Wilderness Weekend

I have survived my latest excursion into the woods. Went camping Saturday in Tahoe National Forest with a bunch of friends, despite getting lost and driving around and not finding the campground until well after dark. Had an unusually good camp dinner and got to see the Milky Way in all its glory. Got up early on Sunday to go white water rafting on the middle fork of the American River (a trip Esther was nice enough to arrange) for the first time in many, many years. It was huge fun (I was on the rowdy boat), although I fell out during one of the nastier parts and got banged up in the river. The water is so cold there! A long day, but super fun.

Connnnnnnn!

Got back from Comic-con 2006 Monday night. Tired, but happy. It was draining as usual, but I had a good time. I'll post more (with pictures) when I get a chance to breathe.

Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager

What if Darth Vader had a son who worked as a grocery store manager? That appears to be the premise of this short film. Well, I thought it was funny.

Muse

I got the latest Muse album a couple weeks back and it's really great. Went to see them at the SF Design Center in the city with David and Jon. They are fairly impressive in that they are as technically sharp live as they are in the studio. Almost a prog rock sound. We spent some time debating who they sound like. I hear Rush ("Temple of Cirrus"?) in their latest single, but I think I am the only one. Too bad the venue's acoustics leave a bit to be desired. Way too much bass, a bit loud for the size of the hall. Anyway, they were fantastic live and I would definitely see them again.

A Scanner Darkly

I went out a couple weeks ago and caught this (another Keanu movie!) with a bunch of friends of mine at a local art house theater. It was remarkably true to the PKD novel from which it was derived. Which is good, since it's one of my favorites. Ir's about an undercover cop attempting to infiltrate a drug ring in a future where "Substance D" is a the bogeyman drug. The cop gets a little too close, as it turns out, to the drug ring. There was a lot of odd laughter during the film, i thought. People laughing at things that if you consider the circumstances, weren't really that funny. Anyway, I thought it was a solid delivery, especially with the wacky rotoscoping effects. Hope to catch it again before it leaves the theaters. We'll see.

RIP Syd Barrett

Syd Barrett, original front man of Pink Floyd and the inspiration for a lot of their work after his mental breakdown, has passed away at 60. Shine on Syd. [article]

The Lake House

This evening I joined Noelle and Wendy for this chick flick starring Keanu and Sandra Bullock as long distance correspondents who grow closer over time. Now, ordinarily I would not call their acting superlative, but for this film, I think they were well cast. I don't think they really acted much, so it was a good fit. The film is also set in the Chicago, so the cinematographer had a lot of beautiful scenery to work with. Anyway, I loved the movie and the story line and would recommend it highly.

In About A Week...

I will be heading down to San Diego for comic-con again.

More Concerty Goodness

Catching up a bit. Saw Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Thursday at the Alameda County Fair. Excellent swing band. I am surprised that I have at least three Squirrel Nut Zippers albums, but no BBVD. Anyway, it was the best $9 show I've ever seen. Saturday night Noelle, Carl and I (and I guess Wendy and Dave, but they were in the good seats) went to see NIN for the fourth time in 15 months. Fucking amazing show! Every show is a little bit different. This one was most like the Oakland show last fall. I wish we had gotten the good seats instead of lawn because the visuals were crazy! And I would also have been stoked to get the guitar that Trent threw out into the audience, too. :-) I guess he was letting go since it's the end of the tour. Sigh. Hope I don't have to wait five years to see his next show. Since it wasn't too too late, we caught Aki's blues band playing a gig over in Santa Clara and had breakfast at the mini-gourmet at three in the morning. That was an odd scene.

WTF? Thursday?

Oy, how did it get to be Thursday again so fast?? Helped Annie move Saturday, which chewed up most of the day. Very beautiful houses in Santa Cruz. Makes me want to live there. Sunday went to Day On the Meadow with Noelle and Carl. The Dresden Dolls were fabulous (forgot that they covered "War Pigs"). The Violent Femmes were still surprisingly good after all these years. They trotted out all the hits from their first two albums. I have to hope Gordon Gano finds some irony in singing "Hey Dad, give me the car tonight." when he must be at least 40. Monday was workworkwork->go to club in the city until 4am. Slept in Tuesday. Finally got up to see the fireworks in Scott's Valley with Noelle, Carl, Esther, and Gil (who's from Switzerland). Yesterday was more workworkwork, although I finally got back into the gym. Yay me! Tonight Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Tomorrow, possibly Smashmouth. Saturday: Peaches, Bauhaus, and NIN all on the same bill! Maybe I'll sleep Sunday, but I'm thinking not.

Optical Camouflage

Great shades of Ghost In the Shell! Found this the other day: optical camouflage. They have some WMV videos that are really cool, especially if it's not a trick.

How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

I found this article on BoingBoing that has some pictures taken in LA of the glow in the sky at night from A-bomb tests in Las Vegas back in the 50s. Very surreal.