It’s probably been about 5 years since I bought anything off of eBay, but last week I saw something that I just had to have. I purchased Half of a Squirrel holding a nut, mounted on a piece of wood. 
Isnt the internet wonderful! It arrived in the mail yesterday. I’m going to have it hung up in my office tomorrow. Here are a couple of pictures to hold you over until then. 
Last weekend I went out and bought us a new video camera!
I decided to get the Flip Mino HD because it was very small and shoots in High Definition. It’s just so simple to use. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on it. In fact there are none! It barely even zooms in/out! So far I am really liking it and I’ve been shooting a lot of video with it. Which is my main reason for getting it. My other camera was just too bulky for me to carry around all the time. With the Flip I can just drop it in my pocket and take it with me anywhere. It’s the same reason I love point-and-shoot cameras. I’d love to have a really nice SLR camera, but if I’m not going to have it with me the majority of the time then what’s the point? I feel the same about video cameras.
If you’re looking for a cheap, easy to use, HD video camera then I definitely recommend the Flip Mino HD!
Here is a list of the 20 Best Albums of 2008. Let me know what you think. What were your favorite albums?
Enjoy.
Islands - Arm’s Way
It took me a while to get into these guys. I got their first album, Return to the Sea, and after a few listens I just put it aside and kinda forgot about it. After Arm’s Way came out and I started hearing positive buzz about it I decided to give it a shot. I was almost immediately hooked by the first track “In Arm’s Way” but wasn’t so into the other tracks. After listening to the album all the way through a few times (while I was painting the house) I fell in love with it and couldn’t stop listening to it. I’ve since gone back and re-listened to Return to the Sea again and love that now too. These guys are very eclectic. Lots of different sounds and influences going on in each track. There are so many layers to their music. Arm’s Way almost feels like a Concept album in a way. I’m not sure why. It’s quite an experience.
Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night
These guys have to be one of the most consistent bands I’ve come across in a long time. Literally EVERY song on EVERY album they put out is good. Each album seems to top the previous one. You can hear them growing with each release. Only By The Night is very “U2″ at times, some of the songs have that epic feeling to them. However the songs and the album is still very KOL they don’t feel like they are trying to be anyone but themselves. This album has been on HEAVY rotation ever since it came out. I can’t stop listening to it.
Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks - Real Emotional Trash
The lyrics are kinda silly and “out there” at times, but the songs are put together really well. Really nice guitar work on this album.
Sigur Ros - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust
It’s nice to hear some shorter tracks from Sigur Ros. This is the most “straight forward” album they’ve put out and they did a good job balancing that and keeping their sound intact. There are some really beautiful, “Pop-y” sounding songs on here (“Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” and “Vi› spilum endalaust”).
Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes Ahead
It’s a very heartfelt and emotional sounding album, almost to the point of being a little cheesey. These guys are really good at writing “hooks”. Every song has a really great hook that keeps you coming back for more. There are 3 acoustic songs on this album, which is a first for them. “The Captive Mind” and “Broken Afternoon” are nice, but pretty weak. However, “No Regrets”, (which closes out the album) is a really beautiful song done with just acoustic guitar, claps, harmonica, vocals and backup singers. It sounds like an old-timey gospel song. These guys (its just 2 of them) are amazing live by the way.
My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
I was very disappointed in this album at first. They’ve changed up their sound a bit. The vocals are treated differently (less reverb) and the songs are less progressive and jammy. There is a VERY STRONG Prince influence felt throughout (mostly in the vocals). But even though its not what I was expecting, or hoping for I can’t deny that this is a really good album. My Morning Jacket puts out really great music. I’m still hoping that I’ll get to hear some more guitar jams coming from these guys in the very near future!
MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
Really good album. Hard to categorize these guys for me. They’re very eclectic. It’s a nice blend of Electronic and Traditional instruments with the right amount of emotion and feeling, which is usually lacking with music of this type. Really catchy stuff!
David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
I love David Byrne and I LOVE Brian Eno! It’s great to see them working together again. I hope there is more to come from this duo. This album is even better than I was expecting it to be. It’s got more of a Talking Heads vibe to it than some of Byrne’s more recent solo albums.
The Dodo’s - Visiter
Really good album. After the first listen I was sold. It’s got a bit of a Death Cab For Cutie vibe to it at times, although more acoustic and folksy.
Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
I REALLY didn’t like their previous release, Plans, so I went into this not expecting much. I was happy to hear that the old Death Cab For Cutie that I liked was back. “Cath” is the stand out track on this one and is really great, but the rest of the album is really solid too. (Beautiful album art as well!)
Fleet Foxes - S/T
When I first heard these guys I thought they sounded like a My Morning Jacket rip off (The vocals are very similar at times.) But these guys have a much more folksy sound to them and are more mellow. “White Winter Hymnal” is the stand out track and its a really beautiful song. This is a really solid album. I’m looking forward to hearing more from these guys.
Born Ruffians - Red, Yellow & Blue
Very up-beat, fun, alternative/rock. Sounds very crisp and clean. “Foxes Mate For Life” is a really great track.
Vampire Weekend - S/T
I guess these guys get a lot of flack for some reason. I’m not sure why. I love this album. It’s refreshing. It’s got an afro-pop/Paul Simon’s Graceland vibe going on with the guitar and drums. I can’t wait to hear more from them.
Conor Oberst - S/T
This guy is really knocking it out of the park lately. First he won me over with Cassadaga, the last release from Bright Eyes and now this one. I used to not like him at all, but he’s redeemed himself with me and I’m a big fan now. I know people will disagree, but if this isn’t country music, then I don’t know what is. Some of the best country music now-a-days, is coming out of the Indie Rock scene.
The Black Keys - Attack & Release
I had heard some really great things about these guys so I decided to check them out. Very bluesy sound. Hard to believe its just 2 guys. I’ve since gone back and checked out their other stuff as well. Awesome!
The Walkmen - You & Me
It’s taken me a few listens to get into this, but its finally come around and its very good.
Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
I’m still not all that into this album. I LOVE their first album and the Handsome Furs album that was done in-between this was really great too. I feel like this one doesn’t quite stand up to those. Having said that though, this is a real good album and I think that It will really grow on me the more I listen to it.
High Places - S/T
Well done electronic music. It’s got really beautiful, ethereal vocals. Nice and mellow chill out music. Easy to listen to.
The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely
These guys just Rock. It’s nice to hear straight forward Rock & Roll!
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!
While this album doesn’t hold a candle to my favorites from him (No More Shall We Part and Nocturama), it’s Nick Cave, and the guy simply rules. Such a great songwriter.
The new David Byrne & Brian Eno album is available today online. It’s called “Everything That Happens Will Happen Today”.
I’m a really big fan of both of these musicians so I was very excited when I heard that they were working together again. I’m only a few songs into the album but so far I like what I’m hearing.
You can listen to the entire album in the player below!
Quarantine: The Game is live!
Play it now at www.QuarantineTheGame.com
This is what I’ve been doing for the past 7-8 months or so at work. I Designed the game and Art Directed a team that grew to about 20 people, who all contributed to building it and making it what it is today. The game was made to promote the film Quarantine, which will be in a theater near you on October 10. Here is what the film is about.
Television reporter Angela Vidal and her cameraman are assigned to spend the night shift with a Los Angeles Fire Station. After a routine 911 call takes them to a small apartment building, they find police officers already on the scene in response to blood curdling screams coming from one of the apartment units. They soon learn that a woman living in the building has been infected by something unknown. After a few of the residents are viciously attacked, they try to escape with the news crew in tow, only to find that the CDC has quarantined the building. Phones, internet, televisions and cell phone access have been cut-off, and officials are not relaying information to those locked inside. When the quarantine is finally lifted, the only evidence of what took place is the news crew’s videotape.
(You can check out the latest trailer for the film at www.ContainTheTruth.com)
The game is intended to be very similar to the movie. We tried to mimic as much as we could the look and style of the film. Back in January we got the opportunity to visit the set and take photos and video footage for reference. We also ended up getting the blue prints that were used to build the sets. We used all that to get the detail and look of the game just right. We designed, modeled, animated, textured, lit, rendered and coded everything that you see in the game. Everything was done, from scratch, by us at Imageworks Interactive.
I’m really proud of all the hard work and dedication that everyone on the team put into the project and I think they all did an amazing job. Take a look for yourself. Play the game and pass it along to others. Let me know what you think.
Stay tuned for the launch of the site, which I also Art Directed and Designed, in early August.
After a failed attempt on friday morning (i stood in line for an hour and it barely moved), I was finally able to pick up one of the new iPhone 3G’s this weekend! I got myself the white 16gb version and Margaret got the 8gb one. We love ‘em!
This morning I woke up and had to go to the bathroom, as usual. Draw, our little kitten, was running around all excited to see someone again, also as usual. So I go to the bathroom and just before I am able to flush the toilet I hear a “splash” followed by a “RRReeOooWWWW” sound. I look down and Draw had jumped into the pee filled toilet and was splashing around in there trying to get out! I quickly grabbed him out of there and then put him into the bath tub to clean him off. I had never given a cat a bath before so I was expecting a huge struggle, and lots of claws and teeth marks all over my arms. Surprisingly Draw was totally calm and didn’t seem to mind the bath at all! He didn’t even move the entire time, just let me clean him up.
So, that was my morning. Good times.
I got the new My Morning Jacket album, “Evil Urges” yesterday. I had pre-ordered it through iTunes because I was really excited about it and My Morning Jacket is one of my favorite bands. I had read some not-so-great reviews but I didn’t care, I figured it’d still like it. And I do. I think its an alright album. It’s definitely their weakest release, but there are still some really good songs on it. However, there is also one song on there that is, hands down, THE worst song I have heard in a very, very long time! It is completely ridiculous. I can’t believe that these guys who are amazing musicians could write this, record it, and think that it was worth putting on their album. It boggles my mind. The song is called “Highly Suspicious” and it is flat out embarrassing. I literally was embarrassed while listening to it. I had to look around to see if anybody was walking by and would hear me listening to this thing. I’ve “unchecked” it in iTunes so as to never hear it again.
Yesterday I got myself an Apple Time Capsule.
It took me a few hours to set it up last night but its up and running now. I’m looking forward to having the peace of mind of having all my data backed up and never having to think about it. And with 1 terra byte of storage space, I shouldn’t have to worry about getting another hard drive for a while.
Also, I can’t wait to have a central location for all my music and photos so that all of my computers can access the same libraries without having to plug in an external hard drive all the time.
