So this is a little late, sorry. We survived Vegas. Maybe we even thrived. The highlight of the trip was definitely the Folies Bergère - where we got upgraded for free and saw about 12 pairs of boobs. The lowlight was not getting to hang out with each other much, due to scheduling issues, other peoples lateness and general FUBARd plans. We did do some lying around the pool, but thats not that impressive for summer in the Southwest. As I tweeted, Vegas never lives up to its reputation.

Anyway, I also did my oil and coolant on Thursday, and failed to do my spark plugs (which arent that jacked, really). I need my discs looked at, and possibly some attention to the bottom casing of my oil pan. It looks leaky.

Lastly, its time to learn more about Encore now - time to burn a DVD (complete with menus) to show off Choice Investigations V2. Oh, that and I learned how to play 2kSports Football game online. Its pretty sweet.

Okay, heres a couple things that have been sitting on the burner that Ive been meaning to mention. Oh, and can "Qu-pdates" become a word meaning quick updates? I feel like 20% of my posts are like this. Ah well. Onwards:

Item: Russ & Jarreds latest project, Models & Me, has wrapped principal photography as of Monday the 14th in New York City. Russ filled me in on the excitement and tribulations of keeping an ever-expanding shoot on the rails, and it sounded like quite the effort. The upshot of all that effort is likely to be beautifully-shot footage of solid performances ("You go, Gurf!" Sorry.) thatll be easy to edit. Editing, coincidentally, starts this week. I hope I get some inside scoop on early footage. I also hope they shot more transitions than we did on Choice Investigations. Damn me and my transitions.

Item: CI is close to its second rough edit. Color correcting is a pain in the ass, and definitely a monkey-and-the-cheese problem for me. I finally just stopped. I even reverted a couple changes. Now i have to go back and figure out the best way to do a menuset and a quick burn. Nothings ever quick.

Item: Syracuse next Sunday. Im looking forward to seeing everyone, even if the occasion isnt one Id choose.

Item: Im working on making your poll votes a reality. Its a slow process, but I think I can manage some of it. Anyone who wants to become a (semi?) regular contributor here, let me know. Thats my favorite option, too.

Thats it for now, although I am putting in an awesome picture of me and Steve at Bootie last month after the jump, just so you can see how foolish I am. And how unamused Steve looks. You know how he never smiles, right? Well, this is a perfect example of it. Kudos to Joe from DrunkRockers for getting that shot.

Its that time of year again to eat some brie and drink some wine in honor of those crazy Frenchmen ushering in an era of guillotines and paranoia that lasted more than a decade! When the French fight themselves, theyre guaranteed to win, at least somewhat, right?

I plan to celebrate by working (re-organizing the way we look at insoles on MWS actually), and then writing a document for a new website. well see what comes of it.

Raise your glasses, folks.

So July 4th Weekend came and went, and while I only took pics on the actual 4th, the whole weekend did happen. Sorry there arent any pictures of Steves visit, for example. Or of Bootie. Or of lying by the pool. Or of Sunday, when almost nothing happened. I think. I dont remember.

So these shots are beach, fireworks and BBQ shots, all things that should be happening on the 4th. Mouse over the image here to see a bunch of relatively-good shots of fireworks that I started to get better at as the night progressed, despite the fact that I didnt bring a tripod with me to the ledge of the Universal Parking Garage.

More musings to come about streaming video to the 360, a potential PS3 console change (thatll interest me enough to effect a purchase), weekend plans (it IS Friday, afterall) and site stuff. Anyone know anything about converting databases from one type to another?

Alright, lets do this again party people...finally

Put This In Your Pipe and Smoke It

Gorillaz

"Sound Check (Gravity)"

Gorillaz

2001

Parlophone, Virgin - Track 8

Unique in rock as the first virtual band of all time, the Gorillaz public image is made up of four band members, (see below, from left) Russel, Murdoc, Noodle and 2D, each with rich backgrounds, detailed personal histories, and their own "room" within the website, where you can spend many happy hours dicking around - I highly recommend it.
Back on the physical plane of existence, these virtual rock stars were created in 1998 by Damon Albarn, formerly of the Britpop band Blur,
who you may remember from such hits as Song 2 and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the graphic novel Tank Girl . They sound unlike anything else out there and have a wide range of collaborators from Del tha Funkee Homosapien to the London Community Gospel Choir to (actor) Dennis Hopper.
The band, I hesitate to use the word "project" because it sounds so pretentious, however in this case it might be more appropriate because of the Gorillaz eclectic involvement in not only musical styles but also in multi-media platforms.
Aside from the albums, music videos, dvds, merchandise, etc. that one would expect from any successful signed band these days, the Gorillaz have a mobile phone game, Gorillaz Entertainment System (GES), their own talent contest, Search for a Star, to find an artist to collaborate with, and a public activism campaign, "Reject False Icons" .

Thoughts:

This song is the perfection of the summer night groove. It makes me think about driving home on I-95 after some awesome rock show at the Electric Factory or the E Center with Kelly Ferroni.
Windows down, warm and humid, no traffic, cruising through patches of street-light orange, the song draws you in gently with some eerie vocals, soothing acoustic guitar, a sprinkling of light piano chords, and then...they bring the thunder. The bass drops like water from one of those helicopters used to fight forest fires, it hits hard, inundating and saturating the aural space around you and facilitating that groove .

Like it? Let me know what you think - about the song, the info, anything. Also, keep sharing your summer songs with me. What tune(s) do you turn up when the weathers warm and the windows are down? Post a comment here, or email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Until next time, keep it funky.

~emily