coming here to the Fox.
The bad news: It's going to be $70 minimum.

Via RFT

Why I'm looking forward to '90s retro:

2008-05-04T23:25:00.001-05:00

Vibrant, gleeful cynicism. That's why, and don't you forget it. Kids in the Hall and The Breeders are coming to town post-haste, KITH at the Pageant on the 20th, Breeders at Pop's on the 10th.

Speaking of vibrant, gleeful cynicism, the Magnetic Fields' last album "Distortion" that I was blabbering about a few months ago: picked it up. Definitely better than "i," understandably has less filler than the almost too long but excellent anyway "69 Love Songs." One of their best albums, I'd wager, and also kind of a return to the distorted-guitar sound of their earlier albums. It also took me until just now to realize that every song on the album is almost - if not exactly - 3 minutes long. Stephin Merritt, you sly bastard!

This is also an announcement that if you live anywhere near the "central corridor," as the kids are calling it, of St. Louis, you need to begin getting your pizzas, meatball subs, and calzones exclusively from La Pizza. It's been there for a good few years now, but it recently finally hit me how great all of their food is. Their tomato/pizza sauces are the very essence of amazing, fresh tomatoes, the mozz is fresh, the crust is crisp at the edges and rich in flavor, and to boot, the owner and employees are all really nice.

Also, http://www.winslowshome.com/.

(P.S. http://www.winslowshome.com/)

(P.P.S. http://www.winslowshome.com/. I am not playing around. You're going.)

Midnight Juggernauts - Shadows

2008-04-20T00:27:00.001-05:00

Bento box album covers

2008-04-12T15:27:00.001-05:00

For anyone who was ever curious what Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" album cover would look like if composed entirely of egg, it's Obati's Jacket Lunch Box, taking well-known album covers and recreating them in bento box form with rice, nori, and vegetables.

Groceryeats.com

2008-04-12T15:15:00.001-05:00

http://groceryeats.com/

Amazing blog. It's DJ Grocery from The Science live hip-hop spin at Blueberry Hill from a few years back, broadcasted live on KDHX every Friday night (may it rest in peace). Grocery and the other posters make and eat bizarre stuff like deep-fried pancakes, beaver, bacon-flavored vodka, and a homemade Luther burger (for the uninitiated, think the soul food restaurant episode of The Boondocks, or the Gateway Grizzlies' Krispy Kreme burger).

The site also introduced me to the deeply satisfying Mammer Jammer, a Philly cheesesteak with hot, chili-flavored sauce on top, served by a take-out place of the same name. It's on Natural Bridge a while east of Goody Goody Diner, and open until 2 a.m. on weekends. See that, Goody Goody? They close at 2 a.m. Not p.m.

Wave of emo kids getting attacked in Mexico

2008-03-27T16:16:00.001-05:00

Geez...

International DJ spin

2008-02-25T18:13:00.001-06:00

No one reads this blog, but I'll post this for kicks anyhow:

This Thursday night from 8 to midnight, I'll be playing 4 straight hours of:
French indie rock
Chilean electronic shoegazer
Nigerian joromi
Music by film director Pedro Almodovar's 1980s punk band Almodovar y McNamara
Soviet-era organ music and now-era reggae from Russia
Cuban hip-hop
Indian Bhangra
Brazilian manguebeat
Belgian electronic rock
...and pleeeenty more.
Admission is free, and once again, it's going to be on the last Thursday of the month at the Sci-Fi Lounge (http://www.myspace.com/scifilounge) in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood at 6010 Kingsbury Ave. (next to Joe's Cafe, for the unfamiliar).
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=6010+Kingsbury+Ave,+St+Louis,+St+Louis,+Missouri+63112,+United+States

Italy + food + blog = yes please

2008-02-25T18:10:00.001-06:00

http://aaaaccademiaaffamatiaffannati.blogspot.com/ (translated version available here)

I'm liking what I'm seeing at this blog. By all accounts, this place looks and sounds amazing. What's with all of the Photoshop filters, though?

Webster University President Richard Meyers resigns

2008-02-11T18:42:00.001-06:00

http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/02/11/daily12.html?ana=from_rss

This reads curiously similar to Governor Blunt's abrupt announcement that he wasn't running for a second term. What gives, eh?

So bad, you know they're good

2008-02-03T01:17:00.001-06:00

In honor of a sporting event that I don't care about, here's that kitsch you ordered:

Thanks, 1985.

Also, I'm liking the Blue Nile Ethiopian market by Olive and McKnight. I just cooked up half of a 89 cent bag of red lentils as a side with my last batch of enchiladas, and I'm so excited to pick up some ingredients to make injera and a doro wat. In a month or so, they're going to start offering Ethiopian cooking classes there too, so I can find out what I'm about to probably do wrong!

It sounds different somehow

2008-01-28T22:28:00.001-06:00

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/01/david-lee-roth.html

Van Halen's "Runnin' With The Devil" with one of the vocal tracks isolated. It's much more entertaining this way.

http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/01/lou-reed-vs-pav.html

Lou Reed performing "Perfect Day" with Pavarotti?!

Originaldo

2008-01-27T20:46:00.001-06:00

Ladue High Schoolers! Check out the utterly surreal biography behind that Lincoln portrait facing the entrance of the LHWHS library:

http://originaldo.com/bio/index.html

International music spin

2008-01-25T18:57:00.001-06:00

Hey, everybody - in case anyone is reading this, I'm doing an international music spin next Thursday night from 8 to midnight as DJ Autofocus at the Sci-Fi Lounge in the Skinker-Debaliviere neighborhood.

I will be playing, among other things:

Ethiopian jazz
Mexican electronic music
Dutch IDM
South Korean hip-hop
Beninese psychedelic rock
French electroclash
Argentine punk
Japanese R&B
Brazilian '70s funk
Taiwanese goth-pop
Russian indie rock
German Bhangra (you did read that correctly)

Hope to see you there!

Estas no son enchiladas

2008-01-23T20:39:00.000-06:00

With compliments to Gaby from Deliciosadas.com's mommy.

Also:

More, less work-safe fake show openings at:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=FatalFarm

They've also been making live-action tributes to Garfield comic strips:

If the actual Garfield movies were like this, hey, I would've bought tickets.

This has been a nice aaaahhhhhh.... time for me

2008-01-20T23:56:00.001-06:00

Brian Wilson's Lost Rap Recording - Uh oh.

The second coming of Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Oh yes.

Magnetic Fields - "Distortion"

2008-01-15T13:36:00.001-06:00

http://www.myspace.com/themagneticfields

Way better than "i"? I'd wager so.

Low, low West County prices!

2008-01-07T20:12:00.001-06:00

So I got an oil change out in Creve Coeur today, and decided to carouse around Olive a bit. I got a pristine used copy of "First Band on the Moon" by the Cardigans and a sealed copy of "V.I.P." by the Jungle Brothers from the Chesterfield Goodwill for $6, and Machiavelli's The Prince, and The Collected Fictions of Borges for $10 from Annie's Books. West County? Inexpensive? When did this happen?

Matia

2007-12-28T14:02:00.001-06:00

I can't for the life of me remember who was asking me about the video of what Matia's been up to lately, but it's probably someone who reads my blog, so here you go:

http://revision3.com/xlr8rtv/asphodel

Stay tuned until the synth room section at about 2:35...

Speaking of Bowie

2007-12-22T23:39:00.001-06:00

FYI: Euclid Records has a bunch of '70s-'80s era Bowie CDs on sale for 8 bucks apiece. These particular copies are kind of interesting: they're Japanese imports with the little tracklisty thing wrapped around the edge, the case design is set up to completely emulate the packaging of the vinyl records (with the paper wrapper inside with all the lyrics printed on it, and then the plastic one after that), and they're the recent remastered versions, but without the bonus tracks. But you're buying The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust for it being a great album, not for "Lady Stardust (alternate demo version wherein Mick Ronson coughs)", aren't you? To some degree, it kind of bugs me when I buy a classic album and can't really tell when the actual album is over and when the stuff that they didn't see fit to put on the original album starts.

So go buy yourselves some Bowie. You owe it to yourself!

2007-12-19T20:28:00.002-06:00

Test

A public service announcement

2007-12-18T08:08:00.001-06:00

We're in the thick of holiday season, and I just wanted to share a word with anyone buying any last-minute Christmukkah or Ramadwanzaa gifts. My dad owns a guitar store, which sells actual guitars, and I feel that I must warn anyone buying a non-actual guitar for a loved one (e.g., Guitar Hero 3 or Rock Band) that this is what someone looks and sounds like actually performing with a non-actual guitar:

There's a starman waiting in the sky, cringing.

Hey everybody

2007-12-14T17:54:00.001-06:00

Come see my useless photography tonight from 7-11 at the Art Coop!

Anonimo Consejo - Hablando de Algo

2007-12-06T16:15:00.000-06:00

Here, have some Cuban hip-hop that's extremely hard to find in the United States. Beware the few stray non-work-safe English lyrics.

How is it that I've been missing out on the intersection of Grand and Bates forever? There's a Polish grocery store, a Middle Eastern grocery store (can't ID it any further geographically, aside from its items having Arabic everywhere, and there being a bunch of Bollywood videos), $2-3 drink specials at Mikey Moe's, and the quite good El Burrito Loco around the corner, which at the moment is still running a sort of autumn harvest special with a blue corn tortilla zucchini quesadilla, and a spicy sweet potato soup.

P.S. Carson Daly isn't funny

2007-11-28T14:29:00.000-06:00

Carson Daly Seeking Scabs
NBC late-night host sets up "joke hotline" in strikebreaking effort

How unfortunate for everyone involved! Most of all, the viewers. I don't believe that I've ever caught a clip of that show wherein Carson wasn't continuously bombing on an epic scale. He even managed to make Rickrolling unfunny!

Also, yes, please.

Midnight Juggernauts - Into The Galaxy

2007-11-03T13:20:00.000-05:00

La Tortuga on Cherokee is the best quality per price meal in St. Louis ever ever, end of story. Totally fantastic enchiladas.

David Lynch is delightfully illogical.

That is all.

Magnetic Fields

2007-10-29T16:31:00.001-05:00

New album in January! It's called "Distortion."

In the meantime, enjoy this video of Magnetic Fields frontman and legendarily difficult interview subject Stephin Merritt on Atlanta local morning television!

Acclaimed film director/metal band mashup t-shirts

2007-10-28T14:32:00.001-05:00

I love this video store, and I love these!

El mató a un policía motorizado - Chica rutera

2007-10-27T17:28:00.001-05:00

Yael Naim - New Soul

2007-10-19T13:55:00.001-05:00

Taco trailer!

2007-10-19T12:12:00.001-05:00

El Torito supermarket's taco trailer is back!

Totally underrecognized Thai restaurant Midland Wok has moved from Midland to the old Tomatillo location on Olive Blvd. in my burg of Olivette and changed its name to Land of Smile.

No more Granite City Vintage Vinyl

2007-10-11T20:56:00.001-05:00

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/atoz/2007/10/vintage_vinyls_granite_city_il.php

Well, there goes one more reason to make eastward field trips...

On the other hand, I still need to make this particular field trip.

Radio Campus Paris

2007-10-03T15:13:00.001-05:00

The audio quality isn't quite as good (96kpbs versus 128), but I think I found a French online radio station that I even like better than Nouvelle Scene. The station Radio Campus Paris features more in the way of funk, hip-hop, and electronic music, along with a healthy sprinkling of indie rock, and is apparently run by college students. My only gripe: they need to update the little now playing box - it hasn't been changed since June, and I have no idea who I'm listening to most of the time.

Uh, no?

2007-09-28T18:47:00.001-05:00

El Bulli

2007-09-18T19:44:00.001-05:00

Are you familiar with the concept of culinary foam? If so, you're probably familiar with its most famous practicioner, Ferran Adrià, and his restaurant El Bulli in Spain, often cited as one of the best, if not the best restaurant in the world. I've always considered a visit there as going under the category of "Maybe it's something that I'll have the time and money to do when I'm sixty?" with no real hopes of seeing much of it outside of a brief clip or two on Food Network, but then YouTube user barkohba came along and uploaded clips of every course they were serving on May 26, 2005.

Cachaça sorbet:

Opening plates before entering the building, including marshmallows of parmesan cheese, beet bowties with [???] vinegar, and cheese popcorn (the popcorn itself being made of cheese, I'm guessing):

"Electric milk," so named for its acidic feeling on the tongue:

"Tierra 2005": salty version of one of the chef's desserts from 2003, with a base of chocolate and corn:

Spherical potato gnocchi and butter ravioli with roasted potato skin juice:

Olive soup with passion fruit foam:

Butter ravoli with sea urchin:

Young goat brain with brain sauce, umibudo/sea grapes, and sea urchin:

Feel free to prolong your longing sigh at the Blind Tasting Club, who received a completely different roster of dishes about a month ago.

New book "not" about MICDS parents

2007-09-14T12:41:00.001-05:00

Hey, I went to high school in Ladue (public school, public school, I swear!), so you figure I have to be amused by the idea of Wade Rouse's Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler, which is "not" about Rouse's experiences as Communications Director at Ladue private school Mary Institute Country Day School (that's "Mickey D's" if you're feeling saucy), dealing with students' parents.

More info aquí.

Sweet Memories

2007-07-31T21:20:00.001-05:00

I'm all nostalgic now.

I'm torn.

2007-07-24T22:20:00.001-05:00

Interview with son of owners of Mai Lee/current owner of Jade Garden

I love Jade Garden, and don't want it to disappear, and yet, a redesigned Mai Lee sounds good too. Hmm.

J'aime French indie rock

2007-07-20T01:02:00.001-05:00

And you should, too.

http://www.myspace.com/armanmelies

http://www.myspace.com/bbless

Attn: Thrifty readers

2007-07-13T15:44:00.001-05:00

The Wash. U. bookstore has five new copies of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex on sale for $7. Or you could just get it from a library, whatevs.

Cherchez le Ghost

2007-07-10T11:36:00.001-05:00

I shouldn't be telling people this, since I want to get in too, but Ghostface Killah from the Wu-Tang Clan is playing a hush-hush-ish free show at Blueberry Hill on Wednesday the 25th. You've just gotta sign up here:

https://secure.scion.com/scion/ssl/rsvp/metroStLouis.do

Hey

2007-07-05T14:33:00.001-05:00

So my friend Ken's college band The Juice just came out with an online-only EP, "See Where It Goes," for which I shot the album cover:

http://play.rhapsody.com/juice3/seewhereitgoes?didAutoplayBounce=true

http://www.emusic.com/album/Juice-See-Where-it-Goes-MP3-Download/11047461.html

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=257370406&s=143441

Web meme ahoy

2007-07-05T11:35:00.001-05:00

By the by, you should've gone to that shindig at the White Flag the other day. Just sayin'.

Quelle est votre nouvelle scène?

2007-06-22T18:29:00.001-05:00

The station bumpers are so cheesy (NOUVELLE SCENE!), but for whatever reason, I am loving, loving, loving this French indie rock web radio station Europe 2 Nouvelle Scene. Like an addiction. And I don't even know French! It's just that good.

Virtual Haircut

2007-06-21T22:29:00.001-05:00

You need to be wearing headphones, but:

http://www.gmoura.com/blog/2007/05/vai-um-corte-de-cabelo.html

If the Portuguese language on that page confuses and scares you to the point where you can't figure out the play button, the actual MP3 is here:

http://www.gmoura.com/blog/imgs_posts/barbershop.mp3 (In English)

Goody Goody

2007-06-21T22:19:00.001-05:00

I can't believe that it took me this long to finally eat at the Goody Goody Diner. Got a cheeseburger, hashbrowns, half a Belgian waffle, all fab. A little farther west on Natural Bridge, I checked out Leonard's TV & Video. Big place, and $1 rentals?! Lots of used videos for sale even cheaper than at the Record Exchange - it basically tops out at $9, but there are plenty for cheaper, including older stuff for a buck apiece. I picked up a copy of the Calexico concert DVD for $5. Not too shabby.

Speaking of the "stay out crackheads" house...

2007-06-16T17:27:00.001-05:00

The Post-Dispatch just finally printed a big investigative article talking about its owner, and how he may have collaborated with state legislature on an amendment that may reward him to the tune of tens of millions of tax dollars for its swell upkeep! Take a looksie!

(Or don't, because clearly, it's that blasted scrutiny from those golddurn critics that's preventing Blairmont from performing basic maintenance on its properties!)

Tommy Chong on Paris Hilton

2007-06-12T22:49:00.001-05:00

Rather amusing!

Via YouTube

2007-06-04T22:10:00.001-05:00

The last eight minutes of Venezuela's oldest TV station, RCTV (Radio Caracas Television), and the first few seconds of its state-owned replacement TVes on May 27-28. The Venezuelan government declined to renew their broadcasting license, due to their support for the 2002 coup attempt against Hugo Chavez, and for their lack of coverage of Chavez regaining power. A week of protests has followed.

Love thy anonymous, absent neighbor

2007-05-26T16:08:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of the always fantastic PubDef.net

Here's one charming piece of Blairmont infill property:

*Not pictured: condemnation notice that city sent to Blairmont LLC last July

2 Cents Plain

2007-05-25T14:29:00.001-05:00

The Downtown deli has been gone for a while now, but it looks like a music venue and bar is keeping the name and opening in its place. Since the Creepy moved and Cafe Louie and the Rocket Bar disappeared (and the Galaxy and Side Door are long gone), the area could certainly use one. I know that the city is back, and that I should back it, but I just don't see myself saying to friends, "Hey, let's all go downtown to get some pomegranate-glazed venison and go check out this awesome couch at one of the contemporary furniture stores afterwards!"

I am a jerk, so I sent them a message asking if I can still get a corned beef on rye. They said no.

Omea Reader: Free RSS Reader

2007-05-18T12:56:00.003-05:00

Hey you! Do you read blogs? A few of them a day? This - you want this. Internet Explorer's blog/RSS reader is terrible, and a lot of other free RSS readers are pretty glitchy, but Omea does a pretty fabulous job of organizing new posts that you've gotten.

There's a lot of extraneous business too (who subscribes to alt.dot.archaic-style newsgroups in 2007?), but it's not too hard to ignore or remove all of that for how it uses feeds.

Back

2007-05-11T23:51:00.000-05:00

Um, hi. I don't know if anyone that used to read this will actually find it, but ah, yeah, kind of in the mood to start blogging again, so there you go.

Incidentally, the Ground Floor in Belleville is for sale. You know how after a whole bunch of the St. Louis nightclubs closed, driving way out to Belleville has become one of a scant few options for seeing interesting music out? Yeah. We might lose that one, too.

Courtesy of a bulletin from their MySpace account:
The Rumors are half true.... The Ground Floor Has NOT CLOSED. It is however for sale and will close on July 15th unless someone buys it before then... MAYBE YOU?

Come out for our FINAL weekend of shows WE GUARANTEE they will be INSANE....

This bird has flown

2007-01-17T17:26:00.000-06:00

Hiya! So, ah, yeaaah... if the lack of me posting anything over the last month hasn't been any indication, I'm out of webspace, and for that matter, I might be switching ISPs soon anyhow, resulting, at least for now, in no more website. I'm thinking about perhaps starting another one at some point in the not-too-distant future (and if that precedes the new ISP, I'll make a note of it here), but for now, many thanks to the occasional readers!

Oh, and by the by, I'm really digging this excellently good vegetarian Indian fast food restaurant Gokul lately. I'd recommend.

Thank you, North County

2006-11-30T20:20:00.000-06:00

Did you know that African Palace existed? I didn't until recently, but their jollof rice is calling to me. I've got a buy one get one free coupon, and if anyone wants to go, let me know.

Oh, also:

Tamarind chutney macaroni & cheese. Still delicious.

From the "why does this even exist" department:

2006-11-10T17:17:00.000-06:00

I was looking around at pianos on eBay, and you know what I found under "keyboards"?

This. Wow.

Some more attractive than mine, others, not quite as attractive

2006-10-31T22:11:00.000-06:00

Enjoy this virtuoso performance by young Julliard acting student Brian Atene, in this, his 1984 audition tape for "Full Metal Jacket".

Double Exposure

2006-10-30T15:48:00.000-06:00

A pretty interesting article from the Washington Post looking at Diane Arbus' photography, and where some of her more famous subjects are today. Also, did you know that Diane Arbus was Howard Nemerov's sister? Because I didn't. Is that bad?

Dear St. Louis,

2006-10-22T20:24:00.000-05:00

Explain this to me:

U. City Olive Link

2006-10-20T00:03:00.000-05:00

Lord, what a stilted name for a neighborhood. But them's my old stomping grounds! I grew up around my dad's guitar store there, and yup, I most certainly love paying visits to the East Asian groceries, which gave me a rich early adolescence's worth of Pocky and fermented milk sodas. And may the internet correct me if I'm wrong, I've heard that the McDonald's is the very McDonald's that Nelly used to work at. Do correct me if I'm wrong, internet.

I love that strip of Olive Blvd. to death. Maybe I oughta bloggerate the whole street's worth of businesses someday. People call it "Chinatown," but it's about as culturally diverse as you're gonna find. Among the cultures represented in the neighborhood's businesses and restaurants: Chinese(/Taiwanese/Hong Kong), Filipino, Indian, Jamaican, Japanese, Korean, Mexican, Nigerian(/pan-African), Pakistani, Russian, Vietnamese, and with Marco's picking up the slack from Terri's Southern Cafeteria, good old fashioned American soul food.

So what's happening these days? First, I wanna say how wonderful O.J. Photo is. They're in the process of remodeling, and in the meantime, they're running a basement sale, which I'd encourage every film photographer to pay a visit to. LOADS of camera filters too.

The African/Jamaican grocery, if you show up early on Saturdays, is carrying freshly-made Ghanaian kenkey.

Also, since it's on a rather obscure little strip just behind Olive, I hadn't realized until recently that sadly, St. Louis' old premiere ride-pimpers Lightspeed seem to have bit the dust.

Finally, there are a lot of places around the neighborhood to buy foreign movies, but Universal Toys and Gifts' new, bigger location has nothing less than all of these for sale, and endless amounts more:
b420
Sad Movie
Cocktail
April Snow
Operetta Tanuki Goten
Golden Chicken 2
Everlasting Regret
I'm thinking I'll be buying one of these. Any suggestions? In general, the new place has all kinds of stuff that the old one didn't. Nice, graceful furniture, clothes, all kinds of stuff.

Also just picked up this from Manila Food Mart. Bless ya, Olive.

New blog

2006-10-18T21:35:00.000-05:00

St. Louis Eats and Drinks With Joe and Ann Pollack - I guess Joe has lightened his stance on blogs, eh? A blog by the P-D's restaurant reviewer from ages past, and from the husband-wife team behind "Beyond Toasted Ravioli."

There's also the 'Tater, who've actually been carting satire directly to other blogs' comment sections over the past few days...

Mortimer -- take - out - the - GAH-bage.

2006-10-14T18:17:00.000-05:00

So, ah, yeah. I'm not sure if this "Unkie Dunkie The Baloney Slicer" and his album about his nephew Mortimer is an actual attempt at comedy, or some sort of Dada exercise or what, but it sounds like a cross between a poetry slam, Andrew Dice Clay, Rocksteady from the Ninja Turtles, and, well, sheer tedium. I know I've got a thing for occasionally tedious cultural curios, but this takes the cake. IF - YOU - KNOW - WHAT - I - MEAN.
[Cue tape loop of woman's distinctively loud laughter]

Regina Spektor

2006-10-13T15:02:00.000-05:00

So's you all know, she's playing the new Creepy Crawl November 14th.

Everyone's gotta pay the bills

2006-10-11T21:37:00.000-05:00

The Mutantes rock out to Shell Gasoline.

Radios.com.br

2006-10-03T23:49:00.000-05:00

I've loved this site for a long time, to the point of thinking it's the greatest thing on the internet ever, and figured I oughta post something about it to the blahg. Okay. First of all, 's all in Portuguese. Are you okay with that? Does that bother you? Are you gonna cry a little? Because if you know, really, any Romance language, you'll probably figure out the basics.

It's cluttered! Yes it is. But I'll save you the effort of sifting through all of the ads and clutter on the front page. Interested in listening to radio stations from pretty much every country on earth? Ta-da! There ya go. Remember, if you're looking for us, we're the Estados Unidos. International TV is here. On this page, if you look under Radios Por Países, you can find some unusual stuff like police scanners and train radio (<---?) as well.

So what I'm thinking is, satellite radio? Why bother? Screw that noise, I want international internet radio in my car! If there's Chinese opera, British techno, and talk radio from Burkina Faso out there on the internet, how about a monthly fee to access it? And hey, public wi-fi areas are only going to grow in number and size from here on out. Of course, in any case, KDHX is still going to be in my #1 slot.

Beck

2006-10-03T14:46:00.000-05:00

So are we all in agreement that the new Beck album "The Information" is really good?

The Galleria

2006-09-28T23:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I went to the Galleria to buy some new shoes. Man! What is happening with St. Louis County, with the upper-ish middle class, and with this country? I feel like everything's a little more upscale in food, in fashion, in everything, but in the process, scads of people must be getting priced out of being able to afford it. $100 jeans, people. $100 jeans. Welcome to the future. Macaroni and cheese is $8.

Whoever came up with the idea for purple and green shoes needs to be punched in the mouth.

Attention

2006-09-27T00:29:00.000-05:00

Puerto Muerto. October 27th, 8:00 PM, Off Broadway. Who's with me?

The Creation of an After-School Activity

2006-09-23T16:02:00.000-05:00

Folks, I've entered the world of online video. How, you ask? Am I vlogging? Do I have a slick new mini-DV camcorder? Video podcasting? Of course not! I just put a video that I made when I was sixteen with a dumpy Panasonic VHS camera on YouTube. Enjoy!

And if you've already seen this back when it was hosted on standard webspace, well, nuts to you.

Two best decisions in recent memory:

2006-09-23T12:44:00.000-05:00

Buying a car cassette adaptor for my iPod, and buying the second Mutantes album, as Vintage Vinyl is currently carrying what would appear to (due to their FBI warnings) be major-label stateside releases of the first three Mutantes albums. Granted, the booklet's still all in Portuguese... But I do declare, I might like this album the best out of the lot of them.

So who's going to Calexico tonight, eh?

Not involved with it, just sounds interesting:

2006-09-22T00:32:00.000-05:00

I'm Lovin' It

2006-09-18T01:56:00.000-05:00

I'm way into when the new version 9 of the Flash plug-in makes Internet Explorer 7 epically crash. Especially when I'm in the middle of a large, internet-assisted academic undertaking. That is so awesome. Thank you, Macromedia. Thank you, Microsoft. Way cool. Radical.

SkyMall, part III

2006-09-16T22:51:00.000-05:00

Much thanks to my friend Steph!

Li'l pieces of sonic joy

2006-09-12T16:22:00.000-05:00

If you've been the recipient of one of my [in]famous mix CDs, you may have already heard one or more of these, but I feel compelled to share a bunch of my favorite-favorite songs of late. That's right, my blogging has been lagging just that badly.

The Decemberists - The Engine Driver
Lyrics about using the writing process to deal with lost love mixed with a just fantastic melody. What's not to like?

Nina Simone - Lilac Wine
I loved Jeff Buckley's "Grace" as much as the next guy, but his cover still had nothing on the original.

Todd Snider - You Got Away With It (A Tale of Two Fraternity Brothers)
Thank you KDHX and Pop Life with Anton. Thank you so, so much.

Orson Welles - Frozen Peas Spot
Okay, not really a song per se. But it is one of the all-time greatest, most tragic figures of U.S. cinema obsessing over the shortcomings of a script for a British frozen peas commercial. Sometimes, that's enough.

Godzuki - Your Future
Out-of-print late 1990s Cure-influenced indie-electro-pop straight outta Detroit. Most pleasing.

Mulatu Astatke - NÃ�tsanÃ�t
1970s Ethiopian jazz-funk.

Julia Sets - National Steel
This song only showed up on the band's mp3.com page and on a pretty limited cassette release, but I still wager that it's one of the best songs by one of the best St. Louis local bands of the last 15 years.

Kettel - Through Friendly Waters
I think this guy is Dutch? Pleasant, leisurely IDM.

Magazine - Shot by Both Sides
Oh, this Buzzcocks offshoot. Oh, how they rock and how they roll.

The Skalars - High School
I think that long-lost local faves the Skalars may have made my favorite ska song outside of the Specials or Desmond Dekker.

Kenickie - Lunch at Lassiters
It's just catchy, y'know?

Neko Case - Look For Me (I'll Be Around)
Better than the Sarah Vaughn original. The entire "Blacklisted" album is just tremendous, really. Neko has to be the reincarnation of Patsy Cline, swear to God.

Tiger Trap - You and Me
Sunny, happy '90s indie pop.

The Plastics - Digital Watch
Like a Japanese version of the B-52's, except with more drum machines.

So there you have it. It's like an mp3 blog without all of the illegal!

If only I could be as Cool as Ice

2006-09-12T15:47:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the YouTube theme...

Hey!

2006-09-11T00:28:00.000-05:00

Well if it isn't prominent Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa talking about Machu Picchu. Los Jaivas follow with some progging out within.

I wholeheartedly endorse:

2006-09-03T19:15:00.000-05:00

You know, for ages, I'd not actually listened to WGNU, 920 AM. This Friday, I finally did, and you know what? I heard Dr. Laura, and she's a nutcase. It was hilarious. I just really hope that people don't follow her advice.

Also, Snakes on a Plane. As dumb and as great as expected. I wouldn't watch it twice, but I believe that everyone should watch it once.

Finally, I think I'll give away a secret of mine. I went to the annual Japanese festival at the Botanical Gardens, and as with every other year, I went to the counter with $1 home videos of Japanese TV. As always, my results were excellent. The last time, I got a 6-hour tape that alternated between Crayon Shin-Chan and Doraemon. Doraemon, I could take or leave, but Shin-Chan, even with me only understanding every twelth spoken word, is hilarious. This summer, happily, a dubbed version finally came to Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, and it's even raunchier and more hilarious than the original, I think. As for this year at the festival? After looking for about ten minutes, what did I find on the rack among all of the Japanese-language Pokemon but "クレヨンしんちゃん." End result? The 1997 Crayon Shin-Chan birthday special, complete with Star Wars parody. Wonderful.

The painful truth of the internet age

2006-08-30T18:28:00.000-05:00

Every time that you come up with some sort of idea that you think is really unique, the internet is right there to tell you that there are thousands of other people doing it, they've already come up with their own name for it, and that their work is much, much better than yours.

I've been taking streaked-light long-exposure photos since 2003 at this point, having initially experimented with my digital camera, and liked my results. Since then, I've found the technique better suited to film, since long exposures quickly kill digital camera batteries, there's no 16-second maximum length on my Nikon, and hey, color on film just looks better than digital, what can I say?

A couple of years ago, I'd come upon this guy Rick Doble's website, but that was about the extent of similar work I found online. As of the last year or so, there now seems to be a giant community on Flickr and particularly on this blog engaging in "camera tossing." Now, I've always thought that holding onto the camera for control in moving it in these long exposure shots is sort of the point, but these people are actually throwing their cameras in the air, and the results are often stunning. The blog has apparently been getting a good deal of press, while I'm just left wondering how they could risk ruining expensive photo equipment. With the results that people have been getting, I could kind of see throwing my camera around myself, but if I was never any good at catching baseballs growing up, what logic is there in trying to catch a Nikon F-series? For now, I'll stick to waving, shaking, and twisting my camera around by hand and looking like a complete idiot, thanks.

On the plus side, the internet has also made whining about it that much easier.

St. Louis Cardinals slugger Pujols gets Babe Ruth test at Washington University

2006-08-30T14:23:00.000-05:00

http://news-info.wustl.edu/news/page/normal/7535.html

No more Hi-Pointe?

2006-08-25T19:51:00.000-05:00

I just saw this on my list of (shut up) MySpace bulletins:

Hi folks,
We're sorry to report that the Hi-Pointe Cafe will be closing its doors forever after Labor Day weekend due to the recent sale of the building. Unless something changes, the last night we will be open will be Sunday September 3rd.

From Lisa Andris:

When I fell into the crazy world of the Hi-Pointe (just four months after its inception and transformation from an "old school" old man bookie joint, to a late '80s post-new wave hangout) my beloved son Brian had just gotten his first tooth. It is a bittersweet irony that I bid the Hi-Pointe adieu the same week that I dropped that amazing young man off at college. Both journeys (raising my boy and being fortunate enough to have been the matron of madness at the Hi-Pointe for just shy of two decades) have transformed and enriched my life more than I could ever express. Where in the world does one begin where saying goodbye to the Hi-Pointe is concerned?! To all of the thousands of bands that have graced our stage both local and national we thank you and feel honored to have been a part of your sojourn through the sometimes frustrating but always impassioned rock and roll experience. From the fried chicken-flinging Southern Culture on the Skids (my personal fave) to the moving, angst-ridden beauty of Queens of the Stone Age, to the oftentimes once-reheased "barely out of the garage" eighth grade four piece band, we thank and salute you. To the Monday Night Hip Hop crew who livened up the night of the week most likely to be mundane and humdrum (tell a friend to tell a friend), we thank you. Bonnie and Phil will surely miss serving up those 22 oz. Coronas! To the thousands of colorful characters that have drifted through the front door, whether just once to see a friend's band or those of you that were family, that came in night after night, you will be missed more than you will ever be able to imagine. Much love and thanks to the happy hour coots who held down the fort and kept it real night after night and put me in my place when I DARED to replace a clock, change a wall color or do anything that could've changed that funky, divey vibe everyone grew to love. To those of you who fell in love at the bar, met your lifelong soul mate at the bar, got engaged at the bar, had your wedding party at the bar, thank you and keep us in your hearts always. To Beatle Bob, love him or hate him, thanks for the memories and for the hundreds of shows you attended. For those of you that tracked through snow, rain, or power outages just to share a laugh and a brew with us, thank you. To a few regulars and one former employee who left this world way too early were glad you shared your time in the universe with us. To Brian Henneman for 7 or 8 (we've all lost track) consecutive Christmas nights that will hold a special place in my heart forever, thank you. To all of the music agents and independent promoters who took a leap of faith in our less-than-perfect venue, thank you. For all of the soundmen who have surely lost hearing and or mental stability trying to mix that abominable concrete echo chamber, we thank you. To the ghosts and spirits that have scared and delighted us with their hauntings and antics we will miss you too (no, I'm not kidding!). And now here comes the hard part, the employees. I will never ever be able to express how much you've all enriched my life. From 1987 to the present, I have met some of the most amazing and interesting people imaginable. The amount of talent, humor, intellect, spirit, courage, charm and individuality of the couple of hundred people I've been lucky enough to employ over the years is something I will never be able to fully describe or duplicate in this lifetime. Thank you for your talents, passion and commitment to the time you spent at the Hi-Pointe. I am honored to have been in your company. Where my present staff is concerned, I love you and always will and for what it's worth you'll always be my family (a bit dysfunctional perhaps, but what the hell!). So it is with great sadness and gratitude that I wish you all a very heartfelt goodbye, it's been the most amazing ride ever and one that I don't expect to duplicate in this lifetime. Oh and by the way, "WE STILL DON'T CARE WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR!"

Love and Kisses forever,
Lisa Andris

Well, there goes another great little local music venue. I enjoyed playing there years ago... So what's going to happen to Monday night hip-hop?