Beautiful looping performance by Priscilla Ahn.

My new favorite music video of the moment.

Last night I watched High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music, something I’ve been eagerly awaiting since I found the movie on Netflix and added it to my queue. Let me say to begin with that I really enjoyed this documentary. First off, it’s about techno and I am (of course) very into electronic music of most forms. Techno in particular has a special place in my heart because of the second reason: it originated in Detroit and I am (of course) very into Detroit.

Given my interest in both topics there was a lot that the documentary discussed that I knew. For instance, I know about the Belleville Three and I know about Electrifying Mojo. I know about the Music Institute (which was just a couple blocks from where I work now) and the reasons why the music has such a life here in this city.

But there was plenty that I still learned. I think most interesting was just learing about a lot of the personalities directly involved and more detail about the moods at the time and how it built up to this sort of creative outlet. It’s not a particularly long flick, but it is arranged well and has a nice flow to it. Some people might criticize that there isn’t more music, but frankly this is a documentary about the creators and the time period just as much as it is about the music itself.

Here’s the trailer if you’re interested in checking it out.

1. Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge.
2. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge. (I’ve read it before, but I got on kind of a Vinge kick.)
3. The Emperor’s New Mind, by Roger Penrose.
4. About Time, by Paul Davies.

Moby “ooh yeah” by eggman from I am the eggman on Vimeo.

This past weekend I went out of town with some good friends to go relax on the west side of the state. Other than a lot of lounging in the sun, swimming and eating we also watched the inspired-by-true-events movie 21.

I have to say, it was very entertaining.  You can definitely tell where they took some liberties with the actual details of what went down toward the end of the movie, but it was still pretty well done. The acting was good, the pacing was good, heck even the effects (what effects they had) were good.

There have been a lot of movies about “stickin’ it to the man” but this one came off as a bit different. Perhaps because it wasn’t completely formulaic (although it was still relatively predictable) or perhaps because the dialog in general was very well written and delivered. It was also a very stylish portrail of what could have been pretty much a documentary. You really got a feel for what it might have felt like to be a college kid with hundreds of thousands of dollars and an ego to match.

Overall it’s a very well done movie and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

My buddy is letting me borrow the first season of Battlestar Galactica. It’s one of those shows I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time (like Lost, which I still need to do) but never quite got around to.

Now I’m getting caught up. So far I’m only through the first few discs but I can say I’m really enjoying it. It’s just what I need to be honest. With as busy as I’ve been the past few weeks a little relaxing downtime after work with a good sci-fi show suits me just fine.

Edit: I finished Season 1 last night and yeah, I am hooked. Great show!

Pretty fantastic music video set to “Again and Again” by The Bird & The Bee. I love seeing creative stuff like this. What a cutie too.

I know I’ve been bad lately and haven’t posted much. Sorry, I’ll explain that later tonight in a different posting. This one is just to say that this song that I found on Pandora is one of my new favorite tracks. Beautiful vocals and great musical structure to the song itself.

Great stuff huh? Makes me even consider getting voice lessons myself; vocals can go along way to making a good bit of music great. Well, even if I don’t go that route I think I’ll definitely consider putting up an add looking for a female vocalist looking to do some collaboration.

Last night Paul did me a huge favor by coming over and helping me beat SSE. Prior to this playing that mode (for me) was basically like pulling teeth. It wasn’t that it was too hard or anything, I just didn’t think it was that fun. It was long, felt awkward at times and generally didn’t feel that fun.

But co-op changes everything and this is a great example. While a few things were still frustrating Paul and I were able to power through the last 60% of the game and I really enjoyed it. Of course, the joking around and wackiness was the most enjoyable part, but the game itself became much more entertaining as well. It almost felt as if it was designed to be played with two players from the start.

As Paul mentioned we coined the phrase “binch” which basically means “to pinch a bitch” or vice versa. Much binching was had. I don’t even know how that word was invented, but there you go. Put it in the Urban Dictionary or whatever.

I’m mostly just glad we unlocked a bunch of characters.. I feel like all that stress of having to beat SSE is gone and now I can actually play the part of the game I like.