Monday, March 30, 2009

Android 207...

....make some popcorn, sit back and looky...!


Android 207 from Carrotkid on Vimeo.

Looky looky...

...bunnies with guns...fluent in Japanese!




Enjoy....(...I think...)...!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Obsequious Purple & Clairvoyant Playlist 3-26-09...

Obsequious Purple & Clairvoyant Playlist 3-26-09...
~8:00
Beau Hunks, "Birdlife in the Bronx", Celebration on the Planet Mars
Ray Charles, "Confession Blues", The Genius Anthology
Squirrel Nut Zippers, "Prince Nez", Hot
Dorsey Brother's Orchestra, "Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day", Stormy Weather...
Louis Prima, "Whistle Stop", Collector's Series
Giorgio Conte, "Cannelloni", Italian Cafe
Red Stick Ramblers, "Main Street Blues", Big Ol' Box of New Orleans
Tom Waits, "The Piano Has Been Drinking", Small Change
Glover Gill, "Ballad 3", Waking Life...
Velvet Underground, "I'm Sticking With You", VU
They Might Be Giants, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", Flood
Gianmaria Testa, "Dentro Al Cinema", Italian Cafe
Tom Waits, "Depot Depot", Heart of Saturday Night
The Delta Rhythm Boys, "Dry Bones", Dry Bones
Nina Simone, "I Put A Spell On You", Verve Jazz Masters 17
Oren Lavie, "Her Morning Elegance", The Opposite Side of the Sea
~9:00
Mary Chapin Carpenter, "Mellow Yellow", Steal This Movie
David Bowie, "Life on Mars?", Hunky Dory
Mott the Hoople, "All the Young Dudes", All The Young Dudes
Lou Reed, "New York Telephone Conversation", Walk on the Wild Side...
Beck, "Dark Star", The Information
Emily Wells, "Symphony #3: The Story", The Symphonies...
Radiohead, "15 Steps", In Rainbows
Lemon Jelly, "Page One" LemonJelly.KY
Elbow, "The Bones of You", The Seldom Seen Kid
Andrew Bird, "Not A Robot, But a Ghost", Noble Beast
Sia, "Electric Bird", Some People Have Real Problems
Spoon, , Gimmee Fiction
Fisk Industries, "In Tangents", EPs and Rareities
Elbow, "The Fix"
The Seldom Seen Kid
Monkey Bars, "Baby Elephant Walk", Upstairs At Larry's
...and chatterbox with Captain Clearwater...

Monday, March 16, 2009

Stories from Las Vegas (part 1)...

Ladies and gentlemen, there are unbelievable deals in Las Vegas:


I have a story on NPR's Day to Day (audio available online here, later today) about the revival of interest in the city's long-forgotten mid-century modern homes. The frenzy of real estate speculation in Las Vegas, and the huge suburban expansion has left the city's neighborhoods without much of a sense of community. Neighborhoods are emptying out; many residents are alienated.

Well, there's a seed of hope in these mid-mod homes at the city's center. In the last several years, urban hipsters have re-discovered these little architectural gems, built in the 1950's and 60's. Younger people have moved in, and are bringing new energy to downtown neighborhoods that had become run down.

And in a city a disassociated communities, the irony is these homes and neighborhoods were designed with socializing in mind: large, airy open spaces; rooms that open into rooms; sunken lounges and walls of glass that open onto patio and poolside areas, so that the inside and outside become one giant space. Here's an upscale example of the Morelli House in Las Vegas, recently rescued from the bulldozer by the Junior League:


Most of the mid-mod homes downtown are more modest in scale, and affordable for mere mortals. They are, in short, the perfect antidote for a city where people don't know their neighbors.