It seems I need to clarify a point of contention. In fact, I am not the Ian Anderson of The Designers Republic. I wasn’t any good at design in 1986 (when DR was founded and my grade 7), I’ve never been to Sheffield, and Ian doesn’t spell his name properly.
So sadly, no. Not me. However, you may find this podcast interesting.
Alter Ego (SLurl) is the in-world build to complement a book of photos; real people with their virtual counterparts. Worth a look.
In Root of All Evil on Compass tonight, Richard Dawkins quoted Bertrand Russell. I’ll paraphrase: “Imagine there’s a teapot floating in space around the sun. There’s no proof, so if you say you believe this, people will think you’re a bit mad. But if it’s tradition, if books say that the teapot is real, if many other people believe in the teapot, then you can be seen as mad for not believing in it.”
We’re all teapot atheists. Also: “We’re all atheists about almost every god that has ever existed (Ra, Thor, Aphrodite, etc.). Atheists just take it one god further.”
Phew. Beat level 12, but only got 256 as a total score. This one is simple but tricky: Breakout, but spinny. All of these are ultimately from the glorious Web Zen, via Boing Boing.
And this: Boomshine. Stuck on level 12, wondering if there’s a way past, a trick, or something else. The music soothes for a while, at least.
Play Kuru Kuru! Geemu sutaruto!
So, the world’s best video clip show, rage, has just had a competition where you can win their programmer spot for the night. You have to give them a list of 20 clips + reasons why. My humble list:
1. Sugar Water, Cibo Matto
2. Street Spirit, Radiohead
3. Naked Eye, Luscious Jackson
4. Today, Smashing Pumpkins
5. Sad Tomorrow, The Muffs
6. The Statue Got Me High, They Might Be Giants
7. White Rabbit, Jefferson Airplane
8. Electric Dreams, Giorgio Moroder
9. Dear God, XTC
10. Closer, Nine Inch Nails
11. A Drug Against War, KMFDM
12. Violently Happy, Bjork
13. Intergalactic, Beastie Boys
14. Star Guitar, Chemical Brothers
15. Evil, Interpol
16. Imitation of Life, REM
17. Disco 2000, Pulp
18. Beautiful To Me, Little Birdy
19. Californication, Red Hot Chilli Peppers
20. Ashes to Ashes, David Bowie
And why?
1. Sugar Water, Cibo Matto: When I first saw this, way back in 1996 in Ballarat, it reminded me why I watch Rage. This is the first clip I ever saw that dropped my jaw — the next day I bought the album. Cibo Matto deserve the attention, and it’s one of the least-seen Michel Gondry clips, as well as a great way to start.
5. Sad Tomorrow, The Muffs: The key single from the first album I ever bought. It’s a great track with a cool video done on the cheap and edited well, criminally unknown and something to pep up the mood nicely.
8. Electric Dreams, Giorgio Moroder: Because you can’t watch this movie — it’s never been released on DVD. Classic 80s nonsense and childhood memories all tied up in a bundle, and requesting this clip is the only way I can share it with anyone.
12. Violently Happy, Bjork: Because I’m sure you’ve seen enough lists featuring It’s Oh So Quiet and All Is Full Of Love, and because this song isn’t heard anywhere near enough. Oh, and it fits nicely with the darker videos.
15. Evil, Interpol: Best use of puppets since Meet The Feebles.
17. Disco 2000, Pulp: Because Video Hits censored this great clip every time they played it, almost ruining the clip for a generation of kids who couldn’t stay up for Rage. Also, if you’re looking for panache — it’s Jarvis Cocker!
Why all these? They’re not boring, they’re not tracks everyone knows. The order works (slow, fast, old, dark, pop, slow). These tracks defined my youth, and I’d like to help save some teenagers from doom by top 40.
Well, I won’t win, but I had my fun. High Fidelity has some good lessons for anyone making playlists, and if I find the energy I’ll come back and link these to YouTube vids — at least, those that Viacom haven’t ripped down and lost to the ages. Enjoy!
