ם Geek Points

Posted on September 23, 2007 at 4:38 pm

1. I went to the doctor and she gave me an inhaler.
2. I went to a screening of a documentary about a typeface. (By the way, it was fantastic.)
3. I became the President of the NYU Math Club.

geekpoints++;    (Oh God, that didn’t help.)

ם Top Five Albums of 2006

Posted on December 31, 2006 at 10:31 pm

1. The Mountain Goats — Get Lonely: John Darnielle remains one of the few people that can successfully pull off an exquisite concept album. Absolutely fantastic piece of work. And the album cover reminds me of the cover of Led Zeppelin IV.

2. Regina Spektor — Begin to Hope: I’ve always had a soft-spot for Regina. This album is a nice follow-up to Soviet Kitsch, with cleaner production but just as many academic references (think “pop-culture references”, but regarding 16th century literature or Biblical judges instead of Nicole Richie). Anti-folk for the academic.

3. Girl Talk — Night Ripper: If you’re not familiar with Girl Talk, please read the first paragraph of this as a bit of a primer. Then go ahead and read the list of samples in each of the songs and just try to not want to immediately listen to this album. Night Ripper ends up being a 42-minute dance party, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that at all.

4. Bob Dylan — Modern Times: “I paid my time / And now I’m as good as new.” Amen, Bob-o.

5. Band of Horses — Everything All The Time: Not a particularly original sound, and they’re not really exploring unchartered territories, but they certainly know how to make a solid indie rock album. I just really dig it.

 
 
 
Honorable Mentions:

• Belle & Sebastian — The Life Pursuit: Some gems, some duds. A strong album, but just not quite top five.
• Approximately one third of the brand new Brand New, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. Those other two thirds let me down.
• CSS — Cansei de Ser Sexy: Super fun Brazilian dance rock, full of broken English lyrics.
• The Decemberists — The Crane Wife: The best history rock in town, as sung by Homestar Runner (c’mon, how am I the only one that thinks that?)
• The Hold Steady — Boys and Girls in America: As much fun as this band is to just listen to, I absolutely recommend trying to see them live. They put on quite a show.
• Quiet Company — Shine Honesty: Endearing music from Texas.

What’s your top five? Leave it in the comments. Chris, Mark, J.J., Indra… I’m looking at you. Anyone else is also welcomed to share.

ם Saving the World with Bubblegum and an Umbrella

Posted on July 12, 2006 at 9:55 pm

In the ever escalating race of “justifying the internet’s existence,” Wikipedia strikes again with a list of problems solved by MacGyver.

Despite MacGyver’s best efforts, an eagle he is trying to save doesn’t make it, and its young are at stake. After hang gliding to the nest on top of a butte in Monument Valley, Utah, MacGyver brings the eggs back to the house where this episode takes place. To give the young a chance, he builds an incubator with padding from a chair and vegetable oil. As MacGyver puts it, “the oil combines with the fibers in the padding to create a low level spontaneous combustion,” generating heat.

Thanks, Wiki.

ם Things Every New Yorker Should Know

Posted on June 12, 2006 at 11:40 pm

Via The New York Post Online, 25 Things Every New Yorker Should Know. They’re all so very true, and clearly in order of importance, as “How to make an authentic egg cream” is #1.

However, I do have a bone to pick with #10. Everyone knows the best slice in town is at Ben’s, at 3rd and MacDougal. Without a doubt.