that's not funny that's sick

RedEye: Putting the ‘Sex’ Back In Sexual Predator

4 Comments

Local paper the Chicago Tribune puts out a free daily newspaper called RedEye, which is more of a hip, “edgy” infotainment rag geared toward a younger demographic.

Recently, there have been a series of assaults against women on the north side of Chicago. Today, both the Trib and its RedEye are carrying stories related to these attacks in the online editions of their respective papers.

The interesting difference is what image they are running with the accompanying story.

From the Chicago Tribune:

From the RedEye:

In the print edition of the RedEye, the above image actually takes up the entire cover, and isn’t tinted red. It’s just a regular color picture of the backside of an attractive female walking down the street.

It’s as though you, the reader, are stalking her! Sexy, eh?

movies, youtube

Deliverance

5 Comments

Including “Dueling Banjos” on the recent Shark Mix made me think again about the movie that popularized the song, Deliverance.

I really like this movie a lot. I know that this song has come to be used as a lazy shorthand jab at rural Southerners, but the scene containing the song is really amazing, and much more complex than the cheap jokes and inferior imitations it has spawned.

Seeing characters like the urban hillbillies who capture Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction (a scene not all that bad, especially compared with all the other psychohillbilly scenes in various movies), I just think that the greatness of this scene, and this movie, is eclipsed by a lot of easy prejudice and stupid jokes.

The “dueling banjos” scene is a meeting of two different cultures, and in the four main protagonists you get a really good sense of their characters.

Burt Reynolds’s character is full of bravado, forcefully macho.
Ned Beatty has contempt for anything different than himself.
Ronny Cox is enthusiastically engaged, only wanting to learn.
Finally, Jon Voight is sort of a blank slate (who later on the viewer is meant to identify with).

I love that this scene shows music bringing people together. During just the several minutes of the song, you see the suspicion between the cultures melt away. Burt Reynolds loses his macho scowl. Ned Beatty even manages to crack a smile. The quiet boy playing banjo starts laughing.

But, as soon as the song stops, everything snaps back. People are closed off, Ned Beatty says, “give the kid a couple bucks.”

It’s just a damned fine scene that gets soaked in parody maybe a bit too much.

mix tapes

The Shark Mix – Now In Liquid Form

Leave a comment

After the initial test drive of the Shark Mix, I think the kids have no major complaints. The big winners were Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army, Gartloney Rats, and Bubble Gum Music.

However, my eldest son and I actually spontaneously sang a couple lines of the Donovan song. My daughter dug the Beastie Boys song, which wasn’t a big surprise to me — she’s got the feeling of rhythm in her, by golly.

beth recommended I share the Shark Mix with all y’all in its natural state (songs), so here it is.

Enjoy!

01 – R.E.M. – Stand

02 – Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army – Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army

03 – The Who – I Can’t Explain

04 – Can – Moonshake

05 – The Stooges – No Fun

06 – Clarence “Frogman” Henry – Ain’t Got No Home

07 – Donovan – There Is A Mountain

08 – Everly Brothers – Illinois

09 – VU – Sweet Jane

10 – David Bowie – Heroes

11 – Shonen Knife – Top Of The World

12 – The Pogues – Gartloney Rats

13 – The Smiths – Ask

14 – CCR – Bad Moon Rising

15 – The Rock ‘N’ Roll Dubble Bubble Trading Card Co. of Philadelphia 1941 – Bubble Gum Music

16 – Beastie Boys – Shadrach

17 – The Primitives – Crash

18 – Pylon – This, That

19 – Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic

20 – R.E.M. – Disturbance At THe Heron House

21 – Method Actors – Halloween

22 – Buddy Holly – Learning The Game

23 – Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman

24 – Eric Weissberg and Steve Mandel – Dueling Banjos

unconnected tuesdays

A New Tuesday Feature: Unconnected Tuesdays

6 Comments

With a recent post, Doctor Monkey Von Monkerstein has inspired me to start a new feature.

Until I get a catchier title, I’m calling it Unconnected Tuesdays.

In this new feature, I’ll post two pictures that have no relation to each other. I’m going to do my best to have no preconceived connection between the images that I post. I am not intending to make any sort of snarky comment with the collision of imagery, it’s just what it is – a visual non-sequitur.

Of course, I will be using my brain to select out the images for inclusion in each of these installments. I think it will be an interesting experiment if I can escape the perpetual connections that the unconscious mind makes. My guess is that there will be at least a few times that I’ll make a connection unconsciously without realizing it until someone else points it out.

Hopefully, it will also be an interesting experiment for the viewer of the images. I think that there is definitely an inclination to find associations in any groupings.

Okay, enough of my ignorant dimestore pseudobabble. To the pictures!

A hippo

A fluffy cloud

swearing, word fun

What The Shpx

2 Comments

A list of ROT13-encoded swear words.

Pop them in the Input box to the right and hit the “En/Decode input” button. I personally prefer decoding the words one at a time, as that adds to the excitement and sexual tension.

I suppose you could try guessing them first, if that’s your inclination, but this post is more about the swearing than the quizzing.

1. fuvg-sbe-oenvaf
2. crapvy-qvpxrq zbgureshpxre
3. phag
4. cvff
5. pbpxfhpxre
6. nffung
7. qvpxurnq
8. tbqqnza
9. fbahinovgpu
10. Ohfu

mix tapes

Shark Mix, ‘Cause I’m Just Happy With How It Turned Out

5 Comments

So, I’m happy to report, the mix tape is alive and well.

I have a couple things in mind to post regarding the magic of mix tapes, but this one is just a throw-off ’cause I’m happy how my latest mix tape for the kiddies turned out.

This is the 8th mix tape I’ve made for the kiddies, which I started making for them sporadically after the initial “Birthday CD” for the twins’ second birthday.

After the Birthday CD, there was the Super CD. And then the Rainbow CD. Then, we moved into the world of the “Mix.” There was the Monkey Mix, then the Lemur Mix, the Hippo Mix, the Tiger Mix.

Which brings us to the Shark Mix.

Here it is (just song and artist names at this point, but I could post the actual songs at some point if anyone’s innerested).

01 – R.E.M. – Stand
I have heard this song so many times, but it’s still damned good.

02 – Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army – Captain Groovy And His Bubblegum Army
It was on a 60’s bubblegum music compilation. My kids heard it, and immediately started saying they were the Bubblegum Army. How can you fight a Bubblegum Army? The answer is, you don’t. Besides, they let me be Captain Groovy.

03 – The Who – I Can’t Explain
I always loved this simple pop song.

04 – Can – Moonshake
Sneaking in a little Krautrock.

05 – The Stooges – No Fun
I played this for the kids a few times recently. My wife informed me when I got home from work that our two year old, after being told not to do some mischief, loudly stated “No FUN!” to her. What a damn punk!

06 – Clarence Frogman Henry – Ain’t Got No Home
This one was courtesy of Johnny Yen. Thanks again!

07 – Donovan – There Is a Mountain
Kinda profound and childlike at the same time. And it mentions caterpillars and butterflies!

08 – Everly Brothers – Illinois
My kids are going to know about the Everly Brothers.

09 – Velvet Underground – Sweet Jane
And this is the full version off the somewhat recently-released Loaded double-disc, by golly.

10 – David Bowie – Heroes
This song is great. And it really fits after Sweet Jane. It’s one of them magical mix tape transitions I never question, I just accept.

11 – Shonen Knife – Top Of The World
My kids loved the Shonen Knife song I put on from the Powerpuff Girls album. They recognized the band when they first heard this song.

12 – The Pogues – Gartloney Rats
My elder son in particular goes freaking crazy when this song comes on. It’s like he is being possessed by the Lord of the Dance himself.

13 – Smiths – Ask
Another sweet song, and a sweet mix tape transition. I played the video for the kiddies before, and they liked it.

14 – CCR – Bad Moon Rising
I played the hell out of a 45 of this when I was a kid. Hopefully they’ll like it too.

15 – Some Ridiculously Long Artist Name – Bubble Gum Music
I’m too lazy to look for the real name of the artist of this song, but it’s the same guys behind Ohio Express. I am a total sucker for 1960’s bubblegum music. And yes, “Chewy Chewy” was on the very first mix CD I made for the kiddies.

16 – Beastie Boys – Shadrach
I don’t think there are any swear words in this song. I don’t think there are. I hope there aren’t.

17 – The Primitives – Crash
Great 80’s pop song.

18 – Pylon – This,That
Continuing with some more catchy 80’s pop.

19 – Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic
I’m wondering if this will be too heavy. Hopefully not. I have had to re-edit some of the later mixes, mostly due to my daughter having a severe reaction to a song or songs on the mix (note to self: NO MORE SUFJAN STEVENS).

20 – R.E.M. – Disturbance At The Heron House
Prolly my favorite R.E.M. song. I don’t know why. It just clicks for me.

21 – Method Actors – Halloween
I have thought about including this on a mix for a long time, and finally broke down.

22 – Buddy Holly – Learning the Game
A mix tape for the kids, without Buddy Holly? Surely, you jest. Holly got a lot of play in our house when the kiddies were younguns, but this track wasn’t on the CD I had. This was actually put together posthumously — Holly’s bandmates laid down some tracks to complement the original recording which just had Holly and his guitar.

23 – Cat Stevens – Tea For The Tillerman
My daughter is going to love singing with the chorus kicking in at the end, I’m certain.

24 – Weissberg, Mandell & Brickman – Dueling Banjos
I was thinking the kids might not like this in the thick of things, being an instrumental where the first large chunk of the song is just a slow buildup. Thought I’d slip it in at the end.

meme

The Victim Of A Tagback

3 Comments

Tim was kind enough to answer five of my questions, but unexpectedly slapped me back with five of his own.

Okay, I’ll answer, still smarting from the tagback.

1. What is a long time?

I don’t know. Two or three, I guess. The unit of measurement is relative to your circumstances.

2. How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

None, for me at least. I chomp right down to the gooey, pseudochocolate center.

3. Who am I?

You are a sentence phrased in the form of a question, to which I am the answer.

4. Is there a God? Yes or no or…?

I’ll do the same thing for this question that I did when a girl gave me a note in 5th grade asking me, “Do you like me, Yes or No? Circle one!” I circled the “or”.

Sheesh, that sounds dickish, but I wasn’t trying to be. Sorry, potentially-existing God!

5. What is calculus?

It’s the stuff that you get on your teeth when you don’t brush well. Apparently, there are some scientific and mathematical enterprises dependent on this stuff, which boggles the mind.

jung vf fcybgpul?