Otherworldly

Screensavers are generally awful, not to mention pointless.
This one, however, is noteworthy for a number of reasons. First, it's open-source and there's a sizable community of people writing modules for it. Second, the modules are fractal flames-
They can be very hypnotic. Get it now, it's free.

Beautiful genius

I've just added a link over on the right of this page to the site of my dear and brilliant friend, Victoria Faust. She is simply the most fantastic, evocative visual artist I know, and one of the most important people in my life. Go look.

UI Design Didn't Always Suck

I hate the fact that people using technology to make music these days have simultaneously more creative and transformative power and fewer well-designed physical instrument interfaces at our fingertips than ever before. This is due to a number of factors, chiefly money. It costs considerably less to make any software than hardware, so now we have this design philosophy permeating the industry of "Fuck 'em, we'll put every possible feature we can into the software- Let THEM make the interface they want!" So we've ended up with a world of cheap, plastic MIDI controllers with tons of assignable knobs, pads, buttons and sliders, but very few actual self-contained, well-thought-out hardware musical instruments that are physically satisfying to play and don't force the musician to design their own interface.

I resent this.

While it is a valid approach on one hand (since most professional music software has many more possible onscreen controls than any single piece of hardware could feasibly be equipped with), it falls apart with things like softsynths and samplers, where you really benefit from being able to simply grab one parameter knob with one hand and another control with the other and see what happens if you twist them in opposite directions while the sound is being played.

Fuck these people and their lack of commitment to inspiring creativity (you remember "musicians", don't you? The people who actually have to use your products, ultimately?) Don't force me to be an interface designer. If you really want to make inspiring instruments that are fun to play, do the work, think it through, build the hardware and make it simple, seductive and easy to use, like the venerable, fantastic Sequential Prophet T8 pictured above.

Fortunately, some modern designers do occasionally get it right:

Red Meat Nirvana

Los Angeles is a surprisingly difficult city for great late-night food.
If you are a vegetarian, just go ahead and skip to the next post-
Nothing to see here. If not, I'll keep this short:
24/7, fantastic beef aged in-house, impeccable old-school service,
consistently wonderful food. I have no affiliation with them other than fandom.

Rumi

I never realized how many Rumi sites there actually are out there.
I first heard about his works from my friend Sussan Deyhim
(see "Queen of the Galaxy" link on the right of this page),
and later from Mr Fourth World (ditto).

Olditude

I love and collect late 70's/early 80's classic video arcade games.
Not consoles, but actual full-size upright arcade machines.
I've been collecting the bloody things for years, but somehow my interest in the hobby remains as keen as ever.

Fantastic Planet

...is still beautiful.

I first saw it in NY in '73, when it was released domestically after it won the Jury Prize that year at Cannes. I saw it again in '76. Recently, a "UK Special Edition" was released which has a better anamorphic transfer, a much more in-depth booklet, the ability to disable subtitles and a choice of English (the USA theatrical dub, featuring Barry Bostwick of all people) or the original French.

The Wiki is here.

I thought you knew!

C Bass

Back in 1985, a boutique UK bass company called Overwater produced an innovative instrument called the C Bass, a four-string bass tuned C F Bflat Eflat. This was before 5-string basses became ubiquitous, and bassists needed an instrument that would go down low enough to allow them to compete with the rampant synth basslines that were sweeping the music world at the time. The C Bass was a good interim solution, but it didn't catch on particularly well and was soon discontinued.

I bought a 5-string bass in 1993 and it soon became my mainstay. However, I've often wondered if I'd be able to find a C Bass one day, because of their sheer uniqueness.
So recently, I called Overwater and simply asked if they'd make me one to order, completely custom. They said no problem, and we designed my dream C Bass.

The image above is a a shot of the almost-finished instrument I ordered.

Horology

I love vintage LED watches from the 70s.
My pride and joy is a Pulsar "Bigtime" rather like the one above.
Though not strictly digital watches, this guy
has some great vintage stuff.

Perfection

When I was in Sydney awhile back, I ate at Tetsuya's with my friend Allie. Without exaggeration, it was the best, most elaborate, subtle, imaginative, phenomenally expensive lunch I have ever had. It required reservations over a month in advance, and even then I had to sweet-talk the lovely female reservations agent from across the Pacific. Indescribably fantastic food. We had the degustation menu- read it and weep. Go there if you're in town and looking to get spendtacular.

Sunshine

...not a perfect film, but we live in a depressingly bleak age for visionary sci-fi films and this is a visually gorgeous piece of work. It has a couple of moments that are obvious nods (read "ripoffs") of 2001, but maybe it's been long enough that that's ok now. Besides, it's kind of touching. Anyway, the whole thing goes sideways during the last third or so, but I recommend it if you are interested in good science fiction.

Rediscovery

Being of the X generation, I grew up with (among other things) Star Trek syndicated reruns on TV in the 70s. However, there was also an animated ST series which, though by no means great from an animation standpoint, had some brilliant writing that equalled the original live-action series and featured all the voices of its original actors. Thanks to this site, I've rediscovered them lately, and it's been a nice relaxing diversion.

Blade Runner: Deluxe "Not-Getting-Laid" Edition

Blade Runner is about to be released in a definitive, uber-comprehensive, super-deluxe DVD box set that my ever-astute friend Jamie Muhoberac referred to as the "not-getting-laid pack". Jeff Albertson would be first in line at the store for this one.

On the radar currently...

This looks like a much better-funded, more sophisticated and generally more satisfying version of this. I applaud the DIY/indie ethos, but some things need real behemoth-grade funding to see the light of day properly.

it begins...

...for some reason, I've decided to use this as a temporary waystation-slash-home for things I find interesting on the interwebs and elsewhere, until my proper site is done.
Translation: A random collection of things I find interesting.