HipNerd

Check out the new art over at the Hip Bro’s site. lylefile.com

I recently installed CHDK on my camera. Here is a time-lapse movie of clouds from my back yard. Not terribly original, I suppose, but I liked the results nonetheless.
clouds_go_by

Here’s my contribution to the national debate over the stimulus package making its way through Congress: It’s hilarious to hear people use the phrase “stimulus package” over and over again, as well as the words “stimulate” and “stimulating”.

The possibilities are endless:

Our nation needs a big package to stimulate her economy.

That’s quite a stimulus package you’ve got there, you must be happy to see me.

First woman: Size isn’t everything.
Second woman: Then you haven’t seen his stimulus package.

President Obama needs to use a firm hand to get his stimulus package through Congress.

Saw a very cool thing while driving in Santa Monica tonight: I was westbound on Wilshire near Centinela around 6:00. I was stopped at a light when the power along Wilshire suddenly went out. All the lights in the office buildings, signage (especially noticeable—a huge TV/billboard), store fronts, street lights and stop lights went out, and I could see the faint glow of fading twilight down at the end of Wilshire Blvd.

A minute later, they came back on.

http://www.mnftiu.cc/2008/11/07/gywo-video-new-world-order/

“America’s new flag is just a white flag, but there’s a picture of a burning American flag on it.”

Brilliant!

(Resurrected from the old HipNerd blog. Originally published on November 23, 2007)

1986 appearance on Crossfire Cossfire was typically crappy but sometimes had guests that brought it to a higher level. Zappa was definitely one. I love it when he says that Ronald Reagan is leading the U.S.A. down the road to a Fascist Theocracy. If he had lived long enough to see George W. Bush get elected, he would have said, “told you so.” (This interview was quoted extensively in a recent L.A. Weekly cover article about staging a play of Joe’s Garage)

1976 appearance on the Mike Douglas show short interview first, then some kick-ass guitar playing. Part 2 more interview (great story about Alice Cooper).

San Berdino

Cosmic Debris

Titties and Beer

On Dance Fever?? The Monkees??

Montana

I created a smart playlist to search for songs containing certain words or phrases in their titles. Then I just edit the playlist to get a different set of songs.

Search: gun

Don’t Take Your Guns to Town — Johnny Cash

Gun — Lonesome Pie

Lonesome Pie was a band that hip friend, Hog Beatty, was in for a while. They had some great pop-rock tunes. Gun was one written by the bassist, and has a reference to the Carpenters song below.

The Guns of Brixton — The Clash

The Wikipedia entry for Brixton has this to say about this song:

The 1979 song “The Guns of Brixton” by The Clash deals with law enforcement violence in Brixton. Written by Paul Simonon, who grew up in Brixton, it had a reggae influence and showed the reggae roots of both Brixton and Paul Simonon’s musical background.

Peter Gunn — Henry Mancini

This version is the original from the TV show. The Emmerson, Lake & Palmer version is also awesome.

We’ve Only Just Begun (1991 Remix) — Carpenters
 

Search: freedom

Freedom Jazz Dance — Eddie Jefferson

If you heard Eddie Harris’ tune, Freedom Jazz Dance, in the original, and someone said to you, “Put lyrics to that,” you’d probably think they were insane. Even more insanely, Jefferson’s tackled Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.

Freedom Never Cries — Five For Fighting

The Hip Wife turned me on to Five for Fighting: good, soulful music.

Freedom of Choice — Devo

The official tune of the 2008 Election. “Freedom of choice is what you got. Freedom from choice is what you want.” People want to be told who to vote for, which is why they watch Fox News.

Search: fly

Fly — Sugar Ray

Fly like an Eagle — The Neville Brothers

The Neville Brothers covering the Steve Miller hit. This is off a cool CD I picked up at Cost Plus (of all places), called Handful of Rhythms, which features interesting covers. There’s an Indian version of the Shaft theme by Isaac Hayes on this CD that is also really nice.

Learning To Fly — Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

The hip friend, Julia, is in the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers tribute band, Petty Theft, as Benmont Wench.

Superfly — Curtis Mayfield

This is a marble run toy that I made for my four-year-old. The wood and PVC parts are attached to a mat with velcro, so they can be removed and reconfigured. The mat is a simple doormat glued to a 2 ft x 4 ft piece of pressboard.

I made a simple stand out of some scrap 2×4 and pine board.

90° and 45° PVC joints with the hook part of the velcro fastener. The velcro strips with the self adhesive backing work great.

The key was choosing the right material for the chutes. I had considered slicing PVC pipe in half, or building my own with strips of molding, but my friend, Tim, hit upon using lattice fence endcap material. They come in long strips with grooves already routed in them, so all I had to do was cut them into different lengths, and put some more velcro strips on.

Here it is in action:

Marble Run