Beer Fish

Dead Elvis

Karl Kraus, Prankster

From the biography of Karl Kraus titled "Karl Kraus: Apocalyptic Satirist":

"Kraus had an outstanding gift for ironic impersonation. On several occasions he succeeded in hoaxing the Neue Freie Presse by sending in fictitious readers' letters. The aim of these letters was to show up the intellectual pretensions of the newspaper and the gullibility of those who produced it. One of the masks Kraus adopts for this purpose is that of 'Zivilingenieur Berdach', an expert on earthquakes who writes in elaborately pseudo-scientific style about 'tellurian earthquakes' which he measures with the aid of a compass. In another of the letters, he assumes the identity of four Viennese housewives, fanatical supporters of the Liberal Party eager to storm the bastion of clericalism. In both cases Kraus's parody was so skillful that the letter was printed in the Neue Freie Presse without demur." (164)

Lacoste Shirts

From a book about the history of fashion that I read a few years back:

Polo Shirts
Like sweaters and jerseys, polo shirts represented another boon for the knitwear industry. They were so fashionable in resorts from Palm Beach to the Riviera that a reporter sent to the south of France in 1935 warned that "polo shirts have resulted in the oneness of the sexes and the equality of classes. Ties are gone. Personal touches, out. Individualism, abolished. Personality, extinct. The Riviera has produced a communism that would be the envy of the U.S.S.R."

I lived the commie life--in terms of fashion, at least--in between my western wear phase and my Florida retiree phase.

Wedding Mixxx

I seem to be really good at losing these files, but here's the first of four mixes that I made for M&N's wedding a couple of years ago:

Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll Wedding Mixxx

Electric Tram Car. Venice. California. (Postcard)

These were little electric carts that once drove up and down the boardwalk in Venice.

IT IS SO COLD HERE!!!

If Hume were right about practical reasoning, then this would be a perfectly reasonable note.

Future Cities (Usborne, 1979)

This was one of my favorite books as a kid.

Note left on my car windshield in Chicago

After I squeezed into a tight spot on the Midway and went to the department, I came back to find this note on my windshield. (Sadly, it had rained or snowed so the paper tore when I took it off.) I assume the person who left it kept a stack of these in his/her glove box for just such occasions. The funny thing is, in terms of squeezing into tight spots, I had nothing on David Svolba. (My personal record is two inches total space between my car and the two other cars. Not two inches on each side. Two inches total. Svolba could park with zero inches total.)

Canal Scene, Venice, Cal. (Postcard)

The Faces and The Go-Betweens Greatest Hits

I put both of these together rather quickly, but they're fun to listen to.

Bird's Eye View of Villa City, Venice, Cal. (Postcard)

I have no idea where this is in Venice. But I'd like to try and figure it out. Anyone want to explore with me?

Miniature Railway crossing bridge over Lagoon at Venice, Cal. (Postcard)

As a stunt, they tested the strength of the bridges over Venice-of-America's canals by having an elephant from the circus come and stand on them.

The Best of AC & DC

My Dad bought this bootleg compilation in Indonesia in the early eighties. The track selection is pure genius. Notice how they wisely left out popular tracks like "You Shook Me All Night Long" (that are unrepresentative of AC/DC and wear thin with repeat listening) but include underappreciated gems like "There's Gonna Be Some Rockin'" (that really distill the essence of what's great about AC/DC, in that they take a riff we've all heard in a million other songs but nonetheless make it their own).

This tape first introduced me to AC/DC and remains (in a playlist I've created on iTunes that mimics it) the primary form in which I continue to appreciate AC/DC to this day.

Notice how they claim that the phone number in "Dirty Deeds" spells out "Slaver".

Morning Departure (1950)

Who said that the Brits can't make movies? This might be the best submarine movie of all time.

Bonus feature: contains a more detailed look than usual at how some of the mechanisms on board a submarine work.

Oil Wells, Venice, Los Angeles, California (Postcard)

Oil was discovered in Venice/Marina del Ray in the late 1920's and, as you can see, it transformed the landscape.

Mousepad

Just got this new mousepad in the mail. I love it! It smells kind of funny, though.

Canal and Tent Houses, Venice, California (Postcard)

Venice-of-America originally contained vacation homes in a variety of price ranges. These were the inexpensive ones: they had canvas walls.

Beach Boys Greatest Hits

This is the playlist on my ipod that I listen to the most. If the number of times I've listened to particular songs is any guide, then I particularly like "Busy Doing Nothing", "In My Room", "The Warmth of the Sun", and "Little Honda".

Best of 2004-2006

Best of 2004:

Best of 2005:

Best of 2006:

Beatnuts Greatest Hits (with Sample Sources)

I made this compilation last fall.