the wanton machine

Captive

2010-07-01T16:46:00.003-04:00

An ending. thewantonmachine.com is no longer my domain. someone really uninteresting to me bought it while I wasn't looking and has set up camp. Google still thinks it belongs to me, but my question is, why would somebody do that? what motivates them? I had sorely neglected that site for years, but it was mine.

I am reviving an old project. I was inspired by a request from Ben (at Gluten Free!) to use one of the images from the project for his comic.

If you have the inclination, please send me a drawing/painting/digital art/photo of a naked lady sporting a tv-head riding a dinosaur. Please see the collection for more info or inspiration. I love them all equally, but like anyone blessed with such riches, I want more.

fists up

2009-10-07T01:18:00.004-04:00

I saw these beautiful posters on the internets today. The discovery is timely since I dreamt two nights in a row about a giant crocodile (or alligator, I didn't get a good look at it) trying to eat me and my cat.

Link to purchase at Polish Posters: The Wilderness Party / Crocodile Dundee II

running from the wind

2009-10-02T08:59:00.007-04:00

links: Flip Mino HD / Pentax K-X
Moto Cliq / Nissan Leaf EV

I'm holding out on the pocket camcorder until I find a review of the Samsung HMX-U10. The Pentax is gorgeous in white, too, but I keep reminding myself that I don't take pictures as it is and I detest fiddling with menus on cameras. It does shoot in HD though.

Around mid-November, I want to be back on my 'only consumables' spending plan. It worked beautifully last year through January.

Allowed items on said plan:

Food
Drink
Travel
Books
Movie tickets
... other consumables / experiences

silver lining

2009-10-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

What I did this morning:

(link to size comparison)

you gonna need my help some day

2009-08-30T16:55:00.003-04:00

Alien life-cycle

as illustrated by Pierre 2008-05-02

Movies I enjoyed this past week

give me love

2009-08-09T12:50:00.004-04:00

fun things i used to do in Cincinnati in the summer:

pop warm tar bubbles in the driveway with a small twig
catch frogs around the swimming pool
stand barefoot for a moment on the golf green
drink little bottles of ginger ale from the bar
find fireflies and let them crawl around on my hands
look through old illustrated books
eat graeter's ice cream (black raspberry or mint chip)

I went to my cousin's wedding in Ohio last weekend where my mom officiated (first!). It was beautiful, but i didn't take any pictures. I always forget that I have a camera.

in the echo chamber

2009-07-17T22:07:00.006-04:00

this month from emusic:

david bowie reality- even though it is new stuff, he is good. i recorded Pennebaker's Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars off of Palladia and have had Space Oddity stuck in my head for weeks.
eels hombre loco- i used to listen to them all the time.
hoodoo gurus stoneage romeo- just the half of the album i somehow didn't already have.
michael jackson thriller- because it's good and i heard it a lot this week for some reason.
st. vincent actor-because the singer was described as having "photogenic gamine looks" and the title sounded vaguely tragic.
pixies- a couple songs that have gone missing off of various hard drives.

if someone asked me my favorite album I would probably say:

the pixies doolittle

three great movies i saw this week that may be some of the my favorite films released this year:

Moon
Great writing, great filmmaking. Love scifi. Love it. Makers of really good scifi have a special place in my heart and, probably, heaven. Sam Rockwell (as Sam Bell) was awesome as the lonely mooninite and demonstrates that having yourself as company isn't all that great. Of course, we already knew that. I just googled some Moon soundtrack-related questions and stumbled upon a review that called Sam a 'shambolic everyman'. It sounds right, but according to my close-minded spellcheck, it isn't.

I must be feeling pretty disconnected because being alone in space felt both ominous and familiar. Sometimes, I too feel like my heart is somewhere else and I'm just winding down the clock. Writer/director Duncan Jones is David Bowie's son. Inevitably, my "Space Oddity" mental soundtrack resurfaced with a vengeance. What a great song (not in the movie, to be clear).

The Hurt Locker
I spend a lot of time thinking about war. Too much, maybe, but that is what the current job entails. I went to see this with a bunch of people from the office after my enthusiasm for the trailer proved contagious. Katheryn Bigelow's film effectively conveys how i've envisioned the experience of war would be: harrowing, randomly unjust, confusing as hell, and completely devoid of bullshit St. Crispin's day-style inspiring speeches. I thought a lot about disconnecting (from community) and sitting in a tin can after seeing this, too.

A couple of months ago, I was editing an interview with a war hero who'd attempted suicide (and is still struggling with PTSD and wrote a book) and the realization that he and I were the same age stopped me cold. I'd known already, but hadn't processed exactly what it meant. I discussed this briefly with a few people who wrongly interpreted that I was marveling at our vastly different life experience, but it was actually the responsibility I owe him. Not not me --or him-- specifically, though. Generations collectively bear their burdens-- and these are my peers. Iraq war II is our albatross and it won't be going away any time soon. It was just the sudden and overwhelming vision of a society touched by that kind of trauma that gave me pause. The Hurt Locker gives glimpses of that without making it the focus of the film.

500 Days of Summer
I saw myself in it, but instead of feeling run over by a truck, I felt good. It was like something that might be called... perspective. It was also funny. This was augmented by the dude with the great laugh sitting in the center of the theater near the front row. I also fell deeply in love with Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) when he sang "Here Comes Your Man". (see above) It turns out I have a relatively new and surprising fondness for karaoke since my first experience with it this past January at a gay bar in Indiana.

I decided a while ago that I was not gonna write any more reviews. Consider these shambolic post-list ramblings.

bird dream of the olympus mons

2009-07-15T00:34:00.002-04:00

Things I like to write:
Lists
Concepts for scifi stories
Twitter posts
Infrequent text messages

Jelly bean preference chart of the remaining jelly beans in the bag:

a song for you

2009-07-10T09:39:00.006-04:00

Celebrity deaths that felt like personal tragedies:

river phoenix
elliott smith
the crocodile hunter
heath ledger

Posters i like right now:

Misread

2009-06-09T16:17:00.004-04:00

Thing 1: I have never needed a bookmark. The world is full of potential material with which I can keep my page. Scraps of paper, gum wrappers, unsolicited credit card offers, unused tissues, corners of pillowcases (which only work for bathroom breaks), free postcards, parking tickets, the front-flap of the jacket-- all of these suffice. I used to have a collection of actual bookmarks, but I ended up using whatever was on hand. My dad thinks you can never have too many and there is a bookstore in Boulder that gives them out with every purchase. I feel sentimental about the homemade kind that kids and kids-on-the-inside make.

Cats are terrible bookmarks.

Thing 2: I am reminded again of a book that I don't know the name of-- it is an illustrated children's book. A childless couple makes a deal with the owl-woman (or a witch or elder) to get a baby girl. They must keep a feather over her bed, which they do faithfully until baby girl starts growing her very own baby girl wings. They freak and toss the feather and bind her wings and everything kinda goes downhill for them. Other than that, I remember something being moss-green and there being pretty pictures. A character's name was Gwynn or Gwinn or Gwen. I think there is some curse-undoing as well in it. I found the title once but lost it.

hope there's someone

2008-12-17T18:07:00.002-05:00

Wrote some nonsense after nearly finishing The Gum Thief by Doug Coupland in a night. Like nearly everything I write down with an actual pen, I felt compelled to commit the words to paper in the middle of the night in the dark. Scrawly writing all around, hanging onto a page right next to one with the beginning of a recollected dream from a month ago ("crazy lady in my dream describing her dream:'worms were set on thunderbolts!' in a race around the Washington Monument..."). Keeping a journal should be a privilege not easily earned. I'll continue to abuse it.
Excerpt of the very very end:

...What I like best is when books tell me secrets about myself. [I think] that is why I almost exclusively read fiction.

I'm really into Goodreads right now. I never feel completely satisfied with my reviews. Here is one I wrote yesterday that is all about me.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
All of the praise heaped on Scalzi after he wrote this book is well deserved. Rather than echoing a bunch of lovely glowing reviews, I'll keep this short and personal: My aversion to intergalactic-space-war science fiction has been overcome. Despite a title containing three of the least appealing words that could ever appear together, Old Man's War was totally fun and engaging. Highly recommended if you like smart sci-fi.

plus! plus! plus! My life's ambition, as far as feeling like I've adequately lived in the future, is to experience photosynthesis. I try to mention it to all the scientists I meet who work in the appropriate fields of genetics, chemical engineering, biology, etc. When they just look at me funny, I add, "try to get on that," or something to that nature. Sci-fi has long been a herald of/inspiration for actual scientific advancements, which is why I am so psyched to finally have someone on my side. Chlorophyll-laced skin is one of the many changes made to the engineered humans in this book. Thank you, John Scalzi. Score one towards turning us into little green men.

View all my reviews.

Within the universe

2008-10-12T18:48:00.002-04:00

Current Halloween Costume Project: (evil) Dr. Horrible from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog.

I'm not saying

2008-10-12T17:08:00.007-04:00

I found this story in a notebook today while I was trying to find a place to write a list:

There once was a little girl with hair the color of beech tree branches. She lived in a town where people spent a lot of time driving their cars, and when they weren't doing that, they were watching other people drive their cars. The little girl tried to do this, but she was too young to drive and when she looked in the windows of passing cars, no one ever looked back. She felt very alone. One day, as she sat beside the road, she met a strange creature. What are you? she asked as he slowly hopped along. I'm looking for water, he said and continued to hop. Are you a fish? No, he replied and hopped further. The little girl followed and each hop took both of them further away from the road. Are you sure you aren't a fish? she asked again, just to be sure. I know what I am, he said and stopped. Why are you following me?

I probably wrote it in the middle of the night a year or two ago. I changed one thing. The story I found ended with him asking "Who are you?" which was just lame. It doesn't end very well either way-- I should probably have left it in the notebook.

I wrote a List of Things on the next page:

- travel
- time outdoors
- people I care about
- documentation
- outlets
- fitness
- rest
- tattoos
- languages
- [and so it continues]

I have deemed it a List of Things That I Want More [of].

minstrel

2008-09-24T00:07:00.006-04:00

On moving:

I've donated two carloads of stuff, started reading Unclutterer and Zen Habits, and significantly pared down my excess furniture, clothes, kitchenware and uncategorizable things that made me feel suffocated in my previous space. I'm not, by any means, done.

Getting rid of stuff is addictive. I don't miss anything. I should add "yet" to that statement, but I'm pretty sure that no circumstances will arise in which a set of unused martini glasses passed to me two years ago by a neighbor will become necessity. The glasses are gone- along with piles of other crap that I've already forgotten in the last few weeks.

I'm intrigued by those who horde minutiae because I think I share that tendency-- especially when an object is linked to my memories. I am sentimental. I'm probably not alone in this, but I confuse the object for the memory and try to archive the latter by holding on to the item-- whatever it is. I'm working on a solution which will satisfy both my desire for less stuff and my need to memorialize experiences.

Papers are the worst. I still have three boxes of paperwork that I'd like to shrink down to just one small hanging file crate. That still leaves boxes of notebooks and sketch pads containing scads of drawings and embarrassing musings. In my archiving crate, I found some poems that I wrote about people in my poetry workshop in the spring of 2002. I wrote them about almost everyone in the class, but I could only find a few. They were just notes on the margins of papers. I have typed them here, unedited:

(Katy)
is beautiful like a marble
with two sharp
syllables

I like when you get excited
about something
like a word
and you squint your eyes
until they are little eyelash
halfmoons
and you would say it like that
"moooons" while you smile
and gesture,
narrow arms with sleeve
pulled up above the elbow

I don't remember who the following one was about...

smile, reaching one side of your mouth before the other as though you couldn't fully
commit to it
one arm gripping the other while you squeeze your fingers closed around your pen
or air

nor this one..

To my afternoon contortionist,
I'm not sure what you are
or what you are becoming
but you would fit in my car
and we could sit together at movies
You, tucked half in your seat,
half in mine

-----------------*******------------------
While trying to minimize my toiletries, I disposed of all of my shampoo bottles. I traded them in for a Lush bar shampoo which I love as a concept (no packaging waste, low maintenance) but my skin hated (I have yet to prove the bar is the cause). My googling results for shampoo reviews were disappointing at best. So, instead of hunting for the perfect product, I bought a shampoo for the elegant packaging.

This is similar to my previous practice of buying the brand whose commercials had the most attractive models (to support good casting) or toothpaste with the shiniest box and over-the-top descriptions. That is how everyone makes decisions in the grocery store health and beauty aisle, right?

i own the city

2008-09-15T02:06:00.002-04:00

My Embrace is Eternal Mix:

Sweet Darlin'

2008-04-16T11:56:00.007-04:00

More reviews for the newsletter:

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) is pitch-perfect parable of humanity's potential for compassion. It is about a man and his 'love doll', whom he imagines to be real, and the town that embraces them both. The subject matter may seem inherently goofy, but the film is sweet and smartly funny. It's a feel-good movie-- however, every scene that could play out as sappy or cloying or a cheap laugh in any other film pulls back at just the right time. Extraordinarily scripted and cast. Standout performances by Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, and Paul Schneider as the Lindstrom family: Lars, his sister-in-law and his guilt-ridden brother, respectively. The family dynamic, especially with Bianca (the doll) in the mix is priceless. Perhaps the only misstep is that the studio released this film on the same date as Juno, whose Oscar-fueled marketing team will crush this gem like a bug.

I really loved Lars and the Real Girl. Schneider and Mortimer are fantastic. Maybe I was just touched by how un-jaded this movie is. It was full of some of the healthiest relationships I've seen onscreen in a long time. I also watched it right after I watched Time, which was similarly populated by characters whose loneliness drove them to act strangely. But they become less lovable in their desperation and completely estranged from society. Lars becomes eminently more lovable and integral to his community. I think Lars may be my pick for feel good movie of the year.

Time (2006, South Korea, subtitled) Tackling ideas of love, identity, and -yes- madness, Time is a drama about an insecure woman who, in an effort to keep her relationship alive, opts to get radical plastic surgery and become someone 'new' for her lover. The romance between the two leads is a little difficult to grasp since Ji-woo and Seh-hee are incredibly unhappy together and he just seems baffled by her weird behavior. Their love, instead, is represented onscreen by a giant sculpture of two intertwined hands making a staircase that the lovers visit from time to time. While jealousy, screaming matches and elective surgery spin the story to wildly melodramatic heights, writer-director Kim Ki-Duk keeps the visuals tightly controlled. His films are notable for their beautiful and thoughtful visual composition, and Time is no exception. Kim Ki-Duk is an extremely prolific Korean writer-director, and having seen several of his other films, it is hard not to compare Time to his other features. Time follows a similar cyclical pattern to my favorite (thus far) of his films Bad Guy (2001). He is also known for Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003).

Since this is a rich theme that is incredibly well done in a few films, I've compiled a short-list of films featuring people literally cutting off their faces and putting on new ones (usually, previously owned faces): The Face of Another (1966, Japan), Eyes Without a Face (1960, France)-- a classic!, Seconds (1966) Rock Hudson is great-- dir. Frankenheimer, Faceless (1988) by cult director Jess Franco, Face/Off (1997) John Woo is over-the-top.

The Owls Go

2008-04-07T12:45:00.003-04:00

Podcasts of note: WNYC's Radio Lab and The Ricky Gervais Podcast
(also available for subscription through iTunes)

Recent reviews for the Video Americain Newsletter:

3/29/08 He Was a Quiet Man (2007, R) is a low budget indie movie from Canada starring Christian Slater, William H Macy, and Elisha Cuthbert (24). It's a very dark satire on office life that bears more resemblance to The Machinist (2004) than Office Space (1999)-- despite the obvious thematic similarities with the latter. Bob (Slater) hates his job, hates his bosses, and quietly plots to kill them all. Rather than showing how Bob is driven to this act of violence, the movie serves up the many quirks of his madness with morbid glee. Every day, Bob packs a red detonator button with his lunch in order to set off imaginary charges in the building. He loads his gun in his cubicle while listing the names of his coworkers. While these scenes are often bleak, CG effects give the film a hint of magical realism and playfulness. Slater puts in a very strong performance as an unlikely and tormented hero, and Elisha Cuthbert is well cast as a love interest, victim, and ladder-climbing office harpy. Quite a few twists and turns flesh out this film and make it an unpredictable and compelling story about frustration, ambition, and loneliness.

I liked this movie better upon further reflection. I'd just re-watched Untamed Heart with Christian Slater, so I picked it up to watch at home and was pleasantly surprised.

4/6/08 The Jacket (R, 2005) Time-traveling fantasy/thriller primarily set in a sinister mental institution. The film aims to be a psychological thriller with its dark sets, mysterious characters and arty flashbacks, but it is so soft-hearted that it works better as a creepy love story. The tagline ("Terror has a new name") doesn't suit the movie at all. Something more fitting (albeit not particularly catchy or enticing) would be: "The justice system and the military left me to die in this lousy jacket... My life is hard." Whether viewed as a twisted love story or a dark trip into a man's delusions, the 'mind-bender' script ambitiously piles in more material than the plot (or editors) can handle-- making it a pretty disjointed film. Adrien Brody stars as Jack, the Iraq War I vet/mental patient trussed up in the titular jacket for much of the movie. His watery, expressive eyes are used often and in extreme close-up. Also starring Keira Knightly, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Daniel Craig (who looks about 20 yrs older in this than in his turn as Bond last year-- weird). Executive produced by Clooney and Soderbergh (also exec-produced Michael Clayton, Syriana, A Scanner Darkly, and Wind Chill). If you want to see more of Brody's eyes in better films, check out The Darjeeling Limited, Dummy, The Pianist, or The Thin Red Line.

I watched The Jacket, like a lot of lame movies I've seen recently, On Demand. I had fun watching it, but it got worse upon reflection. The saving grace throughout was the highly inappropriate but not quite hot enough relationship between Jack and the little girl who may have been a figment of Jack's imagination. Figment or not, she is about 7 which makes him about 20 imaginary years her senior... until she grows up to be Keira Knightly with an American accent. All the nice things I was planning to say about it fell through the huge plot holes that just got bigger the more I focussed on them. Its main fault is that the filmmakers were too ambitious and should have stuck with one or two story threads. They could have played up the crazy its-all-in-jack's-head element, but it gets sidetracked by too much evidence that his time traveling is real. Alternately, they could have spun it more like The Time Traveler's Wife (book) and played up the bizarre romantic angle. Side note: I just discovered that book is being made into a movie to be released fall 2008 starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams (The Notebook). Interesting.

Antibodies

2008-02-27T04:22:00.002-05:00

Above: Recent mix cd covers.

I watch movies on cable that don't end until 3am. Last night I saw Little Children and tonight I watched Lie With Me. I watched Beautiful Girls last Friday.

New eMusic: Heaven 17, Human League, Please Quiet Ourselves, Josh Ritter, and Sebastien Tellier.

don't look back in anger (cover)

2007-11-03T11:22:00.000-04:00

From the Guilt By Association comp. This was a temporary replacement for a VHS cover that went missing at the store. made 2/8/05 1:39 AM

Fun Fact:I hadn't seen the film yet when I made it, but it turns out that among the many ways that characters are offed, Manu (above, right) was indeed shot in the head. I just put him on the cover because the actor, Romain Duris, is awesome.

what a way to live

2007-10-28T16:11:00.000-04:00

Like, 3 people got this.

What I saw this week:

Candy
Down in the Valley
Smithereens

Fat Girl
The Puffy Chair
Stranger Than Fiction

Jens Lekman

see saw

2007-10-15T15:21:00.000-04:00

Days away: 18
Miles travelled: over 1,800 (we didn't really count)
Nights spent in motels: 3
Number of coats purchased due to unexpectedly cold weather: 1
Number of coats purchased due to coolness of coat: 1
Fruit illegally transported outside California: one plum
Hospital visits: again, just one
Undeclared purchases taken from Canada-->US: 1/2 bottle of Gatorade
Hours explaining that prescription drugs are not all, by nature, "narcotics" and declaring the Gatorade to US border official: .75
Days here since: 23

I'm not sure how I feel about being back. I am compensating with new obsessions: Flight of the Conchords, going to the movie theater, making cupcakes. Because the internets are best for sharing one's unilateral world view, Sarah and I compiled our slide shows separately from the same 788 digital photos and uploaded them to respective sites. My flickr set: 67 photos. Sarah's set: 139 photos. Her set includes lovely pics such as the one below (right) of the Retarded Children (for make benefit) Thrift Store in Ventura. I chose a few more pictures of Sarah including this one below (left) of Sarah in the redwood forest.

Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine

numerous thrift stores - ventura
Originally uploaded by edendreaming

I'm still working on the video aspect of the trip. stay tuned.

blackberry

2007-07-15T11:48:00.000-04:00

This is my new favorite TED video:

I would give my eyeteeth to go to the 2008 conference. I wonder how much eyeteeth go for these days.

Addendum: I never use that expression and only wrote "eyeteeth" after careful consideration of which expendable body part I'd be willing to lose for such an opportunity. Once I typed it, the word sat there on the screen, begging to be googled. Two clicks later, I found myself at (author of "Eyeteeth") Paul Schmelzer's "Signifier, signed..." art project/blog:

"...I began asking artists, writers and political figures to sign my autograph, either in person or through letters. A simple enough premise, my intention was to both critique celebrity (what does it mean that Yoko Ono signed the name of a complete unknown? And is there any value to that signature?) and celebrate those who have shaped my beliefs, by either their positive or negative examples..."

Conceptually, I love it. I think I'll ask him for a contribution to the naked, tv-headed lady riding a dinosaur project.

rich enough to ignore it

2007-06-26T16:12:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to exercise my art supplies. This is yesterday (left) and today (right).

Start of Something

2007-05-07T11:00:00.000-04:00

I visited New Orleans for Daphne & Jim's wedding this April. It happened to fall in the middle of the French Quarter Festival, so the streets were packed. As every report has indicated, the FQ looks pristine while most of the rest of the city looks like it is patiently waiting to be hauled off to the rubbish pile. I spent most of my visit running errands and doing wedding party-related activities, so I didn't get a chance to meditate on the devastation. We went bowling instead.

I took these right after Corben Dallas sat on Darcy's head and woke him up. They are not helping me unpack in the new apartment at all.

wisdom from a tree

2007-03-20T13:25:00.000-04:00

Adventures in google and translation:

Sound-likes: Do you make you for thoughts over it, how you affect the stage? Do you consider you before exactly, what tightens it?

Jake: Our friend Emily break produced a 45-minütiges video for us, which we project behind us, if we play live. It is a beautiful video of underwater film material and dusting. We keep it simple all and carry Jeans on the stage and black shirts. We do not try to make Schnickschnack we want that people experience our shows and do not feel, as if it any further group of humans to see, who play instruments.

-- 1/06 original text: Alcian Blue - Interview - soundmag.de

I am liberally quoted sounding very much like a hyperactive child talking about Takoma Park in the Howard U. paper last week. --3/07 link

things to remember

2007-03-18T16:27:00.000-04:00

I have a new internet obsession with something old: achaea on 43 Things.

Protagonist Suddenly Realizes What He Must Do In The Middle Of Downtown Traffic

2007-02-22T18:55:00.000-05:00

I just posted 6 months of camera phone pics on flickr-- sort of a year in review if you look at them really fast. If you take your time, then you must really like grainy, poorly-lit photos.

I am completely addicted to craigslist washington, DC pets classifieds. I read them every day.

Fever Dream

2007-01-31T08:59:00.000-05:00

Here is an abridged comp. made from the original 4030 minute video I edited for Alcian Blue's live shows. Sam sent me the music as something he's working on these days (post-alcian).

YouTube - 40GB (abridged, 15fps)

Withholding Hands

2006-11-01T18:53:00.001-05:00

I'm now holding down two music subscriptions: Audio Lunchbox and eMusic. I am also a director on YouTube. Unfortunately, my content is hiding on various discs scattered around my very messy room. I am making a giant pile of clothes to sell/give away. I seem to have accumulated garments of all sorts and sizes, so if you are in the market for a pile of clothes.. let me know.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4

2006-10-24T09:20:00.000-04:00

Weekend mosaic:
>

1714 JPA pre-show	The Fake Accents last song in Charlottesville. I forgot about my camera until the very end of the show.
new shirts	weekending

Things I am enjoying this week:
- Steph's photoblog:the daily sky
- marathon videochatting with Australia via the new Skype beta for Mac
- The Office delivered via iTunes season pass
- changing leaves, cold weather
- The Fake Accents.. all of 'em
- the new Georgie James album
- designing a Video Americain t-shirt with Victor
- gifts in the mail (thanks Joe)
- driving through the country
- finishing more hats

don't you stop

2006-10-17T00:27:00.000-04:00

many tees!
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

I made t-shirts! More specifically, I made 16 different ones using a combination of about 8 hand drawn/made stencils. I gave them my favorite dinosaur. Other designs included: owl, whale, dragonfly, centipede, tapir, nun, and some other lettering.

Interesting Results

2006-10-07T12:07:00.000-04:00

I made this hat. It is the genesis hat, from which all future hats will be made.

raised by wolves

2006-09-30T21:29:00.000-04:00

I'm testing out this service. This is a test.

I took too much DayQuil yesterday and couldn't sleep, so I watched everything on the TiVo and crocheted this hat.

What's an ocean for?

2006-09-25T01:00:00.000-04:00

I swiped this picture from Roq la Rue's website. I really love Audrey Kawasaki's work. Her "OctoGirls" is one of my favorites. You can check out more of her stuff on her livejournal.

My documentary project on Takoma Park is rounding a corner. I am thisclose to having all of my interviews done. I think that if I were to let it, the project could increase in scope exponentially. It would be cool to put together a package for another student to inherit. They could carry it for a while, then pass it to another. It would be interesting to collaborate on something that was primarily a process, not a final product.

I've decided to add more noise to the innernets by posting random clip videos made with my d. camera on YouTube. I think of it as less "exhibition", more "giving back". I'll be doing my tiny part to give production a push in the producer culture vs. consumer culture mashup.

I've been watching some Veronica Mars. I went to the Rock & Roll Hotel and saw a bar fight. Is streaming blood better than streaming video? Nah.

She Clicks The Sticks

2006-09-21T10:35:00.000-04:00

YouTube - Dusty Springfield - You Don't Have To Say You Love Me (1966)

If I were to sing karaoke, this would be my song. I found this while I was watching instructional videos on crochet. I've become totally obsessed with these beautiful merino wools from Uruguay. I've been getting them at Now & Then with such a passion that they came over and consulted me at the store on their next color order. Now I have a mini-yarn shop in my house. The colors are grouped purposefully.

Insect Eyes

2006-09-02T11:16:00.000-04:00

My hard drive died on Monday. Strangely, I'd been having some anxiety about it, so I'd backed up a number of my important files on Sunday. Even though I hadn't done a system backup since March, my music, Photoshop files, all of my videos were saved. I lost six months of photos and 3 years of crap accumulated from living online. I didn't cry. I took my baby in to the Apple store and took the only available appointment 5 hours later. I told the Apple store guy that my hard drive was KO'd, but he didn't believe me. Half an hour later, he reported back to me that my hard drive was dead. I decided that this was excellent timing to start over. I renamed my computer, admitting that it was not the same machine I've loved all these years and started rebuilding.

While I waited for my appointment, I had five hours to kill in Bethesda (ick). I spent a good deal of time in Barnes&Noble. I picked up about six books, read the first chapter of each and bought the ones that I wanted to keep reading. At least, that was the plan, but I couldn't bring myself to read the whole first chapter of the crappy chick-lit title, Something Borrowed. I don't know why I even touched that one at all.
New Books:
Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist. I am considering letting it change my life.
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Double by Jose Saramago
The Story of O by Pauline Reage
I also started reading Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon by Chuck Palahniuk, which I bought from Amazon a couple of months ago along with a bunch of guidebooks.

Also new this week from eMusic:
The Mountain Goats- The Sunset Tree
Mirah- Advisory Committee
Destroyer- Destroyer's Rubies
Devendra Banhart- Rejoicing in the Hands

I have been craving Fall, so I've escaped there in music. I listened to Devendra Banhart a lot last winter, so I'm stimulating my sensory memory. Cold weather smells good. The past couple of days have been cooler and rainy-- I love it.

I've been keeping the music-related stuff on MOG. There is a really nice community of music lovers over there. Something I'd like to see is more integration of show schedules and calendars to the UI, 'cause I like shows. I also joined ReverbNation, but they haven't entered public beta yet, so it is difficult to tell how useful it will be.

Emily - MOG:

[Last] Saturday night, my good friends The Fake Accents had their CD release party at the Galaxy Hut in Arlington. It was packed...

Read more music-related stuff there. Also, check out Steff's awesome new photo blog, The Daily Sky, and Roxanne's travel blog, Roxanne on the Road.

Pieces

2006-08-17T13:03:00.000-04:00

gabe's room
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

I have no windows right this second.
This is all part of the plan.

There is something about summer that makes me wish that it were wintertime. I can't quite put my foot on it. I have been distracting myself with the following tv shows:
Daily Show
Colbert Report
Battlestar Galactica
Project Runway
Iron Chef
The 4400*
and Grey's Anatomy**

* ~~not really interesting anymore~~
** totally depressing now. ~~I actually just watched both of these in the store.~~ I am a house of lies. I TiVo these.

The upside to the new windows is that they will be significantly more energy efficient than the previous ones (single pane!). A sticker on the ones waiting to be installed assure me that they are "ClimaGuard Low-E Glass". I think I can safely conclude that the "E" stands for "energy".

The Wonder

2006-07-31T19:25:00.000-04:00

I opened my mailbox today to a free copy of the Zagat Survey of DC/Baltimore Restaurants. I wrote a few reviews for them so many months ago that I'd completely forgotten about it. Going out to eat is one of my favorite things to do, so having a copy of the guide was thrilling enough. After flipping through a few of the reviews, I saw something that sounded like me. Zagat quoted me for at least three of the six places I reviewed. They even put in my zinger about how people in Silver Spring/Takoma Park "tote their kids everywhere". Madness.

You must be a registered user in order to read the online Zagat Survey.

A Few Steps More

2006-07-12T21:51:00.000-04:00

I have been living on MOG for the past few weeks. However, I have not forgotten my promise. In honor of their cd release yesterday, here are some stills from my still-in-progress music video for Alcian Blue. I don't know if the finished product will look anything like this.

Status: No projects down. Many more to go. Totally digging it.

how do the fools survive?

2006-06-30T02:20:00.000-04:00

I am taking a break from my blogging hiatus to mourn the passing of Yacht Rock. Dylan says Yacht Rock is not truly dead until the smooth music is. Keep sailing, folks.

Above: Hunter Stair and JD Ryznar are brilliant and attractive.

Collecting Rocks

2006-06-16T15:44:00.000-04:00

happy dinosaur
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

DW has done this naked, tv-headed lady and dinosaur, one of several new additions to the collection from him.

We (DW and I) are also working on the official Fake Accents t-shirt. It is going to be awesome.

I know that last entry was exceptionally picture-less, so I will attempt to add some stills from the new Alcian Blue music video in progress.

the city you live in is ugly

2006-06-14T19:11:00.000-04:00

Weekend Update (yes, Wednesday is my weekend).

I woke up excitingly early this morning so that I could observe just how early construction noise began here at "The Takoma". I like to imagine that those slick, sexy people on the banner for the new "Takoma" [the building] website will live here in Takoma [the town] and call it something like 'a funky/artsy community'. They will call it "Berkeley of the East".

Almost a year and a half ago, the "great landlord" here at the Wedgewood (*website's info is out of date) announced that this building would join the herd stampeding towards condo development. After months of waffling, negotiating, and generally being in way over their heads, Wedgewood Limited Liability Limited Partnership (for real) finally gave up and sold the building (and all of us in it).

On April 25, 2006, I was ushered into the NOVO Family. Plans for a full overhaul of the building were thrown out for a more minimal and inexpensive approach. These plans seem to revolve around a group of muddy construction workers parading into the building in order to toss bathroom fixtures and cabinetry out of the windows of empty apartments and into the courtyard four floors below.

I would venture to guess that Takoma Park is well into its "urban sophisticate" stage of cityhood. I called the city office today and spoke with their Housing and Community Development Office. I asked whether they had a number on the new condo developments that have been started in the last two years. While she would not estimate the (large) number over the phone and I declined to write a request for the information, Linda Walker stated that new condo projects were "prolific".

The lack of response to this from the greater Takoma Park community is astounding. I have encountered a number of officials who have actually shrugged and said something to the effect of "can't fight the market". I am interested in how the changes in housing availability and price will effect the economic and social demographics of the area. I say "interested" as though I am an objective observer. I am not.

i wanna love you in my room.

2006-05-22T20:41:00.000-04:00

I went to NYC. I stayed with the nicest semi-stranger ever, Dan Fishback. I got to meet my favorite tattooed blogger from Needled, and I got a tattoo. About four hours into getting it, I fell a little bit in love with my artist. While my dreams of eventually marrying my tattoo artist (who doesn't?) may be dashed (he's already married), I think we have a date for next year.

change is now

2006-05-11T12:57:00.000-04:00

Recent movies I've seen (since Saturday??)

Cittadino si ribella, Il (1974) -- Street Law is new Blue Underground release. I watched it with CPR last night. trailer
Domino (2005) -- in Metcalf's post-narrative, post-Hong Kong, post-something else class
Blood and Roses (1960) -- Vadim (Barbarella) directed, but remarkably staid female vampire flick. There were some awesome surreal dream bits. Great.
My name is Nobody (1973) -- I was all set to love Terrence Hill, but he was way too goofy for me. The movie was still pretty great.
Quiet Days in Clichy (1970) -- This movie is pretty explicit. Soundtrack by Country Joe carries it. trailer
Girlfight (2000) -- with Emily on Sunday. In partial honor of Rodrieguez getting all shot on Lost.
The Killing (1956) -- I missed most of this due to business at the store.
Thunder Road (1958) -- Mitchum's son also stars in this. (I missed most of this one, too.)
Blue Planet Deep Sea/Open Ocean doc -- dude totally tried to rent it from under me.
Tristan & Isolde(2005) -- Seriously, I didn't choose this one. JD did.
Faust (1926) -- Saw with OP to close our Witches & the Devil themed day.
Viy (1967) -- for like, the 3rd or fourth time.

be gentle with me

2006-04-21T18:29:00.000-04:00

I want to go to this: NYC Tattoo Convention.

... Fun Shows of the Past Week and a Half
Art Brut 4/9
Georgie James 4/15
Gris Gris 4/17
Fake Accents/Kiss Me Deadly 4/19

... Plans for Next Week
none
thesis presentation 4/27

i am not surprised

2006-04-18T20:33:00.000-04:00

The Looks Authority EP
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

Overview of projects on the back burner: IfWhen The Looks Authority finally releases an EP, this will be the cover.

Band Members	Songs on Album
Emily Brecht Stephanie Schmitz Jon Gold	1. you can kill a fish with a stone 2. lighter theory (aesthetic prerogative version) 3. the sounds of people hating each other (album version) 4. nothing is real 5. the sounds of people hating each other (dance remix)

future is in the future

2006-04-14T11:35:00.000-04:00

This one is by MB and I from about a year ago... maybe longer. It is a product of the paper-folding picture-drawing game. One person draws a part, then folds it over and only the very edge of the previous drawing is visible. Forgive me if this is an unnecessary explanation. You can probably tell that the best bits not mine. This is my vision for how all of my collaborative projects should play out. We made a monster.

story of my life

2006-03-29T00:34:00.000-05:00

Spore Gameplay Video - Google Video

I blogged about Will Wright's article in Wired on gamers-as-producers (meaning, creatively interacting with their environment as opposed to solely consuming), and now I'm pretty sure I know exactly where he's coming from. The gamer that he imagines and, in part, has helped create with games like the Sims, is far from the couch-bound reject often depicted in the media.
This looks like the coolest game ever. (Thanks, Sarah and Greg

Portable radio

2006-03-18T09:52:00.000-05:00

WMUC Alumni Meeting
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

Belated WMUC coverage: The WMUC alumni meeting on 3/14 was well-attended. I don't have that much to say about the specifics of what got discussed, but I do feel much more comfortable knowing that there are boatloads of alumni behind the students at this point. More specific info re: the WYPR situation, which was discussed at length, and the Alumni reunion can be found here

Hinge, Door, et cetera

2006-03-10T11:42:00.000-05:00

The Portable Folk Band stopped by The Wanton Machine yesterday for some hanging out and playing of albums. What could have been a disastrous invitiation to bring some music to guest-dj with turned out really well. They brought good stuff from Philly to play as well as a clean version of their own album.

The radio show can be downloaded here. This download will be available until 3/15. If you want to skip the part sans-Portable Folk Band, fast forward through the first hour.

Note-- I have seen their ambulance. It is everything they say and more. Mark was wearing a hand drawn I <3 Linux shirt. I find this endearingly awesome.

On a different note, I had the best beer last night. I even looked it up in The Oxford Bottled Beer Database. Fortunately, it is too expensive for regular consumption.

A thesis-blog has been established: AMST @ UMD Project. Research and notes and results OH MY! Look for this to come about in the next couple of days.

the good people of everywhere

2006-03-04T02:17:00.000-05:00

WMUC v. WYPR round-up or "I read so that you don't have to..."

Media:

Baltimore Sun's continuing coverage of the "threat" to WMUC I commend them for getting a quote from ZR on this one.
DCRTV covers the coverage --this source in hampered by a severe lack of permalinks.
WFMU's blog has the juice --nice diction
The Baltimore Chronicle --doesn't say much
News 4 in Baltimore covers the story --I'm sorry, I thought I said "covers".

DCRTV hearts WMUC

WMUC is the only true "college" station in the Washington DC area that can regularly be heard beyond the campus it is broadcasting from. It is staffed by students and students do all the programs which cover a wide range of progressive and experimental music no commercial station would dare touch.

Blogosphere:

Noise:
mailbag at DCRTV

Channel 4 just ran a story on it. Jim Vance called them WMCU, but other then that it was predictable response from UofMD folks, who said things like - WYPR is within their rights...

William Tucker Jr. says in the same mailbag,

...About 3 years ago, I presented a proposal for a cable FM station financed by my company and distributed through Comcast and Starpower systems in the D.C. area to WMUC's student management and Steve Gnadt. The general idea was to re-create the former AM commercial carrier-current station on cable as a flagship operation of sorts, broadcasting to students, faculty and staff off-campus. The cable station would also increase professional training opportunities for stude nts as well as add revenue streams to ensure WMUC's financially self-sufficiency (and subsidize 88.1 FM, which would remain otherwise unchanged). My proposal came with one stipulation; that the station's format would have to adopt some measure of programming continuity. The station manager at the time -- Zack Richardson -- and Gnadt were extremely insular and uncooperative throughout discussions, which I found totally shocking given I'm an alumni...

Check out this google cached letter/response re frequency here
It says,

...I hear that WYPR wants WMUC to move. Wouldn't WMUC would lose any
grandfather primacy they now have, and probably be soon forced off the air?
Realistically, there are probably no frequencies they could move to. Long
ago they tried for 87.9 but were turned down. Is it likely that 87.9 is now
possible? The nearest chan 6 stations are Richmond (102 miles), Johnstown
(145 miles) and Philly (117 miles)...

That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for this developing story. Oh, and I'd like to solicit personal stories from MUC djs, ex-djs, and listeners. Tell them why you care! What did WMUC do for you? email your story to ilikebirds at gmail dot com.

our days in kansas

2006-03-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

community cat
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

As I sort through tons of surveys of American Studies students on internet use, one thing is standing out that I didn't expect: students want to learn how to build websites.

A new possible outgrowth of my thesis project is an html/web building seminar for humanities students?

what do students want to convey on the web or why do they want to learn?
what sort of format should a course on web-building take?
who would teach such a thing?
would students actually attend?

My initial reaction to this consistently voiced desire (to learn how to make websites) is to assume that more people are interested in making content. Making a website represents the switch from consumer to producer. Is this more evidence of the rise of producer culture on the internet?

Dance-A-Thon 2005

2006-02-23T18:06:00.000-05:00

my baltimore sun-induced panic
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.
My rxn to the 2/22 article stating that WYPR (the Baltimore NPR station) had received permission to "push aside" WMUC. The report is still unconfirmed.

Yes, that is a Free Winona rocking out to some MUC jams on her portable radio (thanks to Hall & Oates). I suspect that, next year, everyone will have one buried in their closet between their D-plan shirt and ten other shirts that don't exactly fit and aren't really cool enough to wear anymore but never get thrown away. How cool would a t-shirt be?

Less cool now that I said it, damn.

the dark lord lament

2006-02-22T12:56:00.000-05:00

According to the Baltimore Sun today, WYPR is going to "push aside" WMUC-- as in, off the air. Public radio, in theory, is a benevolent force of good. In practice, WYPR has been terrorizing MUC for years to get off their frequency. "WMUC is the oldest college radio station in the United States", according to our Wiki. There are no other college stations in the area that broadcast on the air. Thanks, WYPR, for your ~~victories~~ efforts in the ongoing battle to remove choices from the airwaves. Once again, we must turn to the internet for cultural salvation. I find this both horrifying and prescient:

Growing pains - baltimoresun.com says

"WYPR, with headquarters on Baltimore's North Charles Street, also is planning to transmit to the Washington suburbs. The station has gotten permission from the Federal Communications Commission to push aside a low-wattage student station at the University of Maryland, College Park that already occupies WYPR's signal on 88.1 FM. (Brandon and Bienstock both said they would help the college station move its signal to the Internet.)

Still, becoming Maryland's pre-eminent public-radio voice may be difficult. 'It's a lofty and noble goal,' said Sue Kopen Katcef, an instructor at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, 'but I don't know how you're going to grow that younger 18-plus audience, the audience you need, when it isn't listening to radio, whether it's commercial or public.'"

"lofty and noble" my ass.

UpdateI remember WYPR trying to do this a few years ago. No word on whether the Baltimore Sun has properly fact-checked.

back cab

2006-02-22T11:28:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of my "best of 2005" list of shows, I have a new list this week.

the best shows I've been to this week (and year)

06/02/18 Electric Six @ Black Cat

I did my homework for this one. I listened to their new cd (Senor Smoke) in the car for the two days before the show so I could get as excited about their new stuff as perennial hits like "Naked Pictures of Your Mother" and "Synthesizer". It worked. While Tyler (singer) didn't take off his pants during the show this time, he did give me lots of beer. In brief moment of quiet during their set, this extremely drunk girl grabbed my arm, looked deeply into my eyes and asked, "Isn't this the best band ever?" Yes, and they put on a fantastic show. Dance epidemic tonight!

Oh, and this band She Wants Revenge played. They sound like Interpol. I had a bad experience with Interpol once.

06/02/21 Be Your Own Pet @ Black Cat backstage

I've been playing Damn Damn Leash on The Wanton Machine for a few months so I thought I'd check it out. These kids are in highschool, but more importantly, their songs are short and fast and loud and rocking. The lead singer dances like she's posessed by rock'n'roll demons, and she tosses her hair around in this completely mesmerizing way. They put on an amazing show. I bought a 7" and I don't even have a record player. They're sort of high-energy Yeah Yeah Yeahs-ish. I don't know if that's quite right... Did I mention that they are underage? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and predict that they are gonna be huge.

check them out @ be your own PET wants to....... their music videos are cute.

8 arms to kill you

2006-02-18T18:28:00.000-05:00

vote for your favorite!

Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

we were not meant to be
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

10 x infinity

2006-02-11T01:08:00.000-05:00

I know it is a lot late for a favorites of 2005 list, but while I was setting up my playlist this past Thursday, it became evident that one was already in the making.

What: Top Shows (yes, live music) of 2005

How: I chose which made the cut by the following equation

(how much fun I had) x (quality of music + performance awesomeness) / [number of drinks consumed - (1/2 x number of annoying people present)] - .12cost

I also had to review my handy iCal calendar, 'cause I'm sure I've totally forgotten a few. Some shows, like Scout Niblett 4/14/05 at the Black Cat backstage, should have made the cut due to the awesomeness of the music, but I was in a lousy mood. tough luck. I also don't feel the need to list every show I saw. I saw a lot.

11. Unrest 2/24/05 Teenbeat reunion Black Cat
10. Holly Golightly 8/12/05 Ottobar
9. Zombi 8/28/05 Ottobar
8. Dungen 9/28/05 Black Cat
7. Dressy Bessy 7/14/05 Black Cat backstage
6. Fake Accents 6/23/05 at Fort Reno
5. The Organ 4/30/05 at the Velvet Lounge.
4. The Smittens 8/17/05 at the Velvet lounge
3. Aqueduct 5/22/05 at the Black Cat
2. Guitar Wolf 2/26/05 Ottobar
1. Electric Six 9/29/05 at the Black Cat.

man, that was hard. Updated 2/14/06

Playlists | WMUC Radio

keep sending me black fireworks

2006-02-10T19:41:00.000-05:00

Exciting news!
-The wanton machine [website] is humming along again.
-The wanton machine [radio show] has been picked up for a zillionth season. listen for me Thursdays from 2pm-4pm or check out the show archives and download me.
-I remembered that I have a digital camera. expect pictures.

Other news (less exciting, sigh):
-the thesis is on.
-i spent half an hour reading a pdf and finally learned to operate some station equipment.
-Video Americain!

Old, tired news:
-Keep making naked-tv-headed-ladies-riding dinosaurs for me. it makes me happy.

yes! you love me

2006-02-10T19:37:00.000-05:00

Just in 1/2/06 but the blogger publisher is failing me...

just a quote from Kirby, the artist of this entry...

"I had some doubts about this picture, as the dame in the picture is not technically naked - but some things you just gotta wear boots with."

nice.

who's been sleeping here?

2006-02-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

NEW 11/20/05

-- from Chris (awesome) at the webcomic, Upwardly Nubile

This is my favorite project ever...

and if I can stop playing Warcraft for a few minutes, I'll make something new.

long haired child

2005-11-11T12:47:00.000-05:00

--kier from TABB (scroll down for the dino riding the lady)

That's Because You Drive Me

2005-10-29T11:38:00.000-04:00

I have been neglecting this for a while, but in case you were curious, The Wanton Machine is available for download every week in mp3 format from WMUC.

Download the show here. (alternately, just click to listen)

View the playlist

This past Thursday was the super-special Halloween edition of the show. Knock yourself out. It appears, however, that a ton of old playlists have ceased to exist.

update: This particular show will only be up until 05.11.03.

night lover/ day hunter.

2005-10-26T21:08:00.000-04:00

More from TABB

-- drywall (~~pervert~~ awesome)

Also, SC has created, for your consideration...

micro fable of the tv headed woman

at the bottom of the sea, her head flickered with snow
and worn out porno tapes. arcane geometric forms made
possible by the precise positionings of two bodies.
faces devoid of any expression acting through
schematic rituals of sex. the translucent ocean and
her transparent face. the empty existence she wished
to leave behind. what she would give to traverse the
skies gliding gently on the back of a pterodactyl...to
find the forms projected in her skull in the endless
landscapes scrolling beneath her...to finally find
love by sight and not sensation. trapped as she was
in the warm caress of the triassic sea, her mind still
reeled with cold and alien images.

thanks guys.

Girls & Sunshine

2005-10-24T17:35:00.000-04:00

--truthandbeautybombs user "jazzpirate"

Ryan, who has this neurotic dinosaur webcomic has joined my effort to collect fantastic images of tv-headed naked ladies riding dinosaurs by asking his messageboard users to contribute. This has not only earned him my undying affection, but some shameless promotion from me.

Check out these incredible shirts! I have to get the octopus.

sexy results

2005-10-24T01:03:00.000-04:00

The Wanton Machine: Now delightfully content-free! Whoa, so rather than do anything useful, I have been trying out a new browser. It is super. I am illustrating one of the more compelling features.

"You can easily blog interesting web content with Flock, in just a few clicks.
Example:
1. Highlight a passage on a web page that you would like to blog about.
2. Right-click that selection and choose Blog This.
3. The blog editor opens with that selection already inserted. Not only that, the selection is properly formatted as a Blockquote and appropriate citation is included."

Flock

the boy wonders

2005-10-09T03:28:00.000-04:00

Tv-headed naked lady riding a dinosaur update: I know you have been on the edge of your seats...

Many thanks to everyone who has submitted their work to the collection. I am still at it, so if you get a chance, make me one. I apologize that the duplication is so imperfect, but I don't have a scanner. It is only fair to add that many of these were made under duress and/or while the artist was intoxicated.

mb

the first one ever! Tariq is awesome.

max (at the BC). ariel (from PA)-- sorry, the real one is so much prettier. think delicate. think pencil.

stephen (at Wonderland).

mb (underused).

faking the books

2005-09-12T02:53:00.000-04:00

recent press regarding the latest video project with SC for alcian blue

Alcian Blue stewed over a couple of noisy numbers before it managed to get its video projector up and running Thursday at the Black Cat Backstage. But once the flickering images of marine life and assorted psychedelia hit the makeshift movie screen draped behind the musicians, their dense, guitar-driven dream pop seemed to surge with a new authority...

Link to full text washington post review by chris richards of q and not u

*screenshots from video project #2 w/SC shown @ black cat backstage 9/8

i am all about the new authority. bringing it, i mean. more tv/naked-lady/dinos up next....

thanks BSM, again

Yeah, I'm In Love With An Android

2005-09-12T01:14:00.000-04:00

this looks totally amazing: animation festival in berlin watch the trailer, if you have a slow connection, it may take a while to load. i like the part when the tiny man builds a friend out of sand and the ocean eats it.

* screenshots from the preview.

she's the real thing

2005-09-04T17:16:00.000-04:00

The Wanton Machine: Self-Proclaimed #1 Source for Naked TV-Headed Ladies Riding Dinosaurs

many thanks to sc and bsm respectively. more to come! please contribute. entries may be anonymous.

This Is The Part We Laugh About

2005-09-03T23:58:00.000-04:00

where you've been hiding

2005-08-28T01:47:00.000-04:00

request for submissions: i have started a collection of ~~drawings~~ art stuff. please add one to my collection. i will describe in detail what i want.

(a naked lady with a tv head) riding a dinosaur.

please make me a picture. please send me one by email or snail mail. email i like birds at gmail dot com for an address.

Even if you would never ever consider doing something, do it anyway.

UPDATE: Submissions may be anonymous if you wish. i will be posting new ones for as long as I keep getting them every week. but ONLY once a week. If you gave me something that is non-digital, then it might take me slightly longer to post it.

movies in my head

2005-08-08T18:40:00.000-04:00

saw scout niblett last night. next up: holly golightly.

ground breaking service

2005-08-08T17:46:00.000-04:00

request for submissions: i have started a collection of drawings. please add one to my collection. i will describe in detail what i want.

(a naked lady with a tv head) riding a dinosaur.

please make me a picture. please send me one by email or snail mail. email i like birds at gmail dot com for an address.

update: p.s. the parentheses are clarifying. i will give no more direction.

waiting room

2005-07-14T00:40:00.000-04:00

I love you.. nor do I

2005-07-06T16:38:00.000-04:00

yeah
Originally uploaded by the wanton machine.

I promise more art will be forthcoming. I am embroiled in some heavy discussions vis-à-vis "tenant business". I am enthralled with my video project. I am having minor technical difficulties with my tablet. Events tend to conspire against me. That is just the way it is.

get in or get out

2005-06-26T11:05:00.000-04:00

I know, I know.. it is hilarious because I have all but abandonned this venture. or have I?

while I take my sweet time drawing an all new, all nude picture, enjoy these photos of stuff

i'm so tired

2005-06-05T23:24:00.000-04:00

i have not had time to do anything. all week. all week and a half.

tension

2005-05-25T12:37:00.000-04:00

img 1: screenshot from the (in process) music video sam and i are working on.

img 2: I am not sure what this is; this is what happens when you drink and draw. even in a larger size, the writing is indiscernible.

update: all the pictures should be loading properly-- even the archived ones. i guess they finally shut down my student accnt at the UM.

Guilt Is A Useless Emotion

2005-05-15T09:21:00.000-04:00

i don't want to see you

2005-04-30T11:19:00.000-04:00

we never shout

2005-04-22T09:20:00.000-04:00

grr. this post is dedicated to the important things. and ariel.

i woke up with this song in my head.

power of your tenderness

2005-04-19T09:45:00.000-04:00

AGAIN, DISMEMBERMENT BELOW!!! (steph, don't look)

sometimes, when i wake, i just feel like sketching a little story for you folks.

if i handle you with care

2005-04-15T01:12:00.000-04:00

a very big, heavy box.

my parents are moving. i am helping them get rid of stuff. let me know if you need anything household-y.

you were so warm

2005-04-08T00:24:00.000-04:00

i don't like anonymous comments. there. i don't like them at all.

download this week's show by clicking "the wanton machine"

your pretty face is going to hell

2005-04-05T01:17:00.000-04:00

collaboration is key. my favorite suggestion will go up next week.

neverever

2005-04-03T22:28:00.000-04:00

here is some wisdom from jon.

ps sin city ruled.

get your crayons out!

2005-04-01T00:40:00.000-05:00

rory and i can draw each other without looking. we draw straight. i sleep late.

careless

2005-03-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Let this be a lesson to you. I have a friend who this happened to once.

Mmmmmmm. Carrot Cake!

Remily Pevan Browal
(Emily $ Rory)

you'll be in the air

2005-03-30T14:14:00.000-05:00

i've been fighting a cold and cold medication all week. i feel a lack of words. i want to live in a bubble and listen to music.
i want you to hear what i hear.

update: in my bubble, i would also like movies. and company.

i will sing you songs

2005-03-27T23:57:00.000-05:00

i am still tired.

paris sous la neige (single version)

2005-03-24T00:52:00.000-05:00

i am tired, maybe tomorrow.

pine away

2005-03-21T20:40:00.000-05:00

i found this little drawing i did when i was in high school. it looked sort of like this and was on a chapel leaflet with the words to "wind beneath my wings" or something printed on it. next to the picture, i'd written, "zombie?". i'm not looking at it right now, but it was like that.

P.S. Tait and I are working on moving this to thewantonmachine.com. sorry for any problems you may experience in the meantime.

my mind

2005-03-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

CONTRIBUTE TO THE WANTON MACHINE
here's how: write me some text for this. either leave it in a comment or email me. oh yeah. and you can suggest music for the show.

i dig the bushwack

2005-03-19T03:07:00.000-05:00

i need new image hosting. I was up until 4am trying to figure out where my pictures went. and here they are again.

update tait is great.

(there'll be) peace in the valley

2005-03-16T21:52:00.000-05:00

(guest artist, mb)

!!WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT!! (sorry steph)

please please

2005-03-14T23:50:00.000-05:00

runner up title: honk if you're lonely. it only missed by 10 seconds.

the following is an illustration of a story i heard at the store yesterday. it did not happen to me.

babies

2005-03-13T07:25:00.000-05:00

i have room for just one. i am drunk. Satan is the only cook in my kitchen.

i'll not contain you

2005-03-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

click here to see alt. version.

marooned

2005-03-11T03:02:00.000-05:00

1 vodka tonic
2 ideas crushed by the blunt-force trauma of tara's reason
3 am bedtime

<30 new albums

she's hearing voices

2005-03-09T13:27:00.000-05:00

update: pete likes original goldfish. he liked them before me.