Atari Teenage Riot – The Future of War: Sounds like it will be loud and fast.
Boredoms – Domsbore: A screamy tracks from one of the WOW e.p. releases.
The Crystal Method – The Winner: I like the path this Random Eight is taking today.
Yo La Tengo – Gates of Steel: Great cover from a web-freebie.
The Residents – Final Confrontation: Wackiness from the live Mole Show.
Lou Reed – Goodbye Mass: From the stunning, albeit not very cheerful, Magic and Loss album.
Skinny Puppy – Hardset Head: Fast beat from my favorite album from the puppy, The Process.
The Replacements – Sadly Beautiful: Soft way to end a rather noisy Random Eight.
The Replacements – Black Diamond: Easily my favorite Kiss cover.
Carnival Art – Itchy Little House: Creepy little song from the Michael Petak-led band.
Dalek – In This City (Deadverse Remix): From the Deadverse Massive Vol. 1: Dälek Rarities 1999-2006 release, a very slow, mellow tune…words I don’t typically associate with Dalek.
Bob Geldof – Big Romantic Stuff: At a phase where Geldof was trying to inflict all his music with his Irish roots…with kinda odd results.
Sonic Youth – Heather Angel: Haunting and weird track from the equally described A Thousand Leaves.
Merzbow – Untitled: From CD 6 of the Merzbox, a lengthy track focused more on odd sounding loops and bursts of sounds than the heavy noise art he has progressed to over the years.
Stan Richardson – Shin Kyorei: Another near 20-minute long tune, this one a quiet Asian-influenced track.
The Kinks – Big Black Smoke: That classic Kinks goofiness.
Now that winter has set in and the air is chilled, even in the critter room, Mousy has taken to making a nest and burying himself in it.
The nest is made from shredded toilet paper tubes. We provide the tubes, Mousy provides the shredding.
I’ve worked out a pretty good system of litter for the cage base that allows me to go a while between cleanings. Unfortunately, there is no way to clean the habitat without destroying the nest, so I try to do this as little as possible while still maintaining a cleanly home. Of course, when I do destroy it, I simply give Mousy a few new tubes, and back to work he goes.
Fair to say, Mousy has plumped up since the cold weather came in. If he isn’t hiding food around the cage, then he is devouring it in record time. It is great to give him cashews; he sniffs the air, runs to the bowl, takes one, runs to the back of the cage, eats it very quickly, then grabs another, runs and hides the new nut, and repeats the process until all nuts are gone.
Yep, getting to be a fat Mousy.
I took this shot about a two months ago. It was one lingering wildflower in a field where all others had withered away weeks earlier.
After a heavy frost a few weeks later (we had a remarkably warm autumn, delaying frost well into December), there were of course no signs of flowers, or even green, anywhere. It always amazes me just how desolate our trails look once all the weeds, leaves, and vegetation are gone. One can’t help but think the life will never return.
Nevertheless, this view is only 2.5 months away.
Genesis – The Colony of Slipperman: We seem to be on a bi-weekly creaky prog trend with the Random Eight.
Caribou Vibration Ensemble – ATP 2009: A live track from Caribou’s collection of musicians turning his electronic act into a crazed collection of drums, guitars, horns, and other sounds.
Jay Reatard – I See You Standing There: Fast punk!
The Beatles – Long, Long, Long: Psychedelic Beatles.
The Paper Chase – We Have Ways to Make You Talk (The Human Condition): The closing track to the fantastic Someday This Could All Be Yours.
Dreadnots – Ragnarock-steady: Pittsburgh’s favorite band.
Snowpony – Siamese Fighting Fish: Great song from the 90′s band that never quite rose as high as I thought they would.
Crainium – A New Music For A New Kitchen. Or, (How I Raised Myself Up From The Dead and You Can Too!): I don’t like songs that make me type so much in the morning.
Being unseasonably warm, I took a little walk through the trail that typically results in dozens of insect photographs that find their way to this blog.
Of course, insects aren’t terribly active in January. At best, I find a spider scurrying about, probably also looking for insects. Mostly, I just have to settle for enjoying a walk that is remarkably shorter than my normal jaunts and results in me not coming home covered in mud. There’s a plus side to everything, I suppose.
Winter serves as a nice refresh from the camera. While I enjoy snapping pictures as much as possible, the few months off before the bluebells populate the woods in April and the arthropods that soon follow does provide both a break and a realization of how much I enjoy the hobby.
So, for now, enjoy this vegetable-bearing, disproportionate Christmas decoration.
Cursive – Retreat!: A wacky, offbeat, horn-laden tune from the ever enjoyable Happy Hollow.
Lemon Jelly – Soft: Strange, for all the times I’ve listened to this Soundtrack, I never realized Lemon Jelly mixed this song with the memorable Chicago samples.
Wagon Christ – Vibes: Bouncy, albeit not the most inspired, Wagon Christ song.
Billie Holiday – Just Friends: Always a good throwback artist to listen to.
Oneida – Leaves: Another fun tune in a long line of diverse Oneida sounds.
Deerhoof – Fresh Born: Catchy song, and yet another that I’m always happy to learn the title of from a band who I can simply never, ever match their music to the designated names.
R.E.M. – Perfect Circle: Early favorite.
Jacques Dutronc – Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi: Another soundtrack tune (City of Ghosts) that bounces to the conclusion of the Random Eight.
Nearly a year ago to the day of my December 2011 zoo visit, we had witnessed the “outdoor debut” of the seven lion cubs born in captivity. This trip saw the cubs a year later, much larger now, yet still full of kitteny badness.
The dad, still not very old himself, was just as playful. Plus I think he had just been fed, so he probably had the food happiness.
Hiding in a dark tank in the Reptile House, the Alligator Snapping Turtle provides a creepy visit for anybody who wanders by the glass unsuspectingly. It typically sits quietly submerged, mouth open, waiting for a stray snack to swim into its mouth. To the casual passerby, it is difficult to distinguish the turtle from the branches and other habitat items in the dark water. However, once the turtle is recognized, the reaction tends to be the same: a few steps are taken backwards, a few gasps are made, and occasionally a shiver of horror can be observed.
Giving it more attention than most people, I’ve on occasion been able to lure the Alligator Snapping Turtle into biting at my finger on the opposite side of the glass. Moving around like a fish or insect, it can’t resist the urge to snap at me. The execution of the powerful jaws biting is quite a sight, even if I do feel a little bad for being a jerk and tricking the turtle into thinking I’m food…at least, food he has a chance at catching.
Genesis – Watcher of the Skies: Me thinks this might be a chronologically-moving-forward day for the Random Eight.
Deerhoof – Spiral Golden Town: Deerhoof at their upbeat, yet offbeat, best.
Liars – Every Day is a Child With Teeth: From a split CD with Oneida…what a fantastic pairing.
The Kinks – Tired of Waiting: Regressing back a few years.
Junkie XL – No Remorse: From the bouncy early days, this is a fun live tune from the Saturday Teenage Kick ep.
The Red Krayola – Magnificence as Such: Mellow, jazzy tune.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Magic Touch: Light, accessible song from Fateh Ali Khan.
Pink Floyd – The Show Must Go On: Someday I’m going to listen to The Wall on the iPod.
Zero Zero Three
Stray
