sleepinginmyhead

stand up

I love watching a decent stand up, but it's one of those things i never tend to do. I guess that in my experience, comedy clubs are places where stag groups go, the beer is stupidly priced and at least one of the acts is a homophobic misogynistic dick. I guess i should go more often, but this has been my experience. I have compiled a list below of some of my all time favourites (yeah yeah, it's not a top ten or anything, there's no bill hicks or george carlin for starters, bite me). Have a listen, have a laugh, feel better: an easy equation.

Eddie Murphy on James Brown. Sure he based his act on Pryor, but this is properly funny. Almost makes me want to forgive him for Norbit.

Richard Pryor on prison. Still very very funny.

Eddie Izzard on Religion.

Mitch Hedberg. Not his best, but there's not too much on youtube.

Chris Rock on Relationships.

Steve Martin - Fun Balloon Animals. Not a joke in sight, but really on the money.

Bob Newhart - The Driving Instructor. A classic piece of mind play. I have this on 12" by chance.

music monday 46

Today's the day for a guilty pleasure. I used to get a lift to work with a guy who i hated, but we lived together as it worked out cheaper for both of us. The trip to work took nearly 50 minutes, and as we didn't want to talk to each other we listened to a huge amount of music. His taste was totally different to mine, and i was programmed to hate everything which he liked, which made it annoying when he introduced me to G. Love and his special sauce. Whilst it's still not my favourite, it makes for some half decent work music. Not that i would let him know that...

G. Love and his special sauce - My Baby's Got Sauce

webwatch 118

hello, and sorry again for the hiatus. On with the show, as they say.

Another amazing legal decision, women in jeans cannot be raped, as tight jeans cannot be taken off without the wearer's co-operation...

I'm quite the fan of Chris Ware, but i didn't know (until now) that he edited an ephemera magazine.

why didn't i notice this before?

This has been bimbling around the web for a week or so. The eiffel tower is getting a birthday makeover, and it's gonna be sweet!

Lovely zipper tape for envelopes.

not sure how this passed me by, but timex are making remote control watches for ipods. Timex? are they still going?

Plastic bag animals inflate when a subway train drives underneath, brilliant.

If you're going to spend ages making these fake candles look like real melty waxy candles, why would you fuck it all up by making the charger look like something from halfords?

Another nostalgia burst from Justice, this time taking those early CGI title sequences from your favourite 80's TV shows.

This clip just isn't long enough, i would love to have seen this engineering brass band play their full set of acid house classics. More here though.

etymology wednesday 7

HAZARD

This term evolved from the Arabic 'al zahr', which means 'the dice'. In Western Europe the term came to be associated with a number of games using dice, which were learned during the Crusades whilst in the Holy Land. The term eventually took on the connotation of danger because, from very early on, games using dice were associated with gambling and con artists using corrupted dice.

playing with himself

some people are cat people, and some people are dog people, i'm the former. This video might be my undoing though... if the music wasn't so annoying.

music monday 47

I was listening to the radio today, and to my surprise they were playing Windowlicker by Aphex Twin. Not that i had forgotten, but it reminded me just how fantastic a track this is. Nearly ten years old now, still sounds fresh.

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker

in praise of climbing

I'm off to the alps in a couple of weeks for a bit more high altitude adventure, so i'm desperately in training to try and lose some of my winter bulk. This has got me thinking: everyone is always banging on about fitness and activity, but nearly everyone i know resorts to the gym. This is a real shame, as there are so many other good ways to get fit, but i'm recommending climbing. It is the perfect sport in my opinion. It's aerobic, yet builds big muscles. You can do it indoors or outdoors. It's exciting and dangerous. It can be very easy or very difficult. It's sociable. Best of all is that it encourages travel. Lots of my favourite trips have centred around outdoor activity, and i've been climbing (on and off) for the best part of 20 years. All of these benefits, combined with an excuse to buy some of the sexiest kit in the world, made from all sorts of exotic materials, makes climbing my tip for your new fitness regime. Give it a go.

fresh to death

In my work as a product designer, i should think a lot more about the full life cycle of a product than i do, but it's tough. It's too easy to view the products which i design as shiny and new, box fresh. The reality is that things age, they start being used differently, they get knackered. I saw a really sweet photoshoot recently (i think it was from ideo). They had designed a range of tools for use by mechanics, and needed to shoot the models. Instead of shooting the products in a normal environment with perfect lighting, they shot them in the mechanics tool boxes, covered in oil and tape. It was so so nice.

We should do more to think about how products are actually used and how they age. The full life cycle was brought into harsh reality for me recently. I'm currently renovating my flat, and during yesterday's painting i noticed what i was wearing. I had a Bape (foot soldier) tee, a pair of 501xx jeans and a pair of safari print dunks. All three items were at one time my favourites. I particularly remember getting my hands on the sneakers, but over time things get knackered, they fall out of favour, get stretched and scuffed. We change how we use them when this happens, but designers rarely think about this. Must try harder.

the hundreds sf

the hundreds have opened a store in San Francisco. The list of reasons to go to the west coast just got one longer.

ten word film review 3

No Country for Old Men

Three great leads, excellent use of silence, bleak, brilliant, terrifying.

IMDB Link